Despite committing "the most shocking case" of child abuse that the judge had ever seen, dad BRYANT MENDENHALL will be sentenced to just 4 years and 9 months in prison. This is all this apparent psychopath got for cooly and deliberately crushing the skull of his 3-week-old son. He was apparently mad at the baby's mother. Grandma says he has "control issues." Ya think?
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_15896518?nclick_check=1
St. Paul father gets less than 5 years for crushing baby's skull
He admits crushing infant's skull after fight with wife
By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 08/26/2010 12:05:11 AM CDT
The judge called it "the most shocking case I have ever seen." A man took his 3-week-old baby's head in his hands and crushed it, even hearing a popping sound as the tiny bones broke. He swaddled the boy and handed him to his wife, saying nothing about what he had done.
The baby, now 6 months old, was left with "permanent neurological problems."
Ramsey County District Judge Judith Tilsen sentenced Bryant Mendenhall, 20, of St. Paul on Wednesday to four years and nine months in prison, saying she would have given him more time if the prosecution had asked for it.
Mendenhall pleaded guilty July 12 to felony malicious punishment of a child. The deal included an agreement that the prosecution would not seek a higher sentence than called for by state sentencing guidelines.
Prosecutor Laura Rosenthal told the court that when the baby was taken to Regions Hospital on Feb. 23 — two days after the injury — he was diagnosed with "numerous skull fractures and hematomas" (internal bleeding).
Not only did Mendenhall deny his actions, but he "went so far as to have implicated his wife" by taking her cell phone and sending text messages to his mother saying that she was involved, Rosenthal said.
Mendenhall's wife, Pamela, told the judge that she faces a hearing in family court today to determine whether her parental rights should be terminated.
Outside the courthouse, Pamela Mendenhall said she had nothing to do with the child's injury. "The child protection worker — she's been against me since day one," she said.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police were called to Regions Hospital on Feb. 23 on a report of possible child abuse. An officer met with the Mendenhalls. Pamela Mendenhall was crying. Bryant Mendenhall appeared restless, at one point standing on one leg and repeatedly losing his balance.
Pamela Mendenhall, 22, told police that she and her husband had met over the Internet a little more than a year earlier and that he had moved to Minnesota from his home in Missouri. She denied that there was any violence in the relationship. Her mother told police that Bryant Mendenhall had control issues and wouldn't let Pamela out of his sight.
When the couple was interviewed together, police noted that Bryant Mendenhall often interrupted his wife to answer questions.
Bryant Mendenhall denied to investigators that the baby had fallen, or that he had bumped the baby's head into something. He did say that he and his wife had been arguing and that she threatened to end the marriage.
His story changed over time, however. In later interviews, Mendenhall said that he lost his balance going down the stairs while holding the baby, but that the baby did not hit his head. He then said the baby's head hit the floor during the fall.
Doctors said the baby's injuries were not consistent with an accident.
Three months later, Mendenhall told police he had been angry with his wife over the argument they had. He said he took the baby to a cement washtub in the basement to give him a bath. During the bath, he squeezed the infant's head "with such force that he heard an audible popping sound and felt (his) skull bone squish in his hands," the complaint said.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Dad jailed after admitting sexual assault on 7-year-old daughter (Ipswitch, Queensland, Australia)
UNNAMED DAD has been jailed for a whopping two years (suspended after 8 months) for molesting his 7-year-old daughter. Mom caught him in the act when she "returned from work." Is this a stay-at-home father?
http://www.qt.com.au/story/2010/08/31/daughter-molested-by-father/
Daughter molested by father
31st August 2010
A MAN has been jailed after admitting molesting his seven-year-old daughter.
Ipswich District Court heard the 41-year-old man’s de facto partner returned from work in September last year and caught him sexually assaulting their daughter.
The woman took her daughter to the police where she detailed the abuse, and the man, who cannot be named, later admitted additional occasions that spanned 12 months.
He pleaded guilty to four charges of indecent treatment of a child aged under 12 who is a lineal descendant and one charge of attempted indecent treatment.
The man was sentenced to two years jail to be suspended after eight months for an operational period of three years.
When he is released he will be on probation for three years and required to undergo sexual offending programs.
Defence barrister Steve Kissick said his client had been sexually abused as a child and was bullied at school.
http://www.qt.com.au/story/2010/08/31/daughter-molested-by-father/
Daughter molested by father
31st August 2010
A MAN has been jailed after admitting molesting his seven-year-old daughter.
Ipswich District Court heard the 41-year-old man’s de facto partner returned from work in September last year and caught him sexually assaulting their daughter.
The woman took her daughter to the police where she detailed the abuse, and the man, who cannot be named, later admitted additional occasions that spanned 12 months.
He pleaded guilty to four charges of indecent treatment of a child aged under 12 who is a lineal descendant and one charge of attempted indecent treatment.
The man was sentenced to two years jail to be suspended after eight months for an operational period of three years.
When he is released he will be on probation for three years and required to undergo sexual offending programs.
Defence barrister Steve Kissick said his client had been sexually abused as a child and was bullied at school.
Police: Dad head-butted, broke legs of 7-week-old son (Fayette County, Pennsylvania)
Dad PHILLIP EUGENE SILVERS has been charged with aggravated and simple assault and child endangerment for abusing his 7-week-old son. Seems Daddy was "angry" because the baby was crying (a crying newborn! the nerve!) so he head-butted the child and twisted his legs till the bones fractured. Of course he was babysitting.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10243/1083979-100.stm
Police say father head-butted, broke legs of infant son
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
By Sadie Gurman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Fayette County man was charged today with physically abusing his infant son, who is being treated at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC for injuries that include broken bones.
Phillip Eugene Silvers, 31, of Everson, was arraigned on charges of aggravated and simple assault, child endangerment and reckless endangerment. State police arrested him this morning after he admitted to head-butting his 7-week-old son earlier this week because he was angry that the baby would not stop crying, troopers said. The force caused the baby's nose to bleed.
Mr. Silvers said he head-butted the infant once before and said that he "twisted the victim's legs because he would not stop crying," state police said.
The baby's mother told police that on Sunday, she returned home to find Mr. Silvers suctioning blood from her son's nose. When she asked him what had happened, police said, he told her he'd accidently head-butted the baby in the face.
Doctors at Children's said the boy suffered injuries all over his body, and both his legs were fractured.
State police were alerted to the suspected child abuse by Fayette County Children and Youth Services. Mr. Silvers was being held in the county jail on $75,000 bond.
Sadie Gurman: sgurman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1878.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10243/1083979-100.stm#ixzz0yDdifROX
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10243/1083979-100.stm
Police say father head-butted, broke legs of infant son
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
By Sadie Gurman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Fayette County man was charged today with physically abusing his infant son, who is being treated at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC for injuries that include broken bones.
Phillip Eugene Silvers, 31, of Everson, was arraigned on charges of aggravated and simple assault, child endangerment and reckless endangerment. State police arrested him this morning after he admitted to head-butting his 7-week-old son earlier this week because he was angry that the baby would not stop crying, troopers said. The force caused the baby's nose to bleed.
Mr. Silvers said he head-butted the infant once before and said that he "twisted the victim's legs because he would not stop crying," state police said.
The baby's mother told police that on Sunday, she returned home to find Mr. Silvers suctioning blood from her son's nose. When she asked him what had happened, police said, he told her he'd accidently head-butted the baby in the face.
Doctors at Children's said the boy suffered injuries all over his body, and both his legs were fractured.
State police were alerted to the suspected child abuse by Fayette County Children and Youth Services. Mr. Silvers was being held in the county jail on $75,000 bond.
Sadie Gurman: sgurman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1878.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10243/1083979-100.stm#ixzz0yDdifROX
Dad charged with 2nd-degree murder in death of 7-week-old son (Cape Girardeau, Missouri)
This case is more typical than not. This is what happens when you combine a babysitting father like ALLEN R. WALKER JR., a man with a history of domestic assault, and a mom who had to work (probably because Daddy can't or won't get a job). The baby was only 7-weeks old when Daddy "allegedly" killed him by smashing his skull, creating a fatal brain injury.
Batterers shouldn't be around children. Period. And they especially shouldn't be assigned "primary" care of children.
http://www.semissourian.com/story/1660050.html
Cape Girardeau infant's death leads to murder charges against father
Sunday, August 29, 2010
By Scott Moyers ~ Southeast Missourian
The death of a 7-week-old infant has culminated in murder charges for the baby's father, Allen R. Walker Jr., who prosecutors are saying killed his son by fracturing the baby's skull and causing severe brain damage.
The infant died Thursday evening at Children's Hospital in St. Louis, and an autopsy was performed Friday morning by Dr. Jane Turner, an assistant medical examiner for St. Louis. After the autopsy report was filed Friday afternoon, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle upgraded the charges from first-degree assault to second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child.
Swingle declined to comment outside a news release and a copy of the charges.
Walker, 21, remained in custody Saturday at the Cape Girardeau County Jail in Jackson on a $250,000 cash-only bond, set by Circuit Judge Ben Lewis.
Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton said the autopsy shows the baby's death was the result of intentional trauma.
"The child certainly did not die of natural causes," Clifton said. "He also did not die from any accidental reasons."
Second-degree murder carries a sentence ranging from 10 years to life in prison. if convicted of endangering the welfare of a child, Walker could be sentenced to seven years.
Turner said her findings do not suggest an accidental death.
"What I can say is that the autopsy confirmed the impressions of the doctors at Children's Hospital that this baby died of inflicted injuries of the head," she said.
Turner said she found skull fractures and bleeding around the brain and in the retinas.
"Those types of injuries, retinal injuries, are seen in cases of children who are shaken violently, but also are seen in children with massive crushing injuries of the head," she said.
Turner said she has not finalized her investigation.
The baby was born July 6 at Saint Francis Medical Center, one of two twin boys. On Aug. 22, the infant's mother returned home from work and checked on her child in his crib and saw he was pale and had a bruise over his left eye.
The infant was then taken to an area hospital and later transferred to Children's Hospital, where he was treated for injuries but ultimately died.
In an interview with police, Walker said a playpen fell on the child but also admitted he didn't believe that would cause such serious injuries. In an affidavit from the responding police officer, police say a treating physician noted that a mark in the bruise above the infant's eye was consistent with a wedding band. Police noted that Walker was wearing a wedding band on his left hand while still at the residence.
Walker also allegedly told police that from the time the mother left for work he was the only guardian present with the children.
The child's mother could not be reached for comment.
Walker is listed as a prior offender, stemming from his guilty plea in a 2008 case of second-degree domestic assault.
smoyers@semissourian.com
Batterers shouldn't be around children. Period. And they especially shouldn't be assigned "primary" care of children.
http://www.semissourian.com/story/1660050.html
Cape Girardeau infant's death leads to murder charges against father
Sunday, August 29, 2010
By Scott Moyers ~ Southeast Missourian
The death of a 7-week-old infant has culminated in murder charges for the baby's father, Allen R. Walker Jr., who prosecutors are saying killed his son by fracturing the baby's skull and causing severe brain damage.
The infant died Thursday evening at Children's Hospital in St. Louis, and an autopsy was performed Friday morning by Dr. Jane Turner, an assistant medical examiner for St. Louis. After the autopsy report was filed Friday afternoon, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle upgraded the charges from first-degree assault to second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child.
Swingle declined to comment outside a news release and a copy of the charges.
Walker, 21, remained in custody Saturday at the Cape Girardeau County Jail in Jackson on a $250,000 cash-only bond, set by Circuit Judge Ben Lewis.
Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton said the autopsy shows the baby's death was the result of intentional trauma.
"The child certainly did not die of natural causes," Clifton said. "He also did not die from any accidental reasons."
Second-degree murder carries a sentence ranging from 10 years to life in prison. if convicted of endangering the welfare of a child, Walker could be sentenced to seven years.
Turner said her findings do not suggest an accidental death.
"What I can say is that the autopsy confirmed the impressions of the doctors at Children's Hospital that this baby died of inflicted injuries of the head," she said.
Turner said she found skull fractures and bleeding around the brain and in the retinas.
"Those types of injuries, retinal injuries, are seen in cases of children who are shaken violently, but also are seen in children with massive crushing injuries of the head," she said.
Turner said she has not finalized her investigation.
The baby was born July 6 at Saint Francis Medical Center, one of two twin boys. On Aug. 22, the infant's mother returned home from work and checked on her child in his crib and saw he was pale and had a bruise over his left eye.
The infant was then taken to an area hospital and later transferred to Children's Hospital, where he was treated for injuries but ultimately died.
In an interview with police, Walker said a playpen fell on the child but also admitted he didn't believe that would cause such serious injuries. In an affidavit from the responding police officer, police say a treating physician noted that a mark in the bruise above the infant's eye was consistent with a wedding band. Police noted that Walker was wearing a wedding band on his left hand while still at the residence.
Walker also allegedly told police that from the time the mother left for work he was the only guardian present with the children.
The child's mother could not be reached for comment.
Walker is listed as a prior offender, stemming from his guilty plea in a 2008 case of second-degree domestic assault.
smoyers@semissourian.com
Dad kills five people including mom, abducts kids--then abandons them; was in "custody dispute" (Lake Havasu, Arizona)
Dad BRIEN DIEZ is a classic abusive dad--though the reporter doesn't tell you that. How do we know he was abusive? Here are the tell-tale signs:
1) Diez was involved in a "custody dispute" with the mother of his children (translation: he was in an ongoing battle to control/punish the mother by taking her children away from her--a typical abuser tactic).
2) He had previously violated an order of protection that the mother had against him (still more evidence of Daddy's abuse).
3) And as if that wasn't enough, we now know that poor Daddy broke into a house and killed five people, including the mother of his children. So much for "children need both parents" and "co-parenting."
4) Daddy abducted the two thoroughly traumatized children--then abandoned them elsewhere, before offing himself. Yea, that's showing the love.
Still want to make an argument that his "custody dispute" had anything to do with wanting to be a good father and spend more time with his kids, as opposed to violence and coercive control?
Hat tip to Annie.
http://www.kpho.com/news/24803829/detail.html
Lake Havasu Man Kills 5, Then Himself
Suspect In Custody Dispute With Mother Of Children, Police Say
Sarah Shales Assignment Editor, CBS 5 News
POSTED: 9:51 am MST August 29, 2010
UPDATED: 7:07 am MST August 30, 2010
LAKE HAVASU, Ariz. -- Police say a gunman entered a western Arizona home and fatally shot five people -- including the mother of his two children and her boyfriend -- before fleeing with the kids to Southern California where he killed himself.
The shootings in Lake Havasu City late Saturday occurred as 23-year-old Deborah Langstaff and friends were celebrating her boyfriend's birthday.
Police said Sunday that the alleged gunman, 26-year-old Brian Diez, had fathered 4-year-old Kaia Diez and 1-year-old Cole Diez with Langstaff.
Lake Havasu City police Sgt. Joe Harrold says Diez was arrested Aug. 13 for violating a protection order Langstaff had against him.
When police responded to the home, they discovered four people dead at the scene and two others -- 20-year-old Brock Kelson and 44-year-old Deborah Nyland -- needing medical attention.
Kelson and Nyland were transported to Havasu Regional Medical Center by ambulance, where Kelson later died of his wounds, police said.
Police said Diez used a .40-caliber semi-semiautomatic handgun.
Police identified the dead as Langstaff, 24-year-old Primo Verdone, 42-year-old Russell Nyland and 20-year-old Ashley Nyland.
An Amber Alert was issued at 2:30 a.m. as police began to search for the shooter and the missing kids. Just before 4 a.m., the alert was canceled and police said 4-year-old Kaia Diez and 1-year-old Cole Diez were found safe at a home in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., with family members, police said.
Police located Diez in the residence, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound, police said.
1) Diez was involved in a "custody dispute" with the mother of his children (translation: he was in an ongoing battle to control/punish the mother by taking her children away from her--a typical abuser tactic).
2) He had previously violated an order of protection that the mother had against him (still more evidence of Daddy's abuse).
3) And as if that wasn't enough, we now know that poor Daddy broke into a house and killed five people, including the mother of his children. So much for "children need both parents" and "co-parenting."
4) Daddy abducted the two thoroughly traumatized children--then abandoned them elsewhere, before offing himself. Yea, that's showing the love.
Still want to make an argument that his "custody dispute" had anything to do with wanting to be a good father and spend more time with his kids, as opposed to violence and coercive control?
Hat tip to Annie.
http://www.kpho.com/news/24803829/detail.html
Lake Havasu Man Kills 5, Then Himself
Suspect In Custody Dispute With Mother Of Children, Police Say
Sarah Shales Assignment Editor, CBS 5 News
POSTED: 9:51 am MST August 29, 2010
UPDATED: 7:07 am MST August 30, 2010
LAKE HAVASU, Ariz. -- Police say a gunman entered a western Arizona home and fatally shot five people -- including the mother of his two children and her boyfriend -- before fleeing with the kids to Southern California where he killed himself.
The shootings in Lake Havasu City late Saturday occurred as 23-year-old Deborah Langstaff and friends were celebrating her boyfriend's birthday.
Police said Sunday that the alleged gunman, 26-year-old Brian Diez, had fathered 4-year-old Kaia Diez and 1-year-old Cole Diez with Langstaff.
Lake Havasu City police Sgt. Joe Harrold says Diez was arrested Aug. 13 for violating a protection order Langstaff had against him.
When police responded to the home, they discovered four people dead at the scene and two others -- 20-year-old Brock Kelson and 44-year-old Deborah Nyland -- needing medical attention.
Kelson and Nyland were transported to Havasu Regional Medical Center by ambulance, where Kelson later died of his wounds, police said.
Police said Diez used a .40-caliber semi-semiautomatic handgun.
Police identified the dead as Langstaff, 24-year-old Primo Verdone, 42-year-old Russell Nyland and 20-year-old Ashley Nyland.
An Amber Alert was issued at 2:30 a.m. as police began to search for the shooter and the missing kids. Just before 4 a.m., the alert was canceled and police said 4-year-old Kaia Diez and 1-year-old Cole Diez were found safe at a home in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., with family members, police said.
Police located Diez in the residence, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound, police said.
Dad arrested for "allegedly" beating 3-month-old daughter; baby has fractured ribs, skull injuries (Edwardsville, Illinois)
Dad JOSH TROECKLER has been arrested for "allegedly" beating his 3-month-old daughter, who suffered several fractures ribs and injuries to her skull in the assault upon her.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT. Where is this baby's mother? Working?
http://www.ksdk.com/news/regional/story.aspx?storyid=214021&catid=16
Josh Troeckler arrested for alleged child abuse
Updated: 22 hrs ago
Edwardsville, IL (KSDK) -- A 35-year-old Metro East man was arrested Monday and charged for allegedly beating his infant daughter and causing serious injuries.
According to Edwardsville Police Chief James S. Bedell, officers were called to St. Louis Children's Hospital on the night of August 23 in response to a suspected child abuse case. After an initial investigation, officers learned the three-month-old sustained several fractured ribs and injuries to her skull.
The girl was originally taken to Anderson Hospital in Maryville and later brought to St. Louis Children's Hospital for additional treatment.
Bedell said police believe girl's father, Josh D. Troeckler, inflicted the injuries on the girl inside their home. Authorities obtained a warrant for aggravated battery on August 27.
Troeckler was located and arrested by the St. Louis County Police Department and is being held pending extradition to Madison County, where he'll be incarcerated on $250,000 bond.
KSDK
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT. Where is this baby's mother? Working?
http://www.ksdk.com/news/regional/story.aspx?storyid=214021&catid=16
Josh Troeckler arrested for alleged child abuse
Updated: 22 hrs ago
Edwardsville, IL (KSDK) -- A 35-year-old Metro East man was arrested Monday and charged for allegedly beating his infant daughter and causing serious injuries.
According to Edwardsville Police Chief James S. Bedell, officers were called to St. Louis Children's Hospital on the night of August 23 in response to a suspected child abuse case. After an initial investigation, officers learned the three-month-old sustained several fractured ribs and injuries to her skull.
The girl was originally taken to Anderson Hospital in Maryville and later brought to St. Louis Children's Hospital for additional treatment.
Bedell said police believe girl's father, Josh D. Troeckler, inflicted the injuries on the girl inside their home. Authorities obtained a warrant for aggravated battery on August 27.
Troeckler was located and arrested by the St. Louis County Police Department and is being held pending extradition to Madison County, where he'll be incarcerated on $250,000 bond.
KSDK
Dad arrested on felony child abuse complaints; 2-month-old baby has broken leg, skull fractures (Midwest City, Oklahoma)
Dad CHRISTOPHER THOMPSON CASE has been arrested on felony child abuse complaints after his 2-month-old son was hospitalized with a broken leg and skull fractures.
http://www.newsok.com/midwest-city-father-arrested-on-child-abuse-complaints/article/3490426?custom_click=headlines_widget
Midwest City father arrested on child abuse complaints
Christopher Thompson Case, 20, of Midwest City, was arrested Monday on felony child abuse complaints. His two-month-old son is at OU Medical Center with a broken leg and skull fractures, authorities said.
FROM STAFF REPORTS Oklahoman
Published: August 31, 2010
MIDWEST CITY — A 2-month-old boy is being treated at OU Medical Center, and his father has been arrested on felony complaints, police said.
Travis Ryder Case, who police said was born in June, was taken to the hospital Saturday, Police Chief Brandon Clabes said.
The boy is suffering from a broken femur, two skull fractures and an old fracture to the wrist. Doctors said the injuries were caused by child abuse, Clabes said.
Midwest City police investigator Wade Ramsey interviewed both parents, who denied any knowledge of the injuries. The family lives at 1433 N. Midwest Boulevard, Huntington Place Apartments in Midwest City.
Christopher Thompson Case, 20, the boy's father, was arrested Monday on child abuse complaints. He was booked into Midwest City Police Department jail where he posted $30,000 bail.
The boy is in fair condition at the hospital, Clabes said.
The investigation is ongoing and the mother has hired an attorney, Clabes said. Investigators are trying to determine if anyone had knowledge of the abuse and allowed it to occur, Clabes said.
The boy is recovering at the hospital, and a DHS hearing is expected this week to determine who will take custody.
"These cases are always difficult, especially with a child of this age who is completely defenseless." Clabes said.
Read more: http://www.newsok.com/midwest-city-father-arrested-on-child-abuse-complaints/article/3490426?custom_click=headlines_widget#ixzz0yDHz6zL3
http://www.newsok.com/midwest-city-father-arrested-on-child-abuse-complaints/article/3490426?custom_click=headlines_widget
Midwest City father arrested on child abuse complaints
Christopher Thompson Case, 20, of Midwest City, was arrested Monday on felony child abuse complaints. His two-month-old son is at OU Medical Center with a broken leg and skull fractures, authorities said.
FROM STAFF REPORTS Oklahoman
Published: August 31, 2010
MIDWEST CITY — A 2-month-old boy is being treated at OU Medical Center, and his father has been arrested on felony complaints, police said.
Travis Ryder Case, who police said was born in June, was taken to the hospital Saturday, Police Chief Brandon Clabes said.
The boy is suffering from a broken femur, two skull fractures and an old fracture to the wrist. Doctors said the injuries were caused by child abuse, Clabes said.
Midwest City police investigator Wade Ramsey interviewed both parents, who denied any knowledge of the injuries. The family lives at 1433 N. Midwest Boulevard, Huntington Place Apartments in Midwest City.
Christopher Thompson Case, 20, the boy's father, was arrested Monday on child abuse complaints. He was booked into Midwest City Police Department jail where he posted $30,000 bail.
The boy is in fair condition at the hospital, Clabes said.
The investigation is ongoing and the mother has hired an attorney, Clabes said. Investigators are trying to determine if anyone had knowledge of the abuse and allowed it to occur, Clabes said.
The boy is recovering at the hospital, and a DHS hearing is expected this week to determine who will take custody.
"These cases are always difficult, especially with a child of this age who is completely defenseless." Clabes said.
Read more: http://www.newsok.com/midwest-city-father-arrested-on-child-abuse-complaints/article/3490426?custom_click=headlines_widget#ixzz0yDHz6zL3
Monday, August 30, 2010
Dad found guilty of murdering "estranged" wife during child visitation has conviction overturned (Santa Monica, California)
Dad DALE HURD is the lucky guy. He was convicted back in 1995 of murdering his "estranged" wife. Her shooting death took place just one month after the couple had separated after eight years of marriage. The wife had been at the husband's house picking up the children after a visitation.
But shooting her to death was all just an accident, don't you know. Riiigght.
Hat tip to Annie.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/detail?entry_id=70852
Conviction in wife killing overturned
Dale Hurd told Santa Monica police in 1993 that he was showing his estranged wife how to use a gun when it went off by accident, fatally wounding her. But when officers told him to show them how it happened, he refused. At Hurd's murder trial, the prosecutor argued that Hurd's unwillingness to re-enact the shooting was evidence that he was lying and had deliberately killed his wife, Beatrice, to avoid paying her alimony.
After a hung jury at his first trial, jurors convicted Hurd at a retrial in 1995 of murder for financial gain, and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. But a federal appeals court has now ruled that prosecutors had violated a right that the Supreme Court established in its 1966 Miranda ruling: the right to remain silent without being punished for it.
As Robert Beezer, one of the more conservative judges on the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, put it in the 3-0 ruling last week, "A suspect's silence in the face of questioning cannot be used as evidence against him at trial." Police might have been entitled to keep questioning Hurd after he answered some of their inquiries, Beezer said, but the prosecution wasn't allowed to tell jurors that Hurd's refusal to respond to the demand for a re-enactment was evidence of his guilt.
Hurd, who has been in prison since 1993, is now entitled to a new trial unless Attorney General Jerry Brown successfully appeals the ruling. Brown's office says it hasn't decided whether to appeal.
Hurd's lawyer, Philip Brooks, says he was an economist and accountant with no criminal record at the time of the shooting in April 1993. The couple had separated a month earlier after eight years of marriage. Beatrice Hurd had gone to her husband's home to pick up their two children and was upstairs in a room with him when she was shot. Hurd called an ambulance and was sitting near the doorstep alongside his wife when police arrived.
He testified at his trial that his wife told him she was worried about possible rioting after the trial of four Los Angeles police officers charged with beating motorist Rodney King, a trial that was then underway in Los Angeles. Hurd said he told his wife he would lend her his gun and show her how to use it, but it went off accidentally after he had trouble loading it.
Prosecutors challenged his testimony and presented an expert witness who said the angle of the shooting showed it couldn't have been an accident. But the defense countered with its own expert, and the appeals court said the physical evidence wasn't conclusive. In other words, the court said, the prosecution's repeated references to Hurd's refusal to show the police how the shooting occurred may have been what convinced the jury to send him to prison for life.
Posted By: Bob Egelko (Email) August 29 2010 at 10:35 AM
Listed Under: Court filings
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/detail?entry_id=70852#ixzz0y7y7ft2m
But shooting her to death was all just an accident, don't you know. Riiigght.
Hat tip to Annie.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/detail?entry_id=70852
Conviction in wife killing overturned
Dale Hurd told Santa Monica police in 1993 that he was showing his estranged wife how to use a gun when it went off by accident, fatally wounding her. But when officers told him to show them how it happened, he refused. At Hurd's murder trial, the prosecutor argued that Hurd's unwillingness to re-enact the shooting was evidence that he was lying and had deliberately killed his wife, Beatrice, to avoid paying her alimony.
After a hung jury at his first trial, jurors convicted Hurd at a retrial in 1995 of murder for financial gain, and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. But a federal appeals court has now ruled that prosecutors had violated a right that the Supreme Court established in its 1966 Miranda ruling: the right to remain silent without being punished for it.
As Robert Beezer, one of the more conservative judges on the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, put it in the 3-0 ruling last week, "A suspect's silence in the face of questioning cannot be used as evidence against him at trial." Police might have been entitled to keep questioning Hurd after he answered some of their inquiries, Beezer said, but the prosecution wasn't allowed to tell jurors that Hurd's refusal to respond to the demand for a re-enactment was evidence of his guilt.
Hurd, who has been in prison since 1993, is now entitled to a new trial unless Attorney General Jerry Brown successfully appeals the ruling. Brown's office says it hasn't decided whether to appeal.
Hurd's lawyer, Philip Brooks, says he was an economist and accountant with no criminal record at the time of the shooting in April 1993. The couple had separated a month earlier after eight years of marriage. Beatrice Hurd had gone to her husband's home to pick up their two children and was upstairs in a room with him when she was shot. Hurd called an ambulance and was sitting near the doorstep alongside his wife when police arrived.
He testified at his trial that his wife told him she was worried about possible rioting after the trial of four Los Angeles police officers charged with beating motorist Rodney King, a trial that was then underway in Los Angeles. Hurd said he told his wife he would lend her his gun and show her how to use it, but it went off accidentally after he had trouble loading it.
Prosecutors challenged his testimony and presented an expert witness who said the angle of the shooting showed it couldn't have been an accident. But the defense countered with its own expert, and the appeals court said the physical evidence wasn't conclusive. In other words, the court said, the prosecution's repeated references to Hurd's refusal to show the police how the shooting occurred may have been what convinced the jury to send him to prison for life.
Posted By: Bob Egelko (Email) August 29 2010 at 10:35 AM
Listed Under: Court filings
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/detail?entry_id=70852#ixzz0y7y7ft2m
Dad arrested for 2005 death of 5-month-old daughter; sexual assault was "contributing factor" (Copperas Cove, Texas)
Dad JOSEPH ALLSOP has been arrested in the 2005 death of his 5-month-old daughter. Authorities now way that a sexual assault was a "contributing factor" to her death. Why it took them 5 years to figure this out is not really explained very clearly. Seems Daddy was a registered sex offender in the state of Oregon, but failed to re-register in the state of Texas. In fact none of Daddy's history even came to light until he was investigated for the sexual abuse of other children (not his own?). Why was that? If it's your own kid you get a pass? Wonder if the mother of this baby even knew about Daddy's past? Speaking of the mother, there is no mention of her at all here. It's as if this baby materialized out of thin air.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT
http://www.kxxv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13058849
Coryell County father arrested in child's 2005 death
Posted: Aug 27, 2010 8:24 PM CDT
By John Cuoco
COPPERAS COVE - Friday, Joseph Allsop was arrested in Pierce County, Washington in connection with the death of his daughter.
The charge stems from a 2005 unattended death case out of Copperas Cove. Allsop is currently waiting extradition back to Coryell County, Texas.
Detectives from Guadalupe County, Texas began an investigation concerning a sexual assault where Allsop was named as the suspect. Special Agents of the Army's Criminal Investigations Division, at the request of Guadalupe County Detectives, interviewed Allsop on the allegations. During the interview, Allsop confessed to sexually assaulting several children, one of them being his now deceased daughter. It is believed that a sexual assault of his daughter is the contributing factor in her death. The daughter was five months of age at the time of her death.
An autopsy was conducted in 2005 on the child with the findings of "undetermined" for the cause and manner of death. The autopsy was performed by the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Science, Dallas, Texas.
During this investigation it was discovered that Allsop is a convicted sex offender. His conviction was as a juvenile in the State of Oregon. Allsop subsequently moved to Texas where at the age of 18 he was to register as a "sex offender" but failed to ever do so.
The Coryell County District Attorney's office in cooperation with Guadalupe County will determine if any further charges will be filed against Allsop.
Questions concerning this case should be directed to the Coryell County District Attorney's Office.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT
http://www.kxxv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13058849
Coryell County father arrested in child's 2005 death
Posted: Aug 27, 2010 8:24 PM CDT
By John Cuoco
COPPERAS COVE - Friday, Joseph Allsop was arrested in Pierce County, Washington in connection with the death of his daughter.
The charge stems from a 2005 unattended death case out of Copperas Cove. Allsop is currently waiting extradition back to Coryell County, Texas.
Detectives from Guadalupe County, Texas began an investigation concerning a sexual assault where Allsop was named as the suspect. Special Agents of the Army's Criminal Investigations Division, at the request of Guadalupe County Detectives, interviewed Allsop on the allegations. During the interview, Allsop confessed to sexually assaulting several children, one of them being his now deceased daughter. It is believed that a sexual assault of his daughter is the contributing factor in her death. The daughter was five months of age at the time of her death.
An autopsy was conducted in 2005 on the child with the findings of "undetermined" for the cause and manner of death. The autopsy was performed by the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Science, Dallas, Texas.
During this investigation it was discovered that Allsop is a convicted sex offender. His conviction was as a juvenile in the State of Oregon. Allsop subsequently moved to Texas where at the age of 18 he was to register as a "sex offender" but failed to ever do so.
The Coryell County District Attorney's office in cooperation with Guadalupe County will determine if any further charges will be filed against Allsop.
Questions concerning this case should be directed to the Coryell County District Attorney's Office.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Girlfriend of custodial dad indicted in death of 5-year-old boy (Austin, Texas)
Why does the media not ask the most basic questions?
Custodial dad IVAN SOLIZ claims he hadn't even seen his 5-year-old son in the week before the boy's beating death, "allegedly" at the hands of his charming gal pal. No sir. Daddy was "in jail on an unrelated probation violation."
OOOHH. Real Father of the Year, this one.
We know this little boy had a mother, because she is mentioned. So, why did Daddy have custody? Anybody want to answer that for us? Even with CPS knowing all about the girlfriend's abusive history?
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/crime/Girlfriend-indicted-in-child-death
Girlfriend indicted in child death
Turner indicted for injury to a child
Updated: Friday, 20 Aug 2010, 6:14 PM CDT
Published : Friday, 20 Aug 2010, 2:41 PM CDT
Erin Cargile
AUSTIN (KXAN) - Nichole Turner, 22, was indicted Monday in the beating death of 5-year-old Julian Soliz. Turner is the girlfriend of Ivan Soliz, the boy's father.
A Travis County Grand Jury indicted turner for causing serious bodily injury to a child with a blunt object.
On April 10, A passerby found the child's body in tall grass near a sidewalk and homes in the Wells Branch neighborhood of North Travis County.
At the time, Julian was under the care of Turner, his father's girlfriend. She reported the boy missing just a few hours before his body was found.
Julian's father, Leonard "Ivan" Soliz had custody of him, but he claimed he had not seen Julian for about a week before his death. He is in jail on an unrelated probation violation.
Soliz's autopsy concluded he had died from blunt force trauma to his abdomen. This injury could not be attributed to a car accident or a fall, police said. The medical examiner counted at least 59 bruises on the boy's body. Scarring to a wound on his head indicated the injuries happened days prior to his death.
Julian's biological mother, Jessica Salazar said she was in tears most of the day after a Travis County detective told her Turner was going to be arrested. Salazar said she and her family were not surprised by the suspect, but could not bear to hear the detailed account of abuse.
"The pain is always going to be there," said Salazar as tears rolled down her cheek. She put her head in her hands and said, "It's always going to be in the back of my mind. I will never forgive her. She took something away from me I can never get back."
The charge faced by Turner is a first-degree felony and carries a sentence of five years to life in prison. Bond was set at $100,000.00.
Here are some of the points made in the arrest affidavit:
Nichole also described “whooping” Julian on Tuesday (April 6) for lying. She later said this occurred on Wednesday (April 7). She described how she hit Julian with a black leather belt because he had told a lie. Nichole described that as she was doing this, she had a hold of Julian’s hand and he was moving around while she was hitting him with the belt. Nichole said she hit Julian on his buttocks with the belt 3 or 4 times. Then when Julian’s pants were down, she hit him with her hand on his buttocks.
Nichole was also interviewed by Child Protective Services Investigator Michael Bradburn and she advised Bradburn on Tuesday, April 6 she whipped Julian with a belt 3 or 4 times. He was moving around so she had to switch to her hand and pull his pants down and spanked him 3 or 4 times on the buttocks. As Nichole was doing this, Julian fell to the ground and Nichole had a hold of him by his wrist. Julian continued moving about and she continued holding him by the wrist as she was swinging the belt. Nichole admitted that the belt could have struck Julian on the head and could have struck him in the stomach. Nichole said she realized that she had lost control.
Texas Child Protective Services took protective custody of two other children living Turner, her 5-year-old daughter and a 7-month-old boy she had with Soliz.
Custodial dad IVAN SOLIZ claims he hadn't even seen his 5-year-old son in the week before the boy's beating death, "allegedly" at the hands of his charming gal pal. No sir. Daddy was "in jail on an unrelated probation violation."
OOOHH. Real Father of the Year, this one.
We know this little boy had a mother, because she is mentioned. So, why did Daddy have custody? Anybody want to answer that for us? Even with CPS knowing all about the girlfriend's abusive history?
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/crime/Girlfriend-indicted-in-child-death
Girlfriend indicted in child death
Turner indicted for injury to a child
Updated: Friday, 20 Aug 2010, 6:14 PM CDT
Published : Friday, 20 Aug 2010, 2:41 PM CDT
Erin Cargile
AUSTIN (KXAN) - Nichole Turner, 22, was indicted Monday in the beating death of 5-year-old Julian Soliz. Turner is the girlfriend of Ivan Soliz, the boy's father.
A Travis County Grand Jury indicted turner for causing serious bodily injury to a child with a blunt object.
On April 10, A passerby found the child's body in tall grass near a sidewalk and homes in the Wells Branch neighborhood of North Travis County.
At the time, Julian was under the care of Turner, his father's girlfriend. She reported the boy missing just a few hours before his body was found.
Julian's father, Leonard "Ivan" Soliz had custody of him, but he claimed he had not seen Julian for about a week before his death. He is in jail on an unrelated probation violation.
Soliz's autopsy concluded he had died from blunt force trauma to his abdomen. This injury could not be attributed to a car accident or a fall, police said. The medical examiner counted at least 59 bruises on the boy's body. Scarring to a wound on his head indicated the injuries happened days prior to his death.
Julian's biological mother, Jessica Salazar said she was in tears most of the day after a Travis County detective told her Turner was going to be arrested. Salazar said she and her family were not surprised by the suspect, but could not bear to hear the detailed account of abuse.
"The pain is always going to be there," said Salazar as tears rolled down her cheek. She put her head in her hands and said, "It's always going to be in the back of my mind. I will never forgive her. She took something away from me I can never get back."
The charge faced by Turner is a first-degree felony and carries a sentence of five years to life in prison. Bond was set at $100,000.00.
Here are some of the points made in the arrest affidavit:
Nichole also described “whooping” Julian on Tuesday (April 6) for lying. She later said this occurred on Wednesday (April 7). She described how she hit Julian with a black leather belt because he had told a lie. Nichole described that as she was doing this, she had a hold of Julian’s hand and he was moving around while she was hitting him with the belt. Nichole said she hit Julian on his buttocks with the belt 3 or 4 times. Then when Julian’s pants were down, she hit him with her hand on his buttocks.
Nichole was also interviewed by Child Protective Services Investigator Michael Bradburn and she advised Bradburn on Tuesday, April 6 she whipped Julian with a belt 3 or 4 times. He was moving around so she had to switch to her hand and pull his pants down and spanked him 3 or 4 times on the buttocks. As Nichole was doing this, Julian fell to the ground and Nichole had a hold of him by his wrist. Julian continued moving about and she continued holding him by the wrist as she was swinging the belt. Nichole admitted that the belt could have struck Julian on the head and could have struck him in the stomach. Nichole said she realized that she had lost control.
Texas Child Protective Services took protective custody of two other children living Turner, her 5-year-old daughter and a 7-month-old boy she had with Soliz.
Dad charged with felony murder in death of 3-month-old son (Blackman Township, Michigan)
Typical shaken baby case. Dad ADAM STEVENS was "too rough" and "didn't know how to care for such a small child." But Daddy was left alone with his 3-month-old son anyway. The baby later died from brain injuries associated with shaken baby syndrome (a/k/a abusive head trauma).
http://www.wilx.com/news/headlines/101192404.html
Updated: 7:26 PM Aug 20, 2010
Father Charged in Child's Death
Adam Stevens was charged Friday in connection with his three-month-old son, Kian's, death.
Posted: 6:13 PM Aug 20, 2010
Reporter: Jamie Edmonds
Email Address: jamie.edmonds@wilx.com
John Woods remembers running into his neighbors -- Adam Stevens and his girlfriend -- about three months ago, as they brought their first child together home.
"It was a beautiful little baby," Woods said. "I was congratulating them on how beautiful it was and they thanked me."
Woods called them a happy, quiet family which is why he was so shocked to hear the news Friday: The baby is dead, his father is charged with murder.
"I was stunned," he said. "I couldn't believe it."
Blackman Township Public Safety was called to the couple's apartment early Thursday because the three-month-old wasn't breathing.
"We did get him breathing again, then we took him to Allegiance Health," Blackman Township Public Safety Deputy Director John Johnston said. "Then he was flown to U of M hospital, where he died Thursday about 5 pm."
Doctors said he died from what is commonly refered to as "shaking baby syndrome." Stevens was alone with the child at the time.
"The pathologist said the CAT scan proved there were both previous injuries and fresh injuries consistent with abusive head trauma," Johnston said.
The child's mother and Adam's father came home, while our cameras were still there. They said there is another side to this story. His father said Adam suffered from some kinds of mental illness, and he believes there's no way he could have done this on purpose.
The child's mother agreed, even though she said she told Adam on several occasions that he was being too rough with Kian. She thinks he just didn't know how to care for such a small child.
The baby would have officially turned three-months-old on Saturday.
Stevens is being charged with felony murder which carries a life sentence, and child abuse in the first degree which has a maximum penalty of 15 years. He's being held in the Jackson County Jail without bond.
http://www.wilx.com/news/headlines/101192404.html
Updated: 7:26 PM Aug 20, 2010
Father Charged in Child's Death
Adam Stevens was charged Friday in connection with his three-month-old son, Kian's, death.
Posted: 6:13 PM Aug 20, 2010
Reporter: Jamie Edmonds
Email Address: jamie.edmonds@wilx.com
John Woods remembers running into his neighbors -- Adam Stevens and his girlfriend -- about three months ago, as they brought their first child together home.
"It was a beautiful little baby," Woods said. "I was congratulating them on how beautiful it was and they thanked me."
Woods called them a happy, quiet family which is why he was so shocked to hear the news Friday: The baby is dead, his father is charged with murder.
"I was stunned," he said. "I couldn't believe it."
Blackman Township Public Safety was called to the couple's apartment early Thursday because the three-month-old wasn't breathing.
"We did get him breathing again, then we took him to Allegiance Health," Blackman Township Public Safety Deputy Director John Johnston said. "Then he was flown to U of M hospital, where he died Thursday about 5 pm."
Doctors said he died from what is commonly refered to as "shaking baby syndrome." Stevens was alone with the child at the time.
"The pathologist said the CAT scan proved there were both previous injuries and fresh injuries consistent with abusive head trauma," Johnston said.
The child's mother and Adam's father came home, while our cameras were still there. They said there is another side to this story. His father said Adam suffered from some kinds of mental illness, and he believes there's no way he could have done this on purpose.
The child's mother agreed, even though she said she told Adam on several occasions that he was being too rough with Kian. She thinks he just didn't know how to care for such a small child.
The baby would have officially turned three-months-old on Saturday.
Stevens is being charged with felony murder which carries a life sentence, and child abuse in the first degree which has a maximum penalty of 15 years. He's being held in the Jackson County Jail without bond.
Baby dies in hospital; police search for father (London, Ontario, Canada)
Police are searching for dad ROURKE DESMANCHE, who is wanted on crack cocaine and assault charges against his 7-month-old infant (who has subsequently died) and 3-year-old child.
Notice that there are vague references to other "family members," but no specific mention of a mother in this home. Is there one?
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.ottawasun.com/news/canada/2010/08/27/15159336.html
Friday, August 27, 2010 News Canada
Baby dies in hospital; police search for father
By QMI Agency
Last Updated: August 27, 2010 10:15am
LONDON, Ont. - Police are hunting for Rourke Desmanche, the father of an infant who has now died in a London,. Ont., hospital after being found not breathing in a city home in early August.
The infant, who was seven weeks old when he was rushed to hospital Aug. 2, died Friday morning.
Police say they’re working with the regional coroner’s office to investigate the death, which they are treating as “suspicious.”
The infant had been listed in critical condition at the London Health Sciences Centre since being taken to hospital Aug. 2 shortly before midnight.
Desmanche, 21, is wanted for possession of crack cocaine and two counts of assault, relating to the baby as well as a three-year-old found in the home.
Whether Desmanche’s charges could be upgraded is still being looked into.
“There will need to be consultation with the crown attorney to see what other charges could be applicable,” said Const. Amy Phillipo.
A Facebook page indicates family members have been gathering at the hospital since Wednesday to say goodbye to the child.
The family has also put an ad on kijiji, the free classified website, with a picture of Desmanche, asking for the public’s help in locating him
Notice that there are vague references to other "family members," but no specific mention of a mother in this home. Is there one?
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.ottawasun.com/news/canada/2010/08/27/15159336.html
Friday, August 27, 2010 News Canada
Baby dies in hospital; police search for father
By QMI Agency
Last Updated: August 27, 2010 10:15am
LONDON, Ont. - Police are hunting for Rourke Desmanche, the father of an infant who has now died in a London,. Ont., hospital after being found not breathing in a city home in early August.
The infant, who was seven weeks old when he was rushed to hospital Aug. 2, died Friday morning.
Police say they’re working with the regional coroner’s office to investigate the death, which they are treating as “suspicious.”
The infant had been listed in critical condition at the London Health Sciences Centre since being taken to hospital Aug. 2 shortly before midnight.
Desmanche, 21, is wanted for possession of crack cocaine and two counts of assault, relating to the baby as well as a three-year-old found in the home.
Whether Desmanche’s charges could be upgraded is still being looked into.
“There will need to be consultation with the crown attorney to see what other charges could be applicable,” said Const. Amy Phillipo.
A Facebook page indicates family members have been gathering at the hospital since Wednesday to say goodbye to the child.
The family has also put an ad on kijiji, the free classified website, with a picture of Desmanche, asking for the public’s help in locating him
Dad convicted in death of 1-month-old infant (Alburquerque, New Mexico)
Dad JOSE VASQUEZ has been convicted in the death of his 1-month-old infant. Investigators seem to think he somehow "restricted" the baby's breathing while sleeping in the same bed. Probably didn't help matters that Daddy was partaking from a lot of pharmaceuticals.
So where is this baby's mother? In the same bed? Elsewhere? Not a word here.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.newswest9.com/Global/story.asp?S=13053989
Father convicted in infant's death
Associated Press - August 27, 2010 6:05 AM ET
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A Bernalillo County jury has convicted a man in the death of his infant child.
Authorities say 31-year-old Jose Vasquez faces a mandatory 18-year prison sentence.
Vasquez's 1-month old child was found dead in the family bed in November 2008. Investigators learned Vasquez was undergoing prescribed methadone treatment and had recently abused other illegal drugs before going to sleep next to the infant.
It is believed Vasquez moved during the night and placed the child in a position which restricted its breathing.
He had been advised by a doctor not to sleep with the child.
So where is this baby's mother? In the same bed? Elsewhere? Not a word here.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.newswest9.com/Global/story.asp?S=13053989
Father convicted in infant's death
Associated Press - August 27, 2010 6:05 AM ET
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A Bernalillo County jury has convicted a man in the death of his infant child.
Authorities say 31-year-old Jose Vasquez faces a mandatory 18-year prison sentence.
Vasquez's 1-month old child was found dead in the family bed in November 2008. Investigators learned Vasquez was undergoing prescribed methadone treatment and had recently abused other illegal drugs before going to sleep next to the infant.
It is believed Vasquez moved during the night and placed the child in a position which restricted its breathing.
He had been advised by a doctor not to sleep with the child.
Dad jailed after 3-month-old daughter hospitalized with severe head trauma (San Antonio, Texas)
This case is no surprise, given dad BOBBY FERNANDEZ's criminal history and history of violence against his girlfriend--who is only in middle school! Their 3-month-old baby is the latest victim, after Daddy shook her for crying, causing severe head trauma and bleeding on the brain. Why wasn't this guy in jail, if police had been to the home 8 TIMES over the course of this year?
http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Shaking-rage-Baby-has-severe-head-injuries/8DGp74sQtkCFmLmgueJgJQ.cspx
Shaking rage: Baby has severe head injuries
Last Update: 5:57 am
By Melissa Garcia, News 4 WOAI
SAN ANTONIO - A man here is in jail on a $75,000 bond after police say he shook a three month old baby when she wouldn't stop crying. The little girl was rushed to University Hospital Tuesday with severe head trauma and bleeding on the brain.
Thursday morning police arrested Bobby Fernandez, 21, for Injury to a Child. Police say Fernandez broke down in interrogation and admitted to shaking the baby. Authorities tell us when the infant had a seizure, Fernandez waited for the baby to start breathing again instead of calling 911.
“It's horrible. We knew something had happened because there were lots of police there, but we had no idea what had actually happened until we saw the news today,” said Maria Valdez, who lives across the street from the West Side home where the incident happened.
Neighbors tell News 4 WOAI that suspect Bobby Fernandez is the father of the shaken baby and say the baby’s mother is only in middle school. “When she was pregnant, he had her inside one time, beating her up,” said Valdez.
We checked with police and found out officers have been called to the home a total of eight times since the beginning of this year. Those calls include assault, rape, and neighborhood disturbance.
A background check also shows that the man accused of shaking the baby has a criminal history. Fernandez was convicted last year of burglarizing a car.
http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Shaking-rage-Baby-has-severe-head-injuries/8DGp74sQtkCFmLmgueJgJQ.cspx
Shaking rage: Baby has severe head injuries
Last Update: 5:57 am
By Melissa Garcia, News 4 WOAI
SAN ANTONIO - A man here is in jail on a $75,000 bond after police say he shook a three month old baby when she wouldn't stop crying. The little girl was rushed to University Hospital Tuesday with severe head trauma and bleeding on the brain.
Thursday morning police arrested Bobby Fernandez, 21, for Injury to a Child. Police say Fernandez broke down in interrogation and admitted to shaking the baby. Authorities tell us when the infant had a seizure, Fernandez waited for the baby to start breathing again instead of calling 911.
“It's horrible. We knew something had happened because there were lots of police there, but we had no idea what had actually happened until we saw the news today,” said Maria Valdez, who lives across the street from the West Side home where the incident happened.
Neighbors tell News 4 WOAI that suspect Bobby Fernandez is the father of the shaken baby and say the baby’s mother is only in middle school. “When she was pregnant, he had her inside one time, beating her up,” said Valdez.
We checked with police and found out officers have been called to the home a total of eight times since the beginning of this year. Those calls include assault, rape, and neighborhood disturbance.
A background check also shows that the man accused of shaking the baby has a criminal history. Fernandez was convicted last year of burglarizing a car.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Dad accused of breaking leg of 3-month-old baby (Charleston, West Virginia)
Dad JAMES WITT has been arrested for "allegedly" breaking the leg of his 3-month-old baby. So while Daddy was "allegedly" mistreating the baby, where was the baby's mom? Working? Or is this a visitation/custody situation? If there is a mother, why is CPS removing the child if she didn't abuse the child? Or if there is no mother in this home, why does this father have this child in his possession? Why does the media consistently omit the context for these crimes?
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/eyewitness/100819_2644.shtml
Father Accused Of Breaking His Baby's Leg
Reported by: Eyewitness News
Web Producer: Latasha Hughes
Reported: Aug. 19, 2010 10:26 PM EDT
Updated: Aug. 20, 2010 3:34 PM EDT
A father is arrested after allegedly breaking the leg of his 3-month-old baby.
James Witt is charged with child abuse causing serious bodily injury. A DHHR worker removed the baby from the home and sent the child to the hospital.
A doctor discovered the child has a broken left tibia and a couple of older fracture.
Witt is in jail on a $250,000 bond.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/eyewitness/100819_2644.shtml
Father Accused Of Breaking His Baby's Leg
Reported by: Eyewitness News
Web Producer: Latasha Hughes
Reported: Aug. 19, 2010 10:26 PM EDT
Updated: Aug. 20, 2010 3:34 PM EDT
A father is arrested after allegedly breaking the leg of his 3-month-old baby.
James Witt is charged with child abuse causing serious bodily injury. A DHHR worker removed the baby from the home and sent the child to the hospital.
A doctor discovered the child has a broken left tibia and a couple of older fracture.
Witt is in jail on a $250,000 bond.
Rapist dad is now likely to end days behind bars (Dublin, Ireland)
UNNAMED DAD was found guilty of 87 counts of rape and sexual assault against his 3 children, who are now adults.
http://www.herald.ie/national-news/rapist-dad-is-now-likely-to-end-days-behind-bars-2306737.html
Rapist dad is now likely to end days behind bars
Justice: Victims say man who destroyed lives must never be freed
By Charlie Mallon
Saturday August 21 2010
The 73-year-old convicted of the rape and sexual assault of his children will probably die in prison.
"Too good for him" is the unanimous verdict of his victims -- and there have been many.
His first victims are approaching middle age while he is beginning a second jail term for child abuse.
He was this week found guilty on 87 counts of rape and sexual assault of his two daughters and a son and will be sentenced on October 4.
His defence in this latest trial was that he instructed his children, who were in care, to make up the story of abuse so that they could be freed from the care homes.
He indicated that he was prepared to "sacrifice himself" for their common good -- a defence described as an elaborate smokescreen which demonstrated just how devious he could be.
The pensioner, the father of a large family, was previously jailed when he was convicted, after another lengthy trial, of a large number of charges of indecent assault on two girls.
This was unknown to the current jury, who had been warned at the outset of the marathon trial not to "google" on the internet for information on the man in the dock.
When the man was found guilty at the previous trial, the sentencing judge was asked to take into consideration as mitigation the fact that he had been prevented access to his children since his arrest .
This was "weighing very heavily on him".
Then he had a number of unrelated but serious charges spanning more than 50 years.
One of the complainants at the previous trial became extremely distressed after the sentence, saying: "I hope you rot in hell."
Another woman who adds her voice to that sentiment is his former wife, the mother of the abused children.
Victim
She, too, was a victim of rape and sex abuse as a child.
She was also his victim in that she was not aware of what was happening under her own roof and she trusted him.
He had comforted and consoled her about her own trauma as a sex abuse victim.
The jury in the Central Criminal Court this time found him guilty on 87 counts out of 113.
They acquitted him of two further counts of sexual assault and failed to agree verdicts on another seven charges.
Mr Justice George Birmingham had ordered them to return not guilty verdicts on a further 17 counts.
The Dublin man had pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting, raping and orally raping two daughters between the ages of five and 11 and sexually assaulting his son from the age of three to six.
The jury took more than 13 hours to reach their verdicts after a trial which lasted seven weeks.
They found the man guilty of most of the charges, including the rape of his two young daughters, on Thursday, and returned convictions on another nine charges yesterday.
The eldest girl, now 19, was initially taken into care in 2000 but she ran away and was abused by her father when he picked her up in a car.
A social worker revealed that in September 2001, the son made allegations of physical abuse against his father but did not make allegations of a sexual nature until a subsequent meeting.
The father had begun abusing his son from 1996, when the boy was three. At the age of six, the boy was taken into care and placed with a foster family.
He said he would go to the toilet in his bedroom "or anywhere" because he was afraid to go to the bathroom.
He said that once he went downstairs in the night and saw his father watching his older sister naked on the television. He said his father was angry and told him to go back upstairs.
cmallon@herald.ie
- Charlie Mallon
http://www.herald.ie/national-news/rapist-dad-is-now-likely-to-end-days-behind-bars-2306737.html
Rapist dad is now likely to end days behind bars
Justice: Victims say man who destroyed lives must never be freed
By Charlie Mallon
Saturday August 21 2010
The 73-year-old convicted of the rape and sexual assault of his children will probably die in prison.
"Too good for him" is the unanimous verdict of his victims -- and there have been many.
His first victims are approaching middle age while he is beginning a second jail term for child abuse.
He was this week found guilty on 87 counts of rape and sexual assault of his two daughters and a son and will be sentenced on October 4.
His defence in this latest trial was that he instructed his children, who were in care, to make up the story of abuse so that they could be freed from the care homes.
He indicated that he was prepared to "sacrifice himself" for their common good -- a defence described as an elaborate smokescreen which demonstrated just how devious he could be.
The pensioner, the father of a large family, was previously jailed when he was convicted, after another lengthy trial, of a large number of charges of indecent assault on two girls.
This was unknown to the current jury, who had been warned at the outset of the marathon trial not to "google" on the internet for information on the man in the dock.
When the man was found guilty at the previous trial, the sentencing judge was asked to take into consideration as mitigation the fact that he had been prevented access to his children since his arrest .
This was "weighing very heavily on him".
Then he had a number of unrelated but serious charges spanning more than 50 years.
One of the complainants at the previous trial became extremely distressed after the sentence, saying: "I hope you rot in hell."
Another woman who adds her voice to that sentiment is his former wife, the mother of the abused children.
Victim
She, too, was a victim of rape and sex abuse as a child.
She was also his victim in that she was not aware of what was happening under her own roof and she trusted him.
He had comforted and consoled her about her own trauma as a sex abuse victim.
The jury in the Central Criminal Court this time found him guilty on 87 counts out of 113.
They acquitted him of two further counts of sexual assault and failed to agree verdicts on another seven charges.
Mr Justice George Birmingham had ordered them to return not guilty verdicts on a further 17 counts.
The Dublin man had pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting, raping and orally raping two daughters between the ages of five and 11 and sexually assaulting his son from the age of three to six.
The jury took more than 13 hours to reach their verdicts after a trial which lasted seven weeks.
They found the man guilty of most of the charges, including the rape of his two young daughters, on Thursday, and returned convictions on another nine charges yesterday.
The eldest girl, now 19, was initially taken into care in 2000 but she ran away and was abused by her father when he picked her up in a car.
A social worker revealed that in September 2001, the son made allegations of physical abuse against his father but did not make allegations of a sexual nature until a subsequent meeting.
The father had begun abusing his son from 1996, when the boy was three. At the age of six, the boy was taken into care and placed with a foster family.
He said he would go to the toilet in his bedroom "or anywhere" because he was afraid to go to the bathroom.
He said that once he went downstairs in the night and saw his father watching his older sister naked on the television. He said his father was angry and told him to go back upstairs.
cmallon@herald.ie
- Charlie Mallon
Dad murders pregnant wife, 13-month-old daughter (Madison, Wisconsin)
Bear with me as I catch up with the news from the past week or so.
Notice that the reporter is quick to blame dad MATTHEW MAGDZAS's military service for these murders--and fails to mention domestic violence or coercive control issues at all. Just because you're a veteran doesn't mean you wipe out your family. In fact, the military service is something of a red herring here. The guys who commit these crimes are almost uniformly narcissists who see women and children as their personal possessions--to keep or destroy as they see fit. That's the key to analyzing these things. Yes, some of these perpetrators are veterans. But many, many are not. Too bad the media can't bother to follow the basic research on these crimes.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012673832_iraqvet20.html?syndication=rss
Originally published Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 8:17 PM
Iraq veteran, family dead in apparent murder-suicide in Wisconsin
April Oles-Magdzas was due to give birth to her second daughter Wednesday, a little more than a year after she and her husband became new parents.
By TODD RICHMOND
The Associated Press
BOB KING / AP
MADISON, Wis. — April Oles-Magdzas was due to give birth to her second daughter Wednesday, a little more than a year after she and her husband became new parents.
But when Oles-Magdzas' mother showed up that day at the couple's home in Superior, she found the family dead of an apparent murder-suicide.
Superior police said Thursday that Matthew Magdzas, 23, a Wisconsin National Guard soldier who earned a combat badge in the Iraq war, shot and killed his wife, their 13-month-old daughter, Lila, and their three dogs before turning the gun on himself.
Investigators think the killings occurred Tuesday afternoon, but like friends of the couple, they are wondering why.
Police Capt. Chad La Lor said Magdzas did not leave a suicide note, and investigators found no evidence the couple had money problems or was unduly stressed by the pending birth of their daughter. There was no indication either had been unfaithful.
La Lor said investigators plan to subpoena Magdzas' military medical records to see if he had complained of or been treated for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Lt. Col. Jackie Guthrie, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin National Guard, said the military cannot disclose Magdzas' health records to the public.
According to Oles-Magdzas' friend and former colleague, Tessa Buscko, 36, of Duluth, Minn., Oles-Magdzas, 26, was due to give birth by C-section on the day her body was found. She said she didn't know what could have driven Magdzas to wipe out his family.
Magdzas enlisted in the National Guard during summer 2004, between his junior and senior years in high school, Guthrie said. He had completed his training by October 2005 and was assigned to the Superior-based 950th Engineer Company.
He volunteered to deploy overseas with the Milwaukee-based 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery Regiment in 2006. The unit protected convoys moving from Kuwait into northern Iraq, Guthrie said.
He served as a vehicle gunner and was involved in a small-arms battle in Iraq in November 2006, she said. She did not know where the battle took place. Magdzas received a combat action badge, an award that recognizes participation in combat. His deployment ended in 2007.
After returning to Wisconsin, Magdzas went to work as a firearms instructor for Better Defense, a shooting school.
Notice that the reporter is quick to blame dad MATTHEW MAGDZAS's military service for these murders--and fails to mention domestic violence or coercive control issues at all. Just because you're a veteran doesn't mean you wipe out your family. In fact, the military service is something of a red herring here. The guys who commit these crimes are almost uniformly narcissists who see women and children as their personal possessions--to keep or destroy as they see fit. That's the key to analyzing these things. Yes, some of these perpetrators are veterans. But many, many are not. Too bad the media can't bother to follow the basic research on these crimes.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012673832_iraqvet20.html?syndication=rss
Originally published Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 8:17 PM
Iraq veteran, family dead in apparent murder-suicide in Wisconsin
April Oles-Magdzas was due to give birth to her second daughter Wednesday, a little more than a year after she and her husband became new parents.
By TODD RICHMOND
The Associated Press
BOB KING / AP
MADISON, Wis. — April Oles-Magdzas was due to give birth to her second daughter Wednesday, a little more than a year after she and her husband became new parents.
But when Oles-Magdzas' mother showed up that day at the couple's home in Superior, she found the family dead of an apparent murder-suicide.
Superior police said Thursday that Matthew Magdzas, 23, a Wisconsin National Guard soldier who earned a combat badge in the Iraq war, shot and killed his wife, their 13-month-old daughter, Lila, and their three dogs before turning the gun on himself.
Investigators think the killings occurred Tuesday afternoon, but like friends of the couple, they are wondering why.
Police Capt. Chad La Lor said Magdzas did not leave a suicide note, and investigators found no evidence the couple had money problems or was unduly stressed by the pending birth of their daughter. There was no indication either had been unfaithful.
La Lor said investigators plan to subpoena Magdzas' military medical records to see if he had complained of or been treated for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Lt. Col. Jackie Guthrie, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin National Guard, said the military cannot disclose Magdzas' health records to the public.
According to Oles-Magdzas' friend and former colleague, Tessa Buscko, 36, of Duluth, Minn., Oles-Magdzas, 26, was due to give birth by C-section on the day her body was found. She said she didn't know what could have driven Magdzas to wipe out his family.
Magdzas enlisted in the National Guard during summer 2004, between his junior and senior years in high school, Guthrie said. He had completed his training by October 2005 and was assigned to the Superior-based 950th Engineer Company.
He volunteered to deploy overseas with the Milwaukee-based 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery Regiment in 2006. The unit protected convoys moving from Kuwait into northern Iraq, Guthrie said.
He served as a vehicle gunner and was involved in a small-arms battle in Iraq in November 2006, she said. She did not know where the battle took place. Magdzas received a combat action badge, an award that recognizes participation in combat. His deployment ended in 2007.
After returning to Wisconsin, Magdzas went to work as a firearms instructor for Better Defense, a shooting school.
Dad stabs 4-year-old son to death in attack on mom; media labels this a "quarrel" (Capetown, South Africa)
Reporters, please get a clue. This was not a "quarrel" or a "domestic fight" that took place "between" the parents. This was an ASSAULT that UNNAMED DAD directed against the mother. But then Daddy stabbed to death his 4-year-old son in an alleged accident after the mother ducked. Well, I suppose if Daddy hadn't had his knife out threatening the mother, the "accident" wouldn't have happened, right?
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100822120152874C150865
Dad stabs son in domestic fight
August 22 2010 at 02:18PM
A four-year-old boy was stabbed to death during a quarrel between his parents in Nelson Mandela Park in Mthatha, Eastern Cape police said on Sunday.
Eastern Cape police spokesman Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said the incident happened on Saturday night, when the child's parents were fighting.
"The father tried to stab the mother but she ducked," said Fatyela.
"The knife hit the boy... who was on his mother's back."
The boy died on the scene.
Fatyela said the father fled the scene but police were following leads which they hoped would lead to his arrest.
The mother was not injured. - Sapa
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100822120152874C150865
Dad stabs son in domestic fight
August 22 2010 at 02:18PM
A four-year-old boy was stabbed to death during a quarrel between his parents in Nelson Mandela Park in Mthatha, Eastern Cape police said on Sunday.
Eastern Cape police spokesman Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said the incident happened on Saturday night, when the child's parents were fighting.
"The father tried to stab the mother but she ducked," said Fatyela.
"The knife hit the boy... who was on his mother's back."
The boy died on the scene.
Fatyela said the father fled the scene but police were following leads which they hoped would lead to his arrest.
The mother was not injured. - Sapa
Babysitting dad charged with assaulting 7-week-old son (Cape Girardeau, Missouri)
This is one of those cases that shows up with numbing regularity. A dad who is "babysitting" while Mom is forced to work. And once again, it appears Daddy couldn't take the stress, except by taking out his stress on the baby. In this case, the dad is identified as ALLEN RAY WALKER.
http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=13045170
Father charged with assaulting 7-week-old son
Posted: Aug 25, 2010 5:07 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 25, 2010 5:11 PM CDT
By Heartland News
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) - Police arrested a Cape Girardeau man after they say he hurt his child.
Officers were called to a Cape Girardeau hospital for possible child abuse.
Investigators say the seven-week-old child had skull fractures, a large brain bleed, and various bruises.
The infant was taken to a St. Louis hospital for further treatment.
According to Cape Girardeau police, 21-year-old Allen Ray Walker was taking care of the child when the child was hurt.
The child's mother came home from work, noticed the baby was pale and had a bruise above his eye, and took him to the hospital.
Walker first said he didn't know what happened, then said a Pack n Play fell on the child, according to the probable cause statement. He denied knowing how the child was injured.
Walker faces a charge of 1st degree assault. He remains behind bars on $250,000 cash only bond.
http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=13045170
Father charged with assaulting 7-week-old son
Posted: Aug 25, 2010 5:07 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 25, 2010 5:11 PM CDT
By Heartland News
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) - Police arrested a Cape Girardeau man after they say he hurt his child.
Officers were called to a Cape Girardeau hospital for possible child abuse.
Investigators say the seven-week-old child had skull fractures, a large brain bleed, and various bruises.
The infant was taken to a St. Louis hospital for further treatment.
According to Cape Girardeau police, 21-year-old Allen Ray Walker was taking care of the child when the child was hurt.
The child's mother came home from work, noticed the baby was pale and had a bruise above his eye, and took him to the hospital.
Walker first said he didn't know what happened, then said a Pack n Play fell on the child, according to the probable cause statement. He denied knowing how the child was injured.
Walker faces a charge of 1st degree assault. He remains behind bars on $250,000 cash only bond.
Custodial dad will not serve jail time for locking son in feces-covered basement (Allen County, Indiana)
We've reported on custodial dad ERIC URBANO before. Note that there is still not one word of explanation as to what happened to this boy's mother, and why this father was allowed to subject this child to such horrible conditions. Note that even now, Daddy is getting the kid glove treatment and will not be serving jail time for locking this boy in a feces-covered basement while Daddy jetted off to Florida. Disgusting.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/neglectful-dad-will-not-serve-jail-time
Neglectful dad will not serve jail time
Urbano on probation for leaving son in basement
Updated: Thursday, 26 Aug 2010, 2:00 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 26 Aug 2010, 10:34 AM EDT
Drew Blair
ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) - The man who locked his son in a feces-covered basement while he traveled to Florida was sentenced for the crime Thursday morning.
Eric Urbano, 38, will serve a six year suspended sentence, five years on probation as part of an accepted plea agreement. Urbano is also order to not have contact with his son until the child is 18-years-old.
He pleaded guilty in July to one count of possession of a controlled substance and one count of neglect of a dependent.
Allen County Prosecutor, Karen Richards said the sentence is appropriate for everyone involved in the case.
"You have to weigh your need or want for revenge against what's in the best interest of the child," Richards said. "If the child is going to be more harmed by testifying in order to make all of us feel better that somebody gets a jail sentence then that's not justice. That's child abuse again."
Police found Urbano's son living in a Fort Wayne home on March 6, 2010, in the 1500 block of Spy Run Avenue with several animals, including five cats and dogs with feces in every room of the house.
The boy, whose age has not been released, told police that he had been locked in the basement every night since they moved into the home last fall.
Originally it was said that the father was vacationing in Florida at the time of the discovery. His attorney, Randy Fisher told NewsChannel 15 that Urbano had traveled to the state to finalize a divorce from woman who is not the boy's mother.
During the sentencing hearing, a portion of a letter written by Urbano's son was read to the courtroom. The boy wrote that his situation is "100 percent" improved and he now has his own bedroom and bathroom. Judge Frances Gull addressed Urbano following that letter stating "it is pretty pathetic" that that is the best thing his son can say to his father.
Urbano chose to speak during the hearing. He apologized to his son, "I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back but I can’t," he said.
The manner in which the victim will be cared for will be determined in family court.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/neglectful-dad-will-not-serve-jail-time
Neglectful dad will not serve jail time
Urbano on probation for leaving son in basement
Updated: Thursday, 26 Aug 2010, 2:00 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 26 Aug 2010, 10:34 AM EDT
Drew Blair
ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) - The man who locked his son in a feces-covered basement while he traveled to Florida was sentenced for the crime Thursday morning.
Eric Urbano, 38, will serve a six year suspended sentence, five years on probation as part of an accepted plea agreement. Urbano is also order to not have contact with his son until the child is 18-years-old.
He pleaded guilty in July to one count of possession of a controlled substance and one count of neglect of a dependent.
Allen County Prosecutor, Karen Richards said the sentence is appropriate for everyone involved in the case.
"You have to weigh your need or want for revenge against what's in the best interest of the child," Richards said. "If the child is going to be more harmed by testifying in order to make all of us feel better that somebody gets a jail sentence then that's not justice. That's child abuse again."
Police found Urbano's son living in a Fort Wayne home on March 6, 2010, in the 1500 block of Spy Run Avenue with several animals, including five cats and dogs with feces in every room of the house.
The boy, whose age has not been released, told police that he had been locked in the basement every night since they moved into the home last fall.
Originally it was said that the father was vacationing in Florida at the time of the discovery. His attorney, Randy Fisher told NewsChannel 15 that Urbano had traveled to the state to finalize a divorce from woman who is not the boy's mother.
During the sentencing hearing, a portion of a letter written by Urbano's son was read to the courtroom. The boy wrote that his situation is "100 percent" improved and he now has his own bedroom and bathroom. Judge Frances Gull addressed Urbano following that letter stating "it is pretty pathetic" that that is the best thing his son can say to his father.
Urbano chose to speak during the hearing. He apologized to his son, "I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back but I can’t," he said.
The manner in which the victim will be cared for will be determined in family court.
Dad pleads guilty in 2007 death of infant son (Mesa, Arizona)
Dad GREGORY MCMILLAN has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2007 death of his 2-month-old son. The baby died after suffering a fractured skull, broken ribs, and injured liver. Daddy apparently lost his "temper."
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/mesa/article_63c0e584-b13e-11df-a3c3-001cc4c03286.html
Father enters guilty plea in child's 2007 death
Posted: Thursday, August 26, 2010 11:23 am Updated: 11:19 am, Thu Aug 26, 2010.
The Associated Press
A Mesa man entered a guilty plea to manslaughter Thursday for the 2007 death of his infant son.
The Maricopa County Superior Court says two other counts against 24-year-old Gregory McMillan will be dismissed at sentencing Oct. 15.
Superior Court paperwork shows 2-month-old Gregory Friederich died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix on Aug. 24, 2007.
Mesa police said doctors suspected child abuse after examining the baby and finding a fractured skull, broken ribs and injured liver.
Detectives questioned McMillan. They said McMillan admitted losing his temper and hurting the baby.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/mesa/article_63c0e584-b13e-11df-a3c3-001cc4c03286.html
Father enters guilty plea in child's 2007 death
Posted: Thursday, August 26, 2010 11:23 am Updated: 11:19 am, Thu Aug 26, 2010.
The Associated Press
A Mesa man entered a guilty plea to manslaughter Thursday for the 2007 death of his infant son.
The Maricopa County Superior Court says two other counts against 24-year-old Gregory McMillan will be dismissed at sentencing Oct. 15.
Superior Court paperwork shows 2-month-old Gregory Friederich died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix on Aug. 24, 2007.
Mesa police said doctors suspected child abuse after examining the baby and finding a fractured skull, broken ribs and injured liver.
Detectives questioned McMillan. They said McMillan admitted losing his temper and hurting the baby.
Study: Joint custody, continued contact with abuser bad for mothers
Very often social research is of the "duh" variety. Admittedly, the study cited below is a little bit on the "duh" side too. But this particular study does substantiate what has become increasingly clear: It is utterly ridiculous for women to be encouraged to leave their abusers when authorities lock them into joint custody arrangements with the abuser and prolonged contact with them. Note of the battered women studied, at least half were required to see the abusive father of their children once a week or more. But note that the study authors, at least in this summary, do not call for an end to joint custody, especially in cases of abuse. That's just too politically incorrect these days. Indirectly, this study also documents just how much leverage abusive fathers have gained in the custody process these days, and how much work will be needed to make the safety of mothers and children a priority.
http://www.discoverpsychology.com/abuse-has-prolonged-effect-on-mothers.html
Abuse Has Prolonged Effect on Mothers
Posted on August 25 2010 by NewsBot
Leaving a violent or controlling relationship does not provide immediate refuge for a mother’s mental health.
In fact, a woman’s mental health may actually get worse before it gets better, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that in the two years after the end of an abusive relationship, mothers showed poorer mental health, became more depressed and maintained high levels of anxiety. In those areas, they were no better off than women who stayed in abusive relationships.
However, abused mothers who had more social support fared better after the end of their relationship than did similar mothers with less help from friends and family.
“Our findings really help us understand how unstable those first few years are for mothers who leave violent or controlling relationships,” said Kate Adkins, lead author of the study, who did the work as a doctoral student at Ohio State University.
“Even though getting out of the relationship may be good in the long run, they first have to deal with multiple sources of stress, including financial problems, single parenting and sharing custody with the abuser.”
Adkins conducted the study with Claire Kamp Dush, assistant professor of human development and family science at Ohio State.
Their results appear online in the journal Social Science Research and will be published in a future print edition.
The findings don’t suggest that women shouldn’t leave abusive partners, Kamp Dush emphasized.
“What our results mean is that these women still need a lot of support and a lot of services even after they leave. Family members and friends may think things are OK because she has left the abuser. But she still needs support and she still needs social services,” Kamp Dush said.
The researchers used data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being study, a project of Princeton and Columbia universities. They used data on about 2,400 mothers who were married to, or co-habiting with, the father of their child at the end of the first year of the three-study.
They separated the mothers into three groups: those who experienced no abuse, those in controlling relationships (in which fathers were extremely critical and insulting, and controlled her actions) and those in physically violent relationships. They also looked at whether those relationships continued or ended by the end of the three years.
In addition, women were tested for levels of depression and anxiety, and levels of social support and religious involvement.
Results showed that all women – including those in non-violent relationships who stayed with their partners throughout the study – showed higher levels of depression and anxiety by the end of the three years.
That was probably because of the nature of this sample, Adkins said. These were nearly all low-income and minority women who had just become mothers, so they were under a lot of stress, Adkins said.
However, those who stayed in violent and controlling relationships – and those who left such unions – showed significantly greater increases in depression and anxiety, compared to those left or who remained in non-violent relationships.
Why did women who left violent and controlling relationships continue to experience larger increases in depression and anxiety?
A key reason may have been that, because of the shared child, the mothers still had substantial contact with their abusers.
Findings showed that, of abused women whose relationship ended, about half talked to or saw the father once a week. Only about a quarter were in contact with him a few times a year or less.
“They might be going through a divorce, or working out child arrangements. Research shows that more than a third of women continue to experience physical abuse and 95 percent experience emotional abuse following the end of the relationship. All of this adds to the stress and anxiety they already feel,” Adkins said.
The one sliver of good news was that abused women who had the support of friends and family did not show as much depression and anxiety as did women without that level of support.
“After the relationship ends, that is when these mothers really need the protection and help of their family and friends,” Kamp Dush said.
Higher levels of religious involvement did not by itself protect abused mothers from depression and anxiety, the study found. However, it is possible that the religious involvement was associated with social support, and mothers received help and encouragement through people they met through their church activities, Adkins said.
Adkins, who is currently a family therapist working with domestic violence victims, said the results are consistent with what she sees in her practice.
“People often wonder why abused women don’t leave their partners,” she said. “But as this study shows, things aren’t necessarily better after you leave an abuser, at least right away. It’s a difficult process.”
But these results shouldn’t dissuade abused mothers from leaving their partners, particularly when there are safety concerns to themselves or to their children, she said.
“The number one reason to leave is safety, not only for the mothers but for their children as well. While things may not get better right away, we only looked at up to two years after the relationship ended. We’re not sure what happens after that,” Adkins said.
Source: Ohio State University
http://www.discoverpsychology.com/abuse-has-prolonged-effect-on-mothers.html
Abuse Has Prolonged Effect on Mothers
Posted on August 25 2010 by NewsBot
Leaving a violent or controlling relationship does not provide immediate refuge for a mother’s mental health.
In fact, a woman’s mental health may actually get worse before it gets better, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that in the two years after the end of an abusive relationship, mothers showed poorer mental health, became more depressed and maintained high levels of anxiety. In those areas, they were no better off than women who stayed in abusive relationships.
However, abused mothers who had more social support fared better after the end of their relationship than did similar mothers with less help from friends and family.
“Our findings really help us understand how unstable those first few years are for mothers who leave violent or controlling relationships,” said Kate Adkins, lead author of the study, who did the work as a doctoral student at Ohio State University.
“Even though getting out of the relationship may be good in the long run, they first have to deal with multiple sources of stress, including financial problems, single parenting and sharing custody with the abuser.”
Adkins conducted the study with Claire Kamp Dush, assistant professor of human development and family science at Ohio State.
Their results appear online in the journal Social Science Research and will be published in a future print edition.
The findings don’t suggest that women shouldn’t leave abusive partners, Kamp Dush emphasized.
“What our results mean is that these women still need a lot of support and a lot of services even after they leave. Family members and friends may think things are OK because she has left the abuser. But she still needs support and she still needs social services,” Kamp Dush said.
The researchers used data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being study, a project of Princeton and Columbia universities. They used data on about 2,400 mothers who were married to, or co-habiting with, the father of their child at the end of the first year of the three-study.
They separated the mothers into three groups: those who experienced no abuse, those in controlling relationships (in which fathers were extremely critical and insulting, and controlled her actions) and those in physically violent relationships. They also looked at whether those relationships continued or ended by the end of the three years.
In addition, women were tested for levels of depression and anxiety, and levels of social support and religious involvement.
Results showed that all women – including those in non-violent relationships who stayed with their partners throughout the study – showed higher levels of depression and anxiety by the end of the three years.
That was probably because of the nature of this sample, Adkins said. These were nearly all low-income and minority women who had just become mothers, so they were under a lot of stress, Adkins said.
However, those who stayed in violent and controlling relationships – and those who left such unions – showed significantly greater increases in depression and anxiety, compared to those left or who remained in non-violent relationships.
Why did women who left violent and controlling relationships continue to experience larger increases in depression and anxiety?
A key reason may have been that, because of the shared child, the mothers still had substantial contact with their abusers.
Findings showed that, of abused women whose relationship ended, about half talked to or saw the father once a week. Only about a quarter were in contact with him a few times a year or less.
“They might be going through a divorce, or working out child arrangements. Research shows that more than a third of women continue to experience physical abuse and 95 percent experience emotional abuse following the end of the relationship. All of this adds to the stress and anxiety they already feel,” Adkins said.
The one sliver of good news was that abused women who had the support of friends and family did not show as much depression and anxiety as did women without that level of support.
“After the relationship ends, that is when these mothers really need the protection and help of their family and friends,” Kamp Dush said.
Higher levels of religious involvement did not by itself protect abused mothers from depression and anxiety, the study found. However, it is possible that the religious involvement was associated with social support, and mothers received help and encouragement through people they met through their church activities, Adkins said.
Adkins, who is currently a family therapist working with domestic violence victims, said the results are consistent with what she sees in her practice.
“People often wonder why abused women don’t leave their partners,” she said. “But as this study shows, things aren’t necessarily better after you leave an abuser, at least right away. It’s a difficult process.”
But these results shouldn’t dissuade abused mothers from leaving their partners, particularly when there are safety concerns to themselves or to their children, she said.
“The number one reason to leave is safety, not only for the mothers but for their children as well. While things may not get better right away, we only looked at up to two years after the relationship ended. We’re not sure what happens after that,” Adkins said.
Source: Ohio State University
Dad pleads guilty to 2nd-degree child abuse in taser case involving 2-year-old daughter (Warren, Michigan)
We've reported on this case before. JOSEPH R. COX is another one of those daddies who was awarded joint custody despite being a "habitual offender." All joint custody seemed to do in this case was create a lot of unneeded aggravation for the mother and put the baby at unnecessary risk. Can't we just take guys like Cox and cut them loose? Why were Daddy's rights considered more important than anyone else's right to safety, security, and happiness?
http://www.freep.com/article/20100825/NEWS04/8250340/1006/Macomb-County-news-Dad-to-be-sentenced-in-Taser-case
Posted: Aug. 25, 2010
Macomb County news: Dad to be sentenced in Taser case
COMPILED FROM REPORTS BY STEVE NEAVLING, TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA AND CHRISTINA HALL
WARREN: Dad to be sentenced in Taser case
The man who held his 2-year-old in front of him to avoid being shocked by a police Taser in Warren is to be sentenced to up to a year in jail next month.
Joseph R. Cox, 27, of Belleville pleaded guilty Tuesday in Macomb County Circuit Court to third-degree home invasion and resisting and obstructing a police officer. He also pleaded no contest to second-degree child abuse, according to court records. As part of the plea, a habitual offender charge is to be dismissed at sentencing, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 30.
A Warren police officer testified in April that he was just a few feet from Cox when the father held his 2-year-old in front of him, the red light of a Taser's laser target glowing on her chest. The officer said Cox used the girl as a human shield, pivoting with her as the officer tried to reposition himself. Cox's ex-wife said she called police after he had broken into her home during a disagreement.
Read more: Macomb County news: Dad to be sentenced in Taser case freep.com Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20100825/NEWS04/8250340/1006/Macomb-County-news-Dad-to-be-sentenced-in-Taser-case#ixzz0xjqvWCNR
http://www.freep.com/article/20100825/NEWS04/8250340/1006/Macomb-County-news-Dad-to-be-sentenced-in-Taser-case
Posted: Aug. 25, 2010
Macomb County news: Dad to be sentenced in Taser case
COMPILED FROM REPORTS BY STEVE NEAVLING, TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA AND CHRISTINA HALL
WARREN: Dad to be sentenced in Taser case
The man who held his 2-year-old in front of him to avoid being shocked by a police Taser in Warren is to be sentenced to up to a year in jail next month.
Joseph R. Cox, 27, of Belleville pleaded guilty Tuesday in Macomb County Circuit Court to third-degree home invasion and resisting and obstructing a police officer. He also pleaded no contest to second-degree child abuse, according to court records. As part of the plea, a habitual offender charge is to be dismissed at sentencing, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 30.
A Warren police officer testified in April that he was just a few feet from Cox when the father held his 2-year-old in front of him, the red light of a Taser's laser target glowing on her chest. The officer said Cox used the girl as a human shield, pivoting with her as the officer tried to reposition himself. Cox's ex-wife said she called police after he had broken into her home during a disagreement.
Read more: Macomb County news: Dad to be sentenced in Taser case freep.com Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20100825/NEWS04/8250340/1006/Macomb-County-news-Dad-to-be-sentenced-in-Taser-case#ixzz0xjqvWCNR
Dad charged with aggravated manslaughter in death of 8-week-old daughter (Cape Coral, Florida)
Dad MIKLOS BLACKMORE has been charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of his 8-week-old daughter. The baby died from multiple blunt force trauma and physical abuse, and Dad was apparently alone with the baby at the time she sustained her injuries. Dad has a prior history of violence, including an arrest for aggravated assault, so this isn't necessarily unprecedented behavior for him. Sadly, a lot of mothers and other family members are in complete denial when these things happen.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20100826/SS08/8260378/1005/ACC/Lehigh-Acres-father-jailed-in-death-of-daughter
Lehigh Acres father jailed in death of daughter
Eight-week-old girl died 7 months ago
BY MAE YOUSIF-BASHI • mbashi@news-press.com • August 26, 2010
1:10 A.M. — A grieving Cape Coral mother was upset and confused Wednesday after her former boyfriend was arrested for the death of their 8-week-old daughter.
Cape police have charged Miklos Blackmore, 24, of Lehigh Acres with aggravated manslaughter, a first-degree felony, almost seven months after the death of his daughter, Shy-Ana, on Jan. 29, said Connie Barron, police spokeswoman.
That evening, Blackmore and Sabine Cadet, 19, the child's mother and the suspect's girlfriend at the time, rushed Shy-Ana to the hospital because she wasn't breathing. Shy-Ana was pronounced dead a few hours later.
The medical examiner's office later determined that Shy-Ana's death was caused by multiple blunt force trauma and physical abuse.
During the investigation, a detective found that Blackmore had been alone with Shy-Ana prior to the breathing incident. Based on the evidence, police determined that probable cause existed to charge Blackmore with his daughter's death.
But that's not what Cadet said was in the autopsy the couple obtained in February.
"The autopsy said the baby died from choking on her food," Cadet said. "We thought the investigation was over. ... He loves our baby, I love our baby, she was our whole life."
Cadet said Shy-Ana had problems keeping her food down and the couple even took her to the doctor to find out if there was a way to fix the problem.
Cadet said she cried Wednesday when she found out about Blackmore's arrest. She said that, since the day the two left the police station for questioning about the death, they hadn't heard from the police. They helped each other through the grieving process but broke up a few months after the baby died because "it just wasn't working out," Cadet said.
The state attorney's office will charge Blackmore. If the charge remains aggravated manslaughter, he faces from 15 years to life in prison.
The Department of Children and Families has investigated the child's death, said Terry Field, a DCF spokesman. But because the case is still open, Field said he could not release the findings. He said the family did not have a prior history with DCF.
"This was our first involvement with this family," Field said.
Blackmore has an arrest history dating back to 2005, including a third-degree felony charge of aggravated assault, according to the Lee County records.
Cadet's brother, Kency, 23, said he doesn't believe Blackmore abused or killed his niece. "I have never seen violence from him," he said.
His sister still hasn't come to terms with the arrest.
"I've seen a change in him from dating to when (Shy-Ana) was born," she said. "She was everything to him, she was his baby."
Sabine Cadet said Blackmore was on the floor in tears the night they were at the hospital waiting on word of the infant's condition.
"Me and (Blackmore) kept praying and crying together," she said. "He held me up because I couldn't even stand. I didn't know how to feel."
- Staff writer Janine Zeitlin contributed to this report.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20100826/SS08/8260378/1005/ACC/Lehigh-Acres-father-jailed-in-death-of-daughter
Lehigh Acres father jailed in death of daughter
Eight-week-old girl died 7 months ago
BY MAE YOUSIF-BASHI • mbashi@news-press.com • August 26, 2010
1:10 A.M. — A grieving Cape Coral mother was upset and confused Wednesday after her former boyfriend was arrested for the death of their 8-week-old daughter.
Cape police have charged Miklos Blackmore, 24, of Lehigh Acres with aggravated manslaughter, a first-degree felony, almost seven months after the death of his daughter, Shy-Ana, on Jan. 29, said Connie Barron, police spokeswoman.
That evening, Blackmore and Sabine Cadet, 19, the child's mother and the suspect's girlfriend at the time, rushed Shy-Ana to the hospital because she wasn't breathing. Shy-Ana was pronounced dead a few hours later.
The medical examiner's office later determined that Shy-Ana's death was caused by multiple blunt force trauma and physical abuse.
During the investigation, a detective found that Blackmore had been alone with Shy-Ana prior to the breathing incident. Based on the evidence, police determined that probable cause existed to charge Blackmore with his daughter's death.
But that's not what Cadet said was in the autopsy the couple obtained in February.
"The autopsy said the baby died from choking on her food," Cadet said. "We thought the investigation was over. ... He loves our baby, I love our baby, she was our whole life."
Cadet said Shy-Ana had problems keeping her food down and the couple even took her to the doctor to find out if there was a way to fix the problem.
Cadet said she cried Wednesday when she found out about Blackmore's arrest. She said that, since the day the two left the police station for questioning about the death, they hadn't heard from the police. They helped each other through the grieving process but broke up a few months after the baby died because "it just wasn't working out," Cadet said.
The state attorney's office will charge Blackmore. If the charge remains aggravated manslaughter, he faces from 15 years to life in prison.
The Department of Children and Families has investigated the child's death, said Terry Field, a DCF spokesman. But because the case is still open, Field said he could not release the findings. He said the family did not have a prior history with DCF.
"This was our first involvement with this family," Field said.
Blackmore has an arrest history dating back to 2005, including a third-degree felony charge of aggravated assault, according to the Lee County records.
Cadet's brother, Kency, 23, said he doesn't believe Blackmore abused or killed his niece. "I have never seen violence from him," he said.
His sister still hasn't come to terms with the arrest.
"I've seen a change in him from dating to when (Shy-Ana) was born," she said. "She was everything to him, she was his baby."
Sabine Cadet said Blackmore was on the floor in tears the night they were at the hospital waiting on word of the infant's condition.
"Me and (Blackmore) kept praying and crying together," she said. "He held me up because I couldn't even stand. I didn't know how to feel."
- Staff writer Janine Zeitlin contributed to this report.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Dad acquitted of 1st-degree murder in death of 5-month-old son (Tampa, Florida)
A jury of his peers has decided that dad HECTOR JAIMAN didn't deliberately kill his 5-month-old son, who was then staying with him (the mother lived out of town).The baby died with numerous injuries, including broken ribs, a ruptured bowel, and internal bleeding. The medical examiner said this wasn't an accident, that the baby couldn't have died from rolling off the bed, but oh well. It's not uncommon at all for these guys to play the "stupid" and "crazy" card--like this one did in claiming he did CPR wrong--and get off. And deliberately knocking his own head against a table so he could be with his son? Puleeze.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/aug/20/201827/brandon-man-acquitted-sons-death/
Hillsborough jury acquits father in son's death
By TOM BRENNAN The Tampa Tribune
Published: August 20, 2010
Updated: 08/20/2010 06:27 pm
TAMPA - Hector Jaiman always said he didn't kill his 5-month-old son.
Today, a jury sided with him.
The panel deliberated for about seven hours before acquitting Jaiman of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
Jaiman testified his son, Hector IV, was fine when the two retired for the night at a relative's Brandon home on Jan. 31, 2008. He said he placed the baby on the queen-sized bed to watch the lights of the television while he called the child's mother in Boston.
Jaiman told jurors he nodded off but awoke with a start about 4 a.m. and panicked when he reached for his son and couldn't find him.
"I was freaking out," Jaiman testified.
He said he found his son wedged face-down between the bed and the adjoining dresser.
"I snatched him up," he said. "I was telling him, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry.'"
When he discovered his son wasn't breathing, he put him on the floor and began CPR, just like he had seen on television – using both hands to pump the child's chest and blowing air into the tiny mouth. He said he couldn't remember how many times he repeated those actions.
"I wasn't counting. I was pumping and blowing."
He said he picked up the baby and ran into the living room shouting for help. His aunt called 911. Jaiman said it was then he learned he had performed CPR the wrong way on such a small child.
When emergency responders arrived, the boy was cold to the touch, he wasn't breathing and his heart wasn't pumping. About an hour-long attempt to resuscitate the child failed.
Nine months later, the medical examiner's office determined the death wasn't an accident. The child's injuries included broken ribs, a ruptured bowel and internal bleeding.
Police didn't arrest Jaiman until June 2009 when he was taken into custody at his father's home in Pennsylvania.
Defense attorneys said the broken ribs came weeks before the baby's death when he fell off a bed in his parents' Boston apartment. They said the other injuries must have been caused by the attempts at CPR.
Both sides called doctors to back up their positions.
On the night of his son's death, deputies handcuffed Jaiman at the scene, saying he was interfering with the child's treatment. They then took him into custody for emergency psychiatric evaluation under the state's Baker Act.
Jaiman admitted losing it that night but said he was concerned about his son and upset that deputies wouldn't let him go to the hospital.
He told jurors he started banging his head against a table in hopes deputies would be forced to take him with his son.
Reporter Tom Brennan can be reached at (813) 259-7698.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/aug/20/201827/brandon-man-acquitted-sons-death/
Hillsborough jury acquits father in son's death
By TOM BRENNAN The Tampa Tribune
Published: August 20, 2010
Updated: 08/20/2010 06:27 pm
TAMPA - Hector Jaiman always said he didn't kill his 5-month-old son.
Today, a jury sided with him.
The panel deliberated for about seven hours before acquitting Jaiman of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
Jaiman testified his son, Hector IV, was fine when the two retired for the night at a relative's Brandon home on Jan. 31, 2008. He said he placed the baby on the queen-sized bed to watch the lights of the television while he called the child's mother in Boston.
Jaiman told jurors he nodded off but awoke with a start about 4 a.m. and panicked when he reached for his son and couldn't find him.
"I was freaking out," Jaiman testified.
He said he found his son wedged face-down between the bed and the adjoining dresser.
"I snatched him up," he said. "I was telling him, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry.'"
When he discovered his son wasn't breathing, he put him on the floor and began CPR, just like he had seen on television – using both hands to pump the child's chest and blowing air into the tiny mouth. He said he couldn't remember how many times he repeated those actions.
"I wasn't counting. I was pumping and blowing."
He said he picked up the baby and ran into the living room shouting for help. His aunt called 911. Jaiman said it was then he learned he had performed CPR the wrong way on such a small child.
When emergency responders arrived, the boy was cold to the touch, he wasn't breathing and his heart wasn't pumping. About an hour-long attempt to resuscitate the child failed.
Nine months later, the medical examiner's office determined the death wasn't an accident. The child's injuries included broken ribs, a ruptured bowel and internal bleeding.
Police didn't arrest Jaiman until June 2009 when he was taken into custody at his father's home in Pennsylvania.
Defense attorneys said the broken ribs came weeks before the baby's death when he fell off a bed in his parents' Boston apartment. They said the other injuries must have been caused by the attempts at CPR.
Both sides called doctors to back up their positions.
On the night of his son's death, deputies handcuffed Jaiman at the scene, saying he was interfering with the child's treatment. They then took him into custody for emergency psychiatric evaluation under the state's Baker Act.
Jaiman admitted losing it that night but said he was concerned about his son and upset that deputies wouldn't let him go to the hospital.
He told jurors he started banging his head against a table in hopes deputies would be forced to take him with his son.
Reporter Tom Brennan can be reached at (813) 259-7698.
Dad kills son in "ritual sacrifice;" had possession of child after he "chased off" mother (Kisowera, Uganda)
Apart from the role played out by the witchdoctor, this story could have taken place anywhere in the world where an abusive father has "chased off " or excluded a mother from protecting and caring for her child. In this case, dad DAVID MWESIGYE suffocated his 1-year-old son to death and "partially detached" his genitals. The mother, who was separated from the father, had been attempting to see the baby, but had been prevented from doing so.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/detail.php?newsCategoryId=12&newsId=729360
Father kills son in ‘ritual sacrifice’
Friday, 20th August, 2010
By John Semakula and Henry Nsubuga
DAVID Mwesigye suffocated his son to death. He then carried the body from his home in Kisowera along the Mukono-Kayunga road to Godfrey Ssajjabi, a witchdoctor in Kigunga, about 15km on the Kampala-Jinja highway.
Under the cover of darkness, the two dug a hole at the edge of the witchdoctor’s compound, placed the body in the hole and planted a banana sucker to avoid suspicion.
It was Saturday 23rd September, 2007. Only Mwesigye and the witchdoctor knew that little Derrick Mutebi was no more. At the age of one and a half years, he had been brutally killed by his father, a television technician, the very person who was supposed to nurture him.
By coincidence the boy’s mother, Ephransi Namuddu, who had separated from Mwesigye, felt the urge to go and see her son.
When she did not find her son in the house, Mwesigye lied to her that the boy was living with his grandmother in Maganjo on the Kampala-Gayaza road.
She went all the way to Maganjo, only to be told that Mwesigye had not taken the boy there. It was then that she reported to Police that her son had gone missing.
Mwesigye was arrested and he led Police to the witchdoctor’s place where they had buried the body. Police exhumed the body and took it to Kawolo Hospital for a postmortem.
As Mwesige confessed in court on Wednesday, he could not come to terms with what he had done to his own son.
He broke down and cried while testifying before a special High Court Session in Mukono which was presided over by Justice Jane Kiggundu.
“I didn’t intend to kill him. I was only disciplining him,” he pleaded.
Initially Mwesigye claimed that the boy had been electrocuted. But his landlord, Katende Bumali, testified that he did not have electricity in the house.
Later he changed, claiming he was only administering a disciplinary beating when they boy died. But the post-mortem report from Lugazi hospital showed that the boy suffocated to death.
The report also showed that the child’s genitals were partially detached.
Left with no other lie to tell, the two pleaded guilty. But they pleaded for lenience arguing that they were first offenders.
Mwesigye added that he had learnt a bitter lesson that it was not proper to punish a child like an animal, and that he would not repeat the offence.
Their lawyer, Musa Sembajja, also asked court to be lenient to them by giving them the minimum sentences because they had not wasted court’s time by denying the offence.
The lawyer further asked that the witchdoctor should be given a lighter sentence of seven years in jail since he did not participate in the killing. “He only accepted to have the body buried at his place.
The only offense he committed was that he never informed Police.”
But the Resident State Attorney Gladys Nyanzi asked court to give the duo a maximum sentence, which is death.
She argued that killing one’s own child and cutting off the genitals was strong evidence of ritual murder, for which the two should be severely punished.
Nyanzi said that by killing the boy, Mwesigye violated the responsibility given to him by the Constitution to protect his children’s rights to life.
“The boy suffered twice when Mwesigye chased his mother from home and when he killed him.
This is a case of murder of a child. It is one of the child sacrifice cases which are rampant in Uganda today. It is my request that in your sentence you show that murder is punishable in the courts of law,” she added.
Nyanzi explained that Ssajjabi was equally responsible for killing the boy because he did not report the matter to the Police.
“Child sacrifice is an inhuman habit that must be fought. Scenarios have shown that body parts of human beings are on a high demand by the witchdoctors.
The deceased’s genitals were partially detached meaning that they were the target,” she said. “I therefore appeal for the same sentence for Ssajjabi.”
The ruling was set to be made yesterday but the judge postponed it to Monday after the defence lawyer asked for an opportunity for his clients to make an additional plea.
He argues that much as they pleaded guilty to the murder, it was not ritual sacrifice as depicted by prosecution.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/detail.php?newsCategoryId=12&newsId=729360
Father kills son in ‘ritual sacrifice’
Friday, 20th August, 2010
By John Semakula and Henry Nsubuga
DAVID Mwesigye suffocated his son to death. He then carried the body from his home in Kisowera along the Mukono-Kayunga road to Godfrey Ssajjabi, a witchdoctor in Kigunga, about 15km on the Kampala-Jinja highway.
Under the cover of darkness, the two dug a hole at the edge of the witchdoctor’s compound, placed the body in the hole and planted a banana sucker to avoid suspicion.
It was Saturday 23rd September, 2007. Only Mwesigye and the witchdoctor knew that little Derrick Mutebi was no more. At the age of one and a half years, he had been brutally killed by his father, a television technician, the very person who was supposed to nurture him.
By coincidence the boy’s mother, Ephransi Namuddu, who had separated from Mwesigye, felt the urge to go and see her son.
When she did not find her son in the house, Mwesigye lied to her that the boy was living with his grandmother in Maganjo on the Kampala-Gayaza road.
She went all the way to Maganjo, only to be told that Mwesigye had not taken the boy there. It was then that she reported to Police that her son had gone missing.
Mwesigye was arrested and he led Police to the witchdoctor’s place where they had buried the body. Police exhumed the body and took it to Kawolo Hospital for a postmortem.
As Mwesige confessed in court on Wednesday, he could not come to terms with what he had done to his own son.
He broke down and cried while testifying before a special High Court Session in Mukono which was presided over by Justice Jane Kiggundu.
“I didn’t intend to kill him. I was only disciplining him,” he pleaded.
Initially Mwesigye claimed that the boy had been electrocuted. But his landlord, Katende Bumali, testified that he did not have electricity in the house.
Later he changed, claiming he was only administering a disciplinary beating when they boy died. But the post-mortem report from Lugazi hospital showed that the boy suffocated to death.
The report also showed that the child’s genitals were partially detached.
Left with no other lie to tell, the two pleaded guilty. But they pleaded for lenience arguing that they were first offenders.
Mwesigye added that he had learnt a bitter lesson that it was not proper to punish a child like an animal, and that he would not repeat the offence.
Their lawyer, Musa Sembajja, also asked court to be lenient to them by giving them the minimum sentences because they had not wasted court’s time by denying the offence.
The lawyer further asked that the witchdoctor should be given a lighter sentence of seven years in jail since he did not participate in the killing. “He only accepted to have the body buried at his place.
The only offense he committed was that he never informed Police.”
But the Resident State Attorney Gladys Nyanzi asked court to give the duo a maximum sentence, which is death.
She argued that killing one’s own child and cutting off the genitals was strong evidence of ritual murder, for which the two should be severely punished.
Nyanzi said that by killing the boy, Mwesigye violated the responsibility given to him by the Constitution to protect his children’s rights to life.
“The boy suffered twice when Mwesigye chased his mother from home and when he killed him.
This is a case of murder of a child. It is one of the child sacrifice cases which are rampant in Uganda today. It is my request that in your sentence you show that murder is punishable in the courts of law,” she added.
Nyanzi explained that Ssajjabi was equally responsible for killing the boy because he did not report the matter to the Police.
“Child sacrifice is an inhuman habit that must be fought. Scenarios have shown that body parts of human beings are on a high demand by the witchdoctors.
The deceased’s genitals were partially detached meaning that they were the target,” she said. “I therefore appeal for the same sentence for Ssajjabi.”
The ruling was set to be made yesterday but the judge postponed it to Monday after the defence lawyer asked for an opportunity for his clients to make an additional plea.
He argues that much as they pleaded guilty to the murder, it was not ritual sacrifice as depicted by prosecution.
Custodial dad charged with child neglect, starving 3- and 5-year-old children (Martinsburg, West Virginia)
What is not made explicit here is that dad JESSE A. LAFFERTY must be custodial for his 3- and 5-year-old children to show "classic signs of starvation" and to spend "50 to 60 percent of their time in the basement."
So how did Daddy get custody? Who gave it to him? How and why has he retained it?
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT. Not one dang word on what happened to the mother of these children. Whether she's dead or alive and "merely" excluded from the lives of these poor babies.
http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=251554&format=html
Father charged with neglecting his children
Court records: Girl and boy showed 'classic signs of starvation'
By MATTHEW UMSTEAD and TRISH RUDDER
August 23, 2010
matthewu@herald-mail.com
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A 3-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy who showed “classic signs of starvation” were found Friday in a Martinsburg home that had a padlock on the refrigerator door and a deadbolt on the food pantry, according to court records.
Jesse A. Lafferty of 292 Labonte Drive, the father of children, was in Eastern Regional Jail on Monday charged with two felony counts of child neglect by parent or guardian leading to serious bodily injury, two felony counts of child abuse by parent or guardian and four felony counts of conspiracy to commit the abuse and neglect, according to court and jail records.
Lafferty, 32, was jailed on a $140,000 bond set by Berkeley County Magistrate JoAnn Overington, according to jail and court records.
Arrest warrants similarly charging Lafferty’s girlfriend, Karen S. Boback, who lived with Lafferty, have been issued, but she had not been arraigned as of Monday night, according to court records.
Boback allegedly told police Monday that Lafferty punished the children by withholding food from them over a 24-hour period, made them take cold showers, spanked them with a belt and forced them to spend the night in the home’s unfinished basement, according to a complaint filed with the court by West Virginia State Police J.M. Walker.
“When questioned concerning the frequency of food being withheld from his children, Ms. Boback stated out of seven days (Lafferty) would withhold food from his children two to three days,” Walker wrote in his complaint.
The basement door had a lock on it with a doorbell at the top of the door, according to court records.
Boback told police the children spent 50 to 60 percent of their time in the basement, according to court records.
In a walk-through of the home Friday, Walker found the basement’s concrete floor was bare except for a small piece of carpet and a couple of blankets, according to court records. A baby monitor was found near the blankets, and a child’s portable toilet was in one corner of the basement, according to court records.
On Saturday, a forensic nurse at Winchester (Va.) Medical Center told State Police Sgt. D.E. Boober that it was “evident to her that both children were underweight and malnourished” after examining them, according to Walker’s complaint.
An official with the West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources on Friday told Walker that she believed the children exhibited signs of being starved and that a case worker was attempting to remove them from the home, according to court records.
Boback told investigators that she believed her boyfriend’s treatment of his children was a crime, according to Walker and court records.
So how did Daddy get custody? Who gave it to him? How and why has he retained it?
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT. Not one dang word on what happened to the mother of these children. Whether she's dead or alive and "merely" excluded from the lives of these poor babies.
http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=251554&format=html
Father charged with neglecting his children
Court records: Girl and boy showed 'classic signs of starvation'
By MATTHEW UMSTEAD and TRISH RUDDER
August 23, 2010
matthewu@herald-mail.com
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A 3-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy who showed “classic signs of starvation” were found Friday in a Martinsburg home that had a padlock on the refrigerator door and a deadbolt on the food pantry, according to court records.
Jesse A. Lafferty of 292 Labonte Drive, the father of children, was in Eastern Regional Jail on Monday charged with two felony counts of child neglect by parent or guardian leading to serious bodily injury, two felony counts of child abuse by parent or guardian and four felony counts of conspiracy to commit the abuse and neglect, according to court and jail records.
Lafferty, 32, was jailed on a $140,000 bond set by Berkeley County Magistrate JoAnn Overington, according to jail and court records.
Arrest warrants similarly charging Lafferty’s girlfriend, Karen S. Boback, who lived with Lafferty, have been issued, but she had not been arraigned as of Monday night, according to court records.
Boback allegedly told police Monday that Lafferty punished the children by withholding food from them over a 24-hour period, made them take cold showers, spanked them with a belt and forced them to spend the night in the home’s unfinished basement, according to a complaint filed with the court by West Virginia State Police J.M. Walker.
“When questioned concerning the frequency of food being withheld from his children, Ms. Boback stated out of seven days (Lafferty) would withhold food from his children two to three days,” Walker wrote in his complaint.
The basement door had a lock on it with a doorbell at the top of the door, according to court records.
Boback told police the children spent 50 to 60 percent of their time in the basement, according to court records.
In a walk-through of the home Friday, Walker found the basement’s concrete floor was bare except for a small piece of carpet and a couple of blankets, according to court records. A baby monitor was found near the blankets, and a child’s portable toilet was in one corner of the basement, according to court records.
On Saturday, a forensic nurse at Winchester (Va.) Medical Center told State Police Sgt. D.E. Boober that it was “evident to her that both children were underweight and malnourished” after examining them, according to Walker’s complaint.
An official with the West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources on Friday told Walker that she believed the children exhibited signs of being starved and that a case worker was attempting to remove them from the home, according to court records.
Boback told investigators that she believed her boyfriend’s treatment of his children was a crime, according to Walker and court records.
Dad charged with beating 4-week-old daughter, breaking 56 bones and causing bleeding on the brain (Savage, Minnesota)
Dad THOMAS EDWARD AMPE is in police custody after authorities say he committed the "most severe case of child abuse they've ever seen."
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT: So where is this baby's mother? Working while this animal pretended to be a "primary caretaker"?
http://hiphopwired.com/2010/08/24/father-beats-4-week-old-breaks-56-bones-causes-bleeding-on-the-brain-22222/
Father Beats 4-Week-Old, Breaks 56 Bones, Causes Bleeding On The Brain
by Danielle Canada August 24, 2010, 11:08am
A Savage, Minnesota man is in police custody after authorities say he committed the “most severe case of child abuse they've ever seen”, breaking 56 bones in his 4-week-old daughter's body and causing bleeding on her brain.
22-year-old Thomas Edward Ampe was arrested for beating his young daughter after authorities were called to a local hospital where the child was being treated for a fractured rib and bruises.
When police arrived on the scene, X-rays showed 56 fractures in the infant's arms, legs, ribs and knees while an MRI showed bleeding and bruising on the brain in three areas.
Police say Ampe admitted to occasionally “shaking” the child who has Down syndrome when he became bothered by her constant crying.
Ampe also allegedly admitted to shoving a bottle in the baby's mouth so hard that it separated her upper lip from the gum, causing it to bleed.
Police say the father also told them he would often grab the infant by the wrists, flip her over and hit her on top of the head with an open hand.
Additionally, authorities say he would often drop her on her back from as high as 1 foot above the baby bed.
Savage Police Capt. Dave Muelken summarized the case saying,
“In my 33 years [as a police officer] this is the most severe case of child abuse I have ever seen.”
Ampe was released from jail August 19 after posting $50,000 bail.
If convicted on the assault charges, he faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars and a $30,000 fine.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT: So where is this baby's mother? Working while this animal pretended to be a "primary caretaker"?
http://hiphopwired.com/2010/08/24/father-beats-4-week-old-breaks-56-bones-causes-bleeding-on-the-brain-22222/
Father Beats 4-Week-Old, Breaks 56 Bones, Causes Bleeding On The Brain
by Danielle Canada August 24, 2010, 11:08am
A Savage, Minnesota man is in police custody after authorities say he committed the “most severe case of child abuse they've ever seen”, breaking 56 bones in his 4-week-old daughter's body and causing bleeding on her brain.
22-year-old Thomas Edward Ampe was arrested for beating his young daughter after authorities were called to a local hospital where the child was being treated for a fractured rib and bruises.
When police arrived on the scene, X-rays showed 56 fractures in the infant's arms, legs, ribs and knees while an MRI showed bleeding and bruising on the brain in three areas.
Police say Ampe admitted to occasionally “shaking” the child who has Down syndrome when he became bothered by her constant crying.
Ampe also allegedly admitted to shoving a bottle in the baby's mouth so hard that it separated her upper lip from the gum, causing it to bleed.
Police say the father also told them he would often grab the infant by the wrists, flip her over and hit her on top of the head with an open hand.
Additionally, authorities say he would often drop her on her back from as high as 1 foot above the baby bed.
Savage Police Capt. Dave Muelken summarized the case saying,
“In my 33 years [as a police officer] this is the most severe case of child abuse I have ever seen.”
Ampe was released from jail August 19 after posting $50,000 bail.
If convicted on the assault charges, he faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars and a $30,000 fine.
Judge goes easy on dad who beats child with belt for playing hopscotch wrong (Burlington, Kentucky)
Yet another case where the father's abuse of the children isn't taken very seriously. According to the sheriff's office, dad CHRISTOPHER ROBINSON admitted that he had beaten his young son with a belt "because he didn't like the way the youngster was playing hopscotch." The child had bruising around the buttocks area. But Judge Michael Collins doesn't seem to care about the matter much, and has declined to send a felong child abuse charge against the father to a grand jury.
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/08/24/1404657/judge-wont-send-abuse-charge-to.html
Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010
Judge won't send abuse charge to grand jury
The Associated Press
BURLINGTON, Ky. -- A northern Kentucky judge has declined to send a felony child abuse charge against a father to a grand jury.
The Boone County Sheriff's Office charged Christopher Robinson, claiming he whipped his son with a belt on July 4 because he didn't like the way the youngster was playing hopscotch. Robinson had pleaded not guilty, saying bruises to the boy's buttocks came from an earlier fall at a swimming pool.
Robinson said he spanked his son for being disrespectful, not over a game.
http://www.nky.com
Boone District Judge Michael Collins conducted a hearing Monday and did not remand the charges. They will be dismissed unless the prosecutor takes them directly to the grand jury or files misdemeanor charges.
Information from: The Kentucky Enquirer, http://www.nky.com
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/08/24/1404657/judge-wont-send-abuse-charge-to.html#ixzz0xYHjxNlV
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/08/24/1404657/judge-wont-send-abuse-charge-to.html
Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010
Judge won't send abuse charge to grand jury
The Associated Press
BURLINGTON, Ky. -- A northern Kentucky judge has declined to send a felony child abuse charge against a father to a grand jury.
The Boone County Sheriff's Office charged Christopher Robinson, claiming he whipped his son with a belt on July 4 because he didn't like the way the youngster was playing hopscotch. Robinson had pleaded not guilty, saying bruises to the boy's buttocks came from an earlier fall at a swimming pool.
Robinson said he spanked his son for being disrespectful, not over a game.
http://www.nky.com
Boone District Judge Michael Collins conducted a hearing Monday and did not remand the charges. They will be dismissed unless the prosecutor takes them directly to the grand jury or files misdemeanor charges.
Information from: The Kentucky Enquirer, http://www.nky.com
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/08/24/1404657/judge-wont-send-abuse-charge-to.html#ixzz0xYHjxNlV
Another clueless "primary caretaker" dad throws 4-month-old baby and kills her (Troy, New York)
Yet another case where we have a mother working outside the home and a "primary caretaker" father who doesn't have a clue how to do infant care. She "laughed" when he'd throw her? You're delusional, dude. This baby had 18 broken bones in various states of healing from daddy's "playing." She eventually died from a ruptured bowel. Seems Daddy also has a problem with booze and pot, too. Yea, just what you want for a primary caretaker. A really stupid drunk and pothead. Sorry, for all the media glorification, this guy is more typical of a lot of "stay-at-home" fathers than not.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Father-said-he-tossed-infant-into-the-air-629564.php
Father said he tossed infant into the air
By Bob Gardinier Staff Writer
Published: 12:33 p.m., Tuesday, August 24, 2010
TROY -- A Hoosick Falls man told investigators he often threw his infant daughter up in the air and caught her and that may be how she was fatally injured.
''It would make her laugh,'' Joseph McElheny, 31, allegedly told State Police investigators according to documents on file in Rensselaer County Court.
Earlier this month, McElheny was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and assault and endangering the welfare of a child for the May 12 death of his 4-month-old daughter, Ina Jane.
Authorities said the infant had 18 broken bones in various stages of healing and suffered a ruptured bowel that led to her death shortly after arrival at Albany Medical Center Hospital.
Rensselaer County Public Defender Jerome Frost, who represented McElheny at his arraignment, said he had reviewed the baby's autopsy results and said a burst lower intestine could be caused naturally two or three different ways in an infant.
On Monday, Judge Andrew Ceresia denied bail to McElheny, who told investigators he did not hurt his daughter.
The baby's mother, Melinda Anders, worked at Staples in Bennington, Vt. McElheny, who ran a computer business out of his home, provided ''90 percent'' of the care of his daughter, he told investigators.
The father also told investigators he about several incidents in which the baby was injured: when McElheny fell in the stairway of his 3 River St. home while carrying her; when the family's dog jumped on her; and when her father took her out of her chair and her leg popped.
''I would grab her by one hand and lift her out of her music chair and she never complains,'' McElheny told investigators. ''I could be labeled as handling her rough by her mother.''
McElheny gave investigators a long statement repeatedly denying he hurt the child but stopped talking after investigators pointed out discrepancies in his statement.
He repeatedly told investigators he once had a drinking problem but stopped drinking just before the child was born. When confronted by a statement given to investigators by his wife, McElheny admitted Anders had recently threatened to kick him out of the house if he didn't stop drinking.
''He makes a lot of mistakes,'' Anders told investigators, according to statement on file. ''He's a pothead.''
Investigators also discovered that McElheny told his wife he drank because he was a sniper and killed people during an Army stint from 1998 to 2002, before they met. In fact, he was a communications specialist in the military.
When investigators revealed to him the lies and asked him if he was being untruthful about his daughter, McElheny ended the interview, records show.
''If he killed my baby, I'm the only one he will tell,'' Anders told investigators.
McElheny remains in Rensselaer County Jail pending trial.
Bob Gardinier can be reached at 454-5696 or by e-mail at bgardinier@timesunion.com.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Father-said-he-tossed-infant-into-the-air-629564.php
Father said he tossed infant into the air
By Bob Gardinier Staff Writer
Published: 12:33 p.m., Tuesday, August 24, 2010
TROY -- A Hoosick Falls man told investigators he often threw his infant daughter up in the air and caught her and that may be how she was fatally injured.
''It would make her laugh,'' Joseph McElheny, 31, allegedly told State Police investigators according to documents on file in Rensselaer County Court.
Earlier this month, McElheny was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and assault and endangering the welfare of a child for the May 12 death of his 4-month-old daughter, Ina Jane.
Authorities said the infant had 18 broken bones in various stages of healing and suffered a ruptured bowel that led to her death shortly after arrival at Albany Medical Center Hospital.
Rensselaer County Public Defender Jerome Frost, who represented McElheny at his arraignment, said he had reviewed the baby's autopsy results and said a burst lower intestine could be caused naturally two or three different ways in an infant.
On Monday, Judge Andrew Ceresia denied bail to McElheny, who told investigators he did not hurt his daughter.
The baby's mother, Melinda Anders, worked at Staples in Bennington, Vt. McElheny, who ran a computer business out of his home, provided ''90 percent'' of the care of his daughter, he told investigators.
The father also told investigators he about several incidents in which the baby was injured: when McElheny fell in the stairway of his 3 River St. home while carrying her; when the family's dog jumped on her; and when her father took her out of her chair and her leg popped.
''I would grab her by one hand and lift her out of her music chair and she never complains,'' McElheny told investigators. ''I could be labeled as handling her rough by her mother.''
McElheny gave investigators a long statement repeatedly denying he hurt the child but stopped talking after investigators pointed out discrepancies in his statement.
He repeatedly told investigators he once had a drinking problem but stopped drinking just before the child was born. When confronted by a statement given to investigators by his wife, McElheny admitted Anders had recently threatened to kick him out of the house if he didn't stop drinking.
''He makes a lot of mistakes,'' Anders told investigators, according to statement on file. ''He's a pothead.''
Investigators also discovered that McElheny told his wife he drank because he was a sniper and killed people during an Army stint from 1998 to 2002, before they met. In fact, he was a communications specialist in the military.
When investigators revealed to him the lies and asked him if he was being untruthful about his daughter, McElheny ended the interview, records show.
''If he killed my baby, I'm the only one he will tell,'' Anders told investigators.
McElheny remains in Rensselaer County Jail pending trial.
Bob Gardinier can be reached at 454-5696 or by e-mail at bgardinier@timesunion.com.
Dad on trial for murdering mom, grandmother; then 4-year-old son testifies (Rineyville, Kentucky)
Dad BRENT BURKE is currently on trial for the murder of his "estranged" wife and another family member. The star witness? His then 4-year-old son, who says Daddy also pushed him down on his way out of the house after shooting the little boy's mom in her bedroom. Why is this not considered child abuse and child abandonment as well as murder?
http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?053+article+News.Local+20100823132620053053006
Burke trial: Child's competency questioned
By BOB WHITE
bwhite@thenewsenterprise.com
“I’m trying very hard to be very careful. ... It’s very difficult for a judge to evaluate these things.”
Jurors were absent from the courtroom when Hardin Circuit Judge Janet Coleman said those words Friday in response to arguments from defense attorneys representing former U.S. Army Sgt. Brent Burke who is charged with killing his estranged wife and his stepson’s grandmother.
The arguments revolved around a child witness’ ability to accurately perceive and portray for jurors events that occurred three years ago, when he was 4.
It’s an issue that’s been debated twice during competency hearings in the three years leading up to this month’s trial.
The son of shooting victim Tracy Burke and the defendant was, by all accounts, one of three children at the Rineyville home of Karen Comer when an intruder gained access to the Waterfowl Loop home sometime late on Sept. 10, or early on Sept. 11, 2007, and shot the two women.
During a July re-evaluation of the boy’s competency, the 7-year-old testified to having climbed into bed with his “Momma Tracy” the night before his “Old Dad … Brent” came into the bedroom and shot her.
The boy also said his father pushed him down on his way out of the home.
The boy flip-flopped on his answers to questions on other details of the shooting, such as who shot the dog and from which door the shooter entered the home.
He did not, however, stray from his statement related to witnessing his mother’s murder.
Coleman found the child competent to testify.
That ruling two months ago was a 180-degree turn from her finding that stemmed from an initial competency hearing held for the boy in May 2009.
Burke’s attorneys filed a motion Friday asking Coleman to reconsider.
The judge explained her original ruling and her reversal.
“I saw a child who, in my opinion, swung back and forth,” Coleman said regarding the 2009 competency hearing. “Perhaps he was intimidated when questioned by defense attorneys, but he did swing back and forth on his answers and he was easily led.”
Coleman said the boy’s changing answers was a big concern.
Of equal, and possibly even greater concern for Coleman at last year’s hearing was a statement from the boy about that he’d been in the company of his mother since her death.
“He did, in my opinion, fabricate information. …” Coleman said while explaining her decision.
The inconsistent statements, coupled with the boy’s apparent delusions about his mother, caused Coleman to declare him not competent to testify at two previously scheduled trials of Brent Burke — both of which ended in mistrial.
Coleman told attorneys Friday that she did not see the same “difficulties” in July that the boy had last year in keeping his statements consistent when answering attorneys’ questions.
After a court break Friday, Coleman announced that she had not changed her mind and that the boy is competent to testify.
Had either of the earlier trial attempts commenced as originally scheduled, jurors would not have been allowed to hear from the child.
It’s unclear when Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Shaw will call the boy to testify. Shaw has not revealed his schedule of witnesses.
Burke’s attorneys were not pleased with Coleman’s ruling.
Chris Davenport argued that, regardless of the boy’s ability to maintain statements about his father shooting his mother during this year’s competency hearing, his memories still were those of an imaginative — even delusional — 4-year-old.
He aged one year between the two competency hearings, but Davenport emphasized that the boy’s root memories could not change, even if his ability to make and maintain statements had.
Broderick said during a lunch break Friday that the boy’s consistent statements at this year’s competency hearing was the obvious result of his being coached on what to say.
Burke’s son is the only documented witness claiming to have seen Burke commit any shooting.
Court filings show the boy allegedly made a statement that “Daddy shot Mommy and Grandma” to social workers who removed the children from Comer’s home the day police responded to the scene.
Broderick said Friday such a statement, had it been made by Burke’s son, simply could have been a repeat of chatter among first responders.
At the crime scene in the hours after the killings, the children were in contact with first responders, including state troopers, medics and social workers.
During trial testimony, child abuse investigator Kim Mudd said that a state trooper in charge of the crime scene specifically instructed social workers responding to the scene not to speak to the children about the shootings.
http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?053+article+News.Local+20100823132620053053006
Burke trial: Child's competency questioned
By BOB WHITE
bwhite@thenewsenterprise.com
“I’m trying very hard to be very careful. ... It’s very difficult for a judge to evaluate these things.”
Jurors were absent from the courtroom when Hardin Circuit Judge Janet Coleman said those words Friday in response to arguments from defense attorneys representing former U.S. Army Sgt. Brent Burke who is charged with killing his estranged wife and his stepson’s grandmother.
The arguments revolved around a child witness’ ability to accurately perceive and portray for jurors events that occurred three years ago, when he was 4.
It’s an issue that’s been debated twice during competency hearings in the three years leading up to this month’s trial.
The son of shooting victim Tracy Burke and the defendant was, by all accounts, one of three children at the Rineyville home of Karen Comer when an intruder gained access to the Waterfowl Loop home sometime late on Sept. 10, or early on Sept. 11, 2007, and shot the two women.
During a July re-evaluation of the boy’s competency, the 7-year-old testified to having climbed into bed with his “Momma Tracy” the night before his “Old Dad … Brent” came into the bedroom and shot her.
The boy also said his father pushed him down on his way out of the home.
The boy flip-flopped on his answers to questions on other details of the shooting, such as who shot the dog and from which door the shooter entered the home.
He did not, however, stray from his statement related to witnessing his mother’s murder.
Coleman found the child competent to testify.
That ruling two months ago was a 180-degree turn from her finding that stemmed from an initial competency hearing held for the boy in May 2009.
Burke’s attorneys filed a motion Friday asking Coleman to reconsider.
The judge explained her original ruling and her reversal.
“I saw a child who, in my opinion, swung back and forth,” Coleman said regarding the 2009 competency hearing. “Perhaps he was intimidated when questioned by defense attorneys, but he did swing back and forth on his answers and he was easily led.”
Coleman said the boy’s changing answers was a big concern.
Of equal, and possibly even greater concern for Coleman at last year’s hearing was a statement from the boy about that he’d been in the company of his mother since her death.
“He did, in my opinion, fabricate information. …” Coleman said while explaining her decision.
The inconsistent statements, coupled with the boy’s apparent delusions about his mother, caused Coleman to declare him not competent to testify at two previously scheduled trials of Brent Burke — both of which ended in mistrial.
Coleman told attorneys Friday that she did not see the same “difficulties” in July that the boy had last year in keeping his statements consistent when answering attorneys’ questions.
After a court break Friday, Coleman announced that she had not changed her mind and that the boy is competent to testify.
Had either of the earlier trial attempts commenced as originally scheduled, jurors would not have been allowed to hear from the child.
It’s unclear when Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Shaw will call the boy to testify. Shaw has not revealed his schedule of witnesses.
Burke’s attorneys were not pleased with Coleman’s ruling.
Chris Davenport argued that, regardless of the boy’s ability to maintain statements about his father shooting his mother during this year’s competency hearing, his memories still were those of an imaginative — even delusional — 4-year-old.
He aged one year between the two competency hearings, but Davenport emphasized that the boy’s root memories could not change, even if his ability to make and maintain statements had.
Broderick said during a lunch break Friday that the boy’s consistent statements at this year’s competency hearing was the obvious result of his being coached on what to say.
Burke’s son is the only documented witness claiming to have seen Burke commit any shooting.
Court filings show the boy allegedly made a statement that “Daddy shot Mommy and Grandma” to social workers who removed the children from Comer’s home the day police responded to the scene.
Broderick said Friday such a statement, had it been made by Burke’s son, simply could have been a repeat of chatter among first responders.
At the crime scene in the hours after the killings, the children were in contact with first responders, including state troopers, medics and social workers.
During trial testimony, child abuse investigator Kim Mudd said that a state trooper in charge of the crime scene specifically instructed social workers responding to the scene not to speak to the children about the shootings.
Monday, August 16, 2010
FINALLY! VACATION!
Dear Gentle Readers:
I will be going on a long-awaited, long-deserved vacation, so I will not be blogging for a week. Those of you who regularly send me tidbits regarding Daddy murder and mayhem are encouraged to do so, just in case I can't find them withn I get back.
Cheers!
silverside
I will be going on a long-awaited, long-deserved vacation, so I will not be blogging for a week. Those of you who regularly send me tidbits regarding Daddy murder and mayhem are encouraged to do so, just in case I can't find them withn I get back.
Cheers!
silverside
Friday, August 13, 2010
Custodial dad with history of child neglect locks son out of house for days (Hamilton County, Tennessee)
Custodial dad JOHN MANSFIELD has a history of child neglect, and apparently he has not improved his act over time. According to neighbors, his 12-year-old son is locked out of the house for days on end without food, shelter, shoes, or clean clothing. While there is mention of Daddy's girlfriend, there is NO MENTION OF THIS BOY'S MOTHER. Is she alive, dead? Who knows? The boy has been placed in a group home.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.newschannel9.com/news/year-993815-home-locked.html
12 Year Old Locked Out Of Home For Days
His Father Faces Child Neglect Charge
August 13, 2010 5:33 PM
Karen Zatkulak
A twelve year old boy is locked out of his own home for days, according to an affidavit from Hamilton County Courts. While his father faces neglect charges, those who live nearby tell us how helpless the child was when they found him.
It was August 4th when Alice Tate called police. She, and her neighbors, had been feeding the twelve year old, and watching him. Things they say the boy's own father refused to do, as he locked his son out time and time again.
Amanda Morgan says, "I could never imagine leaving my kids by myself, letting them roam around by themselves and going days and days on end without food or shelter."
But that's what Morgan says she witnessed with a 12 year old boy who started riding bikes with her own boys. Morgan says she saw the child wandering her Red Bank neighborhood and noticed he hadn't bathed or eaten in days. She adds he was wearing a shirt and "Some khaki shorts that were filthy, nasty, nasty, no shoes."
Morgan let the boy stay with her Thursday night. He told her his father had locked him out of their house on Whitehall Road. Morgan says, "Basically no one cared, he was here all night long, all morning. How could you do that to a child?"
Down the street, Alice Tate tells us she also noticed the boy and tried to help. Tate says, "The lady in one kept him for a few nights, the guy in 5 let him stay the night, he just started going house to house until finally he just said it, my dad is gone and not coming back."
Tate says after he'd been roaming for days, she called police and made a report. It says after the boy's father locked him out, he left out to go out of town with his girlfriend.
We were there in court Friday when the boy's father John Mansfield faced a judge. With his next appearance set, he left and only told us that he thinks he will be cleared of any wrongdoing. Meanwhile those who tried to take care of the abandoned boy, say his father should have to pay. Morgan says, "I think he should go to prison at least as many years as he mistreated that boy."
The affidavit says this isn't the first time something like this has been reported. It says Mansfield has a history of neglecting his son. Mansfield is due back in court on September 10th. He faces a charge of child neglect.
In court, we learned that the little boy will be going to a group home until a decision is made.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.newschannel9.com/news/year-993815-home-locked.html
12 Year Old Locked Out Of Home For Days
His Father Faces Child Neglect Charge
August 13, 2010 5:33 PM
Karen Zatkulak
A twelve year old boy is locked out of his own home for days, according to an affidavit from Hamilton County Courts. While his father faces neglect charges, those who live nearby tell us how helpless the child was when they found him.
It was August 4th when Alice Tate called police. She, and her neighbors, had been feeding the twelve year old, and watching him. Things they say the boy's own father refused to do, as he locked his son out time and time again.
Amanda Morgan says, "I could never imagine leaving my kids by myself, letting them roam around by themselves and going days and days on end without food or shelter."
But that's what Morgan says she witnessed with a 12 year old boy who started riding bikes with her own boys. Morgan says she saw the child wandering her Red Bank neighborhood and noticed he hadn't bathed or eaten in days. She adds he was wearing a shirt and "Some khaki shorts that were filthy, nasty, nasty, no shoes."
Morgan let the boy stay with her Thursday night. He told her his father had locked him out of their house on Whitehall Road. Morgan says, "Basically no one cared, he was here all night long, all morning. How could you do that to a child?"
Down the street, Alice Tate tells us she also noticed the boy and tried to help. Tate says, "The lady in one kept him for a few nights, the guy in 5 let him stay the night, he just started going house to house until finally he just said it, my dad is gone and not coming back."
Tate says after he'd been roaming for days, she called police and made a report. It says after the boy's father locked him out, he left out to go out of town with his girlfriend.
We were there in court Friday when the boy's father John Mansfield faced a judge. With his next appearance set, he left and only told us that he thinks he will be cleared of any wrongdoing. Meanwhile those who tried to take care of the abandoned boy, say his father should have to pay. Morgan says, "I think he should go to prison at least as many years as he mistreated that boy."
The affidavit says this isn't the first time something like this has been reported. It says Mansfield has a history of neglecting his son. Mansfield is due back in court on September 10th. He faces a charge of child neglect.
In court, we learned that the little boy will be going to a group home until a decision is made.
Dad charged with killing 5-month-old daughter (Central City, Kentucky)
Dad MICHAELS CALLAHAN has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of his 5-month-old daughter. Appears the baby died from abusive head trauma.
http://www.wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=12976549
Father charged with killing 5-month-old daughter
Posted: Aug 13, 2010 1:53 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 13, 2010 1:53 PM CDT
Posted by Rich Miller
CENTRAL CITY, KY (WFIE) - A 28-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of his five-month-old daughter.
Central City police say Michael Callahan was arrested Thursday night.
A 911 call was placed from the Central Motel earlier that morning regarding an unconscious child. When police arrived, the child was already dead.
An investigation led police to issue the murder charge against Callahan, who police say was not at the motel when they arrived. The child's mother was among those interviewed.
The Muhlenberg County Coroner's Office has listed the preliminary cause of death as trauma to the head.
Callahan had been living at the motel for "two to three weeks" according to police.
He is in the Muhlenberg County Detention Center.
http://www.wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=12976549
Father charged with killing 5-month-old daughter
Posted: Aug 13, 2010 1:53 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 13, 2010 1:53 PM CDT
Posted by Rich Miller
CENTRAL CITY, KY (WFIE) - A 28-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of his five-month-old daughter.
Central City police say Michael Callahan was arrested Thursday night.
A 911 call was placed from the Central Motel earlier that morning regarding an unconscious child. When police arrived, the child was already dead.
An investigation led police to issue the murder charge against Callahan, who police say was not at the motel when they arrived. The child's mother was among those interviewed.
The Muhlenberg County Coroner's Office has listed the preliminary cause of death as trauma to the head.
Callahan had been living at the motel for "two to three weeks" according to police.
He is in the Muhlenberg County Detention Center.
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