Dad is identified as BRANDON TERRY. No mention of a mother in the home.
http://myfox8.com/2014/03/30/raleigh-father-accused-of-injuring-10-month-old-baby/
Raleigh father accused of injuring 10-month-old baby
Posted on: 3:02 pm, March 30, 2014, by Web Staff
RALEIGH, N.C. — RALEIGH, N.C. — A Raleigh father has been arrested after police said he caused serious head injuries to his 10-month-old baby.
WTVD reported that Brandon Terry faces child abuse charges after police showed up to his home Tuesday to check on an emergency call.
Police said they found the child in the care of emergency officials. The baby was taken by ambulance to WakeMed where he was later transported to Duke.
After a follow-up investigation, police say probable cause led to the arrest.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Dad strangles 19-month-old son to death after beating the mother (Benin City, Nigeria)
Dad is identified as SAMUEL ABIOLA.
http://nigerianobservernews.com/30032014/news/news1.html#.UzhtsdfD8pQ
Father Strangulates 19 Months Old Baby To Death
By MIKE OSAROGIAGBON
Last Modified: 03/30/2014 08:33:09
A Police Corporal has allegedly killed his 19 months old baby after battering his wife in Benin City.
The policeman, Corporal Samuel Abiola allegedly picked the baby boy identified as Ayomide Samuel from his bed and bit him severally before strangulating him to death.
He was alleged to have pounced on the innocent and defenceless baby after his wife whom he had beaten black and blue divinely escaped his aggression.
The sad incident occurred at flat 1c, Omorogieva Compound, Sam Enobakhare Cresent, Off St. Saviour Road, Benin City.
Cpr. Samuel Abiola from Ijebu-ode in Ondo State is said to have impregnated another woman from Oghara town, Delta State.
Narrating her ordeal, the mother of the late child Mrs. Abigail Samuel, Nee Omoruyi, 26 said on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 she and her baby were at home with her husband without any dispute.
She said about 6p.m her husband countenance suddenly changed like a vampire and when she tried to know the reason he started to beat her.
“He kicked me for belle, pressed my neck, slapped me, I run come out, he come carry my pikin, bite am for neck, belle and face. He come lock me out”. Mrs. Samuel added.
She recalled in pains how her husband abandoned her at the hospital after having the baby through a Caesarian section.
She alleged that it took the intervention of some policemen at the hospital before her husband contributed to her discharge after spending more than a month there.
The mother of the bereaved woman, Mrs. Jani Omoruyi said on getting premonition about the incident she decided to visit her daughter but only to discover that she was battered by her husband.
She alleged that Cpr. Samuel Abiola having locked her daughter outside opened his door after several knocks.
The woman revealed that on entering the house she saw her grand-son wreathing in pains in the bed with visible marks on his body.
“Abiola say he give the baby medicine because he nor well”. She alleged.
She said further that the child was swiftly taken to Jonos Medical Clinic where doctor said the baby was brought in dead and the child has since been buried.
Contacted, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital Dr. Jolly Nosakhare Iguma stated that a mother and her daughter brought in a dead baby to his hospital few days ago.
Dr. Iguma added that “on close examination the baby was pale, whole body yellowish and with tooth-bite injuries on his face.
“Since the baby is not old enough to fight with any person I wondered who bit the baby.
However if he was brought in early enough, the baby would have been transfused with blood. He may have died of jaundice”.
When SUNDAY OBSERVER visited the residence yesterday it was deserted as neighbours claimed not to have seen any of its occupants in the past few days.
Contacted, the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Mr. Foluso Adebanjo said he is yet to be briefed.
He however promised to comment on the issue later.
http://nigerianobservernews.com/30032014/news/news1.html#.UzhtsdfD8pQ
Father Strangulates 19 Months Old Baby To Death
By MIKE OSAROGIAGBON
Last Modified: 03/30/2014 08:33:09
A Police Corporal has allegedly killed his 19 months old baby after battering his wife in Benin City.
The policeman, Corporal Samuel Abiola allegedly picked the baby boy identified as Ayomide Samuel from his bed and bit him severally before strangulating him to death.
He was alleged to have pounced on the innocent and defenceless baby after his wife whom he had beaten black and blue divinely escaped his aggression.
The sad incident occurred at flat 1c, Omorogieva Compound, Sam Enobakhare Cresent, Off St. Saviour Road, Benin City.
Cpr. Samuel Abiola from Ijebu-ode in Ondo State is said to have impregnated another woman from Oghara town, Delta State.
Narrating her ordeal, the mother of the late child Mrs. Abigail Samuel, Nee Omoruyi, 26 said on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 she and her baby were at home with her husband without any dispute.
She said about 6p.m her husband countenance suddenly changed like a vampire and when she tried to know the reason he started to beat her.
“He kicked me for belle, pressed my neck, slapped me, I run come out, he come carry my pikin, bite am for neck, belle and face. He come lock me out”. Mrs. Samuel added.
She recalled in pains how her husband abandoned her at the hospital after having the baby through a Caesarian section.
She alleged that it took the intervention of some policemen at the hospital before her husband contributed to her discharge after spending more than a month there.
The mother of the bereaved woman, Mrs. Jani Omoruyi said on getting premonition about the incident she decided to visit her daughter but only to discover that she was battered by her husband.
She alleged that Cpr. Samuel Abiola having locked her daughter outside opened his door after several knocks.
The woman revealed that on entering the house she saw her grand-son wreathing in pains in the bed with visible marks on his body.
“Abiola say he give the baby medicine because he nor well”. She alleged.
She said further that the child was swiftly taken to Jonos Medical Clinic where doctor said the baby was brought in dead and the child has since been buried.
Contacted, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital Dr. Jolly Nosakhare Iguma stated that a mother and her daughter brought in a dead baby to his hospital few days ago.
Dr. Iguma added that “on close examination the baby was pale, whole body yellowish and with tooth-bite injuries on his face.
“Since the baby is not old enough to fight with any person I wondered who bit the baby.
However if he was brought in early enough, the baby would have been transfused with blood. He may have died of jaundice”.
When SUNDAY OBSERVER visited the residence yesterday it was deserted as neighbours claimed not to have seen any of its occupants in the past few days.
Contacted, the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Mr. Foluso Adebanjo said he is yet to be briefed.
He however promised to comment on the issue later.
Millionaire dad convicted of raping 3-year-old daughter gets probation; judge says he would not "fare well" behind bars (Wilmington, Delaware)
When the abuser daddy is as wealthy as ROBERT H. RICHARDS IV, he's practically untouchable. Shame on Judge Jan Jurden for coddling this worthless piece of crap.
http://www.freep.com/article/20140330/NEWS07/303300113/Du-Pont-heir-s-sentence-for-raping-daughter-3-raises-questions
Du Pont heir's sentence for raping daughter, 3, raises questions
11:50 AM, March 30, 2014
By Cris Barrish
The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
WILMINGTON, DEL. — A judge who sentenced a wealthy du Pont heir to probation for raping his 3-year-old daughter noted in her order that he “will not fare well” in prison and needed treatment instead of time behind bars, court records show.
Superior Court Judge Jan Jurden’s sentencing order for Robert H. Richards IV suggested that she considered unique circumstances when deciding his punishment for fourth-degree rape. Her observation that prison life would adversely affect Richards was a rare and puzzling rationale, several criminal justice authorities in Delaware said. Some also said her view that treatment was a better idea than prison is a justification typically used when sentencing drug addicts, not child rapists.
Richards’ 2009 rape case became public this month after attorneys for his ex-wife, Tracy, filed a lawsuit seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the abuse of his daughter.
The fact that Jurden expressed concern that prison wasn’t right for Richards came as a surprise to defense lawyers and prosecutors who consider her a tough sentencing judge. Several noted that prison officials can put inmates in protective custody if they are worried about their safety, noting that child abusers are sometimes targeted by other inmates.
“It’s an extremely rare circumstance that prison serves the inmate well,” said Delaware Public Defender Brendan J. O’Neill, whose office represents defendants who cannot afford a lawyer. “Prison is to punish, to segregate the offender from society, and the notion that prison serves people well hasn’t proven to be true in most circumstances.”
O’Neill said he and his deputies have often argued that a defendant was too ill or frail for prison, but he has never seen a judge cite it as a “reason not to send someone to jail.”
Richards was no frail defendant, court records show, listing him at 6-feet-4 and between 250 and 276 pounds. Nor do court records cite any physical illnesses.
O’Neill said the way the Richards case was handled might cause the public to be skeptical about “how a person with great wealth may be treated by the system.”
Richards, who is unemployed and supported by a trust fund, owns a 5,800-square-foot mansion in Greenville, Del., he bought for $1.8 million in 2005. He also lists a home in the exclusive North Shores neighborhood near Rehoboth Beach, according to the state’s sex abuse registry. His great-grandfather is du Pont family patriarch Irenee du Pont, and his father is Robert H. Richards III, a retired partner in the Richards Layton & Finger law firm.
Jurden, who has been a judge since 2001, and Superior Court President James T. Vaughn Jr. did not respond to questions last week about the case.
Deputy State Court Administrator Amy Quinlan said in an email that judges must consider the charges, state sentencing guidelines and “any mitigating or aggravating factors and recommendations” from prosecutors, defense lawyers, corrections officials and others. “That procedure was followed in this case as well.”
The lawsuit filed by Richards’ ex-wife accuses him of admitting to sexually abusing his infant son between 2005 and 2007, the same period when he abused his daughter starting when she was 3.
Police said they investigated allegations involving the boy in 2010 after his mother filed a complaint, but said they did not have sufficient evidence to justify charges. Investigators will take another look at the allegations included in the lawsuit, which are based on reports by probation officers.
State Attorney General Beau Biden’s office had initially indicted Richards on two counts of second-degree rape of a child – Class B violent felonies that carry a mandatory 10-year prison term for each count.
According to the arrest warrant filed by a New Castle County Police Detective JoAnna Burton in December 2007, the girl, then 5, told her grandmother, Donna Burg, that Richards sexually abused her.
Burg said the child reported that her father told her it was “our little secret” but said she didn’t want “my daddy touching me anymore.”
Tracy Richards, who confronted her then-husband, told police he admitted abusing his daughter but said “it was an accident and he would never do it again,” the warrant said.
Richards was free on $60,000 secured bail while awaiting trial on the charges that could have put him behind bars for years.
But in June 2008, just days before a scheduled trial, prosecutor Renee Hrivnak offered Richards a plea to a single count of fourth-degree rape, which carries no mandatory time, and he accepted, admitting in court that he abused his child.
“It was more than reasonable, an enlightened plea offer,” Richards attorney Eugene J. Maurer Jr. said.
Fourth-degree rape is a Class C violent felony that by law can bring up to 15 years in prison, though guidelines suggest zero to 2 1/2 years in prison.
At Richards’ February 2009 sentencing, Hrivnak recommended probation, Biden’s chief deputy Ian R. McConnel said, adding that in retrospect he wished she would have sought prison time. Hrivnak would not comment.
Biden spokesman Jason Miller said the attorney general – who routinely hails the prosecution of child predators as a top priority for his office – did not know about the case.
Miller said only Hrivnak and her supervisor, Allison Texter, were part of the decision on how to resolve the case. Texter, who is now in private practice in Wilmington, did not return calls for comment.
State Prosecutor Kathleen M. Jennings could not discuss the case, McConnel said, because she had represented Richards while he was on probation. Jennings, a former chief deputy attorney general, rejoined the office in November 2011 after about 15 years in private practice. She would not say when she represented Richards.
McConnel would not discuss the rationale behind the Richards’ plea deal and Hrivnak’s recommendation of probation for the fourth-degree rape conviction.
While judges have the latitude to sentence defendants within legal parameters, they are urged to follow more lenient guidelines established by the Delaware Sentencing Accountability Commission, a panel of judges and other top officials in the criminal justice system. The panel has a policy that prison should be reserved for violent offenders, including rapists.
Jurden gave Richards, who had no previous criminal record, an eight-year prison term, but suspended all the prison time for probation.
“Defendant will not fare well in Level 5 setting,” said the final line of her sentencing order. In Delaware’s correctional system, Level 5 is prison.
Joseph S. Grubb, chief New Castle County prosecutor, said he was not involved in the case, but stressed that whether Richards might suffer or thrive in prison was not something prosecutors considered.
“It’s not a concern for us,” Grubb said. “We try to do the right thing in each case. Absent that equation is the physical condition of the defendant.”
Grubb said he did not know “how the judge gathered” that Richards might have trouble in prison, but assumed the presentence report included information she used. That report was not available in the court file.
O’Neill, the public defender, said that while Jurden’s rationale surprised him, “I commend her for making such a courageous ruling. When I find the appropriate place, I’m going to make that argument.”
Kendall Marlowe, executive director of National Association for Counsel for Children, said the bottom line is that individuals who abuse youngsters deserve to be punished.
“Child protection laws are there to safeguard children, and adults who knowingly harm children should be punished,” said Marlow, whose nonprofit agency assists lawyers who handle child welfare cases.
“Our prisons should be more rehabilitative environments, but the prison system’s inadequacies are not a justification for letting a child molester off the hook.”
Defense lawyer Joseph A. Hurley said it makes sense to him that the judge would be concerned about Richards’ time in prison.
“Sure, they have protective custody, but that is solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. We’re not a third-world society,” Hurley said.
“Sex offenders are the lowest of the low in prison,” Hurley said. “He’s a rich, white boy who is a wuss and a child perv. The prison can’t protect them, and Jan Jurden knows that reality. She is right on.”
http://www.freep.com/article/20140330/NEWS07/303300113/Du-Pont-heir-s-sentence-for-raping-daughter-3-raises-questions
Du Pont heir's sentence for raping daughter, 3, raises questions
11:50 AM, March 30, 2014
By Cris Barrish
The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
WILMINGTON, DEL. — A judge who sentenced a wealthy du Pont heir to probation for raping his 3-year-old daughter noted in her order that he “will not fare well” in prison and needed treatment instead of time behind bars, court records show.
Superior Court Judge Jan Jurden’s sentencing order for Robert H. Richards IV suggested that she considered unique circumstances when deciding his punishment for fourth-degree rape. Her observation that prison life would adversely affect Richards was a rare and puzzling rationale, several criminal justice authorities in Delaware said. Some also said her view that treatment was a better idea than prison is a justification typically used when sentencing drug addicts, not child rapists.
Richards’ 2009 rape case became public this month after attorneys for his ex-wife, Tracy, filed a lawsuit seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the abuse of his daughter.
The fact that Jurden expressed concern that prison wasn’t right for Richards came as a surprise to defense lawyers and prosecutors who consider her a tough sentencing judge. Several noted that prison officials can put inmates in protective custody if they are worried about their safety, noting that child abusers are sometimes targeted by other inmates.
“It’s an extremely rare circumstance that prison serves the inmate well,” said Delaware Public Defender Brendan J. O’Neill, whose office represents defendants who cannot afford a lawyer. “Prison is to punish, to segregate the offender from society, and the notion that prison serves people well hasn’t proven to be true in most circumstances.”
O’Neill said he and his deputies have often argued that a defendant was too ill or frail for prison, but he has never seen a judge cite it as a “reason not to send someone to jail.”
Richards was no frail defendant, court records show, listing him at 6-feet-4 and between 250 and 276 pounds. Nor do court records cite any physical illnesses.
O’Neill said the way the Richards case was handled might cause the public to be skeptical about “how a person with great wealth may be treated by the system.”
Richards, who is unemployed and supported by a trust fund, owns a 5,800-square-foot mansion in Greenville, Del., he bought for $1.8 million in 2005. He also lists a home in the exclusive North Shores neighborhood near Rehoboth Beach, according to the state’s sex abuse registry. His great-grandfather is du Pont family patriarch Irenee du Pont, and his father is Robert H. Richards III, a retired partner in the Richards Layton & Finger law firm.
Jurden, who has been a judge since 2001, and Superior Court President James T. Vaughn Jr. did not respond to questions last week about the case.
Deputy State Court Administrator Amy Quinlan said in an email that judges must consider the charges, state sentencing guidelines and “any mitigating or aggravating factors and recommendations” from prosecutors, defense lawyers, corrections officials and others. “That procedure was followed in this case as well.”
The lawsuit filed by Richards’ ex-wife accuses him of admitting to sexually abusing his infant son between 2005 and 2007, the same period when he abused his daughter starting when she was 3.
Police said they investigated allegations involving the boy in 2010 after his mother filed a complaint, but said they did not have sufficient evidence to justify charges. Investigators will take another look at the allegations included in the lawsuit, which are based on reports by probation officers.
State Attorney General Beau Biden’s office had initially indicted Richards on two counts of second-degree rape of a child – Class B violent felonies that carry a mandatory 10-year prison term for each count.
According to the arrest warrant filed by a New Castle County Police Detective JoAnna Burton in December 2007, the girl, then 5, told her grandmother, Donna Burg, that Richards sexually abused her.
Burg said the child reported that her father told her it was “our little secret” but said she didn’t want “my daddy touching me anymore.”
Tracy Richards, who confronted her then-husband, told police he admitted abusing his daughter but said “it was an accident and he would never do it again,” the warrant said.
Richards was free on $60,000 secured bail while awaiting trial on the charges that could have put him behind bars for years.
But in June 2008, just days before a scheduled trial, prosecutor Renee Hrivnak offered Richards a plea to a single count of fourth-degree rape, which carries no mandatory time, and he accepted, admitting in court that he abused his child.
“It was more than reasonable, an enlightened plea offer,” Richards attorney Eugene J. Maurer Jr. said.
Fourth-degree rape is a Class C violent felony that by law can bring up to 15 years in prison, though guidelines suggest zero to 2 1/2 years in prison.
At Richards’ February 2009 sentencing, Hrivnak recommended probation, Biden’s chief deputy Ian R. McConnel said, adding that in retrospect he wished she would have sought prison time. Hrivnak would not comment.
Biden spokesman Jason Miller said the attorney general – who routinely hails the prosecution of child predators as a top priority for his office – did not know about the case.
Miller said only Hrivnak and her supervisor, Allison Texter, were part of the decision on how to resolve the case. Texter, who is now in private practice in Wilmington, did not return calls for comment.
State Prosecutor Kathleen M. Jennings could not discuss the case, McConnel said, because she had represented Richards while he was on probation. Jennings, a former chief deputy attorney general, rejoined the office in November 2011 after about 15 years in private practice. She would not say when she represented Richards.
McConnel would not discuss the rationale behind the Richards’ plea deal and Hrivnak’s recommendation of probation for the fourth-degree rape conviction.
While judges have the latitude to sentence defendants within legal parameters, they are urged to follow more lenient guidelines established by the Delaware Sentencing Accountability Commission, a panel of judges and other top officials in the criminal justice system. The panel has a policy that prison should be reserved for violent offenders, including rapists.
Jurden gave Richards, who had no previous criminal record, an eight-year prison term, but suspended all the prison time for probation.
“Defendant will not fare well in Level 5 setting,” said the final line of her sentencing order. In Delaware’s correctional system, Level 5 is prison.
Joseph S. Grubb, chief New Castle County prosecutor, said he was not involved in the case, but stressed that whether Richards might suffer or thrive in prison was not something prosecutors considered.
“It’s not a concern for us,” Grubb said. “We try to do the right thing in each case. Absent that equation is the physical condition of the defendant.”
Grubb said he did not know “how the judge gathered” that Richards might have trouble in prison, but assumed the presentence report included information she used. That report was not available in the court file.
O’Neill, the public defender, said that while Jurden’s rationale surprised him, “I commend her for making such a courageous ruling. When I find the appropriate place, I’m going to make that argument.”
Kendall Marlowe, executive director of National Association for Counsel for Children, said the bottom line is that individuals who abuse youngsters deserve to be punished.
“Child protection laws are there to safeguard children, and adults who knowingly harm children should be punished,” said Marlow, whose nonprofit agency assists lawyers who handle child welfare cases.
“Our prisons should be more rehabilitative environments, but the prison system’s inadequacies are not a justification for letting a child molester off the hook.”
Defense lawyer Joseph A. Hurley said it makes sense to him that the judge would be concerned about Richards’ time in prison.
“Sure, they have protective custody, but that is solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. We’re not a third-world society,” Hurley said.
“Sex offenders are the lowest of the low in prison,” Hurley said. “He’s a rich, white boy who is a wuss and a child perv. The prison can’t protect them, and Jan Jurden knows that reality. She is right on.”
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Dad arrested for breaking ribs of 2-month-old son (Kannapolis, North Carolina)
Dad is identified as KATERIOUS ARNAZ OAKES.
http://myfox8.com/2014/03/29/nc-father-accused-of-breaking-his-babys-ribs/
NC father accused of breaking his baby’s ribs
Posted on: 9:02 pm, March 29, 2014, by Web Staff
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — A Kannapolis father accused of breaking his 2-month-old son’s ribs has been arrested.
The Independent Tribune reported that 25-year-old Katerious Arnaz Oaks was charged Friday with felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.
Police said the suspect’s baby was brought to Carolinas Medical Center Kannapolis earlier this month with rib fractures. The incident allegedly happened March 11.
Oaks was placed in the Cabarrus County Jail under a $50,000 bond and is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday.
http://myfox8.com/2014/03/29/nc-father-accused-of-breaking-his-babys-ribs/
NC father accused of breaking his baby’s ribs
Posted on: 9:02 pm, March 29, 2014, by Web Staff
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — A Kannapolis father accused of breaking his 2-month-old son’s ribs has been arrested.
The Independent Tribune reported that 25-year-old Katerious Arnaz Oaks was charged Friday with felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.
Police said the suspect’s baby was brought to Carolinas Medical Center Kannapolis earlier this month with rib fractures. The incident allegedly happened March 11.
Oaks was placed in the Cabarrus County Jail under a $50,000 bond and is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday.
Dad charged with abusing 6-month-old daughter during his parenting time (Richland, Washington)
Notice that dad EVAN WAYNE SULLIVAN does not live with the baby's mother, and that he was essentially babysitting. The formal custodial arrangements are not clarified here, so we don't know whether Mom was required to do "parenting" time with Daddy, or whether it was the social pressure that mothers are under these days to "involve" every deadbeat sperm donor they ever had sex with.
The guy is clearly bad news, and if the relationship didn't even last through the baby's infancy, there was obviously a reason.
Never married fathers who never had any commitment to forming a family should NOT be used a caregivers. Just too dangerous, as many of these guys are clueless, volatile idiots.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2014/03/28/2901001/richland-man-charged-with-abusing.html
Richland man charged with abusing 6-month-old daughter
Kristin M. Kraemer, Tri-City Herald
March 28, 2014
A Richland man has been charged with abusing his 6-month-old daughter and causing significant head and leg injuries while he was watching the baby for 3 1/2 hours.
Evan Wayne Sullivan, 29, told detectives that the girl already had a "bleeding cut" inside her mouth and was acting fussy when she was dropped off at his home last May.
However, investigators noted that the timeline reportedly changed during Sullivan's interview, with the father later saying he didn't notice a cut on the baby's lip until after she awoke from a nap.
Doctors in Richland and Spokane found that the injuries were not accidental.
Sullivan pleaded innocent in Benton County Superior Court to second-degree assault of a child with a domestic violence allegation.
His trial is scheduled June 16.
According to court documents, the baby did not have any injuries before being taken to her father's house by her mother, Gabrielle Gingrich.
That was at 3:30 p.m. May 5. Gingrich returned about 7 p.m. and noticed a little blood on the girl's tongue. She asked Sullivan what happened and he replied that the baby "cut her lip," documents said.
Back at home in Benton City, the baby was acting upset and Gingrich thought it was because she was teething, so she gave the girl some medication to help.
Gingrich then took her daughter into the bedroom to check for any injuries and found a bruise on the side of the baby's head above the ear and another on the back of the head, court documents said.
The mother then took the child to the emergency room at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. The treating physician discovered a skull fracture in the area of the bruising, and "determined the injuries were not caused accidentally and were likely malicious in nature," documents said.
Richland police were called to the hospital.
Gingrich gave a timeline of the day's events to officers, who also took pictures of the dark, purple bruises on the baby.
Court documents said because of the skull fracture and the lack of pediatric neurosurgeons in the Tri-City area, the baby was flown to Sacred Heart Children's Hospital in Spokane for further treatment.
A Richland detective and a Child Protective Service worker met with Gingrich the following day and she gave a summary that reportedly was consistent with her previous statement.
Dr. Michelle Messner, a child abuse consultant for the hospital, was assigned to care for the baby and told the detective the injuries were the result of abuse for multiple reasons. The main reason for Messner's initial opinion was "the lack of anyone claiming that the child had an accidental fall or similar event," documents said.
At the same time, detectives in Richland made contact with Sullivan.
The father said it had been hot out and he'd thought his daughter's mouth may have been chapped, causing the bleeding cut, court documents said.
He placed the baby on a play mat because she continued to be fussy, then picked her up to change her shirt after she spit up, documents said. The father told detectives he "bounced" the girl for a while before putting her back on the floor.
The baby finally fell asleep, so Sullivan said he put her in a playpen in his bedroom. She slept for about 30 minutes before she started crying, he told police.
Sullivan said he noticed the cut on the baby's lip when he got her out of the playpen. He returned his daughter to the playpen, but she wouldn't stop fussing, court documents said.
In addition to the skull fracture, medical reports show the girl also suffered a fracture of the tibia, or shinbone, which the Spokane doctor also said is "indicative of abuse," documents said.
The girl now is 1 year and 5 months old. Her updated condition is not known.
Sullivan is out of custody on his personal recognizance and is allowed to travel throughout Washington. He was ordered to have no contact with his daughter while the case is pending.
The guy is clearly bad news, and if the relationship didn't even last through the baby's infancy, there was obviously a reason.
Never married fathers who never had any commitment to forming a family should NOT be used a caregivers. Just too dangerous, as many of these guys are clueless, volatile idiots.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2014/03/28/2901001/richland-man-charged-with-abusing.html
Richland man charged with abusing 6-month-old daughter
Kristin M. Kraemer, Tri-City Herald
March 28, 2014
A Richland man has been charged with abusing his 6-month-old daughter and causing significant head and leg injuries while he was watching the baby for 3 1/2 hours.
Evan Wayne Sullivan, 29, told detectives that the girl already had a "bleeding cut" inside her mouth and was acting fussy when she was dropped off at his home last May.
However, investigators noted that the timeline reportedly changed during Sullivan's interview, with the father later saying he didn't notice a cut on the baby's lip until after she awoke from a nap.
Doctors in Richland and Spokane found that the injuries were not accidental.
Sullivan pleaded innocent in Benton County Superior Court to second-degree assault of a child with a domestic violence allegation.
His trial is scheduled June 16.
According to court documents, the baby did not have any injuries before being taken to her father's house by her mother, Gabrielle Gingrich.
That was at 3:30 p.m. May 5. Gingrich returned about 7 p.m. and noticed a little blood on the girl's tongue. She asked Sullivan what happened and he replied that the baby "cut her lip," documents said.
Back at home in Benton City, the baby was acting upset and Gingrich thought it was because she was teething, so she gave the girl some medication to help.
Gingrich then took her daughter into the bedroom to check for any injuries and found a bruise on the side of the baby's head above the ear and another on the back of the head, court documents said.
The mother then took the child to the emergency room at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. The treating physician discovered a skull fracture in the area of the bruising, and "determined the injuries were not caused accidentally and were likely malicious in nature," documents said.
Richland police were called to the hospital.
Gingrich gave a timeline of the day's events to officers, who also took pictures of the dark, purple bruises on the baby.
Court documents said because of the skull fracture and the lack of pediatric neurosurgeons in the Tri-City area, the baby was flown to Sacred Heart Children's Hospital in Spokane for further treatment.
A Richland detective and a Child Protective Service worker met with Gingrich the following day and she gave a summary that reportedly was consistent with her previous statement.
Dr. Michelle Messner, a child abuse consultant for the hospital, was assigned to care for the baby and told the detective the injuries were the result of abuse for multiple reasons. The main reason for Messner's initial opinion was "the lack of anyone claiming that the child had an accidental fall or similar event," documents said.
At the same time, detectives in Richland made contact with Sullivan.
The father said it had been hot out and he'd thought his daughter's mouth may have been chapped, causing the bleeding cut, court documents said.
He placed the baby on a play mat because she continued to be fussy, then picked her up to change her shirt after she spit up, documents said. The father told detectives he "bounced" the girl for a while before putting her back on the floor.
The baby finally fell asleep, so Sullivan said he put her in a playpen in his bedroom. She slept for about 30 minutes before she started crying, he told police.
Sullivan said he noticed the cut on the baby's lip when he got her out of the playpen. He returned his daughter to the playpen, but she wouldn't stop fussing, court documents said.
In addition to the skull fracture, medical reports show the girl also suffered a fracture of the tibia, or shinbone, which the Spokane doctor also said is "indicative of abuse," documents said.
The girl now is 1 year and 5 months old. Her updated condition is not known.
Sullivan is out of custody on his personal recognizance and is allowed to travel throughout Washington. He was ordered to have no contact with his daughter while the case is pending.
Dad jailed for beating son running late for school (McAllen, Texas)
Dad is identified as JAVIER OMAR PEREZ. Notice there is no mention of a mother in the home. Single dad?
http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=1024948#.UzdK-NfD8pQ
McAllen dad jailed for beating boy running late for school
by Elizabeth Espinosa
Posted: 03.29.2014 at 11:31 AM
Elizabeth Espinosa
Elizabeth is a Digital Content Producer for Action 4 News.
A McAllen man is behind bars after he allegedly beat his son for not getting ready for school quickly.
Child Protective Services responded to a call to a McAllen elementary in February 2014 after a teacher noticed bruises on the victim’s arms and cuts on his ears.
The victim reportedly told authorities his father, Javier Omar Perez, caused the bruises and cuts on his arms and ears.
According to documents obtained by Action 4 News, the victim’s sister said their father hit the victim because he was taking a long time getting ready for school while they were running late.
The incident happened on the 1200 block of W. Pecan Boulevard in McAllen.
Detectives said Perez admitted he grabbed the victim by the arms and picked him up after he could not put on his underwear.
Perez reportedly then grabbed both of the boy’s ears causing him to cry along with bruising.
Documents stated that Perez finished helping the boy get ready for school after the incident, and dropped the children off.
Authorities charged Perez with injury to a child, a third degree felony.
http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=1024948#.UzdK-NfD8pQ
McAllen dad jailed for beating boy running late for school
by Elizabeth Espinosa
Posted: 03.29.2014 at 11:31 AM
Elizabeth Espinosa
Elizabeth is a Digital Content Producer for Action 4 News.
A McAllen man is behind bars after he allegedly beat his son for not getting ready for school quickly.
Child Protective Services responded to a call to a McAllen elementary in February 2014 after a teacher noticed bruises on the victim’s arms and cuts on his ears.
The victim reportedly told authorities his father, Javier Omar Perez, caused the bruises and cuts on his arms and ears.
According to documents obtained by Action 4 News, the victim’s sister said their father hit the victim because he was taking a long time getting ready for school while they were running late.
The incident happened on the 1200 block of W. Pecan Boulevard in McAllen.
Detectives said Perez admitted he grabbed the victim by the arms and picked him up after he could not put on his underwear.
Perez reportedly then grabbed both of the boy’s ears causing him to cry along with bruising.
Documents stated that Perez finished helping the boy get ready for school after the incident, and dropped the children off.
Authorities charged Perez with injury to a child, a third degree felony.
Dad pleads guilty to 9-year-old daughter's death; was originally assaulted at just 2 weeks of age (Rome, New York)
Dad is identified as JOSHUA CASTELLO.
http://www.uticaod.com/article/20140328/NEWS/140329259?refresh=true
Father pleads guilty to shaken daughter's delayed death
The severe brain trauma 2-week-old Lorelei Castello suffered in 2003 never got better, and it was only a matter of time until her father, Joshua Castello of Rome, would have to pay the price for his reckless actions that day.
Rocco LaDuca
Posted Mar. 28, 2014 @ 10:21 am
Updated Mar 28, 2014 at 3:40 PM
UTICA
For more than nine years, young Lorelei Castello could neither walk nor talk, could barely see and lived off a feeding tube – all because she was violently shaken by her father when she was just two weeks old.
The severe brain trauma Lorelei suffered in 2003 never got better, and it was only a matter of time until her father, Joshua Castello of Rome, would have to pay the price for his reckless actions that day.
On Sept. 13, 2012, Lorelei died from a respiratory ailment linked to her shaken baby syndrome. And on Friday, 33-year-old Castello took responsibility for her death by pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter.
“I’m sure he wishes he would have acted differently on that day,” at a time when Castello was young and probably stressed from working a lot, said his public defender, Leland McCormac. “He’s never ever tried to deny it or say the injuries were caused by any other fashion or manner.”
Castello will face no more – and possibly less – than three to nine years in prison when he is sentenced by Oneida County Court Judge Barry M. Donalty on Friday, May 23. Because the long-lasting effect of Lorelei’s injuries was not yet clear at the time she was shaken, Castello previously received only probation in Herkimer County for the 2003 assault.
Now that Lorelei has died, even though Castello’s prison sentence will probably amount to only a few years, his attorney said Castello has already spent more than the past decade haunted by the guilt from his daughter’s suffering.
“He’s endured the most severe punishment that any father could endure – the loss of his own child at his own hands,” McCormac said.
After the proceeding, Lorelei’s mother walked out of the courtroom sobbing, but she declined to comment as she left.
The prosecutor, First Assistant District Attorney Dawn Catera Lupi, then explained how this tragedy is a reminder of what can happen when people disregard how fragile a child can be.
“I think this really is a lesson to a lot of people when care is not taken and people act recklessly toward an infant,” Lupi said. “Your actions toward a very small infant can lead to such a devastating outcome.”
http://www.uticaod.com/article/20140328/NEWS/140329259?refresh=true
Father pleads guilty to shaken daughter's delayed death
The severe brain trauma 2-week-old Lorelei Castello suffered in 2003 never got better, and it was only a matter of time until her father, Joshua Castello of Rome, would have to pay the price for his reckless actions that day.
Rocco LaDuca
Posted Mar. 28, 2014 @ 10:21 am
Updated Mar 28, 2014 at 3:40 PM
UTICA
For more than nine years, young Lorelei Castello could neither walk nor talk, could barely see and lived off a feeding tube – all because she was violently shaken by her father when she was just two weeks old.
The severe brain trauma Lorelei suffered in 2003 never got better, and it was only a matter of time until her father, Joshua Castello of Rome, would have to pay the price for his reckless actions that day.
On Sept. 13, 2012, Lorelei died from a respiratory ailment linked to her shaken baby syndrome. And on Friday, 33-year-old Castello took responsibility for her death by pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter.
“I’m sure he wishes he would have acted differently on that day,” at a time when Castello was young and probably stressed from working a lot, said his public defender, Leland McCormac. “He’s never ever tried to deny it or say the injuries were caused by any other fashion or manner.”
Castello will face no more – and possibly less – than three to nine years in prison when he is sentenced by Oneida County Court Judge Barry M. Donalty on Friday, May 23. Because the long-lasting effect of Lorelei’s injuries was not yet clear at the time she was shaken, Castello previously received only probation in Herkimer County for the 2003 assault.
Now that Lorelei has died, even though Castello’s prison sentence will probably amount to only a few years, his attorney said Castello has already spent more than the past decade haunted by the guilt from his daughter’s suffering.
“He’s endured the most severe punishment that any father could endure – the loss of his own child at his own hands,” McCormac said.
After the proceeding, Lorelei’s mother walked out of the courtroom sobbing, but she declined to comment as she left.
The prosecutor, First Assistant District Attorney Dawn Catera Lupi, then explained how this tragedy is a reminder of what can happen when people disregard how fragile a child can be.
“I think this really is a lesson to a lot of people when care is not taken and people act recklessly toward an infant,” Lupi said. “Your actions toward a very small infant can lead to such a devastating outcome.”
Custodial dad convicted in death of 3-year-old son (Martinsburg, West Virginia)
The non-custodial mom may not have been "mother of the year"--but then we aren't told what she (allegedly) did, are we? Meanwhile, Daddy was clearly worse by any measure, as it does not appear that Mom has a history of torture killings, does she?
So who decided Daddy was the better parent, and why?
Notice that the girlfriend claims that Daddy was violent against her. Chances are that he has a history of domestic violence with the mother as well--but still got custody of vulnerable child. Typical of the fathers rights influence on the courts and social services.
Dad is identified as JAMES N. MAULDIN.
http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/tri_state/west_virginia/berkeley-county-man-charged-with-death-of--year-old/article_11aba224-b6d6-11e3-97ae-001a4bcf6878.html
Berkeley County man charged with death of 3-year-old son found guilty on all counts
Posted: Friday, March 28, 2014 8:07 pm | Updated: 10:55 pm, Fri Mar 28, 2014. Posted on Mar 28, 2014
by Matthew Umstead
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A Berkeley County Circuit Court jury on Friday found a man charged with the 2012 New Year’s Day death of his 3-year-old son guilty on all counts.
James N. Mauldin, 22, who is to be sentenced May 29, was convicted of single counts of death of a child by parent, guardian and/or custodian by child abuse, child abuse causing serious bodily injury, malicious assault and presentation of false information regarding a child’s injuries in the death of Kaiwon Connelley.
Mauldin also was convicted of two counts of gross child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury.
“We’re grateful for the jury verdict,” Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely said of the jurors’ findings, which came after about two hours of deliberation.
Mauldin, who was taken into custody upon the conclusion of the trial that began this week, faces a maximum sentence of not less than 17 or more than 70 years in prison, according to sentencing statutes cited by Games-Neely.
23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Michael D. Lorensen formally scheduled the sentencing hearing for Mauldin in place of the trial’s presiding circuit judge, John C. Yoder, who had an afternoon medical appointment.
In a separate trial in November, Jasmine Dawkins, 24, who was Mauldin’s girlfriend at the time of Kaiwon’s death, was convicted on two felony counts of gross child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury and one misdemeanor count of presentation of false information of a child’s injuries to medical personnel.
Their indictments alleged that the couple falsely stated to authorities that the child fell and struck his head, causing the injuries at their apartment at 214 Joshua Drive near Martinsburg.
Kaiwon had multiple head injuries, including a fractured skull, brain bleeds and severe burns, police have said.
“He was the most (physically) abused child we’ve ever seen in the system,” said Games-Neely, who has served as the county’s prosecuting attorney since 1993.
Dawkins had told police the injuries were the result of Malden punching Kaiwon several times a few days before the boy was hospitalized. She did not report the alleged mistreatment, because she was afraid of being abused herself, Dawkins had told police.
The boy was pronounced dead at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
“He systematically abused this boy,” Games-Neely told the jury in her closing arguments.
While showing the jury a photo of the child’s burned buttocks, Games-Neely said “This is most malicious thing I’ve seen in a long time.”
Games-Neely recalled the testimony of a forensic nurse who examined the child, noting Kaiwon was the most abused child she had seen.
Games-Neely acknowledged that Kaiwon’s biological mother did not deserve to be nominated for “mother of the year” for a prior incident while the child was in her care in Maryland.
But she told the jury that the evidence clearly showed that the child’s burn injuries and head trauma occurred while Kaiwon was staying with his father and her girlfriend in November and December 2011.
During that time, Games-Neely said Kaiwon’s mother was trying to get in touch her son, but was limited by her reliance on public assistance to get around and couldn’t travel to Martinsburg to pick him up.
Defense attorney Christopher Prezioso agreed in closing arguments that Kaiwon’s mother was not to blame for the child’s injuries, but insisted there was ample opportunity while Mauldin was at work for Dawkins to abuse the child and insisted Kaiwon’s father loved his son.
Both Games-Neely and Prezioso cited text messages sent by Dawkins and Mauldin, as well as statements that the couple had given to police and emergency officials.
In urging the jury of five women and seven men to hold Mauldin accountable for his son’s death, Games-Neely concluded the first part of her closing argument by showing the jury a group of images of Kaiwon’s body on a projection screen.
“This is how Kaiwon left this world,” Games-Neely said pointing to the photographs.
“And he left this world in that fashion at the hands of his father, James Mauldin.”
So who decided Daddy was the better parent, and why?
Notice that the girlfriend claims that Daddy was violent against her. Chances are that he has a history of domestic violence with the mother as well--but still got custody of vulnerable child. Typical of the fathers rights influence on the courts and social services.
Dad is identified as JAMES N. MAULDIN.
http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/tri_state/west_virginia/berkeley-county-man-charged-with-death-of--year-old/article_11aba224-b6d6-11e3-97ae-001a4bcf6878.html
Berkeley County man charged with death of 3-year-old son found guilty on all counts
Posted: Friday, March 28, 2014 8:07 pm | Updated: 10:55 pm, Fri Mar 28, 2014. Posted on Mar 28, 2014
by Matthew Umstead
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A Berkeley County Circuit Court jury on Friday found a man charged with the 2012 New Year’s Day death of his 3-year-old son guilty on all counts.
James N. Mauldin, 22, who is to be sentenced May 29, was convicted of single counts of death of a child by parent, guardian and/or custodian by child abuse, child abuse causing serious bodily injury, malicious assault and presentation of false information regarding a child’s injuries in the death of Kaiwon Connelley.
Mauldin also was convicted of two counts of gross child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury.
“We’re grateful for the jury verdict,” Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely said of the jurors’ findings, which came after about two hours of deliberation.
Mauldin, who was taken into custody upon the conclusion of the trial that began this week, faces a maximum sentence of not less than 17 or more than 70 years in prison, according to sentencing statutes cited by Games-Neely.
23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Michael D. Lorensen formally scheduled the sentencing hearing for Mauldin in place of the trial’s presiding circuit judge, John C. Yoder, who had an afternoon medical appointment.
In a separate trial in November, Jasmine Dawkins, 24, who was Mauldin’s girlfriend at the time of Kaiwon’s death, was convicted on two felony counts of gross child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury and one misdemeanor count of presentation of false information of a child’s injuries to medical personnel.
Their indictments alleged that the couple falsely stated to authorities that the child fell and struck his head, causing the injuries at their apartment at 214 Joshua Drive near Martinsburg.
Kaiwon had multiple head injuries, including a fractured skull, brain bleeds and severe burns, police have said.
“He was the most (physically) abused child we’ve ever seen in the system,” said Games-Neely, who has served as the county’s prosecuting attorney since 1993.
Dawkins had told police the injuries were the result of Malden punching Kaiwon several times a few days before the boy was hospitalized. She did not report the alleged mistreatment, because she was afraid of being abused herself, Dawkins had told police.
The boy was pronounced dead at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
“He systematically abused this boy,” Games-Neely told the jury in her closing arguments.
While showing the jury a photo of the child’s burned buttocks, Games-Neely said “This is most malicious thing I’ve seen in a long time.”
Games-Neely recalled the testimony of a forensic nurse who examined the child, noting Kaiwon was the most abused child she had seen.
Games-Neely acknowledged that Kaiwon’s biological mother did not deserve to be nominated for “mother of the year” for a prior incident while the child was in her care in Maryland.
But she told the jury that the evidence clearly showed that the child’s burn injuries and head trauma occurred while Kaiwon was staying with his father and her girlfriend in November and December 2011.
During that time, Games-Neely said Kaiwon’s mother was trying to get in touch her son, but was limited by her reliance on public assistance to get around and couldn’t travel to Martinsburg to pick him up.
Defense attorney Christopher Prezioso agreed in closing arguments that Kaiwon’s mother was not to blame for the child’s injuries, but insisted there was ample opportunity while Mauldin was at work for Dawkins to abuse the child and insisted Kaiwon’s father loved his son.
Both Games-Neely and Prezioso cited text messages sent by Dawkins and Mauldin, as well as statements that the couple had given to police and emergency officials.
In urging the jury of five women and seven men to hold Mauldin accountable for his son’s death, Games-Neely concluded the first part of her closing argument by showing the jury a group of images of Kaiwon’s body on a projection screen.
“This is how Kaiwon left this world,” Games-Neely said pointing to the photographs.
“And he left this world in that fashion at the hands of his father, James Mauldin.”
Friday, March 28, 2014
Dad accused of abusing 6-month-old son; baby has life-threatening injuries (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Dad is identified as ORLANDO FLORES.
http://kfor.com/2014/03/27/6-month-old-boy-hispitalized-father-accused-of-child-abuse/
6-month-old boy hospitalized; father accused of child abuse
Posted on: 6:22 pm, March 27, 2014, by Jesse Wells, updated on: 06:19am, March 28, 2014
OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma City boy is fighting for his life tonight. The 6-month-old baby, nicknamed Simba, is hospitalized with serious head injuries.
The boy’s 20-year-old father has been arrested for child abuse.
The father, Orlando Flores, claimed the child fell out of a baby swing and hit his head, but investigators did not buy that story and neither did the family.
“I’m lost. I’m hurt. I can’t even function today,” said a family relative Phyllis Placker.
Phyllis says the case began when the boy’s aunt showed up to the family’s home and found the boy needing help.
“I guess his eyes had rolled in his head and she said something is wrong with this baby,” said Placker.
That aunt quickly rushed the boy to a nearby fire station.
That’s when the father claimed the boy hit his head falling out of a baby swing.
When officers took the baby to Children’s Hospital, doctors had a different take.
Placker said, “When they got him to the hospital, the doctor said it was not from a swing fall.”
“It was not consistent, the injuries were not consistent, with the story the man was telling,” said Oklahoma City police Sgt. Gary Knight.
Police arrested Flores for child abuse.
Phyllis says Flores later confessed he shook his son out of frustration.
“I just don’t get it,” said Placker. “You’re told all the time don’t shake the baby, but people do it. The man obviously has problems. Thank God he’s in jail.”
The boy remains in a coma, but his family is hopeful he will recover once his brain swelling subsides.
As for the suspect, he’s being held in jail on a 10 thousand dollar bond.
http://kfor.com/2014/03/27/6-month-old-boy-hispitalized-father-accused-of-child-abuse/
6-month-old boy hospitalized; father accused of child abuse
Posted on: 6:22 pm, March 27, 2014, by Jesse Wells, updated on: 06:19am, March 28, 2014
OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma City boy is fighting for his life tonight. The 6-month-old baby, nicknamed Simba, is hospitalized with serious head injuries.
The boy’s 20-year-old father has been arrested for child abuse.
The father, Orlando Flores, claimed the child fell out of a baby swing and hit his head, but investigators did not buy that story and neither did the family.
“I’m lost. I’m hurt. I can’t even function today,” said a family relative Phyllis Placker.
Phyllis says the case began when the boy’s aunt showed up to the family’s home and found the boy needing help.
“I guess his eyes had rolled in his head and she said something is wrong with this baby,” said Placker.
That aunt quickly rushed the boy to a nearby fire station.
That’s when the father claimed the boy hit his head falling out of a baby swing.
When officers took the baby to Children’s Hospital, doctors had a different take.
Placker said, “When they got him to the hospital, the doctor said it was not from a swing fall.”
“It was not consistent, the injuries were not consistent, with the story the man was telling,” said Oklahoma City police Sgt. Gary Knight.
Police arrested Flores for child abuse.
Phyllis says Flores later confessed he shook his son out of frustration.
“I just don’t get it,” said Placker. “You’re told all the time don’t shake the baby, but people do it. The man obviously has problems. Thank God he’s in jail.”
The boy remains in a coma, but his family is hopeful he will recover once his brain swelling subsides.
As for the suspect, he’s being held in jail on a 10 thousand dollar bond.
Dad charged with killing toddler son (New London, Wisconsin)
Sounds like a "stay-at-home" father situation. Too often fathers who are at home are merely thugs who can't/won't get a job.
Dad is identified as LANCE S. VANDENBUSCH.
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20140328/APC0101/303280188/New-London-father-charged-toddler-s-death?nclick_check=1
Police quickly focused on New London father in toddler's abuse death
Mar. 28, 2014 2:18 PM
Written by Holly Meyer
Post-Crescent Media
WAUPACA — The little boy prosecutors say was killed by his father was playful and cuddly the morning he suffered traumatic brain injuries, his mother told investigators.
New London police found their No. 1 suspect once they discovered the toddler's ultimately fatal injuries were inflicted after his mother left him home in his father's care.
The Waupaca County District Attorney’s Office filed a first-degree reckless homicide charge March 21 against 36-year-old Lance S. Vandenbusch. The boy’s father is now in the Waupaca County Jail on a $200,000 cash bond after making his initial court appearance Tuesday, court documents state.
The criminal complaint says the toddler died Dec. 9 — just weeks before his third birthday — at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee after a massive brain injury that was consistent with child abuse.
The criminal complaint details the events leading up to his death. Emergency room staff at New London Family Medical Center suspected child abuse soon after Vandenbusch and the boy’s mother brought him to the hospital on Dec. 3. The New London Police Department was called and an emergency room doctor showed the investigating officer images of the child’s brain and said the injuries did not match the parents’ stories.
The child’s mother told police her son was in good health on the morning of Dec. 3. They had eaten breakfast and he crawled into her lap to watch cartoons at their New London home before she left him in Vandenbusch’s care while she went to work. The mother left work early after Vandenbusch sent her text messages about the toddler throwing up.
The boy was sleeping in his bed when she arrived, but started making noises. When his parents checked on him, he was in his bed with clenched fists and stiffened body, and they couldn’t wake him. They took him to the New London emergency room, he was transfered to Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah for emergency surgery, and then to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee for post-operative care.
A doctor from Children’s Hospital told police the primary diagnosis was child abuse because his injuries were consistent with being shaken, thrown or slammed. She said his injuries were so severe that their effects would have been immediately obvious. The doctor looked at a photograph and said the marks on the left side of the boy’s face were from a slap. The doctor who performed surgery on the boy at Theda Clark said even if the boy survived, he would have had permanent severe brain damage.
Vandenbusch told police he had no idea where his son’s injuries came from and that maybe the boy slapped himself during his seizure.
A preliminary hearing is set for 1 p.m. on April 17 in Waupaca County Circuit Court.
Dad is identified as LANCE S. VANDENBUSCH.
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20140328/APC0101/303280188/New-London-father-charged-toddler-s-death?nclick_check=1
Police quickly focused on New London father in toddler's abuse death
Mar. 28, 2014 2:18 PM
Written by Holly Meyer
Post-Crescent Media
WAUPACA — The little boy prosecutors say was killed by his father was playful and cuddly the morning he suffered traumatic brain injuries, his mother told investigators.
New London police found their No. 1 suspect once they discovered the toddler's ultimately fatal injuries were inflicted after his mother left him home in his father's care.
The Waupaca County District Attorney’s Office filed a first-degree reckless homicide charge March 21 against 36-year-old Lance S. Vandenbusch. The boy’s father is now in the Waupaca County Jail on a $200,000 cash bond after making his initial court appearance Tuesday, court documents state.
The criminal complaint says the toddler died Dec. 9 — just weeks before his third birthday — at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee after a massive brain injury that was consistent with child abuse.
The criminal complaint details the events leading up to his death. Emergency room staff at New London Family Medical Center suspected child abuse soon after Vandenbusch and the boy’s mother brought him to the hospital on Dec. 3. The New London Police Department was called and an emergency room doctor showed the investigating officer images of the child’s brain and said the injuries did not match the parents’ stories.
The child’s mother told police her son was in good health on the morning of Dec. 3. They had eaten breakfast and he crawled into her lap to watch cartoons at their New London home before she left him in Vandenbusch’s care while she went to work. The mother left work early after Vandenbusch sent her text messages about the toddler throwing up.
The boy was sleeping in his bed when she arrived, but started making noises. When his parents checked on him, he was in his bed with clenched fists and stiffened body, and they couldn’t wake him. They took him to the New London emergency room, he was transfered to Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah for emergency surgery, and then to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee for post-operative care.
A doctor from Children’s Hospital told police the primary diagnosis was child abuse because his injuries were consistent with being shaken, thrown or slammed. She said his injuries were so severe that their effects would have been immediately obvious. The doctor looked at a photograph and said the marks on the left side of the boy’s face were from a slap. The doctor who performed surgery on the boy at Theda Clark said even if the boy survived, he would have had permanent severe brain damage.
Vandenbusch told police he had no idea where his son’s injuries came from and that maybe the boy slapped himself during his seizure.
A preliminary hearing is set for 1 p.m. on April 17 in Waupaca County Circuit Court.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Trial coming to close for custodial dad accused of torture murder of 10-year-old son (Brampton, Ontario, Canada)
The murder trial of custodial dad GARFIELD BOOTHE is coming to a close this week. We have posted on this case numerous times.
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2014/03/26/murder_trial_hinges_on_which_parent_fatally_beat_abused_boy_says_lawyer.html
Murder trial hinges on which parent fatally beat abused boy, says lawyer
Lawyers for Shakeil Boothe's guardians — his father and his stepmother — each point fingers in Brampton court.
By: Paola Loriggio Freelance Health writer, Published on Wed Mar 26 2014
A 10-year-old Brampton boy’s father and stepmom are both to blame for the months of abuse and starvation he endured and were “equally capable” of delivering the brutal beating that ended his life, a defence lawyer told the couple’s murder trial Wednesday.
The case hinges on which one of them did batter Shakeil Boothe until the blood seeped out of his muscles and flooded his emaciated body, lawyer John Rosen told a Brampton court.
“He was dead on their watch — both of them,” said Rosen, who represents the father. But only one of them committed murder, he said.
Court has heard both Garfield Boothe and his wife Nichelle Boothe-Rowe, who are charged with second-degree murder, had possible motives for wanting the boy gone.
Shakeil came to Canada from Jamaica in 2009 in search of a better life, but quickly became an embarrassment for his father, a volatile and violent man who ruled his home with an iron fist, Boothe-Rowe’s lawyer Brian Ross argued.
Boothe-Rowe resented Shakeil — her husband’s child with another woman — and was fixated on becoming a mother herself, Rosen alleged. Her dislike of Shakeil only increased after the couple had a son of their own, he said.
Prosecutors allege Shakeil was deprived of food, chained to his bed and regularly whipped with a belt until he bled in the months leading up to his death. Court has heard autopsy results showed the boy suffered heavy blows that overwhelmed his body, already weakened by malnutrition and severe infection.
Both accused have testified to finding Shakeil’s lifeless body on May 26, 2011 — a full day before his death was reported to authorities — but they gave vastly different accounts of what happened that day and in the months before.
Garfield Boothe admitted on the stand he regularly struck his son with a belt for discipline, but denied allegations of long-term abuse and maintained he didn’t lay a hand on Shakeil the morning he died.
He said it was his wife’s idea to chain the boy to his bed during the day because she wasn’t able to control him when his father was out. And Boothe-Rowe was home with Shakeil the morning he was found dead, her husband said. “That day, that morning, he did not kill his child,” Rosen said. “What happened that day is that Nichelle Boothe-Rowe committed murder.”
Court has heard a children’s aid worker called the family’s Brampton, Ont., home that day and spoke to a male speaker, who identified himself as Daniel.
Rosen suggested it was Shakeil who picked up the phone, sending his stepmother into a fit of rage. Terrified that child services would take her baby away after seeing Shakeil’s condition, Boothe-Rowe “must have gone ballistic” and beaten the boy to death, he alleged.
She spent the next two and a half hours cleaning up the mess, planning her escape and plotting to pin it on her husband, who had already been convicted in a spousal abuse case, Rosen said.
When she finally called Boothe at work around 11:20 a.m., she pretended Shakeil had died from the cold he had been fighting for weeks, the lawyer alleged.
Boothe-Rowe, meanwhile, testified her husband woke the boy at dawn to give him cold medicine before leaving for work. Hours later, she found him cold and without vital signs on the basement floor, she said.
She told the court her husband had been chaining Shakeil to his bed for months, intermittently at first but then daily. She would secretly free the boy during the day, she said.
Aside from her husband’s testimony, there is no evidence Boothe-Rowe abused Shakeil, her lawyer said.
“You cannot find that Nichelle beat and chained Shakeil based on the testimony of this admitted liar,” Ross told the jury, listing off lies Boothe admitted telling police, school officials and his probation officer.
Fear for her own life kept Boothe-Rowe from intervening openly on Shakeil’s behalf, her lawyer said.
Boothe-Rowe admitted she didn’t do enough to help Shakeil Boothe, but she did not intend for the boy to die or suspect it could happen, which would be required for a murder conviction, Ross said.
“She didn’t want this to happen,” he said. “She wasn’t encouraging or helping him in any way to make it happen.”
There is no doubt Boothe-Rowe failed in her duty to protect Shakeil, but while her inaction may make her seem despicable, “we don’t convict people in Canada for being despicable,” he said.
Boothe-Rowe was under duress due to the abuse she herself suffered at the hands of her husband and should be acquitted of all charges, Ross said in his closing arguments.
“She believed that if she did anything that would get Garfield in trouble, she would end up dead.”
Prosecutors will present their closing arguments Thursday.
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2014/03/26/murder_trial_hinges_on_which_parent_fatally_beat_abused_boy_says_lawyer.html
Murder trial hinges on which parent fatally beat abused boy, says lawyer
Lawyers for Shakeil Boothe's guardians — his father and his stepmother — each point fingers in Brampton court.
By: Paola Loriggio Freelance Health writer, Published on Wed Mar 26 2014
A 10-year-old Brampton boy’s father and stepmom are both to blame for the months of abuse and starvation he endured and were “equally capable” of delivering the brutal beating that ended his life, a defence lawyer told the couple’s murder trial Wednesday.
The case hinges on which one of them did batter Shakeil Boothe until the blood seeped out of his muscles and flooded his emaciated body, lawyer John Rosen told a Brampton court.
“He was dead on their watch — both of them,” said Rosen, who represents the father. But only one of them committed murder, he said.
Court has heard both Garfield Boothe and his wife Nichelle Boothe-Rowe, who are charged with second-degree murder, had possible motives for wanting the boy gone.
Shakeil came to Canada from Jamaica in 2009 in search of a better life, but quickly became an embarrassment for his father, a volatile and violent man who ruled his home with an iron fist, Boothe-Rowe’s lawyer Brian Ross argued.
Boothe-Rowe resented Shakeil — her husband’s child with another woman — and was fixated on becoming a mother herself, Rosen alleged. Her dislike of Shakeil only increased after the couple had a son of their own, he said.
Prosecutors allege Shakeil was deprived of food, chained to his bed and regularly whipped with a belt until he bled in the months leading up to his death. Court has heard autopsy results showed the boy suffered heavy blows that overwhelmed his body, already weakened by malnutrition and severe infection.
Both accused have testified to finding Shakeil’s lifeless body on May 26, 2011 — a full day before his death was reported to authorities — but they gave vastly different accounts of what happened that day and in the months before.
Garfield Boothe admitted on the stand he regularly struck his son with a belt for discipline, but denied allegations of long-term abuse and maintained he didn’t lay a hand on Shakeil the morning he died.
He said it was his wife’s idea to chain the boy to his bed during the day because she wasn’t able to control him when his father was out. And Boothe-Rowe was home with Shakeil the morning he was found dead, her husband said. “That day, that morning, he did not kill his child,” Rosen said. “What happened that day is that Nichelle Boothe-Rowe committed murder.”
Court has heard a children’s aid worker called the family’s Brampton, Ont., home that day and spoke to a male speaker, who identified himself as Daniel.
Rosen suggested it was Shakeil who picked up the phone, sending his stepmother into a fit of rage. Terrified that child services would take her baby away after seeing Shakeil’s condition, Boothe-Rowe “must have gone ballistic” and beaten the boy to death, he alleged.
She spent the next two and a half hours cleaning up the mess, planning her escape and plotting to pin it on her husband, who had already been convicted in a spousal abuse case, Rosen said.
When she finally called Boothe at work around 11:20 a.m., she pretended Shakeil had died from the cold he had been fighting for weeks, the lawyer alleged.
Boothe-Rowe, meanwhile, testified her husband woke the boy at dawn to give him cold medicine before leaving for work. Hours later, she found him cold and without vital signs on the basement floor, she said.
She told the court her husband had been chaining Shakeil to his bed for months, intermittently at first but then daily. She would secretly free the boy during the day, she said.
Aside from her husband’s testimony, there is no evidence Boothe-Rowe abused Shakeil, her lawyer said.
“You cannot find that Nichelle beat and chained Shakeil based on the testimony of this admitted liar,” Ross told the jury, listing off lies Boothe admitted telling police, school officials and his probation officer.
Fear for her own life kept Boothe-Rowe from intervening openly on Shakeil’s behalf, her lawyer said.
Boothe-Rowe admitted she didn’t do enough to help Shakeil Boothe, but she did not intend for the boy to die or suspect it could happen, which would be required for a murder conviction, Ross said.
“She didn’t want this to happen,” he said. “She wasn’t encouraging or helping him in any way to make it happen.”
There is no doubt Boothe-Rowe failed in her duty to protect Shakeil, but while her inaction may make her seem despicable, “we don’t convict people in Canada for being despicable,” he said.
Boothe-Rowe was under duress due to the abuse she herself suffered at the hands of her husband and should be acquitted of all charges, Ross said in his closing arguments.
“She believed that if she did anything that would get Garfield in trouble, she would end up dead.”
Prosecutors will present their closing arguments Thursday.
Dad shoots 7-year-old daughter while threatening mother; media trivializes incident as "domestic spat" (The Philippines)
Excellent example of how the media trivializes the violence of fathers, especially when it's directed at women and children. This is clearly an act of assault, and yet the news report softens it down to a "domestic spat" or "heated exchange" (as if they were merely disagreeing on who was washing the dishes). Within this context, this was not an "accident." The gun did not misfire while Daddy was cleaning it. Rather he was attempting to intimidate and control his family through waving around a firearm. Whether he "intended" to shoot is really irrelevant.
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/354336/news/regions/report-7-year-old-daughter-accidentally-shot-by-father-in-negros-occidental
Report: 7-year-old daughter accidentally shot by father in Negros Occidental
March 27, 2014 10:01am
A seven-year-old child was accidentally shot by her own father during a domestic spat in their house in Negros Occidental, a radio report said early Thursday.
Visayas-based Bombo Radyo said the incident occurred in Barangay Inolingan in Moises Padilla town, when the girl's father was having an argument with his wife.
Police charged the father, aged 44, with illegal possession of firearms.
Town police chief Senior Inspector Edfil Balibadlan said their initial findings showed the father was drunk and had a heated exchange with his wife and in-law.
During the argument, he got his handgun and fired it, but one of the shots hit his daughter in the back and kidney. The child was brought to the Western Visayas Regional Hospital.
The 44-year-old was detained at the Moises Padilla police station. — LBG, GMA News
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/354336/news/regions/report-7-year-old-daughter-accidentally-shot-by-father-in-negros-occidental
Report: 7-year-old daughter accidentally shot by father in Negros Occidental
March 27, 2014 10:01am
A seven-year-old child was accidentally shot by her own father during a domestic spat in their house in Negros Occidental, a radio report said early Thursday.
Visayas-based Bombo Radyo said the incident occurred in Barangay Inolingan in Moises Padilla town, when the girl's father was having an argument with his wife.
Police charged the father, aged 44, with illegal possession of firearms.
Town police chief Senior Inspector Edfil Balibadlan said their initial findings showed the father was drunk and had a heated exchange with his wife and in-law.
During the argument, he got his handgun and fired it, but one of the shots hit his daughter in the back and kidney. The child was brought to the Western Visayas Regional Hospital.
The 44-year-old was detained at the Moises Padilla police station. — LBG, GMA News
Custodial dad charged with involuntary manslaughter in death of 14-year-old son (Hampton, Virginia)
The only reason we know that dad ANTHONY BROOKS was custodial is because he admitted he was. (He brags about it actually). Claims the kids have all come "a long way" since he "got them." Really? Well, none of them were dead before, were they? Somehow I suspect that whatever Mom was accused of (rightly or wrongly) didn't come up to this level of abuse/neglect.
Now for the other great unanswered question: Who gave this father custody and why? What happened to the mother of these kids?
http://www.dailypress.com/news/crime/dp-nws-brooks-manslaughter-20140327,0,2032889.story
Hampton father charged with involuntary manslaughter in son's death
By Ashley K. Speed and Andrea Castillo
March 27, 2014
HAMPTON — An involuntary manslaughter charge has been filed against a Hampton man in connection to his son's death.
Anthony Brooks, 47, is charged in the death of his 14-year-old son, Antonio J. Brooks. Officers were called about 8:40 a.m. on Oct. 28 to the 800 block of Teach Street after receiving reports of a dead person in the area, according to police. When they arrived, police found the boy dead inside the home.
Brooks was initially charged with felony child neglect. The additional involuntary manslaughter charge was brought by prosecutors last week after the medical examiner's report was complete, according to police.
An autopsy of the boy revealed his death was caused by a medical condition, according to a criminal complaint filed in Hampton Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court.
In interviews with Child Protective Services officials, the boy's siblings said his father was aware of the condition but didn't seek medical help. The document did not specify the condition from which the 14-year-old had suffered. In a 2013 jailhouse interview with the Daily Press, Brooks said that he and his son were close.
"I'm being looked at wrong," Brooks said from Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth. "The only people that believe me are my close friends and family…"(I) know how I raised my kids, and my kids definitely came a long way from when I got them."
Documents filed in Hampton Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court state Brooks' children told him during the weekend that their brother was sick, but Brooks did not seek medical attention. Brooks said his son was well the Saturday prior to his death and spent the day playing with his siblings.
A preliminary hearing was to be held Tuesday for Brooks but was continued due to the new charge. A bond hearing is set for Friday in Hampton Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
Now for the other great unanswered question: Who gave this father custody and why? What happened to the mother of these kids?
http://www.dailypress.com/news/crime/dp-nws-brooks-manslaughter-20140327,0,2032889.story
Hampton father charged with involuntary manslaughter in son's death
By Ashley K. Speed and Andrea Castillo
March 27, 2014
HAMPTON — An involuntary manslaughter charge has been filed against a Hampton man in connection to his son's death.
Anthony Brooks, 47, is charged in the death of his 14-year-old son, Antonio J. Brooks. Officers were called about 8:40 a.m. on Oct. 28 to the 800 block of Teach Street after receiving reports of a dead person in the area, according to police. When they arrived, police found the boy dead inside the home.
Brooks was initially charged with felony child neglect. The additional involuntary manslaughter charge was brought by prosecutors last week after the medical examiner's report was complete, according to police.
An autopsy of the boy revealed his death was caused by a medical condition, according to a criminal complaint filed in Hampton Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court.
In interviews with Child Protective Services officials, the boy's siblings said his father was aware of the condition but didn't seek medical help. The document did not specify the condition from which the 14-year-old had suffered. In a 2013 jailhouse interview with the Daily Press, Brooks said that he and his son were close.
"I'm being looked at wrong," Brooks said from Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth. "The only people that believe me are my close friends and family…"(I) know how I raised my kids, and my kids definitely came a long way from when I got them."
Documents filed in Hampton Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court state Brooks' children told him during the weekend that their brother was sick, but Brooks did not seek medical attention. Brooks said his son was well the Saturday prior to his death and spent the day playing with his siblings.
A preliminary hearing was to be held Tuesday for Brooks but was continued due to the new charge. A bond hearing is set for Friday in Hampton Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
Attempted murder charges dropped against "caretaker" dad accused of abusing 2-month-old son (Silver Springs, Maryland)
Lucky break for dad ADOU IMAN-KOUADIO. Abuser daddy coddling at its finest.
Yet another case where Daddy apparently got to play at being an infant caretaker (and screwing up badly) while Mom had to work.
Meanwhile, it appears this baby will be on a respirator for life, with a very compromised quality of life. Gee, thanks Dad.
http://www.thesentinel.com/mont/news/Man-charged3-27-2014
Man charged with child abuse
Published on: Thursday, March 27, 2014
By Jim Davis
A Silver Spring man will be charged with child abuse after the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office dropped attempted murder charges on Thursday against the man.
Police accused the man of abusing his infant son so badly the boy will have to be placed on a respirator the rest of his life.
According to Ramon Korionoff, spokesperson for The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, the state attorney’s office will proceed with child abuse charges against the baby’s father, Adou L. Kouadio, 25, of the 9700 block of Dilston Road. Kouadio was indicted on charges of first- and second-degree child abuse.
“The elements of attempted murder were not quite met and our office decided not to go forward on that charge,” said Korionoff.
On Feb 14, Montgomery County police were called to Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., after a two-month old child who has been identified as Amir Iman-Kouadio arrived at the hospital in critical condition.
Doctors also discovered the child, who was born on Dec. 4, 2013, was bleeding from his brad, had head trauma and fractured ribs.
Detectives say the father had been caring from his son for most of the day when the infant’s mother returned home after working. She put her son to bed around 9 p.m. on Feb. 3.
Early the next day, at around 2 a.m., the baby woke up crying. Kouadio cared for the boy and put him back to bed.
A short time later, Kouadio checked on the victim and found blood coming from his nose. Kouadio notified the victim’s mother and called 911.
When paramedics arrived, the child did not have a pulse and was not breathing. They performed CPR.
“It’s very, very unfortunate and sad,” said Montgomery County Police Capt. Marcus Jones, chief of the department’s Major Crimes Division. “We don’t have anything that suggests this was longstanding — from our point of view,” said Jones.
Police said it appeared to be a case of “shaken baby syndrome.”
Yet another case where Daddy apparently got to play at being an infant caretaker (and screwing up badly) while Mom had to work.
Meanwhile, it appears this baby will be on a respirator for life, with a very compromised quality of life. Gee, thanks Dad.
http://www.thesentinel.com/mont/news/Man-charged3-27-2014
Man charged with child abuse
Published on: Thursday, March 27, 2014
By Jim Davis
A Silver Spring man will be charged with child abuse after the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office dropped attempted murder charges on Thursday against the man.
Police accused the man of abusing his infant son so badly the boy will have to be placed on a respirator the rest of his life.
According to Ramon Korionoff, spokesperson for The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, the state attorney’s office will proceed with child abuse charges against the baby’s father, Adou L. Kouadio, 25, of the 9700 block of Dilston Road. Kouadio was indicted on charges of first- and second-degree child abuse.
“The elements of attempted murder were not quite met and our office decided not to go forward on that charge,” said Korionoff.
On Feb 14, Montgomery County police were called to Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., after a two-month old child who has been identified as Amir Iman-Kouadio arrived at the hospital in critical condition.
Doctors also discovered the child, who was born on Dec. 4, 2013, was bleeding from his brad, had head trauma and fractured ribs.
Detectives say the father had been caring from his son for most of the day when the infant’s mother returned home after working. She put her son to bed around 9 p.m. on Feb. 3.
Early the next day, at around 2 a.m., the baby woke up crying. Kouadio cared for the boy and put him back to bed.
A short time later, Kouadio checked on the victim and found blood coming from his nose. Kouadio notified the victim’s mother and called 911.
When paramedics arrived, the child did not have a pulse and was not breathing. They performed CPR.
“It’s very, very unfortunate and sad,” said Montgomery County Police Capt. Marcus Jones, chief of the department’s Major Crimes Division. “We don’t have anything that suggests this was longstanding — from our point of view,” said Jones.
Police said it appeared to be a case of “shaken baby syndrome.”
Dad on trial for murder of 2-year-old daughter during visitation (Freehold, New Jersey)
More from the murder trial of dad ARTHUR MORGAN III. We have covered this case extensively since 2011.
http://www.app.com/article/20140327/NJNEWS14/303270044/Arthur-Morgan-trial-Stream-where-daughter-Tierra-died-was-almost-two-feet-deep
Arthur Morgan trial: Stream where daughter Tierra died was almost two feet deep
Mar. 27, 2014 11:47 AM
Written by Kathleen Hopkins
FREEHOLD — The depth of a stream in Shark River Park where 2½-year-old Tierra Morgan-Glover’s body was found strapped in her car seat on Nov. 22, 2011, was almost two feet, a Monmouth County land surveyor told a jury on Thursday.
Steve Edwards, a land surveyor employed by Monmouth County’s engineering department, told the jury weighing a murder charge against Tierra’s father, Arthur Morgan III, that he was called upon by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office to take measurements of the area in Shark River Park in Wall where Tierra’s body was found, and that he went there on three occasions with a partner to do so.
On Dec. 1, 2011, he went into the stream, wearing waders up to his chest, to take measurements at various locations. Viewing photographs taken that day, First Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Marc LeMieux asked the witness how high the water appeared in the picture depicting the spot in the stream where Tierra was found.
“It appears to be about knee level,” Edwards responded.
Edwards also testified that the overall drop from a retaining wall on the embankment to the stream is 12 feet and not easily traversed.
“It was a little sketchy,” he said, responding to a question from Deputy Assistant Public Defender Ryan Moriarty.
But responding to further questions from Moriarty, Edwards acknowledged he was able to make it down the embankment while carrying equipment.
Prosecutors allege that Morgan strapped Tierra in her car seat, weighed it down by attaching a metal car jack to it and then threw the contraption from a bridge on Schoolhouse Road in the park into the stream, after picking the child up from her mother in Lakehurst on Nov. 21, 2011. Public defenders claim that Morgan walked down the embankment with Tierra in the car seat and merely placed her in the stream to let God decide her fate.
Morgan, 29, who was homeless but whose last known address was in Eatontown, is on trial before Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci Jr.
http://www.app.com/article/20140327/NJNEWS14/303270044/Arthur-Morgan-trial-Stream-where-daughter-Tierra-died-was-almost-two-feet-deep
Arthur Morgan trial: Stream where daughter Tierra died was almost two feet deep
Mar. 27, 2014 11:47 AM
Written by Kathleen Hopkins
FREEHOLD — The depth of a stream in Shark River Park where 2½-year-old Tierra Morgan-Glover’s body was found strapped in her car seat on Nov. 22, 2011, was almost two feet, a Monmouth County land surveyor told a jury on Thursday.
Steve Edwards, a land surveyor employed by Monmouth County’s engineering department, told the jury weighing a murder charge against Tierra’s father, Arthur Morgan III, that he was called upon by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office to take measurements of the area in Shark River Park in Wall where Tierra’s body was found, and that he went there on three occasions with a partner to do so.
On Dec. 1, 2011, he went into the stream, wearing waders up to his chest, to take measurements at various locations. Viewing photographs taken that day, First Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Marc LeMieux asked the witness how high the water appeared in the picture depicting the spot in the stream where Tierra was found.
“It appears to be about knee level,” Edwards responded.
Edwards also testified that the overall drop from a retaining wall on the embankment to the stream is 12 feet and not easily traversed.
“It was a little sketchy,” he said, responding to a question from Deputy Assistant Public Defender Ryan Moriarty.
But responding to further questions from Moriarty, Edwards acknowledged he was able to make it down the embankment while carrying equipment.
Prosecutors allege that Morgan strapped Tierra in her car seat, weighed it down by attaching a metal car jack to it and then threw the contraption from a bridge on Schoolhouse Road in the park into the stream, after picking the child up from her mother in Lakehurst on Nov. 21, 2011. Public defenders claim that Morgan walked down the embankment with Tierra in the car seat and merely placed her in the stream to let God decide her fate.
Morgan, 29, who was homeless but whose last known address was in Eatontown, is on trial before Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci Jr.
Dad "drops" 11-week-old son on his head, fracturing his skull (Spartanburg County, South Carolina)
Yeah sure it was an "accident". And not getting the baby medical help was no doubt an "accident" too.
So sad that this mother has to work the night shift just 11 weeks after her baby was born. We so need paid maternity leaves in this country. Wonder if she was the sole support while the abuser Daddy played at being a "stay-at-home"?
Dad is identified as BRANDON OSMENT.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/scso-dad-charged-after-dropping-11weekold-on-his-head/25191856
SCSO: Dad charged after dropping 11-week-old on his head
Father said he dropped the baby by accident
UPDATED 10:19 AM EDT Mar 27, 2014
SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. —A 20-year-old man has been charged with unlawful neglect of a child, after he admitted dropping his 11-week-old baby on the floor, and then not getting medical care for him for eight hours, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were called to Greer Memorial Hospital on Tuesday about a possible case of child abuse. Medical staff there had determined the infant had a fractured skull and was going to be transferred to Greenville Memorial Hospital.
The infant’s father, Brandon Osment, told deputies that at about noon time, he was feeding his 1-year-old daughter and his 11-week-old son at the same time. He said the infant pushed free of his arms, and fell to the floor, hitting his head.
The infant’s mother, who works night shift, was sleeping at the time. She said Osment woke her up and told her what happened, and he later gave the baby Tylenol and put ice on his head to treat the injury. The mother said that several hours later, the infant’s head was swollen, and he was vomiting up his formula when she tried to feed him. At about 8 p.m., the parents decided to take the baby to the hospital.
The infant was found to have a skull fracture and brain damage and is suffering seizures. Deputies said that Osment’s statements were inconsistent with the baby’s injuries, and he gave differing accounts of the events, and because of the significant time that passed before the baby was given medical care, Osment was arrested.
The police report said the extent of the baby’s brain injuries is not yet known.
So sad that this mother has to work the night shift just 11 weeks after her baby was born. We so need paid maternity leaves in this country. Wonder if she was the sole support while the abuser Daddy played at being a "stay-at-home"?
Dad is identified as BRANDON OSMENT.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/scso-dad-charged-after-dropping-11weekold-on-his-head/25191856
SCSO: Dad charged after dropping 11-week-old on his head
Father said he dropped the baby by accident
UPDATED 10:19 AM EDT Mar 27, 2014
SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. —A 20-year-old man has been charged with unlawful neglect of a child, after he admitted dropping his 11-week-old baby on the floor, and then not getting medical care for him for eight hours, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were called to Greer Memorial Hospital on Tuesday about a possible case of child abuse. Medical staff there had determined the infant had a fractured skull and was going to be transferred to Greenville Memorial Hospital.
The infant’s father, Brandon Osment, told deputies that at about noon time, he was feeding his 1-year-old daughter and his 11-week-old son at the same time. He said the infant pushed free of his arms, and fell to the floor, hitting his head.
The infant’s mother, who works night shift, was sleeping at the time. She said Osment woke her up and told her what happened, and he later gave the baby Tylenol and put ice on his head to treat the injury. The mother said that several hours later, the infant’s head was swollen, and he was vomiting up his formula when she tried to feed him. At about 8 p.m., the parents decided to take the baby to the hospital.
The infant was found to have a skull fracture and brain damage and is suffering seizures. Deputies said that Osment’s statements were inconsistent with the baby’s injuries, and he gave differing accounts of the events, and because of the significant time that passed before the baby was given medical care, Osment was arrested.
The police report said the extent of the baby’s brain injuries is not yet known.
Dad pleads guilty to abusing 8-week-old daughter (La Crosse County, Wisconsin)
Dad is identified as ROBERT SCHMIDT. Once again, no mention of a mother in the home.
http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/onalaska-father-convicted-of-child-abuse/article_b126f376-a4b0-5562-84a0-513f2e3e170d.html
Onalaska father convicted of child abuse
9 hours ago • By Anne Jungen
An Onalaska man was convicted Wednesday of abusing his infant daughter.
Robert Schmidt, 22, pleaded guilty to physical abuse of a child. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss misdemeanor charges of obstructing officers and misdemeanor bail jumping.
He faces 7½ years in prison when sentenced May 7 in La Crosse County Circuit Court.
Authorities began investigating when the 8-week-old girl was brought to the emergency room July 14 with a fractured skull and bleeding brain.
Schmidt told a social worker that the baby hit her head when she rolled over in her bassinet. The social worker told investigators Schmidt was in a hurry to leave the hospital, saying he needed to return a truck to his boss.
He later told investigators that the child hit her head on a side table when he got out of bed before saying that he hit her with his elbow by accident when he rolled over, according to the complaint.
http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/onalaska-father-convicted-of-child-abuse/article_b126f376-a4b0-5562-84a0-513f2e3e170d.html
Onalaska father convicted of child abuse
9 hours ago • By Anne Jungen
An Onalaska man was convicted Wednesday of abusing his infant daughter.
Robert Schmidt, 22, pleaded guilty to physical abuse of a child. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss misdemeanor charges of obstructing officers and misdemeanor bail jumping.
He faces 7½ years in prison when sentenced May 7 in La Crosse County Circuit Court.
Authorities began investigating when the 8-week-old girl was brought to the emergency room July 14 with a fractured skull and bleeding brain.
Schmidt told a social worker that the baby hit her head when she rolled over in her bassinet. The social worker told investigators Schmidt was in a hurry to leave the hospital, saying he needed to return a truck to his boss.
He later told investigators that the child hit her head on a side table when he got out of bed before saying that he hit her with his elbow by accident when he rolled over, according to the complaint.
Drunk dad charged with "dropping" 7-week-old daughter (Rock Hill, North Carolina)
Given that dad BRYAN WAYNE GEORGE has a history of domestic violence, I think it highly likely that he didn't just accidentally "drop" the baby--especially given that the baby has such severe injuries.
http://www.islandpacket.com/2014/03/27/3025963/more-charges-filed-against-rock.html
More charges filed against Rock Hill father accused of drunkenly dropping infant daughter
By Jonathan McFadden
March 27, 2014 Updated 55 minutes ago
ROCK HILL — More charges have been filed against a Rock Hill father accused of dropping his 7-week-old infant onto the edge of a bed, resulting in injuries to her arms, legs and ribs, deputies said.
Deputies on Wednesday charged Bryan Wayne George, 28, with abuse/inflict great bodily injury upon a child, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Trent Faris. Held at the York County Detention Center with no bond, George had already been charged with unlawful neglect of a child. So far, George remains the only suspect deputies have charged in connection with the girl's injuries.
An arrest warrant for the neglect charge claims that an intoxicated George dropped his young daughter onto the edge of a bed frame before she continued falling to the floor. The warrant indicates the fell happened on Friday.
Authorities were alerted to the girl's injuries on Saturday when a caseworker with the York County office of the Department of Social Services was called to Piedmont Medical Center, where hospital staff reported treating a girl with suspicious injuries.
The girl's mother, 22, told investigators that she was in the shower at her home on the Catawba Indian Reservation while her daughter was lying in a bassinet. Once she got out, she heard the baby crying "to the point that it scared her," according to a York County Sheriff's report.
When she went into the bedroom, she found George holding the girl to calm her, the report states. The mother went to warm a bottle and later found George lying in the bed with the girl. As she entered the room, George told the mother that the girl spit up. She turned on the light and found a pool of blood on George’s chest. Once at the hospital, doctors performed X-rays and realized the girl suffered from a fractured leg and broken arm.
Deputies placed the girl and her older sister, 2, in to emergency protective custody. They were later given to DSS.
If convicted on both charges, George faces up to 25 years in prison. Court records show that he was charged with criminal domestic violence two weeks ago. That charge is still pending.
http://www.islandpacket.com/2014/03/27/3025963/more-charges-filed-against-rock.html
More charges filed against Rock Hill father accused of drunkenly dropping infant daughter
By Jonathan McFadden
March 27, 2014 Updated 55 minutes ago
ROCK HILL — More charges have been filed against a Rock Hill father accused of dropping his 7-week-old infant onto the edge of a bed, resulting in injuries to her arms, legs and ribs, deputies said.
Deputies on Wednesday charged Bryan Wayne George, 28, with abuse/inflict great bodily injury upon a child, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Trent Faris. Held at the York County Detention Center with no bond, George had already been charged with unlawful neglect of a child. So far, George remains the only suspect deputies have charged in connection with the girl's injuries.
An arrest warrant for the neglect charge claims that an intoxicated George dropped his young daughter onto the edge of a bed frame before she continued falling to the floor. The warrant indicates the fell happened on Friday.
Authorities were alerted to the girl's injuries on Saturday when a caseworker with the York County office of the Department of Social Services was called to Piedmont Medical Center, where hospital staff reported treating a girl with suspicious injuries.
The girl's mother, 22, told investigators that she was in the shower at her home on the Catawba Indian Reservation while her daughter was lying in a bassinet. Once she got out, she heard the baby crying "to the point that it scared her," according to a York County Sheriff's report.
When she went into the bedroom, she found George holding the girl to calm her, the report states. The mother went to warm a bottle and later found George lying in the bed with the girl. As she entered the room, George told the mother that the girl spit up. She turned on the light and found a pool of blood on George’s chest. Once at the hospital, doctors performed X-rays and realized the girl suffered from a fractured leg and broken arm.
Deputies placed the girl and her older sister, 2, in to emergency protective custody. They were later given to DSS.
If convicted on both charges, George faces up to 25 years in prison. Court records show that he was charged with criminal domestic violence two weeks ago. That charge is still pending.
Dad accused of beating 3-month-old daughter (Selma, North Carolina)
Dad is identified as SAQUANA O'NEAL JACKSON. No mention of a mother in the home. Was there one?
http://myfox8.com/2014/03/27/selma-father-accused-of-beating-baby/
Selma father accused of beating baby
Posted on: 9:13 am, March 27, 2014, by Web Staff
SELMA, N.C. — A father is accused of beating his baby girl so badly she’s now clinging to life.
Saquana O’Neal Jackson, 24, of Campground Road, Selma, is charged with felony child abuse.
According to WTVD, investigators said Jackson’s 3-month-old daughter was rushed to WakeMed Tuesday where doctors discovered she had bleeding on the brain.
The baby’s injuries were both old and new, according to arrest warrants.
Jackson is in the Johnston County jail under $500,000 bond.
http://myfox8.com/2014/03/27/selma-father-accused-of-beating-baby/
Selma father accused of beating baby
Posted on: 9:13 am, March 27, 2014, by Web Staff
SELMA, N.C. — A father is accused of beating his baby girl so badly she’s now clinging to life.
Saquana O’Neal Jackson, 24, of Campground Road, Selma, is charged with felony child abuse.
According to WTVD, investigators said Jackson’s 3-month-old daughter was rushed to WakeMed Tuesday where doctors discovered she had bleeding on the brain.
The baby’s injuries were both old and new, according to arrest warrants.
Jackson is in the Johnston County jail under $500,000 bond.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Bail reduced for dad accused of beating 4-month-old son (Attleboro, Massachusetts)
Even though dad RYAN ELLIS was alone and "watching" the baby when he got hurt, Mom has lost custody anyway.
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/bail-reduced-for-attleboro-father-accused-of-beating-infant-son/article_39de379a-b503-11e3-8338-0019bb2963f4.html
Bail reduced for Attleboro father accused of beating infant son
Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 12:25 pm
BY DAVID LINTON
SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
ATTLEBORO — An Attleboro District Court judge today lowered the bail to $25,000 from $50,000 for a city father accused of abusing his 4-month-old son earlier this month.
Judge Daniel O'Shea lowered the bail for 22-year-old Ryan Ellis saying prosecutors were not ready for a probable cause hearing and that police had not filed additional charges against Ellis related to old injuries the infant suffered.
Ellis is accused of breaking the infant's right leg while watching his son March 2, but doctors told police they found prior rib and head injuries after he was brought to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.
Ellis denies causing any injuries and told police the boy hurt his leg from an accidental fall while he was trying to burp him.
Ellis was arrested March 3 and has pleaded innocent to assault and battery on a child under 14 causing serious bodily injury.
Assistant District Attorney Derek Coyne told the judge that prosecutors are still reviewing the case to determine whether they will seek a grand jury indictment and try it in superior court or keep the case for trial in district court.
It is common practice in district court to continue the first scheduled probable cause hearing.
After Coyne said prosecutors were not ready for the probable causing hearing, Ellis' lawyer, Stella O'Leary argued for a reduction in bail.
O'Leary said her client has no prior criminal record and asked that the bail be reduced to $500 with GPS monitoring. She said Ellis has been held since his arrest and denies the charges.
The state Department of Children and Families has granted temporary custody to the child's maternal grandparents and he has been released from the hospital, O'Leary said.
"He has a baby boy he loves very much," O'Leary said.
Coyne opposed the reduction in bail, arguing "the facts in the case have not changed."
Ellis was sent back to jail and the case was continued to April 15 for a probable cause hearing.
A probable causing hearing is a preliminary court proceeding during which prosecutors have to present evidence to a judge to support the charges.
A judge determines whether there is enough evidence to send the case up to a grand jury for possible indictment. Prosecutors can bypass the preliminary hearing and go directly to the grand jury for an indictment.
If convicted in superior court, Ellis faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. The maximum a district court judge could sentence a person to jail is 2 1/2 years.
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/bail-reduced-for-attleboro-father-accused-of-beating-infant-son/article_39de379a-b503-11e3-8338-0019bb2963f4.html
Bail reduced for Attleboro father accused of beating infant son
Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 12:25 pm
BY DAVID LINTON
SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
ATTLEBORO — An Attleboro District Court judge today lowered the bail to $25,000 from $50,000 for a city father accused of abusing his 4-month-old son earlier this month.
Judge Daniel O'Shea lowered the bail for 22-year-old Ryan Ellis saying prosecutors were not ready for a probable cause hearing and that police had not filed additional charges against Ellis related to old injuries the infant suffered.
Ellis is accused of breaking the infant's right leg while watching his son March 2, but doctors told police they found prior rib and head injuries after he was brought to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.
Ellis denies causing any injuries and told police the boy hurt his leg from an accidental fall while he was trying to burp him.
Ellis was arrested March 3 and has pleaded innocent to assault and battery on a child under 14 causing serious bodily injury.
Assistant District Attorney Derek Coyne told the judge that prosecutors are still reviewing the case to determine whether they will seek a grand jury indictment and try it in superior court or keep the case for trial in district court.
It is common practice in district court to continue the first scheduled probable cause hearing.
After Coyne said prosecutors were not ready for the probable causing hearing, Ellis' lawyer, Stella O'Leary argued for a reduction in bail.
O'Leary said her client has no prior criminal record and asked that the bail be reduced to $500 with GPS monitoring. She said Ellis has been held since his arrest and denies the charges.
The state Department of Children and Families has granted temporary custody to the child's maternal grandparents and he has been released from the hospital, O'Leary said.
"He has a baby boy he loves very much," O'Leary said.
Coyne opposed the reduction in bail, arguing "the facts in the case have not changed."
Ellis was sent back to jail and the case was continued to April 15 for a probable cause hearing.
A probable causing hearing is a preliminary court proceeding during which prosecutors have to present evidence to a judge to support the charges.
A judge determines whether there is enough evidence to send the case up to a grand jury for possible indictment. Prosecutors can bypass the preliminary hearing and go directly to the grand jury for an indictment.
If convicted in superior court, Ellis faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. The maximum a district court judge could sentence a person to jail is 2 1/2 years.
Bail denied for non-custodial dad charged with killing 2-year-old daughter; DCFS found previous abuse allegations "unfounded" (Lansing, Illinois)
Dad JEREMIAH THOMPSON, we are told, did not have "custody" per se. But he did apparently have some sort of visitation rights. Court ordered, even though he had a history of child abuse that CPS couldn't manage to substantiate? If so, who was the judge? And what happened to this child's mother? Was there a history of abuse against the mother as well, abuse that was ignored by the police and other authorities?
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/03/26/bail-denied-for-man-charged-with-killing-2-year-old-daughter/
Bail Denied For Man Charged With Killing 2-Year-Old Daughter
March 26, 2014 6:54 AM
(STMW) – A father charged with murder his 2-year-old daughter in south suburban Lansing has been ordered held without bond.
Jeremiah Thompson, 21, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection to the death of 2-year-old Jahariah Patterson, a release from the Village of Lansing said.
He is being held without bond and will next appear in court for a preliminary hearing April 10, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.
About 2 p.m. March 19, paramedics responding to a medical emergency in the 17900 block of Wildwood Avenue found Patterson unresponsive, the statement said.
She was later pronounced dead at the scene at 2:31 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
An autopsy found she died of multiple blunt force injuries from child abuse, and ruled her death a homicide, the medical examiner’s office said.
Thompson was arrested after Lansing Police Department and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force conducted a joint investigation. A village spokesman confirmed Thompson is the baby’s father.
The state Dept. of Children and Family Services said Friday it was investigating the baby’s father after the death, DCFS spokeswoman Karen Hawkins. He did not have legal custody of her at the time of her death, Hawkins said.
DCFS also investigated him twice before, in May 2013 and July 2013, Hawkins said. Allegations in May were “unfounded,” but the July investigation indicated abuse, she said.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/03/26/bail-denied-for-man-charged-with-killing-2-year-old-daughter/
Bail Denied For Man Charged With Killing 2-Year-Old Daughter
March 26, 2014 6:54 AM
(STMW) – A father charged with murder his 2-year-old daughter in south suburban Lansing has been ordered held without bond.
Jeremiah Thompson, 21, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection to the death of 2-year-old Jahariah Patterson, a release from the Village of Lansing said.
He is being held without bond and will next appear in court for a preliminary hearing April 10, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.
About 2 p.m. March 19, paramedics responding to a medical emergency in the 17900 block of Wildwood Avenue found Patterson unresponsive, the statement said.
She was later pronounced dead at the scene at 2:31 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
An autopsy found she died of multiple blunt force injuries from child abuse, and ruled her death a homicide, the medical examiner’s office said.
Thompson was arrested after Lansing Police Department and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force conducted a joint investigation. A village spokesman confirmed Thompson is the baby’s father.
The state Dept. of Children and Family Services said Friday it was investigating the baby’s father after the death, DCFS spokeswoman Karen Hawkins. He did not have legal custody of her at the time of her death, Hawkins said.
DCFS also investigated him twice before, in May 2013 and July 2013, Hawkins said. Allegations in May were “unfounded,” but the July investigation indicated abuse, she said.
Custodial dad on trial for death of 3-year-old son (Martinsburg, West Virginia)
Typical abuser daddy coddling, in that the father is not charged with homicide or even manslaughter.
We're reported on JAMES MAULDIN and this case several times since 2012. It's pretty clear from the sustained abuse (torture) that this boy received, that the father must have been custodial. But I have never seen it clarified what happened to the mother or how or why the father had custody. Unfortunately, this kind of basic cover-up is all too common.
http://www.your4state.com/story/d/story/trial-begins-against-father-in-martinsburg-child-a/35678/ezQCaqu1X0GMLAsf5sYnqA
Trial Begins Against Father in Martinsburg Child Abuse Case
03/25/2014 06:56 PM
03/25/2014 07:06 PM
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Opening statements were given Tuesday in the trial of James Mauldin, who’s accused of killing his 3-year-old son, Kaiwon Connelly.
Mauldin is also charged with one count of child abuse, causing serious bodily and malicious assault.
”Specifically he died from head trauma and he was severely burned, and that is the information we will give to the jury throughout this trial,” Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely said.
Connelly was pronounced dead on New Year’s Day in 2012.
”We're hoping to get as many witnesses as possible,” Games-Neely added. “We're starting with emergency personnel obviously, then we'll proceed with some other witnesses we have in this regard, and then we'll continue over the next two days.”
Games-Neely stated that the child was abused under Mauldin’s supervision. Defense Attorney, Christopher Prezioso stated that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove Mauldin could have abused the child.
Mauldin’s former girlfriend, Jasmine Dawkins, who is not the biological mother of the child, was previous tried earlier this year.
She was convicted for her role in the child's death on two counts of gross child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury and single counts of presentation of false information regarding a child's injuries in the death of Connelly.
The trial will continue through Thursday.
We're reported on JAMES MAULDIN and this case several times since 2012. It's pretty clear from the sustained abuse (torture) that this boy received, that the father must have been custodial. But I have never seen it clarified what happened to the mother or how or why the father had custody. Unfortunately, this kind of basic cover-up is all too common.
http://www.your4state.com/story/d/story/trial-begins-against-father-in-martinsburg-child-a/35678/ezQCaqu1X0GMLAsf5sYnqA
Trial Begins Against Father in Martinsburg Child Abuse Case
03/25/2014 06:56 PM
03/25/2014 07:06 PM
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Opening statements were given Tuesday in the trial of James Mauldin, who’s accused of killing his 3-year-old son, Kaiwon Connelly.
Mauldin is also charged with one count of child abuse, causing serious bodily and malicious assault.
”Specifically he died from head trauma and he was severely burned, and that is the information we will give to the jury throughout this trial,” Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely said.
Connelly was pronounced dead on New Year’s Day in 2012.
”We're hoping to get as many witnesses as possible,” Games-Neely added. “We're starting with emergency personnel obviously, then we'll proceed with some other witnesses we have in this regard, and then we'll continue over the next two days.”
Games-Neely stated that the child was abused under Mauldin’s supervision. Defense Attorney, Christopher Prezioso stated that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove Mauldin could have abused the child.
Mauldin’s former girlfriend, Jasmine Dawkins, who is not the biological mother of the child, was previous tried earlier this year.
She was convicted for her role in the child's death on two counts of gross child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury and single counts of presentation of false information regarding a child's injuries in the death of Connelly.
The trial will continue through Thursday.
Convicted sex offender given custody of two daughters, so he abused them too: How stupid can some judges be? (Auburn, New York)
As far as I'm concerned Judge Peter Corning should be going to prison as an accessory to rape. (Thank you Samantha House for reporting the judge's name. That kind of journalistic courage and integrity is rare.)
Judge Corning's logic (or the lack thereof), that the mother must be a Lying Bitch and Daddy must be a Pure Innocent Victim of a Woman's Wrath is straight-out fathers rights rhetoric. But the FR movement influence over judges and the courts has only become worse in the last 10-15 years, not better. Despite the fact that research has actually shown that very few mothers lie about the sexual abuse of their children.
The rapist daddy is identified as ROGER KULAKOWSKI.
http://auburnpub.com/news/local/fleming-sex-offender-once-granted-custody-of-children-after-conviction/article_3e46a692-a7f1-56f9-beaf-db9a79800b72.html
Fleming sex offender, once granted custody of children after conviction, admits abusing two girls
6 hours ago • Samantha House
For sexually abusing two girls, a Fleming man previously convicted of sodomizing a child is headed back to prison.
According to Chief Assistant District Attorney Chris Valdina, Roger Kulakowski pleaded guilty Monday in Cayuga County Court to two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, a violent felony — one count for each of his victims.
The 60-year-old Fleming man's pleas came one week before he was scheduled to go to trial.
In exchange for admitting he had oral or anal sexual contact with the two children, Kulakowski faces serving five years in prison and five years of post-release supervision.
Valdina said Kulakowski, of 5640 Poplar Cove, had molested the children over the course of several years — starting when the girls were approximately 10 and 11 and ending when they were 16 and 17.
"It was long-term sexual abuse," Valdina said.
David Elkovitch, Kulakowski's defense attorney, did not wish to comment on the case.
If Kulakowski had been found guilty after trial of his original, 11-count indictment, the sex offender potentially faced spending the rest of his life in prison.
The defendant had been charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, three counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of third-degree criminal sexual act, two counts of third-degree sexual abuse, all felonies, and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.
Acknowledging that some may take issue with the length of Kulakowski's promised sentence, Valdina pointed out one of the main benefits that come with a guilty plea: The victims won't have to publicly rehash in a trial the details of the abuse they endured.
"The kids never want to have to relive this," he said. "If we can get a result that protects the community and spares them that, we do it."
Kulakowski's plea comes 29 years after he was first found guilty of sexually abusing a child — a case that would later draw local and national attention.
In 1985, Kulakowski was sentenced to serve four to 12 years in prison for first-degree sodomy after a Cayuga County jury found him guilty of sodomizing a 5-year-old girl.
The abuse was discovered by the defendant's former wife — who baby-sat the girl — after she returned home and witnessed Kulakowski run naked from their bathroom, leaving the child inside.
According to The Citizen's archives, the woman said the girl told her Kulakowski had been sexually abusing her "since she stopped being a baby."
Kulakowski was released from the Bare Hill Correctional Facility in 1993 after serving eight years in prison. He was rated a level-two sex offender deemed to pose a moderate risk of re-offending.
Then, nearly one decade after he was released from prison, Kulakowski returned to court for a high-profile custody battle.
In 2002, former Cayuga County Court Judge Peter Corning allowed Kulakowski to retain custody of his daughter and her stepsister, then ages 4 and 6 — awarding custody to Kulakowski and his sister instead of the girls' grandparents.
In a controversial decision that drew ire from advocates and made its way into national news outlets such as The New York Times, Corning argued that keeping the girls with Kulakowski was in their best interest.
He said Kulakowski had been convicted based on the testimony of a young child and an ex-wife who may have "had reason to create problems for him."
Corning added that Kulakowski had consistently denied sodomizing the child, even when an admission would've helped him earn an earlier release from prison. "I am not going to be bullied or affected by advocates who make these assertions without knowing any of the facts," Corning said at the time. "I was convinced and I am convinced that Mr. Kulakowski is not a predator, and not a danger to these children." More than 11 years and two victims later, Valdina reflected on Corning's custody ruling. "I'm not happy that you had somebody who was a convicted sex offender being given custody of children, and now he's been convicted of a new sex offense," he said. Kulakowski, who is currently in the custody of the Cayuga County Jail, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22. After he completes his prison term, Kulakowski will undergo a new Sex Offender Registration Act assessment that will reevaluate the risk he potentially poses to the community.
Judge Corning's logic (or the lack thereof), that the mother must be a Lying Bitch and Daddy must be a Pure Innocent Victim of a Woman's Wrath is straight-out fathers rights rhetoric. But the FR movement influence over judges and the courts has only become worse in the last 10-15 years, not better. Despite the fact that research has actually shown that very few mothers lie about the sexual abuse of their children.
The rapist daddy is identified as ROGER KULAKOWSKI.
http://auburnpub.com/news/local/fleming-sex-offender-once-granted-custody-of-children-after-conviction/article_3e46a692-a7f1-56f9-beaf-db9a79800b72.html
Fleming sex offender, once granted custody of children after conviction, admits abusing two girls
6 hours ago • Samantha House
For sexually abusing two girls, a Fleming man previously convicted of sodomizing a child is headed back to prison.
According to Chief Assistant District Attorney Chris Valdina, Roger Kulakowski pleaded guilty Monday in Cayuga County Court to two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, a violent felony — one count for each of his victims.
The 60-year-old Fleming man's pleas came one week before he was scheduled to go to trial.
In exchange for admitting he had oral or anal sexual contact with the two children, Kulakowski faces serving five years in prison and five years of post-release supervision.
Valdina said Kulakowski, of 5640 Poplar Cove, had molested the children over the course of several years — starting when the girls were approximately 10 and 11 and ending when they were 16 and 17.
"It was long-term sexual abuse," Valdina said.
David Elkovitch, Kulakowski's defense attorney, did not wish to comment on the case.
If Kulakowski had been found guilty after trial of his original, 11-count indictment, the sex offender potentially faced spending the rest of his life in prison.
The defendant had been charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, three counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of third-degree criminal sexual act, two counts of third-degree sexual abuse, all felonies, and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.
Acknowledging that some may take issue with the length of Kulakowski's promised sentence, Valdina pointed out one of the main benefits that come with a guilty plea: The victims won't have to publicly rehash in a trial the details of the abuse they endured.
"The kids never want to have to relive this," he said. "If we can get a result that protects the community and spares them that, we do it."
Kulakowski's plea comes 29 years after he was first found guilty of sexually abusing a child — a case that would later draw local and national attention.
In 1985, Kulakowski was sentenced to serve four to 12 years in prison for first-degree sodomy after a Cayuga County jury found him guilty of sodomizing a 5-year-old girl.
The abuse was discovered by the defendant's former wife — who baby-sat the girl — after she returned home and witnessed Kulakowski run naked from their bathroom, leaving the child inside.
According to The Citizen's archives, the woman said the girl told her Kulakowski had been sexually abusing her "since she stopped being a baby."
Kulakowski was released from the Bare Hill Correctional Facility in 1993 after serving eight years in prison. He was rated a level-two sex offender deemed to pose a moderate risk of re-offending.
Then, nearly one decade after he was released from prison, Kulakowski returned to court for a high-profile custody battle.
In 2002, former Cayuga County Court Judge Peter Corning allowed Kulakowski to retain custody of his daughter and her stepsister, then ages 4 and 6 — awarding custody to Kulakowski and his sister instead of the girls' grandparents.
In a controversial decision that drew ire from advocates and made its way into national news outlets such as The New York Times, Corning argued that keeping the girls with Kulakowski was in their best interest.
He said Kulakowski had been convicted based on the testimony of a young child and an ex-wife who may have "had reason to create problems for him."
Corning added that Kulakowski had consistently denied sodomizing the child, even when an admission would've helped him earn an earlier release from prison. "I am not going to be bullied or affected by advocates who make these assertions without knowing any of the facts," Corning said at the time. "I was convinced and I am convinced that Mr. Kulakowski is not a predator, and not a danger to these children." More than 11 years and two victims later, Valdina reflected on Corning's custody ruling. "I'm not happy that you had somebody who was a convicted sex offender being given custody of children, and now he's been convicted of a new sex offense," he said. Kulakowski, who is currently in the custody of the Cayuga County Jail, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22. After he completes his prison term, Kulakowski will undergo a new Sex Offender Registration Act assessment that will reevaluate the risk he potentially poses to the community.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Dad charged with homicide in death of 14-year-old son (Hampton, Viriginia)
Dad is identified as ANTHONY JAMES BROOKS. Notice that there is no mention of a mother in the home, and that CPS now has the kids. What happened to Mom? Is this a single father? How and why did he apparently have custody?
http://wavy.com/2014/03/24/father-arrested-after-child-neglect-case-ruled-a-homicide/
Father arrested after son’s death ruled a homicide
By Jane Wertz
Updated: Monday, March 24, 2014, 7:08 pm
Published: Monday, March 24, 2014, 7:05 pm
HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) – A Hampton father is now charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter in connection with his teenage son’s death.
Police were called to a home in the 800 block of Teach Street the morning of October 28 and arrived to find 14-year-old Antonio J. Brooks dead inside. In October, Sgt. Jason Price said there were four other children inside the home. They were handed over to child protective services.
The child’s father, Anthony James Brooks, was arrested the same day on one count of child neglect.
Months later, an autopsy determined the death to be a homicide and a warrant was issued for Brooks’ arrest. Brooks was arrested on March 21 on the new charge.
He is in the custody of the Hampton Sheriff’s Office.
http://wavy.com/2014/03/24/father-arrested-after-child-neglect-case-ruled-a-homicide/
Father arrested after son’s death ruled a homicide
By Jane Wertz
Updated: Monday, March 24, 2014, 7:08 pm
Published: Monday, March 24, 2014, 7:05 pm
HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) – A Hampton father is now charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter in connection with his teenage son’s death.
Police were called to a home in the 800 block of Teach Street the morning of October 28 and arrived to find 14-year-old Antonio J. Brooks dead inside. In October, Sgt. Jason Price said there were four other children inside the home. They were handed over to child protective services.
The child’s father, Anthony James Brooks, was arrested the same day on one count of child neglect.
Months later, an autopsy determined the death to be a homicide and a warrant was issued for Brooks’ arrest. Brooks was arrested on March 21 on the new charge.
He is in the custody of the Hampton Sheriff’s Office.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Dad who bashed partner, held sword to daughter's neck still gets weekly access visits (Sydney, Australia)
Typical judicial response for Australia, which has been overrun by Fathers Rights politics over the past 20 years.
Dad is identified only as MR. SALDO.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/father-jailed-for-bashing-partner-granted-access-to-daughter-20140322-35a2k.html
Father jailed for bashing partner granted access to daughter
March 23, 2014
A father who bashed his partner and held a samurai sword to their daughter's throat was still allowed weekly access to the child because a Family Court judge believed the terrifying domestic violence case did not constitute a ''change in the family dynamic''.
The mother was reprimanded by the judge and convicted for 20 breaches of parenting orders for refusing to bring her seven-year-old girl to the weekly visits because she feared for their safety.
The five-year-long custody dispute has tested the judicial system's understanding of the impact of domestic violence and has elicited a unprecedented mea culpa from a veteran psychologist, who admitted he made a gross misjudgment by not believing the mother's allegations.
The couple, given the pseudonyms Ms Tindall and Mr Saldo, have been bitterly fighting over parenting orders since their relationship ended in 2008.
Both parents have supported various forms of weekly paternal visits but, in August 2010, Ms Tindall suddenly stopped dropping the child at meetings at a KFC restaurant because Mr Saldo was about to go on trial for bashing her, tying her to a chair and swinging a sword at the child in their Cambridge Park home in 2007.
A court ordered that the two-hour visits should occur at a supervised contact centre but Ms Tindall failed to comply. She is now appealing against her convictions in the Family Court of Australia.
Judge Stewart Austin said the domestic violence incident had occurred years earlier and therefore the pending criminal proceedings did not constitute ''a change in the family dynamic'' that would justify her defiance of the parenting orders.
''The father's decision to publicly admit his past violent behaviour changed nothing about the history of the parties' relationship,'' Justice Austin said. ''His pleas of guilty were only a vindication of the mother's allegations of past domestic violence.''
Ms Tindall told the court Mr Saldo's admissions to some of the criminal charges made her fearful and she thought he would carry out threats to kill her and her child.
Mr Saldo responded that her ''sudden about-face'' was an act and she had a pattern of making up allegations, including a false claim that he sexually abused their daughter.
The criminal proceedings were ''a convenient excuse for carrying out her own will, which is to exclude him from his daughter's life'', his summary of argument said.
Family Court psychologist Dr R initially agreed with Mr Saldo, describing Ms Tindall as calculated and brazen. However, when Mr Saldo entered a guilty plea in Gosford District Court and was convicted to five years in prison, Dr R admitted he had understated the degree of violence and had never been more wrong in his 20 years of preparing expert reports.
Justice Austin said the father's last threat was a text message in 2008 and the prospect of violence was ''quite remote''. He said the mother's sudden change in attitude to paternal access ''does not withstand logical scrutiny''.
However, an academic expert gave evidence that domestic violence victims often act in ways that may seem incongruous and irrational to a reasonable person because of the emotional abuse suffered.
If Ms Tindall's appeal, which was heard on Tuesday, is successful, it could change the judicial system's understanding of seemingly ''unreasonable'' behaviour carried out by domestic violence sufferers, Ms Tindall's lawyer Elisabeth Houston said.
Dad is identified only as MR. SALDO.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/father-jailed-for-bashing-partner-granted-access-to-daughter-20140322-35a2k.html
Father jailed for bashing partner granted access to daughter
March 23, 2014
A father who bashed his partner and held a samurai sword to their daughter's throat was still allowed weekly access to the child because a Family Court judge believed the terrifying domestic violence case did not constitute a ''change in the family dynamic''.
The mother was reprimanded by the judge and convicted for 20 breaches of parenting orders for refusing to bring her seven-year-old girl to the weekly visits because she feared for their safety.
The five-year-long custody dispute has tested the judicial system's understanding of the impact of domestic violence and has elicited a unprecedented mea culpa from a veteran psychologist, who admitted he made a gross misjudgment by not believing the mother's allegations.
The couple, given the pseudonyms Ms Tindall and Mr Saldo, have been bitterly fighting over parenting orders since their relationship ended in 2008.
Both parents have supported various forms of weekly paternal visits but, in August 2010, Ms Tindall suddenly stopped dropping the child at meetings at a KFC restaurant because Mr Saldo was about to go on trial for bashing her, tying her to a chair and swinging a sword at the child in their Cambridge Park home in 2007.
A court ordered that the two-hour visits should occur at a supervised contact centre but Ms Tindall failed to comply. She is now appealing against her convictions in the Family Court of Australia.
Judge Stewart Austin said the domestic violence incident had occurred years earlier and therefore the pending criminal proceedings did not constitute ''a change in the family dynamic'' that would justify her defiance of the parenting orders.
''The father's decision to publicly admit his past violent behaviour changed nothing about the history of the parties' relationship,'' Justice Austin said. ''His pleas of guilty were only a vindication of the mother's allegations of past domestic violence.''
Ms Tindall told the court Mr Saldo's admissions to some of the criminal charges made her fearful and she thought he would carry out threats to kill her and her child.
Mr Saldo responded that her ''sudden about-face'' was an act and she had a pattern of making up allegations, including a false claim that he sexually abused their daughter.
The criminal proceedings were ''a convenient excuse for carrying out her own will, which is to exclude him from his daughter's life'', his summary of argument said.
Family Court psychologist Dr R initially agreed with Mr Saldo, describing Ms Tindall as calculated and brazen. However, when Mr Saldo entered a guilty plea in Gosford District Court and was convicted to five years in prison, Dr R admitted he had understated the degree of violence and had never been more wrong in his 20 years of preparing expert reports.
Justice Austin said the father's last threat was a text message in 2008 and the prospect of violence was ''quite remote''. He said the mother's sudden change in attitude to paternal access ''does not withstand logical scrutiny''.
However, an academic expert gave evidence that domestic violence victims often act in ways that may seem incongruous and irrational to a reasonable person because of the emotional abuse suffered.
If Ms Tindall's appeal, which was heard on Tuesday, is successful, it could change the judicial system's understanding of seemingly ''unreasonable'' behaviour carried out by domestic violence sufferers, Ms Tindall's lawyer Elisabeth Houston said.
Dad gets 16 years for beating 6-week-old daughter, putting her in freezer (Tacoma, Washington)
The scumbag dad is identified as TYLER DEUTSCH.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/man-16-years-putting-infant-freezer-23014593
Man Gets 16 Years for Putting Infant in Freezer
TACOMA, Wash. March 22, 2014
(AP) Associated Press
A 25-year-old Washington man accused of putting his 6-week-old daughter in a 10-degree freezer for about an hour to stop her crying was sentenced Friday to 16 years in prison.
Prosecutor Mark Lindquist says Tyler Deutsch pleaded guilty on Jan. 31 to first-degree assault for beating his infant daughter and putting her in the freezer. She has fully recovered, but the prosecutor calls the crime horrible and inexplicable.
Authorities say the child's core temperature fell to 85 degrees in the freezer, after Deutsch put her there and then went to his bedroom and fell asleep. She also had a broken arm and leg and a head injury.
The mother, who had left the baby in his care, saw Deutsch pull her out of the freezer as she was returning home and called 911.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/man-16-years-putting-infant-freezer-23014593
Man Gets 16 Years for Putting Infant in Freezer
TACOMA, Wash. March 22, 2014
(AP) Associated Press
A 25-year-old Washington man accused of putting his 6-week-old daughter in a 10-degree freezer for about an hour to stop her crying was sentenced Friday to 16 years in prison.
Prosecutor Mark Lindquist says Tyler Deutsch pleaded guilty on Jan. 31 to first-degree assault for beating his infant daughter and putting her in the freezer. She has fully recovered, but the prosecutor calls the crime horrible and inexplicable.
Authorities say the child's core temperature fell to 85 degrees in the freezer, after Deutsch put her there and then went to his bedroom and fell asleep. She also had a broken arm and leg and a head injury.
The mother, who had left the baby in his care, saw Deutsch pull her out of the freezer as she was returning home and called 911.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Non-custodial dad "investigated" by CPS before murder of 2-year-old daughter (Lansing, Michigan)
So who gave UNNAMED DAD access to this little girl? Did the mother have custody? Was she ordered by the courts to let Daddy have visitation? Lots of unanswered questions....
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/26364338-418/dcfs-probed-dead-childs-father.html
DCFS probed dead child’s father
March 22, 2014 12:14AM
Updated: March 22, 2014 2:03AM
The father of a 2-year-old girl found dead Wednesday at her Lansing home was investigated by the state child welfare agency twice before, according to the agency.
An investigation of the man by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services in May 2013 determined the allegation to be “unfounded,” and another in July 2013 “indicated for abuse,” DCFS spokeswoman Karen Hawkins said.
Hawkins confirmed that DCFS is investigating Jahariah Patterson’s father and that he did not have legal custody of the girl at the time of her death.
An autopsy indicated that the toddler died from child abuse, and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Police and paramedics were called Wednesday afternoon to the 17900 block of Wildwood Avenue and found Jahariah unresponsive, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lansing police have refused to comment on the incident.
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/26364338-418/dcfs-probed-dead-childs-father.html
DCFS probed dead child’s father
March 22, 2014 12:14AM
Updated: March 22, 2014 2:03AM
The father of a 2-year-old girl found dead Wednesday at her Lansing home was investigated by the state child welfare agency twice before, according to the agency.
An investigation of the man by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services in May 2013 determined the allegation to be “unfounded,” and another in July 2013 “indicated for abuse,” DCFS spokeswoman Karen Hawkins said.
Hawkins confirmed that DCFS is investigating Jahariah Patterson’s father and that he did not have legal custody of the girl at the time of her death.
An autopsy indicated that the toddler died from child abuse, and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Police and paramedics were called Wednesday afternoon to the 17900 block of Wildwood Avenue and found Jahariah unresponsive, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lansing police have refused to comment on the incident.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Custodial dad charged with murder in beating death of 12-year-old son; mom seeking custody of surviving daughter (Paulding County, Georgia)
We've posted on this case and custodial dad SHAYAA YUSEF FORBES before. Classic case of an abusive father (who also beat the mother) gaining custody--only to eventually kill the boy. So sad, so typical.
Who was the judge in this case? The judge and all the other assorted court personnel need to be held responsible for sickening custody decisions like this.
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/state/story/Dad-charged-with-murder-in-beating-death-of-12/zyRrJRjdQEaZ_nihi0sAhg.cspx
Dad charged with murder in beating death of 12-year-old boy
Investigators said they interviewed the boy's father, Shayaa Yusef Forbes, 32, and charged with him with child cruelty.
PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. -- A father whose 12-year-old son died on Friday has been charged with murder.
The body of Eric Forbes, a sixth-grade student at Sammy McClure Middle School in Paulding County, was found badly beaten when police were called to his Acworth home Friday night. Shayaa Yusef Forbes initially told police his son drowned.
The preliminary autopsy report, released Tuesday, said Forbes was the victim of severe child abuse. The GBI said the cause of death is still under investigation, but the manner of death was homicide.
Forbes, 32, was initially charged with child cruelty, but a murder charge was added Wednesday.
Investigators told Channel 2's Aaron Diamant that corporal punishment was a "regular part of the disciplinary process" for the boy.
Police said the boy's sister also lived at the home. She is now in state custody.
The boy’s mother, Ashlei Majors, is seeking custody of her daughter.
Majors said she left the relationship years ago because she suffered abuse, too.
"I really don't want to talk about it," said Majors as she walked out of the courtroom. "But it wasn't a good history."
A judge delayed the custody hearing because neither side brought attorneys.
Who was the judge in this case? The judge and all the other assorted court personnel need to be held responsible for sickening custody decisions like this.
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/state/story/Dad-charged-with-murder-in-beating-death-of-12/zyRrJRjdQEaZ_nihi0sAhg.cspx
Dad charged with murder in beating death of 12-year-old boy
Investigators said they interviewed the boy's father, Shayaa Yusef Forbes, 32, and charged with him with child cruelty.
PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. -- A father whose 12-year-old son died on Friday has been charged with murder.
The body of Eric Forbes, a sixth-grade student at Sammy McClure Middle School in Paulding County, was found badly beaten when police were called to his Acworth home Friday night. Shayaa Yusef Forbes initially told police his son drowned.
The preliminary autopsy report, released Tuesday, said Forbes was the victim of severe child abuse. The GBI said the cause of death is still under investigation, but the manner of death was homicide.
Forbes, 32, was initially charged with child cruelty, but a murder charge was added Wednesday.
Investigators told Channel 2's Aaron Diamant that corporal punishment was a "regular part of the disciplinary process" for the boy.
Police said the boy's sister also lived at the home. She is now in state custody.
The boy’s mother, Ashlei Majors, is seeking custody of her daughter.
Majors said she left the relationship years ago because she suffered abuse, too.
"I really don't want to talk about it," said Majors as she walked out of the courtroom. "But it wasn't a good history."
A judge delayed the custody hearing because neither side brought attorneys.
Dad indicted for murder of 25-month-old son (Lynchburg, Virginia)
Dad is identified as OLIVER SEIGEFRED FELIX. Once again, no mention of a mother in the home. Single dad?
http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/father-indicted-in-lynchburg-in-death-of-child/article_4057f7e0-b06d-11e3-9d3a-001a4bcf6878.html
Father indicted in Lynchburg in death of child
25-month-old died in April of 2013
Posted: Thursday, March 20, 2014 4:21 pm
Steve Hardy A man has been indicted for murder in the death of his 25-month-old son.
Last week, a Lynchburg grand jury returned three indictments on Oliver Seigefred Felix, 39, for murder, felony child abuse and felony child endangerment, Lynchburg police wrote in a Thursday afternoon news release.
In April 2013, the child, Simeon Orhyon Tyler was taken to Lynchburg General Hospital with "significant injuries," officers wrote.
He was flown to the University of Virginia Medical Center, where he later died.
"After the indictments were issued, an extensive week-long search in Lynchburg and Amherst County ... resulted in Mr. Felix surrendering to the Lynchburg police department on March 19 without incident," the release states.
Felix appeared in Lynchburg Circuit Court on Thursday for an attorney advisement hearing. Leigh Drewry was retained as his attorney; Drewry said it was too early in the process to comment.
Lynchburg Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Bethany Harrison, the prosecutor, did not disclose details of the case on Thursday when reached for comment. A bond hearing is set for next Tuesday at 9 a.m. in Lynchburg Circuit Court.
http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/father-indicted-in-lynchburg-in-death-of-child/article_4057f7e0-b06d-11e3-9d3a-001a4bcf6878.html
Father indicted in Lynchburg in death of child
25-month-old died in April of 2013
Posted: Thursday, March 20, 2014 4:21 pm
Steve Hardy A man has been indicted for murder in the death of his 25-month-old son.
Last week, a Lynchburg grand jury returned three indictments on Oliver Seigefred Felix, 39, for murder, felony child abuse and felony child endangerment, Lynchburg police wrote in a Thursday afternoon news release.
In April 2013, the child, Simeon Orhyon Tyler was taken to Lynchburg General Hospital with "significant injuries," officers wrote.
He was flown to the University of Virginia Medical Center, where he later died.
"After the indictments were issued, an extensive week-long search in Lynchburg and Amherst County ... resulted in Mr. Felix surrendering to the Lynchburg police department on March 19 without incident," the release states.
Felix appeared in Lynchburg Circuit Court on Thursday for an attorney advisement hearing. Leigh Drewry was retained as his attorney; Drewry said it was too early in the process to comment.
Lynchburg Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Bethany Harrison, the prosecutor, did not disclose details of the case on Thursday when reached for comment. A bond hearing is set for next Tuesday at 9 a.m. in Lynchburg Circuit Court.
Dad charged with felony child abuse of 5-week-old son (Forsyth County, North Carolina)
Dad is identified as EDWIN DOUGLAS ALLEN. No mention of a mother in the home. Was there one? What happened to her? At any rate, she no longer has custody either, even though she is apparently not charged with anything. Why?
http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/father-faces-felony-charges-in-injuring-of-baby/article_9c328e38-b07a-11e3-b352-001a4bcf6878.htm
Father faces felony charges in injuring of baby
Posted: Thursday, March 20, 2014 5:57 pm
MEGHANN EVANS/Winston-Salem Journal
Investigators with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office have charged a 22-year-old man with two counts of felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury after his 5-week-old child was hospitalized.
Officers on Thursday arrested Edwin Douglas Allen, 22, of the 6000 block of Cain Forest Drive in Walkertown. He is being held in the Forsyth County Jail with his bond set at $1 million.
According to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center contacted the Sheriff’s Office on Monday night to report suspected child abuse involving a 5-week-old boy. Officials say the infant arrived at Brenner’s Emergency Department by ambulance after an emergency referral from the child’s pediatrician.
The child’s injuries include multiple fractures, bleeding on and within the brain, respiratory distress and other injuries. The infant remains in the hospital, and the Department of Social Services has assumed emergency custody.
http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/father-faces-felony-charges-in-injuring-of-baby/article_9c328e38-b07a-11e3-b352-001a4bcf6878.htm
Father faces felony charges in injuring of baby
Posted: Thursday, March 20, 2014 5:57 pm
MEGHANN EVANS/Winston-Salem Journal
Investigators with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office have charged a 22-year-old man with two counts of felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury after his 5-week-old child was hospitalized.
Officers on Thursday arrested Edwin Douglas Allen, 22, of the 6000 block of Cain Forest Drive in Walkertown. He is being held in the Forsyth County Jail with his bond set at $1 million.
According to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center contacted the Sheriff’s Office on Monday night to report suspected child abuse involving a 5-week-old boy. Officials say the infant arrived at Brenner’s Emergency Department by ambulance after an emergency referral from the child’s pediatrician.
The child’s injuries include multiple fractures, bleeding on and within the brain, respiratory distress and other injuries. The infant remains in the hospital, and the Department of Social Services has assumed emergency custody.
Attempted murder charges dropped against stay-st-home dad, to be charged with "child abuse" for leaving infant on permanent respirator (Montgomery County, Maryland)
Poor mom had to work and support the family while this useless piece of crap played at being a stay-at-home father. Again, we have a sperm donor with no nurturing skills or patience--and the usual horrible results.
Some idiots claim "shaken baby syndrome" doesn't exist. In the real world, most of these babies don't just have brain damage. They have cracked ribs and other signs of abuse as well.
Dad is identified as ADOU L. KOUADIO.
Permanent brain damage, a lifetime on a respirator, and this is dismissed as just "child abuse"?
Daddy coddling at its finest.
http://www.gazette.net/article/20140320/NEWS/140329813/1022/attempted-murder-charge-dropped-against-silver-spring-man-in&template=gazette
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Attempted murder charge dropped against Silver Spring man in ‘shaken baby’ case
But child abuse charges against Adou L. Kouadio will proceed
by Tiffany Arnold
Staff Writer
The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office has dropped an attempted murder charge against a Silver Spring man who police accused of abusing his infant son so badly the boy needed a respirator.
But child abuse charges will proceed against the baby’s father, Adou L. Kouadio, 25, of the 9700 block of Dilston Road. Kouadio was indicted on charges of first- and second-degree child abuse, the county state’s attorney’s office said Thursday.
“The elements of attempted murder were not quite met and our office decided not to go forward on that charge,” said Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for the office.
On Feb. 4, police learned that the boy, Amir Iman-Kouadio — who was born on Dec. 14 — was in Children’s National Medical Center in critical condition.
According to records filed in District Court, Amir was bleeding from his brain, had fractured ribs, was hemorrhaging in his eyes and had ligament damage in his neck.
The injuries were so severe, doctors told police the boy would have to be on a ventilator the rest of his life if he survived. On Thursday, Korionoff said Amir was “alive and surviving well.”
Doctors told police that Amir’s injuries did not align with the explanation Kouadio gave.
The boy’s mother, Asli Iman, said she left the family at home to go to her job in Virginia. She left the baby in Kouadio’s care, according to an account of her interview filed in court. Kouadio is a stay-at-home dad, Iman told police.
When she came home from work, she fed the boy, bathed him and prepared him for bed. She told police that he didn’t show any signs of medical distress when he fell asleep at around 9 p.m.
Later, Kouadio changed the baby’s diaper and fed him a bottle, putting him back to sleep at around midnight. He told police he didn’t see any signs of medical distress.
But he was awakened by the Amir’s cries at around 2 a.m.
He tried to give him a bottle, but the boy would not take it. Louadio changed Amir’s diaper and put him back in his bassinet. He checked on the baby 20 minutes later and found blood coming from his nose, according to court records.
That’s when he woke up Iman and they called 911.
When emergency rescuers arrived, Amir didn’t have a pulse and wasn’t breathing.
Police said it appeared to be a case of “shaken baby syndrome.”
Kouadio turned himself into police and is being held in Montgomery County Detention Center on $500,000 bail.
Online court records show he is being represented by the public defender’s office.
Some idiots claim "shaken baby syndrome" doesn't exist. In the real world, most of these babies don't just have brain damage. They have cracked ribs and other signs of abuse as well.
Dad is identified as ADOU L. KOUADIO.
Permanent brain damage, a lifetime on a respirator, and this is dismissed as just "child abuse"?
Daddy coddling at its finest.
http://www.gazette.net/article/20140320/NEWS/140329813/1022/attempted-murder-charge-dropped-against-silver-spring-man-in&template=gazette
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Attempted murder charge dropped against Silver Spring man in ‘shaken baby’ case
But child abuse charges against Adou L. Kouadio will proceed
by Tiffany Arnold
Staff Writer
The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office has dropped an attempted murder charge against a Silver Spring man who police accused of abusing his infant son so badly the boy needed a respirator.
But child abuse charges will proceed against the baby’s father, Adou L. Kouadio, 25, of the 9700 block of Dilston Road. Kouadio was indicted on charges of first- and second-degree child abuse, the county state’s attorney’s office said Thursday.
“The elements of attempted murder were not quite met and our office decided not to go forward on that charge,” said Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for the office.
On Feb. 4, police learned that the boy, Amir Iman-Kouadio — who was born on Dec. 14 — was in Children’s National Medical Center in critical condition.
According to records filed in District Court, Amir was bleeding from his brain, had fractured ribs, was hemorrhaging in his eyes and had ligament damage in his neck.
The injuries were so severe, doctors told police the boy would have to be on a ventilator the rest of his life if he survived. On Thursday, Korionoff said Amir was “alive and surviving well.”
Doctors told police that Amir’s injuries did not align with the explanation Kouadio gave.
The boy’s mother, Asli Iman, said she left the family at home to go to her job in Virginia. She left the baby in Kouadio’s care, according to an account of her interview filed in court. Kouadio is a stay-at-home dad, Iman told police.
When she came home from work, she fed the boy, bathed him and prepared him for bed. She told police that he didn’t show any signs of medical distress when he fell asleep at around 9 p.m.
Later, Kouadio changed the baby’s diaper and fed him a bottle, putting him back to sleep at around midnight. He told police he didn’t see any signs of medical distress.
But he was awakened by the Amir’s cries at around 2 a.m.
He tried to give him a bottle, but the boy would not take it. Louadio changed Amir’s diaper and put him back in his bassinet. He checked on the baby 20 minutes later and found blood coming from his nose, according to court records.
That’s when he woke up Iman and they called 911.
When emergency rescuers arrived, Amir didn’t have a pulse and wasn’t breathing.
Police said it appeared to be a case of “shaken baby syndrome.”
Kouadio turned himself into police and is being held in Montgomery County Detention Center on $500,000 bail.
Online court records show he is being represented by the public defender’s office.
Custodial dad showed no remorse for beating death of 5-year-old daughter (Honolulu, Hawaii)
There is a long back story on NAEEM WILLIAMS and the way he viciously stripped this girl's mother of custody and then cut off all contact. The authorities in the Army also ignored the consistent evidence of child abuse.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20140320_Investigator_testifies_father_expressed_no_remorse_after_beating_death.html
Investigator says father expressed no remorse in beating death
By Nelson Daranciang
POSTED: 12:38 p.m. HST, Mar 20, 2014
LAST UPDATED: 01:46 p.m. HST, Mar 20, 2014
During the course of a seven hour interview with Army investigators immediately following the beating death of his 5-year-old daughter Talia, former Schofield Barracks soldier Naeem Williams "never expressed any concern, sorrow or remorse for Talia," Army investigator Albert Hazzard testified this morning in U.S. District Court.
Hazzard said he got the impression that Williams' focus was on himself, his wife Delilah and their four-and-a-half-month-old daughter Azrah.
"Talia was a burden, she wasn't really wanted," Hazzard said.
Talia was Williams' child from a prior relationship.
Williams, 34, is on trial for capital murder for the July 5, 2005, child abuse beating death of Talia. He is facing the death penalty.
Hazzard said he gave Williams the opportunity to write a letter to unburden himself from any guilt or sorrow he felt over Talia's death. He said Williams declined.
He said during the interview, Williams initially said Talia fell in the shower and hit her head. He said Williams later admitted that his daughter fell and hit her head after he struck her. Hazzard said Williams also admitted that he had previously hit Talia with his fist and belt on almost a daily basis.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20140320_Investigator_testifies_father_expressed_no_remorse_after_beating_death.html
Investigator says father expressed no remorse in beating death
By Nelson Daranciang
POSTED: 12:38 p.m. HST, Mar 20, 2014
LAST UPDATED: 01:46 p.m. HST, Mar 20, 2014
During the course of a seven hour interview with Army investigators immediately following the beating death of his 5-year-old daughter Talia, former Schofield Barracks soldier Naeem Williams "never expressed any concern, sorrow or remorse for Talia," Army investigator Albert Hazzard testified this morning in U.S. District Court.
Hazzard said he got the impression that Williams' focus was on himself, his wife Delilah and their four-and-a-half-month-old daughter Azrah.
"Talia was a burden, she wasn't really wanted," Hazzard said.
Talia was Williams' child from a prior relationship.
Williams, 34, is on trial for capital murder for the July 5, 2005, child abuse beating death of Talia. He is facing the death penalty.
Hazzard said he gave Williams the opportunity to write a letter to unburden himself from any guilt or sorrow he felt over Talia's death. He said Williams declined.
He said during the interview, Williams initially said Talia fell in the shower and hit her head. He said Williams later admitted that his daughter fell and hit her head after he struck her. Hazzard said Williams also admitted that he had previously hit Talia with his fist and belt on almost a daily basis.
Dad indicted for murders of 1- and 3-year-old daughters, their mother (New York, New York)
We've posted on family annihilator dad MIGUEL MEJIAS-RAMOS before. Still, this little piece of sh** never ceases to take my breath away. He slaughtered his baby girls because he didn't have car seats. Words just fail....
http://nypost.com/2014/03/20/man-who-butchered-family-then-fled-to-mexico-indicted-for-murder/
Man who ‘butchered family,’ fled to Mexico indicted
By Christina Carrega-Woodby
March 20, 2014 | 1:03pm
The madman who tried to escape to his native Mexico after butchering his wife and young daughters in their Queens apartment in January was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder Thursday morning as his still-grieving in-laws faced him down in court.
Miguel Mejias-Ramos, 28, wearing a gray sweatshirt and matching sweatpants, stared downward and said nothing as his lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in Queens Criminal Court.
Luz Amarado, the mother of the sicko’s late wife — and grandmother of his children — fixed the accused killer with an icy stare throughout the proceeding.
Mejias-Ramos fatally knifed his wife, Deisy Garcia, 21, on Jan. 18 because he was suspicious of photos he found on her Facebook page and phone, cops said.
The accused killer then stabbed to death 3-year-old Daniella and 1-year-old Yoselin — because he didn’t have a car seat to take them with him before fleeing, cops said.
Outside court, Amarado bitterly lashed out at her son-in-law.
“He used to be a part of my family. He was my daughter’s husband, and the father of my grandkids. Now he’s the person who took them away,” she said, speaking in Spanish.
The family’s lawyer, Roger Asmar, called her a lost soul since the killings last Jan. 18. “She feels horrible.
She told me that she walks around the streets not knowing what to do or where to go. She’s simply lost without her daughter and grandkids,” Asmar said.
In court, prosecutor Denise Tirino said cops who brought the suspect back to New York after he was busted in Texas asked him what he was thinking about. “God and jail,” he replied, she said.
The defendant’s lawyer, Michael Anastasiou, asked Justice Kenneth C. Holder to place his client in protective custody and on suicide watch, and that he continue to receive medical treatment, though he did not specify for what.
Anastasiou did not request bail, and Mejias-Ramos will be returned to Rikers until his next court date on May 21.
Mejias-Ramos confessed to detectives that he used five knives to viciously stab Garcia, who had gone to cops last May 30 and made a report in Spanish saying she feared her husband would kill her and her daughters.
A complaint Deisy Garcia filed against her husband that the NYPD failed to immediately translate.
Cops never translated the report, and her prediction later came true, prompting the NYPD to order last month that reports of domestic violence written in foreign languages must be immediately translated to protect potential victims.
The family is planning to file a civil suit against the NYPD next week, Asmar said.
Mejias-Ramos is facing life in prison without a possibility of parole if convicted of the first-degree murder charges.
http://nypost.com/2014/03/20/man-who-butchered-family-then-fled-to-mexico-indicted-for-murder/
Man who ‘butchered family,’ fled to Mexico indicted
By Christina Carrega-Woodby
March 20, 2014 | 1:03pm
The madman who tried to escape to his native Mexico after butchering his wife and young daughters in their Queens apartment in January was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder Thursday morning as his still-grieving in-laws faced him down in court.
Miguel Mejias-Ramos, 28, wearing a gray sweatshirt and matching sweatpants, stared downward and said nothing as his lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in Queens Criminal Court.
Luz Amarado, the mother of the sicko’s late wife — and grandmother of his children — fixed the accused killer with an icy stare throughout the proceeding.
Mejias-Ramos fatally knifed his wife, Deisy Garcia, 21, on Jan. 18 because he was suspicious of photos he found on her Facebook page and phone, cops said.
The accused killer then stabbed to death 3-year-old Daniella and 1-year-old Yoselin — because he didn’t have a car seat to take them with him before fleeing, cops said.
Outside court, Amarado bitterly lashed out at her son-in-law.
“He used to be a part of my family. He was my daughter’s husband, and the father of my grandkids. Now he’s the person who took them away,” she said, speaking in Spanish.
The family’s lawyer, Roger Asmar, called her a lost soul since the killings last Jan. 18. “She feels horrible.
She told me that she walks around the streets not knowing what to do or where to go. She’s simply lost without her daughter and grandkids,” Asmar said.
In court, prosecutor Denise Tirino said cops who brought the suspect back to New York after he was busted in Texas asked him what he was thinking about. “God and jail,” he replied, she said.
The defendant’s lawyer, Michael Anastasiou, asked Justice Kenneth C. Holder to place his client in protective custody and on suicide watch, and that he continue to receive medical treatment, though he did not specify for what.
Anastasiou did not request bail, and Mejias-Ramos will be returned to Rikers until his next court date on May 21.
Mejias-Ramos confessed to detectives that he used five knives to viciously stab Garcia, who had gone to cops last May 30 and made a report in Spanish saying she feared her husband would kill her and her daughters.
A complaint Deisy Garcia filed against her husband that the NYPD failed to immediately translate.
Cops never translated the report, and her prediction later came true, prompting the NYPD to order last month that reports of domestic violence written in foreign languages must be immediately translated to protect potential victims.
The family is planning to file a civil suit against the NYPD next week, Asmar said.
Mejias-Ramos is facing life in prison without a possibility of parole if convicted of the first-degree murder charges.
Dad charged with murder of 11-month-old son; fatherhood program rep makes excuses (El Paso, Texas)
Dad ADAM JACKSON is charged with capital murder in the death of his infant son. He treated this baby with utter brutality, then COVERED UP THE EVIDENCE and did nothing to seek medical help.
And what does Jose Alamillo, "father facilitator" for the Child Crisis Center of El Paso, say? He makes excuses. Daddy was stressed. Fathers have "different expectations from society." And he uses the opportunity to market and push MORE fatherhood programs that promote this drivel.
In others words, it's not Daddy's fault. It's society or some other amorphous cloud that can't be held responsible in a court of law. Just what vicious criminals want to hear.
http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/affidavit-fort-bliss-father-facing-murder-charge-dropped-11monthold-son-into-crib-4092.shtml
Fort Bliss father facing murder charge dropped 11-month-old son into crib
Updated: Wednesday, March 19 2014, 09:32 PM MDT
By: Jesse Martinez and Gina Benitez
EL PASO, Texas -- The arrest affidavit for a Fort Bliss father accused of killing his 11-month-old son details the events that led to the baby’s death.
As KFOX14 previously reported, Adam Jackson, 22, was left to care for his son Aidan Jackson on Feb. 7. The next morning, the child was found unresponsive and taken to El Paso Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
At the time, police were told by medical staff that the victim’s injuries seemed suspicious, and an autopsy showed the baby had a skull fracture and injuries to his throat and ankle.
According to court documents, Adam Jackson, who is an Army private first class stationed at Fort Bliss and assigned to 1st Armored Division, was left to care for Aiden Jackson while the mother left to run errands around 10 p.m.
When the mother returned two hours later, Adam Jackson said the baby was crying and had been put to sleep. It wasn’t until 11:30 a.m. that Adam Jackson found the baby unresponsive and called out to the mother, who performed CPR, according to the documents.
A search warrant at the apartment complex at 3333 Zion St. led police to find blood inside the crib and bloody clothing belonging to the child at a nearby dumpster, documents stated.
Adam Jackson later confessed to investigators that he grew frustrated with the baby crying and dropped him in the crib from shoulder height, the affidavit stated.
He later checked on the baby after smelling feces and found that Aiden Jackson had vomited with signs of blood.
Adam Jackson claims he told the mother about the bloody vomit. However, she denies every receiving that information.
Adam Jackson admitted to cleaning up the baby and throwing the soiled clothes in the dumpster.
"There's a lot of triggers for child abuse and neglect. Stress is one of them. Lack of knowledge about child development, sometimes the parents are going through their own financial issues," said Jose Alamillo, father facilitator for the Child Crisis Center of El Paso.
Alamillo works with dads through issues they may be going through to prevent neglect and abuse.
"I think sometimes fathers have different expectations from society because they're supposed to be unbreakable, the strong tower in the home, someone who never stresses, someone who never gets mad," Alamillo said.
Alamillo said there are resources out there, people just have to be willing to ask for help.
"We offer parenting classes, we offer the fatherhood program, and within our crisis nursery, families can leave the kids here 24 hours or longer depending if they have a crisis. It's OK to call someone, it's OK to call a relative, it's OK to call a neighbor and say, 'You know what? Can you take care of my baby for awhile while I calm down because I feel like I can't do it at this point,'" Alamillo said.
Aiden Jackson’s death was ruled a homicide, and Adam Jackson was arrested on a capital murder charge on Feb. 24. His bail was set at $250,000.
Lt. Col. Lee Peters, a spokesperson for Fort Bliss, released the following statement:
"As this occurred off Fort Bliss, we are cooperating with the El Paso Police Department as they maintain jurisdiction in this case. Because this is an ongoing criminal case, we cannot comment further about Pfc. Jackson's situation."
And what does Jose Alamillo, "father facilitator" for the Child Crisis Center of El Paso, say? He makes excuses. Daddy was stressed. Fathers have "different expectations from society." And he uses the opportunity to market and push MORE fatherhood programs that promote this drivel.
In others words, it's not Daddy's fault. It's society or some other amorphous cloud that can't be held responsible in a court of law. Just what vicious criminals want to hear.
http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/affidavit-fort-bliss-father-facing-murder-charge-dropped-11monthold-son-into-crib-4092.shtml
Fort Bliss father facing murder charge dropped 11-month-old son into crib
Updated: Wednesday, March 19 2014, 09:32 PM MDT
By: Jesse Martinez and Gina Benitez
EL PASO, Texas -- The arrest affidavit for a Fort Bliss father accused of killing his 11-month-old son details the events that led to the baby’s death.
As KFOX14 previously reported, Adam Jackson, 22, was left to care for his son Aidan Jackson on Feb. 7. The next morning, the child was found unresponsive and taken to El Paso Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
At the time, police were told by medical staff that the victim’s injuries seemed suspicious, and an autopsy showed the baby had a skull fracture and injuries to his throat and ankle.
According to court documents, Adam Jackson, who is an Army private first class stationed at Fort Bliss and assigned to 1st Armored Division, was left to care for Aiden Jackson while the mother left to run errands around 10 p.m.
When the mother returned two hours later, Adam Jackson said the baby was crying and had been put to sleep. It wasn’t until 11:30 a.m. that Adam Jackson found the baby unresponsive and called out to the mother, who performed CPR, according to the documents.
A search warrant at the apartment complex at 3333 Zion St. led police to find blood inside the crib and bloody clothing belonging to the child at a nearby dumpster, documents stated.
Adam Jackson later confessed to investigators that he grew frustrated with the baby crying and dropped him in the crib from shoulder height, the affidavit stated.
He later checked on the baby after smelling feces and found that Aiden Jackson had vomited with signs of blood.
Adam Jackson claims he told the mother about the bloody vomit. However, she denies every receiving that information.
Adam Jackson admitted to cleaning up the baby and throwing the soiled clothes in the dumpster.
"There's a lot of triggers for child abuse and neglect. Stress is one of them. Lack of knowledge about child development, sometimes the parents are going through their own financial issues," said Jose Alamillo, father facilitator for the Child Crisis Center of El Paso.
Alamillo works with dads through issues they may be going through to prevent neglect and abuse.
"I think sometimes fathers have different expectations from society because they're supposed to be unbreakable, the strong tower in the home, someone who never stresses, someone who never gets mad," Alamillo said.
Alamillo said there are resources out there, people just have to be willing to ask for help.
"We offer parenting classes, we offer the fatherhood program, and within our crisis nursery, families can leave the kids here 24 hours or longer depending if they have a crisis. It's OK to call someone, it's OK to call a relative, it's OK to call a neighbor and say, 'You know what? Can you take care of my baby for awhile while I calm down because I feel like I can't do it at this point,'" Alamillo said.
Aiden Jackson’s death was ruled a homicide, and Adam Jackson was arrested on a capital murder charge on Feb. 24. His bail was set at $250,000.
Lt. Col. Lee Peters, a spokesperson for Fort Bliss, released the following statement:
"As this occurred off Fort Bliss, we are cooperating with the El Paso Police Department as they maintain jurisdiction in this case. Because this is an ongoing criminal case, we cannot comment further about Pfc. Jackson's situation."
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