Thank goodness the judge is showing some common sense and not letting dad DARIO FINKEL out on bail. Finkel is exactly the kind of criminal who needs to stay in jail, because he is precisely the type who is very likely to inflict further violent retaliation on his victims. Many homicide victims in Massachusetts and elsewhere have been killed after their abusers are let out on bail, so this is no idle speculation.
http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/8cbfca75207f42429258d3dd28336580/MA--Baby-Wipe-Assault/
Salem man accused of stuffing baby wipe in 7-month-old's mouth held without bail
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: April 28, 2011 - 9:15 am
Last Updated: April 28, 2011 - 9:15 am
SALEM, Mass. — A Salem father accused of stuffing a baby wipe in his infant son's mouth because the child would not stop crying has been ordered held without bail.
Dario Finkel was ordered held Wednesday on charges of attempted murder, child endangerment, and assault and battery causing injury to a child.
Prosecutors say the 26-year-old Finkel also threw the 7-week-old baby to the floor and then at his wife last week.
The Salem News reports that according to court records, he threw his wife out of their apartment when he found out she was pregnant and said he would not let her back until she had an abortion or miscarried.
Finkel's lawyers asked that he be released because he has no access to the child and strong ties to the area.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Dad on trial for stabbing deaths of 3-year-old daughter, 5-year-old son (St. Jerome, Quebec, Canada)
Be warned before you read the article below; the details could be triggering.
Dad GUY TURCOTTE is currently on trial for the stabbing deaths of his 3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son. He apparently killed them to punish his wife for leaving his sorry @$$. It seems the children were visiting him or otherwise in his care at the time of the murders, though this isn't explored here.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Jury+hears+grim+details+kids+deaths/4687052/story.html
Jury hears grim details of kids' deaths
Last moments filled with terror; As Turcotte weeps in the prisoner's box, multiple stabbings of children are detailed
By SUE MONTGOMERY, Gazette Justice Reporter April 28, 2011
ST. JÉRÔME - The image is one few in the courtroom will be able to erase from their minds: Anne-Sophie Turcotte, whose 3-year-old world was filled with Caillou and Winnie the Pooh, gripping her head and tearing out her hair as her father stabbed her 19 times.
During what has to date been the most difficult day of Guy Turcotte's first-degree murder trial, jury members heard Wednesday how the 36-pound child and her helpless brother Olivier, 5, died in their beds after struggling to shield themselves from their father, a cardiologist apparently distraught that his wife left him for another man.
Olivier, who would have turned 8 Wednesday, weighed 64 pounds when he was stabbed 27 times on his front, back and hands.
Anne-Sophie, stabbed in the chest, stomach and lower abdomen, was found naked - save for a pair of panties - with her left hand above her head, her right arm bent to touch her shoulder. Strands of her own hair were found in her tiny fists - a sign of distress, a biologist told Quebec Superior Court in St. Jérôme.
"It happens sometimes in these cases where the victim will grab his or her head and tear some hair out," François Julien told the hushed courtroom, as Turcotte, 39, cried in the prisoner's box.
Anne-Sophie had cuts on her hands and most likely rolled to her side on her bed, where her chest and stomach wounds left a large puddle of blood. She then returned to her back and endured another round of stabbings, Julien said.
A blood stain on the side of her mattress matched one found on the left knee of Turcotte's pants, suggesting he had knelt in a pool of Anne-Sophie's blood, then standing beside her bed, leaned over her to stab her, Julien testified.
Both the Crown and defence admit that Turcotte, a former cardiologist at St. Jérôme's Hôtel Dieu Hospital, killed his two children sometime between Feb. 21 and 22, 2009. What the jury must determine at the end of the sevenweek long trial is whether he meant to kill them.
Two knives were found in the house and pathologist André Bourgault testified Wednesday that the size of the stab wounds suggested the smaller knife - a bit bigger than a paring knife - was used.
And while he couldn't say with certainty when the children died, he said they didn't die instantaneously. Olivier was found on his bed in another room, his right arm covered in blood from the hand to just below the shoulder.
"This suggests he probably had his right arm over his chest," Julien said.
Tiny drops of blood splattered on the sheets and Turcotte's shirt came from Olivier's mouth, as he struggled to breathe with injured lungs, Julien told the seven-woman, five-man jury, who remained composed throughout.
The boy was on his side for some time before returning to his back and the position in which he was found.
A large knife, partly concealed by Olivier's bleeding torso and flecked with the same blood droplets, was found on the bed.
"Nothing suggests to me that this knife had been used," Julien said, explaining that if it had been used, it would look as though it had been wiped.
The jury has already heard during the first six days of testimony that Turcotte and his wife, Isabelle Gaston, had recently split and Gaston was seeing another man.
On the evening of Feb. 21, 2009, Turcotte spoke at length by phone with his mother, expressing his distress over the relationship. The next day, worried about her son's state of mind, Marguerite Fournier and her husband drove to their son's rented Piedmont home.
When they couldn't open the door or reach their son by phone, they called police, who made the horrific discovery inside.
Turcotte, who was hiding under the master bed, was arrested and taken to hospital. There, his shocked colleagues tried to deal with the surreal situation.
Turcotte wanted to die and said he'd drunk about two litres of windshield wiper fluid.
Earlier on Wednesday, Sylvain Harvey, an investigator with the Sûreté du Québec, showed the court an inventory of things he seized from Turcotte's home.
A near-empty plastic jug of purple Pacer windshield wiper fluid, a receipt dated Feb. 20, 2009, for $45.24 from Video Zone and a printout from a Google search on narcissistic personalities were found in the isolated home.
Dad GUY TURCOTTE is currently on trial for the stabbing deaths of his 3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son. He apparently killed them to punish his wife for leaving his sorry @$$. It seems the children were visiting him or otherwise in his care at the time of the murders, though this isn't explored here.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Jury+hears+grim+details+kids+deaths/4687052/story.html
Jury hears grim details of kids' deaths
Last moments filled with terror; As Turcotte weeps in the prisoner's box, multiple stabbings of children are detailed
By SUE MONTGOMERY, Gazette Justice Reporter April 28, 2011
ST. JÉRÔME - The image is one few in the courtroom will be able to erase from their minds: Anne-Sophie Turcotte, whose 3-year-old world was filled with Caillou and Winnie the Pooh, gripping her head and tearing out her hair as her father stabbed her 19 times.
During what has to date been the most difficult day of Guy Turcotte's first-degree murder trial, jury members heard Wednesday how the 36-pound child and her helpless brother Olivier, 5, died in their beds after struggling to shield themselves from their father, a cardiologist apparently distraught that his wife left him for another man.
Olivier, who would have turned 8 Wednesday, weighed 64 pounds when he was stabbed 27 times on his front, back and hands.
Anne-Sophie, stabbed in the chest, stomach and lower abdomen, was found naked - save for a pair of panties - with her left hand above her head, her right arm bent to touch her shoulder. Strands of her own hair were found in her tiny fists - a sign of distress, a biologist told Quebec Superior Court in St. Jérôme.
"It happens sometimes in these cases where the victim will grab his or her head and tear some hair out," François Julien told the hushed courtroom, as Turcotte, 39, cried in the prisoner's box.
Anne-Sophie had cuts on her hands and most likely rolled to her side on her bed, where her chest and stomach wounds left a large puddle of blood. She then returned to her back and endured another round of stabbings, Julien said.
A blood stain on the side of her mattress matched one found on the left knee of Turcotte's pants, suggesting he had knelt in a pool of Anne-Sophie's blood, then standing beside her bed, leaned over her to stab her, Julien testified.
Both the Crown and defence admit that Turcotte, a former cardiologist at St. Jérôme's Hôtel Dieu Hospital, killed his two children sometime between Feb. 21 and 22, 2009. What the jury must determine at the end of the sevenweek long trial is whether he meant to kill them.
Two knives were found in the house and pathologist André Bourgault testified Wednesday that the size of the stab wounds suggested the smaller knife - a bit bigger than a paring knife - was used.
And while he couldn't say with certainty when the children died, he said they didn't die instantaneously. Olivier was found on his bed in another room, his right arm covered in blood from the hand to just below the shoulder.
"This suggests he probably had his right arm over his chest," Julien said.
Tiny drops of blood splattered on the sheets and Turcotte's shirt came from Olivier's mouth, as he struggled to breathe with injured lungs, Julien told the seven-woman, five-man jury, who remained composed throughout.
The boy was on his side for some time before returning to his back and the position in which he was found.
A large knife, partly concealed by Olivier's bleeding torso and flecked with the same blood droplets, was found on the bed.
"Nothing suggests to me that this knife had been used," Julien said, explaining that if it had been used, it would look as though it had been wiped.
The jury has already heard during the first six days of testimony that Turcotte and his wife, Isabelle Gaston, had recently split and Gaston was seeing another man.
On the evening of Feb. 21, 2009, Turcotte spoke at length by phone with his mother, expressing his distress over the relationship. The next day, worried about her son's state of mind, Marguerite Fournier and her husband drove to their son's rented Piedmont home.
When they couldn't open the door or reach their son by phone, they called police, who made the horrific discovery inside.
Turcotte, who was hiding under the master bed, was arrested and taken to hospital. There, his shocked colleagues tried to deal with the surreal situation.
Turcotte wanted to die and said he'd drunk about two litres of windshield wiper fluid.
Earlier on Wednesday, Sylvain Harvey, an investigator with the Sûreté du Québec, showed the court an inventory of things he seized from Turcotte's home.
A near-empty plastic jug of purple Pacer windshield wiper fluid, a receipt dated Feb. 20, 2009, for $45.24 from Video Zone and a printout from a Google search on narcissistic personalities were found in the isolated home.
Dad kills 5-year-old daughter in murder-suicide (Killeen, Texas)
Notice that it was an unnamed "relative" who found the bodies of dad ANDREW MEANS and his 5-year-old daughter, which makes me think it was not the child's mother. I wonder if this was a custody/visitation case. Many of these murder-suicides by fathers are designed to punish the mother for leaving them, and the best way to inflict that punishment (in their sick minds) is to take her children away from her--permanently.
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2011/04/28/killeen_father_killed_daughter.html
Father-daughter dead in apparent murder-suicide, police sayBy Claudia Grisales | Thursday, April 28, 2011, 09:57 AM
A man appears to have shot and killed his 5-year-old daughter and then himself in Killeen this morning, a statement issued by Killeen police said Thursday.
Police responded to a 911 call shortly after 4 a.m. to the 2100 block of Coach Drive that a relative had arrived to the home to find two people inside had suffered gunshot wounds, officials said.
Police discovered the bodies of 37-year-old Anthony Means and his 5-year-old daughter, officials said.
The child was taken to Metroplex Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after 5 a.m., officials said.
“The preliminary investigation reveals that 37-year-old Means shot his daughter,” officials said, “and then shot himself.”
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2011/04/28/killeen_father_killed_daughter.html
Father-daughter dead in apparent murder-suicide, police sayBy Claudia Grisales | Thursday, April 28, 2011, 09:57 AM
A man appears to have shot and killed his 5-year-old daughter and then himself in Killeen this morning, a statement issued by Killeen police said Thursday.
Police responded to a 911 call shortly after 4 a.m. to the 2100 block of Coach Drive that a relative had arrived to the home to find two people inside had suffered gunshot wounds, officials said.
Police discovered the bodies of 37-year-old Anthony Means and his 5-year-old daughter, officials said.
The child was taken to Metroplex Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after 5 a.m., officials said.
“The preliminary investigation reveals that 37-year-old Means shot his daughter,” officials said, “and then shot himself.”
Dad blows up house, murdering five children; previously charged with domestic violence just one month before (Vancouver, Washington)
The police arrested dad TUAN DAO, but they apparently failed to keep him in jail after he threw an clothes iron at his "now estranged" wife back in March. So then this jerk acts out by killing five of his children (and himself) by blowing up the marital home. This crime was completely preventable...that's the truly "tragic" part. When will the authorities take domestic violence seriously? Ever?
http://vancouver.katu.com/news/crime/domestic-violence-charge-preceded-fire-killed-kids/440119
Domestic violence charge preceded fire that killed kids
Submitted by Thom Jensen
Thursday, April 28th, 5:47 pm
The Vancouver father accused of blowing up his children and himself Easter morning was charged with domestic violence just last month.
Police say 37-year-old Tuan Dao threw several items, including an iron at his now estranged wife on March 29. Dao had no criminal history before that arrest.
According to police records, Dao came home that day and was upset, yelling that the house wasn’t clean enough. His wife, Lori, said he threw a duffle bag at her twice.
Later, while she was lying in bed with the couple’s 6-year-old, she said Dao threw a clothes iron at her. The couple’s 13-year-old daughter called police and Dao was arrested and jailed.
Two days later Dao was in court and he pleaded with a judge after prosecutors asked him to have no contact with his wife.
“I share everything with my wife,” he said. “I have to contact her, to the bank, for financial information, and we take care of six kids, sir. I don’t understand what happened here.”
Dao was charged with two counts of domestic violence and reckless endangerment. He was charged with reckless endangerment because kids were present.
Lori Dao told police the iron’s power cord actually hit the 6-year-old child when her husband threw it at her.
Neighbors and friends said they never saw the tragedy coming and there was never a problem at the home until the explosion.
The family went through a bankruptcy and a foreclosure within the past year. Dao’s wife and the couple’s 13-year-old daughter were staying at another home when the house at 15304 N.E. 13th Circle in Vancouver exploded.
Police say that Dao set the family’s home on fire himself. The explosion and fire tore the house in half, killing him and five of his six children
http://vancouver.katu.com/news/crime/domestic-violence-charge-preceded-fire-killed-kids/440119
Domestic violence charge preceded fire that killed kids
Submitted by Thom Jensen
Thursday, April 28th, 5:47 pm
The Vancouver father accused of blowing up his children and himself Easter morning was charged with domestic violence just last month.
Police say 37-year-old Tuan Dao threw several items, including an iron at his now estranged wife on March 29. Dao had no criminal history before that arrest.
According to police records, Dao came home that day and was upset, yelling that the house wasn’t clean enough. His wife, Lori, said he threw a duffle bag at her twice.
Later, while she was lying in bed with the couple’s 6-year-old, she said Dao threw a clothes iron at her. The couple’s 13-year-old daughter called police and Dao was arrested and jailed.
Two days later Dao was in court and he pleaded with a judge after prosecutors asked him to have no contact with his wife.
“I share everything with my wife,” he said. “I have to contact her, to the bank, for financial information, and we take care of six kids, sir. I don’t understand what happened here.”
Dao was charged with two counts of domestic violence and reckless endangerment. He was charged with reckless endangerment because kids were present.
Lori Dao told police the iron’s power cord actually hit the 6-year-old child when her husband threw it at her.
Neighbors and friends said they never saw the tragedy coming and there was never a problem at the home until the explosion.
The family went through a bankruptcy and a foreclosure within the past year. Dao’s wife and the couple’s 13-year-old daughter were staying at another home when the house at 15304 N.E. 13th Circle in Vancouver exploded.
Police say that Dao set the family’s home on fire himself. The explosion and fire tore the house in half, killing him and five of his six children
Dad pleads guilty to assaulting 2-month-old daughter; says he "blacks out" when "angry" (Spokane, Washington)
Dad DANIEL S. O'BRIEN has pleaded guilty to assaulting his 2-month-old daughter, and fracturing her rib and skull. The poor thing tells us he "blacks out" when he gets "angry." Well, ain't that special. And now this special little snowflake gets less than five years in prison for his deed. Ick.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/apr/28/father-pleads-guilty-injuring-baby/
April 28, 2011
Father pleads guilty to injuring babyBy Thomas Clouse The Spokesman-Review
A Spokane man who pleaded guilty to fracturing his 2-month-old daughter’s rib and skull and received nearly five years in prison today.
Daniel S. O’Brien, 25, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault of a child and Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno sentenced him to about 59 months in prison.
O’Brien was arrested Feb. 10, 2010, after he and his girlfriend, Jordan Calvert, brought their 2-month-old daughter, Tristan, to a local hospital with bruises and fractured bones.
O’Brien admitted causing the girls’ injuries and told police that he had mental problems that caused him to black out when angry.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/apr/28/father-pleads-guilty-injuring-baby/
April 28, 2011
Father pleads guilty to injuring babyBy Thomas Clouse The Spokesman-Review
A Spokane man who pleaded guilty to fracturing his 2-month-old daughter’s rib and skull and received nearly five years in prison today.
Daniel S. O’Brien, 25, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault of a child and Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno sentenced him to about 59 months in prison.
O’Brien was arrested Feb. 10, 2010, after he and his girlfriend, Jordan Calvert, brought their 2-month-old daughter, Tristan, to a local hospital with bruises and fractured bones.
O’Brien admitted causing the girls’ injuries and told police that he had mental problems that caused him to black out when angry.
Canadian killer dads get coddled by the system; are we really surprise when they assault new victims? (Vancouver, Canada)
Where to even start...
Dad BLAIR EVAN DONNELLY killed his teenage daughter back in 2006, but he was found not guilty by virture of "mental disorder." So in 2009, the nitwit "review board" granted him "unescorted overnight visits," and just what do you think happened? Daddy stabs another person! While high on cocaine no less! Great job, review board! More Canadian killer daddy coddling at its finest!
But no, the stupidity doesn't end there. No sir! Judge Peter Gulbransen sentences Daddy to just 45 days AT THE SAME FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL. And five days later, the review board affirms that Daddy would retain his "access to the community" privileges! What the f***? And I can't believe the judge called the stabbing death of a teenage girl a crime that is "not of particular severity." Sickening!
All of this helps explain why a daddy killer like ALLAN SCHOENBORN who slaughtered his three children also got coddled with "community access" privileges. We've reported on his case before, and how the children's mother is terrified that he will target her next.
http://www.canada.com/Killer+father+stabbed+friend+while+pass+from+psych+hospital/4696716/story.html
Killer father stabbed friend while out on pass from psych hospitalBy Kim Bolan, Postmedia News April 29, 2011
VANCOUVER - A mentally ill B.C. man who killed his teenage daughter later stabbed another person while out on an overnight pass from Port Coquitlam's Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, the Vancouver Sun has learned.
Blair Evan Donnelly was living in Kitimat, B.C., when he stabbed to death his 16-year-old daughter, Stephanie, in November 2006.
He was charged with second-degree murder, but later was found not guilty due to a mental disorder and sent to the Port Coquitlam forensic hospital that houses several high-profile killers.
The B.C. Review Board granted Donnelly unescorted overnight visits for up to 28 days in a February 2009 decision.
While out on a pass in Surrey a few months later - and high on cocaine - he stabbed a former resident of the hospital while visiting him.
Donnelly, 51, pleaded guilty to assaulting his friend, identified in court documents as Mr. Romanik, according to transcripts obtained by the Sun.
Surrey provincial court Judge Peder Gulbransen sentenced him on Jan. 26, 2010 to 45 days back at the same hospital.
Just five days later, the B.C. Review Board ruled that Donnelly would still have ``escorted access to the community depending on his mental condition.''
No one at the hospital immediately called back Thursday to confirm whether Donnelly has been out in the community over the last year - nor did Review Board chair Bernd Walter respond to an interview request.
There has been public outrage in recent weeks after revelations that several killers, including Allan Schoenborn, have been granted the ability to go on day trips from the same forensic hospital.
Last week, Schoenborn, who killed his three children in the midst of a psychotic episode, withdrew his request to leave the hospital after his ex- wife's family expressed their concerns.
B.C. Attorney General Barry Penner has asked Ottawa to change the Criminal Code to make it more difficult for killers who have been found not guilty due to mental illness to be released into the community.
In a statement Thursday, Penner said he has asked the federal government to ensure ``that the Review Board be required to give paramount consideration to public safety.
``I also believe the requirement to hold a review at least every 12 months should be extended to a period of three to five years in cases of serious offences,'' Penner said. ``I look forward to pursuing this important matter further following the federal election.''
In addition to the Schoenborn case, the Sun has revealed that over the last several months, child killer Kimberley Noyes also has been granted escorted access to the community. So has a Metro Vancouver man identified in court documents only as JRV, who shot to death his wife.
The Surrey judge who sentenced Donnelly last year noted that the case was very unusual and would concern the public.
``The actual crime in this case is not of particular severity, but it is the context that makes it more serious, because Mr. Donnelly was found not guilty by reason of mental disorder of the second degree murder of his daughter,'' Gulbransen said at sentencing.
``He seemed to have made a good recovery, and it seems as well that the medical authorities had difficulty in categorizing Mr. Donnelly's illness because he has only had a few episodes of psychotic behaviour . . . with quite catastrophic consequences, though.''
In the middle of Donnelly's October 2009 Surrey visit, he ``in a sudden and unexpected act, grabbed a knife, used it in a menacing way towards Mr. Romanik, '' the judge said.
``There was a struggle and Mr. Romanik got his hand cut, but he ran away, followed by Mr. Donnelly. He ran back into his house, locked himself in his house and phoned the police. Mr. Donnelly fled and was found a day later. He was clearly in a very severe psychotic state and was eventually returned to (Forensic Psychiatric Hospital) where he has now been the subject of a strict disposition of his status in that institution for the next year, strict custody. ''
Gulbransen said that while Donnelly had no criminal record prior to the Surrey stabbing, ``the elephant in the room'' is that ``he killed his daughter with a knife some four years ago, and this is another event which happened completely unexpectedly, this time perhaps with the taking of some cocaine, putting him over the edge.''
The Crown noted that Donnelly ``can deteriorate very quickly into a psychotic state,'' Gulbransen said.
``In such a state he is very dangerous; therefore, the Crown's view is that there has to be something done to indicate protection of the public,'' he said.
But Donnelly's lawyer argued that the public was already protected by the B. C. Review Board.
``He is under the kind of restrictions by the Review Board that will protect the public wholly and the court does not have to worry about that,'' Gulbransen said in summarizing the defence position.
``I tend to agree on the protection of the public issue, although if this man were not confined somewhere subject to the Review Board, of course, I would consider how a sentence would protect the public, but I am satisfied that that has already been done.''
Dad BLAIR EVAN DONNELLY killed his teenage daughter back in 2006, but he was found not guilty by virture of "mental disorder." So in 2009, the nitwit "review board" granted him "unescorted overnight visits," and just what do you think happened? Daddy stabs another person! While high on cocaine no less! Great job, review board! More Canadian killer daddy coddling at its finest!
But no, the stupidity doesn't end there. No sir! Judge Peter Gulbransen sentences Daddy to just 45 days AT THE SAME FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL. And five days later, the review board affirms that Daddy would retain his "access to the community" privileges! What the f***? And I can't believe the judge called the stabbing death of a teenage girl a crime that is "not of particular severity." Sickening!
All of this helps explain why a daddy killer like ALLAN SCHOENBORN who slaughtered his three children also got coddled with "community access" privileges. We've reported on his case before, and how the children's mother is terrified that he will target her next.
http://www.canada.com/Killer+father+stabbed+friend+while+pass+from+psych+hospital/4696716/story.html
Killer father stabbed friend while out on pass from psych hospitalBy Kim Bolan, Postmedia News April 29, 2011
VANCOUVER - A mentally ill B.C. man who killed his teenage daughter later stabbed another person while out on an overnight pass from Port Coquitlam's Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, the Vancouver Sun has learned.
Blair Evan Donnelly was living in Kitimat, B.C., when he stabbed to death his 16-year-old daughter, Stephanie, in November 2006.
He was charged with second-degree murder, but later was found not guilty due to a mental disorder and sent to the Port Coquitlam forensic hospital that houses several high-profile killers.
The B.C. Review Board granted Donnelly unescorted overnight visits for up to 28 days in a February 2009 decision.
While out on a pass in Surrey a few months later - and high on cocaine - he stabbed a former resident of the hospital while visiting him.
Donnelly, 51, pleaded guilty to assaulting his friend, identified in court documents as Mr. Romanik, according to transcripts obtained by the Sun.
Surrey provincial court Judge Peder Gulbransen sentenced him on Jan. 26, 2010 to 45 days back at the same hospital.
Just five days later, the B.C. Review Board ruled that Donnelly would still have ``escorted access to the community depending on his mental condition.''
No one at the hospital immediately called back Thursday to confirm whether Donnelly has been out in the community over the last year - nor did Review Board chair Bernd Walter respond to an interview request.
There has been public outrage in recent weeks after revelations that several killers, including Allan Schoenborn, have been granted the ability to go on day trips from the same forensic hospital.
Last week, Schoenborn, who killed his three children in the midst of a psychotic episode, withdrew his request to leave the hospital after his ex- wife's family expressed their concerns.
B.C. Attorney General Barry Penner has asked Ottawa to change the Criminal Code to make it more difficult for killers who have been found not guilty due to mental illness to be released into the community.
In a statement Thursday, Penner said he has asked the federal government to ensure ``that the Review Board be required to give paramount consideration to public safety.
``I also believe the requirement to hold a review at least every 12 months should be extended to a period of three to five years in cases of serious offences,'' Penner said. ``I look forward to pursuing this important matter further following the federal election.''
In addition to the Schoenborn case, the Sun has revealed that over the last several months, child killer Kimberley Noyes also has been granted escorted access to the community. So has a Metro Vancouver man identified in court documents only as JRV, who shot to death his wife.
The Surrey judge who sentenced Donnelly last year noted that the case was very unusual and would concern the public.
``The actual crime in this case is not of particular severity, but it is the context that makes it more serious, because Mr. Donnelly was found not guilty by reason of mental disorder of the second degree murder of his daughter,'' Gulbransen said at sentencing.
``He seemed to have made a good recovery, and it seems as well that the medical authorities had difficulty in categorizing Mr. Donnelly's illness because he has only had a few episodes of psychotic behaviour . . . with quite catastrophic consequences, though.''
In the middle of Donnelly's October 2009 Surrey visit, he ``in a sudden and unexpected act, grabbed a knife, used it in a menacing way towards Mr. Romanik, '' the judge said.
``There was a struggle and Mr. Romanik got his hand cut, but he ran away, followed by Mr. Donnelly. He ran back into his house, locked himself in his house and phoned the police. Mr. Donnelly fled and was found a day later. He was clearly in a very severe psychotic state and was eventually returned to (Forensic Psychiatric Hospital) where he has now been the subject of a strict disposition of his status in that institution for the next year, strict custody. ''
Gulbransen said that while Donnelly had no criminal record prior to the Surrey stabbing, ``the elephant in the room'' is that ``he killed his daughter with a knife some four years ago, and this is another event which happened completely unexpectedly, this time perhaps with the taking of some cocaine, putting him over the edge.''
The Crown noted that Donnelly ``can deteriorate very quickly into a psychotic state,'' Gulbransen said.
``In such a state he is very dangerous; therefore, the Crown's view is that there has to be something done to indicate protection of the public,'' he said.
But Donnelly's lawyer argued that the public was already protected by the B. C. Review Board.
``He is under the kind of restrictions by the Review Board that will protect the public wholly and the court does not have to worry about that,'' Gulbransen said in summarizing the defence position.
``I tend to agree on the protection of the public issue, although if this man were not confined somewhere subject to the Review Board, of course, I would consider how a sentence would protect the public, but I am satisfied that that has already been done.''
Babysitting dad gets 5.5 years in prison for beating 6-month-old son to death during diaper change (Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada)
Dad JAMES ANDREW LAROSE was babysitting while the mother of their 6-month-old son was out bowling (probably her first girls night out in ages). Well, Daddy just couldn't handle it when the baby defecated on him during a diaper change, so he beat the child to death. Daddy has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and gets a whopping 5.5 years in prison for beating this child, then leaving him to die in his crib over several hours with a painful ruptured intestine. Disgusting....but typical Canadian coddling of a daddy child abuser/killer.
http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3100320
Sask. father jailed for killing 6-month-old sonBy MURRAY CRAWFORD, QMI AGENCY
Posted 11 hours ago
LLOYDMINSTER, Sask. -- A Lloydminster man was sentenced to 5.5 years for beating his six-month-old son to death because the infant defecated on him while changing his diaper.
Initially charged with second-degree murder, James Andrew Larose, 25, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Nov. 19, 2010.
Court heard Tuesday that Larose had punched his son repeatedly, apparently outraged that the child, Camden Bounting, had defecated on him while changing his diaper.
Larose appeared before the Court of Queen's Bench in Battleford, Sask. Tuesday.
Larose was home alone with the child after Camden's mother, Amy Bounting, went bowling.
When Bounting returned, she and Larose retired, and the baby was already in bed.
The next morning when Bounting went into the baby's room, she realized her son was dead and called 911.
A coroner's investigation was conducted, during which Larose denied anything unusual had happened.
An autopsy concluded Camden died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen, causing the baby's small intestine to rupture.
Larose was arrested on March 24, 2009, and gave a full confession.
Court heard that the night Larose was alone with the baby he had been drinking.
He had to change the baby's diaper and while doing so Camden defecated again, soiling Larose.
Larose became angry and punched Camden several times. He told the court he didn't know how many times he hit his son, but believed it was about five times.
When he put Camden back in the bed, he was still alive -- according to the pathologist it would have taken hours for the baby to die.
The crown asked for eight to 10 years, but the judge came back with a 5 1/2 year sentence, minus one month for remand time.
Larose was not given double credit for his pre-conviction jail time.
Lloydminster is on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3100320
Sask. father jailed for killing 6-month-old sonBy MURRAY CRAWFORD, QMI AGENCY
Posted 11 hours ago
LLOYDMINSTER, Sask. -- A Lloydminster man was sentenced to 5.5 years for beating his six-month-old son to death because the infant defecated on him while changing his diaper.
Initially charged with second-degree murder, James Andrew Larose, 25, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Nov. 19, 2010.
Court heard Tuesday that Larose had punched his son repeatedly, apparently outraged that the child, Camden Bounting, had defecated on him while changing his diaper.
Larose appeared before the Court of Queen's Bench in Battleford, Sask. Tuesday.
Larose was home alone with the child after Camden's mother, Amy Bounting, went bowling.
When Bounting returned, she and Larose retired, and the baby was already in bed.
The next morning when Bounting went into the baby's room, she realized her son was dead and called 911.
A coroner's investigation was conducted, during which Larose denied anything unusual had happened.
An autopsy concluded Camden died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen, causing the baby's small intestine to rupture.
Larose was arrested on March 24, 2009, and gave a full confession.
Court heard that the night Larose was alone with the baby he had been drinking.
He had to change the baby's diaper and while doing so Camden defecated again, soiling Larose.
Larose became angry and punched Camden several times. He told the court he didn't know how many times he hit his son, but believed it was about five times.
When he put Camden back in the bed, he was still alive -- according to the pathologist it would have taken hours for the baby to die.
The crown asked for eight to 10 years, but the judge came back with a 5 1/2 year sentence, minus one month for remand time.
Larose was not given double credit for his pre-conviction jail time.
Lloydminster is on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Stay-at-home dad arrested for assaulting mom, 4-year-old son (Fenton, Michigan)
For years now, the press has fawned over the stay-at-home dad--how mighty, how noble, how self-sacrificing he is! As too many women know all too well, many of these glorified creatures are simply deadbeats who refuse regular employment. And in these days of "gender neutrality," you can't get rid of these deadbeats because they have now marketed themselves to the courts and society as "stay-at-home" fathers. So they are now in a perfect blackmail position. If you try to get rid of them, they will take custody of your children! (This in fact happened to me many years ago.) In addition, many of these deadbeats are short-tempered jerks who just can't hold a job (apart from not wanting one), so it's really no surprise that they take out their "frustration" on young children and/or their mothers. Just like this UNNAMED DAD here.
http://www.mlive.com/fenton/index.ssf/2011/04/fenton_man_arrested_after_assa.html
Fenton man arrested after assaulting girlfriend, four-year-old sonPublished: Friday, April 29, 2011, 9:01 AM
By Dana DeFever | The Flint Journal MLive.com
FENTON, Michigan — A 31-year-old Fenton man was arrested after his girlfriend told police he assaulted her and their four-year-old son.
The 24-year-old Fenton woman told police that she and her four-year-old son were assaulted by her live-in boyfriend, who also is the child’s father, on April 18. She showed officers photos of the injuries her son suffered on her cell phone.
Officers observed several facial injuries.
The boy was taken to Hurley Medical Center for a medical evaluation. He had no serious injuries.
Police arrested the man who is a stay-at-home dad, and he admitted to striking the child out of frustration because of something the boy had done.
Since the incident, the woman, her son, and a five-year-old daughter, moved out of the home.
http://www.mlive.com/fenton/index.ssf/2011/04/fenton_man_arrested_after_assa.html
Fenton man arrested after assaulting girlfriend, four-year-old sonPublished: Friday, April 29, 2011, 9:01 AM
By Dana DeFever | The Flint Journal MLive.com
FENTON, Michigan — A 31-year-old Fenton man was arrested after his girlfriend told police he assaulted her and their four-year-old son.
The 24-year-old Fenton woman told police that she and her four-year-old son were assaulted by her live-in boyfriend, who also is the child’s father, on April 18. She showed officers photos of the injuries her son suffered on her cell phone.
Officers observed several facial injuries.
The boy was taken to Hurley Medical Center for a medical evaluation. He had no serious injuries.
Police arrested the man who is a stay-at-home dad, and he admitted to striking the child out of frustration because of something the boy had done.
Since the incident, the woman, her son, and a five-year-old daughter, moved out of the home.
Dad charged with assaulting 3-week-old daughter (Forsyth County, Georgia)
Dad JEFFREY ADREW SILVERS has been charged with aggravated battery for injuries sustained by his 3-week-old daughter. Notice that Mom has lost custody of their 2-year-old daughter who was taken into "protective custody," even though she is not charged.
http://www.forsythnews.com/section/6/article/8447/
Dad charged after infant hospitalizedAuthorities suspect injuries are child abuse
By Julie Arrington
Staff Writer juliearrington@forsythnews.com
POSTED: April 28, 2011 8:45 p.m.
A south Forsyth father has been charged in connection with injuries that have left his infant daughter hospitalized.
Jeffery Andrew Silver, 36, was arrested Wednesday by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and charged with one count of aggravated battery.
He is being held at the Forsyth County Detention Center. His bond has not been set, a jail spokeswoman said.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Whirlow said staff at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite called authorities Wednesday afternoon about Silver’s 3-week-old daughter.
“She sustained injuries consistent with child abuse,” said Whirlow, who described them as significant but not life-threatening.
The infant remained hospitalized Thursday.
Whirlow and Sheriff’s Investigator Mike Garrison said the child was admitted to the hospital about noon Wednesday after being examined by a pediatrician.
They said the baby had been brought to the doctor earlier that day for an illness.
Garrison said Silver’s 2-year-old daughter, who did not appear to have been abused, was taken into protective custody.
Silver’s wife, whose name authorities have not released, has not been charged.
Garrison said the case remains under investigation.
http://www.forsythnews.com/section/6/article/8447/
Dad charged after infant hospitalizedAuthorities suspect injuries are child abuse
By Julie Arrington
Staff Writer juliearrington@forsythnews.com
POSTED: April 28, 2011 8:45 p.m.
A south Forsyth father has been charged in connection with injuries that have left his infant daughter hospitalized.
Jeffery Andrew Silver, 36, was arrested Wednesday by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and charged with one count of aggravated battery.
He is being held at the Forsyth County Detention Center. His bond has not been set, a jail spokeswoman said.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Whirlow said staff at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite called authorities Wednesday afternoon about Silver’s 3-week-old daughter.
“She sustained injuries consistent with child abuse,” said Whirlow, who described them as significant but not life-threatening.
The infant remained hospitalized Thursday.
Whirlow and Sheriff’s Investigator Mike Garrison said the child was admitted to the hospital about noon Wednesday after being examined by a pediatrician.
They said the baby had been brought to the doctor earlier that day for an illness.
Garrison said Silver’s 2-year-old daughter, who did not appear to have been abused, was taken into protective custody.
Silver’s wife, whose name authorities have not released, has not been charged.
Garrison said the case remains under investigation.
Dad gets probation, parenting classes supervised visitation after abusing 4-year-old daughter (Lawrence, Kansas)
Dad COREY L. LEWIS is pretty much getting the kid glove treatment here--just six months of probation, (useless) parenting classes, and (no doubt temporary) supervised visitation with his other kids. Do we really think all this is going to keep him from abusing this girl again? Notice that the mother of these kids doesn't show up anywhere in this article. Her feelings about this matter, or what she thinks about her kids seeing this guy, don't even get a mention. Typical. It's also quite likely that this guy was abusive to her at some point. But of course we don't go into that here either.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/apr/29/lawrence-father-sentenced-probation-after-child-ab/
Lawrence father sentenced to probation after child abuse allegedBy George Diepenbrock — Lawrence Journal-World
April 29, 2011
A judge has ordered a 34-year-old Lawrence man to serve six months on probation and complete additional parenting classes after he pleaded to a lesser charge related to allegations of abusing his daughter while trying to discipline her.
A jury in September failed to reach a verdict on a child abuse charge prosecutors sought against Corey L. Lewis.
Lewis had since completed an eight-week parenting course, and the two sides reached a deal to have him plead no contest to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Douglas County prosecutors had alleged initially that Lewis abused his 4-year-old daughter at an apartment in the 1300 block of West 24th Street. Defense attorney Sarah Swain said Lewis realized he made a mistake in the case but that at the time he was trying to discipline the child.
Lewis said he had learned from an eight-week parenting course and that it helped to be able to talk with other parents.
District Judge Paula Martin on Thursday morning ordered Lewis to complete additional courses and serve probation. If he violates his probation term, he would serve 21 days in jail after already serving nine days. According to testimony, Lewis now only has supervised visitation rights to his two children.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/apr/29/lawrence-father-sentenced-probation-after-child-ab/
Lawrence father sentenced to probation after child abuse allegedBy George Diepenbrock — Lawrence Journal-World
April 29, 2011
A judge has ordered a 34-year-old Lawrence man to serve six months on probation and complete additional parenting classes after he pleaded to a lesser charge related to allegations of abusing his daughter while trying to discipline her.
A jury in September failed to reach a verdict on a child abuse charge prosecutors sought against Corey L. Lewis.
Lewis had since completed an eight-week parenting course, and the two sides reached a deal to have him plead no contest to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Douglas County prosecutors had alleged initially that Lewis abused his 4-year-old daughter at an apartment in the 1300 block of West 24th Street. Defense attorney Sarah Swain said Lewis realized he made a mistake in the case but that at the time he was trying to discipline the child.
Lewis said he had learned from an eight-week parenting course and that it helped to be able to talk with other parents.
District Judge Paula Martin on Thursday morning ordered Lewis to complete additional courses and serve probation. If he violates his probation term, he would serve 21 days in jail after already serving nine days. According to testimony, Lewis now only has supervised visitation rights to his two children.
Dad loses infant abuse appeal (West Bend, Wisconsin)
Let's all get out our violins for this daddy, shall we? MICHAEL BELOW was convicted of bashing in the skull of his 2-month-old daughter "to make her stop crying." The baby ended up on life support, and after the doctors determined that she could not be resuscitated, the family elected to remove her from life support. Note that this jerk, er, father, has been trying to argue that HE didn't cause the baby's death; the decision to remove her from life support was the cause. The courts rejected his plea. But nice try, @$$hole.
http://www.milwaukeenewsbuzz.com/?p=586879
Father loses infant abuse appealApril 29, 2011
A Wisconsin court has rejected the appeal of a West Bend man convicted of battering his infant daughter, who later died. In the appeal, Michael Below, 33, argued he wasn’t the cause of death – the cause, he said, was the decision made by family members to terminate her life support.
Madison Below was two months old in 2008 when, according to a police investigation, her father, Michael Below, struck her head against a changing table several times to make her stop crying. Below later wrote in a letter to the girl’s mother that he “went crazy from all the s—t that has gone on.”
At Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, doctors concluded she had suffered a “devastating” brain injury and could not be resuscitated. Family members chose to remove her from life support, and she died several days later.
The Waukesha County Medical Examiner, Lynda Biedrzycki, performed the girl’s autopsy and testified at Below’s trial that the cause of death was “blunt head trauma.” The jury convicted him of first degree reckless homicide and child abuse. He was sentenced to 26 years in prison.
On appeal, Below argued the jury should have been instructed that the termination of life support could have been considered an “intervening cause” of the girl’s death.
“While Below’s acts exposed his daughter to numerous medical procedures, with their predictable and attendant risks, it is unfair to hold him responsible for the withdrawal of medical treatment that purposely terminated her life,” said a brief filed by his attorney.
Wisconsin’s Second District Court of Appeals, in ruling against Below, noted the prosecution only needed to show Below’s actions were a “substantial factor” in his daughter’s death.
http://www.milwaukeenewsbuzz.com/?p=586879
Father loses infant abuse appealApril 29, 2011
A Wisconsin court has rejected the appeal of a West Bend man convicted of battering his infant daughter, who later died. In the appeal, Michael Below, 33, argued he wasn’t the cause of death – the cause, he said, was the decision made by family members to terminate her life support.
Madison Below was two months old in 2008 when, according to a police investigation, her father, Michael Below, struck her head against a changing table several times to make her stop crying. Below later wrote in a letter to the girl’s mother that he “went crazy from all the s—t that has gone on.”
At Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, doctors concluded she had suffered a “devastating” brain injury and could not be resuscitated. Family members chose to remove her from life support, and she died several days later.
The Waukesha County Medical Examiner, Lynda Biedrzycki, performed the girl’s autopsy and testified at Below’s trial that the cause of death was “blunt head trauma.” The jury convicted him of first degree reckless homicide and child abuse. He was sentenced to 26 years in prison.
On appeal, Below argued the jury should have been instructed that the termination of life support could have been considered an “intervening cause” of the girl’s death.
“While Below’s acts exposed his daughter to numerous medical procedures, with their predictable and attendant risks, it is unfair to hold him responsible for the withdrawal of medical treatment that purposely terminated her life,” said a brief filed by his attorney.
Wisconsin’s Second District Court of Appeals, in ruling against Below, noted the prosecution only needed to show Below’s actions were a “substantial factor” in his daughter’s death.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Higher charge given to babysitting dad in infant's death (Cedar City, Utah)
Dad ANDY ROY GORECKI is now charged with homicide.
Higher charge given to father in infant's deathNur Kausar • nkausar@thespectrum.com • Published: April 28. 2011 4:55AM - Last modified: April 28. 2011 6:49AM
CEDAR CITY - The father of an infant who died September 2010 from serious head injuries could face 15 years to life in prison for a first-degree felony child abuse homicide charge.
Police originally charged Andy Roy Gorecki, 26, of Cedar City, with aggravated assault in December 2009 when his infant son, then nearly 3 months old, was revived in the hospital and put on life support.
The infant was taken off life support, Sept. 29, 2010, said Cedar City Police Det. Mike Bleak on the stand in 5th District Court Wednesday, and a subsequent autopsy report showed cause of death to be "complications from a head injury" and the manner of death was listed as homicide.
Gorecki had already been through one preliminary hearing for the original charge last year, and Bleak, along with the infant's grandmother Pearlene Aguilera took the stand once again.
Aguilera reiterated the events of that day in December 2009, taking the baby to the hospital after Gorecki found him foaming at the nose, not breathing and pale.
"I was screaming, 'Lord bring him back, take me but bring him back,'" Aguilera cried on the stand. "I thought he was dead ... he was just limp."
The infant, who was one of twins, was transported to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City and then to a long-term care facility until he was taken off life support.
Bleak said Gorecki gave four differing stories during interviews: not knowing what could have caused the injury, the infant being hit by a toy thrown by another child, getting bumped in his bassinet and being dropped accidentally by Gorecki.
The father had been watching five children for a few hours that day while his wife, Jessica Gorecki, was at a court hearing and his mother-in-law was helping a friend, Aguilera said.
Gorecki's attorney Jack Burns argued the date of the incident for which Gorecki is charged, and the date of the death by pulling the baby off life support, did not match.
Burns further said a lesser charge of aggravated assault would be more appropriate in the case.
Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett said the autopsy report showed the cause of the injury and death to be homicide, therefore, would stay with the current charge.
Judge John Walton said he found sufficient evidence with the autopsy report and scheduled an arraignment for May 17 at 1:30 p.m. Gorecki remains in the Iron County Jail.
Higher charge given to father in infant's deathNur Kausar • nkausar@thespectrum.com • Published: April 28. 2011 4:55AM - Last modified: April 28. 2011 6:49AM
CEDAR CITY - The father of an infant who died September 2010 from serious head injuries could face 15 years to life in prison for a first-degree felony child abuse homicide charge.
Police originally charged Andy Roy Gorecki, 26, of Cedar City, with aggravated assault in December 2009 when his infant son, then nearly 3 months old, was revived in the hospital and put on life support.
The infant was taken off life support, Sept. 29, 2010, said Cedar City Police Det. Mike Bleak on the stand in 5th District Court Wednesday, and a subsequent autopsy report showed cause of death to be "complications from a head injury" and the manner of death was listed as homicide.
Gorecki had already been through one preliminary hearing for the original charge last year, and Bleak, along with the infant's grandmother Pearlene Aguilera took the stand once again.
Aguilera reiterated the events of that day in December 2009, taking the baby to the hospital after Gorecki found him foaming at the nose, not breathing and pale.
"I was screaming, 'Lord bring him back, take me but bring him back,'" Aguilera cried on the stand. "I thought he was dead ... he was just limp."
The infant, who was one of twins, was transported to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City and then to a long-term care facility until he was taken off life support.
Bleak said Gorecki gave four differing stories during interviews: not knowing what could have caused the injury, the infant being hit by a toy thrown by another child, getting bumped in his bassinet and being dropped accidentally by Gorecki.
The father had been watching five children for a few hours that day while his wife, Jessica Gorecki, was at a court hearing and his mother-in-law was helping a friend, Aguilera said.
Gorecki's attorney Jack Burns argued the date of the incident for which Gorecki is charged, and the date of the death by pulling the baby off life support, did not match.
Burns further said a lesser charge of aggravated assault would be more appropriate in the case.
Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett said the autopsy report showed the cause of the injury and death to be homicide, therefore, would stay with the current charge.
Judge John Walton said he found sufficient evidence with the autopsy report and scheduled an arraignment for May 17 at 1:30 p.m. Gorecki remains in the Iron County Jail.
Dad charged with abusing 5-month-old (Eden, North Carolina)
This time the "alleged" daddy head basher is BRIAN WALTER PULLIAM. No mention of Mom.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.digtriad.com/news/article/173143/57/Eden-Father-Charged-With-Abusing-5-Month-Old
Eden Father Charged With Abusing 5-Month-Old3:49 PM, Apr 27, 2011
Matt McKinney
Eden, NC -- An Eden father is charged with child abuse after his baby was treated at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital for a skull fracture.
Eden Police were called to the hospital after Rockingham County Social Services requested their assistance on a 5-month-old with a head injury. Doctors said they treated the child for a skull fracture.
Police charged the child's father, 38-year-old Brian Walter Pulliam with Intentional Child Abuse Inflicting Serious Bodily Injury. A warrant states that Pulliam "unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did intentionally commit an assault that resulted in serious bodily injury, a fracture to the skull on a child who was five months of age."
Pulliam is being held at the Rockingham County Jail on a $200,000 secured bond. Police said the child's condition is stable and remains at Baptist Hospital.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.digtriad.com/news/article/173143/57/Eden-Father-Charged-With-Abusing-5-Month-Old
Eden Father Charged With Abusing 5-Month-Old3:49 PM, Apr 27, 2011
Matt McKinney
Eden, NC -- An Eden father is charged with child abuse after his baby was treated at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital for a skull fracture.
Eden Police were called to the hospital after Rockingham County Social Services requested their assistance on a 5-month-old with a head injury. Doctors said they treated the child for a skull fracture.
Police charged the child's father, 38-year-old Brian Walter Pulliam with Intentional Child Abuse Inflicting Serious Bodily Injury. A warrant states that Pulliam "unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did intentionally commit an assault that resulted in serious bodily injury, a fracture to the skull on a child who was five months of age."
Pulliam is being held at the Rockingham County Jail on a $200,000 secured bond. Police said the child's condition is stable and remains at Baptist Hospital.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Dad convicted in 2006 slaying of 4 children; rape and attempted murder of their mother (Jefferson County, Kentucky)
The wheels of justice move slowly, but dad SAID BIYAD has finally been convicted of murder in the bloody slayings of his 4 children. He was also convicted of rape and the attempted murder of their mother.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/04/22/1572930/father-convicted-of-killing-4.html
Father convicted of killing 4 children in KentuckyBy The Associated Press
A Somali immigrant has been convicted on all counts of killing his four children and raping and trying to kill his wife.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge James Shake took about 20 minutes Friday to reach the verdict against Said Biyad (sy-EED' bee-YAHD). Sentencing is set for June 9. He could get life without parole.
Biyad was accused of killing his four children - ages 2 through 8 - by slitting their throats in 2006 following an argument with his wife.
Biyad had claimed that his children were killed by three men demanding money. He also argued that an impostor claiming to be him confessed to the police.
His attorney argued that Biyad suffered mental illness and wasn't criminally responsible for his actions.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/04/22/1572930/father-convicted-of-killing-4.html
Father convicted of killing 4 children in KentuckyBy The Associated Press
A Somali immigrant has been convicted on all counts of killing his four children and raping and trying to kill his wife.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge James Shake took about 20 minutes Friday to reach the verdict against Said Biyad (sy-EED' bee-YAHD). Sentencing is set for June 9. He could get life without parole.
Biyad was accused of killing his four children - ages 2 through 8 - by slitting their throats in 2006 following an argument with his wife.
Biyad had claimed that his children were killed by three men demanding money. He also argued that an impostor claiming to be him confessed to the police.
His attorney argued that Biyad suffered mental illness and wasn't criminally responsible for his actions.
Mom assaulted by dad while picking up daughter from visitation (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
Dad BAILEY McNABB has been arrested for assaulting the mother of their daughter when she came by to pick up the girl after visitation. Court ordered? By whom? Just who gave this piece of trash his "rights" anyway?
http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_199801.asp
McNabb, Lane Face Domestic Assault Chargesby Judy Frank
posted April 26, 2011
A little girl’s Easter visit with her father turned violent when the mother arrived to take the child home, according to Chattanooga police reports.
Amber Lockhart told police when she went to 803B Gadd Road to pick up her daughter, she was assaulted by Bailey McNabb, the 19-year-old father of the child.
Ms. Lockhart went to the Highway 153 Walmart parking lot and called police.
“She reported that . . . McNabb struck her in the right jaw and shoved her into the door as they exchanged the child at the front door,” Officer Bobby Pamplin wrote.
“Ms. Lockhart showed me a visible bruise and swelling on her right jaw that she claimed was from that assault earlier this morning,” Officer Pamplin’s report continued. “Based on that evidence, I located and arrested Bailey McNabb for simple domestic assault at 803B Gadd Road.”
Another Chattanooga officer was summoned to Walgreens on Rossville Boulevard, where 30-year-old victim Heather McGill reportedly told him she had fled after being assaulted by 47-year-old Roy Lane, the father of her children.
Ms. McGill’s left cheek was swollen and lacerated, Officer Jerry Poteet noted in his report, and the top of her head was bloody and swollen.
“There were cuts and lacerations on her left arm and elbow where she was knocked on the ground,” according to the arrest report, and “Her neck and chest had red marks and scratches.”
Ms. McGill declined medical assistance, Officer Poteet reported, but officers did swear out a warrant on Lane after the victim told them she wanted to prosecute.
http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_199801.asp
McNabb, Lane Face Domestic Assault Chargesby Judy Frank
posted April 26, 2011
A little girl’s Easter visit with her father turned violent when the mother arrived to take the child home, according to Chattanooga police reports.
Amber Lockhart told police when she went to 803B Gadd Road to pick up her daughter, she was assaulted by Bailey McNabb, the 19-year-old father of the child.
Ms. Lockhart went to the Highway 153 Walmart parking lot and called police.
“She reported that . . . McNabb struck her in the right jaw and shoved her into the door as they exchanged the child at the front door,” Officer Bobby Pamplin wrote.
“Ms. Lockhart showed me a visible bruise and swelling on her right jaw that she claimed was from that assault earlier this morning,” Officer Pamplin’s report continued. “Based on that evidence, I located and arrested Bailey McNabb for simple domestic assault at 803B Gadd Road.”
Another Chattanooga officer was summoned to Walgreens on Rossville Boulevard, where 30-year-old victim Heather McGill reportedly told him she had fled after being assaulted by 47-year-old Roy Lane, the father of her children.
Ms. McGill’s left cheek was swollen and lacerated, Officer Jerry Poteet noted in his report, and the top of her head was bloody and swollen.
“There were cuts and lacerations on her left arm and elbow where she was knocked on the ground,” according to the arrest report, and “Her neck and chest had red marks and scratches.”
Ms. McGill declined medical assistance, Officer Poteet reported, but officers did swear out a warrant on Lane after the victim told them she wanted to prosecute.
Family Court Judge Courtenay Hall grants convicted pedophile dad prison visitation with 5-year-old daughter (Clifton Park, New York)
Thank you, fathers right of New York! Granting a convicted pedophile visitation with his 5-year-old daughter--in prison no less--has FR fingerprints all over it. Thank goodness there are some decent people left in the state who are outraged by this bullsh**. Family court judge Courtenay Hall should resign her post immediately.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2011/04/26/pedophile_visitation/
Convicted Pedophile Granted Daughter VisitationPosted on Tuesday, 26 of April , 2011 at 9:30 pm
CLIFTON PARK—The 3-2 decision of a mid-level appellate court to grant visitation rights to a convicted pedophile teacher who is serving 12 years in state prison for molesting young male students in his classroom has created a firestorm.
Former Chestertown resident Christopher Culver, 35, a former Shenendehowa elementary first grade teacher, pleaded guilty in 2008 to a 49-count indictment which included 29 counts of first degree sexual abuse from his molestation of eight of his male students. He had been arrested in 2007.
Following his sentencing, Culver petitioned the Saratoga County Family Court for visitation with his now five-year-old daughter. Family Court Judge Courtenay Hall granted the application which was opposed by Culver’s former wife, Kristi VanPatten Culver. The couple has divorced since Culver’s arrest.
It is expected that she will ask the Court of Appeals to review the decision.
Culver, who had not seen his daughter since she was 18 months old, has been granted four visits per year with the child at his correctional facility.
In March 2007, Culver signed a separation agreement which made no provision for custody or visitation of the child, who continued to reside with the mother. Thereafter, while the mother initially permitted the father to visit with the child, in July 2007 – when the child was 18 months old – she refused the father any further visitation.
The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court denied Culver’s appeal and he is incarcerated in Clinton County Correction Facility.
The parties were divorced in August 2008 in a judgment which incorporated their separation agreement. In November 2008, the father filed a petition in Family Court seeking regular visitation with the child at the place of his incarceration which is located about three hours by car from the child’s residence. Included in the father’s petition were affidavits from his parents and his sister offering to provide transportation to and supervision during the requested visits.
After four days of trial at which numerous witnesses testified, Family Court awarded the mother full custody and granted the father four visits per year with the child at the correctional facility where he is confined or such other facility provided it is within 150 miles of the mother’s residence.
The court further ordered, among other things, that the child be accompanied by a responsible adult – other than the mother – with whom the child is familiar and who will cooperate with the mother and father in effectuating each visit, that the child and her escorts engage in counseling in preparation for and subsequent to each visit, and that the father have monitored telephone contact and written communication with the child. The mother was directed to bear the cost of said counseling and telephone calls.
Culver’s ex-wife had opposed visitation asserting, among other reasons, that the child does not know her father, does not enjoy long car rides and that such visitation will likely frighten the child. The mother testified, however, that, prior to the father’s arrest, he enjoyed “[a] decent father-daughter relationship” – a fact corroborated by the testimony of others who have known the father and child – and that, since the father’s incarceration, the child has begun to inquire about his whereabouts.
To the mother’s credit, the child has received mail from the father on a regular basis, and both the child’s paternal aunt and paternal grandparents – who have been permitted ongoing relationships with the child by the mother – are willing to transport the child to the correctional facility and cooperate with the mother’s related wishes – e.g., to not discuss the specific circumstances surrounding the father’s incarceration and to attend counseling in order to facilitate the visits.
The court ordered that Culver is financially responsible for all expenses associated with visitation including counseling and telephone expenses unless his ex-wife acquires health insurance which will cover counseling expenses for the child.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2011/04/26/pedophile_visitation/
Convicted Pedophile Granted Daughter VisitationPosted on Tuesday, 26 of April , 2011 at 9:30 pm
CLIFTON PARK—The 3-2 decision of a mid-level appellate court to grant visitation rights to a convicted pedophile teacher who is serving 12 years in state prison for molesting young male students in his classroom has created a firestorm.
Former Chestertown resident Christopher Culver, 35, a former Shenendehowa elementary first grade teacher, pleaded guilty in 2008 to a 49-count indictment which included 29 counts of first degree sexual abuse from his molestation of eight of his male students. He had been arrested in 2007.
Following his sentencing, Culver petitioned the Saratoga County Family Court for visitation with his now five-year-old daughter. Family Court Judge Courtenay Hall granted the application which was opposed by Culver’s former wife, Kristi VanPatten Culver. The couple has divorced since Culver’s arrest.
It is expected that she will ask the Court of Appeals to review the decision.
Culver, who had not seen his daughter since she was 18 months old, has been granted four visits per year with the child at his correctional facility.
In March 2007, Culver signed a separation agreement which made no provision for custody or visitation of the child, who continued to reside with the mother. Thereafter, while the mother initially permitted the father to visit with the child, in July 2007 – when the child was 18 months old – she refused the father any further visitation.
The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court denied Culver’s appeal and he is incarcerated in Clinton County Correction Facility.
The parties were divorced in August 2008 in a judgment which incorporated their separation agreement. In November 2008, the father filed a petition in Family Court seeking regular visitation with the child at the place of his incarceration which is located about three hours by car from the child’s residence. Included in the father’s petition were affidavits from his parents and his sister offering to provide transportation to and supervision during the requested visits.
After four days of trial at which numerous witnesses testified, Family Court awarded the mother full custody and granted the father four visits per year with the child at the correctional facility where he is confined or such other facility provided it is within 150 miles of the mother’s residence.
The court further ordered, among other things, that the child be accompanied by a responsible adult – other than the mother – with whom the child is familiar and who will cooperate with the mother and father in effectuating each visit, that the child and her escorts engage in counseling in preparation for and subsequent to each visit, and that the father have monitored telephone contact and written communication with the child. The mother was directed to bear the cost of said counseling and telephone calls.
Culver’s ex-wife had opposed visitation asserting, among other reasons, that the child does not know her father, does not enjoy long car rides and that such visitation will likely frighten the child. The mother testified, however, that, prior to the father’s arrest, he enjoyed “[a] decent father-daughter relationship” – a fact corroborated by the testimony of others who have known the father and child – and that, since the father’s incarceration, the child has begun to inquire about his whereabouts.
To the mother’s credit, the child has received mail from the father on a regular basis, and both the child’s paternal aunt and paternal grandparents – who have been permitted ongoing relationships with the child by the mother – are willing to transport the child to the correctional facility and cooperate with the mother’s related wishes – e.g., to not discuss the specific circumstances surrounding the father’s incarceration and to attend counseling in order to facilitate the visits.
The court ordered that Culver is financially responsible for all expenses associated with visitation including counseling and telephone expenses unless his ex-wife acquires health insurance which will cover counseling expenses for the child.
Babysitting dad pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of 6-month-old son (Prairie, Saskatchewan, Canada)
Dads like JAMES ANDREW LAROSE are always claiming they "snapped." That's crap. Normal parents might get irritated, but they don't punch out babies and kill them over a diaper change and then call it "snapping."
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Prairie+father+snaps+punches+baby+death/4681261/story.html
Prairie father 'snaps,' punches baby to deathPostmedia News April 27, 2011
A Saskatchewan father who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of his six-month-old son admitted to punching the baby at least five times the night the infant died.
James Andrew Larose, 25, told police he just "snapped" during a diaper change of his infant son, Camden Bounting, on March 18, 2009. After punching the child numerous times, he then put the baby in his crib and did not check on him the rest of the night, Saskatoon Court of Queen's Bench heard Tuesday in an agreed statement of facts during sentencing arguments.
RCMP responded to a 911 call on March 19, 2009, around 10: 25 a.m., from a home in Lloydminster, Sask. Paramedics and the provincial coroner were also on scene. The mother was not home at the time of the incident.
Larose was arrested five days later after an autopsy was performed on the child. Justice Frank Gerein handed him a sentence of 5 1/2 years.
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Prairie+father+snaps+punches+baby+death/4681261/story.html
Prairie father 'snaps,' punches baby to deathPostmedia News April 27, 2011
A Saskatchewan father who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of his six-month-old son admitted to punching the baby at least five times the night the infant died.
James Andrew Larose, 25, told police he just "snapped" during a diaper change of his infant son, Camden Bounting, on March 18, 2009. After punching the child numerous times, he then put the baby in his crib and did not check on him the rest of the night, Saskatoon Court of Queen's Bench heard Tuesday in an agreed statement of facts during sentencing arguments.
RCMP responded to a 911 call on March 19, 2009, around 10: 25 a.m., from a home in Lloydminster, Sask. Paramedics and the provincial coroner were also on scene. The mother was not home at the time of the incident.
Larose was arrested five days later after an autopsy was performed on the child. Justice Frank Gerein handed him a sentence of 5 1/2 years.
Father and son child porn cases 'unrelated': REALLY? (Farnborough, England, United Kingdom)
Pssst. Wanna buy a bridge?
Honestly, how stupid do the authorities believe we are? Of course, these cases are related. Do you really think it is a totally random coincidence that father STEPHEN GORHAM and son just happened to download child porn under the same roof? But notice that there is no mention of a mother under this roof. Was there one?
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/2091792_father_and_son_child_porn_cases_unrelated
Father and son child porn cases 'unrelated'By Pete Castle
April 27, 2011
TEENAGER whose computer contained hundreds of ‘disgusting’ images of child pornography has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Liam Gorham, 18, was sentenced on Friday last week just weeks after his father, Stephen Gorham, a former volunteer police constable, was jailed for eight months after he also admitted downloading child porn from the internet.
Police said that while both men lived at the same flat in Totland Close, Farnborough, and both were caught with indecent images of children on their computers, it appeared that there was no connection between the two offences.
Liam Gorham was only caught because detectives investigating allegations against his father had seized all the computers in the house – including his own personal laptop – and then found images on the hard drive.
The teenager was then arrested and admitted downloading the images.
Police said that as unbelievable as it sounded, the evidence suggested that neither father nor son knew what the other was doing.
Speaking after the court case, detectives from Hampshire police’s specialist high-tech crime unit said the two cases were treated separately.
“We take all cases of this nature very seriously and will conduct thorough investigation as required,” a spokesman for the unit said.
At Liam Gorham’s sentencing on Thursday last week, Winchester Crown Court was told that officers found 1,335 photos and eight videos on his computer. Of the images, 166 were ‘unique’, with the remainder being copies of the same files, found elsewhere on his computer’s internal hard disc drive, the court heard.
Gary Venturi, prosecuting, told judge Andrew Barnett that the images found by police included 27 unique images categorised by police as ‘level four’ on a scale of one to five, with five being the most serious.
When interviewed by police, Gorham had admitted downloading the images but said he had then realised the seriousness of what he had done and tried to ‘distance’ himself from his actions by deleting the files.
However, while invisible to the regular user, the images remained on the computer’s hard disc and were still retrievable, the court heard.
Peter Asteris, defending, said the seriousness of Gorham’s actions had been brought home to him since he and his family had been forced to leave their home in Totland Close and were currently living in temporary accommodation.
“He simply wishes to say he is sorry and it will not happen again,” Mr Asteris said.
Judge Barnett said that the offences Gorham admitted were ‘serious’.
“Anyone who indulges in the downloading of this sort of material – particularly the level four material – will find themselves on the wrong end of a prison sentence because society understandably is concerned as to this sort of exploitation,” the judge said.
“Having said that, your client has no previous convictions, he is young, and it seems to me that if there is to be a prison sentence, it should be suspended.”
Addressing Gorham, Judge Barnett said that he was sure the teenager had downloaded the pictures and movies ‘for reasons of misguided curiosity and sexual gratification’.
“There were quite a number of level four images which are among the most disgusting and which I had the misfortune of reminding myself of this morning,” the judge said.
“You must understand that people who download these images are effectively exploiting the people who get involved in the making of those images.”
Sentencing him to four months in prison, suspended for a year, the judge told Gorham he believed he had ‘learnt his lesson’.
“For that year it will hang over your head and if you are stupid enough to commit any other offence you will be brought back here and will go to prison for that period,” he said.
“I hope that you will put this matter behind you having learnt your lesson. You have the support of your mother, whose letter I took into consideration and the others I have read here.”
The judge also ordered that Gorham’s laptop computer containing the illegal images should be destroyed and told him he would have to sign onto the sex offenders’ register for five years.
Honestly, how stupid do the authorities believe we are? Of course, these cases are related. Do you really think it is a totally random coincidence that father STEPHEN GORHAM and son just happened to download child porn under the same roof? But notice that there is no mention of a mother under this roof. Was there one?
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/2091792_father_and_son_child_porn_cases_unrelated
Father and son child porn cases 'unrelated'By Pete Castle
April 27, 2011
TEENAGER whose computer contained hundreds of ‘disgusting’ images of child pornography has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Liam Gorham, 18, was sentenced on Friday last week just weeks after his father, Stephen Gorham, a former volunteer police constable, was jailed for eight months after he also admitted downloading child porn from the internet.
Police said that while both men lived at the same flat in Totland Close, Farnborough, and both were caught with indecent images of children on their computers, it appeared that there was no connection between the two offences.
Liam Gorham was only caught because detectives investigating allegations against his father had seized all the computers in the house – including his own personal laptop – and then found images on the hard drive.
The teenager was then arrested and admitted downloading the images.
Police said that as unbelievable as it sounded, the evidence suggested that neither father nor son knew what the other was doing.
Speaking after the court case, detectives from Hampshire police’s specialist high-tech crime unit said the two cases were treated separately.
“We take all cases of this nature very seriously and will conduct thorough investigation as required,” a spokesman for the unit said.
At Liam Gorham’s sentencing on Thursday last week, Winchester Crown Court was told that officers found 1,335 photos and eight videos on his computer. Of the images, 166 were ‘unique’, with the remainder being copies of the same files, found elsewhere on his computer’s internal hard disc drive, the court heard.
Gary Venturi, prosecuting, told judge Andrew Barnett that the images found by police included 27 unique images categorised by police as ‘level four’ on a scale of one to five, with five being the most serious.
When interviewed by police, Gorham had admitted downloading the images but said he had then realised the seriousness of what he had done and tried to ‘distance’ himself from his actions by deleting the files.
However, while invisible to the regular user, the images remained on the computer’s hard disc and were still retrievable, the court heard.
Peter Asteris, defending, said the seriousness of Gorham’s actions had been brought home to him since he and his family had been forced to leave their home in Totland Close and were currently living in temporary accommodation.
“He simply wishes to say he is sorry and it will not happen again,” Mr Asteris said.
Judge Barnett said that the offences Gorham admitted were ‘serious’.
“Anyone who indulges in the downloading of this sort of material – particularly the level four material – will find themselves on the wrong end of a prison sentence because society understandably is concerned as to this sort of exploitation,” the judge said.
“Having said that, your client has no previous convictions, he is young, and it seems to me that if there is to be a prison sentence, it should be suspended.”
Addressing Gorham, Judge Barnett said that he was sure the teenager had downloaded the pictures and movies ‘for reasons of misguided curiosity and sexual gratification’.
“There were quite a number of level four images which are among the most disgusting and which I had the misfortune of reminding myself of this morning,” the judge said.
“You must understand that people who download these images are effectively exploiting the people who get involved in the making of those images.”
Sentencing him to four months in prison, suspended for a year, the judge told Gorham he believed he had ‘learnt his lesson’.
“For that year it will hang over your head and if you are stupid enough to commit any other offence you will be brought back here and will go to prison for that period,” he said.
“I hope that you will put this matter behind you having learnt your lesson. You have the support of your mother, whose letter I took into consideration and the others I have read here.”
The judge also ordered that Gorham’s laptop computer containing the illegal images should be destroyed and told him he would have to sign onto the sex offenders’ register for five years.
Custodial dad, girlfriend plead not guilty to caging Dad's sons (Vancouver, Washington)
Notice the misleading headline. This wasn't some "couple" (e.g. mother and father) that are accused of caging two boys with autism. It's a custodial dad, JOHN ECKHART, and his live-in girlfriend. The boys are now in foster care, with the boys' mother now attempting to regain custody. So just how did this dad get custody? He obviously wasn't too concerned about caring for the boys himself, was he? Maybe the usual custodial daddy control/abuse agenda? Sure looks likely....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/04/27/state/n122533D24.DTL
Wash. couple pleads not guilty to caging 2 boysBy NIGEL DUARA, Associated Press
Associated Press April 27, 2011 12:25 PM
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
(04-27) 12:25 PDT Vancouver, Wash. (AP) --
The attorneys for a Washington state couple accused of keeping two autistic boys in a caged room say they'll dispute the police account of the room and bring in medical experts to testify about dealing with children with autism.
Jonny McMullen, defense attorney for the children's father, said the word "cage" was first used by police to describe the living conditions of the boys, ages 5 and 7.
"The word 'cage,' I don't know if that's a fair characterization," McMullen said. He declined to give another word that would better describe the room.
John Eckhart, 30, and Alayna Higdon, 26, each pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of criminal mistreatment and unlawful imprisonment.
Neither spoke during their hearings other than to confirm that they were pleading not guilty. They didn't speak to each other, a fact McMullen attributed to a no-contact order issued by Clark County Superior Court Judge John Wulle.
On April 12, two maintenance workers found the children in a bedroom of an apartment shared by Eckhart and Higdon. The couple also had two other children living in the apartment. The autistic children were Eckhart's from a previous relationship. One of the other children was Higdon's from a previous relationship, and the couple had an 11-month-old child together.
The autistic children are in state foster care, pending a custody hearing. The biological mother, Jona Bronson, of Tillamook, Ore., is seeking long-term placement.
A trial has been set for Sept. 26 in Vancouver.
The room itself was described by the maintenance workers to a police officer as being locked by a door constructed of metal shelves and locked by a karabiner. Inside was a single mattress in a "race car"-like bed. The room smelled of urine, and the boys had picked holes in the walls that were covered by sheets of plywood.
The couple's other two children are staying with family.
"The bottom line," McMullen said, "is that what a parent of a child without autism does is very different from what a parent would do to protect a child from himself."
McMullen said autistic children are more likely to injure themselves, and said he would bring in experts to testify about it at trial.
Brian Walker, Higdon's attorney, said the facts issued by the police are preliminary and inconclusive.
"The facts that have been released barely scratch the surface," Walker said. "There's a lot to be revealed in time."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/04/27/state/n122533D24.DTL
Wash. couple pleads not guilty to caging 2 boysBy NIGEL DUARA, Associated Press
Associated Press April 27, 2011 12:25 PM
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
(04-27) 12:25 PDT Vancouver, Wash. (AP) --
The attorneys for a Washington state couple accused of keeping two autistic boys in a caged room say they'll dispute the police account of the room and bring in medical experts to testify about dealing with children with autism.
Jonny McMullen, defense attorney for the children's father, said the word "cage" was first used by police to describe the living conditions of the boys, ages 5 and 7.
"The word 'cage,' I don't know if that's a fair characterization," McMullen said. He declined to give another word that would better describe the room.
John Eckhart, 30, and Alayna Higdon, 26, each pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of criminal mistreatment and unlawful imprisonment.
Neither spoke during their hearings other than to confirm that they were pleading not guilty. They didn't speak to each other, a fact McMullen attributed to a no-contact order issued by Clark County Superior Court Judge John Wulle.
On April 12, two maintenance workers found the children in a bedroom of an apartment shared by Eckhart and Higdon. The couple also had two other children living in the apartment. The autistic children were Eckhart's from a previous relationship. One of the other children was Higdon's from a previous relationship, and the couple had an 11-month-old child together.
The autistic children are in state foster care, pending a custody hearing. The biological mother, Jona Bronson, of Tillamook, Ore., is seeking long-term placement.
A trial has been set for Sept. 26 in Vancouver.
The room itself was described by the maintenance workers to a police officer as being locked by a door constructed of metal shelves and locked by a karabiner. Inside was a single mattress in a "race car"-like bed. The room smelled of urine, and the boys had picked holes in the walls that were covered by sheets of plywood.
The couple's other two children are staying with family.
"The bottom line," McMullen said, "is that what a parent of a child without autism does is very different from what a parent would do to protect a child from himself."
McMullen said autistic children are more likely to injure themselves, and said he would bring in experts to testify about it at trial.
Brian Walker, Higdon's attorney, said the facts issued by the police are preliminary and inconclusive.
"The facts that have been released barely scratch the surface," Walker said. "There's a lot to be revealed in time."
Dad finally found guilty in 1985 murder of pregnant wife, 2 children (Columbus, Georgia)
The family has waited 25 years for justice, but finally dad MICHAEL curry has been found guilty of murdering his pregnant wife and their two children. Notice he wanted to leave her--but didn't want to pay child support.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/04/27/1555028/michael-curry-guilty-of-murder.html
Michael Curry found guilty of murderBy TIM CHITWOOD - tchitwood@ledger-enquirer.com
Michael Curry was found guilty of hacking his pregnant wife and two children to death with a bush ax in 1985.
The outcome ended a trial for which Ann Curry’s family had waited 25 years, since the stormy August evening in 1985 they learned the 24-year-old and her two children were slain in their 5433 Rockhurst Drive home.
Curry faced six counts of murder in the gruesome homicides that shocked Columbus. Acting on evidence compiled by cold-case investigators, a grand jury in 2009 indicted him on two counts of malice murder and two counts of felony murder for each of the three victims. He was arrested May 20, 2009, at his home in Dalton, Ga., where he settled after moving from Columbus following the deaths of his wife, daughter Erika, 4, and son Ryan, 20 months.
History of the Curry case
Ann Curry was eight months’ pregnant, and Curry initially faced charges of feticide in the death of the baby to be named Tyler, but those charges later were dropped.
Curry reported finding his family slain when he got home from work at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 29, 1985, the Thursday before Labor Day. When police questioned him that evening, he told them he had spent 3 ½ hours that morning shopping for a fan for The Bradley Center, where he worked. A receipt showed he bought the small fan at the Macon Road Kmart at 12:55 p.m.
His wife and children that day had visited Ann Curry’s parents, Jim and Bernice Johnson, at their 4416 Fairview Drive home. Bernice Johnson said her daughter and grandchildren left there at 12:30 p.m. for the drive home. Police timed that drive at 7 minutes. Detectives timed the drive from Rockhurst to the 3200 Macon Road Kmart at 13 minutes.
The defense claimed that under that time frame, Curry could not have killed his family and made it to Kmart by 12:55 p.m. Prosecutors maintained that he did kill his wife and kids and rushed to Kmart, where he bought the first fan he saw, and a cashier recalled that he was sweating profusely, though the store was kept so cold workers often wore sweaters.
Closing arguments
Here’s a recap of closing arguments in the case:
District Attorney Julia Slater said Michael Curry in 1985 was a 27-year-old faithless husband desperate to escape a joyless marriage and a growing young family he could not afford, and he was the only suspect with a motive for killing his 20-month-old son.
Defense attorney Bob Wadkins argued that Slater is asking jurors to draw conclusions that can’t be established by the facts of the case. One fact jurors should never forget is that prosecutors can’t say with any certainty when Ann Curry and her two children got home on Aug. 29, 1985.
She and her children may still have been alive when Michael Curry made a purchase at Kmart at 12:55 p.m. that day, Wadkins said.
“This is the one fact you must keep in your minds at all times,” he said.
Slater told the jury the totality of the circumstances points to no other suspect but Curry. She emphasized these elements of the case:
-- Curry was having financial troubles and had told a coworker with whom he was having an affair that he could not afford a divorce and child support for two kids, plus the third child his eight-months’ pregnant wife was expecting. After the homicides, he collected their life insurance benefits.
-- He could not account for the 3½ hours he was gone the day of the homicides, having left his job at The Bradley Center at 9:40 a.m. to shop for a fan, which he didn’t buy until 12:55 p.m., returning to work about 1:10 p.m. Slater noted also that on an erasable vehicle checkout board in Curry’s office at The Bradley Center, his reserving a car at 9:40 a.m. to go to Kmart the day of the slayings had been erased the next day, though older reservations still were posted.
-- Curry knew his wife was to take Erika shopping to get a gift for a birthday party she was to attend that evening. Slater said Curry that morning may have gone to Sears where his wife was shopping with his daughter, as he later told police he went there to look at fans. Slater alleged he then went to his house and waited for his wife to return with the children.
-- Curry reported finding the bodies when he got home from work about 5:30 p.m., but under questioning the day of the homicides, he at one point told police he went in his front door “this morning.” He told detectives he unlocked and entered the front door that evening because he saw a yellow circular tucked in the storm door. That flyer was found on the bed in the master bedroom.
-- Slater said Curry likely donned coveralls to avoid being hit by blood as he killed his wife and kids, but after adding that extra layer, he then had to wait in the hot house for them to arrive. A cashier at Kmart recalled that he was sweating profusely when he bought the fan.
-- Slater said Curry staged a break-in by smashing a window pane beside a rear door’s deadbolt lock, but that door still was locked when police arrived. Most of the glass shards were caught in an exterior storm door, but a few fell to the floor inside, landing upright in front of the door that swung open to the inside. Detectives decided the door was not opened after the glass was smashed.
-- A white plastic trash bin was overturned so close to a door leading from the kitchen to the driveway that the door could not have been opened after the slayings, so the front door was the only available exit. Curry told police he had to unlock that door to go in when he came home from work. Slater said only someone with a key would need to stage a break-in by smashing the rear-door window.
-- Nothing was stolen from the house, nor were any closets or drawers rifled through, as a burglar would have done looking for valuables. Curry told police he dumped out his wife’s purse on a den chair by her body when he got home, for no reason he could recall. Slater contends he did that during the homicides to fake a robbery, but later remembered he had neglected to wipe his fingerprints off. He also did not bother to open a second red purse that was in his wife’s black purse, she said. The red purse was a toy Ryan liked, and it contained nothing of value, which Curry, unlike a burglar, would have known, she said.
-- Curry didn’t behave like a loving husband and father, Slater said, as evidenced by his mother-in-law’s testimony that Ann Curry told her she would need a ride to the hospital when she went into labor, because Curry wouldn’t take her. Besides having an affair and going out for drinks with friends while his pregnant wife stayed home with two kids and health complications from her third pregnancy, he didn’t act like a caring family man when he discovered the bodies, Slater said: He did not call 911. He did not check to see if anyone was still alive. He never got close enough to the bodies to get any blood on himself. The bush ax Curry had bought for yard work and stowed in a rear storage room had no fingerprints on it. The killer left it lying in the den by Ann and Ryan.
-- Only the father who wanted to eliminate his entire family had a motive to kill Ryan, Slater said. No intruder would have needed to kill a toddler who could not have identified him.
Slater said Curry slaughtered his wife and kids, locked the front door on the way out, and on his way to Kmart discarded whatever coveralls or other clothes he had worn when he killed his family.
She concluded by telling the jury that if found innocent, Curry would never face trial again: “This is it. This is the only chance to try this case.”
Defense cites doubt
Wadkins pointed out that had Curry had any blood on him, prosecutors would have cited that as evidence of his guilt. The prosecution’s timeline doesn’t work, he said:
If Ann Curry left her parents’ house at 12:30 p.m. and got home at 12:37 p.m. -- if she went straight home -- and Michael Curry was in line at Kmart to buy a fan at 12:45 p.m., then he had only 8 minutes to kill his family, get cleaned up and go to Kmart. As for staging a break-in, Wadkins said: “Somebody else could have staged it to make it look like Mike did it. Who knows?”
Wadkins was the second defense attorney to address the jury in closing arguments. The first was Moffett Flournoy, who stressed that prosecutors must prove each element of their circumstantial case beyond a reasonable doubt, so if jurors have any doubt about Curry’s guilt based on reason, they must acquit him.
They should not let the gruesome crime-scene photos they were shown drive them to a guilty verdict based on emotion, he said: “That’s not evidence that my client committed these crimes.”
District Attorney Julia Slater said Michael Curry in 1985 was a 27-year-old faithless husband desperate to escape a joyless marriage and a growing young family he could not afford, and he was the only suspect with a motive for killing his 20-month-old son.
Defense attorney Bob Wadkins argued that Slater is asking jurors to draw conclusions that can’t be established by the facts of the case. One fact jurors should never forget is that prosecutors can’t say with any certainty when Ann Curry and her two children got home on Aug. 29, 1985.
She and her children may still have been alive when Michael Curry made a purchase at Kmart at 12:55 p.m. that day, Wadkins said.
“This is the one fact you must keep in your minds at all times,” he said.
Before they were butchered in their 5433 Rockhurst Drive home, Ann Curry, 4-year-old daughter Erika and 20-month-old Ryan visited her parents’ house at 4416 Fairview Drive. Her mother Bernice Johnson thought it was about 12:30 p.m. when her daughter left saying she wanted to rest an aching leg and give the kids a nap.
Police later timed the drive from Fairview to Rockhurst at 7 minutes, and the drive from Rockhurst to the Macon Road Kmart at 13 minutes. Wadkins maintains Curry had no time to commit the crimes.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/04/27/1555028/michael-curry-guilty-of-murder.html
Michael Curry found guilty of murderBy TIM CHITWOOD - tchitwood@ledger-enquirer.com
Michael Curry was found guilty of hacking his pregnant wife and two children to death with a bush ax in 1985.
The outcome ended a trial for which Ann Curry’s family had waited 25 years, since the stormy August evening in 1985 they learned the 24-year-old and her two children were slain in their 5433 Rockhurst Drive home.
Curry faced six counts of murder in the gruesome homicides that shocked Columbus. Acting on evidence compiled by cold-case investigators, a grand jury in 2009 indicted him on two counts of malice murder and two counts of felony murder for each of the three victims. He was arrested May 20, 2009, at his home in Dalton, Ga., where he settled after moving from Columbus following the deaths of his wife, daughter Erika, 4, and son Ryan, 20 months.
History of the Curry case
Ann Curry was eight months’ pregnant, and Curry initially faced charges of feticide in the death of the baby to be named Tyler, but those charges later were dropped.
Curry reported finding his family slain when he got home from work at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 29, 1985, the Thursday before Labor Day. When police questioned him that evening, he told them he had spent 3 ½ hours that morning shopping for a fan for The Bradley Center, where he worked. A receipt showed he bought the small fan at the Macon Road Kmart at 12:55 p.m.
His wife and children that day had visited Ann Curry’s parents, Jim and Bernice Johnson, at their 4416 Fairview Drive home. Bernice Johnson said her daughter and grandchildren left there at 12:30 p.m. for the drive home. Police timed that drive at 7 minutes. Detectives timed the drive from Rockhurst to the 3200 Macon Road Kmart at 13 minutes.
The defense claimed that under that time frame, Curry could not have killed his family and made it to Kmart by 12:55 p.m. Prosecutors maintained that he did kill his wife and kids and rushed to Kmart, where he bought the first fan he saw, and a cashier recalled that he was sweating profusely, though the store was kept so cold workers often wore sweaters.
Closing arguments
Here’s a recap of closing arguments in the case:
District Attorney Julia Slater said Michael Curry in 1985 was a 27-year-old faithless husband desperate to escape a joyless marriage and a growing young family he could not afford, and he was the only suspect with a motive for killing his 20-month-old son.
Defense attorney Bob Wadkins argued that Slater is asking jurors to draw conclusions that can’t be established by the facts of the case. One fact jurors should never forget is that prosecutors can’t say with any certainty when Ann Curry and her two children got home on Aug. 29, 1985.
She and her children may still have been alive when Michael Curry made a purchase at Kmart at 12:55 p.m. that day, Wadkins said.
“This is the one fact you must keep in your minds at all times,” he said.
Slater told the jury the totality of the circumstances points to no other suspect but Curry. She emphasized these elements of the case:
-- Curry was having financial troubles and had told a coworker with whom he was having an affair that he could not afford a divorce and child support for two kids, plus the third child his eight-months’ pregnant wife was expecting. After the homicides, he collected their life insurance benefits.
-- He could not account for the 3½ hours he was gone the day of the homicides, having left his job at The Bradley Center at 9:40 a.m. to shop for a fan, which he didn’t buy until 12:55 p.m., returning to work about 1:10 p.m. Slater noted also that on an erasable vehicle checkout board in Curry’s office at The Bradley Center, his reserving a car at 9:40 a.m. to go to Kmart the day of the slayings had been erased the next day, though older reservations still were posted.
-- Curry knew his wife was to take Erika shopping to get a gift for a birthday party she was to attend that evening. Slater said Curry that morning may have gone to Sears where his wife was shopping with his daughter, as he later told police he went there to look at fans. Slater alleged he then went to his house and waited for his wife to return with the children.
-- Curry reported finding the bodies when he got home from work about 5:30 p.m., but under questioning the day of the homicides, he at one point told police he went in his front door “this morning.” He told detectives he unlocked and entered the front door that evening because he saw a yellow circular tucked in the storm door. That flyer was found on the bed in the master bedroom.
-- Slater said Curry likely donned coveralls to avoid being hit by blood as he killed his wife and kids, but after adding that extra layer, he then had to wait in the hot house for them to arrive. A cashier at Kmart recalled that he was sweating profusely when he bought the fan.
-- Slater said Curry staged a break-in by smashing a window pane beside a rear door’s deadbolt lock, but that door still was locked when police arrived. Most of the glass shards were caught in an exterior storm door, but a few fell to the floor inside, landing upright in front of the door that swung open to the inside. Detectives decided the door was not opened after the glass was smashed.
-- A white plastic trash bin was overturned so close to a door leading from the kitchen to the driveway that the door could not have been opened after the slayings, so the front door was the only available exit. Curry told police he had to unlock that door to go in when he came home from work. Slater said only someone with a key would need to stage a break-in by smashing the rear-door window.
-- Nothing was stolen from the house, nor were any closets or drawers rifled through, as a burglar would have done looking for valuables. Curry told police he dumped out his wife’s purse on a den chair by her body when he got home, for no reason he could recall. Slater contends he did that during the homicides to fake a robbery, but later remembered he had neglected to wipe his fingerprints off. He also did not bother to open a second red purse that was in his wife’s black purse, she said. The red purse was a toy Ryan liked, and it contained nothing of value, which Curry, unlike a burglar, would have known, she said.
-- Curry didn’t behave like a loving husband and father, Slater said, as evidenced by his mother-in-law’s testimony that Ann Curry told her she would need a ride to the hospital when she went into labor, because Curry wouldn’t take her. Besides having an affair and going out for drinks with friends while his pregnant wife stayed home with two kids and health complications from her third pregnancy, he didn’t act like a caring family man when he discovered the bodies, Slater said: He did not call 911. He did not check to see if anyone was still alive. He never got close enough to the bodies to get any blood on himself. The bush ax Curry had bought for yard work and stowed in a rear storage room had no fingerprints on it. The killer left it lying in the den by Ann and Ryan.
-- Only the father who wanted to eliminate his entire family had a motive to kill Ryan, Slater said. No intruder would have needed to kill a toddler who could not have identified him.
Slater said Curry slaughtered his wife and kids, locked the front door on the way out, and on his way to Kmart discarded whatever coveralls or other clothes he had worn when he killed his family.
She concluded by telling the jury that if found innocent, Curry would never face trial again: “This is it. This is the only chance to try this case.”
Defense cites doubt
Wadkins pointed out that had Curry had any blood on him, prosecutors would have cited that as evidence of his guilt. The prosecution’s timeline doesn’t work, he said:
If Ann Curry left her parents’ house at 12:30 p.m. and got home at 12:37 p.m. -- if she went straight home -- and Michael Curry was in line at Kmart to buy a fan at 12:45 p.m., then he had only 8 minutes to kill his family, get cleaned up and go to Kmart. As for staging a break-in, Wadkins said: “Somebody else could have staged it to make it look like Mike did it. Who knows?”
Wadkins was the second defense attorney to address the jury in closing arguments. The first was Moffett Flournoy, who stressed that prosecutors must prove each element of their circumstantial case beyond a reasonable doubt, so if jurors have any doubt about Curry’s guilt based on reason, they must acquit him.
They should not let the gruesome crime-scene photos they were shown drive them to a guilty verdict based on emotion, he said: “That’s not evidence that my client committed these crimes.”
District Attorney Julia Slater said Michael Curry in 1985 was a 27-year-old faithless husband desperate to escape a joyless marriage and a growing young family he could not afford, and he was the only suspect with a motive for killing his 20-month-old son.
Defense attorney Bob Wadkins argued that Slater is asking jurors to draw conclusions that can’t be established by the facts of the case. One fact jurors should never forget is that prosecutors can’t say with any certainty when Ann Curry and her two children got home on Aug. 29, 1985.
She and her children may still have been alive when Michael Curry made a purchase at Kmart at 12:55 p.m. that day, Wadkins said.
“This is the one fact you must keep in your minds at all times,” he said.
Before they were butchered in their 5433 Rockhurst Drive home, Ann Curry, 4-year-old daughter Erika and 20-month-old Ryan visited her parents’ house at 4416 Fairview Drive. Her mother Bernice Johnson thought it was about 12:30 p.m. when her daughter left saying she wanted to rest an aching leg and give the kids a nap.
Police later timed the drive from Fairview to Rockhurst at 7 minutes, and the drive from Rockhurst to the Macon Road Kmart at 13 minutes. Wadkins maintains Curry had no time to commit the crimes.
Two dads accused of child abuse; one faces murder charge (Pontiac, Michigan)
Two dastardly dads for the price of one. We have DEVONYA HULL, who is charged with homicide in the death of his 4-year-old son. There is also UNNAMED DAD, who is accused of whipping a 3-year-old child with a belt.
http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2011/04/27/news/doc4db8521308369599690372.txt?viewmode=fullstory
Two fathers accused of child abuse; one faces murder chargePublished: Wednesday, April 27, 2011
By Shaun Byron
For The Daily Tribune
PONTIAC —Two fathers are being held on allegations of child abuse, with one facing a murder charge.
Devonya Hull, a 22-year-old from Pontiac, is being held in the Oakland County Jail after being arraigned on child abuse and homicide April 23.
His bond was denied and he is also facing two unrelated drug charges. No defense attorney had been appointed to the case as of Tuesday.
Emergency crews were dispatched about 9:20 p.m. April 20 to a home in the 200 block of west South Boulevard for a report of an unconscious 4-year-old boy, Sgt. Steve Troy said.
The boy, Demarroa Burkett, was declared dead about 20 minutes later, although there is medical evidence to support he may have been dead for a while, Detective Jeff Buchmann said.
The Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on the child.
The manner of death was ruled a homicide after the procedure found evidence of blunt force trauma to the abdominal area, said an investigator with the medical examiner’s office.
“Through the investigation, they reinterviewed the parents, they ended up getting a warrant on the dad,” Troy said.
Demarroa had been disciplined prior to being unconscious, he said, adding two other unsettling matters involving children are following the case.
Another Pontiac father has been arrested and a third is being investigated for unrelated child abuse allegations almost a week after Demarroa’s death.
A second father was arrested and confessed to an unrelated child abuse case where he whipped his child with a belt, Troy said.
Pontiac police were searching for the 29-year-old man after the grandmother of his 3-year-old daughter reported Monday the evidence of abuse.
The daughter has been released from the hospital after being treated for extensive bruising.
No information is being released on the third incident.
http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2011/04/27/news/doc4db8521308369599690372.txt?viewmode=fullstory
Two fathers accused of child abuse; one faces murder chargePublished: Wednesday, April 27, 2011
By Shaun Byron
For The Daily Tribune
PONTIAC —Two fathers are being held on allegations of child abuse, with one facing a murder charge.
Devonya Hull, a 22-year-old from Pontiac, is being held in the Oakland County Jail after being arraigned on child abuse and homicide April 23.
His bond was denied and he is also facing two unrelated drug charges. No defense attorney had been appointed to the case as of Tuesday.
Emergency crews were dispatched about 9:20 p.m. April 20 to a home in the 200 block of west South Boulevard for a report of an unconscious 4-year-old boy, Sgt. Steve Troy said.
The boy, Demarroa Burkett, was declared dead about 20 minutes later, although there is medical evidence to support he may have been dead for a while, Detective Jeff Buchmann said.
The Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on the child.
The manner of death was ruled a homicide after the procedure found evidence of blunt force trauma to the abdominal area, said an investigator with the medical examiner’s office.
“Through the investigation, they reinterviewed the parents, they ended up getting a warrant on the dad,” Troy said.
Demarroa had been disciplined prior to being unconscious, he said, adding two other unsettling matters involving children are following the case.
Another Pontiac father has been arrested and a third is being investigated for unrelated child abuse allegations almost a week after Demarroa’s death.
A second father was arrested and confessed to an unrelated child abuse case where he whipped his child with a belt, Troy said.
Pontiac police were searching for the 29-year-old man after the grandmother of his 3-year-old daughter reported Monday the evidence of abuse.
The daughter has been released from the hospital after being treated for extensive bruising.
No information is being released on the third incident.
Dad arrested in beating death of 3-month-old son; charged with 1st-degree murder (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Dad JAMES E. PIERCE has been arrested and charged with 1st-degree murder in the beating death of his 3-month-old son. Even though the police were called to the home in the morning hours, there is NO MENTION of a mother around. Was she already at work when Daddy "lost it" with the baby? Was this a custody/visitation situation? What? Where is Mom anyway?
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Father_Arrested_In_Beating_Death_of_3-Month-Old__120709029.html
Updated: 5:20 AM Apr 27, 2011
Father Arrested In Beating Death of 3-Month-Old A 3-month-old has died, the victim of abuse allegedly at the hands of his own father.
Posted: 10:41 AM Apr 26, 2011
Reporter: KKTV
A 3-month-old has died, the victim of abuse allegedly at the hands of his own father.
Colorado Springs police say they were called on the morning of April 15 to 1617 E. Woodmen Road, Apt. #141 regarding a 3-month-old infant who was unconscious and not breathing.
The infant was transported to Memorial Hospital Central by ambulance. Medical personnel tried to resuscitate the boy but he was pronounced deceased at approximately 9:29 a.m.
The El Paso County Coroner’s Office completed an autopsy and has determined the manner of death was homicide and the cause of death was due to multiple blunt force strikes. The victim has been identified as 3-month-old Jayden Pierce.
The baby's father, 19-year-old James E. Pierce, has been arrested and charged with First Degree Murder. He made his first court appearance Tuesday, and is being held in jail without bond.
It's unclear what may have triggered the alleged attack on Jayden, but it's the kind of the death that some say can be prevented.
Sally Duncan is a Trauma Outreach and Injury Prevention Specialist at Memorial Hospital. She didn't comment on this case, but she says child abuse often stems from parents who are frustrated with their crying baby.
"People lose their patience, get very frustrated with crying babies thinking they have to solve the problem and they may shake, toss or hit the baby," said Duncan.
Duncan is working to prevent future child deaths, by teaching parents how to cope with crying babies. Before leaving the hospital, all new parents are required to watch a video showing the dangers of hitting or shaking a baby.
There are other resources available for parents who are in a tough situation. KPC Kids Place offers free childcare for up to 72 hours. You can call their 24-hour hotline 719-634-5439.
If you have information about this incident please call police at 719-444-7000. If you would like to remain anonymous you can call Crime-stoppers at 719-634-STOP (7867) or you can simply text CSPD and your tip to 847411 (TIP411).
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Father_Arrested_In_Beating_Death_of_3-Month-Old__120709029.html
Updated: 5:20 AM Apr 27, 2011
Father Arrested In Beating Death of 3-Month-Old A 3-month-old has died, the victim of abuse allegedly at the hands of his own father.
Posted: 10:41 AM Apr 26, 2011
Reporter: KKTV
A 3-month-old has died, the victim of abuse allegedly at the hands of his own father.
Colorado Springs police say they were called on the morning of April 15 to 1617 E. Woodmen Road, Apt. #141 regarding a 3-month-old infant who was unconscious and not breathing.
The infant was transported to Memorial Hospital Central by ambulance. Medical personnel tried to resuscitate the boy but he was pronounced deceased at approximately 9:29 a.m.
The El Paso County Coroner’s Office completed an autopsy and has determined the manner of death was homicide and the cause of death was due to multiple blunt force strikes. The victim has been identified as 3-month-old Jayden Pierce.
The baby's father, 19-year-old James E. Pierce, has been arrested and charged with First Degree Murder. He made his first court appearance Tuesday, and is being held in jail without bond.
It's unclear what may have triggered the alleged attack on Jayden, but it's the kind of the death that some say can be prevented.
Sally Duncan is a Trauma Outreach and Injury Prevention Specialist at Memorial Hospital. She didn't comment on this case, but she says child abuse often stems from parents who are frustrated with their crying baby.
"People lose their patience, get very frustrated with crying babies thinking they have to solve the problem and they may shake, toss or hit the baby," said Duncan.
Duncan is working to prevent future child deaths, by teaching parents how to cope with crying babies. Before leaving the hospital, all new parents are required to watch a video showing the dangers of hitting or shaking a baby.
There are other resources available for parents who are in a tough situation. KPC Kids Place offers free childcare for up to 72 hours. You can call their 24-hour hotline 719-634-5439.
If you have information about this incident please call police at 719-444-7000. If you would like to remain anonymous you can call Crime-stoppers at 719-634-STOP (7867) or you can simply text CSPD and your tip to 847411 (TIP411).
Dad charged with felony child abuse; 2-month-old son hospitalized with severe head injuries (Four Oaks, North Carolina)
Dad FAVIAN ZAPATA is our latest dastardly dad.
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/9501814/
Four Oaks infant injured; father charged
Four Oaks, N.C. — A 19-year-old Johnston County man has been charged after his 2-month-old son suffered severe head injuries, authorities said Tuesday.
Favian Zapata, of Four Oaks, was charged with felony child abuse. He was being held in the Johnston County jail under a $60,000 bond.
Authorities said Zapata and the baby's mother took him to Johnston Medical Center on April 15, claiming that Zapata had accidentally dropped the child.
The baby suffered multiple skull fractures, and doctors told investigators that the injuries weren't consistent with a fall, authorities said.
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/9501814/
Four Oaks infant injured; father charged
Four Oaks, N.C. — A 19-year-old Johnston County man has been charged after his 2-month-old son suffered severe head injuries, authorities said Tuesday.
Favian Zapata, of Four Oaks, was charged with felony child abuse. He was being held in the Johnston County jail under a $60,000 bond.
Authorities said Zapata and the baby's mother took him to Johnston Medical Center on April 15, claiming that Zapata had accidentally dropped the child.
The baby suffered multiple skull fractures, and doctors told investigators that the injuries weren't consistent with a fall, authorities said.
Custodial dad's estate argues that he was "crushed" because CPS objected to his 16-year-old girlfriend (Fayette County, Pennsylvania)
Is this kind of case really a good use of the ACLU's time? I can assure you that a custodial mom sporting a teen boyfriend would have been treated the exact same way as dad "JOHN DOE" was. And probably worse. But suddenly when it involves A MAN and his right to have sexual relations with a minor, uh, 16-year-old girl, constitutional issues are suddently a Very Big Deal?
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_734088.html
Father's estate argues that Fayette County agency 'crushed' his familyBy Brian Bowling
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
A Fayette County agency`s threats to permanently take away his children isolated a Smithfield man and drove him to the edge of suicide, an attorney for the man`s estate argued today in opening statements in Pittsburgh federal court.
"This is a case about love, the heavy hand of government and the crushing of a family," said Vic Walczak, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU in 2008 filed a lawsuit on behalf of "John Doe" against Fayette County Children and Youth Services because it forced him to give up custody of his three children in 2006 after he started having sexual relations with a 16-year-old girl. The state police investigated but didn`t charge the man because the age of consent in Pennsylvania is 16, Walczak said.
Marie Jones, a lawyer representing the agency, said the case is about a man who decided to have a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl.
"I`m not disputing that he loved his kids, but that doesn`t mean he made all the right decisions," she told jurors.
The state`s legal definition of child abuse includes sex between an adult and someone under the age of 18, so the county agency investigated the man and, during the investigation, required him to give up custody of his children.
Walczak said Fayette County was the only county in the state with such a policy. U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose already has ruled in the case that the policy violated the man`s constitutional rights.
The plaintiff`s wife had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia shortly after the birth of their first child, and her worsening condition left her unable to care for herself, much less the kids, he said. Consequently, he was both father and mother to the children until the agency ordered him to give up custody, Walczak said.
The man, a 32-year-old garbage collector, died Nov. 11, 2010, from injuries he suffered in a motor vehicle accident. The sole question in the jury trial that started today is how much the county agency should pay the man`s estate in damages.
Jones urged jurors to consider the plaintiff`s actions and award no damages.
Walczak asked jurors to consider how the agency`s actions damaged the man`s relationships with his children and led to him voluntarily admitting himself to the psychiatric ward at Highlands Hospital in 2007 after he lost all contact with his children.
The agency originally allowed the man to have supervised visits with his children but, with no warning, ordered him in August 2007 to cut off all contact. He wasn`t even allowed to ask his parents to pass a message to his children, Walczak said.
The family was so worried about what the agency would do that his parents and brother also curtailed or broke off their contacts with him for fear someone would claim they were passing messages from him to his children, Walczak said
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_734088.html
Father's estate argues that Fayette County agency 'crushed' his familyBy Brian Bowling
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
A Fayette County agency`s threats to permanently take away his children isolated a Smithfield man and drove him to the edge of suicide, an attorney for the man`s estate argued today in opening statements in Pittsburgh federal court.
"This is a case about love, the heavy hand of government and the crushing of a family," said Vic Walczak, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU in 2008 filed a lawsuit on behalf of "John Doe" against Fayette County Children and Youth Services because it forced him to give up custody of his three children in 2006 after he started having sexual relations with a 16-year-old girl. The state police investigated but didn`t charge the man because the age of consent in Pennsylvania is 16, Walczak said.
Marie Jones, a lawyer representing the agency, said the case is about a man who decided to have a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl.
"I`m not disputing that he loved his kids, but that doesn`t mean he made all the right decisions," she told jurors.
The state`s legal definition of child abuse includes sex between an adult and someone under the age of 18, so the county agency investigated the man and, during the investigation, required him to give up custody of his children.
Walczak said Fayette County was the only county in the state with such a policy. U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose already has ruled in the case that the policy violated the man`s constitutional rights.
The plaintiff`s wife had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia shortly after the birth of their first child, and her worsening condition left her unable to care for herself, much less the kids, he said. Consequently, he was both father and mother to the children until the agency ordered him to give up custody, Walczak said.
The man, a 32-year-old garbage collector, died Nov. 11, 2010, from injuries he suffered in a motor vehicle accident. The sole question in the jury trial that started today is how much the county agency should pay the man`s estate in damages.
Jones urged jurors to consider the plaintiff`s actions and award no damages.
Walczak asked jurors to consider how the agency`s actions damaged the man`s relationships with his children and led to him voluntarily admitting himself to the psychiatric ward at Highlands Hospital in 2007 after he lost all contact with his children.
The agency originally allowed the man to have supervised visits with his children but, with no warning, ordered him in August 2007 to cut off all contact. He wasn`t even allowed to ask his parents to pass a message to his children, Walczak said.
The family was so worried about what the agency would do that his parents and brother also curtailed or broke off their contacts with him for fear someone would claim they were passing messages from him to his children, Walczak said
"Single" dad used 5-year-old son as decoy in $10,000 heroin smuggling operation; son now in CPS custody, but what happened to Mom? (Sparta, New Jersey)
Well, nothing like having a "family business," is there? Notice that dad CHRISTOPHER ENNIS is described here as "single,", but given that his 5-year-old son is now in the custody of CPS, it appears that he was not just single but CUSTODIAL. So what happened to Mom? How was a Daddy with a $10,000 heroin smuggling operation able to get child custody? A few well placed bribes? How come that story is not being told?
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1380929/Father-accused-using-5-year-old-son-decoy-heroin-smuggling-operation.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Father 'used his five-year-old son as decoy in $10,000 heroin smuggling operation'By David Gardner
Last updated at 8:48 AM on 27th April 2011
A father used his own five-year-old son as a decoy to divert suspicion from his heroin smuggling operation, say police.
Christopher Ennis allegedly took the boy along with him on a drug run and hid 500 bags of heroin worth $10,000 in a gym bag underneath some toys and clothes.
But the ploy was reportedly discovered by police after Ennis was pulled over for a minor traffic offence in Sparta, New Jersey.
‘He brought the five-year-old along so he would appear less suspicious to law enforcement and, if he was stopped, he did not believe police would search a child's toy bag,’ said a police spokesman.
Ennis, 31, was stopped for driving with an expired inspection sticker on his car.
He was following another car being driven by Alexander Dewer, 43, which was also pulled over by police on Saturday night.
The officers became suspicious when the two men gave conflicting stories and a plastic wrapper often used to package heroin was spotted on the floor of Dewar’s vehicle.
When officers asked to search the cars on Saturday night, Ennis is said to have given his permission.
'He must have felt good about giving consent, never thinking we'd find anything,’ Sparta police Sgt John-Paul Beebe told the Newark Star Ledger.
But police found the heroin in the 2000 Ford Explorer along with hypodermic syringes. The boy was strapped in his child’s seat in the back.
Police said heroin is commonly sold for $7 a bag in urban areas and then resold at twice the price in the suburbs. ‘Heroin is on the upswing in this county and the upswing has been pretty consistent,' said Sgt. Beebe.
‘The cost is low and the demand is very, very high,’ he added.
Single father Ennis, of Branchville, New Jersey, was charged with using a juvenile in a drug distribution scheme, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, child abuse, possession of needles and drug paraphernalia.
He is being held on $70,000 bail and his son is now in the care of child protective services.Dewer was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and multiple motor vehicle violations. He was released on his own recognizance.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1380929/Father-accused-using-5-year-old-son-decoy-heroin-smuggling-operation.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Father 'used his five-year-old son as decoy in $10,000 heroin smuggling operation'By David Gardner
Last updated at 8:48 AM on 27th April 2011
A father used his own five-year-old son as a decoy to divert suspicion from his heroin smuggling operation, say police.
Christopher Ennis allegedly took the boy along with him on a drug run and hid 500 bags of heroin worth $10,000 in a gym bag underneath some toys and clothes.
But the ploy was reportedly discovered by police after Ennis was pulled over for a minor traffic offence in Sparta, New Jersey.
‘He brought the five-year-old along so he would appear less suspicious to law enforcement and, if he was stopped, he did not believe police would search a child's toy bag,’ said a police spokesman.
Ennis, 31, was stopped for driving with an expired inspection sticker on his car.
He was following another car being driven by Alexander Dewer, 43, which was also pulled over by police on Saturday night.
The officers became suspicious when the two men gave conflicting stories and a plastic wrapper often used to package heroin was spotted on the floor of Dewar’s vehicle.
When officers asked to search the cars on Saturday night, Ennis is said to have given his permission.
'He must have felt good about giving consent, never thinking we'd find anything,’ Sparta police Sgt John-Paul Beebe told the Newark Star Ledger.
But police found the heroin in the 2000 Ford Explorer along with hypodermic syringes. The boy was strapped in his child’s seat in the back.
Police said heroin is commonly sold for $7 a bag in urban areas and then resold at twice the price in the suburbs. ‘Heroin is on the upswing in this county and the upswing has been pretty consistent,' said Sgt. Beebe.
‘The cost is low and the demand is very, very high,’ he added.
Single father Ennis, of Branchville, New Jersey, was charged with using a juvenile in a drug distribution scheme, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, child abuse, possession of needles and drug paraphernalia.
He is being held on $70,000 bail and his son is now in the care of child protective services.Dewer was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and multiple motor vehicle violations. He was released on his own recognizance.
Custodial dad sentenced to life in prison for torture murder of 5-year-old daughter (Gresham, Oregon)
I concede that this girl's mother was probably not in any shape to care for her--at least not without help and support in dealing with her drug problem. But why did the authorities immediately assume that dad CHRISTOPHER ANDREW ROSILLO was some saintly figure fit for custody? Whatever Mom's problems, she was NOT guilty of the systematic torture and murder. Unfortunately, due to amazing public relations, there is a tendency within the system to exalt fathers beyond all reason and ignore their past histories. Why were Daddy's drug issues ignored, when Mom's were treated like a federal offense? That clearly happened here, and a little girl died a horrible painful death because of it. And notice how Oregon DHS utterly messed up--AGAIN.
http://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2011/04/new_details_released_gresham_d.html
New details released: Gresham dad who was sentenced to life in prison for torturing to death his daughter was arrested wearing bloody beltPublished: Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 7:09 PM
Updated: Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 7:26 PM
By Aimee Green, The Oregonian The Oregonian
A 24-year-old Gresham dad who tortured to death his 5-year-old daughter looked solemn as he apologized in court Tuesday for one of the worst cases of child-abuse Multnomah County investigators have encountered.
Christopher Andrew Rosillo said was “sorry to all the people I hurt in this tragic event, especially sorry for my daughter who has passed on. She never deserved any of this.”
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Michael McShane then sentenced Rosillo to life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years, as part of a plea deal agreed to by both sides. Rosillo pleaded guilty to murder by abuse last month.
Guadalupe Quintero — Rosillo’s long-time girlfriend and mother to his two younger children — pleaded guilty to manslaughter and criminal mistreatment last month for helping torture Oleander and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Tuesday, Rosillo also apologized to his two younger children — half-siblings of his daughter, Oleander Labier, whom died after three years of horrific child abuse. Paramedics responded to a 9-1-1 call from the apartment at 418 S.E. 169th Avenue on April 13, 2010 to find Oleander not breathing. She was later pronounced dead.
The medical examiner’s office determined she died from battered child syndrome due to severe malnutrition and beatings. She weighed just 28 pounds. Bruises, scrapes and gouges — from a rod-shaped object — covered her from head to toe. Her ribs were broken and her femur was broken in multiple places. A medical examiner found “a coffee-ground-type purge” in her mouth, indicating that the girl had digested blood, then regurgitated it.
Rosillo confessed to Gresham police detectives Tony Cobb and David Schmidt that he made Oleander eat her own vomit and perform painful acts, such as kneel on a brick or uncooked kernels of rice for extended amounts of time. The 140-pound father admitted to kicking and hitting his daughter. When police arrested him, they discovered Oleander’s blood on the belt he wore — from the regular beatings he inflicted.
Police visited Oleander’s room to discover that she slept on a tiny clearing on a mattress covered with debris. Her two younger siblings didn’t appear to have been abused.
Deputy district attorney Nathan Vasquez said Oleander’s death was preventable. His office has investigated whether he could prosecute family members who knew of the abuse, but no charges have been filed.
“This child was failed by many people,” Vasquez said to the packed courtroom. “Failed by family members. ...Failed in the sense that her abuse was apparent, was understood by the people around her. And no one chose to speak out on her behalf.”
As Vasquez spoke, relatives of the dead girl wept. Oleander was born prematurely to a drug-addicted mother. The girl was diagnosed as failing to thrive, and medical personnel installed a feeding tube to help her put on weight in her early years. Her mother lost custody of her, and Rosillo gained custody.
After Rosillo’s sentencing, Rosillo’s stepdad said he and Rosillo’s mom are heartbroken over their granddaughter’s death.
Stepdad Frank Turner, who raised Rosillo with Marrian Turner, said when Oleander was about two, they learned of a wound on her shoulder from a belt lashing. They took in Oleander for three months, but Frank Turner said he thought he had no choice but to return Oleander when his son demanded it.
He said he didn’t realize how extensive the abuse was, and that his son was capable of such cruelty. Nonetheless, he called a national child-abuse hotline twice. He said he didn’t get any calls back.
Turner broke down in sobs on a bench in the courthouse halls. Although prosecutors are not pursuing charges against him or his wife, Turner is critical of himself. He says he should have called police. He wants the public to report suspected child abuse no matter minor it seems.
There were signs, Turner said. He knew his son was using drugs. Rosillo and Quintero made excuses for why he couldn’t see his granddaughter. And when he did see her, they didn’t want her to be alone with him — even for a minute. He thinks they worried she would tell him about the abuse.
“There’s all kinds of stuff I look back on now — and I want people to know: Silence is approval,” Turner said.
Authorities say they have found one call on record about possible abuse or neglect to Oleander before her death — a tip to the Oregon Department of Human Services a little more than a year before the girl died. A DHS investigator found no evidence of physical abuse after seeking information from the child’s doctor, preschool and family.
Now that the criminal case into Oleander’s death is closed, Gene Evans, a spokesman for the Department of Human Services, said the agency can release records about that investigation. That could be in the next two weeks.
http://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2011/04/new_details_released_gresham_d.html
New details released: Gresham dad who was sentenced to life in prison for torturing to death his daughter was arrested wearing bloody beltPublished: Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 7:09 PM
Updated: Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 7:26 PM
By Aimee Green, The Oregonian The Oregonian
A 24-year-old Gresham dad who tortured to death his 5-year-old daughter looked solemn as he apologized in court Tuesday for one of the worst cases of child-abuse Multnomah County investigators have encountered.
Christopher Andrew Rosillo said was “sorry to all the people I hurt in this tragic event, especially sorry for my daughter who has passed on. She never deserved any of this.”
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Michael McShane then sentenced Rosillo to life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years, as part of a plea deal agreed to by both sides. Rosillo pleaded guilty to murder by abuse last month.
Guadalupe Quintero — Rosillo’s long-time girlfriend and mother to his two younger children — pleaded guilty to manslaughter and criminal mistreatment last month for helping torture Oleander and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Tuesday, Rosillo also apologized to his two younger children — half-siblings of his daughter, Oleander Labier, whom died after three years of horrific child abuse. Paramedics responded to a 9-1-1 call from the apartment at 418 S.E. 169th Avenue on April 13, 2010 to find Oleander not breathing. She was later pronounced dead.
The medical examiner’s office determined she died from battered child syndrome due to severe malnutrition and beatings. She weighed just 28 pounds. Bruises, scrapes and gouges — from a rod-shaped object — covered her from head to toe. Her ribs were broken and her femur was broken in multiple places. A medical examiner found “a coffee-ground-type purge” in her mouth, indicating that the girl had digested blood, then regurgitated it.
Rosillo confessed to Gresham police detectives Tony Cobb and David Schmidt that he made Oleander eat her own vomit and perform painful acts, such as kneel on a brick or uncooked kernels of rice for extended amounts of time. The 140-pound father admitted to kicking and hitting his daughter. When police arrested him, they discovered Oleander’s blood on the belt he wore — from the regular beatings he inflicted.
Police visited Oleander’s room to discover that she slept on a tiny clearing on a mattress covered with debris. Her two younger siblings didn’t appear to have been abused.
Deputy district attorney Nathan Vasquez said Oleander’s death was preventable. His office has investigated whether he could prosecute family members who knew of the abuse, but no charges have been filed.
“This child was failed by many people,” Vasquez said to the packed courtroom. “Failed by family members. ...Failed in the sense that her abuse was apparent, was understood by the people around her. And no one chose to speak out on her behalf.”
As Vasquez spoke, relatives of the dead girl wept. Oleander was born prematurely to a drug-addicted mother. The girl was diagnosed as failing to thrive, and medical personnel installed a feeding tube to help her put on weight in her early years. Her mother lost custody of her, and Rosillo gained custody.
After Rosillo’s sentencing, Rosillo’s stepdad said he and Rosillo’s mom are heartbroken over their granddaughter’s death.
Stepdad Frank Turner, who raised Rosillo with Marrian Turner, said when Oleander was about two, they learned of a wound on her shoulder from a belt lashing. They took in Oleander for three months, but Frank Turner said he thought he had no choice but to return Oleander when his son demanded it.
He said he didn’t realize how extensive the abuse was, and that his son was capable of such cruelty. Nonetheless, he called a national child-abuse hotline twice. He said he didn’t get any calls back.
Turner broke down in sobs on a bench in the courthouse halls. Although prosecutors are not pursuing charges against him or his wife, Turner is critical of himself. He says he should have called police. He wants the public to report suspected child abuse no matter minor it seems.
There were signs, Turner said. He knew his son was using drugs. Rosillo and Quintero made excuses for why he couldn’t see his granddaughter. And when he did see her, they didn’t want her to be alone with him — even for a minute. He thinks they worried she would tell him about the abuse.
“There’s all kinds of stuff I look back on now — and I want people to know: Silence is approval,” Turner said.
Authorities say they have found one call on record about possible abuse or neglect to Oleander before her death — a tip to the Oregon Department of Human Services a little more than a year before the girl died. A DHS investigator found no evidence of physical abuse after seeking information from the child’s doctor, preschool and family.
Now that the criminal case into Oleander’s death is closed, Gene Evans, a spokesman for the Department of Human Services, said the agency can release records about that investigation. That could be in the next two weeks.
Six-year prison sentence for dad who fathered 12-year-old daughter's children (Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada)
This UNNAMED DAD gets 7 whole f****** years in prison for raping his 12-year-old daughter over two years and impregnating her twice. It is unbelievable that after she was hospitalized in labor the first time that authorities didn't remove her from her father's "care." Her lack of "cooperation" is really irrelevant here--she's a child! Of course she was intimidated into covering up what happened. That's what sexual abusers always do. This is just a way for the authorities to excuse their inaction.
Notice that we're told that once reason justice was delayed for seven years is that the "father's family" also refused to cooperate and that they hid Daddy from the police for "lengthy periods of time."
But notice an interesting thing here. There is no specific mention of a mother in this picture at all. Was there one? I'm seriously wondering about that. It is no secret that the sexual abuse of children is more likely to take place in a home where a mother or other adult female is not present.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.leaderpost.com/life/Prison+fathered+daughter+children/4681133/story.html
Prison for man who fathered daughter's childrenBy Heather Polischuk, Leader-Post April 27, 2011
In August 2004, a 12-year-old girl came into the Regina General Hospital in advanced labour, giving birth to a son the following day.
Hospital staff became suspicious both because of the girl's young age and because she didn't provide the name of the father.
Rumours began swirling that the father of the baby was also, in fact, the girl's father, and so began a police investigation that resulted finally on Tuesday in a six-year sentence for the father on a charge of sexual assault.
The 45-year-old man - who can't be named to prevent identifying the victim, his biological daughter - entered the guilty plea Tuesday at Regina Provincial Court in relation to assaults on the girl that eventually resulted in the birth of that child and a second just over a year later. After hearing submissions, Judge Dennis Fenwick - referring to the offences as "reprehensible" - agreed to impose the six-year term as jointly proposed by Crown and defence lawyers. The six years are over and above the approximate 10 1 months the ?2 45-year-old has already spent on remand, and also take into account a guilty plea for failing to appear in court - meaning the actual total sentence is closer to seven years.
While the girl was reluctant to tell police the truth about what had happened, Crown prosecutor Chris White said she eventually admitted her father had given her alcohol and then had sex with her, resulting in the two pregnancies. The assaults occurred between Nov. 1, 2003, and Dec. 31, 2005, both within Regina and in other locations in the province.
White said the matter took such a long time to come to a conclusion because of lack of co-operation from the girl, her father and her father's family - some of whom helped hide him from police for lengthy periods of time.
After the first birth, the girl initially told police the father was a boy who was a sometimes boyfriend. When DNA later disproved that, she said it was another boy, all the while denying that her father was also the father of her child.
When the father was spoken to by police, he also denied the allegations, refusing to provide a DNA sample or to sit for a polygraph test. He initially also denied even being father to the girl.
With nothing but speculation to go on, no charges were laid.
Police interviewed the girl again in October of 2005, at which time she finally broke down and admitted the truth - that her father and she had had sex and the pregnancy had resulted.
By that time, the girl was already pregnant again, with her second child by her father. At age 14, in December of 2005, she gave birth to a second son.
The girl provided police with DNA samples from herself and from her sons. In the spring of 2006, a warrant was executed allowing police to finally take a DNA sample from the father. In the fall, the tests came back, revealing he was the biological father of the girl and both of her sons.
The matter remained before the court for some time, and in August 2009 the man failed to appear in court. He remained on the lam for about a year, taking shelter at or near homes of family members.
After a lengthy and intensive search, police finally located and arrested the man at a brother's residence.
Defence lawyer Don Findlay said relatives of the man told him the 45year-old has lived a tragic life. He experienced abuse, including sexual abuse, as a child himself. Throughout the years, he has personally witnessed the accidental death of his three-year-old son, the attempted suicide of his mother and her eventual death in a car crash, and the suicide of his nephew.
He's expressed a desire to commit suicide himself and has sought refuge in alcohol, court heard.
"He has not dealt with his history with any form of counselling," Findlay said, adding that his client doesn't view any of that as an excuse and that he "very much regrets" what happened with his daughter.
While the man has endured personal tragedy, White pointed out the problems the girl faces aren't anywhere near over either. He said she will, no doubt, have to one day explain to her sons "why they have the same dad." Court heard the first son was placed with an aunt; it wasn't clear what happened with the other baby.
"The effect of his criminal conduct will continue," Fenwick agreed.
In addition to the prison term, the man will be placed on the sex offender registry for 20 years, must provide a DNA sample for the national databank and is subject to a 10-year firearms prohibition.
Notice that we're told that once reason justice was delayed for seven years is that the "father's family" also refused to cooperate and that they hid Daddy from the police for "lengthy periods of time."
But notice an interesting thing here. There is no specific mention of a mother in this picture at all. Was there one? I'm seriously wondering about that. It is no secret that the sexual abuse of children is more likely to take place in a home where a mother or other adult female is not present.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.leaderpost.com/life/Prison+fathered+daughter+children/4681133/story.html
Prison for man who fathered daughter's childrenBy Heather Polischuk, Leader-Post April 27, 2011
In August 2004, a 12-year-old girl came into the Regina General Hospital in advanced labour, giving birth to a son the following day.
Hospital staff became suspicious both because of the girl's young age and because she didn't provide the name of the father.
Rumours began swirling that the father of the baby was also, in fact, the girl's father, and so began a police investigation that resulted finally on Tuesday in a six-year sentence for the father on a charge of sexual assault.
The 45-year-old man - who can't be named to prevent identifying the victim, his biological daughter - entered the guilty plea Tuesday at Regina Provincial Court in relation to assaults on the girl that eventually resulted in the birth of that child and a second just over a year later. After hearing submissions, Judge Dennis Fenwick - referring to the offences as "reprehensible" - agreed to impose the six-year term as jointly proposed by Crown and defence lawyers. The six years are over and above the approximate 10 1 months the ?2 45-year-old has already spent on remand, and also take into account a guilty plea for failing to appear in court - meaning the actual total sentence is closer to seven years.
While the girl was reluctant to tell police the truth about what had happened, Crown prosecutor Chris White said she eventually admitted her father had given her alcohol and then had sex with her, resulting in the two pregnancies. The assaults occurred between Nov. 1, 2003, and Dec. 31, 2005, both within Regina and in other locations in the province.
White said the matter took such a long time to come to a conclusion because of lack of co-operation from the girl, her father and her father's family - some of whom helped hide him from police for lengthy periods of time.
After the first birth, the girl initially told police the father was a boy who was a sometimes boyfriend. When DNA later disproved that, she said it was another boy, all the while denying that her father was also the father of her child.
When the father was spoken to by police, he also denied the allegations, refusing to provide a DNA sample or to sit for a polygraph test. He initially also denied even being father to the girl.
With nothing but speculation to go on, no charges were laid.
Police interviewed the girl again in October of 2005, at which time she finally broke down and admitted the truth - that her father and she had had sex and the pregnancy had resulted.
By that time, the girl was already pregnant again, with her second child by her father. At age 14, in December of 2005, she gave birth to a second son.
The girl provided police with DNA samples from herself and from her sons. In the spring of 2006, a warrant was executed allowing police to finally take a DNA sample from the father. In the fall, the tests came back, revealing he was the biological father of the girl and both of her sons.
The matter remained before the court for some time, and in August 2009 the man failed to appear in court. He remained on the lam for about a year, taking shelter at or near homes of family members.
After a lengthy and intensive search, police finally located and arrested the man at a brother's residence.
Defence lawyer Don Findlay said relatives of the man told him the 45year-old has lived a tragic life. He experienced abuse, including sexual abuse, as a child himself. Throughout the years, he has personally witnessed the accidental death of his three-year-old son, the attempted suicide of his mother and her eventual death in a car crash, and the suicide of his nephew.
He's expressed a desire to commit suicide himself and has sought refuge in alcohol, court heard.
"He has not dealt with his history with any form of counselling," Findlay said, adding that his client doesn't view any of that as an excuse and that he "very much regrets" what happened with his daughter.
While the man has endured personal tragedy, White pointed out the problems the girl faces aren't anywhere near over either. He said she will, no doubt, have to one day explain to her sons "why they have the same dad." Court heard the first son was placed with an aunt; it wasn't clear what happened with the other baby.
"The effect of his criminal conduct will continue," Fenwick agreed.
In addition to the prison term, the man will be placed on the sex offender registry for 20 years, must provide a DNA sample for the national databank and is subject to a 10-year firearms prohibition.
Custodial dad found guilty of 1st-degree murder in toddlers' drowning deaths (Detroit, Michigan)
Custodial dad STEVEN LYN JONES has been found guilty of 1st-degree murder in the drowning deaths of his two toddlers. Of course, there is no discussion here of the judges who granted this father custody--a father with a history of domestic violence, child abuse, and substance abuse. That "crime" will remain invisible in the mainstream media discourse, you can count on that.
http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2011/04/27/news/doc4db831f912436092673769.txt?viewmode=fullstory
Father found guilty of first-degree murder in toddlers' drowning deathsPublished: Wednesday, April 27, 2011
By Peter Jurich
For The Daily Tribune
DETROIT — A 27-year-old Allen Park man was found guilty in Wayne County Circuit Court on Tuesday of drowning his two toddlers.
Judge Vera Massey-Jones ruled that Steven Lyn Nicholson is guilty of one count of first-degree felony murder, one count of first-degree child abuse and one count of second-degree murder in the Oct. 19 deaths of Ella Stafford, 15 months, and Johnathon Sanderlin, 13 months, both of whom lived with him. The children had different mothers.
“I came up with the conclusion that this case ought to be called a perfect storm,” Massey-Jones said in her decision. “Being a parent is not easy.”
Massey-Jones said she found Nicholson guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Johnathon because she did not believe he intended to kill the boy. She said Nicholson was “overcome by the stress of being a single parent” and “just wanted to shut him up.”
“Unfortunately, he committed an act that caused him great bodily harm,” she said.
Massey-Jones said, however, that she believed Nicholson intended to kill Ella “in order to establish an alibi.” He was found guilty of first-degree murder in the girl’s death.
Nicholson’s sentencing will be May 13.
“The judge got it right, but that doesn’t do anything for the children,” prosecuting attorney Carin Goldfarb said after the ruling.
Nicholson’s bench trial had entered its third week Monday. Massey-Jones went into deliberations late Tuesday morning after closing arguments were presented by the prosecution and the defense. She gave her ruling about four hours later.
The trial had resumed Monday with police showing a video interrogation of Nicholson that was recorded hours after the children were found dead in his apartment. Continued...
Nicholson had been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, punishable by life in prison without parole; two counts of felony murder, punishable by life in prison; and two counts of first-degree child abuse, punishable by a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
The police video showed Nicholson as argumentative and not visibly upset by the deaths. He repeated many times that he was sleeping and did not know what happened the night his children drowned.
“I wouldn’t let accidents happen,” he said. “I’m too strict of a parent. I pride myself on being a great dad.”
Nicholson was interrogated by police Detectives Jeff Miller, James Wilkewitz and William Mehall.
►AUDIO: Father found guilty of first-degree murder talks to police after toddlers found drowned
“What we’ve discovered there and what you’re telling us are not the same thing,” Wilkewitz said in the video. “It’s not consistent.
“For your kids’ sake and your family’s sake, just tell us what happened.”
Nicholson became more confrontational when police asked him if he abused alcohol, saying he did not drink.
When police told him they had heard Ella’s mother, Tayler Stafford, say otherwise, Nicholson called them liars.
“You’re a liar because Tayler knows I don’t drink,” he said.
When Nicholson’s story still did not provide any answers, Wilkewitz told him to “dig down deep and try to tell us the truth.”
“We think that you had a part in this,” Wilkewitz said. “Everything points to the fact that you did have a part in this.”
Wilkewitz told Nicholson that he believed one of two things happened. His first theory was that Nicholson was taking care of two babies and snapped.
“The alternative is this,” Wilkewitz said. “You’re just a cold-blooded killer.”
Nicholson said in the video that there was nothing that would ever make him kill his children.
Massey-Jones cleared the courtroom to go into deliberations after the prosecutor and the defense attorney gave their closing arguments Tuesday morning.
“The defendant was a determined murderer and he was just as determined to get away with it,” the prosecuting attorney said. “In order to believe the defendant’s story, you need to believe that lightning struck at least 10 times.”
Goldfarb presented a list of what she labeled as “lightning strikes” that would have to be true to absolve Nicholson of culpability.
Among other things, her list included:
• “Both babies get out of cribs in the middle of the night.”
• “Both of them head to the bathroom together.”
• “Babies plug up the bathtub.”
• “Babies turn on hot water.”
• “Johnathon puts his head in the water and drowns and then ‘cooks’ in hot water.”
• “Ella either puts her face in the water and drowns or she puts her head into a couple inches of standing water and stays there to drown.”
• “Neither child cries or screams loud enough to be heard.”
Goldfarb also presented a list of evidence that she said points to the scene being staged by Nicholson, and a list of the toddlers’ physical and social abilities.
“The evidence has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that these deaths were homicides,” Goldfarb said. “We’ll never exactly know what was in the defendant’s mind when he killed his babies.”
In his summation, defense attorney William Winters reminded the court that the burden of proof rested with the prosecution.
“No matter how many theories and guesses they want to make and changes in their expert testimony, that’s not going to change the fact that the prosecution has to show this was an inflicted death,” he said.
Winters said he believed Wayne County’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Carl Schmidt, “was making things up as he went along.”
Schmidt, who performed the autopsies on the toddlers, said at a preliminary examination of the evidence against Nicholson that the toddlers drowned in hot water. He said in court that he believed they drowned in room temperature water, followed by scalding.
Schmidt did not waver in his opinion that the deaths were homicides.
“Objective facts show that Mr. Nicholson’s version of what happened makes more sense than the prosecutor’s imaginative theory,” Winters said.
“This is not a part-time dad who watches the kids occasionally. This is a full-time father. This man is going to have to live with the death of his kids for the rest of his life.”
http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2011/04/27/news/doc4db831f912436092673769.txt?viewmode=fullstory
Father found guilty of first-degree murder in toddlers' drowning deathsPublished: Wednesday, April 27, 2011
By Peter Jurich
For The Daily Tribune
DETROIT — A 27-year-old Allen Park man was found guilty in Wayne County Circuit Court on Tuesday of drowning his two toddlers.
Judge Vera Massey-Jones ruled that Steven Lyn Nicholson is guilty of one count of first-degree felony murder, one count of first-degree child abuse and one count of second-degree murder in the Oct. 19 deaths of Ella Stafford, 15 months, and Johnathon Sanderlin, 13 months, both of whom lived with him. The children had different mothers.
“I came up with the conclusion that this case ought to be called a perfect storm,” Massey-Jones said in her decision. “Being a parent is not easy.”
Massey-Jones said she found Nicholson guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Johnathon because she did not believe he intended to kill the boy. She said Nicholson was “overcome by the stress of being a single parent” and “just wanted to shut him up.”
“Unfortunately, he committed an act that caused him great bodily harm,” she said.
Massey-Jones said, however, that she believed Nicholson intended to kill Ella “in order to establish an alibi.” He was found guilty of first-degree murder in the girl’s death.
Nicholson’s sentencing will be May 13.
“The judge got it right, but that doesn’t do anything for the children,” prosecuting attorney Carin Goldfarb said after the ruling.
Nicholson’s bench trial had entered its third week Monday. Massey-Jones went into deliberations late Tuesday morning after closing arguments were presented by the prosecution and the defense. She gave her ruling about four hours later.
The trial had resumed Monday with police showing a video interrogation of Nicholson that was recorded hours after the children were found dead in his apartment. Continued...
Nicholson had been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, punishable by life in prison without parole; two counts of felony murder, punishable by life in prison; and two counts of first-degree child abuse, punishable by a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
The police video showed Nicholson as argumentative and not visibly upset by the deaths. He repeated many times that he was sleeping and did not know what happened the night his children drowned.
“I wouldn’t let accidents happen,” he said. “I’m too strict of a parent. I pride myself on being a great dad.”
Nicholson was interrogated by police Detectives Jeff Miller, James Wilkewitz and William Mehall.
►AUDIO: Father found guilty of first-degree murder talks to police after toddlers found drowned
“What we’ve discovered there and what you’re telling us are not the same thing,” Wilkewitz said in the video. “It’s not consistent.
“For your kids’ sake and your family’s sake, just tell us what happened.”
Nicholson became more confrontational when police asked him if he abused alcohol, saying he did not drink.
When police told him they had heard Ella’s mother, Tayler Stafford, say otherwise, Nicholson called them liars.
“You’re a liar because Tayler knows I don’t drink,” he said.
When Nicholson’s story still did not provide any answers, Wilkewitz told him to “dig down deep and try to tell us the truth.”
“We think that you had a part in this,” Wilkewitz said. “Everything points to the fact that you did have a part in this.”
Wilkewitz told Nicholson that he believed one of two things happened. His first theory was that Nicholson was taking care of two babies and snapped.
“The alternative is this,” Wilkewitz said. “You’re just a cold-blooded killer.”
Nicholson said in the video that there was nothing that would ever make him kill his children.
Massey-Jones cleared the courtroom to go into deliberations after the prosecutor and the defense attorney gave their closing arguments Tuesday morning.
“The defendant was a determined murderer and he was just as determined to get away with it,” the prosecuting attorney said. “In order to believe the defendant’s story, you need to believe that lightning struck at least 10 times.”
Goldfarb presented a list of what she labeled as “lightning strikes” that would have to be true to absolve Nicholson of culpability.
Among other things, her list included:
• “Both babies get out of cribs in the middle of the night.”
• “Both of them head to the bathroom together.”
• “Babies plug up the bathtub.”
• “Babies turn on hot water.”
• “Johnathon puts his head in the water and drowns and then ‘cooks’ in hot water.”
• “Ella either puts her face in the water and drowns or she puts her head into a couple inches of standing water and stays there to drown.”
• “Neither child cries or screams loud enough to be heard.”
Goldfarb also presented a list of evidence that she said points to the scene being staged by Nicholson, and a list of the toddlers’ physical and social abilities.
“The evidence has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that these deaths were homicides,” Goldfarb said. “We’ll never exactly know what was in the defendant’s mind when he killed his babies.”
In his summation, defense attorney William Winters reminded the court that the burden of proof rested with the prosecution.
“No matter how many theories and guesses they want to make and changes in their expert testimony, that’s not going to change the fact that the prosecution has to show this was an inflicted death,” he said.
Winters said he believed Wayne County’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Carl Schmidt, “was making things up as he went along.”
Schmidt, who performed the autopsies on the toddlers, said at a preliminary examination of the evidence against Nicholson that the toddlers drowned in hot water. He said in court that he believed they drowned in room temperature water, followed by scalding.
Schmidt did not waver in his opinion that the deaths were homicides.
“Objective facts show that Mr. Nicholson’s version of what happened makes more sense than the prosecutor’s imaginative theory,” Winters said.
“This is not a part-time dad who watches the kids occasionally. This is a full-time father. This man is going to have to live with the death of his kids for the rest of his life.”
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Dad gets 22 years for death of 18-month-old daughter (St. Genevieve, Missouri)
Dad RICARDO MEDINA has entered an Alford plea, and will be spending 22 years in prison for the abuse death of his 18-month-old daughter. Notice that Mom is facing endangerment charges--presumably because she was unable to stop a healthy 22-year-old male from throwing the baby.
http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/255584/3/Ricardo-Medina-receives-22-year-term-in-baby-daughters-death
Ricardo Medina receives 22 year term in baby daughters death6:04 AM, Apr 21, 2011
Written by dave keiser
Ste. Genevieve, Missouri (KSDK)-- The father of a baby girl has entered an Alford plea to a charge of child abuse resulting in death, and will spend the next 22 years in prison.
Under the Alford Plea, 23-year-old Ricardo Medina, of Bismarck, Missouri, did not admit any guilt; however, he conceded the state has sufficient evidence against him to win a conviction.
Medina was charged in the April 2009 death of his eighteen month old daughter, who was severely injured after being thrown more than 5 feet onto a hardwood floor at the family home in Washington County.
The child died later in a St. Louis hospital while undergoing treatment for a significant brain injury.
Medina entered his plea yesterday in Ste. Genevieve County where the case was moved on a change of venue. Jury selection in Medina's trial was scheduled to begin next week before Judge Kenneth Wayne Pratte.
The mother of the victim, 24 year old Jamie Scott of Bismarck is awaiting trial this November on child endangerment charges in the investigation.
http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/255584/3/Ricardo-Medina-receives-22-year-term-in-baby-daughters-death
Ricardo Medina receives 22 year term in baby daughters death6:04 AM, Apr 21, 2011
Written by dave keiser
Ste. Genevieve, Missouri (KSDK)-- The father of a baby girl has entered an Alford plea to a charge of child abuse resulting in death, and will spend the next 22 years in prison.
Under the Alford Plea, 23-year-old Ricardo Medina, of Bismarck, Missouri, did not admit any guilt; however, he conceded the state has sufficient evidence against him to win a conviction.
Medina was charged in the April 2009 death of his eighteen month old daughter, who was severely injured after being thrown more than 5 feet onto a hardwood floor at the family home in Washington County.
The child died later in a St. Louis hospital while undergoing treatment for a significant brain injury.
Medina entered his plea yesterday in Ste. Genevieve County where the case was moved on a change of venue. Jury selection in Medina's trial was scheduled to begin next week before Judge Kenneth Wayne Pratte.
The mother of the victim, 24 year old Jamie Scott of Bismarck is awaiting trial this November on child endangerment charges in the investigation.
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