The obviously custodial dad is identified as RAKESK PERSAUD.
So what happened to this girl's mother? The question always needs to be asked--especially when it is apparent that the father is systematically abusing a child. Chances are very great that the mother was also subjected to domestic violence. Which means that she is either dead, "missing," or lost custody by being outgunned in Florida's notoriously corrupt family courts. So which is it?
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/sanford-parents-face-child-abuse-charges/nc74D/
Posted: 11:40 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014
Sanford parents face child abuse charges
SANFORD, Fla. —
Sanford police arrested two parents Thursday after their child told school officials she was being repeatedly abused, sometimes while she was tied up so that she couldn’t defend herself.
The victim was interviewed at school by a Sanford police officer when she showed up to class with several visible marks on her body and a swollen face.
The victim told officers her father uses electrical cords, bamboo sticks and belts to inflict punishment.
Investigators went to the victim’s home, where they interviewed her father, Rakesk Persaud, and her stepmother Roseanna Prasnauth.
They were charged with aggravated child abuse.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Dad being investigated for "suspicious death" of 1-year-old daughter during visitation; DHS had investigated him for child abuse before (Kalamazoo, Michigan)
Read this carefully, and you'll see it's the same old story. The mother was forced to share custody/allow visitation with the father--even though the father was under previous suspicion of child abuse, which DHS failed (one again) to follow up on.
As a result, we now have a child that is dead--allegedly from Daddy's "rough housing." Whether Daddy is just clueless or vicious remains to be seen. But it's still the case that the child is dead--apparently from his actions.
But even now, the family court has refused to step it up and terminate Daddy's parental rights. So Daddy will still have access to this mother's surviving child. Sickening.
Dad is identified as JARROD ELLIOTT.
http://wwmt.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wwmt_investigation-underway-after-suspicious-death-kalamazoo-child-17867.shtml#.UuvqOtco7cw
Investigation underway after suspicious death of Kalamazoo child
Updated: Thursday, January 30 2014, 06:26 PM EST
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - New details tonight about the suspicious death of a one-year-old child in Kalamazoo.
Little Ava Jones was found dead in a mobile home in the Pavilion Estates Park on November 30th.
Thursday in family court new information was revealed about the girl's father Jarrod Elliott, who was watching baby Ava when she died.
According to DHS investigation Jarrod Elliott was watching Jones the night she died.
He told investigators they were rough-housing and "she was hit in the head while being swung around..."
He says he put her in her crib and when he checked back he says he found her, “not breathing, purple in color with blood coming out of her mouth, nose and ears.”
But the child's mother says she doesn’t believe his story.
"I actually saw both of the kids the day before her passing and she was perfectly fine, happy little self, one year old," says Emily Jones.
In court records DHS says last January the child returned from a visit with Elliott with bruises on her face and a foot injury.
Investigators removed evidence from the home in November when the child died and the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office says only there is an open investigation.
"There's so many stories, we don't exactly what happened, there's so many," says Jones.
In family court today Jones was hoping Elliott would lose parental rights to see the two-year-old son the two have together. DHS has recommended Elliott lose those rights but there was no decision today.
As a result, we now have a child that is dead--allegedly from Daddy's "rough housing." Whether Daddy is just clueless or vicious remains to be seen. But it's still the case that the child is dead--apparently from his actions.
But even now, the family court has refused to step it up and terminate Daddy's parental rights. So Daddy will still have access to this mother's surviving child. Sickening.
Dad is identified as JARROD ELLIOTT.
http://wwmt.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wwmt_investigation-underway-after-suspicious-death-kalamazoo-child-17867.shtml#.UuvqOtco7cw
Investigation underway after suspicious death of Kalamazoo child
Updated: Thursday, January 30 2014, 06:26 PM EST
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - New details tonight about the suspicious death of a one-year-old child in Kalamazoo.
Little Ava Jones was found dead in a mobile home in the Pavilion Estates Park on November 30th.
Thursday in family court new information was revealed about the girl's father Jarrod Elliott, who was watching baby Ava when she died.
According to DHS investigation Jarrod Elliott was watching Jones the night she died.
He told investigators they were rough-housing and "she was hit in the head while being swung around..."
He says he put her in her crib and when he checked back he says he found her, “not breathing, purple in color with blood coming out of her mouth, nose and ears.”
But the child's mother says she doesn’t believe his story.
"I actually saw both of the kids the day before her passing and she was perfectly fine, happy little self, one year old," says Emily Jones.
In court records DHS says last January the child returned from a visit with Elliott with bruises on her face and a foot injury.
Investigators removed evidence from the home in November when the child died and the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office says only there is an open investigation.
"There's so many stories, we don't exactly what happened, there's so many," says Jones.
In family court today Jones was hoping Elliott would lose parental rights to see the two-year-old son the two have together. DHS has recommended Elliott lose those rights but there was no decision today.
"Stay-at-home" dad found guilty of murder in death of 4-month-old daughter (Orlando, Florida)
Yet another "stay-at-home" dad who bashed the baby. This one succeeded in killing her. Too often these guys become "stay-at-home" dads because they are unwilling/unable to get a job--sometimes because of a past criminal record. So desperate working mothers put them in charge of infant care. Not a good idea. It's too bad we don't have paid maternity leave in this country, and way to get violent moochers like this one into the labor force and away from young kids.
Dad is identified as LUIS OMAR RIVERA.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-child-murder-luis-omar-rivera-20140130,0,2602881.story
Father guilty of murder, aggravated child abuse in daughter's death
By Desiree Stennett, Orlando Sentinel
6:23 p.m. EST, January 30, 2014
A stay-at-home father left to care for his 4-month-old daughter the day she died is responsible for the "catastrophic" injuries that killed the little girl about three years ago, a jury decided Thursday afternoon.
Luis Omar Rivera, 29, was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse charges after his infant daughter Jaliya Rivera died of blunt-force head trauma which caused multiple skull fractures in November 2010.
Jaliya's mother, Sadie Diaz, and her family sobbed silently as the verdict was read.
"I died on November 19, 2010," Diaz said to Rivera before he was sentenced to life in prison for his daughter's death. "You were a heartless monster who couldn't just love your own daughter. My heart is completely broken."
According to prosecutor Pam Davis, Jaliya was a "bubbly" baby who was still too young to roll over on her own. Rivera cared for the child while his wife worked.
Every morning the couple would wake up about 6:30 a.m. so Diaz could prepare for work and Rivera could feed their daughter. That's how the day started on Nov.18, 2010.
When he was interviewed by police, Rivera said he fed his daughter early that morning then went back to bed. When he woke up a short time later to change the little girl's diaper, that's when he realized his daughter wasn't breathing.
Rivera told police he called his mother instead of 911 because he didn't have the money to pay for an expensive ambulance. His daughter spent the night in the hospital and was pronounced dead the next day.
Since that day, Rivera has maintained that he was not responsible for his daughter's severe injuries.
Rivera's attorney, Gerod Hooper, called the police work that let to Rivera's arrest a "make-it-fit" investigation.
"The facts don't fit, so you make it fit," he said to the jury during his closing statement.
Although he agreed with doctors who said Jaliya's wounds were not accidental, he said there was no way to know for sure if Rivera was responsible for inflicting them or if she died from injuries that were inflicted on Nov. 18 or another day when someone else was caring for the infant.
But after 5 hours of deliberation, those seeds of doubt did not resonate with the jury. Rivera said nothing as his sentence was handed down.
Dad is identified as LUIS OMAR RIVERA.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-child-murder-luis-omar-rivera-20140130,0,2602881.story
Father guilty of murder, aggravated child abuse in daughter's death
By Desiree Stennett, Orlando Sentinel
6:23 p.m. EST, January 30, 2014
A stay-at-home father left to care for his 4-month-old daughter the day she died is responsible for the "catastrophic" injuries that killed the little girl about three years ago, a jury decided Thursday afternoon.
Luis Omar Rivera, 29, was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse charges after his infant daughter Jaliya Rivera died of blunt-force head trauma which caused multiple skull fractures in November 2010.
Jaliya's mother, Sadie Diaz, and her family sobbed silently as the verdict was read.
"I died on November 19, 2010," Diaz said to Rivera before he was sentenced to life in prison for his daughter's death. "You were a heartless monster who couldn't just love your own daughter. My heart is completely broken."
According to prosecutor Pam Davis, Jaliya was a "bubbly" baby who was still too young to roll over on her own. Rivera cared for the child while his wife worked.
Every morning the couple would wake up about 6:30 a.m. so Diaz could prepare for work and Rivera could feed their daughter. That's how the day started on Nov.18, 2010.
When he was interviewed by police, Rivera said he fed his daughter early that morning then went back to bed. When he woke up a short time later to change the little girl's diaper, that's when he realized his daughter wasn't breathing.
Rivera told police he called his mother instead of 911 because he didn't have the money to pay for an expensive ambulance. His daughter spent the night in the hospital and was pronounced dead the next day.
Since that day, Rivera has maintained that he was not responsible for his daughter's severe injuries.
Rivera's attorney, Gerod Hooper, called the police work that let to Rivera's arrest a "make-it-fit" investigation.
"The facts don't fit, so you make it fit," he said to the jury during his closing statement.
Although he agreed with doctors who said Jaliya's wounds were not accidental, he said there was no way to know for sure if Rivera was responsible for inflicting them or if she died from injuries that were inflicted on Nov. 18 or another day when someone else was caring for the infant.
But after 5 hours of deliberation, those seeds of doubt did not resonate with the jury. Rivera said nothing as his sentence was handed down.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Dad on trial for causing "grievous harm" to 7-month-old son (United Kingdom)
Dad is identified as ANDREW RUTTER.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10972765.Great_Lever_dad_shook_baby__until_his_brain_bled_/
Great Lever dad shook baby 'until his brain bled'
6:00am Thursday 30th January 2014
The Bolton News
By Liam Thorp, Reporter
A FATHER shook his baby son so hard that the seven-month-old child suffered bleeding in his brain, a court heard.
Andrew Rutter is on trial at Bolton Crown Court accused of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm to his son, Jacob Rutter-Harper, and of wilfully neglecting him by not seeking medical help.
Rutter’s partner and the mother of the child, 22-year-old Samantha Harper, was earlier cleared of child neglect after the prosecution discontinued proceedings against her.
Rob Hall, prosecuting, said: “The count indicates that Rutter, with the intention of causing the child really serious harm, shook him in a manner that is beyond anything appropriate and then knowing what he had done, failed to do anything to assist the child in getting any sort of care.”
Yesterday the court heard that Rutter shook baby Jacob while he was looking after him in the family’s then home in Lever Edge Lane, Great Lever.
Jacob suffered a subdural haematoma — a serious brain condition where blood collects between the skull and the surface of the brain.
He was discharged from hospital on June 18, 2012, and is now living with Ms Harper’s parents. It is not believed he has suffered any long-term symptoms following his injuries.
Rutter's text messages read out in court:
•“He is doing my head in, he won’t stop screaming”
•“I can’t handle him”
•“If you keep being soft with him I’ll never have him again”
•“He can’t open his eyes, he’s gone all floppy”
•“He won’t wake up”
•“I’m getting worried now”
In his closing statement, Mr Hall told the jury of text messages sent from 28-year-old Rutter to Ms Harper on the day of the alleged offence.
He described them as the type of messages you might get from a parent who was “losing their self-control” and displaying “increasing anger”.
One of the messages, read out to the court, said: “He is doing my head in, he won’t stop screaming.”
Others said: “I can’t handle him” and “If you keep being soft with him I’ll never have him again”.
But then Rutter, of Old Clough Lane, Walkden sent a message, saying: “He can’t open his eyes, he’s gone all floppy,” “he won’t wake up” and “I’m getting worried now.”
After returning home, Miss Harper called the out-of-hours doctors service and it was suggested that she let the baby sleep but to call back with any concerns, the court was told.
The following day when Jacob’s health was still deteriorating, she took him to a walk-in centre where staff examined him and called an ambulance to take him to hospital.
Wayne Jackson, defending, claimed the medical experts were “at odds” when discussing the time frame when the injuries were incurred.
He added: “This leaves you with some medical uncertainty. Whilst I concede there was a shaking injury at some point, I say the evidence does not support any shaking on the Sunday in question.”
Mr Hall disagreed, stating that one of the medical experts was in “no doubt” that Jacob was injured while in the care of Andrew Rutter.
This morning, judge Timothy Clayson will finish his summing up before allowing the jury to retire and consider their verdict.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10972765.Great_Lever_dad_shook_baby__until_his_brain_bled_/
Great Lever dad shook baby 'until his brain bled'
6:00am Thursday 30th January 2014
The Bolton News
By Liam Thorp, Reporter
A FATHER shook his baby son so hard that the seven-month-old child suffered bleeding in his brain, a court heard.
Andrew Rutter is on trial at Bolton Crown Court accused of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm to his son, Jacob Rutter-Harper, and of wilfully neglecting him by not seeking medical help.
Rutter’s partner and the mother of the child, 22-year-old Samantha Harper, was earlier cleared of child neglect after the prosecution discontinued proceedings against her.
Rob Hall, prosecuting, said: “The count indicates that Rutter, with the intention of causing the child really serious harm, shook him in a manner that is beyond anything appropriate and then knowing what he had done, failed to do anything to assist the child in getting any sort of care.”
Yesterday the court heard that Rutter shook baby Jacob while he was looking after him in the family’s then home in Lever Edge Lane, Great Lever.
Jacob suffered a subdural haematoma — a serious brain condition where blood collects between the skull and the surface of the brain.
He was discharged from hospital on June 18, 2012, and is now living with Ms Harper’s parents. It is not believed he has suffered any long-term symptoms following his injuries.
Rutter's text messages read out in court:
•“He is doing my head in, he won’t stop screaming”
•“I can’t handle him”
•“If you keep being soft with him I’ll never have him again”
•“He can’t open his eyes, he’s gone all floppy”
•“He won’t wake up”
•“I’m getting worried now”
In his closing statement, Mr Hall told the jury of text messages sent from 28-year-old Rutter to Ms Harper on the day of the alleged offence.
He described them as the type of messages you might get from a parent who was “losing their self-control” and displaying “increasing anger”.
One of the messages, read out to the court, said: “He is doing my head in, he won’t stop screaming.”
Others said: “I can’t handle him” and “If you keep being soft with him I’ll never have him again”.
But then Rutter, of Old Clough Lane, Walkden sent a message, saying: “He can’t open his eyes, he’s gone all floppy,” “he won’t wake up” and “I’m getting worried now.”
After returning home, Miss Harper called the out-of-hours doctors service and it was suggested that she let the baby sleep but to call back with any concerns, the court was told.
The following day when Jacob’s health was still deteriorating, she took him to a walk-in centre where staff examined him and called an ambulance to take him to hospital.
Wayne Jackson, defending, claimed the medical experts were “at odds” when discussing the time frame when the injuries were incurred.
He added: “This leaves you with some medical uncertainty. Whilst I concede there was a shaking injury at some point, I say the evidence does not support any shaking on the Sunday in question.”
Mr Hall disagreed, stating that one of the medical experts was in “no doubt” that Jacob was injured while in the care of Andrew Rutter.
This morning, judge Timothy Clayson will finish his summing up before allowing the jury to retire and consider their verdict.
Dad brings two kids along on drug deal (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Dad is identified as MARCO RODRIQUEZ. No word on the children's mother.
http://www.newson6.com/story/24586931/sheriffs-deputies-father-brings-two-kids-along-on-undercover-drug-deal
Deputies: Tulsa Father Brings Two Kids Along On Drug Deal
Posted: Jan 30, 2014 7:30 AM EST
Updated: Jan 30, 2014 10:47 AM EST
NewsOn6.com
TULSA, Oklahoma - Tulsa County sheriff's deputies arrested a man they say brought his two children, ages two and seven, on a drug deal Wednesday afternoon.
Deputies arrested Marco Rodriguez, 27, of Tulsa in a sting operation in the parking lot of a convenience store at 21st and Harvard.
Deputies found the two children sitting in Rodriguez's pickup.
They booked Rodriguez into the Tulsa County Jail on complaints of trafficking in a controlled and dangerous substance and child endangerment.
Jail records show Rodriguez was being held in lieu of $51,000 bond and has a court appearance set for February 5, 2014.
http://www.newson6.com/story/24586931/sheriffs-deputies-father-brings-two-kids-along-on-undercover-drug-deal
Deputies: Tulsa Father Brings Two Kids Along On Drug Deal
Posted: Jan 30, 2014 7:30 AM EST
Updated: Jan 30, 2014 10:47 AM EST
NewsOn6.com
TULSA, Oklahoma - Tulsa County sheriff's deputies arrested a man they say brought his two children, ages two and seven, on a drug deal Wednesday afternoon.
Deputies arrested Marco Rodriguez, 27, of Tulsa in a sting operation in the parking lot of a convenience store at 21st and Harvard.
Deputies found the two children sitting in Rodriguez's pickup.
They booked Rodriguez into the Tulsa County Jail on complaints of trafficking in a controlled and dangerous substance and child endangerment.
Jail records show Rodriguez was being held in lieu of $51,000 bond and has a court appearance set for February 5, 2014.
Dad wanted for abducting, abusing 5-month-old son (Pulaski, Virginia)
Dad is identified as HOWARD SAMUEL COLE. I wonder if this was a custody/visitation situation. McDonald's is often used as an exchange point in "contentious" custody situations (i.e. situations where the mother is forced to comply with a court order requiring her to hand over a baby to an abusive father).
http://www.wsls.com/story/24582155/pulaski-man-wanted-on-child-abuse
Pulaski man wanted on child abuse
Posted: Jan 29, 2014 5:12 PM EST
Updated: Jan 29, 2014 5:12 PM EST
By WSLS Staff
PULASKI - The Pulaski Police Department says they received a report that a five month old child had been abused by his biological father on the morning of Sunday, January 26th.
A felony warrant of child abuse has been issued for 31-year-old Howard Samuel Cole.
He was last seen with the child in Pulaski on Monday, January 27th around 7 p.m.
Cole was last seen at a McDonald's in Dublin around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, January 29th.
The missing child, Cory Samuel Cole, is a white five month old baby boy, has dirty blonde hair, and blue eyes. Howard has ties in Lexington, North Carolina, and more family in the county of Pulaski.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Pulaski Police Department at (540) 994-8680.
http://www.wsls.com/story/24582155/pulaski-man-wanted-on-child-abuse
Pulaski man wanted on child abuse
Posted: Jan 29, 2014 5:12 PM EST
Updated: Jan 29, 2014 5:12 PM EST
By WSLS Staff
PULASKI - The Pulaski Police Department says they received a report that a five month old child had been abused by his biological father on the morning of Sunday, January 26th.
A felony warrant of child abuse has been issued for 31-year-old Howard Samuel Cole.
He was last seen with the child in Pulaski on Monday, January 27th around 7 p.m.
Cole was last seen at a McDonald's in Dublin around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, January 29th.
The missing child, Cory Samuel Cole, is a white five month old baby boy, has dirty blonde hair, and blue eyes. Howard has ties in Lexington, North Carolina, and more family in the county of Pulaski.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Pulaski Police Department at (540) 994-8680.
Dad slashes to death 7-year-old daughter, injures 12- and 10-year olds (Kajang, Malaysia)
UNNAMED DAD. Mom was away at work when this freakazoid flipped out.
http://www.nst.com.my/latest/font-color-red-updated-font-father-runs-amok-kills-7-year-old-child-slashes-2-other-children-1.473934
30 January 2014| last updated at 12:42AM
UPDATED: Father runs amok: Kills 7-year old child, slashes 2 other children
By HARIZ MOHD AND HANI SHAMIRA SHAHRUDIN
KAJANG: A man who slashed his 7-year old daughter to death and seriously injured his two other children, aged 10 and 12, has been arrested.
The man was found by police lying at the side of a river, about 300-metre from his house in Bandar Baru Bangi here.
He was found writhing in pain with serious head injuries. He apparently suffered the injury while trying to jump over the river.
Selangor Police deputy chief DCP Datuk Abd Rahim Jaafar said the incident happened about 4.15pm.
Initial investigations showed the man had armed himself with a parang when his second daughter, aged 15, came home and heard noises coming from inside the house.
She was shocked after seeing her father acting aggressively and immediately started screaming for help.
Her brother, who had locked himself in a room at the top floor of their house shouted at her to run for her life.
The girl then managed to join her brother in the room where they locked themselves and called the police.
By the time police arrived, they found the three girls lying in a pool of blood.
The 7-year old was already dead while the other two girls were lying unconscious with numerous slash wounds.
Police then called out to the other two children who had locked themselves in their room and asked them what had happened.
The policemen then started searching for the suspect and found him not far from the house.
"We found him lying at the side of the river with severe head injuries," Rahim said, adding that the suspect was still holding a parang.
Rahim said the victims and the suspect were sent to Kajang Hospital.
It is learnt the man’s wife was away at work when the incident happened.
http://www.nst.com.my/latest/font-color-red-updated-font-father-runs-amok-kills-7-year-old-child-slashes-2-other-children-1.473934
30 January 2014| last updated at 12:42AM
UPDATED: Father runs amok: Kills 7-year old child, slashes 2 other children
By HARIZ MOHD AND HANI SHAMIRA SHAHRUDIN
KAJANG: A man who slashed his 7-year old daughter to death and seriously injured his two other children, aged 10 and 12, has been arrested.
The man was found by police lying at the side of a river, about 300-metre from his house in Bandar Baru Bangi here.
He was found writhing in pain with serious head injuries. He apparently suffered the injury while trying to jump over the river.
Selangor Police deputy chief DCP Datuk Abd Rahim Jaafar said the incident happened about 4.15pm.
Initial investigations showed the man had armed himself with a parang when his second daughter, aged 15, came home and heard noises coming from inside the house.
She was shocked after seeing her father acting aggressively and immediately started screaming for help.
Her brother, who had locked himself in a room at the top floor of their house shouted at her to run for her life.
The girl then managed to join her brother in the room where they locked themselves and called the police.
By the time police arrived, they found the three girls lying in a pool of blood.
The 7-year old was already dead while the other two girls were lying unconscious with numerous slash wounds.
Police then called out to the other two children who had locked themselves in their room and asked them what had happened.
The policemen then started searching for the suspect and found him not far from the house.
"We found him lying at the side of the river with severe head injuries," Rahim said, adding that the suspect was still holding a parang.
Rahim said the victims and the suspect were sent to Kajang Hospital.
It is learnt the man’s wife was away at work when the incident happened.
Trial ordered for dad charged with criminal homicide in the death of 20-month-old daughter (Uniontown, Pennsylvania)
Dad is identified as DOMER BURKHOLDER, JR.
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/crime/article/Trial-ordered-for-SW-Pa-father-in-toddler-s-death-5188664.php
Trial ordered for SW Pa. father in toddler's death
Updated 3:23 am, Thursday, January 30, 2014
UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A southwestern Pennsylvania man has been ordered to stand trial in the death of his 20-month-old daughter last fall.
Thirty-year-old Domer Burkholder Jr. of Uniontown is charged in Fayette County with criminal homicide and child endangerment in the November death of Caylee Burkholder.
Twenty-eight-year-old Jessica Burkholder testified emotionally Wednesday in a preliminary hearing that her estranged husband "got angry and punched her in the stomach."
She waived a single count of endangering the welfare of a child under a tentative plea deal with prosecutors that calls for a six- to 23-month sentence.
Domer Burkholder declined comment. He has said he wasn't home when his daughter was injured and he rushed her to Uniontown hospital immediately after finding out she was hurt.
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/crime/article/Trial-ordered-for-SW-Pa-father-in-toddler-s-death-5188664.php
Trial ordered for SW Pa. father in toddler's death
Updated 3:23 am, Thursday, January 30, 2014
UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A southwestern Pennsylvania man has been ordered to stand trial in the death of his 20-month-old daughter last fall.
Thirty-year-old Domer Burkholder Jr. of Uniontown is charged in Fayette County with criminal homicide and child endangerment in the November death of Caylee Burkholder.
Twenty-eight-year-old Jessica Burkholder testified emotionally Wednesday in a preliminary hearing that her estranged husband "got angry and punched her in the stomach."
She waived a single count of endangering the welfare of a child under a tentative plea deal with prosecutors that calls for a six- to 23-month sentence.
Domer Burkholder declined comment. He has said he wasn't home when his daughter was injured and he rushed her to Uniontown hospital immediately after finding out she was hurt.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Dad on trial for 1st-degree murder of 4-month-old daughter (Orlando, Florida)
Dad is identified as LUIS OMAR RIVERA. Why this baby was "in his care" is not explained. Nor is it explained what happened to this baby's mother. Did she live in the home? Was this a single father? No explanation.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-child-abuse-murder-trial-20140129,0,2191437.story
Doctor testifies about infant's injuries in father's murder trial
Luis Omar Rivera, 29, is charged with first-degree murder in 4-month-old Jaliya's death.
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
1:01 p.m. EST, January 29, 2014
Jurors in the trial of a man charged with murdering his 4-month-old daughter heard testimony Wednesday about the "catastrophic" nature of the brain injuries that led to the girl's death.
Luis Omar Rivera, 29, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his daughter, Jaliya Rivera, who was fatally injured while in his care in November 2010, according to authorities.
Dr. Stephen Nelson, a Winter Haven-based medical examiner who consulted on the case, testified Wednesday that Jaliya suffered skull fractures and numerous brain injuries before she died.
Some of the bruises predated the fatal injuries, Nelson testified.
"This child was, more likely than not, abused in the past," he said.
Nelson said the girl's multiple skull fractures would have required a "tremendous amount of force." He agreed when a prosecutor described the girl's head injuries as "catastrophic."
After such an injury, "unless you get to the hospital and have some sort of emergency care, the child's going to die," he said.
According to police reports, doctors who examined the girl said her injuries were likely caused by abuse, including being shaken and struck on her head.
Prosecutors rested their case Wednesday. A doctor is expected to testify for his defense Thursday, followed by closing arguments and jury deliberations.
After the state rested, Rivera's public defender, Gerod Hooper, asked Circuit Judge Frederick Lauten to throw out the first-degree murder charge.
"There is no evidence of premeditation," Hooper said, arguing second-degree murder or manslaughter were more appropriate charges. "If anything, the evidence points to some angry, violent, spontaneous outburst."
Prosecutor Pam Davis said the state doesn't have to prove premeditation — just that Rivera committed a felony which resulted in Jaliya's death.
Lauten denied Hooper's motion. Rivera faces life in prison if convicted as charged.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-child-abuse-murder-trial-20140129,0,2191437.story
Doctor testifies about infant's injuries in father's murder trial
Luis Omar Rivera, 29, is charged with first-degree murder in 4-month-old Jaliya's death.
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
1:01 p.m. EST, January 29, 2014
Jurors in the trial of a man charged with murdering his 4-month-old daughter heard testimony Wednesday about the "catastrophic" nature of the brain injuries that led to the girl's death.
Luis Omar Rivera, 29, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his daughter, Jaliya Rivera, who was fatally injured while in his care in November 2010, according to authorities.
Dr. Stephen Nelson, a Winter Haven-based medical examiner who consulted on the case, testified Wednesday that Jaliya suffered skull fractures and numerous brain injuries before she died.
Some of the bruises predated the fatal injuries, Nelson testified.
"This child was, more likely than not, abused in the past," he said.
Nelson said the girl's multiple skull fractures would have required a "tremendous amount of force." He agreed when a prosecutor described the girl's head injuries as "catastrophic."
After such an injury, "unless you get to the hospital and have some sort of emergency care, the child's going to die," he said.
According to police reports, doctors who examined the girl said her injuries were likely caused by abuse, including being shaken and struck on her head.
Prosecutors rested their case Wednesday. A doctor is expected to testify for his defense Thursday, followed by closing arguments and jury deliberations.
After the state rested, Rivera's public defender, Gerod Hooper, asked Circuit Judge Frederick Lauten to throw out the first-degree murder charge.
"There is no evidence of premeditation," Hooper said, arguing second-degree murder or manslaughter were more appropriate charges. "If anything, the evidence points to some angry, violent, spontaneous outburst."
Prosecutor Pam Davis said the state doesn't have to prove premeditation — just that Rivera committed a felony which resulted in Jaliya's death.
Lauten denied Hooper's motion. Rivera faces life in prison if convicted as charged.
Dad gets 2-5 years in prison for abusing infant son; baby had multiple fractures (Brentwood, New Hampshire)
Typical story. Daddy was "in charge" of infant care for a 14-day period (because he was unemployed? Because he had visitation?) and spent the time playing video games. And no doubt getting frustrated when the baby did outrageous things like crying, needing to be fed, have diapers changed, etc. So he broke the baby's bones.
Note that Mom is being held responsible for "endangerment" even though she wasn't "in charge." Wonder if she was working to support the family while Daddy played at being a stay-at-home parent.
Since this baby was barely a month old when Daddy assaulted him, once again we have to lament the lack of paid maternity leaves in the U.S.
Dad is identified as CAVAN MOORE.
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20140129/NEWS03/140129152
January 29. 2014 1:53PM
Raymond father gets prison time in baby abuse case
By JAMES A. KIMBLE
Union Leader Correspondent
BRENTWOOD – A Raymond man who broke his infant son’s ankle last December was sentenced two to five years in state prison as part of a negotiated plea deal with county prosecutors.
Judge Kenneth McHugh also sentenced Cavan Moore, 27, to two other suspended prison sentences for breaking his infant son’s left rib and his wrist sometime between Dec. 10 and Dec. 28. 2012.
The suspended sentences – each three-to-six years – can be imposed within the next five years if Moore runs afoul of the law, according to court documents.
Moore pleaded guilty on Nov. 27 in Rockingham County Superior Court to three counts of second-degree assault.
Each charges was punishable by 3 ½ to 7 years in state prison. Prosecutors dropped another 11 counts of second-degree assault.
The baby, who suffered breaks to his ankle and ribs, was born Nov. 3, 2012, according to prosecutors.
Raymond police were called in to investigate the injuries after Moore had brought his infant son to Exeter Hospital last Dec. 28, prosecutors said.
Doctors who analyzed X-Rays taken of the baby boy concluded that he suffered from “classic child abuse fractures,” according to Assistant County Attorney Kirsten Wilson.
Prosecutors believe that Moore inflicted the injuries sometime between Dec. 14 and Dec. 28 – a period where Moore was in charge of diaper changes and taking care of the baby.
Raymond police Det. Richard Labell testified at a hearing in September that Moore told him that he may have “stepped on his son’s ankle while playing video games.” Moore later made a different statement to police saying that he may have sat on his son’s ankle.
McHugh rejected a bid by public defenders to have those statements thrown out of court.
Moore has already spent 390 days in the Rockingham County jail, which will count toward his state prison term.
Moore’s wife, Erica, is expected to plead guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment charges next month. The charges are punishable by up to a year in county jail, but she is expected to draw a suspended sentence in exchange for her plea, court records indicate.
Note that Mom is being held responsible for "endangerment" even though she wasn't "in charge." Wonder if she was working to support the family while Daddy played at being a stay-at-home parent.
Since this baby was barely a month old when Daddy assaulted him, once again we have to lament the lack of paid maternity leaves in the U.S.
Dad is identified as CAVAN MOORE.
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20140129/NEWS03/140129152
January 29. 2014 1:53PM
Raymond father gets prison time in baby abuse case
By JAMES A. KIMBLE
Union Leader Correspondent
BRENTWOOD – A Raymond man who broke his infant son’s ankle last December was sentenced two to five years in state prison as part of a negotiated plea deal with county prosecutors.
Judge Kenneth McHugh also sentenced Cavan Moore, 27, to two other suspended prison sentences for breaking his infant son’s left rib and his wrist sometime between Dec. 10 and Dec. 28. 2012.
The suspended sentences – each three-to-six years – can be imposed within the next five years if Moore runs afoul of the law, according to court documents.
Moore pleaded guilty on Nov. 27 in Rockingham County Superior Court to three counts of second-degree assault.
Each charges was punishable by 3 ½ to 7 years in state prison. Prosecutors dropped another 11 counts of second-degree assault.
The baby, who suffered breaks to his ankle and ribs, was born Nov. 3, 2012, according to prosecutors.
Raymond police were called in to investigate the injuries after Moore had brought his infant son to Exeter Hospital last Dec. 28, prosecutors said.
Doctors who analyzed X-Rays taken of the baby boy concluded that he suffered from “classic child abuse fractures,” according to Assistant County Attorney Kirsten Wilson.
Prosecutors believe that Moore inflicted the injuries sometime between Dec. 14 and Dec. 28 – a period where Moore was in charge of diaper changes and taking care of the baby.
Raymond police Det. Richard Labell testified at a hearing in September that Moore told him that he may have “stepped on his son’s ankle while playing video games.” Moore later made a different statement to police saying that he may have sat on his son’s ankle.
McHugh rejected a bid by public defenders to have those statements thrown out of court.
Moore has already spent 390 days in the Rockingham County jail, which will count toward his state prison term.
Moore’s wife, Erica, is expected to plead guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment charges next month. The charges are punishable by up to a year in county jail, but she is expected to draw a suspended sentence in exchange for her plea, court records indicate.
Dad in "custody battle" kills 4-year-old daughter in murder-suicide (Australia)
The write up here is so bad. It's as if the Australian media has learned nothing about fathers and custody-related murder since ARTHUR FREEMAN and ROBERT FARQUHARSON.
First, this is not some inexplicable "tragedy" where a father killed the child he "so adored" for some equally mysterious reason. So stop all the woo-woo, ain't-it-a-mystical-paradox rubbish.
There were plenty of red flags here, but of course the media doesn't identify them as such, or at least not very clearly.
Let's look at the father, GREG HUTCHINGS, without the blinders and phony sentimentality.
1) Even his own family (and presumably his enabler mother in denial) admits that he was "depressed" and on (unidentified) "anti-anxiety drugs."
2) He was 35, unemployed, and living at his mother's house in a "musty" room he shared with his daughter during his access time. So the guy is so dysfunctional that he can't even clean?
And even as a true portrait of this guy is coming together, the idiotic reporter characterizes the custody battle as a "tug-of-love" between the parents.
NO IT'S NOT! We have a mentally ill, barely functioning deadbeat father who, nevertheless, denigrates the mother of his child by claiming that he "feared" her. Which is crap, because who was it who murdered this girl? It wasn't Mom! Classic projection, a common move out the playbook of narcissistic control freaks and abusers.
Also note this:
1) The only smears against the Mom that are listed here, are a penchant for "electronic music." Nothing but a nebulous "lifestyle" choice--that the father also shared! This kind of random, arbitrary attack against the mother is also a common tactic among narcissistic abusers.
2) Daddy had his panties in a bunch about Mom taking the child to Finland without his authorization, and this deadbeat whack job was able to keep the courts from letting her.
Here we see the power of the fathers rights movement in Australia. Because if Mom had been able to leave Australia, this child would still be alive, wouldn't she? This is also classic projection, because it was because DADDY WAS PROVIDED ACCESS that he was able to take off with this child and kill her. This is also one of the grand achievements of the fathers rights movement, that any criminal sperm donor is granted his "rights" with no questions asked and no regard for the safety of any other human being.
3) But wait. Daddy also "feared" the mother taking the daughter to Peru? Once again, it wasn't the mother who killed the girl! The actual outcome shows that the father's "fears" were nothing but manufactured bullsh** meant to muddy the waters. Unfortunately, he succeeded admirably.
4) It's lazy and inaccurate, therefore, to conclude that this "tragic double-death was the result of a desperate father who cracked."
In fact, once again we have a protective mother WHOSE REAL AND JUSTIFIABLE CONCERNS WERE IGNORED BY THE COURTS. We know they were real, because the real-life outcomes PROVED they were real, and not tit-for-tat he said/she said.
"In applications to the Federal Circuit Court last year, Dorendahl expressed fears Hutchings was "delaying return to disappear with child," and 'it will be hard to locate father as he is unemployed, has no assets, lives with his father and is behaving erratically.'"
And that turned out to be the crux of the matter, not some nonsense about a mysterious tragedy arising from a "tug-of-love."
This was a WHOLLY PREVENTABLE MURDER that was set up and enabled by Australia's family courts, which once again assumed that the mother was lying or exaggerating so they ignored her. And therefore once again, they provided a killer father with unfettered ACCESS to his murder victim.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/inside-the-life-of-a-child-killed-so-tragically-what-led-greg-hutchings-to-destroy-the-child-he-so-adored/story-fni0cx12-1226813453165
Inside the life of a child killed so tragically: What led Greg Hutchings to destroy the child he so adored?
Taylor Auerbach • The Daily Telegraph • January 30, 2014 12:00AM
A tragic end to the two and a half week search for a father and his little girl who vanished just over the New South Wales border as two bodies were uncovered in sand dunes near Pottsville. ...
•Eeva may have been killed through drowning or poisoning
•No 'weapons' were found at crime scene
•Post-mortem conducted today - but decomposition may make cause of death hard to determine
POLICE are investigating today whether drowning or poisoning could have been the cause of death of four-year-old Eeva.
No weapons have been found at Pottsville Beach, where the bodies of Eeva and her father Greg Hutchings were found on Tuesday, but determining the cause of death may be difficult as the bodies - which may have sat under a pandanus tree for two weeks - are badly-decomposed.
Investigators are yet to determine how Hutchings and his bubbly blonde daughter Eeva Anna-Leena Dorendahl-Hutchings died, but what is certain is that tumult and heartache dominated four-year-old Eeva's short life.
Police have confirmed they are investigating an apparent murder-suicide but the cause of death will be determined by the NSW Coroner.
Eeva's grief-stricken mother Michelle Dorendahl spent several hours with detectives yesterday but is yet to speak publicly.
At Pottsville Beach, a single bunch of flowers was placed at the beach sits on the beach. A handwritten note alongside reads: 'BIG, big cuddles you precious innocent angel xxx'.
Eeva had been at the centre of a custody battle and Mr Hutchings was due to hand her over to her mother at Pottsville when they disappeared on January 11.
Before Hutchings disappeared with Eeva on January 11 he said in signed affidavits that he feared his estranged wife Michelle Dorendahl. ==================================================
Sadness at the heart of tragedy:
A GLIMPSE into the room which 35-year-old Greg Hutchings shared with his four-year-old daughter Eeva in his mother's Pottsville home reveals a normal suburban scene.
However, past the colourful hanging children's jackets and card which Eeva made for her dad, sits a container of anti-anxiety drugs.
They are a grim hint of the darkness behind the discovery of the bodies of the father and daughter - just a short walk from the front door of 55-year-old Diana Hutchings' first-storey flat.
They are a clue to the effect the tug-of-love over the custody of the four-year-old had on Hutchings.
The packet of Escitalopram was on a table when Ms Hutchings opened her doors to The Daily Telegraph while the search for the missing father and daughter was still under way last week.
She smiled throughout the meeting and said repeatedly: "I'm sleep-deprived. I just want them found.
"The room shared by Eeva and her father was unremarkable, if not a little musky.
- colourful children's jackets hung on a rack, a tiny pink fishing hat sat on the toddler's pillow.
And a card she had made for her Dad sat opened next to the double bed.
His family admitted Hutchings suffered depression.
Courts banned either parent from taking Eeva to "electronic music 'lifestyle' festivals" or to countries not party to The Hague convention on child abduction.
Both parents were also ordered not to "denigrate" the other in front of their daughter Eeva. ==================================================
He expressed fears his ex-partner planned to take Eeva to Finland and a Finnish passport was issued in Eeva's name in 2011 - but courts had imposed restrictions on both parents.
Mr Hutchings mother Diana yesterday said she did not believe her son had killed his daughter.
"I don't believe it was a murder-suicide, no," she said yesterday.
"Nobody could ever imagine Greg doing anything to harm his child.''
"Two people have passed away and I think they deserve the truth. I know the community wants answers - we want answers.
"It's unfair to jump to conclusions until we know. We have two beautiful people here (Eeva and Mr Hutchings) and we have to find a way to say goodbye and to honour their lives.
"The best thing we can do is to show some respect."
Detectives yesterday visited the Pottsville unit Mr Hutchings, 35, shared with his mother Diana, to take DNA samples.
Meanwhile friends of Ms Dorendahl took to Facebook to voice their heartbreak.
"Your community family loves you, we honour your mother, so sorry we failed to protect you. Fly free beautiful girl," one friend posted.
Many who knew the family believe the tragic double-death was the result of a desperate father who cracked.
The owner of the White Jade restaurant, and Mr Hutchings' former boss, told The Daily Telegraph: "He never turned up because of the custody fight ... we had to let him go (after two months)."
On the day he went missing with Eeva, Dorendahl went to the White Jade. She called police from the restaurant.
The court orders only hinted at the bitter fight over Eeva's company.
In applications to the Federal Circuit Court last year, Dorendahl expressed fears Hutchings was "delaying return to disappear with child," and "it will be hard to locate father as he is unemployed, has no assets, lives with his father and is behaving erratically."
Her fears proved prophetic.
After Eeva returned from a trip to Peru with her mother last year, Hutchings said: "I had grave concerns about my child travelling to South America … I do not see any justifiable reason to put my four-year-old child at risk when there is a safe alternative of Eeva being at home."
Police yesterday said formal identification of the bodies would take "considerable time" and they are treating the deaths as suspicious.
First, this is not some inexplicable "tragedy" where a father killed the child he "so adored" for some equally mysterious reason. So stop all the woo-woo, ain't-it-a-mystical-paradox rubbish.
There were plenty of red flags here, but of course the media doesn't identify them as such, or at least not very clearly.
Let's look at the father, GREG HUTCHINGS, without the blinders and phony sentimentality.
1) Even his own family (and presumably his enabler mother in denial) admits that he was "depressed" and on (unidentified) "anti-anxiety drugs."
2) He was 35, unemployed, and living at his mother's house in a "musty" room he shared with his daughter during his access time. So the guy is so dysfunctional that he can't even clean?
And even as a true portrait of this guy is coming together, the idiotic reporter characterizes the custody battle as a "tug-of-love" between the parents.
NO IT'S NOT! We have a mentally ill, barely functioning deadbeat father who, nevertheless, denigrates the mother of his child by claiming that he "feared" her. Which is crap, because who was it who murdered this girl? It wasn't Mom! Classic projection, a common move out the playbook of narcissistic control freaks and abusers.
Also note this:
1) The only smears against the Mom that are listed here, are a penchant for "electronic music." Nothing but a nebulous "lifestyle" choice--that the father also shared! This kind of random, arbitrary attack against the mother is also a common tactic among narcissistic abusers.
2) Daddy had his panties in a bunch about Mom taking the child to Finland without his authorization, and this deadbeat whack job was able to keep the courts from letting her.
Here we see the power of the fathers rights movement in Australia. Because if Mom had been able to leave Australia, this child would still be alive, wouldn't she? This is also classic projection, because it was because DADDY WAS PROVIDED ACCESS that he was able to take off with this child and kill her. This is also one of the grand achievements of the fathers rights movement, that any criminal sperm donor is granted his "rights" with no questions asked and no regard for the safety of any other human being.
3) But wait. Daddy also "feared" the mother taking the daughter to Peru? Once again, it wasn't the mother who killed the girl! The actual outcome shows that the father's "fears" were nothing but manufactured bullsh** meant to muddy the waters. Unfortunately, he succeeded admirably.
4) It's lazy and inaccurate, therefore, to conclude that this "tragic double-death was the result of a desperate father who cracked."
In fact, once again we have a protective mother WHOSE REAL AND JUSTIFIABLE CONCERNS WERE IGNORED BY THE COURTS. We know they were real, because the real-life outcomes PROVED they were real, and not tit-for-tat he said/she said.
"In applications to the Federal Circuit Court last year, Dorendahl expressed fears Hutchings was "delaying return to disappear with child," and 'it will be hard to locate father as he is unemployed, has no assets, lives with his father and is behaving erratically.'"
And that turned out to be the crux of the matter, not some nonsense about a mysterious tragedy arising from a "tug-of-love."
This was a WHOLLY PREVENTABLE MURDER that was set up and enabled by Australia's family courts, which once again assumed that the mother was lying or exaggerating so they ignored her. And therefore once again, they provided a killer father with unfettered ACCESS to his murder victim.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/inside-the-life-of-a-child-killed-so-tragically-what-led-greg-hutchings-to-destroy-the-child-he-so-adored/story-fni0cx12-1226813453165
Inside the life of a child killed so tragically: What led Greg Hutchings to destroy the child he so adored?
Taylor Auerbach • The Daily Telegraph • January 30, 2014 12:00AM
A tragic end to the two and a half week search for a father and his little girl who vanished just over the New South Wales border as two bodies were uncovered in sand dunes near Pottsville. ...
•Eeva may have been killed through drowning or poisoning
•No 'weapons' were found at crime scene
•Post-mortem conducted today - but decomposition may make cause of death hard to determine
POLICE are investigating today whether drowning or poisoning could have been the cause of death of four-year-old Eeva.
No weapons have been found at Pottsville Beach, where the bodies of Eeva and her father Greg Hutchings were found on Tuesday, but determining the cause of death may be difficult as the bodies - which may have sat under a pandanus tree for two weeks - are badly-decomposed.
Investigators are yet to determine how Hutchings and his bubbly blonde daughter Eeva Anna-Leena Dorendahl-Hutchings died, but what is certain is that tumult and heartache dominated four-year-old Eeva's short life.
Police have confirmed they are investigating an apparent murder-suicide but the cause of death will be determined by the NSW Coroner.
Eeva's grief-stricken mother Michelle Dorendahl spent several hours with detectives yesterday but is yet to speak publicly.
At Pottsville Beach, a single bunch of flowers was placed at the beach sits on the beach. A handwritten note alongside reads: 'BIG, big cuddles you precious innocent angel xxx'.
Eeva had been at the centre of a custody battle and Mr Hutchings was due to hand her over to her mother at Pottsville when they disappeared on January 11.
Before Hutchings disappeared with Eeva on January 11 he said in signed affidavits that he feared his estranged wife Michelle Dorendahl. ==================================================
Sadness at the heart of tragedy:
A GLIMPSE into the room which 35-year-old Greg Hutchings shared with his four-year-old daughter Eeva in his mother's Pottsville home reveals a normal suburban scene.
However, past the colourful hanging children's jackets and card which Eeva made for her dad, sits a container of anti-anxiety drugs.
They are a grim hint of the darkness behind the discovery of the bodies of the father and daughter - just a short walk from the front door of 55-year-old Diana Hutchings' first-storey flat.
They are a clue to the effect the tug-of-love over the custody of the four-year-old had on Hutchings.
The packet of Escitalopram was on a table when Ms Hutchings opened her doors to The Daily Telegraph while the search for the missing father and daughter was still under way last week.
She smiled throughout the meeting and said repeatedly: "I'm sleep-deprived. I just want them found.
"The room shared by Eeva and her father was unremarkable, if not a little musky.
- colourful children's jackets hung on a rack, a tiny pink fishing hat sat on the toddler's pillow.
And a card she had made for her Dad sat opened next to the double bed.
His family admitted Hutchings suffered depression.
Courts banned either parent from taking Eeva to "electronic music 'lifestyle' festivals" or to countries not party to The Hague convention on child abduction.
Both parents were also ordered not to "denigrate" the other in front of their daughter Eeva. ==================================================
He expressed fears his ex-partner planned to take Eeva to Finland and a Finnish passport was issued in Eeva's name in 2011 - but courts had imposed restrictions on both parents.
Mr Hutchings mother Diana yesterday said she did not believe her son had killed his daughter.
"I don't believe it was a murder-suicide, no," she said yesterday.
"Nobody could ever imagine Greg doing anything to harm his child.''
"Two people have passed away and I think they deserve the truth. I know the community wants answers - we want answers.
"It's unfair to jump to conclusions until we know. We have two beautiful people here (Eeva and Mr Hutchings) and we have to find a way to say goodbye and to honour their lives.
"The best thing we can do is to show some respect."
Detectives yesterday visited the Pottsville unit Mr Hutchings, 35, shared with his mother Diana, to take DNA samples.
Meanwhile friends of Ms Dorendahl took to Facebook to voice their heartbreak.
"Your community family loves you, we honour your mother, so sorry we failed to protect you. Fly free beautiful girl," one friend posted.
Many who knew the family believe the tragic double-death was the result of a desperate father who cracked.
The owner of the White Jade restaurant, and Mr Hutchings' former boss, told The Daily Telegraph: "He never turned up because of the custody fight ... we had to let him go (after two months)."
On the day he went missing with Eeva, Dorendahl went to the White Jade. She called police from the restaurant.
The court orders only hinted at the bitter fight over Eeva's company.
In applications to the Federal Circuit Court last year, Dorendahl expressed fears Hutchings was "delaying return to disappear with child," and "it will be hard to locate father as he is unemployed, has no assets, lives with his father and is behaving erratically."
Her fears proved prophetic.
After Eeva returned from a trip to Peru with her mother last year, Hutchings said: "I had grave concerns about my child travelling to South America … I do not see any justifiable reason to put my four-year-old child at risk when there is a safe alternative of Eeva being at home."
Police yesterday said formal identification of the bodies would take "considerable time" and they are treating the deaths as suspicious.
Dad kills 4- and 9-year-old daughters in murder-suicide, right before Mom came back from Afghanistan (Fort Hood, Texas)
It seems especially narcissistic and vicious that UNNAMED DAD murdered these girls on the very day that their mother was to return from her tour in Afghanistan.
http://kdhnews.com/news/sisters-killed-last-week-are-laid-to-rest/article_a24dd9b2-87a3-11e3-8ab7-001a4bcf6878.html
Sisters killed last week are laid to rest
Posted: Tuesday, January 28, 2014 4:30 am
Posted on Jan 28, 2014
by Rose L Thayer
Leila and Zeinab Ezzeddine were beautiful, cheerful and girly, said their uncle, Jose Santisteban.
“These angels came to this world to put a smile on my sister, to put a smile on me,” he said.
Santisteban and hundreds of other family members and friends filled the Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home Chapel in Killeen on Monday to remember Leila, 9, and Zeinab, 4, whose lives were cut short Jan. 21 in an apparent murder-suicide, according to Army investigators.
Pink flowers covered a single casket surrounded by pink, purple and teal balloons. A series of photos played on TV screens, showing two happy children swimming and playing with horses, always smiling.
Many attendees wore Army uniforms. The girls’ mother, Pfc. Carla Santisteban, is a soldier with 15th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
On Jan. 21, Carla Santisteban arrived at Fort Hood from a six-month deployment to Afghanistan to learn her daughters appeared to have died at the hands of their father earlier that morning. All three were Army dependents.
“We have problems, frustrations, things so heavy for us, but when I was with my nieces, everything in the world was gone,” their uncle said in his eulogy. “Just them and me and my family and my sister and all the problems in the world were gone.”
Jose Santisteban remembered Leila as wise for her age, and Zeinab as funny.
He recalled a day the family wanted to go play at the track. All of them waited for “ZZ” to get ready.
“She came out wearing a purse, makeup, high heels and long nails,” he said with a hint of laughter in his voice. When questioned about her accessories, ZZ told her family she “needed that.”
Many friends from Leila’s elementary school also attended the funeral service. Some carried stuffed animals or colorful flower arrangements.
Ten-year-old Leila San Salvador made friends with the eldest daughter, because the two share the same first name. The two would walk home from school together, something Leila San Salvador said she will always remember.
“(I miss) her,” she said.
Steve Pena, Carla Santisteban’s brother-in-law, took time during the service to thank the Army and her unit for the support they have shown — not just soldier to soldier, but as her friend.
The family has been overwhelmed by the devotion and dedication shown amid this tragedy, he said.
“They’re not just good fighting men and women, they are good human beings,” he said. “When it’s time to fight ... they fight. When it’s time to hug ... they do that as well.”
Maj. Paul Weberg, a Catholic chaplain from the 89th Military Police Brigade, presided over the service.
He compared Carla Santisteban’s pain to that of Mary’s after Jesus died. But he reminded mourners that after Good Friday, came Easter Sunday. “God gives the gift of life, he never takes the gift back. Life is ours for all of eternity. In death, life is only changed,” he said. “May their souls ... rest in peace. Amen.”
http://kdhnews.com/news/sisters-killed-last-week-are-laid-to-rest/article_a24dd9b2-87a3-11e3-8ab7-001a4bcf6878.html
Sisters killed last week are laid to rest
Posted: Tuesday, January 28, 2014 4:30 am
Posted on Jan 28, 2014
by Rose L Thayer
Leila and Zeinab Ezzeddine were beautiful, cheerful and girly, said their uncle, Jose Santisteban.
“These angels came to this world to put a smile on my sister, to put a smile on me,” he said.
Santisteban and hundreds of other family members and friends filled the Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home Chapel in Killeen on Monday to remember Leila, 9, and Zeinab, 4, whose lives were cut short Jan. 21 in an apparent murder-suicide, according to Army investigators.
Pink flowers covered a single casket surrounded by pink, purple and teal balloons. A series of photos played on TV screens, showing two happy children swimming and playing with horses, always smiling.
Many attendees wore Army uniforms. The girls’ mother, Pfc. Carla Santisteban, is a soldier with 15th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
On Jan. 21, Carla Santisteban arrived at Fort Hood from a six-month deployment to Afghanistan to learn her daughters appeared to have died at the hands of their father earlier that morning. All three were Army dependents.
“We have problems, frustrations, things so heavy for us, but when I was with my nieces, everything in the world was gone,” their uncle said in his eulogy. “Just them and me and my family and my sister and all the problems in the world were gone.”
Jose Santisteban remembered Leila as wise for her age, and Zeinab as funny.
He recalled a day the family wanted to go play at the track. All of them waited for “ZZ” to get ready.
“She came out wearing a purse, makeup, high heels and long nails,” he said with a hint of laughter in his voice. When questioned about her accessories, ZZ told her family she “needed that.”
Many friends from Leila’s elementary school also attended the funeral service. Some carried stuffed animals or colorful flower arrangements.
Ten-year-old Leila San Salvador made friends with the eldest daughter, because the two share the same first name. The two would walk home from school together, something Leila San Salvador said she will always remember.
“(I miss) her,” she said.
Steve Pena, Carla Santisteban’s brother-in-law, took time during the service to thank the Army and her unit for the support they have shown — not just soldier to soldier, but as her friend.
The family has been overwhelmed by the devotion and dedication shown amid this tragedy, he said.
“They’re not just good fighting men and women, they are good human beings,” he said. “When it’s time to fight ... they fight. When it’s time to hug ... they do that as well.”
Maj. Paul Weberg, a Catholic chaplain from the 89th Military Police Brigade, presided over the service.
He compared Carla Santisteban’s pain to that of Mary’s after Jesus died. But he reminded mourners that after Good Friday, came Easter Sunday. “God gives the gift of life, he never takes the gift back. Life is ours for all of eternity. In death, life is only changed,” he said. “May their souls ... rest in peace. Amen.”
Dad jailed for shaking, injuring 5-week-old son (Chesterfield County,Virginia)
Dad is identified as BRANDON J. MCENHIMER. Notice that there is no mention of a mother "at his home." Single dad? Babysitting while Mom was forced to work?
http://wtvr.com/2014/01/29/brandon-mcenhimer-accused-of-shaking-baby/
Chesterfield father jailed for allegedly shaking 5-week-old son
Posted on: 3:27 pm, January 29, 2014, by Nick Dutton, updated on: 03:34pm, January 29, 2014
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) — A Chesterfield father has been arrested for allegedly shaking and injuring his 5-week-old son earlier this month.
Police said 26-year-old Brandon J. McEnhimer was with his son at his home in the 7700 block of Breaker Point Court when the incident happened on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
The child was taken to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. At last check, the child was in stable condition.
McEnhimer was arrested on Jan. 23 and charged with aggravated malicious wounding and two counts of felony child abuse.
McEnhimer is being held without bond at Riverside Regional Jail.
http://wtvr.com/2014/01/29/brandon-mcenhimer-accused-of-shaking-baby/
Chesterfield father jailed for allegedly shaking 5-week-old son
Posted on: 3:27 pm, January 29, 2014, by Nick Dutton, updated on: 03:34pm, January 29, 2014
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) — A Chesterfield father has been arrested for allegedly shaking and injuring his 5-week-old son earlier this month.
Police said 26-year-old Brandon J. McEnhimer was with his son at his home in the 7700 block of Breaker Point Court when the incident happened on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
The child was taken to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. At last check, the child was in stable condition.
McEnhimer was arrested on Jan. 23 and charged with aggravated malicious wounding and two counts of felony child abuse.
McEnhimer is being held without bond at Riverside Regional Jail.
Custodial dad gets 5 years in prison for locking up teen daughter, starving her down to 68 pounds (Madison, Wisconsin)
So basically this custodial father is getting a slap on the wrist for systematic torture. Sickening judicial daddy coddling at its worse. UNNAMED DAD here, but he is identified elsewhere at Dastardly Dads.
http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/Father-who-Starved-Daughter-to-be-Sentenced-242599441.html
Update: Man gets 5 years for Starving Daughter
By: Associated Press
Updated: Wed 4:01 PM, Jan 29, 2014
Update: Jan. 29, 2014 - 4:00 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Judge sentences Wisconsin father accused of starving daughter to 5 years in prison.
*************
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A father accused of locking his teenage daughter in the basement of their Madison home and starving her faces sentencing.
A jury convicted the 42-year-old father of child abuse and other charges in November. He was also found guilty of felony child neglect in March.
He faces a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison when he's sentenced Wednesday afternoon in Dane County.
The girl's stepmother was sentenced in July to five years in prison for reckless endangerment and causing mental harm to a child. Her stepbrother is set to stand trial in February on allegations he sexually abused the teen, who at one time weighed just 68 pounds.
The Associated Press isn't naming anyone in the family to avoid identifying the girl.
http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/Father-who-Starved-Daughter-to-be-Sentenced-242599441.html
Update: Man gets 5 years for Starving Daughter
By: Associated Press
Updated: Wed 4:01 PM, Jan 29, 2014
Update: Jan. 29, 2014 - 4:00 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Judge sentences Wisconsin father accused of starving daughter to 5 years in prison.
*************
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A father accused of locking his teenage daughter in the basement of their Madison home and starving her faces sentencing.
A jury convicted the 42-year-old father of child abuse and other charges in November. He was also found guilty of felony child neglect in March.
He faces a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison when he's sentenced Wednesday afternoon in Dane County.
The girl's stepmother was sentenced in July to five years in prison for reckless endangerment and causing mental harm to a child. Her stepbrother is set to stand trial in February on allegations he sexually abused the teen, who at one time weighed just 68 pounds.
The Associated Press isn't naming anyone in the family to avoid identifying the girl.
Dad charged in assault of 18-month-old daughter (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Contrary to what the fathers rights folks tell you, violence against the mother often goes hand-in-hand with violence against the child--just as you see here.
Dad is identified as HUSSEIN OSMAN BIRRE.
http://www.kare11.com/story/news/crime/2014/01/29/father-charged-in-assault-of-18-month-old-child/5036711/
Father charged in assault of 18-month-old child
KARE 11 Staff, KARE 5:16 p.m. EST January 29, 2014
MINNEAPOLIS -- A man has been charged in an assault that left an 18-month-old child with with a brain injury and a severely fractured skull.
Officials charged Hussein Osman Birre, 23, with Assault in the First Degree and Domestic Assault after police were called to his home on the 5700 block of Sander Drive on Jan. 25 on a report of a domestic dispute.
Authorities say when officers arrived, Birre tried to keep officers from entering the home. After forcing their way into the home, Police say they found Birre's 18-month-old daughter lying on her back, wheezing and barely responsive.
According to the complaint, the child was taken to HCMC where she remains in the intensive care unit. Her face is extremely swollen and X-rays show a severely fractured skill and bleeding in the brain.
Police say Birre's wife also suffered injuries. She was bleeding from her nose and ears and could barely keep her eyes open. According to the police report, she received a blood transfusion due to blood loss.
Birre is being held in the Hennepin County Jail.
Dad is identified as HUSSEIN OSMAN BIRRE.
http://www.kare11.com/story/news/crime/2014/01/29/father-charged-in-assault-of-18-month-old-child/5036711/
Father charged in assault of 18-month-old child
KARE 11 Staff, KARE 5:16 p.m. EST January 29, 2014
MINNEAPOLIS -- A man has been charged in an assault that left an 18-month-old child with with a brain injury and a severely fractured skull.
Officials charged Hussein Osman Birre, 23, with Assault in the First Degree and Domestic Assault after police were called to his home on the 5700 block of Sander Drive on Jan. 25 on a report of a domestic dispute.
Authorities say when officers arrived, Birre tried to keep officers from entering the home. After forcing their way into the home, Police say they found Birre's 18-month-old daughter lying on her back, wheezing and barely responsive.
According to the complaint, the child was taken to HCMC where she remains in the intensive care unit. Her face is extremely swollen and X-rays show a severely fractured skill and bleeding in the brain.
Police say Birre's wife also suffered injuries. She was bleeding from her nose and ears and could barely keep her eyes open. According to the police report, she received a blood transfusion due to blood loss.
Birre is being held in the Hennepin County Jail.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Judge to sentence custodial dad in starvation case involving teen daughter (Madison, Wisconsin)
We've posted on this case before. Note that this was more than starvation, and was more like systematic torture. Previous accounts have clarified that the girl's mother was still living. So how did Daddy get custody again? UNNAMED DAD (but identified elsewhere in Dastardly Dads).
http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Judge-to-sentence-Wis-father-in-starvation-case-5181222.php
Judge to sentence Wis. father in starvation case
Published 2:03 am, Tuesday, January 28, 2014
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A judge is set to sentence a Madison father accused of locking his teenage daughter in the basement and starving her down to 68 pounds.
A jury convicted the man of child abuse and other charges in November. Another jury found the 42-year-old man guilty of felony child neglect in March. He faces up to $55,000 in fines and 28 years in prison when he's sentenced Wednesday afternoon.
The girl's stepmother was sentenced in July to five years in prison for reckless endangerment and causing mental harm to a child. Her stepbrother is set to stand trial in February on allegations he sexually abused her.
The Associated Press isn't naming anyone in the family to avoid identifying the girl.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Judge-to-sentence-Wis-father-in-starvation-case-5181222.php
Judge to sentence Wis. father in starvation case
Published 2:03 am, Tuesday, January 28, 2014
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A judge is set to sentence a Madison father accused of locking his teenage daughter in the basement and starving her down to 68 pounds.
A jury convicted the man of child abuse and other charges in November. Another jury found the 42-year-old man guilty of felony child neglect in March. He faces up to $55,000 in fines and 28 years in prison when he's sentenced Wednesday afternoon.
The girl's stepmother was sentenced in July to five years in prison for reckless endangerment and causing mental harm to a child. Her stepbrother is set to stand trial in February on allegations he sexually abused her.
The Associated Press isn't naming anyone in the family to avoid identifying the girl.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Dad holds twin daughters hostage in 12-hour police standoff (United Kingdom)
Okay, is the "girlfriend" the mother of these children or what? Or did this loony tune Daddy Drama freak have some sort of visitation? Dad is identified as DANIEL RODRIQUEZ.
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10963191.12_years_in_jail_for_father_who_held_children_hostage_at_Kidlington_flat___Audio/
12 years in jail for father who held children hostage at Kidlington flat
9:00am Saturday 25th January 2014 in News Oxford Mail:
By Joe Nimmo, Senior reporter
A FATHER-of-two who held his twin daughters hostage during a siege after taking a “devastating cocktail of drugs and alcohol” has been jailed for 12 years.
Daniel Rodriquez barricaded the door of a Kidlington flat and fired two blank rounds out of the window during a 12-hour stand-off with dozens of armed officers on July 9 last year.
Rachel Drake, prosecuting at Oxford Crown Court, said the siege started after the 38-year-old’s girlfriend, who was being held captive in her flat, jumped out of a window to escape while he was sleeping and contacted the police at around 3.15am.
She said when officers arrived, Rodriquez had taken crack cocaine, heroin and valium, was “very agitated and distressed”, and told them he was considering taking his own life.
The barrister told Judge Ian Pringle that police managed to negotiate the release of the two two-year-olds, one at 7.30am and the other at 9.30am, in return for food and provisions that were passed up to Rodriquez in a rucksack. But Miss Drake said the defendant, who celebrated his birthday the day before, refused to give himself up until 3.40pm, when he was finally Tasered by officers in the foyer of the block of flats.
In October he admitted four firearms offences, which relate to his possession of a blank-firing replica revolver and a lever-powered air rifle during the siege.
Miss Drake added that Rodriquez has numerous previous convictions for a range of offences, including drug possession, robbery, ABH, theft and burglary.
Lucy Tapper, defending, said her client has a borderline personality disorder and is also bipolar.
She said: “The devastating cocktail of drugs and alcohol Mr Rodriquez had consumed, coupled with his overwhelming sense of anxiety and paranoia, caused him to react badly to what he found that morning, when great numbers of police arrived at his house.
“The children were never put in any genuine danger by him.
“He had got them up like normal, got them their breakfast and they were watching TV in the bedroom.
“One of the officers reports hearing them happy and laughing in the background during the siege.
“He will always regret what he did and continues to feel sorry.
“The situation escalated at a degree that no-one could have predicted or foreseen.”
Passing sentence, Judge Pringle described Rodriquez as “a man who sees himself at the same time as a hard man and a victim”.
He said that what the defendant had done was “appalling” and had been made worse by a dangerous mixture of drugs and drink.
Judge Pringle sentenced him for two offences in relation to an imitation firearm and two other firearms offences.
He also faced sentencing yesterday for three counts of raping a woman and one sexual assault on a woman.
Investigating officer Det Sgt Jim Holmes said: “Thankfully these incidents are very rare. And the local community responded fantastically and helped the officers on the ground to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10963191.12_years_in_jail_for_father_who_held_children_hostage_at_Kidlington_flat___Audio/
12 years in jail for father who held children hostage at Kidlington flat
9:00am Saturday 25th January 2014 in News Oxford Mail:
By Joe Nimmo, Senior reporter
A FATHER-of-two who held his twin daughters hostage during a siege after taking a “devastating cocktail of drugs and alcohol” has been jailed for 12 years.
Daniel Rodriquez barricaded the door of a Kidlington flat and fired two blank rounds out of the window during a 12-hour stand-off with dozens of armed officers on July 9 last year.
Rachel Drake, prosecuting at Oxford Crown Court, said the siege started after the 38-year-old’s girlfriend, who was being held captive in her flat, jumped out of a window to escape while he was sleeping and contacted the police at around 3.15am.
She said when officers arrived, Rodriquez had taken crack cocaine, heroin and valium, was “very agitated and distressed”, and told them he was considering taking his own life.
The barrister told Judge Ian Pringle that police managed to negotiate the release of the two two-year-olds, one at 7.30am and the other at 9.30am, in return for food and provisions that were passed up to Rodriquez in a rucksack. But Miss Drake said the defendant, who celebrated his birthday the day before, refused to give himself up until 3.40pm, when he was finally Tasered by officers in the foyer of the block of flats.
In October he admitted four firearms offences, which relate to his possession of a blank-firing replica revolver and a lever-powered air rifle during the siege.
Miss Drake added that Rodriquez has numerous previous convictions for a range of offences, including drug possession, robbery, ABH, theft and burglary.
Lucy Tapper, defending, said her client has a borderline personality disorder and is also bipolar.
She said: “The devastating cocktail of drugs and alcohol Mr Rodriquez had consumed, coupled with his overwhelming sense of anxiety and paranoia, caused him to react badly to what he found that morning, when great numbers of police arrived at his house.
“The children were never put in any genuine danger by him.
“He had got them up like normal, got them their breakfast and they were watching TV in the bedroom.
“One of the officers reports hearing them happy and laughing in the background during the siege.
“He will always regret what he did and continues to feel sorry.
“The situation escalated at a degree that no-one could have predicted or foreseen.”
Passing sentence, Judge Pringle described Rodriquez as “a man who sees himself at the same time as a hard man and a victim”.
He said that what the defendant had done was “appalling” and had been made worse by a dangerous mixture of drugs and drink.
Judge Pringle sentenced him for two offences in relation to an imitation firearm and two other firearms offences.
He also faced sentencing yesterday for three counts of raping a woman and one sexual assault on a woman.
Investigating officer Det Sgt Jim Holmes said: “Thankfully these incidents are very rare. And the local community responded fantastically and helped the officers on the ground to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”
Trial postponed for dad accusing of murdering "missing" 9-month-old son; dad had temporary custody (Utica, New York)
We've posted on dad JEVON WAMELING before.
http://www.oneidadispatch.com/general-news/20140127/trial-postponed-for-jevon-wameling-father-of-baby-levon
Trial postponed for Jevon Wameling, father of Baby Levon
By Kristin Clark, Oneida Dispatch/Rome Observer
Posted: 01/27/14, 4:10 PM EST | UTICA
The trial of Jevon Wameling has been delayed.
The trial, originally scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 30, has since been postponed to sometime in February. Oneida County Court Judge Barry M. Donalty, who was assigned to the case, will be out of town on that date.
Wameling faces 7-and-a-half to 15 years in prison for manslaughter in the death of his 9-month-old son Levon. The boy was reported missing on June 11, nearly two weeks after his May 29 disappearance. His body was found in the Mohawk River on Sept. 26, and had apparently suffered a head injury. Authorities have not yet determined a cause of death.
Wameling also faces unrelated charges of conspiracy and burglary.
http://www.oneidadispatch.com/general-news/20140127/trial-postponed-for-jevon-wameling-father-of-baby-levon
Trial postponed for Jevon Wameling, father of Baby Levon
By Kristin Clark, Oneida Dispatch/Rome Observer
Posted: 01/27/14, 4:10 PM EST | UTICA
The trial of Jevon Wameling has been delayed.
The trial, originally scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 30, has since been postponed to sometime in February. Oneida County Court Judge Barry M. Donalty, who was assigned to the case, will be out of town on that date.
Wameling faces 7-and-a-half to 15 years in prison for manslaughter in the death of his 9-month-old son Levon. The boy was reported missing on June 11, nearly two weeks after his May 29 disappearance. His body was found in the Mohawk River on Sept. 26, and had apparently suffered a head injury. Authorities have not yet determined a cause of death.
Wameling also faces unrelated charges of conspiracy and burglary.
Dad kills his own father, injures sister in custody dispute involving 10-year-old son; what happened to this boy's mother? (Liberty, Missouri)
So the dad is identified as FRANK W. LITTRELL, and he allegedly shot and killed his own father over a "custody dispute"--and in front of the child, no less. Notice what is totally missing from this account: the boy's mother. It's as if she doesn't exist, as if she's been erased from the story. So was this guy a single father? Is mom missing or deceased? What?
http://fox4kc.com/2014/01/27/man-says-custody-fight-caused-his-brother-to-kill-their-dad-shoot-their-sister/
Man says custody fight caused his brother to kill their dad, shoot their sister
Posted on: 5:51 pm, January 27, 2014, by Michelle Pekarsky and Melissa Stern, updated on: 06:17pm, January 27, 2014
LIBERTY, Mo. — A man charged with shooting and killing his father and then turning the gun on his sister on Friday in Claycomo appeared in Clay County court on Monday without an attorney.
Police say Frank W. Littrell, 42, of Lathrop, Mo. killed his father, Raymond Littrell, 73, when he shot him multiple times Friday evening at the family business, Clay County Engine Rebuilders, 46 E. US Hwy. 69.
Littrell’s sister, Elizabeth A. Williams, 40, was also shot multiple times and was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries. She later underwent surgery and is expected to recover.
According to the probable cause statement released Saturday by police, the shooting may have been related to a custody dispute involving Littrell’s 10-year-old son and members of his family. It stated that following a family dispute, Littrell had allegedly refused to allow his family members to see his son, and that his father, Raymond Littrell, had supposedly contacted an attorney regarding grandparent rights.
On Monday, FOX 4′s Melissa Stern spoke to Frank Littrell’s older brother, Chris. He was in the garage when the shooting started.
“It was just panic, you know. And amazement,” he said. “I thought it was the vehicle we were working on. I thought it was backfiring and one of our employees came in yelling and told me what was going on.”
Chris Littrell confirmed that Frank was upset about the custody dispute.
He said Frank’s youngest son was actually there and witnessed the shooting of his grandfather and aunt. He said his dad owned the business since 1966, and he worked alongside him since he was 12-years old.
“To say we were close, that doesn’t even begin to say it,” Chris said. “I was really close with him. We hunted together, we fished. We went on trips,” he said of his father.
Chris Littrell said he hadn’t spoken to Frank since June because of their differences.
“Somewhere things went wrong,” Chris said. “I know he loved his kids more than anything in the world, but things got lost.”
Police said at about 7:30 on Friday night, they received a phone call from a female family member of Littrell’s, who stated he wished to turn himself into authorities. A Clay County Sheriff’s 911 dispatcher advised them to drive to the Sheriff’s Office on 12 S. Walter Street. They were then instructed to park their vehicle, shut the engine off, turn his dome light on, open the windows, and then place their hands outside of the windows. They followed the instructions and Littrell was arrested, without any further incident, by Clay County deputies and officers from the Liberty Police Department.
Littrell has been charged with first-degree murder, assault, and two counts of armed criminal action. Because he had no attorney he requested a public defender, and the judge say he will reappear in court in February.
“I don’t know what I could have done. I don’t know what anybody could have done. Anybody can speculate what should have, could have done, and it doesn’t change where we’re at today,” Chris Littrell said.
http://fox4kc.com/2014/01/27/man-says-custody-fight-caused-his-brother-to-kill-their-dad-shoot-their-sister/
Man says custody fight caused his brother to kill their dad, shoot their sister
Posted on: 5:51 pm, January 27, 2014, by Michelle Pekarsky and Melissa Stern, updated on: 06:17pm, January 27, 2014
LIBERTY, Mo. — A man charged with shooting and killing his father and then turning the gun on his sister on Friday in Claycomo appeared in Clay County court on Monday without an attorney.
Police say Frank W. Littrell, 42, of Lathrop, Mo. killed his father, Raymond Littrell, 73, when he shot him multiple times Friday evening at the family business, Clay County Engine Rebuilders, 46 E. US Hwy. 69.
Littrell’s sister, Elizabeth A. Williams, 40, was also shot multiple times and was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries. She later underwent surgery and is expected to recover.
According to the probable cause statement released Saturday by police, the shooting may have been related to a custody dispute involving Littrell’s 10-year-old son and members of his family. It stated that following a family dispute, Littrell had allegedly refused to allow his family members to see his son, and that his father, Raymond Littrell, had supposedly contacted an attorney regarding grandparent rights.
On Monday, FOX 4′s Melissa Stern spoke to Frank Littrell’s older brother, Chris. He was in the garage when the shooting started.
“It was just panic, you know. And amazement,” he said. “I thought it was the vehicle we were working on. I thought it was backfiring and one of our employees came in yelling and told me what was going on.”
Chris Littrell confirmed that Frank was upset about the custody dispute.
He said Frank’s youngest son was actually there and witnessed the shooting of his grandfather and aunt. He said his dad owned the business since 1966, and he worked alongside him since he was 12-years old.
“To say we were close, that doesn’t even begin to say it,” Chris said. “I was really close with him. We hunted together, we fished. We went on trips,” he said of his father.
Chris Littrell said he hadn’t spoken to Frank since June because of their differences.
“Somewhere things went wrong,” Chris said. “I know he loved his kids more than anything in the world, but things got lost.”
Police said at about 7:30 on Friday night, they received a phone call from a female family member of Littrell’s, who stated he wished to turn himself into authorities. A Clay County Sheriff’s 911 dispatcher advised them to drive to the Sheriff’s Office on 12 S. Walter Street. They were then instructed to park their vehicle, shut the engine off, turn his dome light on, open the windows, and then place their hands outside of the windows. They followed the instructions and Littrell was arrested, without any further incident, by Clay County deputies and officers from the Liberty Police Department.
Littrell has been charged with first-degree murder, assault, and two counts of armed criminal action. Because he had no attorney he requested a public defender, and the judge say he will reappear in court in February.
“I don’t know what I could have done. I don’t know what anybody could have done. Anybody can speculate what should have, could have done, and it doesn’t change where we’re at today,” Chris Littrell said.
Dad charged with aggravated battery for assaulting 1-year-old child (McDonough County, Illinois)
Dad is identified as TRAVIS S. HAMMOND. And once again, no mention of a mother in the home. Was there one?
http://www.teutopolispress.com/article/20140124/NEWS/140129438/0/FRONTPAGE
Father arrested for aggravated battery, endangering life of his 1-year-old child
By Jackie Smith Posted Jan. 24, 2014 @ 3:23 pm
BUSHNELL — A week after McDonough County Sheriff's detectives were dispatched to a report of an infant with "serious, suspicious" head injuries the child's father has been arrested in connection to the incident.
Detectives responded to the call of the seriously injured 1-year-old, Jan. 16, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. The infant was later airlifted to OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.
Travis S. Hammond, 37, of rural Bushnell was arrested on Thursday after a joint investigation with the sheriff's office and the state Department of Child and Family Services.
He was charged with aggravated battery to a child and endangering the life/health of a child. He was taken into custody in Peoria and transported to McDonough County Jail.
Hammond appeared in court on Friday. His bond was set at $250,0000 with 10 percent to apply.
As of Friday afternoon, the infant remained a patient at OSF in Peoria.
http://www.teutopolispress.com/article/20140124/NEWS/140129438/0/FRONTPAGE
Father arrested for aggravated battery, endangering life of his 1-year-old child
By Jackie Smith Posted Jan. 24, 2014 @ 3:23 pm
BUSHNELL — A week after McDonough County Sheriff's detectives were dispatched to a report of an infant with "serious, suspicious" head injuries the child's father has been arrested in connection to the incident.
Detectives responded to the call of the seriously injured 1-year-old, Jan. 16, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. The infant was later airlifted to OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.
Travis S. Hammond, 37, of rural Bushnell was arrested on Thursday after a joint investigation with the sheriff's office and the state Department of Child and Family Services.
He was charged with aggravated battery to a child and endangering the life/health of a child. He was taken into custody in Peoria and transported to McDonough County Jail.
Hammond appeared in court on Friday. His bond was set at $250,0000 with 10 percent to apply.
As of Friday afternoon, the infant remained a patient at OSF in Peoria.
Dad charged with felony assault for striking daughter's head with metal cane (Putnam Valley, New York)
Dad is identified as NOUR ANNABI. No mention of a mother in the home. Is there one?
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2014/January/27/Annabi_arr-27Jan14.html
Dad charged with striking daughter with cane
PUTNAM VALLEY – A domestic dispute between a father and his four children end Friday night with him being charged with felony assault.
State Police at Cortlandt said Nour Annabi, 45, became engaged in a physical altercation with his four children ages six to 16 when he allegedly struck one of them in the head/neck area with a metal cane, causing substantial pain. Police did not reveal which child was injured.
The child was transported by ambulance to an area hospital where she was treated and released.
Annabi was arrested, charged with assault and sent to the Putnam County Jail in lieu of $2,000 cash bail or $4,000 bond.
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2014/January/27/Annabi_arr-27Jan14.html
Dad charged with striking daughter with cane
PUTNAM VALLEY – A domestic dispute between a father and his four children end Friday night with him being charged with felony assault.
State Police at Cortlandt said Nour Annabi, 45, became engaged in a physical altercation with his four children ages six to 16 when he allegedly struck one of them in the head/neck area with a metal cane, causing substantial pain. Police did not reveal which child was injured.
The child was transported by ambulance to an area hospital where she was treated and released.
Annabi was arrested, charged with assault and sent to the Putnam County Jail in lieu of $2,000 cash bail or $4,000 bond.
Dad charged with breaking skull, bruising face of 3-month-old son (Hendersonville, North Carolina)
Once again, a young daddy who was "watching" the baby while Mom worked and supported the family. And with the usual sordid results....
Dad is identified as ROBERT JACOB PATTERSON.
http://www.hendersonvillelightning.com/news/2429-father-19-charged-with-breaking-baby-s-skull.html
Father, 19, charged with breaking baby's skull
By Bill Moss, Published: January 27, 2014
A 19-year-old Hendersonville man was charged with felony child abuse after his three-month-old son was hospitalized with a fractured skull and extensive bruises to his face, the sheriff's department said.
After a joint of investigation by the Henderson County Sheriff's Office Violent Crimes Unit and the Henderson County Department of Social Services, Robert Jacob Patterson was arrested late Friday on felony child abuse charges.
The injuries occurred on Jan. 20 when Patterson was watching the baby while the mother was at work. Patterson lived with the infant's mother and was engaged to be married at the time of the incident, the Sheriff's Department said in a news release.
After investigators consulted with a child specialist at Mission Hospital in Asheville they were informed the injuries were caused by child abuse. The child had a fractured skull and extensive bruising to the face and head. The injuries while very serious are not considered to be life threatening at this time, the news release said. Jailed at the Henderson County Detention Facility under a $40,000 bond, Patterson was scheduled for a appearance in court on Monday morning.
Dad is identified as ROBERT JACOB PATTERSON.
http://www.hendersonvillelightning.com/news/2429-father-19-charged-with-breaking-baby-s-skull.html
Father, 19, charged with breaking baby's skull
By Bill Moss, Published: January 27, 2014
A 19-year-old Hendersonville man was charged with felony child abuse after his three-month-old son was hospitalized with a fractured skull and extensive bruises to his face, the sheriff's department said.
After a joint of investigation by the Henderson County Sheriff's Office Violent Crimes Unit and the Henderson County Department of Social Services, Robert Jacob Patterson was arrested late Friday on felony child abuse charges.
The injuries occurred on Jan. 20 when Patterson was watching the baby while the mother was at work. Patterson lived with the infant's mother and was engaged to be married at the time of the incident, the Sheriff's Department said in a news release.
After investigators consulted with a child specialist at Mission Hospital in Asheville they were informed the injuries were caused by child abuse. The child had a fractured skull and extensive bruising to the face and head. The injuries while very serious are not considered to be life threatening at this time, the news release said. Jailed at the Henderson County Detention Facility under a $40,000 bond, Patterson was scheduled for a appearance in court on Monday morning.
Rapist dad who pleaded guilty to sexual assault in court STILL gets child visitation rights (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Shame on Madison County District Judge James Kube for an atrocious decision. And shame on Nebraska state senator Ernie Chambers for the same old fathers rights crap. Glad to see that Mom is fighting back for her little girl. Little girls do not need, and do not benefit from,
visitation with sex offenders who raped their mothers.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20140126/NEWS/140128981
Mother of child conceived through rape wants father's parental rights restricted
By Joe Duggan / World-Herald Bureau
LINCOLN — She made an agonizing decision two years ago to give birth to a child who was conceived during a rape.
Today, the 20-year-old Norfolk, Neb., woman has a beautiful toddler, but a different sort of agony. Recently a judge granted child visitation rights to the man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting her.
“Most victims of rape choose to abort their babies,” she said. “Those of us who choose to keep our child have to face the overwhelming fear of being bullied and being controlled by the rapist.”
The woman testified last week in support of proposed legislation that would make it more difficult for sex offenders to claim parental rights to children conceived in a sexual assault.
Nebraska law currently terminates parental rights when the perpetrator is convicted of first-degree sexual assault. Under the legislative proposal, rights would also be terminated for those convicted of less-serious second-degree and third-degree sexual assaults.
The offender in the Norfolk case was originally charged with first-degree sexual assault, but he eventually pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual assault.
Reached after the legislative hearing, the 23-year-old man said he fought for visitation not to manipulate the victim but to establish a relationship with his daughter.
An attorney for the mother questioned him extensively, and he underwent psychological testing, which was provided to the court. The judge in the case determined the man did not represent a threat to the child.
The mother was granted sole legal and physical custody. Under last month's court order, the father's brief visitation sessions are supervised and will take place at a counseling office, where the mother can drop off and pick up the girl without having to come into contact with her attacker.
“I understand the delicacy of the situation,” he said. “If she is traumatized by the event, seeing me would cause a lot of emotions for her.”
Similar visitation arrangements aren't unheard of, said Amy Richardson, director of the Women's Center for Advancement in Omaha. The center, which runs a hot line for victims of sexual assault, sees “a handful” of such cases every year.
Just the prospect of being forced to allow visitation prompts some sexual assault victims to forgo child support claims against their rapists, Richardson said.
“One would have to question how that could be in the child's best interest,” she said.
Yet that's exactly what Madison County District Judge James Kube had to determine in the Norfolk child visitation case. The same judge handled the related criminal case.
Norfolk police got involved April 1, 2011, when a high school counselor called about an 18-year-old student who was pregnant and said she had been raped, according to court records.
The young woman told an officer the incident had occurred at a co-worker's apartment about two months earlier. She and the co-worker, who was a 20-year-old college student, engaged in consensual physical contact, but she made it clear she did not want to have intercourse. Specifically, she told him she wanted to remain a virgin until marriage.
When questioned by the woman, the co-worker told her he was penetrating her with his fingers, which wasn't true. The next morning she once again asked if she was still a virgin. Lying, he told her she was.
The woman told the officer that she suffered from occasional blackouts and that she had no clear memory of the incident.
Under police questioning, he conceded that he had engaged in intercourse with the young woman, who had not given him consent, the arrest affidavit stated. He was arrested and charged in May 2011.
By late September 2011, the prosecution reduced the charges and the man pleaded guilty. He served about two weeks in jail and 18 months of probation. He also must register as a sex offender for 15 years.
About a month after the criminal case concluded, the child was born, and the young mother sought public assistance through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. That application set in motion the events that would lead to the eventual visitation order.
HHS required the mother to identify the father. The state, in turn, ordered paternity testing, confirming that the young man was the child's father.
In March 2012 the state began pursuing an order of child support against the father. In response, he filed a claim seeking visitation, and the mother obtained an attorney to help her fight the claim.
The civil case played out over the next 21 months. Rather than go to trial and risk having less control over what sort of visitation might be granted, the mother and her attorney decided to negotiate the terms of the visitation. The judge signed the order last month.
The order requires the father to pay $450 per month in child support and requires the mother to allow 30 minutes of supervised visitation every other week.
The father said at one point it was suggested that if he gave up his visitation claim, he wouldn't have to pay child support. He declined, saying it wasn't about money.
The judge ordered a review of the visitation arrangement after six months. The father said he hopes he gradually will be granted more time with the child. “I would like to have a normal father-daughter relationship — although, under the circumstances, I realize that may not happen,” he said.
Society often views sexual assaults as a matter of degree, said Elizabeth Power with the Women's Center for Advancement. Some cases are worse than others. Some victims are more responsible for what happens to them than others.
Whether it's a date rape, a stranger attack or a situation in which the woman doesn't remember the assault, the trauma can be profound. And while she can heal through counseling, treatment and support, her scars remain forever, Power said.
She and Richardson said they support Legislative Bill 748, which was introduced by State Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln. In cases in which a child is conceived through sexual assault, the bill would require county attorneys to file petitions to terminate the man's parental rights. The bill would allow for exceptions if the mother or guardian consents or if judges find that terminating parental rights is not in the child's best interest.
The bill would still require the man to pay child support.
“We must not have cases in our state where a person is faced with choosing between a lifetime tethered to a rapist or moving forward with a meaningful life for herself and her child,” Avery said as he introduced the bill to the Judiciary Committee.
Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, who sits on the committee, expressed concerns that parental rights could be cut off for men who have been wrongly accused or whose convictions are later overturned.
That's not the situation in the Norfolk case. But attorney Frederick Bartell, who represented the father in the visitation matter, suggested it's better to let the courts decide what's best for children on a case-by-case basis.
“He is actively contributing to the child's financial welfare,” Bartell said. “This is not re-victimization. This is a father taking responsibility for his child.”
The child's mother said she sees it differently. “I don't think anyone who's been raped should be forced to have ongoing contact with their rapist,” she said.
visitation with sex offenders who raped their mothers.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20140126/NEWS/140128981
Mother of child conceived through rape wants father's parental rights restricted
By Joe Duggan / World-Herald Bureau
LINCOLN — She made an agonizing decision two years ago to give birth to a child who was conceived during a rape.
Today, the 20-year-old Norfolk, Neb., woman has a beautiful toddler, but a different sort of agony. Recently a judge granted child visitation rights to the man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting her.
“Most victims of rape choose to abort their babies,” she said. “Those of us who choose to keep our child have to face the overwhelming fear of being bullied and being controlled by the rapist.”
The woman testified last week in support of proposed legislation that would make it more difficult for sex offenders to claim parental rights to children conceived in a sexual assault.
Nebraska law currently terminates parental rights when the perpetrator is convicted of first-degree sexual assault. Under the legislative proposal, rights would also be terminated for those convicted of less-serious second-degree and third-degree sexual assaults.
The offender in the Norfolk case was originally charged with first-degree sexual assault, but he eventually pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual assault.
Reached after the legislative hearing, the 23-year-old man said he fought for visitation not to manipulate the victim but to establish a relationship with his daughter.
An attorney for the mother questioned him extensively, and he underwent psychological testing, which was provided to the court. The judge in the case determined the man did not represent a threat to the child.
The mother was granted sole legal and physical custody. Under last month's court order, the father's brief visitation sessions are supervised and will take place at a counseling office, where the mother can drop off and pick up the girl without having to come into contact with her attacker.
“I understand the delicacy of the situation,” he said. “If she is traumatized by the event, seeing me would cause a lot of emotions for her.”
Similar visitation arrangements aren't unheard of, said Amy Richardson, director of the Women's Center for Advancement in Omaha. The center, which runs a hot line for victims of sexual assault, sees “a handful” of such cases every year.
Just the prospect of being forced to allow visitation prompts some sexual assault victims to forgo child support claims against their rapists, Richardson said.
“One would have to question how that could be in the child's best interest,” she said.
Yet that's exactly what Madison County District Judge James Kube had to determine in the Norfolk child visitation case. The same judge handled the related criminal case.
Norfolk police got involved April 1, 2011, when a high school counselor called about an 18-year-old student who was pregnant and said she had been raped, according to court records.
The young woman told an officer the incident had occurred at a co-worker's apartment about two months earlier. She and the co-worker, who was a 20-year-old college student, engaged in consensual physical contact, but she made it clear she did not want to have intercourse. Specifically, she told him she wanted to remain a virgin until marriage.
When questioned by the woman, the co-worker told her he was penetrating her with his fingers, which wasn't true. The next morning she once again asked if she was still a virgin. Lying, he told her she was.
The woman told the officer that she suffered from occasional blackouts and that she had no clear memory of the incident.
Under police questioning, he conceded that he had engaged in intercourse with the young woman, who had not given him consent, the arrest affidavit stated. He was arrested and charged in May 2011.
By late September 2011, the prosecution reduced the charges and the man pleaded guilty. He served about two weeks in jail and 18 months of probation. He also must register as a sex offender for 15 years.
About a month after the criminal case concluded, the child was born, and the young mother sought public assistance through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. That application set in motion the events that would lead to the eventual visitation order.
HHS required the mother to identify the father. The state, in turn, ordered paternity testing, confirming that the young man was the child's father.
In March 2012 the state began pursuing an order of child support against the father. In response, he filed a claim seeking visitation, and the mother obtained an attorney to help her fight the claim.
The civil case played out over the next 21 months. Rather than go to trial and risk having less control over what sort of visitation might be granted, the mother and her attorney decided to negotiate the terms of the visitation. The judge signed the order last month.
The order requires the father to pay $450 per month in child support and requires the mother to allow 30 minutes of supervised visitation every other week.
The father said at one point it was suggested that if he gave up his visitation claim, he wouldn't have to pay child support. He declined, saying it wasn't about money.
The judge ordered a review of the visitation arrangement after six months. The father said he hopes he gradually will be granted more time with the child. “I would like to have a normal father-daughter relationship — although, under the circumstances, I realize that may not happen,” he said.
Society often views sexual assaults as a matter of degree, said Elizabeth Power with the Women's Center for Advancement. Some cases are worse than others. Some victims are more responsible for what happens to them than others.
Whether it's a date rape, a stranger attack or a situation in which the woman doesn't remember the assault, the trauma can be profound. And while she can heal through counseling, treatment and support, her scars remain forever, Power said.
She and Richardson said they support Legislative Bill 748, which was introduced by State Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln. In cases in which a child is conceived through sexual assault, the bill would require county attorneys to file petitions to terminate the man's parental rights. The bill would allow for exceptions if the mother or guardian consents or if judges find that terminating parental rights is not in the child's best interest.
The bill would still require the man to pay child support.
“We must not have cases in our state where a person is faced with choosing between a lifetime tethered to a rapist or moving forward with a meaningful life for herself and her child,” Avery said as he introduced the bill to the Judiciary Committee.
Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, who sits on the committee, expressed concerns that parental rights could be cut off for men who have been wrongly accused or whose convictions are later overturned.
That's not the situation in the Norfolk case. But attorney Frederick Bartell, who represented the father in the visitation matter, suggested it's better to let the courts decide what's best for children on a case-by-case basis.
“He is actively contributing to the child's financial welfare,” Bartell said. “This is not re-victimization. This is a father taking responsibility for his child.”
The child's mother said she sees it differently. “I don't think anyone who's been raped should be forced to have ongoing contact with their rapist,” she said.
Dad charged with abusing 3-month-old baby (Greenwood, South Carolina)
Yet another young father who couldn't cope with infant care without seriously injuring the baby. And notice that like a lot of these dumb dudes, he called Mom first before calling 911.
This one is identified as DANNY ZACHARY LEDFORD.
http://gwdtoday.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=28361
1/27/2014 4:06:00 PM
Teen father charged in infant injury
The 16-year-old father of a 3-month-old baby is facing charges after investigators say the father’s actions caused serious injuries to the baby.
Danny Zackary Ledford, 16, of 11 Hampton Ave., Ware Shoals, is being charged as an adult, investigators said, in connection with an incident in which Ledford’s 3-month-old child sustained significant injuries to the brain and both eyes.
According to a report from the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded at about 5 p.m. on Dec. 16, 2013, to 106 Folly Bend Drive, Greenwood, after receiving a call about an unresponsive baby. When deputies arrived, they found the grandmother of the baby in the yard holding the baby and yelling that the baby was not breathing. EMS arrived and began treating the child, who deputies observed gasping for air.
According to the report, Ledford told deputies he had just finished eating when he heard what sounded like the child choking. Ledford told deputies he discovered the child was not breathing and called the child’s mother, who had another child at the doctor. Ledford said he then called 911.
According to the report, deputies were called to the emergency room at Self Regional Medical Center at about 7 p.m. the same night in reference to the baby’s injuries. A doctor told deputies that a CT scan of the baby’s head revealed bleeding inside the baby’s skull. There were no injuries apparent externally on the skull. The doctor told deputies was being airlifted to Greenville Hospital System Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for further testing. Officials at Greenville Hospital Systems NICU told deputies the child had multiple bleeds on the brain and retinal hemorrhages to both eyes. Doctors told deputies the injuries were consistent with a child being shaken “very violently.”
According to the report, investigators and an agent with the State law Enforcement Division again spoke with Ledford on Dec. 20, 2013. Ledford said he fed the baby a bottle then gave her a pacifier. Ledford told deputies he left the baby in the bedroom while he fixed a bowl of cereal before returning to the bedroom. Ledford told deputies he took the bowl into the kitchen when he was finished eating. Ledford said the baby was unresponsive when he returned and he started shaking the baby in order to get her to respond.
Ledford has been charged with abuse or neglect with great bodily injury on a child.
This one is identified as DANNY ZACHARY LEDFORD.
http://gwdtoday.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=28361
1/27/2014 4:06:00 PM
Teen father charged in infant injury
The 16-year-old father of a 3-month-old baby is facing charges after investigators say the father’s actions caused serious injuries to the baby.
Danny Zackary Ledford, 16, of 11 Hampton Ave., Ware Shoals, is being charged as an adult, investigators said, in connection with an incident in which Ledford’s 3-month-old child sustained significant injuries to the brain and both eyes.
According to a report from the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded at about 5 p.m. on Dec. 16, 2013, to 106 Folly Bend Drive, Greenwood, after receiving a call about an unresponsive baby. When deputies arrived, they found the grandmother of the baby in the yard holding the baby and yelling that the baby was not breathing. EMS arrived and began treating the child, who deputies observed gasping for air.
According to the report, Ledford told deputies he had just finished eating when he heard what sounded like the child choking. Ledford told deputies he discovered the child was not breathing and called the child’s mother, who had another child at the doctor. Ledford said he then called 911.
According to the report, deputies were called to the emergency room at Self Regional Medical Center at about 7 p.m. the same night in reference to the baby’s injuries. A doctor told deputies that a CT scan of the baby’s head revealed bleeding inside the baby’s skull. There were no injuries apparent externally on the skull. The doctor told deputies was being airlifted to Greenville Hospital System Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for further testing. Officials at Greenville Hospital Systems NICU told deputies the child had multiple bleeds on the brain and retinal hemorrhages to both eyes. Doctors told deputies the injuries were consistent with a child being shaken “very violently.”
According to the report, investigators and an agent with the State law Enforcement Division again spoke with Ledford on Dec. 20, 2013. Ledford said he fed the baby a bottle then gave her a pacifier. Ledford told deputies he left the baby in the bedroom while he fixed a bowl of cereal before returning to the bedroom. Ledford told deputies he took the bowl into the kitchen when he was finished eating. Ledford said the baby was unresponsive when he returned and he started shaking the baby in order to get her to respond.
Ledford has been charged with abuse or neglect with great bodily injury on a child.
Dad denies assaulting 6-month-old daughter; baby has brain injuries, blindness (Portland, Maine)
Showing new parents videos on the dangers of shaking an infant is all very fine. But given that fathers dominate the statistics on babies that are assaulted in this way, the best way to prevent shaken baby syndrome (aka abusive head trauma) is to NOT allow unemployed deadbeat daddies to act as infant "caretakers" while the mother is forced to work and support the family.
Time and time again it is shown that these males, especially the young ones, do not have the patience or nurturing skills to take on infant care. They freak out at the least bit of aggravation--sustained crying, dirty diapers, and the like.
Too bad we don't have paid maternity leave in this country. And programs that put dudes like this one to work somehow--if only in programs like the old Civilian Conservation Corps. Breaking rocks, planting trees, pulling weeds. Anything but inflicting permanent brain damage on poor babies.
Dad is identified as KEVIN MICHAEL PEASLEE.
http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine_father_denies_shaking_baby__causing_brain_damage_.html
Monday, January 27, 2014 Posted: 5:36 PM Updated: 5:47 PM
Maine father denies shaking baby, causing brain damage
His baby daughter is also now reportedly blind. Kevin Peaslee’s attorney says the prosecutor may be overstating the injuries.
By BETTY ADAMS Kennebec Journal
AUGUSTA — An Augusta man charged with seriously injuring his baby daughter was pulled over by police on Dec. 21 as he drove to get help for her.
“He did seek to bring his child to get help,” District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said Monday. “He ran a stop sign and was pulled over by police.”
Maloney made those comments shortly after Kevin Michael Peaslee, 21, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of assault, all related to an incident Dec. 21 at the family’s home in Augusta.
Maloney didn’t elaborate on what happened after Peaslee was stopped.
Peaslee on Monday denied state allegations that he violently shook his 6-month-old daughter, Aleah M. Peaslee, and left her with serious permanent injuries.
Defense attorney Lisa Whittier, who represented him as lawyer of the day, also told the judge she did not believe that all the medical evidence was in about the baby’s condition, suggesting the seriousness of the baby’s injuries is not yet fully known.
“I think Ms. Maloney is over-speaking about what the lifelong conditions of this baby is going to be,” Whittier said.
Aleah, born in Augusta in June, is reportedly in Maine Medical Center in Portland suffering from brain injuries and blindness.
Peaslee was arraigned Monday on the indictment in Augusta District Court via video link with Kennebec County jail.
Judge Charles Dow entered a plea of not guilty on Peaslee’s behalf. Peaslee was arrested Friday in Augusta, shortly after a grand jury in Kennebec County handed up the indictment.
On Monday, the dark-haired, bearded Peaslee wore an orange V-necked jail uniform and stood next to Whittier.
Peaslee said he did not intend to apply for court-appointed counsel and expected his parents, who were sitting on a bench at the rear of the courtroom, to hire one to represent him in the charges.
However, he later agreed to the judge’s suggestion that he fill out the paperwork for a court-appointed lawyer.
Maloney asked Dow to keep bail at $25,000 cash, which was set with the initial warrant.
“The child in question was only 6 months old and is still struggling with injuries and will have injuries for the rest of her life,” she told Dow.
However, Whittier said neither Peaslee nor his parents can post $25,000 cash bail, and she requested a surety alternative. Dow agreed to an alternative bail of $50,000 worth of real estate, but said both bails would require Peaslee to be under a Maine Pretrial Supervision Program contract.
Whittier said that if freed on bail, Peaslee would live at his parents’ Weeks Mills Road home.
Maloney objected, saying that the baby’s mother, Virginia Trask, 17, is living there. Whittier countered by saying there were other places Trask could live.
Whittier said Peaslee’s doctor had scheduled him for a diagnostic evaluation Tuesday because of mental health issues.
“Mr. Peaslee has been very cooperative since the beginning of this case,” she said. “He is a high school graduate and he is seeking a job. He is not a threat to the judicial process, he is not a threat to society, and he is not a flight risk of any sort.”
Other conditions of bail ban Peaslee from contact with Trask and with his daughter and subject him to a curfew of 8 p.m.-6 a.m.
Outside the court hearing, Maloney said that Trask was at work and not at home when the baby was injured. She also said the state Department of Health and Human Services was looking into the case.
There are no documents filed in the court except for the indictment, and Maloney said she was unable to provide all the details.
However, she said the injuries occurred during the day and that it came to the attention of law enforcement almost immediately when he was stopped.
She said she would prefer a high bail.
“I think that in a case as serious as this one that a person should be held until the trial date,” Maloney said.
She also said that officials learned Peaslee and Trask had been given a video or seen a video in the hospital after the baby was born that warns about the dangers of shaking an infant.
“Parenting is the most difficult job there is,” she said, adding that the consequences for the baby can be lifelong.
Shortly after Peaslee’s arrest Maloney said, “Shaking a baby is a horrific crime that often leads to death. In this case the 6-month-old little girl will be blind for life among other serious health consequences. Never shake a baby: call for help if you feel yourself losing control.”
Time and time again it is shown that these males, especially the young ones, do not have the patience or nurturing skills to take on infant care. They freak out at the least bit of aggravation--sustained crying, dirty diapers, and the like.
Too bad we don't have paid maternity leave in this country. And programs that put dudes like this one to work somehow--if only in programs like the old Civilian Conservation Corps. Breaking rocks, planting trees, pulling weeds. Anything but inflicting permanent brain damage on poor babies.
Dad is identified as KEVIN MICHAEL PEASLEE.
http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine_father_denies_shaking_baby__causing_brain_damage_.html
Monday, January 27, 2014 Posted: 5:36 PM Updated: 5:47 PM
Maine father denies shaking baby, causing brain damage
His baby daughter is also now reportedly blind. Kevin Peaslee’s attorney says the prosecutor may be overstating the injuries.
By BETTY ADAMS Kennebec Journal
AUGUSTA — An Augusta man charged with seriously injuring his baby daughter was pulled over by police on Dec. 21 as he drove to get help for her.
“He did seek to bring his child to get help,” District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said Monday. “He ran a stop sign and was pulled over by police.”
Maloney made those comments shortly after Kevin Michael Peaslee, 21, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of assault, all related to an incident Dec. 21 at the family’s home in Augusta.
Maloney didn’t elaborate on what happened after Peaslee was stopped.
Peaslee on Monday denied state allegations that he violently shook his 6-month-old daughter, Aleah M. Peaslee, and left her with serious permanent injuries.
Defense attorney Lisa Whittier, who represented him as lawyer of the day, also told the judge she did not believe that all the medical evidence was in about the baby’s condition, suggesting the seriousness of the baby’s injuries is not yet fully known.
“I think Ms. Maloney is over-speaking about what the lifelong conditions of this baby is going to be,” Whittier said.
Aleah, born in Augusta in June, is reportedly in Maine Medical Center in Portland suffering from brain injuries and blindness.
Peaslee was arraigned Monday on the indictment in Augusta District Court via video link with Kennebec County jail.
Judge Charles Dow entered a plea of not guilty on Peaslee’s behalf. Peaslee was arrested Friday in Augusta, shortly after a grand jury in Kennebec County handed up the indictment.
On Monday, the dark-haired, bearded Peaslee wore an orange V-necked jail uniform and stood next to Whittier.
Peaslee said he did not intend to apply for court-appointed counsel and expected his parents, who were sitting on a bench at the rear of the courtroom, to hire one to represent him in the charges.
However, he later agreed to the judge’s suggestion that he fill out the paperwork for a court-appointed lawyer.
Maloney asked Dow to keep bail at $25,000 cash, which was set with the initial warrant.
“The child in question was only 6 months old and is still struggling with injuries and will have injuries for the rest of her life,” she told Dow.
However, Whittier said neither Peaslee nor his parents can post $25,000 cash bail, and she requested a surety alternative. Dow agreed to an alternative bail of $50,000 worth of real estate, but said both bails would require Peaslee to be under a Maine Pretrial Supervision Program contract.
Whittier said that if freed on bail, Peaslee would live at his parents’ Weeks Mills Road home.
Maloney objected, saying that the baby’s mother, Virginia Trask, 17, is living there. Whittier countered by saying there were other places Trask could live.
Whittier said Peaslee’s doctor had scheduled him for a diagnostic evaluation Tuesday because of mental health issues.
“Mr. Peaslee has been very cooperative since the beginning of this case,” she said. “He is a high school graduate and he is seeking a job. He is not a threat to the judicial process, he is not a threat to society, and he is not a flight risk of any sort.”
Other conditions of bail ban Peaslee from contact with Trask and with his daughter and subject him to a curfew of 8 p.m.-6 a.m.
Outside the court hearing, Maloney said that Trask was at work and not at home when the baby was injured. She also said the state Department of Health and Human Services was looking into the case.
There are no documents filed in the court except for the indictment, and Maloney said she was unable to provide all the details.
However, she said the injuries occurred during the day and that it came to the attention of law enforcement almost immediately when he was stopped.
She said she would prefer a high bail.
“I think that in a case as serious as this one that a person should be held until the trial date,” Maloney said.
She also said that officials learned Peaslee and Trask had been given a video or seen a video in the hospital after the baby was born that warns about the dangers of shaking an infant.
“Parenting is the most difficult job there is,” she said, adding that the consequences for the baby can be lifelong.
Shortly after Peaslee’s arrest Maloney said, “Shaking a baby is a horrific crime that often leads to death. In this case the 6-month-old little girl will be blind for life among other serious health consequences. Never shake a baby: call for help if you feel yourself losing control.”
Dad uses infant son as shield during shoot out with police (Los Angeles, California)
Once again we see that a jealous, controlling, and violent man is more than willing to enlist his own infant son as "collateral damage" in his great Daddy Drama. This POS shot Mom's new boyfriend, and you can just about bet he has a history of violence even before that. Just goes to show that violent fathers are not safe around anybody. Wonder if UNNAMED DAD had joint custody even before this incident? Wouldn't surprise me.
http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/police-say-shooting-suspect-used-baby-as-shield
Police say shooting suspect used baby as shield
AP 4 hr ago | By Associated Press
A man stopped his car and got out, holding a baby in one arm and a revolver in the other hand, pointing it at deputies who did not fire for fear of hitting the child.
LOS ANGELES — A gunman used his baby son as a shield while he fired at deputies, who did not return fire until after the man's ex-girlfriend took the child away from him, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Monday.
The 43-year-old man was hit by multiple gunshots but was expected to survive, a department statement said.
The drama that unfolded late Sunday in unincorporated Willowbrook was described by sheriff's Lt. John Corina as a combination love triangle and attempted suicide by cop.
The suspect confronted his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend around 10 p.m. outside a house on East 126th Street and shot him in the face with a revolver, then drove off with the 1-year-old baby, according to the department statement, which did not release any identities of those involved.
Deputies spotted the car and attempted to stop it, but the driver led them on a chase that finally ended up back at the house.
The man stopped his car and got out, holding the baby in one arm and the revolver in the other hand, pointing it at deputies who did not fire for fear of hitting the child, the statement said.
Failing to get into the ex-girlfriend's house through a locked side door, the man fired one shot at deputies, who still held their fire as he tried and failed to get in through the locked front door and once again fired at deputies, according to the account.
The ex-girlfriend, who is the baby's mother, finally opened the front door, took the baby away from the suspect and went back inside the house.
"Once the ex-girlfriend had the baby, the suspect again pointed his handgun at the deputies and that is when a deputy-involved shooting occurred," the department statement said.
The new boyfriend who was shot at the outset was taken to a hospital and was expected to survive.
No deputies were hurt.
http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/police-say-shooting-suspect-used-baby-as-shield
Police say shooting suspect used baby as shield
AP 4 hr ago | By Associated Press
A man stopped his car and got out, holding a baby in one arm and a revolver in the other hand, pointing it at deputies who did not fire for fear of hitting the child.
LOS ANGELES — A gunman used his baby son as a shield while he fired at deputies, who did not return fire until after the man's ex-girlfriend took the child away from him, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Monday.
The 43-year-old man was hit by multiple gunshots but was expected to survive, a department statement said.
The drama that unfolded late Sunday in unincorporated Willowbrook was described by sheriff's Lt. John Corina as a combination love triangle and attempted suicide by cop.
The suspect confronted his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend around 10 p.m. outside a house on East 126th Street and shot him in the face with a revolver, then drove off with the 1-year-old baby, according to the department statement, which did not release any identities of those involved.
Deputies spotted the car and attempted to stop it, but the driver led them on a chase that finally ended up back at the house.
The man stopped his car and got out, holding the baby in one arm and the revolver in the other hand, pointing it at deputies who did not fire for fear of hitting the child, the statement said.
Failing to get into the ex-girlfriend's house through a locked side door, the man fired one shot at deputies, who still held their fire as he tried and failed to get in through the locked front door and once again fired at deputies, according to the account.
The ex-girlfriend, who is the baby's mother, finally opened the front door, took the baby away from the suspect and went back inside the house.
"Once the ex-girlfriend had the baby, the suspect again pointed his handgun at the deputies and that is when a deputy-involved shooting occurred," the department statement said.
The new boyfriend who was shot at the outset was taken to a hospital and was expected to survive.
No deputies were hurt.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Mom committed to psychiatric hospital after son's father kills the boy; why is the heavy hand of the state on grieving moms and not murderous dads? (Burlington, Vermont)
This case perfectly encapsulated how mothers and fathers are treated differently by those in authority.
As so often happens, the mother had legitimate concerns about her son's safety when he was with her ex-husband, the boy's father. The police, being men and/or overtly sympathetic to the male point of view, ignored her. So Dad was free to carry on as he wished, and his wishes apparently included murdering the boy.
Mom reacts with grief to the murder of her son, so SHE is locked up in a psychiatric hospital AGAINST HER WILL. There is no evidence that there was any compelling reason to lock her up. It finally takes a court order to get her out. And that's 5 WEEKS LATER.
Gee, the power of the state will come down on a depressed mother, but does NOTHING to a violent father.
That tells you everything you need to know about how the system works in a nutshell.
The killer dad was LUDWIG SCHUMACHER.
http://news.yahoo.com/vt-mother-held-psychiatric-ward-freed-judge-053436345.html
Vt. mother held in psychiatric ward freed by judge
Associated Press
January 25, 2014 10:26 AM
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont woman held against her will for more than five weeks at a psychiatric ward after her estranged husband killed their son and then hanged himself was ordered released by a judge Friday.
Christina Schumacher, 48, was ordered released immediately from Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington by Vermont Superior Court Judge Kevin Griffin, the Burlington Free Press reported (http://bfpne.ws/1jMHYKp).
Schumacher had been at the hospital since Dec. 19, a day after 14-year-old Gunnar Schumacher and 49-year-old Ludwig Schumacher were found dead in an Essex apartment. Police said the father strangled the high school freshman before he hanged himself.
It was unclear whether Schumacher had left the facility by Friday night.
Griffin said in his ruling that he disagreed with a doctor's assessment before Schumacher arrived for a regular appointment the day after the murder-suicide that she needed to admit herself or be taken into custody.
"The court did not find, by clear and convincing evidence, that Respondent was a person in need of treatment at the time of admission or application, nor a patient in need of further treatment at the time of the hearing," Griffin wrote in his ruling.
The Burlington Free Press reported that, according to court records, Schumacher indicated to her sister after the couple separated last summer that she would kill herself if anything happened to her two children.
"I am not ill; I am simply a mother who is grieving the tragic loss of her young son," Schumacher told the Burlington Free Press this week. "No mother should ever have to experience this loss."
Schumacher told the newspaper that she and her insurance company had been billed for the unwanted treatment.
Mike Noble, a spokesman for the hospital, said that he can't speak to the specifics of the case but "that in all matters such as this we make decisions that we think are in the best interests of the patient."
Schumacher had warned police that she feared for her son's safety hours before the bodies were found, according to court papers. She told Essex police the night before the murder-suicide that she feared Ludwig Schumacher might try to take the teenager out of the country, according to court papers.
Ludwig Schumacher was a former member of the Vermont National Guard and state Republican campaign official. Police said he left a typed suicide note in the apartment.
As so often happens, the mother had legitimate concerns about her son's safety when he was with her ex-husband, the boy's father. The police, being men and/or overtly sympathetic to the male point of view, ignored her. So Dad was free to carry on as he wished, and his wishes apparently included murdering the boy.
Mom reacts with grief to the murder of her son, so SHE is locked up in a psychiatric hospital AGAINST HER WILL. There is no evidence that there was any compelling reason to lock her up. It finally takes a court order to get her out. And that's 5 WEEKS LATER.
Gee, the power of the state will come down on a depressed mother, but does NOTHING to a violent father.
That tells you everything you need to know about how the system works in a nutshell.
The killer dad was LUDWIG SCHUMACHER.
http://news.yahoo.com/vt-mother-held-psychiatric-ward-freed-judge-053436345.html
Vt. mother held in psychiatric ward freed by judge
Associated Press
January 25, 2014 10:26 AM
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont woman held against her will for more than five weeks at a psychiatric ward after her estranged husband killed their son and then hanged himself was ordered released by a judge Friday.
Christina Schumacher, 48, was ordered released immediately from Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington by Vermont Superior Court Judge Kevin Griffin, the Burlington Free Press reported (http://bfpne.ws/1jMHYKp).
Schumacher had been at the hospital since Dec. 19, a day after 14-year-old Gunnar Schumacher and 49-year-old Ludwig Schumacher were found dead in an Essex apartment. Police said the father strangled the high school freshman before he hanged himself.
It was unclear whether Schumacher had left the facility by Friday night.
Griffin said in his ruling that he disagreed with a doctor's assessment before Schumacher arrived for a regular appointment the day after the murder-suicide that she needed to admit herself or be taken into custody.
"The court did not find, by clear and convincing evidence, that Respondent was a person in need of treatment at the time of admission or application, nor a patient in need of further treatment at the time of the hearing," Griffin wrote in his ruling.
The Burlington Free Press reported that, according to court records, Schumacher indicated to her sister after the couple separated last summer that she would kill herself if anything happened to her two children.
"I am not ill; I am simply a mother who is grieving the tragic loss of her young son," Schumacher told the Burlington Free Press this week. "No mother should ever have to experience this loss."
Schumacher told the newspaper that she and her insurance company had been billed for the unwanted treatment.
Mike Noble, a spokesman for the hospital, said that he can't speak to the specifics of the case but "that in all matters such as this we make decisions that we think are in the best interests of the patient."
Schumacher had warned police that she feared for her son's safety hours before the bodies were found, according to court papers. She told Essex police the night before the murder-suicide that she feared Ludwig Schumacher might try to take the teenager out of the country, according to court papers.
Ludwig Schumacher was a former member of the Vermont National Guard and state Republican campaign official. Police said he left a typed suicide note in the apartment.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Dad killed kids, wife "because he didn't have car seats" (Queens, New York)
JUST TWO incidences of domestic violence? More like just two that were reported to the police that they can now find record of.
This is scummy excuse for a father is identified as MIGUEL MEJIA-RAMOS.
http://nypost.com/2014/01/24/dad-killed-kids-after-slaying-wife-because-he-didnt-have-car-seats-for-mexico-trip/
Dad killed kids, wife ‘because he didn’t have car seats’
By Kathryn Cusma
January 24, 2014 | 1:55pm .
He said he slashed his two baby girls to death because he’d just killed their mother — and he didn’t have car seats to take them with him to Mexico, outraged officials revealed as craven Queens dad Miguel Mejia-Ramos was arraigned on murder charges Friday.
Hauled back to New York from the Mexican border, Mejia-Ramos, 28, was expressionless as a judge ordered him held with no bail for allegedly slaughtering his wife, Deisy, 21, and daughters Daniela, 3, and Yoselin, 1, during a jealousy-fueled, five-knife rampage.
“I was going to take them with me, but I didn’t have car seats,” the monster told cops, according to a confession released Friday.
Mejia-Ramos admitted that he killed Deisy and then the girls in their Jamaica bedroom after searching his wife’s phone and finding pictures of her with another man, officials said.
He grabbed several knives from a butcher block and stood over Deisy as she slept with one daughter on either side, according to the confession.
“Deisy wakes up and screams. He drops one knife on the bed. He stabs her, she runs to the front of the bedroom, and he stabs her with another knife which he says he twists in her side and it breaks,” the confession reads.
“He goes back to the girls. He sees Daniela is awake. He picks her up, give[s] her a hug and kiss, asks for forgiveness, then puts her down on the bed and stabs her approximately three times,” the confession said.
“He then picks up Yoselin, gives her a hug and kiss, places her on the bed and stabs her multiple times. He goes over to Deisy’s body and asks her for forgiveness, too.”
“I’ve been to many crime scenes,” Queens DA Richard Brown said. “But this one “was very disturbing … my heart goes out to the family.”
Additional new details of the horrific bedroom bloodbath were revealed by prosecutors during Friday’s brief court proceeding.
Mejia-Ramos told cops he’d made a brief feint at killing himself in the Sutphin Avenue apartment— first stabbing himself in the chest, then trying to hang himself with a cord, prosecutor Michelle Kaszuba said, referring to Mejia-Ramos’ confession.
But having failed, he decided to make a run for it, washing his bloody hands with the dead girls’ diaper wipes before showering and hitting the road, Kaszuba said.
The illegal immigrant was caught Monday, driving through Texas on I-85 during a non-stop dash for the border of Mexico, his country of citizenship. Three hours more, and he’d have made it, officials said.
The prosecutor also revealed that Mejia-Ramos told authorities he took $240 as a “getaway fund” from his wife’s diaper bag because he didn’t want to get tracked by using credit cards.
He said he had seen the TV show “I Almost Got Away With It,” and knew he needed to avoid plastic, officials said.
Mejia-Ramos would instead be tracked by US Marshals via phone calls he made to family members in Mexico. The prosecutor said Mejia-Ramos had originally claimed to cops that he’d come home to find that his wife had killed the two little girls and that he then stabbed her in self-defense.
He came clean with the whole story as he was being flown back to the city by Queens detectives, the prosecutor said.
Mejia-Ramos has no known criminal history other than two domestic-violence incidents, Brown said.
This is scummy excuse for a father is identified as MIGUEL MEJIA-RAMOS.
http://nypost.com/2014/01/24/dad-killed-kids-after-slaying-wife-because-he-didnt-have-car-seats-for-mexico-trip/
Dad killed kids, wife ‘because he didn’t have car seats’
By Kathryn Cusma
January 24, 2014 | 1:55pm .
He said he slashed his two baby girls to death because he’d just killed their mother — and he didn’t have car seats to take them with him to Mexico, outraged officials revealed as craven Queens dad Miguel Mejia-Ramos was arraigned on murder charges Friday.
Hauled back to New York from the Mexican border, Mejia-Ramos, 28, was expressionless as a judge ordered him held with no bail for allegedly slaughtering his wife, Deisy, 21, and daughters Daniela, 3, and Yoselin, 1, during a jealousy-fueled, five-knife rampage.
“I was going to take them with me, but I didn’t have car seats,” the monster told cops, according to a confession released Friday.
Mejia-Ramos admitted that he killed Deisy and then the girls in their Jamaica bedroom after searching his wife’s phone and finding pictures of her with another man, officials said.
He grabbed several knives from a butcher block and stood over Deisy as she slept with one daughter on either side, according to the confession.
“Deisy wakes up and screams. He drops one knife on the bed. He stabs her, she runs to the front of the bedroom, and he stabs her with another knife which he says he twists in her side and it breaks,” the confession reads.
“He goes back to the girls. He sees Daniela is awake. He picks her up, give[s] her a hug and kiss, asks for forgiveness, then puts her down on the bed and stabs her approximately three times,” the confession said.
“He then picks up Yoselin, gives her a hug and kiss, places her on the bed and stabs her multiple times. He goes over to Deisy’s body and asks her for forgiveness, too.”
“I’ve been to many crime scenes,” Queens DA Richard Brown said. “But this one “was very disturbing … my heart goes out to the family.”
Additional new details of the horrific bedroom bloodbath were revealed by prosecutors during Friday’s brief court proceeding.
Mejia-Ramos told cops he’d made a brief feint at killing himself in the Sutphin Avenue apartment— first stabbing himself in the chest, then trying to hang himself with a cord, prosecutor Michelle Kaszuba said, referring to Mejia-Ramos’ confession.
But having failed, he decided to make a run for it, washing his bloody hands with the dead girls’ diaper wipes before showering and hitting the road, Kaszuba said.
The illegal immigrant was caught Monday, driving through Texas on I-85 during a non-stop dash for the border of Mexico, his country of citizenship. Three hours more, and he’d have made it, officials said.
The prosecutor also revealed that Mejia-Ramos told authorities he took $240 as a “getaway fund” from his wife’s diaper bag because he didn’t want to get tracked by using credit cards.
He said he had seen the TV show “I Almost Got Away With It,” and knew he needed to avoid plastic, officials said.
Mejia-Ramos would instead be tracked by US Marshals via phone calls he made to family members in Mexico. The prosecutor said Mejia-Ramos had originally claimed to cops that he’d come home to find that his wife had killed the two little girls and that he then stabbed her in self-defense.
He came clean with the whole story as he was being flown back to the city by Queens detectives, the prosecutor said.
Mejia-Ramos has no known criminal history other than two domestic-violence incidents, Brown said.
Custodial dad admits to brutal beating of 4-year-old son, 2-year-old daughter (Dongguan, China)
Wow. This just makes you dizzy. There's the step mom AND Daddy's girlfriend (!). Both of whom were initially blamed for the child abuse. Then Daddy (identified as XIONG) finally 'fessed up.
Only one question. What happened to the mother of these kids? How did they end up in the father's care? Not one word here about that.
Just goes to show that mother erasure is as common in the East as in the West.
http://shanghaiist.com/2014/01/25/father-admits-beating-up-children-dongguan.php
Father in Dongguan admits to brutally beating up his own kids
On January 23, a four-year-old boy surnamed Cheng, who was covered in cuts and bruises, wandered around in a small village in Dongguan and aroused the mercy of passersby. Police intervened and found that Cheng and his three-year-old sister had been brutally beaten up.
Neighbors guessed that their step-mom was the suspect. Yesterday morning, however, police reported that the father of the child, Xiong, had admitted to beating the children. He also admitted to having done this over ten times in just one month.
Xiong lied to the police just two days prior, saying the abuse was likely at the hand of his new girlfriend. He told police he planned on breaking up with her if it was her. His confession yesterday was entirely unexpected by police.
According to the police, Xiong's girlfriend might be also involved, and the neighbors claim to have seen her beating up children, but no obvious evidence has yet been found. The woman also denied abusing the child, so no legal action has been taken against her yet.
By Isabel Quan
Only one question. What happened to the mother of these kids? How did they end up in the father's care? Not one word here about that.
Just goes to show that mother erasure is as common in the East as in the West.
http://shanghaiist.com/2014/01/25/father-admits-beating-up-children-dongguan.php
Father in Dongguan admits to brutally beating up his own kids
On January 23, a four-year-old boy surnamed Cheng, who was covered in cuts and bruises, wandered around in a small village in Dongguan and aroused the mercy of passersby. Police intervened and found that Cheng and his three-year-old sister had been brutally beaten up.
Neighbors guessed that their step-mom was the suspect. Yesterday morning, however, police reported that the father of the child, Xiong, had admitted to beating the children. He also admitted to having done this over ten times in just one month.
Xiong lied to the police just two days prior, saying the abuse was likely at the hand of his new girlfriend. He told police he planned on breaking up with her if it was her. His confession yesterday was entirely unexpected by police.
According to the police, Xiong's girlfriend might be also involved, and the neighbors claim to have seen her beating up children, but no obvious evidence has yet been found. The woman also denied abusing the child, so no legal action has been taken against her yet.
By Isabel Quan
Dad who fractured skull of 12-week-old son gets 3 1/2 year in prison (Payson, Arizona)
Typical abuser daddy coddling. This guy almost killed a newborn, and he gets just 3 years (oops, 3 1/2 years) in prison. Big whoop.
In reality, a father like JACOB MORALES should have been kept away from the baby, period. Men with histories of domestic violence and "anger management" problems are very prone to become child abusers, if they aren't child abusers yet. Especially when the poor dears are pissed off at the mother as this one was.
I'm sure there are moralistic little tight @$$es who will blame the mother, but in reality she had very little maneuvering room here. Her own life would have been at risk if she left the guy, and in today's pro-fathers rights legal environment, it would have been almost certain that this creep would have got joint custody/visitation. Which would have allowed Daddy even more time to get "frustrated" and take out all his "anger management" issues on an infant.
http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2014/jan/24/father-pleads-child-abuse/
Father Pleads To Child Abuse
Man who injured baby’s skull gets 3.5 years in prison.
By Alexis Bechman
As of Friday, January 24, 2014
A man who nearly killed his infant son was sentenced Tuesday to 3.5 years in prison.
When paramedics arrived at Jacob Morales’ home on May 25 they found his 12-week-old son in critical condition with a displaced skull fracture. Morales meanwhile had fled.
His wife told officers the couple had gotten into an argument earlier at Walmart. When they got home, in the 1100 block of William Tell Circle, she laid their baby in his crib and stepped outside to cool down and call her mother, according to a police report.
“Twenty minutes later, she heard the child screaming and when she went back inside and picked the child up, she noticed that the child was choking and had a head injury,” said Shawn Fuller, chief deputy county attorney, who prosecuted the case.
When she confronted Morales, he denied any wrongdoing and fled.
Officers searched for Morales for hours while doctors worked to stabilize the boy, who was airlifted to the Valley in critical condition.
Detectives learned Morales had previously been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence and he was attending anger management classes at Southwest Behavioral. He was also on probation for a separate offense in Mesa.
The woman said she had left Morales before, but felt pressured to return to him, according to police reports.
Through text messaging, Det. Matt Van Camp convinced Morales to turn himself in the next morning.
Morales pleaded guilty to child abuse on Dec. 12.
Fuller argued for five years in prison given the age of the child, his injuries and Morales criminal record.
Judge Robert Duber II, with Gila County Superior Court, sentenced Morales to 3.5 years.
In reality, a father like JACOB MORALES should have been kept away from the baby, period. Men with histories of domestic violence and "anger management" problems are very prone to become child abusers, if they aren't child abusers yet. Especially when the poor dears are pissed off at the mother as this one was.
I'm sure there are moralistic little tight @$$es who will blame the mother, but in reality she had very little maneuvering room here. Her own life would have been at risk if she left the guy, and in today's pro-fathers rights legal environment, it would have been almost certain that this creep would have got joint custody/visitation. Which would have allowed Daddy even more time to get "frustrated" and take out all his "anger management" issues on an infant.
http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2014/jan/24/father-pleads-child-abuse/
Father Pleads To Child Abuse
Man who injured baby’s skull gets 3.5 years in prison.
By Alexis Bechman
As of Friday, January 24, 2014
A man who nearly killed his infant son was sentenced Tuesday to 3.5 years in prison.
When paramedics arrived at Jacob Morales’ home on May 25 they found his 12-week-old son in critical condition with a displaced skull fracture. Morales meanwhile had fled.
His wife told officers the couple had gotten into an argument earlier at Walmart. When they got home, in the 1100 block of William Tell Circle, she laid their baby in his crib and stepped outside to cool down and call her mother, according to a police report.
“Twenty minutes later, she heard the child screaming and when she went back inside and picked the child up, she noticed that the child was choking and had a head injury,” said Shawn Fuller, chief deputy county attorney, who prosecuted the case.
When she confronted Morales, he denied any wrongdoing and fled.
Officers searched for Morales for hours while doctors worked to stabilize the boy, who was airlifted to the Valley in critical condition.
Detectives learned Morales had previously been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence and he was attending anger management classes at Southwest Behavioral. He was also on probation for a separate offense in Mesa.
The woman said she had left Morales before, but felt pressured to return to him, according to police reports.
Through text messaging, Det. Matt Van Camp convinced Morales to turn himself in the next morning.
Morales pleaded guilty to child abuse on Dec. 12.
Fuller argued for five years in prison given the age of the child, his injuries and Morales criminal record.
Judge Robert Duber II, with Gila County Superior Court, sentenced Morales to 3.5 years.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Dad charged with breaking arm of 3-month-old daughter; 14-month-old son also has rib, arm fractures (Racine, Wisconsin)
Sounds like another dickhead dad. Not clear that the "girlfriend" mentioned is the mother of these children. Dad is identified as MICHAEL D. CANADY.
http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/child-abuse-charges-leveled-against-father/article_fd9080de-62e8-5544-aa59-4ea6d0970b18.html
Child abuse charges leveled against father
January 23, 2014 6:56 am • KRISTEN ZAMBO
RACINE — A Racine man faces child abuse charges for allegedly breaking his infant daughter’s arm a day after injuring his son while drinking shots on New Year’s Eve.
Michael D. Canady, 23, of the 600 block of DeKoven Avenue, is charged with two counts of physical abuse of a child and one of felony bail jumping for reportedly breaking two bones in his 3-month-old daughter’s arm earlier this month, according to his criminal complaint.
Canady first told a Racine investigator that he took his son and daughter to an aunt and uncle’s house on Jan. 1, where his daughter’s arm might have been broken while his teenage cousins were baby-sitting for the infant while he was drinking in the basement, the complaint stated. But Canady later told the investigator that during an argument with his girlfriend, he grabbed his daughter by her right arm, pulling her out of her bouncy chair, and she cried out. He put her in a car seat, grabbed his son and left the home, the complaint stated.
The girl was taken to the hospital on Jan. 6, where she was treated in the emergency room for two broken bones to the right arm and police were summoned.
Police also began investigating injuries to his 14-month-old son.
Canady reportedly told an investigator on Monday that he thought he accidentally hurt his son on New Year’s Eve, while playing cards and drinking “many tequila and vodka shots,” the complaint stated.
He said he remembers seeing his son walk by, grabbing him and throwing him up in the air. He almost lost his grip, so he grabbed him tighter around his chest and ribs before throwing him up again, according to the complaint.
He sat his son in his lap and tried to flip him backward by the arms, but that didn’t work and his arms twisted, the complaint stated.
His son suffered rib and arm fractures.
Prosecutors initially charged Canady on Jan. 8 with a sole child abuse charge, court records show. An amended complaint filed Wednesday by prosecutors added the second felony child abuse and bail jumping charges.
His preliminary hearing is today.
http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/child-abuse-charges-leveled-against-father/article_fd9080de-62e8-5544-aa59-4ea6d0970b18.html
Child abuse charges leveled against father
January 23, 2014 6:56 am • KRISTEN ZAMBO
RACINE — A Racine man faces child abuse charges for allegedly breaking his infant daughter’s arm a day after injuring his son while drinking shots on New Year’s Eve.
Michael D. Canady, 23, of the 600 block of DeKoven Avenue, is charged with two counts of physical abuse of a child and one of felony bail jumping for reportedly breaking two bones in his 3-month-old daughter’s arm earlier this month, according to his criminal complaint.
Canady first told a Racine investigator that he took his son and daughter to an aunt and uncle’s house on Jan. 1, where his daughter’s arm might have been broken while his teenage cousins were baby-sitting for the infant while he was drinking in the basement, the complaint stated. But Canady later told the investigator that during an argument with his girlfriend, he grabbed his daughter by her right arm, pulling her out of her bouncy chair, and she cried out. He put her in a car seat, grabbed his son and left the home, the complaint stated.
The girl was taken to the hospital on Jan. 6, where she was treated in the emergency room for two broken bones to the right arm and police were summoned.
Police also began investigating injuries to his 14-month-old son.
Canady reportedly told an investigator on Monday that he thought he accidentally hurt his son on New Year’s Eve, while playing cards and drinking “many tequila and vodka shots,” the complaint stated.
He said he remembers seeing his son walk by, grabbing him and throwing him up in the air. He almost lost his grip, so he grabbed him tighter around his chest and ribs before throwing him up again, according to the complaint.
He sat his son in his lap and tried to flip him backward by the arms, but that didn’t work and his arms twisted, the complaint stated.
His son suffered rib and arm fractures.
Prosecutors initially charged Canady on Jan. 8 with a sole child abuse charge, court records show. An amended complaint filed Wednesday by prosecutors added the second felony child abuse and bail jumping charges.
His preliminary hearing is today.
Dad charged with beating 9-year-old daughter with belt (Newport News, Virginia)
Dad is identified as LEONDUS FRED WOODS. Notice that there is no mention of a mother in the home, and that the child has now been placed with "other family members."
So what happened to Mom? Is she dead or "missing"? Did she somehow lose custody to this guy? You always have to wonder when you have what seems to be a violent single father and a mother that has been erased like this.
http://www.wvec.com/news/Father-charged-after-girl-tells-teacher-she-was-whipped-with-belt-241839751.html
Father charged after daughter tells teacher she was 'whipped' with belt
by 13News Now WVEC.com
Posted on January 24, 2014 at 12:34 PM Updated today at 12:47 PM
NEWPORT NEWS -- A Newport News father has been charged after his 9-year-old told a teacher she was "whipped' with a belt.
According to police spokesman Lou Thurston, the child had several marks on her body and face that were consistent with being hit with a belt.
Thurston said the girl told a school faculty member on Jan. 10 and Child Protective Services were notified.
Following an investigation, police charged 31-year-old Leondus Fred Woods with one count of felony child abuse.
Thurston says the girl is with other family members.
Woods was released on bond by a magistrate.
So what happened to Mom? Is she dead or "missing"? Did she somehow lose custody to this guy? You always have to wonder when you have what seems to be a violent single father and a mother that has been erased like this.
http://www.wvec.com/news/Father-charged-after-girl-tells-teacher-she-was-whipped-with-belt-241839751.html
Father charged after daughter tells teacher she was 'whipped' with belt
by 13News Now WVEC.com
Posted on January 24, 2014 at 12:34 PM Updated today at 12:47 PM
NEWPORT NEWS -- A Newport News father has been charged after his 9-year-old told a teacher she was "whipped' with a belt.
According to police spokesman Lou Thurston, the child had several marks on her body and face that were consistent with being hit with a belt.
Thurston said the girl told a school faculty member on Jan. 10 and Child Protective Services were notified.
Following an investigation, police charged 31-year-old Leondus Fred Woods with one count of felony child abuse.
Thurston says the girl is with other family members.
Woods was released on bond by a magistrate.
Dad charged with homicide in death of 1-month-old daughter; baby killed during his "parenting time" (Rock Hill, South Carolina)
The parents are clearly not together, but it is not apparent here whether this "parenting time" arrangement was court-ordered or "voluntary." In some ways it doesn't matter, as mothers are under increasing pressure to allow ex-boyfriends access to the baby, even when the ex-boyfriend in question has a criminal record as this one does (somehow I suspect there is more than marijuana use here). The results are often sickening, just as they are in this case. These guys just don't have the patience or nurturing skills to take care of young infants. They just don't.
Sperm donors do not need and do not deserve access to young children, especially newborn babies. If you never made a commitment to the mother or the kids, then forget about your freaking "rights."
Dad is identified as QUENTIN EVANS.
http://www.thestate.com/2014/01/24/3224591/police-rock-hill-father-charged.html
Police: Rock Hill father charged in 1-month-old baby's death
By Jonathan McFadden and Rachel Southmayd
January 24, 2014 Updated 26 minutes ago
ROCK HILL — Police have charged a Rock Hill father with the death of his baby daughter after authorities determined that injuries he inflicted on her resulted in her death on Thursday.
Quentin Evans, 25, is charged with homicide by child abuse, according to officials. His bond has been set at $100,000.
York County Coroner Sabrina Gast confirmed that her office is investigating 1-month-old Kaidence Evans' death as a homicide. She would not release details about how Kaidence died although an autopsy had already been completed.
The cause of death should be released next week, pending a review by the child fatality team, she said.
Early Thursday morning, police were sent to 19 Wright St. after receiving calls about an infant who was unconscious and not breathing, said Executive Officer Mark Bollinger of the Rock Hill Police Department. When officers arrived, they found paramedics already on scene trying to resuscitate the girl inside an ambulance.
The girl was taken to Piedmont Medical Center, where doctors worked before she died, Gast said. An official time of death was not available.
After an autopsy was completed, Gast ruled the girl's death a homicide. When detectives arrived on scene, they saw apparent injuries on the girl, one of which included a broken collar bone and evident bruising.
Bollinger said the girl suffered from internal injuries, as well.
"It was evident and apparent that this baby had been abused," he said. "A lot of the things we saw are evidence of shaken baby syndrome, but the injuries...it had to be really violent. We don't know if the baby was dropped or what else happened to the baby, but we did have major indications of a shaken baby syndrome that caused injuries severe enough to cause the baby's death."
Evans was alone with the girl when the incident happened, Bollinger said. The girl's mother was at her home.
"Early in the morning, (Evans) said he didn't know what happened," he said. "That was his first comment to police officers."
Evans lives at the Wright Street home, less than a half-mile from Arcade Park, with his parents and other relatives. Evans and Kaidence's mother are not together, and Thursday was Evans' turn to watch over his daughter.
It's unclear exactly what led to the girl's injuries, but arrest warrants show that she suffered from severe injuries consistent with "being shaken violently."
Detectives recovered the baby's bedding, according to a Rock Hill police report. Police did not note if anything was amiss inside the home.
Evans' criminal history includes one conviction for possession of marijuana, according to records with the State Law Enforcement Division
"Even being in law enforcement as long as I have, it's always worse when it's children and it's even worse yet when it's even babies," Bollinger said. "Any time there's homicides, whether you're a big city that has lots of them or cities our size that average three to six a year, we always try to figure out if there's something we can do as a police agency to stop it."
"When it's an infant death like this, there's not really anything we can do because it all happens behind closed doors," he said.
Kaidence's death is Rock Hill's second homicide this year.
Sperm donors do not need and do not deserve access to young children, especially newborn babies. If you never made a commitment to the mother or the kids, then forget about your freaking "rights."
Dad is identified as QUENTIN EVANS.
http://www.thestate.com/2014/01/24/3224591/police-rock-hill-father-charged.html
Police: Rock Hill father charged in 1-month-old baby's death
By Jonathan McFadden and Rachel Southmayd
January 24, 2014 Updated 26 minutes ago
ROCK HILL — Police have charged a Rock Hill father with the death of his baby daughter after authorities determined that injuries he inflicted on her resulted in her death on Thursday.
Quentin Evans, 25, is charged with homicide by child abuse, according to officials. His bond has been set at $100,000.
York County Coroner Sabrina Gast confirmed that her office is investigating 1-month-old Kaidence Evans' death as a homicide. She would not release details about how Kaidence died although an autopsy had already been completed.
The cause of death should be released next week, pending a review by the child fatality team, she said.
Early Thursday morning, police were sent to 19 Wright St. after receiving calls about an infant who was unconscious and not breathing, said Executive Officer Mark Bollinger of the Rock Hill Police Department. When officers arrived, they found paramedics already on scene trying to resuscitate the girl inside an ambulance.
The girl was taken to Piedmont Medical Center, where doctors worked before she died, Gast said. An official time of death was not available.
After an autopsy was completed, Gast ruled the girl's death a homicide. When detectives arrived on scene, they saw apparent injuries on the girl, one of which included a broken collar bone and evident bruising.
Bollinger said the girl suffered from internal injuries, as well.
"It was evident and apparent that this baby had been abused," he said. "A lot of the things we saw are evidence of shaken baby syndrome, but the injuries...it had to be really violent. We don't know if the baby was dropped or what else happened to the baby, but we did have major indications of a shaken baby syndrome that caused injuries severe enough to cause the baby's death."
Evans was alone with the girl when the incident happened, Bollinger said. The girl's mother was at her home.
"Early in the morning, (Evans) said he didn't know what happened," he said. "That was his first comment to police officers."
Evans lives at the Wright Street home, less than a half-mile from Arcade Park, with his parents and other relatives. Evans and Kaidence's mother are not together, and Thursday was Evans' turn to watch over his daughter.
It's unclear exactly what led to the girl's injuries, but arrest warrants show that she suffered from severe injuries consistent with "being shaken violently."
Detectives recovered the baby's bedding, according to a Rock Hill police report. Police did not note if anything was amiss inside the home.
Evans' criminal history includes one conviction for possession of marijuana, according to records with the State Law Enforcement Division
"Even being in law enforcement as long as I have, it's always worse when it's children and it's even worse yet when it's even babies," Bollinger said. "Any time there's homicides, whether you're a big city that has lots of them or cities our size that average three to six a year, we always try to figure out if there's something we can do as a police agency to stop it."
"When it's an infant death like this, there's not really anything we can do because it all happens behind closed doors," he said.
Kaidence's death is Rock Hill's second homicide this year.
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