If you've never read Susan Murphy Milano's Journal, you MUST do so. It's topnotch.
http://murphymilanojournal.blogspot.com/
Press Release: Time's Up by Susan Murphy Milano
Today at 8:06pm
For Immediate Release
Time’s Up for Victims of Domestic Abuse
March 31, 2010……With the proliferation of deaths due to domestic violence, something has to be done, something different, and something effective. Susan Murphy-Milano, a 20 year veteran of family violence will be releasing her newest book, “Time’s Up” A Guide on How to Leave and Survive Abusive and Stalking Relationships, on April 12, 2010.
“Time’s Up” guides the victim towards safety by showing them the unseen pitfalls of leaving a violent relationship and how to navigate around them. “Time’s Up” also has explicit details and instructions how to fill out an “Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit”, one of the unique things that Murphy-Milano has created and used through the years in high danger cases which has saved the lives of many.
Susan Murphy-Milano is a specialist in family violence and works nationally with domestic violence programs, law enforcement and prosecutors providing technical and consulting services in “high risk” domestic violence and stalking related cases. Her principal objective is to intervene before a victim is seriously injured or killed. In 1999, Susan was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame for her work on behalf of Women’s Rights. In 2001, Susan received the Women with Vision Award from the Illinois Bar Association.
Author of “Defending Our Lives” Doubleday books and “Moving Out Moving On” when a relationship goes wrong, Susan is host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show and is also a contributor to “Time’s Up!” and “Women In Crime Ink” online. With co-stars, Dennis Griffin and Vito Colucci, Susan will be participating in the new television show, “Crime Wire” which will examine cases in which the investigations have left questions unanswered and possible criminal activity unexposed
For more information: http://www.susanmurphymilano.com/
Contact: contact@imaginepublicity.com
843.808.0859
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Jury acquits dad for abusing infant, even though dad confessed (Hartford, Connecticut)
WHAT???
A jury has acquitted dad LEONARD RAMIREZ of abusing his infant son, even though Daddy has admitted that he "made up" a lot of stories to explain the baby's injuries, and even confessed to breaking the baby's ribs at one point. Note that Daddy didn't even live with the baby's mother. So was this baby injured during some sort of visitation? It's not clarified here.
So now we're told it's a big mystery as to how this baby got hurt. Maybe it was another one of those "masked intruder" scenarios. Guys with AK-47s breaking into the house. But then Daddy developed amnesia! Um yea, that's the ticket.
Just what was the average IQ of this jury? Around room temperature?
http://www.ctnow.com/news/hc-hartford-beaten-baby-death-0331,0,7802355.story
Jury Acquits Father; Baby's Injuries Still Unexplained
The Hartford Courant
4:43 p.m. EDT, March 31, 2010
HARTFORD - A jury has acquitted a 22-year-old Hartford father of charges that he fractured his baby's ribs, even though he had said he caused the injuries.
Leonard Ramirez testified that he had made up most of the stories about what happened to his son, and the jury believed him, finding him not guilty of two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of risk of injury to a minor. The verdict was announced in Superior Court shortly before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
"I just want everybody to know that I would never hurt my son, and I thank the jury for seeing that," Ramirez said later in a phone interview.
In October 2008, when hospital workers discovered his 10-week-old baby was seriously injured, Ramirez told police and an employee from the state Department of Children and Families that he may have caused them. He told them that what had appeared to be a skull fracture may have been from when he dropped the baby while getting him a bottle. He said the baby's head hit a counter and "bounced" back up to him, according to the police report and testimony from the trial, which started March 25.
Ramirez also described how he had roughly grabbed the baby on two occasions and how once, the baby was moving around and slammed his head into Ramirez's shoulder.
In the end, the baby had more than 10 rib fractures and a torn frenum, which is the skin connecting the bottom of the tongue to the floor of the mouth. The baby did not have a fractured skull as originally suspected.
On the witness stand, Ramirez said everything but the last incident was a lie. He made up the stories because the police had told him that if he took the blame for the injuries, DCF wouldn't take the baby away from the mother, who didn't live with Ramirez.
Ramirez said he had had a bad experience living in foster care and didn't want the same for his son, who has since recovered from his injuries.
Other witnesses, including the mother, Jessica Vasquez, testified that Ramirez was excited to become a father and was "meticulous" when caring for the baby.
The verdict leaves a nagging question: Who fractured the baby's ribs?
Neither Ramirez nor his lawyer, Teri Bayer, knows, they said.
"Honestly, we asked everybody," Ramirez said. "We asked anybody and everybody."
A jury has acquitted dad LEONARD RAMIREZ of abusing his infant son, even though Daddy has admitted that he "made up" a lot of stories to explain the baby's injuries, and even confessed to breaking the baby's ribs at one point. Note that Daddy didn't even live with the baby's mother. So was this baby injured during some sort of visitation? It's not clarified here.
So now we're told it's a big mystery as to how this baby got hurt. Maybe it was another one of those "masked intruder" scenarios. Guys with AK-47s breaking into the house. But then Daddy developed amnesia! Um yea, that's the ticket.
Just what was the average IQ of this jury? Around room temperature?
http://www.ctnow.com/news/hc-hartford-beaten-baby-death-0331,0,7802355.story
Jury Acquits Father; Baby's Injuries Still Unexplained
The Hartford Courant
4:43 p.m. EDT, March 31, 2010
HARTFORD - A jury has acquitted a 22-year-old Hartford father of charges that he fractured his baby's ribs, even though he had said he caused the injuries.
Leonard Ramirez testified that he had made up most of the stories about what happened to his son, and the jury believed him, finding him not guilty of two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of risk of injury to a minor. The verdict was announced in Superior Court shortly before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
"I just want everybody to know that I would never hurt my son, and I thank the jury for seeing that," Ramirez said later in a phone interview.
In October 2008, when hospital workers discovered his 10-week-old baby was seriously injured, Ramirez told police and an employee from the state Department of Children and Families that he may have caused them. He told them that what had appeared to be a skull fracture may have been from when he dropped the baby while getting him a bottle. He said the baby's head hit a counter and "bounced" back up to him, according to the police report and testimony from the trial, which started March 25.
Ramirez also described how he had roughly grabbed the baby on two occasions and how once, the baby was moving around and slammed his head into Ramirez's shoulder.
In the end, the baby had more than 10 rib fractures and a torn frenum, which is the skin connecting the bottom of the tongue to the floor of the mouth. The baby did not have a fractured skull as originally suspected.
On the witness stand, Ramirez said everything but the last incident was a lie. He made up the stories because the police had told him that if he took the blame for the injuries, DCF wouldn't take the baby away from the mother, who didn't live with Ramirez.
Ramirez said he had had a bad experience living in foster care and didn't want the same for his son, who has since recovered from his injuries.
Other witnesses, including the mother, Jessica Vasquez, testified that Ramirez was excited to become a father and was "meticulous" when caring for the baby.
The verdict leaves a nagging question: Who fractured the baby's ribs?
Neither Ramirez nor his lawyer, Teri Bayer, knows, they said.
"Honestly, we asked everybody," Ramirez said. "We asked anybody and everybody."
Dad charged with child abuse for serious injuries suffered by 19-month-old son (Laurens County, South Carolina)
Dad RODERICK WOODRUFF has been charged with child abuse after his 19-month-old son was hospitalized with serious injuries (bleeding on the brain and retinal damage are often seen in severely shaken babies and young children). Once again...we have the conspicuous lack of a mother in this story. Note that the children 19-month-old son and his older sibling are now in "alternative care." What' s up with that?
http://www.wyff4.com/news/23017074/detail.html
Police: Father Seriously Injured 19-Month-Old
Child Has Bleeding On Brain, Retinol Tears
POSTED: 5:04 pm EDT March 31, 2010
UPDATED: 5:07 pm EDT March 31, 2010
LAURENS COUNTY, S.C. -- A Laurens County man has been charged with child abuse after his 19-month-old son was rushed to Greenville Memorial Hospital with serious injuries including bleeding on his brain.
According to a police incident report, Roderick Woodruff, 32, said he heard a noise from the child's room early the morning on March 26. Woodruff said he went in the child's room and found the toddler unresponsive laying on the floor next to a bunk bed the child shares with an older sibling.
Deputies said Woodruff told them picked up the child and shook him to try to get the child to respond. When the child did not respond, Woodruff ran next door to his girlfriend's parents' home.
Woodruff told deputies that the child's grandmother, Margaret Ginn, began performing CPR on the child. A short time later the child started breathing again.
The report said Woodruff then picked up his son, and the child stopped breathing again. Ginn then performed CPR on the baby again.
The toddler was rushed to Greenville Memorial Hospital. The police report said the child had bleeding on his brain and behind the eyes with severe retinal tears.
The Laurens County Sheriff's office charged Woodruff with child abuse after they said the child's medical evaluation showed the injuries were too severe to have been caused by a fall.
Woodruff was arrested Tuesday. He was released on a $40,000 bond.
According the sheriff's office, the toddler and his older sibling were now in alternative care.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/23017074/detail.html
Police: Father Seriously Injured 19-Month-Old
Child Has Bleeding On Brain, Retinol Tears
POSTED: 5:04 pm EDT March 31, 2010
UPDATED: 5:07 pm EDT March 31, 2010
LAURENS COUNTY, S.C. -- A Laurens County man has been charged with child abuse after his 19-month-old son was rushed to Greenville Memorial Hospital with serious injuries including bleeding on his brain.
According to a police incident report, Roderick Woodruff, 32, said he heard a noise from the child's room early the morning on March 26. Woodruff said he went in the child's room and found the toddler unresponsive laying on the floor next to a bunk bed the child shares with an older sibling.
Deputies said Woodruff told them picked up the child and shook him to try to get the child to respond. When the child did not respond, Woodruff ran next door to his girlfriend's parents' home.
Woodruff told deputies that the child's grandmother, Margaret Ginn, began performing CPR on the child. A short time later the child started breathing again.
The report said Woodruff then picked up his son, and the child stopped breathing again. Ginn then performed CPR on the baby again.
The toddler was rushed to Greenville Memorial Hospital. The police report said the child had bleeding on his brain and behind the eyes with severe retinal tears.
The Laurens County Sheriff's office charged Woodruff with child abuse after they said the child's medical evaluation showed the injuries were too severe to have been caused by a fall.
Woodruff was arrested Tuesday. He was released on a $40,000 bond.
According the sheriff's office, the toddler and his older sibling were now in alternative care.
Teenage son found locked in basement; father to be taken into custody (Mt. Vernon, Michigan)
UNNAMED DAD is suspected of locking his 14-year-old son in the basement of their home while he went to work. There is not one word about a mother in this article. Single dad?
http://register-news.com/homepage/x993483472/Boy-found-locked-in-basement
March 31, 2010
Boy found locked in basement
JCSO investigation underway
TESA CULLI
CNHI
MT. VERNON — The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a possible child abuse/neglect after a 14-year-old boy was discovered locked in the basement.
According to Sheriff Roger Mulch, the boy was discovered locked in the home by neighbors.
“The neighbors noticed the dog was loose,” said Jefferson County Sheriff Roger Mulch. “They went over to tell (the boy) the dog was out and heard (him) hollering and screaming, ‘help, help,’ and he was locked in. ... They tried to get the doors open, but couldn’t so they called us.”
Deputies were able to release the boy from the basement area of his home in rural Jefferson County, and he was taken to St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital for a physical evaluation.
The investigation is ongoing, and Mulch said a search warrant of the home has been acquired and investigators would be entering the house. The father of the boy was at work at the time of the incident, and Mulch said when he returned home he would be taken into custody and questioned pending any charges.
http://register-news.com/homepage/x993483472/Boy-found-locked-in-basement
March 31, 2010
Boy found locked in basement
JCSO investigation underway
TESA CULLI
CNHI
MT. VERNON — The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a possible child abuse/neglect after a 14-year-old boy was discovered locked in the basement.
According to Sheriff Roger Mulch, the boy was discovered locked in the home by neighbors.
“The neighbors noticed the dog was loose,” said Jefferson County Sheriff Roger Mulch. “They went over to tell (the boy) the dog was out and heard (him) hollering and screaming, ‘help, help,’ and he was locked in. ... They tried to get the doors open, but couldn’t so they called us.”
Deputies were able to release the boy from the basement area of his home in rural Jefferson County, and he was taken to St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital for a physical evaluation.
The investigation is ongoing, and Mulch said a search warrant of the home has been acquired and investigators would be entering the house. The father of the boy was at work at the time of the incident, and Mulch said when he returned home he would be taken into custody and questioned pending any charges.
Dad charged for "repeatedly spanking" 3-month-old son; baby now dead (Mercedes, Texas)
Read this article carefully. This wasn't a couple that appears to have abused or killed in an "equal" manner.
Dad LUIS ESCALDON is the one who admits to "repeatedly spanking" a 3-month-old infant. That's how he explained the bruises found on the baby's legs and buttocks, you see. That was on a Saturday. Sunday morning, this POS was "allegedly" raping the baby's mother. Daddy has been arrested on both injury to a child and sexual assault charges.
You know folks, it's not that hard to fill in the dots here. It seems very likely to me that this guy terrorized this mother, the baby, and their 4 other children. It also seems very likely to me that the mother didn't have a lot of real choices here, not unless she wanted to risk more beatings either to herself or to the other kids. Yet she's been arrested for child endangerment, a felony in the state of Texas. And she's lost her kids to CPS.
Frankly, you very seldom see fathers charged with endangerment, even when they had the ability to intervene (check out the Newark, New Jersey dad who employed an abusive male babysitter with a criminal record--the post is just a couple down from here). It's a charge that's applied mostly to mothers, regardless of how much power they really had to stop the abuse.
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/old-110324-arrested-parents.html
Parents arrested after bruises found on dead 3-month-old
March 30, 2010 11:14 AM
By JARED TAYLOR, The Monitor
MERCEDES — Police arrested the mother and father of a 3-month-old baby boy who showed signs of abuse after he died at the hospital.
Mercedes police officers responded to a call of an unresponsive baby Sunday morning at a home on the 500 block of Ohio Street, said Police Chief Olga Maldonado.
The baby was rushed to Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco, where he died upon arrival.
Preliminary autopsy results show the baby did not die from bruises found on his behind and legs, Maldonado said.
The baby’s father, Luis Escaldon, told police the baby got the bruises after he repeatedly spanked the child on Saturday.
Escaldon was arrested Sunday on injury to a child and sexual assault charges — after the child’s mother, Brenda Luna, told police that he had raped her earlier that morning.
Because Luna also knew her baby’s spanking caused bruises but did not contact authorities, police arrested her on one count of child endangerment — a state jail felony.
Escaldon and Luna — both are Mexican nationals — were set to face the felony charges during an arraignment Monday evening in Mercedes Municipal Court. Bond information was not immediately available.
The couple’s four other children — the oldest is five years old — were turned over to Child Protective Services investigators, Maldonado said.
Injury to a child that does not cause serious injury is a third degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. If the final autopsy results implicate Escaldon for killing his baby, his criminal charges could escalate to murder.
Dad LUIS ESCALDON is the one who admits to "repeatedly spanking" a 3-month-old infant. That's how he explained the bruises found on the baby's legs and buttocks, you see. That was on a Saturday. Sunday morning, this POS was "allegedly" raping the baby's mother. Daddy has been arrested on both injury to a child and sexual assault charges.
You know folks, it's not that hard to fill in the dots here. It seems very likely to me that this guy terrorized this mother, the baby, and their 4 other children. It also seems very likely to me that the mother didn't have a lot of real choices here, not unless she wanted to risk more beatings either to herself or to the other kids. Yet she's been arrested for child endangerment, a felony in the state of Texas. And she's lost her kids to CPS.
Frankly, you very seldom see fathers charged with endangerment, even when they had the ability to intervene (check out the Newark, New Jersey dad who employed an abusive male babysitter with a criminal record--the post is just a couple down from here). It's a charge that's applied mostly to mothers, regardless of how much power they really had to stop the abuse.
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/old-110324-arrested-parents.html
Parents arrested after bruises found on dead 3-month-old
March 30, 2010 11:14 AM
By JARED TAYLOR, The Monitor
MERCEDES — Police arrested the mother and father of a 3-month-old baby boy who showed signs of abuse after he died at the hospital.
Mercedes police officers responded to a call of an unresponsive baby Sunday morning at a home on the 500 block of Ohio Street, said Police Chief Olga Maldonado.
The baby was rushed to Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco, where he died upon arrival.
Preliminary autopsy results show the baby did not die from bruises found on his behind and legs, Maldonado said.
The baby’s father, Luis Escaldon, told police the baby got the bruises after he repeatedly spanked the child on Saturday.
Escaldon was arrested Sunday on injury to a child and sexual assault charges — after the child’s mother, Brenda Luna, told police that he had raped her earlier that morning.
Because Luna also knew her baby’s spanking caused bruises but did not contact authorities, police arrested her on one count of child endangerment — a state jail felony.
Escaldon and Luna — both are Mexican nationals — were set to face the felony charges during an arraignment Monday evening in Mercedes Municipal Court. Bond information was not immediately available.
The couple’s four other children — the oldest is five years old — were turned over to Child Protective Services investigators, Maldonado said.
Injury to a child that does not cause serious injury is a third degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. If the final autopsy results implicate Escaldon for killing his baby, his criminal charges could escalate to murder.
Dad sentenced to life in prison for killing infant daughter; previously served time for abusing infant son (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
After suffocating his 1-month-old son for crying (the boy didn't die but suffered injuries from the lack of oxygen), dad WILLIS JOE LAMBERT JR. was sentenced to 9 years in prison. That was back in 1998. Then Daddy gets out of prison and apparently finds some naive young woman and has a baby with her. This time, Daddy was successful in murdering the baby. This rotten SOB violently shook the 6-month-old baby to death because she "resisted getting dressed after a bath." WTF? And why was this rotten SOB ever allowed around kids again?
http://www.koco.com/news/23012586/detail.html
Father Sentenced For Killing Daughter
Suspect Also Spent Time In Prison For Abusing Son
POSTED: 10:52 am CDT March 31, 2010
UPDATED: 11:19 am CDT March 31, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma City man who served nine years in prison for abusing his infant son has been sentenced to life without parole for killing his infant daughter.
Thirty-eight-year-old Willis Joe Lambert Jr. pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder in the June 2009 death of 6-month-old Rachel Lambert. Court documents said he admitted he violently shook the girl when she resisted getting dressed after a bath.
Records show Lambert was released from prison in 2008 after serving nine years for abusing his son in 1998. Police said he placed a rag over the 1-month-old boy's mouth because he was crying and that the child suffered injuries from lack of oxygen.
http://www.koco.com/news/23012586/detail.html
Father Sentenced For Killing Daughter
Suspect Also Spent Time In Prison For Abusing Son
POSTED: 10:52 am CDT March 31, 2010
UPDATED: 11:19 am CDT March 31, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma City man who served nine years in prison for abusing his infant son has been sentenced to life without parole for killing his infant daughter.
Thirty-eight-year-old Willis Joe Lambert Jr. pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder in the June 2009 death of 6-month-old Rachel Lambert. Court documents said he admitted he violently shook the girl when she resisted getting dressed after a bath.
Records show Lambert was released from prison in 2008 after serving nine years for abusing his son in 1998. Police said he placed a rag over the 1-month-old boy's mouth because he was crying and that the child suffered injuries from lack of oxygen.
Dad, son arrested for child porn (Ocoee, Florida)
Great. Daddy DALE CHISENA is a 2nd grade teacher in addition to being a horrible role model of a father. This piece of sh** even had photos of infants. I'd be very upset if I ever had a child in this sicko's class. I'm very upset even though I never had a child in his class.
Remind me again. Every child needs a Daddy why?
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpps/news/dpgonc-father-and-son-arrested-for-child-pornography-in-florida-km-20100330_6834124
Father And Son Arrested For Child Pornography In Florida
Updated: Tuesday, 30 Mar 2010, 8:14 PM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 30 Mar 2010, 8:12 PM CDT
(myFOXOrlando.com) - A U.S. elementary school teacher and his 22-year-old son were arrested Tuesday morning on charges of possessing child pornography in Florida, MyFOXorlando.com reported.
Dale Chisena, Senior, 58, and his son Dale Chisena, Junior, were taken into custody after investigators found about 1,000 images of child pornography, including what looked to be female infants, on computer equipment seized at their Ocoee, Orange County home.
A veteran teacher of more than 30 years, Chisena, Sr. currently teaches second grade at Lovell Elementary in Apopka. His son is a student at Valencia Community College.
Both father and son were booked into Orange County jail and face charges of multiple counts of possession of child pornography. Additional charges are pending a full forensic review of seized items.
Investigators said there was no indication any students of Chisena, Sr. were victimized, but they are "looking into it very closely."
Chisena, Sr. is on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation by the Orange County Public Schools.
Read more: myfOXOrlando.com
Remind me again. Every child needs a Daddy why?
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpps/news/dpgonc-father-and-son-arrested-for-child-pornography-in-florida-km-20100330_6834124
Father And Son Arrested For Child Pornography In Florida
Updated: Tuesday, 30 Mar 2010, 8:14 PM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 30 Mar 2010, 8:12 PM CDT
(myFOXOrlando.com) - A U.S. elementary school teacher and his 22-year-old son were arrested Tuesday morning on charges of possessing child pornography in Florida, MyFOXorlando.com reported.
Dale Chisena, Senior, 58, and his son Dale Chisena, Junior, were taken into custody after investigators found about 1,000 images of child pornography, including what looked to be female infants, on computer equipment seized at their Ocoee, Orange County home.
A veteran teacher of more than 30 years, Chisena, Sr. currently teaches second grade at Lovell Elementary in Apopka. His son is a student at Valencia Community College.
Both father and son were booked into Orange County jail and face charges of multiple counts of possession of child pornography. Additional charges are pending a full forensic review of seized items.
Investigators said there was no indication any students of Chisena, Sr. were victimized, but they are "looking into it very closely."
Chisena, Sr. is on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation by the Orange County Public Schools.
Read more: myfOXOrlando.com
Dad kills 2 kids, shoots himself (Scottsdale, Arizona)
Very few details here. Will post more information as it becomes available.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/slideshows/89605277.html
Dad kills 2 kids, shoots himself at Scottsdale home
by Jennifer Thomas
Posted on March 31, 2010 at 10:09 AM
Updated today at 11:26 AM
SCOTTSDALE -- A father reportedly shot his two children and then himself at a Scottsdale home Wednesday morning.
According to Scottsdale police Officer David Pubins, at approximately 8 a.m. a man called 911 and said he had shot his child.
When police officers arrived at the home near Lincoln Drive and Scottsdale Road, they forced entry and found two small children dead from apparent gunshot wounds.
Pubins said the 39-year-old father also shot himself. He was transported to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries and is expected to survive.
No one else was home at the time of the shootings. The mother came back to the scene and is being helped by a crisis management team.
There is no information on the ages of the children.
Police do not know the motive for the shootings.
Detectives are expected to be on scene throughout the day as the investigation continues.
Stay with azfamily.com for more information as details become available.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/slideshows/89605277.html
Dad kills 2 kids, shoots himself at Scottsdale home
by Jennifer Thomas
Posted on March 31, 2010 at 10:09 AM
Updated today at 11:26 AM
SCOTTSDALE -- A father reportedly shot his two children and then himself at a Scottsdale home Wednesday morning.
According to Scottsdale police Officer David Pubins, at approximately 8 a.m. a man called 911 and said he had shot his child.
When police officers arrived at the home near Lincoln Drive and Scottsdale Road, they forced entry and found two small children dead from apparent gunshot wounds.
Pubins said the 39-year-old father also shot himself. He was transported to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries and is expected to survive.
No one else was home at the time of the shootings. The mother came back to the scene and is being helped by a crisis management team.
There is no information on the ages of the children.
Police do not know the motive for the shootings.
Detectives are expected to be on scene throughout the day as the investigation continues.
Stay with azfamily.com for more information as details become available.
Dad gets 25 years for blow to head that left newborn son brain damaged (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Dad MICHAEL ANTHONY DOUGLAS has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for bashing the head of his newborn son (he was only 21 days old) and fracturing his skull. The boy--now 2 years of age--suffered serious brain damage and now has profound speech, hearing, and learning disabilities.
http://www.gazette.com/articles/won-96337-damaged-anthony.html
Dad gets 25 years for blow to head that left boy brain damaged
March 29, 2010 2:25 PM
JOHN C. ENSSLIN
Michael Anthony Douglas won’t get his wish of being there when his son scrapes a knee or meets his first girlfriend.
That’s because a judge today sentenced the 25-year-old Colorado Springs man to 25 years in prison for inflicting a blow to the head that left his now 2-year-old son Jesse with irreversible brain damage.
Fourth Judicial District Judge Gilbert A. Martinez imposed the sentence on Douglas whom a jury convicted in January of child abuse but acquitted on an attempted-murder charge in the Oct. 10, 2007, incident.
Douglas hit his then 21-day-old son hard enough to fracture the boy’s skull. The youngster – who ran outside the courtroom shouting hello to lawyers – looks like a normal 2-year-old boy, said Deputy District Attorney Donna Billek.
But if anyone talks to the youngster they’ll quickly discover he has a vocabulary of about 12 words and will have profound speech, hearing and learning disabilities for the rest of his life.
Billek said that for 16 hours after hitting his son, Douglas did nothing to get help.
“At no point did he accept responsibility until well into that night,” she told Martinez.
Krystal Denton, the boy’s mother, asked the judge to impose a sentence that would enable Douglas to still be a father to their two sons.
However, Ronda Denton, the boy’s grandmother who now has custody of Jesse and his younger brother, asked Martinez to impose the maximum 32-year-sentence.
“We as parents are supposed to keep our children safe from harm, to love them, feed them and protect them,” she said. “Michael did none of these things for Jesse.”
Douglas apologized for his actions and pleaded with the judge to allow him to be there for the important moments in his sons’ lives.
“Please don’t take them away from me forever,” he said, squeezing a tissue in his handcuffed fist. “I love them too much.”
Martinez said he felt the maximum sentence was not called for, noting that the injury resulted from a single blow to the head.
But he rejected Douglas’ plea for a lighter sentence.
“That’s what happens when you hit a 21-day-old on the side of the head,” the judge said.
For video and more on this story, go to the Sidebar blog at Gazette.com
http://www.gazette.com/articles/won-96337-damaged-anthony.html
Dad gets 25 years for blow to head that left boy brain damaged
March 29, 2010 2:25 PM
JOHN C. ENSSLIN
Michael Anthony Douglas won’t get his wish of being there when his son scrapes a knee or meets his first girlfriend.
That’s because a judge today sentenced the 25-year-old Colorado Springs man to 25 years in prison for inflicting a blow to the head that left his now 2-year-old son Jesse with irreversible brain damage.
Fourth Judicial District Judge Gilbert A. Martinez imposed the sentence on Douglas whom a jury convicted in January of child abuse but acquitted on an attempted-murder charge in the Oct. 10, 2007, incident.
Douglas hit his then 21-day-old son hard enough to fracture the boy’s skull. The youngster – who ran outside the courtroom shouting hello to lawyers – looks like a normal 2-year-old boy, said Deputy District Attorney Donna Billek.
But if anyone talks to the youngster they’ll quickly discover he has a vocabulary of about 12 words and will have profound speech, hearing and learning disabilities for the rest of his life.
Billek said that for 16 hours after hitting his son, Douglas did nothing to get help.
“At no point did he accept responsibility until well into that night,” she told Martinez.
Krystal Denton, the boy’s mother, asked the judge to impose a sentence that would enable Douglas to still be a father to their two sons.
However, Ronda Denton, the boy’s grandmother who now has custody of Jesse and his younger brother, asked Martinez to impose the maximum 32-year-sentence.
“We as parents are supposed to keep our children safe from harm, to love them, feed them and protect them,” she said. “Michael did none of these things for Jesse.”
Douglas apologized for his actions and pleaded with the judge to allow him to be there for the important moments in his sons’ lives.
“Please don’t take them away from me forever,” he said, squeezing a tissue in his handcuffed fist. “I love them too much.”
Martinez said he felt the maximum sentence was not called for, noting that the injury resulted from a single blow to the head.
But he rejected Douglas’ plea for a lighter sentence.
“That’s what happens when you hit a 21-day-old on the side of the head,” the judge said.
For video and more on this story, go to the Sidebar blog at Gazette.com
Dad jailed for abusing 7-month-old daughter (Lake Havasu, Nevada)
Dad HOWARD IRVIN PEACH has been jailed for "allegedly" dropping and shaking his 7-month-old daughter. The baby was having seizures by the time the sheriff's deputies arrived. She has been hospitalized in critical condition.
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_14779797
Father jailed for abusing infant daughter
By Stacia Glenn
Posted: 03/29/2010 02:36:05 PM PDT
A Lake Havasu man is behind bars for allegedly dropping and shaking his infant daughter, authorities said.
Sheriff's deputies were called Friday to a home in the 100 block of Colony Road, where a 7-month-old girl was having a seizure. Doctors told detectives that the girl appeared to have been physically abused.
She is listed in critical condition at a Las Vegas hospital and is scheduled for surgery to alleviate bleeding in her brain.
Howard Irvin Peach, 21, was booked at West valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of child abuse. Bail was set at $100,000.
Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_14779797#ixzz0jmZBDEMD
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_14779797
Father jailed for abusing infant daughter
By Stacia Glenn
Posted: 03/29/2010 02:36:05 PM PDT
A Lake Havasu man is behind bars for allegedly dropping and shaking his infant daughter, authorities said.
Sheriff's deputies were called Friday to a home in the 100 block of Colony Road, where a 7-month-old girl was having a seizure. Doctors told detectives that the girl appeared to have been physically abused.
She is listed in critical condition at a Las Vegas hospital and is scheduled for surgery to alleviate bleeding in her brain.
Howard Irvin Peach, 21, was booked at West valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of child abuse. Bail was set at $100,000.
Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_14779797#ixzz0jmZBDEMD
Dad leaves 9-month-old baby in hot car while he visits adult bookstore (West Palm Beach, Florida)
Dad RAFAEL GARCIA has been charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect for leaving his 9-month-old daughter in a hot car. By the time she was rescued, the baby was too weak to cry and had a temperature of 104 degrees. She has been hospitalized in serious condition.
So where was Daddy during all this time? Seems he was patronizing an adult bookstore looking for a "sexy role-playing outfit" for his wife.
http://www.cbs12.com/news/baby-4725046-retiree-car.html
Retiree rescues baby in car
JUAN CARLOS FANJUL
March 29, 2010 9:35 PM
NEAR WEST PALM BEACH-- Clifford Terry couldn't believe what he saw in a car next to his.
"First reaction, was it scared me because the baby was so little," said Terry.
The retiree had spotted a 9-month-old baby strapped to a car seat, windows barely cracked open, no air conditioning, all the while Saturday temperatures reached 80 degrees and there was plenty of sun.
"The baby had been there about 30 minutes or longer," added Terry.
A 5-year member of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Citizens Observer Patrol, Terry instinctively called 911.
He was also worried that someone would snatch the baby given the location, the Guys and Dolls Adult Bookstore on Military Trail in Suburban West Palm Beach.
"You don't know who hangs out there. Anybody could have slid the kid in their car and be gone," he said.
Firefighters arrived with-in minutes and thankfully the car was unlocked.
The little girl had a temperature of 104 degrees and was too weak to cry, She was rushed to the hospital in serious condition, but is expected to survive.
Turns out her father, 28-year-old Rafael Garcia, was in the adult book store and according to investigators he told them he was looking for a sexy-role playing outfit for his wife and had only planned to be there for a few minutes.
Terry is just glad he got there in the nick of time.
"It scared me more than anything it really did. I was not being a hero, just doing what's natural," he said.
Garcia is now charged with aggravated child abuse and child neglect.
So where was Daddy during all this time? Seems he was patronizing an adult bookstore looking for a "sexy role-playing outfit" for his wife.
http://www.cbs12.com/news/baby-4725046-retiree-car.html
Retiree rescues baby in car
JUAN CARLOS FANJUL
March 29, 2010 9:35 PM
NEAR WEST PALM BEACH-- Clifford Terry couldn't believe what he saw in a car next to his.
"First reaction, was it scared me because the baby was so little," said Terry.
The retiree had spotted a 9-month-old baby strapped to a car seat, windows barely cracked open, no air conditioning, all the while Saturday temperatures reached 80 degrees and there was plenty of sun.
"The baby had been there about 30 minutes or longer," added Terry.
A 5-year member of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Citizens Observer Patrol, Terry instinctively called 911.
He was also worried that someone would snatch the baby given the location, the Guys and Dolls Adult Bookstore on Military Trail in Suburban West Palm Beach.
"You don't know who hangs out there. Anybody could have slid the kid in their car and be gone," he said.
Firefighters arrived with-in minutes and thankfully the car was unlocked.
The little girl had a temperature of 104 degrees and was too weak to cry, She was rushed to the hospital in serious condition, but is expected to survive.
Turns out her father, 28-year-old Rafael Garcia, was in the adult book store and according to investigators he told them he was looking for a sexy-role playing outfit for his wife and had only planned to be there for a few minutes.
Terry is just glad he got there in the nick of time.
"It scared me more than anything it really did. I was not being a hero, just doing what's natural," he said.
Garcia is now charged with aggravated child abuse and child neglect.
Dad jailed for 4 years for raping 15-year-old daughter, sexually abusing 14-year-old daughter (Eston, England, United Kingdom)
UNNAMED DAD has been jailed for only 4 years for raping his teenage daughter, which lead to a pregnancy. He also sexually abused a younger daughter. This is the typical slap on the wrist penalties you see for sexual abusers, especially in the UK. Even though in this case, there is NO DOUBT. DNA evidence proved he fathered his daughter's child, and this POS pleaded guilty as well.
http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2010/03/30/dad-locked-up-over-sex-assault-on-daughter-84229-26137648/
Dad locked up over sex assault on daughter
Mar 30 2010 Evening Gazette
A PENSIONER was jailed for four years yesterday after he fathered a child with his teenage daughter and also sexually abused his younger girl.
The 67-year-old man from Eston was charged after he and the child were DNA tested.
The mother was only 15 at the time, and he later went on to sexually abuse his other daughter when she was 14.
The pensioner, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested in July last year and he pleaded guilty, Teesside Crown Court was told.
Judge Peter Armstrong told him: “The offences for which I have to sentence you today are extremely serious.
“There was no excuse for it. The effect on those girls has been considerable, as one might expect. There is no excuse and no mitigation.”
The father was jailed for four years, ordered to register as a sex offender for life and given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning him from contact under-16s, and from working with anyone under 18 after he pleaded guilty to two charges of incest and two of indecent assault.
http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2010/03/30/dad-locked-up-over-sex-assault-on-daughter-84229-26137648/
Dad locked up over sex assault on daughter
Mar 30 2010 Evening Gazette
A PENSIONER was jailed for four years yesterday after he fathered a child with his teenage daughter and also sexually abused his younger girl.
The 67-year-old man from Eston was charged after he and the child were DNA tested.
The mother was only 15 at the time, and he later went on to sexually abuse his other daughter when she was 14.
The pensioner, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested in July last year and he pleaded guilty, Teesside Crown Court was told.
Judge Peter Armstrong told him: “The offences for which I have to sentence you today are extremely serious.
“There was no excuse for it. The effect on those girls has been considerable, as one might expect. There is no excuse and no mitigation.”
The father was jailed for four years, ordered to register as a sex offender for life and given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning him from contact under-16s, and from working with anyone under 18 after he pleaded guilty to two charges of incest and two of indecent assault.
Babysitter with criminal background charged with child endangerment; was chosen by child's father (Newark, New Jersey)
Moms are often criticized for their poor choices in boyfriend/babysitters. But notice that in this case, UNNAMED DAD chose to leave his 3-year-old son with a male babysitter who had a criminal history, including unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Not surprisingly, the child was physically abused, including extensive bruising and a broken wrist. The babysitter has now been charged with child endangerment. Not a word here on the father being charged, although it is very likely that a mother would be charged with neglect or endangering for leaving her child with a boyfriend like this guy while she went to work.
And speaking of the mother, where is the mom in all this? There is not one word about her in this article AT ALL. And I'm not able to find any other articles that shed more light on this. Is this a single dad? If so, how did he get custody?
http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20100330/NEWS01/3300311
Newark man charged with child endangerment
BY JESSIE BALMERT • Advocate Reporter • March 30, 2010
NEWARK -- Bond was set at $100,000 for a Newark man who police say physically abused a 3-year-old child.
Tyler J. Roberts, 23, last known address 263 Union St., Apt. C, Newark, was charged with endangering children, a second-degree felony, after a doctor found bruising on the boy inconsistent with an accidental fall.
On March 19, Newark police were contacted about a 3-year-old boy who had substantial bruising to his face, back, chest and buttocks, as well as a broken wrist, according to the affidavit for his arrest.
The boy was left with Roberts while the child's father was at work. Roberts left the father a message that the boy had fallen on a coffee table, according to the affidavit.
When a relative picked up the child, she decided the injuries were serious enough to take the boy to the doctor for an examination, according to the affidavit.
The doctor determined the injuries were not caused by falling into a coffee table but by physical abuse, according to the affidavit.
Newark police interviewed Roberts, and he denied abuse. Roberts was scheduled for a stress test Friday, but he canceled the appointment Thursday, according to court records.
A warrant for his arrest was issued Friday, and he was arrested Saturday. Roberts remains in the Licking County Justice Center on the $100,000 bond set by Licking County Municipal Court Judge David Branstool.
The case will be heard by a Licking County grand jury for possible indictment. Roberts' criminal history includes a conviction for complicity to commit burglary in 2006 and diversion for an unlawful sexual conduct with a minor charge in 2007.
And speaking of the mother, where is the mom in all this? There is not one word about her in this article AT ALL. And I'm not able to find any other articles that shed more light on this. Is this a single dad? If so, how did he get custody?
http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20100330/NEWS01/3300311
Newark man charged with child endangerment
BY JESSIE BALMERT • Advocate Reporter • March 30, 2010
NEWARK -- Bond was set at $100,000 for a Newark man who police say physically abused a 3-year-old child.
Tyler J. Roberts, 23, last known address 263 Union St., Apt. C, Newark, was charged with endangering children, a second-degree felony, after a doctor found bruising on the boy inconsistent with an accidental fall.
On March 19, Newark police were contacted about a 3-year-old boy who had substantial bruising to his face, back, chest and buttocks, as well as a broken wrist, according to the affidavit for his arrest.
The boy was left with Roberts while the child's father was at work. Roberts left the father a message that the boy had fallen on a coffee table, according to the affidavit.
When a relative picked up the child, she decided the injuries were serious enough to take the boy to the doctor for an examination, according to the affidavit.
The doctor determined the injuries were not caused by falling into a coffee table but by physical abuse, according to the affidavit.
Newark police interviewed Roberts, and he denied abuse. Roberts was scheduled for a stress test Friday, but he canceled the appointment Thursday, according to court records.
A warrant for his arrest was issued Friday, and he was arrested Saturday. Roberts remains in the Licking County Justice Center on the $100,000 bond set by Licking County Municipal Court Judge David Branstool.
The case will be heard by a Licking County grand jury for possible indictment. Roberts' criminal history includes a conviction for complicity to commit burglary in 2006 and diversion for an unlawful sexual conduct with a minor charge in 2007.
Man on trial for murdering 5 men; killer product of abusive father home (Raleigh, North Carolina)
You'll often hear fathers rights people misinterpret the data on "fatherless homes" in order to blame single mothers for all the criminals in prison. Actually, many studies have clearly identified severe child abuse, especially by abusive fathers, as a major risk factor, especially for very violent crimes like serial murder:
It is usually the sadistically disciplinarian father that pops up in the serial killer’s family tree. John Gacy’s dad berated his son, calling him a sissy, queer, and a failure. A violent alcoholic, Gacy’s father beat his mother, and shot his son’s dog to punish the child. When Gacy later strangled his young victims, he encouraged them to stay brave while facing death, just as he had experienced when he was a child. “Through this ritual, Gacy sought to reassert his own vision of a masculine identity that had been squashed down by his father,” wrote Joel Norris (52-56). Albert De Salvo’s father would bring home prostitutes and brutally beat his mother, breaking her fingers one by one as young boy helplessly watched. His father also sold his son off as a slave to a farmer in Maine, while his mother went frantically searching for him for six months, a story that has been confirmed by family friends and social workers. De Salvo stated, “he’d always smash me across the back with a pipe. I didn’t move fast enough.” These examples are minor in comparison to the majority of incidents documented by investigators and experts (Williams 2). Most of these fall back on the child not only being ridiculed and physically beaten, but the violence surrounding them involving other family members had a horrendous effect on them (Williams 2).
Norris, Joel. “Serial Killers”. Pages- 4, 8-12, 52-56. 1996.
Williams, Colin and Seaman, David. “The Serial Killers: A Study in the Psychology of Violence” Virgin Publishing, 1997.
SAMUEL JAMES COOPER is currently on trial for the shooting deaths of 5 unrelated men. So this isn't the kind of case we normally post at Dastardly Dads. But then the fathers rights people are going to ignore this case too, because it's not the kind of case they want to acknowledge. In fact, most murdered men are murdered by other men. Not psycho girlfriends or wives in domestic violence situations And because of this fact, the fathers rights people will overlook the lives of these five dead men and why this socipathic killer murdered them.
The fathers rights people will also ignore the family background that lead to this orgy of violence. Which is that Cooper had an abusive father of the worst type--the deliberately violent psychopath. In fact, it's too bad that Cooper wasn't raised by a single mother. But then, it sounds like she and the entire family would have been slaughtered if they had crossed this guy.
Interesting irony here. The fathers rights people promote the very home situations that will lead to more innocent men in the future being killed by the damaged sociopathic sons that emerge from those homes. Ponder that for a while if you can.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/7329643/
Psychiatrist testifies in Cooper murder trial
Posted: 2:23 p.m. yesterday
Updated: 8:00 p.m. yesterday
Raleigh, N.C. — A forensic psychiatrist testifying Tuesday in the capital murder trial of Samuel James Cooper said the child abuse the defendant suffered at the hands of his father was "ritualistic, sadistic and bizarre" and left him with two mental disorders that could explain why he killed five men.
"When you start looking at some of the characteristics of abuse that occurred in the Cooper household, I've got to tell you, that this is pretty remarkable," George Corvin said.
Cooper's sisters and mother testified Monday to the years of abuse, in which they said Cooper was beaten several times a week, often while his mother and siblings watched helplessly. (Read more about their testimony.)
His father would often beat the children while singing songs, like "Blue Suede Shoes," and have them watch. If they reacted in any way, they would also be beaten, they testified.
"There's some uniquely damaging aspects to the abuse that everybody in that family has described," Corvin said. "It's almost as if – and I'm not suggesting that Mr. Cooper Sr. realized this – that if you want to design a regimen of abuse to do maximum damage to a boy or girl, he did it."
Cooper, 33, is on trial for five counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of
Ossama Haj-Hussein, 43; LeRoy Jernigan, 41; Timothy Barnwell, 34; Ricky High, 48; and Tariq Hussain, 52, over a 17-month period in 2006 and 2007.
Defense attorneys haven't denied that their client is responsible for the killings but have said that his mental condition at the time of the shootings was diminished based on years of his father beating him.
Corvin testified that the years of abuse resulted in Cooper developing complex post-traumatic stress disorder, which can be characterized by anger, isolation and a reluctance to trust others, as well as being preoccupied with the relationship to the abuser – either by taking on a protective role or seeking revenge.
In Cooper's case, that role was that of a protector, Corvin testified.
When police arrested Cooper's father on a charge of possession of a weapon by a felon prior to Cooper's Nov. 26, 2007, confession to police, he did anything he could to negotiate his father's release, Corvin said.
"That's a perfect example why you see individuals act in ways other than you expect. Mr. Cooper, for lack of a better term, sacrificed himself to get his father out of jail," he said.
Cooper also suffers from dissociative disorder, Corvin said, which could also help explain some of his actions at the times of the shootings. His memory of the crimes was sometimes inconsistent with witness statements and he sometimes couldn't understand why he did what he did.
Individually, Corvin said, the statements he made might not have meant much, but collectively, they showed a pattern consistent with dissociation, in which a person acts without full awareness of what he's doing.
"Dissociation isn't either you have it or you don't," he said. "It happens over a continuum."
In presenting its evidence, the state has painted Cooper as a calculated robber who never expressed remorse for the killings and knew exactly what he was doing at the time of the crimes.
He confessed to more than a dozen other robberies in which no one was shot or killed, they argued, and he exercised restraint in other areas of his life where conflicts existed.
But Corvin said Cooper usually tried to present himself as someone who was always in control and aware of what he was doing, even though the results of multiple examinations showed otherwise.
"It isn't that he doesn't possess emotions," Corvin said, adding that Cooper can't manage and cope with them effectively.
Even though he admitted to other robberies without incident, something in the five murder cases was different from the rest, he said.
"Something happened that was beyond his control, something that for whatever reason, with his state of mind, was stressful and spiraling out of control for him," Corvin said.
"Mr. Cooper has lived with one skill set for his entire life, which is if there is a problem, if you encounter difficulties, you either react as violently as necessary to remove your self from the situation, or whoever is causing you the problem will likely do the same to you," he said. "Period. End of story."
It is usually the sadistically disciplinarian father that pops up in the serial killer’s family tree. John Gacy’s dad berated his son, calling him a sissy, queer, and a failure. A violent alcoholic, Gacy’s father beat his mother, and shot his son’s dog to punish the child. When Gacy later strangled his young victims, he encouraged them to stay brave while facing death, just as he had experienced when he was a child. “Through this ritual, Gacy sought to reassert his own vision of a masculine identity that had been squashed down by his father,” wrote Joel Norris (52-56). Albert De Salvo’s father would bring home prostitutes and brutally beat his mother, breaking her fingers one by one as young boy helplessly watched. His father also sold his son off as a slave to a farmer in Maine, while his mother went frantically searching for him for six months, a story that has been confirmed by family friends and social workers. De Salvo stated, “he’d always smash me across the back with a pipe. I didn’t move fast enough.” These examples are minor in comparison to the majority of incidents documented by investigators and experts (Williams 2). Most of these fall back on the child not only being ridiculed and physically beaten, but the violence surrounding them involving other family members had a horrendous effect on them (Williams 2).
Norris, Joel. “Serial Killers”. Pages- 4, 8-12, 52-56. 1996.
Williams, Colin and Seaman, David. “The Serial Killers: A Study in the Psychology of Violence” Virgin Publishing, 1997.
SAMUEL JAMES COOPER is currently on trial for the shooting deaths of 5 unrelated men. So this isn't the kind of case we normally post at Dastardly Dads. But then the fathers rights people are going to ignore this case too, because it's not the kind of case they want to acknowledge. In fact, most murdered men are murdered by other men. Not psycho girlfriends or wives in domestic violence situations And because of this fact, the fathers rights people will overlook the lives of these five dead men and why this socipathic killer murdered them.
The fathers rights people will also ignore the family background that lead to this orgy of violence. Which is that Cooper had an abusive father of the worst type--the deliberately violent psychopath. In fact, it's too bad that Cooper wasn't raised by a single mother. But then, it sounds like she and the entire family would have been slaughtered if they had crossed this guy.
Interesting irony here. The fathers rights people promote the very home situations that will lead to more innocent men in the future being killed by the damaged sociopathic sons that emerge from those homes. Ponder that for a while if you can.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/7329643/
Psychiatrist testifies in Cooper murder trial
Posted: 2:23 p.m. yesterday
Updated: 8:00 p.m. yesterday
Raleigh, N.C. — A forensic psychiatrist testifying Tuesday in the capital murder trial of Samuel James Cooper said the child abuse the defendant suffered at the hands of his father was "ritualistic, sadistic and bizarre" and left him with two mental disorders that could explain why he killed five men.
"When you start looking at some of the characteristics of abuse that occurred in the Cooper household, I've got to tell you, that this is pretty remarkable," George Corvin said.
Cooper's sisters and mother testified Monday to the years of abuse, in which they said Cooper was beaten several times a week, often while his mother and siblings watched helplessly. (Read more about their testimony.)
His father would often beat the children while singing songs, like "Blue Suede Shoes," and have them watch. If they reacted in any way, they would also be beaten, they testified.
"There's some uniquely damaging aspects to the abuse that everybody in that family has described," Corvin said. "It's almost as if – and I'm not suggesting that Mr. Cooper Sr. realized this – that if you want to design a regimen of abuse to do maximum damage to a boy or girl, he did it."
Cooper, 33, is on trial for five counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of
Ossama Haj-Hussein, 43; LeRoy Jernigan, 41; Timothy Barnwell, 34; Ricky High, 48; and Tariq Hussain, 52, over a 17-month period in 2006 and 2007.
Defense attorneys haven't denied that their client is responsible for the killings but have said that his mental condition at the time of the shootings was diminished based on years of his father beating him.
Corvin testified that the years of abuse resulted in Cooper developing complex post-traumatic stress disorder, which can be characterized by anger, isolation and a reluctance to trust others, as well as being preoccupied with the relationship to the abuser – either by taking on a protective role or seeking revenge.
In Cooper's case, that role was that of a protector, Corvin testified.
When police arrested Cooper's father on a charge of possession of a weapon by a felon prior to Cooper's Nov. 26, 2007, confession to police, he did anything he could to negotiate his father's release, Corvin said.
"That's a perfect example why you see individuals act in ways other than you expect. Mr. Cooper, for lack of a better term, sacrificed himself to get his father out of jail," he said.
Cooper also suffers from dissociative disorder, Corvin said, which could also help explain some of his actions at the times of the shootings. His memory of the crimes was sometimes inconsistent with witness statements and he sometimes couldn't understand why he did what he did.
Individually, Corvin said, the statements he made might not have meant much, but collectively, they showed a pattern consistent with dissociation, in which a person acts without full awareness of what he's doing.
"Dissociation isn't either you have it or you don't," he said. "It happens over a continuum."
In presenting its evidence, the state has painted Cooper as a calculated robber who never expressed remorse for the killings and knew exactly what he was doing at the time of the crimes.
He confessed to more than a dozen other robberies in which no one was shot or killed, they argued, and he exercised restraint in other areas of his life where conflicts existed.
But Corvin said Cooper usually tried to present himself as someone who was always in control and aware of what he was doing, even though the results of multiple examinations showed otherwise.
"It isn't that he doesn't possess emotions," Corvin said, adding that Cooper can't manage and cope with them effectively.
Even though he admitted to other robberies without incident, something in the five murder cases was different from the rest, he said.
"Something happened that was beyond his control, something that for whatever reason, with his state of mind, was stressful and spiraling out of control for him," Corvin said.
"Mr. Cooper has lived with one skill set for his entire life, which is if there is a problem, if you encounter difficulties, you either react as violently as necessary to remove your self from the situation, or whoever is causing you the problem will likely do the same to you," he said. "Period. End of story."
Dad filmed himself raping infant daughter; sentenced to life in prison (Abbots Langley, England, United Kingdom)
The English seldom hand out life sentences. You have to be pretty scummy to get that. Seems UNNAMED DAD fit the bill though, as this guy actually used his mobile phone (cell phone) to film himself raping his infant daughter. That's not even going in to all the other child porn in his possession.
http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/6111446.Father_who_raped_young_daughter_jailed_for_life/
Abbots Langley dad filmed himself on mobile phone
1:19pm Wednesday 31st March 2010
A father who filmed himself on his mobile phone raping his baby daughter has been jailed for life.
When police first began investigating the 29-year-old they believed they had caught someone downloading child pornography.
However, from clothes worn by the baby girl and the locations, police realised they were witnessing the sexual abuse of the defendant’s daughter when she was less than a year old.
Ann Evans, prosecuting at St Albans Crown Court today (Wednesday) said forensic analysis of the father’s computer and mobile phone led to the charges of rape and other child sex offences, including possession of thousands of indecent images, making indecent images, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and possession of extreme pornographic images.
The father had even named a folder found on a computer in his bedroom with the pet name he and his partner used for their child.
Miss Evans said: “During questioning over the child pornography he said he had not done anything to a child and so should not be given the same label as a paedophile.
“When he realised he was going to have his own child he said the thought of someone doing that to his child meant the guilt overwhelmed him.
“He said he could not take the pictures himself as he would ‘probably be sick on the camera’.”
“But pictures were taken by him on his own mobile phone as he raped his daughter, who was less than one-year-old at the time.”
In an impact statement Miss Evans read to the court, the baby’s mother spoke of her “guilt” at leaving the baby alone with its father.
“I would do anything to protect her and cannot describe the guilt I feel.
“I think if only I had not gone out and left my little girl with him.
“But the one person she should be able to trust is her dad,” she said.
David Wales said in mitigation that when his partner became pregnant the couple were socially isolated.
They had few interests in common and they became isolated in themselves, which led to the defendant “experiencing aspects of his personality” that may have otherwise remained dormant.
The defendant sat impassively in the dock as Judge Stephen Gullick sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Judge Gullick said: “This was conduct of horrifying depravity committed against your own natural daughter.
“Your basic duty as a father was to protect her, not to abuse her and use her as a sex toy for your own sexual gratification.
“Gratification which could doubtless be repeated by being able to look, as often as you wished at photographs you had taken of her being abused by you; photographs which you stored on your own laptop.”
He added: “There are no words to express the horror which heinous offending such as this generates, particularly given that your victim was the most vulnerable that could be imagined.”
The defendant was told his release will only come when the authorities are satisfied he is no longer a danger to the public.
He showed no emotion as he was led away to begin his sentence.
http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/6111446.Father_who_raped_young_daughter_jailed_for_life/
Abbots Langley dad filmed himself on mobile phone
1:19pm Wednesday 31st March 2010
A father who filmed himself on his mobile phone raping his baby daughter has been jailed for life.
When police first began investigating the 29-year-old they believed they had caught someone downloading child pornography.
However, from clothes worn by the baby girl and the locations, police realised they were witnessing the sexual abuse of the defendant’s daughter when she was less than a year old.
Ann Evans, prosecuting at St Albans Crown Court today (Wednesday) said forensic analysis of the father’s computer and mobile phone led to the charges of rape and other child sex offences, including possession of thousands of indecent images, making indecent images, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and possession of extreme pornographic images.
The father had even named a folder found on a computer in his bedroom with the pet name he and his partner used for their child.
Miss Evans said: “During questioning over the child pornography he said he had not done anything to a child and so should not be given the same label as a paedophile.
“When he realised he was going to have his own child he said the thought of someone doing that to his child meant the guilt overwhelmed him.
“He said he could not take the pictures himself as he would ‘probably be sick on the camera’.”
“But pictures were taken by him on his own mobile phone as he raped his daughter, who was less than one-year-old at the time.”
In an impact statement Miss Evans read to the court, the baby’s mother spoke of her “guilt” at leaving the baby alone with its father.
“I would do anything to protect her and cannot describe the guilt I feel.
“I think if only I had not gone out and left my little girl with him.
“But the one person she should be able to trust is her dad,” she said.
David Wales said in mitigation that when his partner became pregnant the couple were socially isolated.
They had few interests in common and they became isolated in themselves, which led to the defendant “experiencing aspects of his personality” that may have otherwise remained dormant.
The defendant sat impassively in the dock as Judge Stephen Gullick sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Judge Gullick said: “This was conduct of horrifying depravity committed against your own natural daughter.
“Your basic duty as a father was to protect her, not to abuse her and use her as a sex toy for your own sexual gratification.
“Gratification which could doubtless be repeated by being able to look, as often as you wished at photographs you had taken of her being abused by you; photographs which you stored on your own laptop.”
He added: “There are no words to express the horror which heinous offending such as this generates, particularly given that your victim was the most vulnerable that could be imagined.”
The defendant was told his release will only come when the authorities are satisfied he is no longer a danger to the public.
He showed no emotion as he was led away to begin his sentence.
Dad leaves baby in car for 2 hours while "at the post office" (West Palm Beach, Florida)
Dad SEVEN EMEKA EZUMBA is charged with child abuse after leaving his 7-month-old son in a parked car while he went to the post office. The baby was hospitalized after it was found he had an elevated temperature and was in distress.
I wasn't even going to post on this article at first. Figured it was one of those clueless dads, rather than a dastardly dad. But then I started thinking about it. Dad's cover story doesn't even make sense. Dad says he was at the post office for two hours??? Do you know anybody who's ever spent two hours at the post office? Have you? Even when you need to get a package postmarked by 5 PM and there's a line? I have never spent more than 15 minutes in a post office. Tops.
Something is fishy here.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-child-in-car-brf-20100330,0,5848756.story
Father leaves baby in car while at West Palm Beach post office, deputies say
By Erika Pesantes, Sun Sentinel
7:15 a.m. EDT, March 31, 2010
A father left his 7-month-old son inside a parked car outside a West Palm Beach post office for about two hours Tuesday and was charged with child abuse, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.
Seven Emeka Ezumba, 22, went to the post office in the 3200 block of Summit Boulevard at about 1:30 p.m. and left his baby behind in his car with one of the windows down about 3 inches.
The child was found with an elevated temperature and in distress and was transported to Palms West Hospital. He is expected to survive, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera.
Ezumba told investigators that he was at the post office for about two hours and had been checking on the infant regularly.
I wasn't even going to post on this article at first. Figured it was one of those clueless dads, rather than a dastardly dad. But then I started thinking about it. Dad's cover story doesn't even make sense. Dad says he was at the post office for two hours??? Do you know anybody who's ever spent two hours at the post office? Have you? Even when you need to get a package postmarked by 5 PM and there's a line? I have never spent more than 15 minutes in a post office. Tops.
Something is fishy here.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-child-in-car-brf-20100330,0,5848756.story
Father leaves baby in car while at West Palm Beach post office, deputies say
By Erika Pesantes, Sun Sentinel
7:15 a.m. EDT, March 31, 2010
A father left his 7-month-old son inside a parked car outside a West Palm Beach post office for about two hours Tuesday and was charged with child abuse, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.
Seven Emeka Ezumba, 22, went to the post office in the 3200 block of Summit Boulevard at about 1:30 p.m. and left his baby behind in his car with one of the windows down about 3 inches.
The child was found with an elevated temperature and in distress and was transported to Palms West Hospital. He is expected to survive, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera.
Ezumba told investigators that he was at the post office for about two hours and had been checking on the infant regularly.
Dad charged with sexually abusing, killing 3-month-old daughter (Poughkeepsie, New York)
We've posted on dad WILLIAM C. TATE Jr. before. He has now been arraigned on 4 counts of murder, 2 counts of sexual assault against a child, and one count of aggravated sexual abuse. He's accused of sexually assaulting and killing his 3-month-old daughter at home.
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=12231781
Father charged with sexually abusing, killing baby daughter
Associated Press - March 31, 2010 3:15 AM ET
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (AP) - A 29-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting and killing his 3-month-old daughter at his home in Dutchess County.
William C. Tate Jr. of Amenia was arraigned in Dutchess County Court Tuesday on four counts of murder, two counts of sexual assault against a child, and one count of aggravated sexual abuse.
His lawyer, Assistant Public Defender George Hazel, entered not guilty pleas.
Tate is accused of sexually assaulting baby Reese Tate and killing her with "blunt force trauma" on the night of Feb. 3 in their home. An autopsy showed the baby's injuries included a broken rib, swelling of the brain, and multiple internal injuries.
Tate is in jail without bail pending his next court appearance April 13.
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=12231781
Father charged with sexually abusing, killing baby daughter
Associated Press - March 31, 2010 3:15 AM ET
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (AP) - A 29-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting and killing his 3-month-old daughter at his home in Dutchess County.
William C. Tate Jr. of Amenia was arraigned in Dutchess County Court Tuesday on four counts of murder, two counts of sexual assault against a child, and one count of aggravated sexual abuse.
His lawyer, Assistant Public Defender George Hazel, entered not guilty pleas.
Tate is accused of sexually assaulting baby Reese Tate and killing her with "blunt force trauma" on the night of Feb. 3 in their home. An autopsy showed the baby's injuries included a broken rib, swelling of the brain, and multiple internal injuries.
Tate is in jail without bail pending his next court appearance April 13.
Liberian teenager pleads guilty in rape case (Phoenix, Arizona)
You may remember us reporting on this case a few months ago. It involves the 8-year-old girl who was gang-raped--who was then "allegedly" rejected by her father (who is unnamed here) for bringing "shame" on the family. Here's the latest update: one of the teenagers accused in the attack has pleaded guilty to rape.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/30/2644879/liberian-teen-pleads-guilty-in.html
Liberian teenager pleads guilty in rape case
The Associated Press The Sacramento Bee
Published: Tuesday, Mar. 30, 2010 - 7:13 pm
Last Modified: Tuesday, Mar. 30, 2010 - 7:58 pm
PHOENIX -- A teenage Liberian refugee charged in the gang-rape of an 8-year-old girl in Phoenix last summer pleaded guilty in the case Tuesday, authorities said.
Maricopa County prosecutors said the 15-year-old boy, who was transferred from adult court to juvenile court last week, pleaded guilty to sexual assault, kidnapping, three counts of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of attempted sexual conduct with a minor. He will remain in detention until an April 27 hearing.
The Associated Press is not naming the teen because of his age. He was 14 at the time of the July assault and had been the only one of four boys charged as an adult. All the children involved are refugees from the war-torn West African nation of Liberia.
Prosecutors said the girl was lured July 16 to an empty storage shed at a west Phoenix apartment complex with the promise of chewing gum. The oldest boy admitted holding the victim down while he and three other boys - ages 9, 10 and 13 - sexually assaulted the girl, according to authorities.
Defense attorneys for the 15-year-old said the boy most likely will be sent to a residential treatment center with 24-hour supervision for a year or more. Prosecutors said he could have faced more than 25 years in prison if convicted as an adult in the case.
Authorities said juveniles are not given fixed prison sentences, and instead are constantly evaluated on whether they should be released, maintained in treatment facilities or sent to a juvenile corrections facility. When they turn 18, they age out of the system and must be released, although the boy still could be forced to register as a sex offender until he turns 25.
The youngest of the boys accused in the case already has been deemed incompetent to stand trial. His charges were dropped, but he remains in foster care. The other two boys still are charged in juvenile court and are taking lessons designed to make them competent to stand trial.
The case prompted an international outcry after police reported the girl's father said she brought shame on the family and he didn't want her back - comments a family pastor later said were misunderstood because of a language barrier.
State child welfare officials have custody of the girl. Her 59-year-old father and 47-year-old mother were each charged in November with eight child abuse counts for abuse and neglect reports dating back to 2005.
Liberians worldwide are watching the case, and many are concerned about how they will be perceived because of the attack. Rape was a common practice during the country's 14 years of civil war, but Liberia now has some of the strictest laws against the crime in all of Africa.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/30/2644879/liberian-teen-pleads-guilty-in.html#ixzz0jlnYwKlQ
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/30/2644879/liberian-teen-pleads-guilty-in.html
Liberian teenager pleads guilty in rape case
The Associated Press The Sacramento Bee
Published: Tuesday, Mar. 30, 2010 - 7:13 pm
Last Modified: Tuesday, Mar. 30, 2010 - 7:58 pm
PHOENIX -- A teenage Liberian refugee charged in the gang-rape of an 8-year-old girl in Phoenix last summer pleaded guilty in the case Tuesday, authorities said.
Maricopa County prosecutors said the 15-year-old boy, who was transferred from adult court to juvenile court last week, pleaded guilty to sexual assault, kidnapping, three counts of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of attempted sexual conduct with a minor. He will remain in detention until an April 27 hearing.
The Associated Press is not naming the teen because of his age. He was 14 at the time of the July assault and had been the only one of four boys charged as an adult. All the children involved are refugees from the war-torn West African nation of Liberia.
Prosecutors said the girl was lured July 16 to an empty storage shed at a west Phoenix apartment complex with the promise of chewing gum. The oldest boy admitted holding the victim down while he and three other boys - ages 9, 10 and 13 - sexually assaulted the girl, according to authorities.
Defense attorneys for the 15-year-old said the boy most likely will be sent to a residential treatment center with 24-hour supervision for a year or more. Prosecutors said he could have faced more than 25 years in prison if convicted as an adult in the case.
Authorities said juveniles are not given fixed prison sentences, and instead are constantly evaluated on whether they should be released, maintained in treatment facilities or sent to a juvenile corrections facility. When they turn 18, they age out of the system and must be released, although the boy still could be forced to register as a sex offender until he turns 25.
The youngest of the boys accused in the case already has been deemed incompetent to stand trial. His charges were dropped, but he remains in foster care. The other two boys still are charged in juvenile court and are taking lessons designed to make them competent to stand trial.
The case prompted an international outcry after police reported the girl's father said she brought shame on the family and he didn't want her back - comments a family pastor later said were misunderstood because of a language barrier.
State child welfare officials have custody of the girl. Her 59-year-old father and 47-year-old mother were each charged in November with eight child abuse counts for abuse and neglect reports dating back to 2005.
Liberians worldwide are watching the case, and many are concerned about how they will be perceived because of the attack. Rape was a common practice during the country's 14 years of civil war, but Liberia now has some of the strictest laws against the crime in all of Africa.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/30/2644879/liberian-teen-pleads-guilty-in.html#ixzz0jlnYwKlQ
Dad indicted on aggravated murder charge in smothering death of newborn daughter (Washington County, Ohio)
Dad LANDON C. EVANS has been indicted for killing his newborn daughter and then burning the body. This sh** is also accused of beating his underage "girlfriend" in the hopes of inducing a miscarriage.
http://www.mariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/520720.html
Details emerge in baby’s case
Grand jury indicts man on 7 felony counts including murder
By Kate York, kyork@mariettatimes.com
POSTED: March 31, 2010
The former Washington County resident indicted Tuesday for allegedly killing his newborn daughter apparently tried several times to induce a miscarriage before the child was born.
Landon C. Evans, 26, who lived most recently in Lake County, Fla., and is now incarcerated at the Washington County Jail, was indicted by a Washington County Grand Jury on seven felony counts related to the June 2008 killing, including aggravated murder, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Evans is accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage girl that resulted in a pregnancy, helping deliver the baby at a Marietta motel and then killing the infant and burning the body.
Washington County Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Rings said Tuesday that Evans wanted to kill the baby to cover up the sex crime and had tried on several occasions to terminate the pregnancy.
"At one time he had the (15-year-old) girl stand up and he struck her as violently as he could in the stomach repeatedly," said Rings. "He also checked on the Internet to find herbs that could be taken that might lead to a spontaneous miscarriage."
Investigators believe Evans ultimately smothered the baby after she was born. The child was first buried, but later exhumed and burned in a remote location, all due to concern about DNA testing, said Rings.
"He was concerned about the body being available for DNA testing and being found to be the father," said Rings. "After they buried it, he was then concerned that someone had seen them or that the body might not stay covered and it could still be tested so they... built a campfire and burned it."
Evans, one of 24 people to be indicted Tuesday, is expected to be arraigned on the charges April 7. He potentially faces the death penalty for the crimes but prosecutors have not said yet whether that will be pursued.
A second person has been charged in the case in Washington County Juvenile Court but the name and charge has not been released.
The investigation into the murder began in December when the baby's mother, now 18 and incarcerated at the Washington County Juvenile Center on unrelated charges, told authorities about the death.
http://www.mariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/520720.html
Details emerge in baby’s case
Grand jury indicts man on 7 felony counts including murder
By Kate York, kyork@mariettatimes.com
POSTED: March 31, 2010
The former Washington County resident indicted Tuesday for allegedly killing his newborn daughter apparently tried several times to induce a miscarriage before the child was born.
Landon C. Evans, 26, who lived most recently in Lake County, Fla., and is now incarcerated at the Washington County Jail, was indicted by a Washington County Grand Jury on seven felony counts related to the June 2008 killing, including aggravated murder, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Evans is accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage girl that resulted in a pregnancy, helping deliver the baby at a Marietta motel and then killing the infant and burning the body.
Washington County Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Rings said Tuesday that Evans wanted to kill the baby to cover up the sex crime and had tried on several occasions to terminate the pregnancy.
"At one time he had the (15-year-old) girl stand up and he struck her as violently as he could in the stomach repeatedly," said Rings. "He also checked on the Internet to find herbs that could be taken that might lead to a spontaneous miscarriage."
Investigators believe Evans ultimately smothered the baby after she was born. The child was first buried, but later exhumed and burned in a remote location, all due to concern about DNA testing, said Rings.
"He was concerned about the body being available for DNA testing and being found to be the father," said Rings. "After they buried it, he was then concerned that someone had seen them or that the body might not stay covered and it could still be tested so they... built a campfire and burned it."
Evans, one of 24 people to be indicted Tuesday, is expected to be arraigned on the charges April 7. He potentially faces the death penalty for the crimes but prosecutors have not said yet whether that will be pursued.
A second person has been charged in the case in Washington County Juvenile Court but the name and charge has not been released.
The investigation into the murder began in December when the baby's mother, now 18 and incarcerated at the Washington County Juvenile Center on unrelated charges, told authorities about the death.
The violence of a recession: Closing off options for women in abusive relationships
Good post from Daisy Hernandez at the ColorLines newsmagazine.
I do think we need to be careful when we talk about "economic abuse," though. The bad economy doesn't "cause" domestic violence, though many casual observers talk as if it does. What a bad economy does is cut off options for abused women and children--which Hernandez rightly points out. The abuse was already there. However, I also think that we need to acknowledge that increased violence against women and children is just as much an "economic issue" as the unemployment or foreclosure rate.
The point that Hernandez makes about domestic violence statistics NOT being released every month like the economic data is VERY IMPORTANT. Data is NOT neutral. It tells a lot about social priorities when certain "facts" are regularly pulled out, processed, and analyzed to death in the news media, while other "facts" are seldom acknowledged and are frequently buried.
http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=700
The Violence of a Recession
By Daisy Hernández
Our economic crisis is about a lot more than lost jobs and evaporating 401Ks. It’s closing off options for women in abusive relationships.
March 31, 2010
Today marks the end of Women’s History Month and I spent these last couple of weeks at colleges across the country talking about feminism, racial justice and media. From Michigan to Florida to Minnesota, I heard students debate what activism looks like for their generation while fielding their questions about immigration and hearing their fears that when graduation comes they might not find a job.
The conversation that stayed with me though took place in Michigan, a state where the economy has imploded spectacularly.
A student at Eastern Michigan University, Laura Hoehner, 24, works part-time counseling women who are getting beat up by their boyfriends or husbands. Sometimes the violence is physical; always it’s emotional and psychological. Increasingly, she says, it’s economic.
“He has the job; she doesn’t. She has to ask for an allowance,” says Laura. “He gives her X amount for groceries. He’s the dad in the picture.”
She points to one of her clients as an example. The woman had given birth to the couple’s first child and her partner’s family gave him $300 to help with groceries. But her partner, who received the cash, lied and said it was only $100, only enough to buy milk, eggs, juice and a Swifter mop. The new mom was left to dip into what money she had to provide groceries for the family of three. Money had become one more weapon for the abuser.
Advocates call it “economic abuse” and it’s part of the rise in domestic violence that they report happening nationwide in this recession. The last data available on the issue is a 2004 report by the National Institute of Justice, an agency of the Department of Justice, which found that when unemployment rates go up among men so does violence against women. This is of particular significance for Black and Latino communities where unemployment rates are in the double digits.
Stats on domestic violence though aren’t released every month along with unemployment data. As such, we’re trained to place the major issues of the day into their little silos: Women’s rights over here. Job issues over there. Health care to the left and the war in Afghanistan to the right. But the stories Laura shared with me suggest that if we don’t pay attention to the so-called women’s issues then our chances at a real economic recovery are nil because creating more Dunkin Donuts-type jobs isn’t going to save women (or anyone else for that matter).
Last month, for example, our ColorLines video team released a half hour TV show on race and the economy. In it, Tisha, a single Black mom in Connecticut, spoke about reaching a point where she had to go back to her child’s father, an abusive partner. In one of the show’s most poignant moments, she said she felt she had no other option because she knew he could help pay the bills.
Low-wage jobs—in the absence of access to higher education, child care and a political education—simply keeps women vulnerable.
In Michigan, one of Laura’s clients left her abuser and moved in with a sister. Now that her sister’s losing her house in a foreclosure, the young woman is trying to decide if she should go back to the abusive ex or move to a shelter.
And then there’s the safety plan.
Safety plans are what advocates create with women in domestic violence situations. The idea is to have a plan in place for when a woman is ready to leave. This can mean putting an extra set of keys, copies of birth certificates and clothes in a safe spot like the trunk of the car. Ideally of course it means putting aside any little bit of money, a task that’s hard with low-wage jobs and impossible when those jobs disappear.
These problems won’t go away because Walmart or Starbucks start opening more stores and hiring more people. As Siobhan Brooks wrote in a ColorLines essay years ago, when she took part in union negotiations she realized she had never thought of making demands on any system. It was a classic moment of the feminist personal is political ethos, of realizing that what a person can fight for at work is closely tied to what they believe they can have in their personal lives. And men need this just as much.
The year my own father started working as a janitor after almost two decades in manufacturing as a union member, he seemed to come undone in new ways, snapping at me when I just asked about his work. I don’t think it was that cleaning other people’s dirty plates alone hurt his self-esteem, although clearly it did, but it was also that there was no collective work, no union, no organizing, no sense that he could do anything about what was happening.
In the end, economic problems, as well as domestic violence, are expansive and complex. If our solutions are going to last—and if we really want to honor the histories of the women who’ve come before—then we need to step outside the silos and start thinking about these problems in ways that are much more intricate.
I do think we need to be careful when we talk about "economic abuse," though. The bad economy doesn't "cause" domestic violence, though many casual observers talk as if it does. What a bad economy does is cut off options for abused women and children--which Hernandez rightly points out. The abuse was already there. However, I also think that we need to acknowledge that increased violence against women and children is just as much an "economic issue" as the unemployment or foreclosure rate.
The point that Hernandez makes about domestic violence statistics NOT being released every month like the economic data is VERY IMPORTANT. Data is NOT neutral. It tells a lot about social priorities when certain "facts" are regularly pulled out, processed, and analyzed to death in the news media, while other "facts" are seldom acknowledged and are frequently buried.
http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=700
The Violence of a Recession
By Daisy Hernández
Our economic crisis is about a lot more than lost jobs and evaporating 401Ks. It’s closing off options for women in abusive relationships.
March 31, 2010
Today marks the end of Women’s History Month and I spent these last couple of weeks at colleges across the country talking about feminism, racial justice and media. From Michigan to Florida to Minnesota, I heard students debate what activism looks like for their generation while fielding their questions about immigration and hearing their fears that when graduation comes they might not find a job.
The conversation that stayed with me though took place in Michigan, a state where the economy has imploded spectacularly.
A student at Eastern Michigan University, Laura Hoehner, 24, works part-time counseling women who are getting beat up by their boyfriends or husbands. Sometimes the violence is physical; always it’s emotional and psychological. Increasingly, she says, it’s economic.
“He has the job; she doesn’t. She has to ask for an allowance,” says Laura. “He gives her X amount for groceries. He’s the dad in the picture.”
She points to one of her clients as an example. The woman had given birth to the couple’s first child and her partner’s family gave him $300 to help with groceries. But her partner, who received the cash, lied and said it was only $100, only enough to buy milk, eggs, juice and a Swifter mop. The new mom was left to dip into what money she had to provide groceries for the family of three. Money had become one more weapon for the abuser.
Advocates call it “economic abuse” and it’s part of the rise in domestic violence that they report happening nationwide in this recession. The last data available on the issue is a 2004 report by the National Institute of Justice, an agency of the Department of Justice, which found that when unemployment rates go up among men so does violence against women. This is of particular significance for Black and Latino communities where unemployment rates are in the double digits.
Stats on domestic violence though aren’t released every month along with unemployment data. As such, we’re trained to place the major issues of the day into their little silos: Women’s rights over here. Job issues over there. Health care to the left and the war in Afghanistan to the right. But the stories Laura shared with me suggest that if we don’t pay attention to the so-called women’s issues then our chances at a real economic recovery are nil because creating more Dunkin Donuts-type jobs isn’t going to save women (or anyone else for that matter).
Last month, for example, our ColorLines video team released a half hour TV show on race and the economy. In it, Tisha, a single Black mom in Connecticut, spoke about reaching a point where she had to go back to her child’s father, an abusive partner. In one of the show’s most poignant moments, she said she felt she had no other option because she knew he could help pay the bills.
Low-wage jobs—in the absence of access to higher education, child care and a political education—simply keeps women vulnerable.
In Michigan, one of Laura’s clients left her abuser and moved in with a sister. Now that her sister’s losing her house in a foreclosure, the young woman is trying to decide if she should go back to the abusive ex or move to a shelter.
And then there’s the safety plan.
Safety plans are what advocates create with women in domestic violence situations. The idea is to have a plan in place for when a woman is ready to leave. This can mean putting an extra set of keys, copies of birth certificates and clothes in a safe spot like the trunk of the car. Ideally of course it means putting aside any little bit of money, a task that’s hard with low-wage jobs and impossible when those jobs disappear.
These problems won’t go away because Walmart or Starbucks start opening more stores and hiring more people. As Siobhan Brooks wrote in a ColorLines essay years ago, when she took part in union negotiations she realized she had never thought of making demands on any system. It was a classic moment of the feminist personal is political ethos, of realizing that what a person can fight for at work is closely tied to what they believe they can have in their personal lives. And men need this just as much.
The year my own father started working as a janitor after almost two decades in manufacturing as a union member, he seemed to come undone in new ways, snapping at me when I just asked about his work. I don’t think it was that cleaning other people’s dirty plates alone hurt his self-esteem, although clearly it did, but it was also that there was no collective work, no union, no organizing, no sense that he could do anything about what was happening.
In the end, economic problems, as well as domestic violence, are expansive and complex. If our solutions are going to last—and if we really want to honor the histories of the women who’ve come before—then we need to step outside the silos and start thinking about these problems in ways that are much more intricate.
New snapshot of domestic violence services: in one 24 hour period, 7 U.S. children murdered by their fathers in dv homicides
Another repost of an article from the Speaking Up newsletter (full citation in the post immediately below this one). Dastardly readers may be interested to know that just within the 24-hour survey day of September 15, 2009, 7 children were murdered by their fathers in domestic violence homicides. Make sure you see the full report (link below).
NEW SNAPSHOT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICES
In one 24-hour period, more than 65,000 victims of domestic violence and their children received life-saving services from local domestic violence programs; domestic violence experts answered more than 23,000 emergency hotline calls; but 9,280 requests for services went unmet, largely due to lack of funding. These are the results of the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s (NNEDV’s) 24-hour survey of domestic violence programs across the United States. NNEDV released the report on March 8, International Women’s Day.
For the past four years, NNEDV has conducted a 24-hour survey of domestic violence programs across the county. The latest survey day was September 15, 2009, which saw two women miscarry as a result of domestic violence, seven babies born to mothers living in shelters, and seven children murdered by their fathers in domestic violence homicides.
The report finds that, “For victims of domestic violence, in these difficult economic times, barriers to leaving abusive relationships increase and opportunities to attain economic stability and independence decrease. Domestic violence programs have always worked incredibly hard to provide safety and resources for victims, but the economic recession has made it harder to do that work.”
“Especially on International Women’s Day, it is a testament to the selfless women who serve domestic violence survivors that so many victims reached out for services,” said NNEDV President Sue Else. “Despite the economic downturn, it is truly amazing that victim advocates with ever-tightening budgets helped so many people in one day alone.”
“Year after year, we see staggering numbers of victims and their children who experience traumatic abuse and find support from local domestic violence shelters and programs,” said NNEDV Vice President of Development & Innovation Cindy Southworth. “We hope this survey will help people better understand domestic violence and inspire them to take action.”
Of the 1,980 local programs NNEDV identified, 83 percent (1,648) participated in the survey. The full report is available here
NEW SNAPSHOT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICES
In one 24-hour period, more than 65,000 victims of domestic violence and their children received life-saving services from local domestic violence programs; domestic violence experts answered more than 23,000 emergency hotline calls; but 9,280 requests for services went unmet, largely due to lack of funding. These are the results of the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s (NNEDV’s) 24-hour survey of domestic violence programs across the United States. NNEDV released the report on March 8, International Women’s Day.
For the past four years, NNEDV has conducted a 24-hour survey of domestic violence programs across the county. The latest survey day was September 15, 2009, which saw two women miscarry as a result of domestic violence, seven babies born to mothers living in shelters, and seven children murdered by their fathers in domestic violence homicides.
The report finds that, “For victims of domestic violence, in these difficult economic times, barriers to leaving abusive relationships increase and opportunities to attain economic stability and independence decrease. Domestic violence programs have always worked incredibly hard to provide safety and resources for victims, but the economic recession has made it harder to do that work.”
“Especially on International Women’s Day, it is a testament to the selfless women who serve domestic violence survivors that so many victims reached out for services,” said NNEDV President Sue Else. “Despite the economic downturn, it is truly amazing that victim advocates with ever-tightening budgets helped so many people in one day alone.”
“Year after year, we see staggering numbers of victims and their children who experience traumatic abuse and find support from local domestic violence shelters and programs,” said NNEDV Vice President of Development & Innovation Cindy Southworth. “We hope this survey will help people better understand domestic violence and inspire them to take action.”
Of the 1,980 local programs NNEDV identified, 83 percent (1,648) participated in the survey. The full report is available here
Survey: Family violence victims not getting help from TANF
Just got a copy of the Speak Up, which is a newsletter produced by the Family Violence Prevention Fund. Additional information on the newsletter is below.
March 30, 2010 Vol. 16, Issue 4
Speaking Up is a project of the Family Violence Prevention Fund. Produced by PR Solutions, Inc., Washington, DC. Phone: 202/371 1999; Fax: 202/371 9142;
E-mail: speakingup@prsolutionsdc.com
This newsletter is just a wealth of information, so I'm going to try to repost a couple of pieces from it, just so some of this research hopefully reaches a larger audience. This particular piece is on domestic violence and TANF is especially important. I have highlighted some of the points that I found particularly interesting.
FAMILY VIOLENCE VICTIMS NOT GETTING HELP THEY NEED FROM TANF PROGRAMS, SURVEY FINDS
Bureaucratic black holes, indifferent or hostile staff members, inadequate benefits, and shortsighted procedures and policies are preventing many family violence victims from getting the resources they need to escape abuse from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. That is according to a national survey of service providers released on March 17.
Not Enough: What TANF Offers Family Violence Victims was produced by Legal Momentum and the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV). The survey on which it is based is a unique, comprehensive effort to understand when TANF successfully assists victims of family violence, and when the program falls short. Some 600 staff members from domestic violence programs, legal aid and anti-poverty agencies who work with victims on TANF-related issues completed the survey in late 2009.
When TANF works well, it makes a significant difference, the survey finds. But many family violence victims encounter serious difficulties that undermine their efforts to access resources and forge a path to safety for themselves and their children.
Just 14 percent of survey respondents said that the TANF family violence responses work well in their states, and 43 percent said fewer than half of family violence victims were able to access TANF benefits. One in four respondents said “no” when asked if family violence information disclosed by victims was handled in an appropriate way.
“The results of this survey are deeply troubling,” said NRCDV Director Anne Menard. “Studies consistently show that a high proportion of women living in poverty also face abuse by an intimate partner or ex-partner. Being abused complicates their efforts to achieve economic stability, and poverty undermines their efforts to escape abuse. That’s why lawmakers put the Family Violence Option (FVO) in place, to help address the enormous challenges that impoverished victims of violence face. But even with the FVO, TANF is not working for many of the women who need it most. With the recession forcing so many families into poverty, we need to improve this policy now more than ever.”
The survey also found that:
• Victims are not consistently and effectively screened or notified of family violence specific responses, waivers or protections. One respondent described the problem this way, “Oftentimes women are interviewed in public places like a counter, and also when the abuser is present, or not asked at all.”
• Respondents say the requirement that victims “prove” that they have experienced violence is a significant barrier. 61 percent say victims frequently don’t disclose violence because they fear it is unsafe to do so. 63 percent say victims don’t disclose violence because they see the TANF worker or system as unsympathetic. 73 percent say fear of child protection system involvement is a significant factor.
• Only 12 percent of respondents report that the child support enforcement cooperation exemption due to family violence is working well, while 29 percent said it is not working. One respondent reported, “Child support enforcement has helped in many ways with some family violence victims that we have served and with others it has created more barriers for victims to overcome.”
• Respondents were asked to rate 11 features of their state TANF family violence response policies. Referrals to local domestic violence programs received the highest ratings, with 70 percent of respondents saying it works well or works OK.
• At least 85 percent of respondents say that increasing employment services that lead to a living wage, increasing access to child care, and increasing training on domestic violence for TANF and child support enforcement workers would make TANF a more effective resource.
“TANF is a lifeline for family violence victims, but it must be improved to be effective,” said Legal Momentum staff attorney Timothy Casey. “For too many victims, the TANF application process creates impossible barriers to assistance that prevent them from ever accessing the economic support they need. And for those who actually access benefits, too often the amount of aid that TANF provides is not enough to allow victims to meet their own and their children’s basic needs.”
Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI), said, “This report shows us how women suffer under a broken system. A woman needs all the support she can get as she flees domestic violence, but instead she and her children face the heartbreaking possibility of being found by her abuser and the risk of becoming homeless. A safety net with holes like these is hardly safe. I am working on legislation to fill these holes and help give women a real support system.”
Not Enough: What TANF Offers Family Violence Victims is available here.
March 30, 2010 Vol. 16, Issue 4
Speaking Up is a project of the Family Violence Prevention Fund. Produced by PR Solutions, Inc., Washington, DC. Phone: 202/371 1999; Fax: 202/371 9142;
E-mail: speakingup@prsolutionsdc.com
This newsletter is just a wealth of information, so I'm going to try to repost a couple of pieces from it, just so some of this research hopefully reaches a larger audience. This particular piece is on domestic violence and TANF is especially important. I have highlighted some of the points that I found particularly interesting.
FAMILY VIOLENCE VICTIMS NOT GETTING HELP THEY NEED FROM TANF PROGRAMS, SURVEY FINDS
Bureaucratic black holes, indifferent or hostile staff members, inadequate benefits, and shortsighted procedures and policies are preventing many family violence victims from getting the resources they need to escape abuse from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. That is according to a national survey of service providers released on March 17.
Not Enough: What TANF Offers Family Violence Victims was produced by Legal Momentum and the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV). The survey on which it is based is a unique, comprehensive effort to understand when TANF successfully assists victims of family violence, and when the program falls short. Some 600 staff members from domestic violence programs, legal aid and anti-poverty agencies who work with victims on TANF-related issues completed the survey in late 2009.
When TANF works well, it makes a significant difference, the survey finds. But many family violence victims encounter serious difficulties that undermine their efforts to access resources and forge a path to safety for themselves and their children.
Just 14 percent of survey respondents said that the TANF family violence responses work well in their states, and 43 percent said fewer than half of family violence victims were able to access TANF benefits. One in four respondents said “no” when asked if family violence information disclosed by victims was handled in an appropriate way.
“The results of this survey are deeply troubling,” said NRCDV Director Anne Menard. “Studies consistently show that a high proportion of women living in poverty also face abuse by an intimate partner or ex-partner. Being abused complicates their efforts to achieve economic stability, and poverty undermines their efforts to escape abuse. That’s why lawmakers put the Family Violence Option (FVO) in place, to help address the enormous challenges that impoverished victims of violence face. But even with the FVO, TANF is not working for many of the women who need it most. With the recession forcing so many families into poverty, we need to improve this policy now more than ever.”
The survey also found that:
• Victims are not consistently and effectively screened or notified of family violence specific responses, waivers or protections. One respondent described the problem this way, “Oftentimes women are interviewed in public places like a counter, and also when the abuser is present, or not asked at all.”
• Respondents say the requirement that victims “prove” that they have experienced violence is a significant barrier. 61 percent say victims frequently don’t disclose violence because they fear it is unsafe to do so. 63 percent say victims don’t disclose violence because they see the TANF worker or system as unsympathetic. 73 percent say fear of child protection system involvement is a significant factor.
• Only 12 percent of respondents report that the child support enforcement cooperation exemption due to family violence is working well, while 29 percent said it is not working. One respondent reported, “Child support enforcement has helped in many ways with some family violence victims that we have served and with others it has created more barriers for victims to overcome.”
• Respondents were asked to rate 11 features of their state TANF family violence response policies. Referrals to local domestic violence programs received the highest ratings, with 70 percent of respondents saying it works well or works OK.
• At least 85 percent of respondents say that increasing employment services that lead to a living wage, increasing access to child care, and increasing training on domestic violence for TANF and child support enforcement workers would make TANF a more effective resource.
“TANF is a lifeline for family violence victims, but it must be improved to be effective,” said Legal Momentum staff attorney Timothy Casey. “For too many victims, the TANF application process creates impossible barriers to assistance that prevent them from ever accessing the economic support they need. And for those who actually access benefits, too often the amount of aid that TANF provides is not enough to allow victims to meet their own and their children’s basic needs.”
Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI), said, “This report shows us how women suffer under a broken system. A woman needs all the support she can get as she flees domestic violence, but instead she and her children face the heartbreaking possibility of being found by her abuser and the risk of becoming homeless. A safety net with holes like these is hardly safe. I am working on legislation to fill these holes and help give women a real support system.”
Not Enough: What TANF Offers Family Violence Victims is available here.
Cherish Our Children: Judge Frederick Crow hands over 5-year-old girl to sexually abusive father (Scioto County, Ohio)
We just posted on this case yesterday.
Seems that the March 30 hearing before Judge Frederick W. Crow III was an utter disaster. With no prior order or motion before him, and without notice to the mother as to why she was called to court, the judge handed over the 5-year-old child to the father's mother, who, after a week, will hand her off to the father down in Florida. The substantiated child sexual abuse evidence naming the father as the alleged abuser has never been heard.
For Dastardly readers who want to know more and take action, I highly recommend the Cherish the Children website. Here's a snippet:
http://www.cherishourchildren.net/
Who We Are:
CherishOurChildren.net is group of local, state, and national organizations and individuals who have united to collectively express their concerns wherein it is believed that justice officials have not acted in the best interest of abused children. Cherish Our Children carefully reviews documented facts of every case and only comments on and posts documented facts, statements, and news stories.
CherishOurChildren.net is dedicated to Cherish Lewis and her daughter as well as all other abused children who remain helpless, endangered, and denied access to justice.
We stand in unwavering support of Ms. Cherish Lewis and her five year old daughter. We hear their cries. We lift up the justice of their cause. We rally to bring a swift end to this families’ injustice.
We strongly protest that an innocent mother remains imprisoned for the mere act of protecting her child from known danger. This five year old child remains in hiding to preserve her life from harm. The perpetrator of abuse remains free.
We elect these officials to protect the public, and thereby the safety of this child. We call the public to hold our officials accountable when they fail to protect.
Please act in the conscience you would for your own child. Reunite this mother and child.
We invite you to join us in future rallies to help bring a swift end to this families’ injustice.
A growing list of Victims Rights Attorneys, Activists, Organizations from around the country and throughout Ohio are providing their support and expertise: Cynthia Cheatham, Staci Dietrich, Wendy Murphy, Robin Sax, Action Ohio, Biker’s Against Child Abuse, Helpline of Delaware and Morrow Counties, National Organization for Women, PAVE Survivor Justice, The Justice League of Ohio, Kourts for Kids…and many individuals.
If you are as outraged as we are call and send your comments to those who are responsible:
Judge Frederick W. Crow, III
100 E. Second St. Pomeroy, OH 45769 P: 740-992-6439
Marty V. Donini, Sheriff
Scioto County Sheriff's Office 1025 Sixteenth Street
Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
740-355-8245
Jane Castor, Tampa PD Chief of Police
One Police Center , 411 N. Franklin St. Tampa, FL 33602 P: 813-276-3200
Frank McCoy, Oceanside PD Chief of Police
3855 Mission Avenue Oceanside, CA 92054 P: 760-435-4450
Seems that the March 30 hearing before Judge Frederick W. Crow III was an utter disaster. With no prior order or motion before him, and without notice to the mother as to why she was called to court, the judge handed over the 5-year-old child to the father's mother, who, after a week, will hand her off to the father down in Florida. The substantiated child sexual abuse evidence naming the father as the alleged abuser has never been heard.
For Dastardly readers who want to know more and take action, I highly recommend the Cherish the Children website. Here's a snippet:
http://www.cherishourchildren.net/
Who We Are:
CherishOurChildren.net is group of local, state, and national organizations and individuals who have united to collectively express their concerns wherein it is believed that justice officials have not acted in the best interest of abused children. Cherish Our Children carefully reviews documented facts of every case and only comments on and posts documented facts, statements, and news stories.
CherishOurChildren.net is dedicated to Cherish Lewis and her daughter as well as all other abused children who remain helpless, endangered, and denied access to justice.
We stand in unwavering support of Ms. Cherish Lewis and her five year old daughter. We hear their cries. We lift up the justice of their cause. We rally to bring a swift end to this families’ injustice.
We strongly protest that an innocent mother remains imprisoned for the mere act of protecting her child from known danger. This five year old child remains in hiding to preserve her life from harm. The perpetrator of abuse remains free.
We elect these officials to protect the public, and thereby the safety of this child. We call the public to hold our officials accountable when they fail to protect.
Please act in the conscience you would for your own child. Reunite this mother and child.
We invite you to join us in future rallies to help bring a swift end to this families’ injustice.
A growing list of Victims Rights Attorneys, Activists, Organizations from around the country and throughout Ohio are providing their support and expertise: Cynthia Cheatham, Staci Dietrich, Wendy Murphy, Robin Sax, Action Ohio, Biker’s Against Child Abuse, Helpline of Delaware and Morrow Counties, National Organization for Women, PAVE Survivor Justice, The Justice League of Ohio, Kourts for Kids…and many individuals.
If you are as outraged as we are call and send your comments to those who are responsible:
Judge Frederick W. Crow, III
100 E. Second St. Pomeroy, OH 45769 P: 740-992-6439
Marty V. Donini, Sheriff
Scioto County Sheriff's Office 1025 Sixteenth Street
Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
740-355-8245
Jane Castor, Tampa PD Chief of Police
One Police Center , 411 N. Franklin St. Tampa, FL 33602 P: 813-276-3200
Frank McCoy, Oceanside PD Chief of Police
3855 Mission Avenue Oceanside, CA 92054 P: 760-435-4450
Killer dad to 10-year-old daughter: "You're Next" (Charlotte, North Carolina)
We initially posted on this case yesterday. The more I read about dad KENNETH JERMAINE CHAPMAN, the sicker I get. This guy was truly a monster, and I don't use that term lightly.
My heart goes out to this little girl and her brother. I hope they find plenty of love and support, because they're going to need it.
Hat tip to E.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2010/03/30/13412261-ap.html
Accused killer tells daughter: You're next
Suicide-slaying suspected in deaths of 4 in NC
By JEFFREY COLLINS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Police on Tuesday said a North Carolina father sent his daughter to school for two weeks with a dire warning: Tell anyone about your two dead siblings at home, and I’ll kill you and your brother, too.
She didn’t tell anyone. In fact, police said no one found out the children and their mother were dead until officers came to Kenneth Jermaine Chapman’s door Monday night to check on his wife because her uncle hadn’t heard from her for a while.
When police arrived, Chapman went upstairs and sent the 10-year-old girl and her 2-year-old half brother outside. He shot at officers from the top of the stairs, police said. Then came more gunshots.
Inside, officers found Chapman dead. The bodies of his wife’s teenage daughter and the couple’s baby daughter were in a locked bedroom. A few hours later, authorities found Chapman’s wife dead at a larger apartment the couple moved out of a few weeks ago.
Investigators said the surviving girl told them her dad and stepmom argued two weeks ago, and she didn’t see 34-year-old Nateesha Ward Chapman again. That night, she heard her 13-year-old stepsister Na’Jhae Parker scream, then gunshots. Her half sister, 13-month-old Nakyiah Jael Chapman, started screaming too. Then more gunshots. Dad came out, locked the door and pointed the gun at the girl.
Police said the girl told her father, “don’t kill me.” He said he wouldn’t kill her then because she was his first-born daughter — nor would he kill the 2-year-old, his first-born son. But he said he’d kill them if they told anyone.
“Her bravery and composure was truly remarkable,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Capt. Paul Zinkann said, pausing to regain his composure at a Tuesday news conference. “She, her little brother are with family members and are being cared for now.”
Carol Latimer, who lived next to the family for five months, said she never saw the couple fight. The Chapmans kept to themselves, and Latimer’s conversations with Nateesha Chapman never went beyond making sure the kids got to the bus stop or other child care issues.
“She was really closed as far as her personal life,” Latimer said. “We didn’t talk much unless she needed help.”
Latimer talked even more rarely with Kenneth Chapman. She knew he worked the night shift, but never found out where. He only said a few words when she asked him questions. The family member she got to know the best was the 10-year-old girl. They sat outside and ate fruit snacks one day after school when her dad and stepmom weren’t home.
Latimer said the couple moved out of the home where Nateesha Chapman’s body was found weeks ago, and she never heard anything from the apartment or saw anyone over there again until police arrived early Tuesday morning.
Neighbors at the couple’s other home said they only saw them move in and couldn’t remember seeing an adult woman at the home at all. Jerome Sanders didn’t even know they had dogs until he heard them barking as police talked to him after discovering the bodies.
“They just seemed typical, what little I saw,” Sanders said. “I heard a baby crying once, but that was about it.”
Court records show an eviction notice was served on the apartment where Nateesha Chapman’s body was found, but shed little other light on whether they were having financial trouble. Calls to family members of the couple went unanswered Tuesday.
Investigators are still trying to figure out not only why Kenneth Chapman killed his family, but why he tried to hide it for weeks and acted like nothing happened.
“What this man did was despicable and cowardly,” Zinkann said.
My heart goes out to this little girl and her brother. I hope they find plenty of love and support, because they're going to need it.
Hat tip to E.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2010/03/30/13412261-ap.html
Accused killer tells daughter: You're next
Suicide-slaying suspected in deaths of 4 in NC
By JEFFREY COLLINS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Police on Tuesday said a North Carolina father sent his daughter to school for two weeks with a dire warning: Tell anyone about your two dead siblings at home, and I’ll kill you and your brother, too.
She didn’t tell anyone. In fact, police said no one found out the children and their mother were dead until officers came to Kenneth Jermaine Chapman’s door Monday night to check on his wife because her uncle hadn’t heard from her for a while.
When police arrived, Chapman went upstairs and sent the 10-year-old girl and her 2-year-old half brother outside. He shot at officers from the top of the stairs, police said. Then came more gunshots.
Inside, officers found Chapman dead. The bodies of his wife’s teenage daughter and the couple’s baby daughter were in a locked bedroom. A few hours later, authorities found Chapman’s wife dead at a larger apartment the couple moved out of a few weeks ago.
Investigators said the surviving girl told them her dad and stepmom argued two weeks ago, and she didn’t see 34-year-old Nateesha Ward Chapman again. That night, she heard her 13-year-old stepsister Na’Jhae Parker scream, then gunshots. Her half sister, 13-month-old Nakyiah Jael Chapman, started screaming too. Then more gunshots. Dad came out, locked the door and pointed the gun at the girl.
Police said the girl told her father, “don’t kill me.” He said he wouldn’t kill her then because she was his first-born daughter — nor would he kill the 2-year-old, his first-born son. But he said he’d kill them if they told anyone.
“Her bravery and composure was truly remarkable,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Capt. Paul Zinkann said, pausing to regain his composure at a Tuesday news conference. “She, her little brother are with family members and are being cared for now.”
Carol Latimer, who lived next to the family for five months, said she never saw the couple fight. The Chapmans kept to themselves, and Latimer’s conversations with Nateesha Chapman never went beyond making sure the kids got to the bus stop or other child care issues.
“She was really closed as far as her personal life,” Latimer said. “We didn’t talk much unless she needed help.”
Latimer talked even more rarely with Kenneth Chapman. She knew he worked the night shift, but never found out where. He only said a few words when she asked him questions. The family member she got to know the best was the 10-year-old girl. They sat outside and ate fruit snacks one day after school when her dad and stepmom weren’t home.
Latimer said the couple moved out of the home where Nateesha Chapman’s body was found weeks ago, and she never heard anything from the apartment or saw anyone over there again until police arrived early Tuesday morning.
Neighbors at the couple’s other home said they only saw them move in and couldn’t remember seeing an adult woman at the home at all. Jerome Sanders didn’t even know they had dogs until he heard them barking as police talked to him after discovering the bodies.
“They just seemed typical, what little I saw,” Sanders said. “I heard a baby crying once, but that was about it.”
Court records show an eviction notice was served on the apartment where Nateesha Chapman’s body was found, but shed little other light on whether they were having financial trouble. Calls to family members of the couple went unanswered Tuesday.
Investigators are still trying to figure out not only why Kenneth Chapman killed his family, but why he tried to hide it for weeks and acted like nothing happened.
“What this man did was despicable and cowardly,” Zinkann said.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Dad, stepmom found guilty in murder of 5-year-old daughter (San Paulo, Brazil)
Dad ALEXANDRE NARDONI has been sentenced to 31 years in prison for death of his 5-year-old daughter, who was apparently strangled and then thrown out a 6th-story window.
http://worldnews.hometips4u.com/brazil-child-death-parents-jailed
Brazil Child Death Parents Jailed
2010 March 27
by admin
The father and stepmother of a five-year-old girl have been found guilty by a Brazilian court of throwing her to her death from a sixth-floor window.
The death of Isabella Nardoni in 2008 shocked Brazil, and the case has been the focus of intense media coverage.
Her father, Alexandre Nardoni, was sentenced to 31 years in prison by the Sao Paulo court. Her stepmother, Anna Carolina Jatoba, must serve 26 years.
The couple, who had denied the girl’s murder, will appeal, their lawyers say.
Isabella was found in the communal garden below the apartment where Nardoni, his second wife and their two children lived in March 2008.
Child death raises tough questions
Nardoni, a lawyer, claimed that his daughter had been killed by an intruder while he was helping his wife bring the other children from their car, parked in a garage in the building’s basement.
But prosecutors argued that his wife had attacked Isabella in the car and then strangled her in the apartment.
They said Nardoni, believing the child to be dead, had then thrown her out of the window to make it appear a third person was responsible for the attack. She died a few minutes after she was discovered on the ground.
Investigators found traces of Isabella’s blood in the couple’s car and in the apartment.
The pair will serve their sentences in separate prisons outside Sao Paulo, where they have been held since their arrest in April 2008. They will then be eligible to complete a shorter term for other offences in a semi-open prison.
http://worldnews.hometips4u.com/brazil-child-death-parents-jailed
Brazil Child Death Parents Jailed
2010 March 27
by admin
The father and stepmother of a five-year-old girl have been found guilty by a Brazilian court of throwing her to her death from a sixth-floor window.
The death of Isabella Nardoni in 2008 shocked Brazil, and the case has been the focus of intense media coverage.
Her father, Alexandre Nardoni, was sentenced to 31 years in prison by the Sao Paulo court. Her stepmother, Anna Carolina Jatoba, must serve 26 years.
The couple, who had denied the girl’s murder, will appeal, their lawyers say.
Isabella was found in the communal garden below the apartment where Nardoni, his second wife and their two children lived in March 2008.
Child death raises tough questions
Nardoni, a lawyer, claimed that his daughter had been killed by an intruder while he was helping his wife bring the other children from their car, parked in a garage in the building’s basement.
But prosecutors argued that his wife had attacked Isabella in the car and then strangled her in the apartment.
They said Nardoni, believing the child to be dead, had then thrown her out of the window to make it appear a third person was responsible for the attack. She died a few minutes after she was discovered on the ground.
Investigators found traces of Isabella’s blood in the couple’s car and in the apartment.
The pair will serve their sentences in separate prisons outside Sao Paulo, where they have been held since their arrest in April 2008. They will then be eligible to complete a shorter term for other offences in a semi-open prison.
No "obvious" signs of trauma to mom and 3-year-old son found "mysteriously dead" (Fall River, Massachusetts)
LOOK HARDER.
That's my advise to the officials who say they can't find any "obvious signs of trauma" in the deaths of a mother and her 3-year-old son.
Oh sure, this could be one of those one in a billion trillion cases where 2 people suddenly dropped dead at the same time. But I doubt it. This has abuser dad fingerprints all over it, especially when you consider the amazing "coincidences" involved here:
1) An "estranged" father (STEVAN "MICHAEL" DILWORTH) who was due to appear in court in less than two weeks regarding the pending divorce. This is one of the time periods that is the most dangerous for women and children fleeing situations of domestic violence.
2) An "estranged" father who had already been charged with assault and battery for hitting his wife (of course he was released on his own recognizance--aren't they always). This was due to go to court in little more than a month. Again, we have a father who might be just a little, well, "angry."
3) Although Mom was awarded full custody in 2008 after only two years of marriage, Dad was granted visitation (despite his history of domestic violence, which is unfortunately typical). Of course, Dad was recently demanding MORE time, even though he had taken advantage of his existing visitation only a half dozen times or so. This is a very common abuser manoever, especially when you're wanting to reduce your child support and secure additional power/control over your former partner. Wanting more "daddy time" isn't a motivation in this at all, contrary to the all the rampant disinformation to the contrary.
4) In addition, as a retired and disabled Army veteran with post traumatic stress disorder, Dad not only had the financial incentive for killing his soon-to-be ex-wife and child, but a mental condition that is often found in criminal and/or murderous ex-soldiers. The kind of mental condition that might have made "more power" over his former wife and child a more distinctly desirable objective than it normally might have been.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100328officials_no_signs_of_trauma_to_fall_river_mom_toddler/srvc=home&position=also
Officials: No signs of trauma to Fall River mom, toddler
By Marie Szaniszlo
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Investigators saw no obvious signs of trauma to a 37-year-old mother and her toddler who were mysteriously found dead Thursday in their Fall River apartment, authorities said yesterday.
The cause of death has not been determined, pending autopsy results, said Gregg Miliote, spokesman for Bristol District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter, but authorities consider the deaths suspicious. There were no “obvious” signs of trauma or of a break-in, he said.
“We’re speaking with several people connected to the family and connected to the housing project,” Miliote said.
The estranged husband of Ginger Dilworth and father of her 3-year-old son, Andrew, has been questioned twice, the man’s brother said yesterday.
“It was all pretty routine,” Stephen Dilworth of Olympia, Wash., said of the interviews police have had with his older brother, Stevan “Michael” Dilworth. The brothers are both named for their father.
The deaths came less than two weeks before a hearing on the Dilworths’ pending divorce and little more than a month before Stevan Dilworth was due in court to answer charges of hitting his wife. Dilworth was released on his own recognizance March 11 after he was charged with assault and battery, according to court records.
Asked what his brother’s reaction was to news of his wife’s and son’s death, Stephen Dilworth said: “Bewildered. . . . They had challenges, but I know he loved them both a ton.”
When the couple married in 2006, it was her first marriage and his third, records show. After they separated in 2008, she was awarded full custody of their son. Her husband was allowed visitation and ordered to pay $300 a month in child support.
By then, Stevan Dilworth, 38, was living in Ohio, where he was demanding that their son spend three weeks with him every three months, according to court records. The child’s mother objected, saying that Andrew might be autistic and need special care and that her husband had seen him only a half-dozen times.
In the past year, Stevan Dilworth - a retired Army staff sergeant who had served in Iraq - was living with friends in Fall River, subsisting on his military pension and disability benefits. He had injured his knee in training and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to records.
That's my advise to the officials who say they can't find any "obvious signs of trauma" in the deaths of a mother and her 3-year-old son.
Oh sure, this could be one of those one in a billion trillion cases where 2 people suddenly dropped dead at the same time. But I doubt it. This has abuser dad fingerprints all over it, especially when you consider the amazing "coincidences" involved here:
1) An "estranged" father (STEVAN "MICHAEL" DILWORTH) who was due to appear in court in less than two weeks regarding the pending divorce. This is one of the time periods that is the most dangerous for women and children fleeing situations of domestic violence.
2) An "estranged" father who had already been charged with assault and battery for hitting his wife (of course he was released on his own recognizance--aren't they always). This was due to go to court in little more than a month. Again, we have a father who might be just a little, well, "angry."
3) Although Mom was awarded full custody in 2008 after only two years of marriage, Dad was granted visitation (despite his history of domestic violence, which is unfortunately typical). Of course, Dad was recently demanding MORE time, even though he had taken advantage of his existing visitation only a half dozen times or so. This is a very common abuser manoever, especially when you're wanting to reduce your child support and secure additional power/control over your former partner. Wanting more "daddy time" isn't a motivation in this at all, contrary to the all the rampant disinformation to the contrary.
4) In addition, as a retired and disabled Army veteran with post traumatic stress disorder, Dad not only had the financial incentive for killing his soon-to-be ex-wife and child, but a mental condition that is often found in criminal and/or murderous ex-soldiers. The kind of mental condition that might have made "more power" over his former wife and child a more distinctly desirable objective than it normally might have been.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100328officials_no_signs_of_trauma_to_fall_river_mom_toddler/srvc=home&position=also
Officials: No signs of trauma to Fall River mom, toddler
By Marie Szaniszlo
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Investigators saw no obvious signs of trauma to a 37-year-old mother and her toddler who were mysteriously found dead Thursday in their Fall River apartment, authorities said yesterday.
The cause of death has not been determined, pending autopsy results, said Gregg Miliote, spokesman for Bristol District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter, but authorities consider the deaths suspicious. There were no “obvious” signs of trauma or of a break-in, he said.
“We’re speaking with several people connected to the family and connected to the housing project,” Miliote said.
The estranged husband of Ginger Dilworth and father of her 3-year-old son, Andrew, has been questioned twice, the man’s brother said yesterday.
“It was all pretty routine,” Stephen Dilworth of Olympia, Wash., said of the interviews police have had with his older brother, Stevan “Michael” Dilworth. The brothers are both named for their father.
The deaths came less than two weeks before a hearing on the Dilworths’ pending divorce and little more than a month before Stevan Dilworth was due in court to answer charges of hitting his wife. Dilworth was released on his own recognizance March 11 after he was charged with assault and battery, according to court records.
Asked what his brother’s reaction was to news of his wife’s and son’s death, Stephen Dilworth said: “Bewildered. . . . They had challenges, but I know he loved them both a ton.”
When the couple married in 2006, it was her first marriage and his third, records show. After they separated in 2008, she was awarded full custody of their son. Her husband was allowed visitation and ordered to pay $300 a month in child support.
By then, Stevan Dilworth, 38, was living in Ohio, where he was demanding that their son spend three weeks with him every three months, according to court records. The child’s mother objected, saying that Andrew might be autistic and need special care and that her husband had seen him only a half-dozen times.
In the past year, Stevan Dilworth - a retired Army staff sergeant who had served in Iraq - was living with friends in Fall River, subsisting on his military pension and disability benefits. He had injured his knee in training and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to records.
Women Need More Protection in the Military
Excellent post by Diane from the Adult Survivors of Child Abuse and Neglect website on domestic violence and child abuse--especially sexual abuse--in military families.
http://www.wearesurvivors.org/?p=1227
Women Need More Protection In The Military
March 29, 2010 by Diane
A couple of years ago I watched a brave woman soldier testify on Capitol Hill about abuse in the military. Even though it was televised and the politicians talked as if they would do something about it, I knew nothing would change. I grew up in a military family, and no one helped me either.
In Time[1] magazine this month, an article said that female soldiers who were deployed overseas stopped “drinking water after 7 P.M. to reduce the odds of being raped if they had to use the bathroom at night.” Representative Jane Harman said, “A female soldier in Iraq is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire.”
Both my father, a retired LCDR in the Navy who has passed away, and my brother made the military their career. Both used violence, rape, and molestation to get their needs met at home. Who knows what they did when overseas.
I also remember attending a conference in the early 1990s where the military was lecturing in one room about family violence—how much they were concerned about it. I stood up and said, “I was taken to every dispensary in the Navy from Balboa in San Diego to Little Creek in Norfolk, Virginia, but no one questioned possible abuse at home.” Their response was, “The Navy isn’t a social agency.” And you wonder why soldiers get away with most of the violent attacks against their female counterparts. How many of these rapists are just like my father and brother who also molest their children at home?
Yes, there is more awareness. Yes, there have been edicts on high from the Department of Defense that this behavior isn’t acceptable. But the culture hasn’t changed. It is still a violent, macho environment where too many commanders look the other way and don’t make the need to prohibit sexual violence a high priority for their unit’s morale. The Time article also stated that between 2008 and 2009, the victims of rape or assault among women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan rose 25%.
Not every soldier is sexually abusive. My most beloved manager at the Fortune 20 company where I worked and who died suddenly of a heart attack, served his country honorably in Vietnam. It’s just a shame that his leadership isn’t employed in the military today as it relates to attacking fellow female soldiers.
[1] “The War Within,” Time, March 8, 2010
http://www.wearesurvivors.org/?p=1227
Women Need More Protection In The Military
March 29, 2010 by Diane
A couple of years ago I watched a brave woman soldier testify on Capitol Hill about abuse in the military. Even though it was televised and the politicians talked as if they would do something about it, I knew nothing would change. I grew up in a military family, and no one helped me either.
In Time[1] magazine this month, an article said that female soldiers who were deployed overseas stopped “drinking water after 7 P.M. to reduce the odds of being raped if they had to use the bathroom at night.” Representative Jane Harman said, “A female soldier in Iraq is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire.”
Both my father, a retired LCDR in the Navy who has passed away, and my brother made the military their career. Both used violence, rape, and molestation to get their needs met at home. Who knows what they did when overseas.
I also remember attending a conference in the early 1990s where the military was lecturing in one room about family violence—how much they were concerned about it. I stood up and said, “I was taken to every dispensary in the Navy from Balboa in San Diego to Little Creek in Norfolk, Virginia, but no one questioned possible abuse at home.” Their response was, “The Navy isn’t a social agency.” And you wonder why soldiers get away with most of the violent attacks against their female counterparts. How many of these rapists are just like my father and brother who also molest their children at home?
Yes, there is more awareness. Yes, there have been edicts on high from the Department of Defense that this behavior isn’t acceptable. But the culture hasn’t changed. It is still a violent, macho environment where too many commanders look the other way and don’t make the need to prohibit sexual violence a high priority for their unit’s morale. The Time article also stated that between 2008 and 2009, the victims of rape or assault among women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan rose 25%.
Not every soldier is sexually abusive. My most beloved manager at the Fortune 20 company where I worked and who died suddenly of a heart attack, served his country honorably in Vietnam. It’s just a shame that his leadership isn’t employed in the military today as it relates to attacking fellow female soldiers.
[1] “The War Within,” Time, March 8, 2010
Judge Frederick W. Crow III and King Solomon's Sword (Scioto County, Ohio)
It is an OUTRAGE that somebody like Frederick W. Crow III is allowed anywhere near a court of law.
March 29, 2010
Eileen King 202.462.4688
Catherine Harper Lee, The Justice League of Ohio
614.598.1964 or 614.848.8500
Judge Frederick W. Crow III and King Solomon’s Sword
No one would disagree that judges, by law, should put children’s best interests and safety foremost when they make decisions regarding care and custody. So why would a judge not care that an Ohio County Public Children Services Agency substantiated child sexual abuse? Why would any judge order a child into the care and custody of his or her alleged abuser? And why would a judge punish a protective father or mother by throwing him/her in jail, depriving the child of a safe and loving parent?
On July 24, 2009 Judge Frederick W. Crow III of the Scioto Count Court of Common Pleas denied Cherish Lewis’ request for a continuance of that day’s hearing, a continuance she desperately needed. Several days before the hearing, Cherish fired her attorney upon learning he had represented the child’s father, the alleged abuser, in a case of “sexual abuse allegations involving a minor child”. [see the March 11, 2010 Opinion] Judge Crow ignored Cherish Lewis’ plea to hear witness testimony and review the evidence and report from Scioto County Children’s Services substantiating her child was sexually abused and naming the father as the alleged perpetrator. When Cherish refused to give her daughter into the father’s care that day, Judge Crow ordered her to the Scioto County Jail. While Cherish’s appeal was pending, her two young children were deprived of their mother for over eight and a half months.
On March 11, 2010, the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals overturned Judge Crow’s decision, stating that Judge Crow “abused his discretion” when he denied Cherish Lewis’ reasonable request for a continuance and that there was “considerable prejudice done to Lewis.” The Court of Appeals ordered her immediate release from the Scioto County Jail. Cherish is free and her 5-year-old daughter is safe…but for how long?
In its March 11, 2010 Opinion, The Fourth District Court of Appeals remanded this case back to Judge Crow’s court for further proceedings “consistent with this opinion.” Judge Crow has now demanded, on penalty of contempt, that Cherish appear with her daughter at 11 am on Tuesday, March 30th for a status conference. Based on Judge Crow’s prior abuse of discretion and the case history, we have little reason to hope that he will protect this child or act in her best interest on Tuesday. On April 10, 2009 the Fourth District Court of Appeals overturned Judge Crow's order granting the father custody, stating Judge Crow had abused his discretion in determining the best interest of the child. Will this child’s best interest be honored on Tuesday?
We fear that this “status conference” is Judge Crow’s next chance to wield King Solomon’s Sword: either the child goes with the person she named in a substantiated child sexual abuse report or her mother goes to the Scioto County Jail AGAIN. This time Cherish may not be able to successfully appeal the order and will be held in jail until she produces her daughter to the father, or in perpetuity. If she ran with her child she would not be able to continue the fight for Justice so she and her children can one day live a normal, happy life, free of abuse or on the run. Now she has attorneys who will present all of the evidence. Will Judge Crow let them?
If you were Cherish Lewis, what would you do? And if you were that little girl, what would you be hoping for with all your heart?
There is a simple, rational solution. The mother needs to be able to show up with her daughter as ordered by the court with faith in the system. Faith that Judge Crow will act in the best interest of the child and suspend visitation with the father until ALL evidence and witness testimony of neglect, physical, sexual abuse, as well as prior substance abuse issues of the father have been heard before making a decision to place this child with him and putting her at risk of abused for a third time. This father has a history. The ONLY thing this mother has ever done is try to protect her child.
Justice For Children - DC
1875 Connecticut Ave NW Ste 710 Washington, DC 20009
202-462-4688 voice ~ 815-301-5516 fax ~ www.justiceforchild ren.org
March 29, 2010
Eileen King 202.462.4688
Catherine Harper Lee, The Justice League of Ohio
614.598.1964 or 614.848.8500
Judge Frederick W. Crow III and King Solomon’s Sword
No one would disagree that judges, by law, should put children’s best interests and safety foremost when they make decisions regarding care and custody. So why would a judge not care that an Ohio County Public Children Services Agency substantiated child sexual abuse? Why would any judge order a child into the care and custody of his or her alleged abuser? And why would a judge punish a protective father or mother by throwing him/her in jail, depriving the child of a safe and loving parent?
On July 24, 2009 Judge Frederick W. Crow III of the Scioto Count Court of Common Pleas denied Cherish Lewis’ request for a continuance of that day’s hearing, a continuance she desperately needed. Several days before the hearing, Cherish fired her attorney upon learning he had represented the child’s father, the alleged abuser, in a case of “sexual abuse allegations involving a minor child”. [see the March 11, 2010 Opinion] Judge Crow ignored Cherish Lewis’ plea to hear witness testimony and review the evidence and report from Scioto County Children’s Services substantiating her child was sexually abused and naming the father as the alleged perpetrator. When Cherish refused to give her daughter into the father’s care that day, Judge Crow ordered her to the Scioto County Jail. While Cherish’s appeal was pending, her two young children were deprived of their mother for over eight and a half months.
On March 11, 2010, the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals overturned Judge Crow’s decision, stating that Judge Crow “abused his discretion” when he denied Cherish Lewis’ reasonable request for a continuance and that there was “considerable prejudice done to Lewis.” The Court of Appeals ordered her immediate release from the Scioto County Jail. Cherish is free and her 5-year-old daughter is safe…but for how long?
In its March 11, 2010 Opinion, The Fourth District Court of Appeals remanded this case back to Judge Crow’s court for further proceedings “consistent with this opinion.” Judge Crow has now demanded, on penalty of contempt, that Cherish appear with her daughter at 11 am on Tuesday, March 30th for a status conference. Based on Judge Crow’s prior abuse of discretion and the case history, we have little reason to hope that he will protect this child or act in her best interest on Tuesday. On April 10, 2009 the Fourth District Court of Appeals overturned Judge Crow's order granting the father custody, stating Judge Crow had abused his discretion in determining the best interest of the child. Will this child’s best interest be honored on Tuesday?
We fear that this “status conference” is Judge Crow’s next chance to wield King Solomon’s Sword: either the child goes with the person she named in a substantiated child sexual abuse report or her mother goes to the Scioto County Jail AGAIN. This time Cherish may not be able to successfully appeal the order and will be held in jail until she produces her daughter to the father, or in perpetuity. If she ran with her child she would not be able to continue the fight for Justice so she and her children can one day live a normal, happy life, free of abuse or on the run. Now she has attorneys who will present all of the evidence. Will Judge Crow let them?
If you were Cherish Lewis, what would you do? And if you were that little girl, what would you be hoping for with all your heart?
There is a simple, rational solution. The mother needs to be able to show up with her daughter as ordered by the court with faith in the system. Faith that Judge Crow will act in the best interest of the child and suspend visitation with the father until ALL evidence and witness testimony of neglect, physical, sexual abuse, as well as prior substance abuse issues of the father have been heard before making a decision to place this child with him and putting her at risk of abused for a third time. This father has a history. The ONLY thing this mother has ever done is try to protect her child.
Justice For Children - DC
1875 Connecticut Ave NW Ste 710 Washington, DC 20009
202-462-4688 voice ~ 815-301-5516 fax ~ www.justiceforchild ren.org
Police: Dad killed mom, two kids; two children continued to live with homicidal father until police come 2 weeks later (Charlotte, North Carolina)
There has got to be a special place in hell for a father like this.
Dad KENNETH JERMAINE CHAPMAN apparently stabbed the mother to death, and then waited till the NEXT DAY to shoot to death the mother's 13-year-old from a previous relationship and the couple's 1-year-old daughter. Meanwhile, two children are still (physically) unharmed in this home, though still living with the homicidal father. The very brave 10-year-old daughter tried to keep a "normal" routine going, hoping that this would somehow spare her life and the life of her 2-year-old brother. This went on for 2 WEEKS. Finally, a family member called the police and asked for a "welfare check" at the home. That's when Dad fired at the police before killing himself. During this exchange of gunfire, the 10-year-old escaped from the apartment with her 2-year-old brother.
My heart really goes out to this girl. I have nothing but admiration for her bravery and the devotion she showed to her younger sibling. This is more than any human being should be asked to endure, and certainly more than a 10-year-old child should have to endure.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/22996332/detail.html
Police: Victims In Murder-Suicide May Have Been Killed 2 Weeks Ago
Posted: 5:15 am EDT March 30,2010
Updated: 1:25 pm EDT March 30,2010
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide in southeast Charlotte. They found four people dead, including a mother, toddler and teenager.
The victims were 34-year-old Nateesha Ward Chapman, 1-year-old Nakyiah Jael Chapman and 13-year-old Na'Jhae Parker.
Investigators said they think Nateesha Chapman was killed on March 14, and that the children were killed on March 15.
Police identified the suspect as 33-year-old Kenneth Jermaine Chapman.
Police were called to the Berkshires on Providence Apartments on Providence Square Drive late Monday night. According to a release, the call came from the uncle of Nateesha Chapman, who lived at the apartment with her husband and four children. Police said the uncle called 911 and asked that officers check on her welfare.
When police arrived at the complex, the front door to the apartment was open. Police said they saw Kenneth Chapman standing on the stairs inside the apartment and called out to him.
Shortly after, police said he fired at them and then turned the gun on himself. A 10-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy ran out of the apartment unharmed. When police entered the apartment, they said they found Kenneth Chapman dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police searched the apartment and found two other children, Nakyiah Jael Chapman and Na'Jhae Parker, dead. Nakyiah was Kenneth Chapman's daughter. Na'Jhae Parker was not related to him.
Parker was an eighth-grader at McClintock Middle School. School officials said regular counselors are available to students today, and additional personnel will be at the school Wednesday.
The surviving 10-year-old girl attended school and kept her normal schedule for the past two weeks out of fear that Kenneth Chapman would kill her 2-year-old brother, police said.
Based on information they gathered from family members, detectives then went to an apartment on Via Romano Drive to search for Nateesha Chapman. They found her dead in that apartment around 2:45 a.m.
Police said Nakyiah and Na'Jhae were shot to death and Nateesha was stabbed.
The family was in the process of moving from the apartment on Via Romano Drive to the apartment on Providence Square Drive. They moved to the area nine months ago.
Dad KENNETH JERMAINE CHAPMAN apparently stabbed the mother to death, and then waited till the NEXT DAY to shoot to death the mother's 13-year-old from a previous relationship and the couple's 1-year-old daughter. Meanwhile, two children are still (physically) unharmed in this home, though still living with the homicidal father. The very brave 10-year-old daughter tried to keep a "normal" routine going, hoping that this would somehow spare her life and the life of her 2-year-old brother. This went on for 2 WEEKS. Finally, a family member called the police and asked for a "welfare check" at the home. That's when Dad fired at the police before killing himself. During this exchange of gunfire, the 10-year-old escaped from the apartment with her 2-year-old brother.
My heart really goes out to this girl. I have nothing but admiration for her bravery and the devotion she showed to her younger sibling. This is more than any human being should be asked to endure, and certainly more than a 10-year-old child should have to endure.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/22996332/detail.html
Police: Victims In Murder-Suicide May Have Been Killed 2 Weeks Ago
Posted: 5:15 am EDT March 30,2010
Updated: 1:25 pm EDT March 30,2010
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide in southeast Charlotte. They found four people dead, including a mother, toddler and teenager.
The victims were 34-year-old Nateesha Ward Chapman, 1-year-old Nakyiah Jael Chapman and 13-year-old Na'Jhae Parker.
Investigators said they think Nateesha Chapman was killed on March 14, and that the children were killed on March 15.
Police identified the suspect as 33-year-old Kenneth Jermaine Chapman.
Police were called to the Berkshires on Providence Apartments on Providence Square Drive late Monday night. According to a release, the call came from the uncle of Nateesha Chapman, who lived at the apartment with her husband and four children. Police said the uncle called 911 and asked that officers check on her welfare.
When police arrived at the complex, the front door to the apartment was open. Police said they saw Kenneth Chapman standing on the stairs inside the apartment and called out to him.
Shortly after, police said he fired at them and then turned the gun on himself. A 10-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy ran out of the apartment unharmed. When police entered the apartment, they said they found Kenneth Chapman dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police searched the apartment and found two other children, Nakyiah Jael Chapman and Na'Jhae Parker, dead. Nakyiah was Kenneth Chapman's daughter. Na'Jhae Parker was not related to him.
Parker was an eighth-grader at McClintock Middle School. School officials said regular counselors are available to students today, and additional personnel will be at the school Wednesday.
The surviving 10-year-old girl attended school and kept her normal schedule for the past two weeks out of fear that Kenneth Chapman would kill her 2-year-old brother, police said.
Based on information they gathered from family members, detectives then went to an apartment on Via Romano Drive to search for Nateesha Chapman. They found her dead in that apartment around 2:45 a.m.
Police said Nakyiah and Na'Jhae were shot to death and Nateesha was stabbed.
The family was in the process of moving from the apartment on Via Romano Drive to the apartment on Providence Square Drive. They moved to the area nine months ago.
"Violent father" gets life sentence for murder of 17-year-old daughter (Cardigan, Wales, United Kingdom)
Dad GARY FISHER, who incidentally had a long history of violence against women, has been convicted in the stabbing death of his 17-year-old daughter and sentenced to life in prison. Yet despite his history, he still had visitation with his daughter. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon anymore.
We've posted on this case before. Seems Daddy was miffed that his daughter wanted to spend more time with her boyfriend, and less time with the old man. A lot of abusers start to treat their daughters with the same violent control tactics that they inflict on all their "women"--and Fisher was obviously one of them.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/165958/Father-Gary-Fisher-jailed-for-murdering-daughter-Sasha-Jones
FATHER GARY FISHER JAILED FOR MURDERING DAUGHTER SASHA JONES
Sasha Jones, also known as Chanelle, was murdered by her father
Tuesday March 30,2010
By John Twomey
A VIOLENT father was jailed for life for the murder of his teenage daughter yesterday and told the judge: “Thank you.”
Gary Fisher was branded a wicked liar for killing Sasha Jones, 17, and then pretending it was an act of mercy.
Fisher, who once beheaded an ex-lover’s cat, claimed he wanted to end his daughter’s suffering after she was raped at 14. But earlier this month a jury at Swansea Crown Court found him guilty of murder.
Mr Justice Lloyd Jones sentenced him to life with a minimum of 20 years, so he will be 68 before he can be considered for parole. Fisher replied: “Thank you.”
Fisher, who has a long history of violence and harassment towards women, stabbed Sasha 22 times with a hunting knife.
He had picked her up in his Ford Fiesta from her mother’s home in Cardigan last August.
Sasha, also known as Chanelle, desperately tried to fight him off and suffered appalling defensive wounds before she died. Fisher, of Solihull, West Midlands, then drove around for 10 hours with his daughter’s body under a blanket in the front seat.
At one point, he drove past Sasha’s mother, Jayne Jones, and was seen to smirk and look up to the sky.
Mrs Jones later reported Sasha missing and Fisher was stopped. He told detectives that they had entered into a suicide pact because she could not come to terms with the rape. But the judge told Fisher: “Your claim that you killed her as an act of mercy is an obvious and wicked lie.”
Christopher Clee, prosecuting, said Fisher had previously been jailed for harassment after leaving a stolen gravestone outside a woman’s house. “He killed her cat, leaving its head on her doorstep,” he added.
Mrs Jones said after the case: “It upsets me how awful and petrifying those last few hours must have been for Chanelle.”
We've posted on this case before. Seems Daddy was miffed that his daughter wanted to spend more time with her boyfriend, and less time with the old man. A lot of abusers start to treat their daughters with the same violent control tactics that they inflict on all their "women"--and Fisher was obviously one of them.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/165958/Father-Gary-Fisher-jailed-for-murdering-daughter-Sasha-Jones
FATHER GARY FISHER JAILED FOR MURDERING DAUGHTER SASHA JONES
Sasha Jones, also known as Chanelle, was murdered by her father
Tuesday March 30,2010
By John Twomey
A VIOLENT father was jailed for life for the murder of his teenage daughter yesterday and told the judge: “Thank you.”
Gary Fisher was branded a wicked liar for killing Sasha Jones, 17, and then pretending it was an act of mercy.
Fisher, who once beheaded an ex-lover’s cat, claimed he wanted to end his daughter’s suffering after she was raped at 14. But earlier this month a jury at Swansea Crown Court found him guilty of murder.
Mr Justice Lloyd Jones sentenced him to life with a minimum of 20 years, so he will be 68 before he can be considered for parole. Fisher replied: “Thank you.”
Fisher, who has a long history of violence and harassment towards women, stabbed Sasha 22 times with a hunting knife.
He had picked her up in his Ford Fiesta from her mother’s home in Cardigan last August.
Sasha, also known as Chanelle, desperately tried to fight him off and suffered appalling defensive wounds before she died. Fisher, of Solihull, West Midlands, then drove around for 10 hours with his daughter’s body under a blanket in the front seat.
At one point, he drove past Sasha’s mother, Jayne Jones, and was seen to smirk and look up to the sky.
Mrs Jones later reported Sasha missing and Fisher was stopped. He told detectives that they had entered into a suicide pact because she could not come to terms with the rape. But the judge told Fisher: “Your claim that you killed her as an act of mercy is an obvious and wicked lie.”
Christopher Clee, prosecuting, said Fisher had previously been jailed for harassment after leaving a stolen gravestone outside a woman’s house. “He killed her cat, leaving its head on her doorstep,” he added.
Mrs Jones said after the case: “It upsets me how awful and petrifying those last few hours must have been for Chanelle.”
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