Yet another abusive, control-freak father who never should have been allowed access after the marital separation. Dad is identified as LEVI PARKER.
See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Arizona.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/arizona-dad-shot-killed-daughters-died-article-1.2476773
Arizona dad who fatally shot two young daughters two days before Christmas has died
BY Keri Blakinger /
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS /
Friday, December 25, 2015, 10:53 AM
The Arizona dad and National Guard member who killed his two young daughters in cold blood has died, officials said.
Levi Parker, 37, murdered the children, MacKenzie Lee Parker, 8, and Haylee Parker, 5, in the midst of a custody battle with his estranged wife, according to a report.
Deputies were called to the Parker home at Veranda at Ventana Condominiums around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, after the girls’ mother received a threatening phone call.
"He made statements to her that basically led her to believe this was her last chance to talk to the kids alive," Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, according to KNXV-TV.
When they arrived on scene five minutes later, deputies “attempted to talk to a male inside the residence from outside the front door,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.
“Soon after, deputies heard one gun shot and they forced entry into the home. Inside, they found the father and two daughters, all with gun shot wounds.”
MacKenzie died at the scene, while Haylee died at a local hospital and Parker was on life support until he died Thursday at Banner University Medical Center, according to KOLD-TV.
Nanos said that Parker and his wife were having legal problems and that on the day of the shooting the girls were visiting their father. They’d been separated for three months and were involved in a divorce case.
The girls’ aunt, Joan Parker, told the Arizona Daily Star that Parker was trying to get custody and that he was unhappy his wife had a new boyfriend.
“He did not want another man with his girls,” she said.
“I personally think he’s been through so much in the military, almost 15 years. He could have developed PTSD or some kind of mental condition.”
Just a month before the killing, Parker posted on Facebook MacKenzie’s Christmas list, which included everything from a horse to chocolate to a guitar.
"This is tough," Nanos said. "It's a couple hours before what's supposed to be the best day in the world for little kids... our community lost two little ones."
A neighbor told KOLD that the incident has been “the talk of the community” while another said, “It completely blindsided us. Like we were home and it sounded like someone pounding a nail on a board."
The girls’ family released a statement on Thursday.
“Please keep our family in your hearts and prayers in our unimaginable grief,” they said.
Showing posts with label Arizona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arizona. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2016
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Dad found drunk and passed out at pool; dehydrated child taken in by CPS (Mesa, Arizona)
So police (supposedly) couldn't find Mom. I hope that doesn't mean dad NAYSHON BENDLE was custodial....
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/mesa/mesa-child-brought-to-cps-after-father-reportedly-passes-out-drunk-at-pool-faces-child-abuse-charge
Mesa child brought to CPS after father reportedly passes out drunk at Mesa pool
By: Katie Faller Posted: 12:08 PM, Sep 28, 2015 Updated: 12:14 PM, Sep 28, 2015
MESA, AZ - A father faces charges of child abuse in connection to allegedly passing out by the pool while watching his child in Mesa on Saturday, according to the Mesa Police Department.
The father, Nayshon Bendle, and his brother were reported to have been drinking by the pool near Country Club Drive and Brown Road while watching over Bendle’s child.
When officers arrived to the scene, Bendle would not wake up and the child was dehydrated and had an elevated heart rate.
Police took the child to Child Protective Services.
Police were not able to contact the child's mother.
Bendle was arrested once he woke up and is facing one count of child abuse.
He admitted to drinking three beers before sitting with his brother and passing out.
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/mesa/mesa-child-brought-to-cps-after-father-reportedly-passes-out-drunk-at-pool-faces-child-abuse-charge
Mesa child brought to CPS after father reportedly passes out drunk at Mesa pool
By: Katie Faller Posted: 12:08 PM, Sep 28, 2015 Updated: 12:14 PM, Sep 28, 2015
MESA, AZ - A father faces charges of child abuse in connection to allegedly passing out by the pool while watching his child in Mesa on Saturday, according to the Mesa Police Department.
The father, Nayshon Bendle, and his brother were reported to have been drinking by the pool near Country Club Drive and Brown Road while watching over Bendle’s child.
When officers arrived to the scene, Bendle would not wake up and the child was dehydrated and had an elevated heart rate.
Police took the child to Child Protective Services.
Police were not able to contact the child's mother.
Bendle was arrested once he woke up and is facing one count of child abuse.
He admitted to drinking three beers before sitting with his brother and passing out.
Friday, May 29, 2015
Dad charged with abusing 2-week-old son (Tempe, Arizona)
Yet another "frustrated" dad who couldn't even manage to watch the baby for 20 minutes without bashing him. This one is identified as ANTHONY ESTRADA.
http://www.kpho.com/story/29173636/2-week-old-baby-injured-dad-faces-child-abuse-charge
2-week-old baby injured, dad faces child abuse charge
Posted: May 27, 2015 7:50 PM EDT
Updated: May 28, 2015 10:19 AM EDT
By Phil Benson
TEMPE, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) - A teenage father was arrested in Tempe on Tuesday after his 2-week-old son suffered injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome, a court document stated
Anthony Estrada, 19, and Savionne Schartzbauer arrived at Banner Desert Hospital on Memorial Day with their infant, who suffered several bruises and abrasions and was unresponsive.
The baby was intubated to assist him with his breathing.
The couple said their child was “acting weird” prior to their arrival but their statement was vague, according to a probable cause statement.
They said their baby had hit his head on a table in the home while the infant's diaper was changed, court paperwork stated.
Schartzbauer said he left the infant in the care of Estrada for about 20 minutes while she went to buy some bandages, the document said.
When she returned she said her son's eyes were swollen shut.
A medical social worker at the hospital told officers that the baby had bruises and abrasions on his left cheek, a scratch on his lower left arm, an abrasion on his left upper thigh and three small cuts on his right hand.
When officers questioned Estrada he admitted to “losing control of his son,” court paperwork stated.
He said his son hit his head on a wooden table. Estrada admitted to biting his son's right hand and said he felt “frustrated while carrying his son, when the child was crying.”
During a separate interview, Estrada admitted to holding his son and that the baby fell on a couch, rolled and hit a board which was in the frame of a couch, police said. But a doctor told officers the fall doesn't match the infant's significant brain injury.
On Tuesday, the arresting officer spoke with the doctor again who said the baby was suffering from traumatic injuries to all four quadrants of his brain. The boy's injuries were not allowing proper blood flow to the brain.
The infant required two blood transfusions.
http://www.kpho.com/story/29173636/2-week-old-baby-injured-dad-faces-child-abuse-charge
2-week-old baby injured, dad faces child abuse charge
Posted: May 27, 2015 7:50 PM EDT
Updated: May 28, 2015 10:19 AM EDT
By Phil Benson
TEMPE, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) - A teenage father was arrested in Tempe on Tuesday after his 2-week-old son suffered injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome, a court document stated
Anthony Estrada, 19, and Savionne Schartzbauer arrived at Banner Desert Hospital on Memorial Day with their infant, who suffered several bruises and abrasions and was unresponsive.
The baby was intubated to assist him with his breathing.
The couple said their child was “acting weird” prior to their arrival but their statement was vague, according to a probable cause statement.
They said their baby had hit his head on a table in the home while the infant's diaper was changed, court paperwork stated.
Schartzbauer said he left the infant in the care of Estrada for about 20 minutes while she went to buy some bandages, the document said.
When she returned she said her son's eyes were swollen shut.
A medical social worker at the hospital told officers that the baby had bruises and abrasions on his left cheek, a scratch on his lower left arm, an abrasion on his left upper thigh and three small cuts on his right hand.
When officers questioned Estrada he admitted to “losing control of his son,” court paperwork stated.
He said his son hit his head on a wooden table. Estrada admitted to biting his son's right hand and said he felt “frustrated while carrying his son, when the child was crying.”
During a separate interview, Estrada admitted to holding his son and that the baby fell on a couch, rolled and hit a board which was in the frame of a couch, police said. But a doctor told officers the fall doesn't match the infant's significant brain injury.
On Tuesday, the arresting officer spoke with the doctor again who said the baby was suffering from traumatic injuries to all four quadrants of his brain. The boy's injuries were not allowing proper blood flow to the brain.
The infant required two blood transfusions.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Drunk dad charged with manslaughter for abandoning 2-year-old son in hot car (Phoenix, Arizona)
Dad is identified as JAMES KORYOR.
http://uptownmagazine.com/2015/04/father-charged-abandoning-toddler-hot-car/
Father Charged In Death of Toddler Abandoned in Hot Car
Posted by Angela Wilson on Apr 23, 2015
UPTOWN
A Phoenix, Arizona father was arrested for manslaughter and child abuse when he abandoned his 2-year-old son in a hot car where the toddler later died.
James Koryor, 41, was taken into custody Tuesday when officials discovered he ran to the liquor store with his toddler, bought a bottle of gin, drank it on the way home and fell asleep inside his house.
The child, identified as Alpha Koryor, was left behind in the car. Detectives found signs that he had desperately struggled to escape the vehicle, which didn’t have any car seats, before dying in 90 degree temperatures.
Koryor was supposed to take his 2-year-old boy, along with his 5-year-old son, to get haircuts. The older son either got out of the vehicle by himself or was taken inside by his father, police spokesman Sgt. Trent Crump said. Family members asked where his little brother was, and he said the child was asleep, Crump said.
The mother was inside the home, studying, before finding her son’s body around 4 p.m., when she went to drive to class. Neighbors said they heard weeping and wailing from the family’s driveway.
Koryor sobbed uncontrollably in court when bond was set at $50,000. Prosecutors requested an increased bail, considering Koryor a flight risk, due to Koryor’s strong ties to the Ivory Coast, Liberia and Ghana.
http://uptownmagazine.com/2015/04/father-charged-abandoning-toddler-hot-car/
Father Charged In Death of Toddler Abandoned in Hot Car
Posted by Angela Wilson on Apr 23, 2015
UPTOWN
A Phoenix, Arizona father was arrested for manslaughter and child abuse when he abandoned his 2-year-old son in a hot car where the toddler later died.
James Koryor, 41, was taken into custody Tuesday when officials discovered he ran to the liquor store with his toddler, bought a bottle of gin, drank it on the way home and fell asleep inside his house.
The child, identified as Alpha Koryor, was left behind in the car. Detectives found signs that he had desperately struggled to escape the vehicle, which didn’t have any car seats, before dying in 90 degree temperatures.
Koryor was supposed to take his 2-year-old boy, along with his 5-year-old son, to get haircuts. The older son either got out of the vehicle by himself or was taken inside by his father, police spokesman Sgt. Trent Crump said. Family members asked where his little brother was, and he said the child was asleep, Crump said.
The mother was inside the home, studying, before finding her son’s body around 4 p.m., when she went to drive to class. Neighbors said they heard weeping and wailing from the family’s driveway.
Koryor sobbed uncontrollably in court when bond was set at $50,000. Prosecutors requested an increased bail, considering Koryor a flight risk, due to Koryor’s strong ties to the Ivory Coast, Liberia and Ghana.
Friday, January 16, 2015
"Caretaking" dad charged with abusing 44-day-old daughter (Phoenix, Arizona)
What happens when the mothers of newborns are forced to work for a paycheck and have to rely on violent, deadbeat fathers for "caretaking." We need paid maternity leaves in this country.
Dad is identified as JUSTIN ALLEE.
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/phoenix-man-charged-with-child-abuse-of-44-day-old
Phoenix man, Justin Allee, charged with child abuse of 44-day-old baby
By: Mario Kalo Posted: 5:57 PM, Jan 16, 2015
Updated: 1 hour ago
PHOENIX - A Valley man was charged with one count of child abuse with intent after his 44-day-old daughter suffered brain bleeding, rib fractures, bruises and hemorrhages.
The child was in the care of her father at their residence near 40th Street and Thomas Road, according to police.
The suspect, identified as Justin Allee, called his mother and the child's mother prior to alerting police of the incident, a police report said.
According to the report, Allee initially said he did nothing to cause the child's injuries, but later said the injuries occurred after the child fell in the bathtub.
The report also said the child's mother left for work without noticing any injuries to the child. She told police Allee initially called her saying the child was not breathing before proceeding to call back to say he was in an ambulance with the child.
The child was treated and stabilized at Phoenix Children's Hospital.
Dad is identified as JUSTIN ALLEE.
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/phoenix-man-charged-with-child-abuse-of-44-day-old
Phoenix man, Justin Allee, charged with child abuse of 44-day-old baby
By: Mario Kalo Posted: 5:57 PM, Jan 16, 2015
Updated: 1 hour ago
PHOENIX - A Valley man was charged with one count of child abuse with intent after his 44-day-old daughter suffered brain bleeding, rib fractures, bruises and hemorrhages.
The child was in the care of her father at their residence near 40th Street and Thomas Road, according to police.
The suspect, identified as Justin Allee, called his mother and the child's mother prior to alerting police of the incident, a police report said.
According to the report, Allee initially said he did nothing to cause the child's injuries, but later said the injuries occurred after the child fell in the bathtub.
The report also said the child's mother left for work without noticing any injuries to the child. She told police Allee initially called her saying the child was not breathing before proceeding to call back to say he was in an ambulance with the child.
The child was treated and stabilized at Phoenix Children's Hospital.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Dad admits throwing 6-year-old daughter, hitting her in face during his visitation (Phoenix, Arizona)
Yet another violent father who was still granted his "rights."
This one is identified as SCOTT ABAD.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/Dad-accused-of-grabbing-hitting-daughter-287143621.html
Dad accused of grabbing, hitting daughter
by Catherine Holland
azfamily.com
Posted on December 30, 2014 at 2:35 PM Updated yesterday at 11:43 AM
PHOENIX -- A man already wanted on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant is now facing a charge of child abuse after allegedly grabbing and hitting his 6-year-old daughter.
Police arrested Scott Abad, 29, last week after his ex-wife reported to police that their 6-year-old daughter had bruises on her face and arm.
According to court paperwork, the mom was helping her daughter in the bath when she spotted the bruises.
She said the little girl initially told her that a child belonging to Abad's girlfriend had hit her with a toy. She explained to police that her daughter then told her she had gotten in trouble for spilling wings sauce in her father's car.
The mother took her daughter to Phoenix Children's Hospital to see a medical professional and a forensic interviewer. Based on their exams, they determined that the child had been abused and told not to tell her mother what had happened.
Abad denied hitting his daughter. He also said he did not know how she came to be injured.
A short time later, he told the arresting officer that the bruises on her arm happened when he pulled her out of his vehicle.
"He then admitted that he threw her into her room and told her to go to bed," according to the probable cause statement. "Scott said his daughter was fighting with him and he hit the side of her face."
The officer said Abad told him he never saw the bruises on his daughter's face.
A criminal records check showed Abad was wanted on a misdemeanor warrant out of Glendale.
This one is identified as SCOTT ABAD.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/Dad-accused-of-grabbing-hitting-daughter-287143621.html
Dad accused of grabbing, hitting daughter
by Catherine Holland
azfamily.com
Posted on December 30, 2014 at 2:35 PM Updated yesterday at 11:43 AM
PHOENIX -- A man already wanted on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant is now facing a charge of child abuse after allegedly grabbing and hitting his 6-year-old daughter.
Police arrested Scott Abad, 29, last week after his ex-wife reported to police that their 6-year-old daughter had bruises on her face and arm.
According to court paperwork, the mom was helping her daughter in the bath when she spotted the bruises.
She said the little girl initially told her that a child belonging to Abad's girlfriend had hit her with a toy. She explained to police that her daughter then told her she had gotten in trouble for spilling wings sauce in her father's car.
The mother took her daughter to Phoenix Children's Hospital to see a medical professional and a forensic interviewer. Based on their exams, they determined that the child had been abused and told not to tell her mother what had happened.
Abad denied hitting his daughter. He also said he did not know how she came to be injured.
A short time later, he told the arresting officer that the bruises on her arm happened when he pulled her out of his vehicle.
"He then admitted that he threw her into her room and told her to go to bed," according to the probable cause statement. "Scott said his daughter was fighting with him and he hit the side of her face."
The officer said Abad told him he never saw the bruises on his daughter's face.
A criminal records check showed Abad was wanted on a misdemeanor warrant out of Glendale.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Dad charged with felony child abuse in beating of 4-year-old daughter (Phoenix, Arizona)
The dad is identified as ANTHONY HERNANDEZ. Notice that there is no mention of the girl's mother anywhere. Single dad? Custodial/visitation situation?
http://www.kpho.com/story/27730883/phoenix-dad-suspected-of-beating-child-with-hanger
Phoenix dad suspected of beating child with hanger
Posted: Dec 30, 2014 2:39 PM EST Updated: Dec 30, 2014 2:48 PM EST
By Steve Stout
PHOENIX (CBS5) - A 28-year-old Phoenix father is accused of using a coat hanger to discipline his 4-year-old daughter.
Anthony Hernandez was arrested just before noon Monday and charged with three counts of felony child abuse after police said Hernandez admitted using the hanger as a tool of discipline.
The girl's grandmother originally found marks and bruises on the girls' body that appeared to have been made by a hanger, according to a Phoenix police officer's probable cause statement.
Additional cuts and bruises were evident in pictures supplied to police by the grandmother, according to the statement.
The girl told her grandmother her father had inflicted the injuries and later told police that her older sister had seen the beating, according to the statement.
Hernandez was arrested in Scottsdale and taken to the Phoenix Police Department, where he was questioned and booked into jail.
http://www.kpho.com/story/27730883/phoenix-dad-suspected-of-beating-child-with-hanger
Phoenix dad suspected of beating child with hanger
Posted: Dec 30, 2014 2:39 PM EST Updated: Dec 30, 2014 2:48 PM EST
By Steve Stout
PHOENIX (CBS5) - A 28-year-old Phoenix father is accused of using a coat hanger to discipline his 4-year-old daughter.
Anthony Hernandez was arrested just before noon Monday and charged with three counts of felony child abuse after police said Hernandez admitted using the hanger as a tool of discipline.
The girl's grandmother originally found marks and bruises on the girls' body that appeared to have been made by a hanger, according to a Phoenix police officer's probable cause statement.
Additional cuts and bruises were evident in pictures supplied to police by the grandmother, according to the statement.
The girl told her grandmother her father had inflicted the injuries and later told police that her older sister had seen the beating, according to the statement.
Hernandez was arrested in Scottsdale and taken to the Phoenix Police Department, where he was questioned and booked into jail.
Monday, December 8, 2014
"Single father" with criminal history of assault, DV uses daughter as shield while police arrest him for shoplifting (Phoenix, Arizona)
So the real question here is why a self-reported "single father" with an extensive history of domestic violence and assault was allowed access to a child. Wonder just what custodial rights this guy has, and who granted them.
Dad is identified as THOMAS WILLIAMS.
http://www.kpho.com/story/27574892/phoenix-pd-accused-shoplifter-used-daughter-as-shield
Phoenix PD: Accused shoplifter used daughter as shield
Posted: Dec 08, 2014 12:12 PM EST
Updated: Dec 08, 2014 12:14 PM EST
By Steve Stout
PHOENIX (CBS5) - A 39-year-old Scottsdale man was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting less than $24 in merchandise from a grocery store while using his daughter as a shield, Phoenix police said.
Thomas Williams was arrested Sunday afternoon at a Food City grocery store at 4430 E. McDowell Road by Phoenix police after he was caught by a store loss prevention agent with items totaling $23.88, according to the arresting officer's probable cause statement.
Police said Williams placed his daughter between him and the agent during the confrontation. #
Williams told officers he paid for some ramen noodles, but didn't pay for items he put in a backpack because he was a single father, according to the statement.
He also told police he had previously shoplifted at other stores while his daughter was with him.
Police said Williams has previous convictions for domestic violence, assault, aggravated assault, threats, dangerous drugs, marijuana, theft, more than two convictions for shoplifting and trespassing.
He was booked into the Maricopa County Fourth Avenue Jail on one count of felony shoplifting and one count of felony child abuse.
Dad is identified as THOMAS WILLIAMS.
http://www.kpho.com/story/27574892/phoenix-pd-accused-shoplifter-used-daughter-as-shield
Phoenix PD: Accused shoplifter used daughter as shield
Posted: Dec 08, 2014 12:12 PM EST
Updated: Dec 08, 2014 12:14 PM EST
By Steve Stout
PHOENIX (CBS5) - A 39-year-old Scottsdale man was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting less than $24 in merchandise from a grocery store while using his daughter as a shield, Phoenix police said.
Thomas Williams was arrested Sunday afternoon at a Food City grocery store at 4430 E. McDowell Road by Phoenix police after he was caught by a store loss prevention agent with items totaling $23.88, according to the arresting officer's probable cause statement.
Police said Williams placed his daughter between him and the agent during the confrontation. #
Williams told officers he paid for some ramen noodles, but didn't pay for items he put in a backpack because he was a single father, according to the statement.
He also told police he had previously shoplifted at other stores while his daughter was with him.
Police said Williams has previous convictions for domestic violence, assault, aggravated assault, threats, dangerous drugs, marijuana, theft, more than two convictions for shoplifting and trespassing.
He was booked into the Maricopa County Fourth Avenue Jail on one count of felony shoplifting and one count of felony child abuse.
Custodial dad, step force teen son to sleep outside for a month for "smelling cake frosting" (Chandler, Arizona)
Dad is identified as BRIAN WAYNE ROMINE. The mother is reportedly deceased. How she died, and whether it was from natural causes, is not specified.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/chandler/article_476c4594-7f08-11e4-840b-3fa7dd9854c7.html
Chandler dad admits to forcing his son to sleep in backyard
Posted: Monday, December 8, 2014 11:39 am
By Jon Erickson, ABC15.com
A Chandler father admitted to forcing his teenage son to sleep in the backyard as a form of discipline, according to court records.
The 16-year-old male victim told police he had slept in the backyard for at least a month, and that he had to use the hose for drinking water and use the yard as his restroom at night.
Brian Wayne Romine and Shelly Anderson-Romine “treated their dog better than they treated [their son],” said the teen’s uncle, Tray Romine.
The teen left his North Meadows Street home after at least 30 days of the sleeping situation, and went to Tray’s home.
Tray, who said he was unable to get his brother to talk through the situation, called police.
Authorities charged the Romines (Shelly is the teen’s stepmother) with child abuse.
The teen triggered the backyard discipline by doing things like taking loose pocket change from his parents, and smelling cake frosting, according to the uncle and court records.
The suspects did not answer the door when ABC15 stopped by Saturday night.
The outdoor sleeping was done during June and July, records said; the teen was forced to sleep outside during monsoon rains and thunderstorms, according to Tray.
“It’s going to take my nephew a while… for him to pull out of this,” Tray said.
The teen’s mother died years ago, Tray added.
The teen is now staying with a foster parent, Tray said.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/chandler/article_476c4594-7f08-11e4-840b-3fa7dd9854c7.html
Chandler dad admits to forcing his son to sleep in backyard
Posted: Monday, December 8, 2014 11:39 am
By Jon Erickson, ABC15.com
A Chandler father admitted to forcing his teenage son to sleep in the backyard as a form of discipline, according to court records.
The 16-year-old male victim told police he had slept in the backyard for at least a month, and that he had to use the hose for drinking water and use the yard as his restroom at night.
Brian Wayne Romine and Shelly Anderson-Romine “treated their dog better than they treated [their son],” said the teen’s uncle, Tray Romine.
The teen left his North Meadows Street home after at least 30 days of the sleeping situation, and went to Tray’s home.
Tray, who said he was unable to get his brother to talk through the situation, called police.
Authorities charged the Romines (Shelly is the teen’s stepmother) with child abuse.
The teen triggered the backyard discipline by doing things like taking loose pocket change from his parents, and smelling cake frosting, according to the uncle and court records.
The suspects did not answer the door when ABC15 stopped by Saturday night.
The outdoor sleeping was done during June and July, records said; the teen was forced to sleep outside during monsoon rains and thunderstorms, according to Tray.
“It’s going to take my nephew a while… for him to pull out of this,” Tray said.
The teen’s mother died years ago, Tray added.
The teen is now staying with a foster parent, Tray said.
Dad charged for punching 10-month-old daughter in the mouth while assaulting mom (Phoenix, Arizona)
Notice that the assaulted mother is an EX-girlfriend. Once again, we see that all the pious lectures directed at mothers to leave the abuser don't necessarily stop the violence.
What is not clarified here is whether this violent father had been granted custody/visitation rights, and that's why he had access to the victims. Funny how nobody likes to talk about that....
Dad is identified as JESUS GASTELUM.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/trending/feed/father-faces-charges-after-punching-baby-mouth
Posted December 3, 2014 - 11:46am
Updated December 3, 2014 - 7:23pm
Father faces charges after punching baby in mouth
By CATHERINE HOLLAND
CNN
Phoenix, AZ — A Phoenix father is facing child abuse charges after punching his baby girl in the mouth as her mother held her.
It happened shortly before 2 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving.
According the arresting officer’s probable cause statement, Jesus Gastelum confronted his ex-girlfriend, who is the mother of his child, at her home and punched her in the face. He also allegedly grabbed her arm and pulled her hair, ripping out her extensions.
The arresting officers went on to say that Gastelum punched his 10-month-old daughter in the mouth, resulting in a small cut to her upper lip. The baby was in her mother’s arms at the time.
Police arrested Gastelum Monday morning.
Commissioner Maria Brandon set a $20,000 bond for Gastelum and scheduled a status conference for Dec. 8 and a preliminary hearing for Dec. 11.
What is not clarified here is whether this violent father had been granted custody/visitation rights, and that's why he had access to the victims. Funny how nobody likes to talk about that....
Dad is identified as JESUS GASTELUM.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/trending/feed/father-faces-charges-after-punching-baby-mouth
Posted December 3, 2014 - 11:46am
Updated December 3, 2014 - 7:23pm
Father faces charges after punching baby in mouth
By CATHERINE HOLLAND
CNN
Phoenix, AZ — A Phoenix father is facing child abuse charges after punching his baby girl in the mouth as her mother held her.
It happened shortly before 2 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving.
According the arresting officer’s probable cause statement, Jesus Gastelum confronted his ex-girlfriend, who is the mother of his child, at her home and punched her in the face. He also allegedly grabbed her arm and pulled her hair, ripping out her extensions.
The arresting officers went on to say that Gastelum punched his 10-month-old daughter in the mouth, resulting in a small cut to her upper lip. The baby was in her mother’s arms at the time.
Police arrested Gastelum Monday morning.
Commissioner Maria Brandon set a $20,000 bond for Gastelum and scheduled a status conference for Dec. 8 and a preliminary hearing for Dec. 11.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Dad accused of abusing young son, hitting off-duty officer with car (Peoria, Arizona)
Dad is identified as BRYAN GREENE.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/Man-accused-of-abusing-son-at-a-Peoria-church-281397921.html
Father accused of abusing son, hitting off-duty officer with car
by Tami Hoey
Posted on November 3, 2014 at 8:46 PM
PEORIA, Ariz. -- A Phoenix father is accused of abusing his son at a Peoria church.
This happened Saturday at Christ's Church of the Valley at 70th Avenue and Happy Valley Road.
Witnesses say 37-year-old Bryan Greene hit his son with a soccer ball, and shook the young child violently. The boy is believed to be around four or five years old.
According to the police report, witnesses say Greene "lifted and carried the child by one arm... He dropped the child on the sidewalk and proceeded to shake the child by his shoulders again."
An off-duty police officer working at the church tried to stop Greene from leaving the area, and followed him into the parking lot.
According to the police reports, Greene ignored the officer and got in his vehicle.
Police say the officer stood in front of Greene's car to stop him from driving away. That's when Greene reportedly put the car in reverse, crashing into a security guard's golf cart.
Greene then drove forward, hitting the officer in the legs, according to the police report.
Police say the officer drew his firearm and hit it on the hood of the car as it drove toward him, because he feared for his own safety.
Greene was arrested a short time later. He faces several charges, including aggravated assault, child abuse, disorderly conduct and leaving the scene of an accident.
The off-duty officer and the security guard in the golf cart were not hurt. Police say the little boy also appeared to be unharmed.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/Man-accused-of-abusing-son-at-a-Peoria-church-281397921.html
Father accused of abusing son, hitting off-duty officer with car
by Tami Hoey
Posted on November 3, 2014 at 8:46 PM
PEORIA, Ariz. -- A Phoenix father is accused of abusing his son at a Peoria church.
This happened Saturday at Christ's Church of the Valley at 70th Avenue and Happy Valley Road.
Witnesses say 37-year-old Bryan Greene hit his son with a soccer ball, and shook the young child violently. The boy is believed to be around four or five years old.
According to the police report, witnesses say Greene "lifted and carried the child by one arm... He dropped the child on the sidewalk and proceeded to shake the child by his shoulders again."
An off-duty police officer working at the church tried to stop Greene from leaving the area, and followed him into the parking lot.
According to the police reports, Greene ignored the officer and got in his vehicle.
Police say the officer stood in front of Greene's car to stop him from driving away. That's when Greene reportedly put the car in reverse, crashing into a security guard's golf cart.
Greene then drove forward, hitting the officer in the legs, according to the police report.
Police say the officer drew his firearm and hit it on the hood of the car as it drove toward him, because he feared for his own safety.
Greene was arrested a short time later. He faces several charges, including aggravated assault, child abuse, disorderly conduct and leaving the scene of an accident.
The off-duty officer and the security guard in the golf cart were not hurt. Police say the little boy also appeared to be unharmed.
Custodial dad convicted of aggravated assault; after assaulting girlfriend, 7-year-old daughter killed in car crash during police chase (Gila County, Arizona)
Update to the killer dads and custody list.
What is not mentioned here is that GASOA BALAS was a custodial father, and managed to retain his custodial status despite repeated reports of child abuse and neglect. This article also neglects to mention that his 7-year-old daughter was killed in a car crash after Dad was being pursued by the police for assaulting his girlfriend.
See our previous post here.
http://news.gila1019.com/jury-convicts-gasoa-balas-of-aggravated-assault/
Jury Convicts Gasoa Balas of Aggravated Assault!
by admin • September 23, 2013
Globe, Arizona – Gila County Attorney Bradley D. Beauchamp announced that on September 21, 2013, Gasoa Balas was convicted of three domestic violence related offenses following a three day jury trial. According to Chief Deputy County Attorney Shawn C. Fuller, who prosecuted the case, Balas was convicted of two felony counts of Aggravated Assault, one of which was proven to be a dangerous offense, and one count of misdemeanor assault.
According to evidence presented at trial, Balas was arrested on August 21, 2011, after viciously assaulting his girlfriend with a pair of scissors following an argument they had inside their home in Payson. Neighbors called 911 in the early-morning hours after they heard his girlfriend screaming for help. Payson Police Officer, Billy Hoffman, quickly responded to the scene and apprehended Balas as he was leaving the home. Inside the residence Officer Hoffman made contact with the victim, who was crying and injured.
In addition to finding Balas guilty of assaulting the victim, the jury found that one of the offenses was a dangerous offense and that two aggravating factors existed: harm to the victim, and that the domestic violence was committed in the presence of children.
Presiding Superior Court Judge Peter J. Cahill, who presided over the trial, set sentencing for October 14, 2013. Balas is facing a mandatory prison sentence of up to 15 years.
The Gila County Attorney’s Office is also prosecuting Balas for an unrelated murder, and that case is set for trial on December 4, 2013.
County Attorney Beauchamp commended the Payson Police Department, especially Officer Billy Hoffman, for the hard work and dedication that went into the investigation of the case.
PRESS RELEASE Bradley D. Beauchamp
What is not mentioned here is that GASOA BALAS was a custodial father, and managed to retain his custodial status despite repeated reports of child abuse and neglect. This article also neglects to mention that his 7-year-old daughter was killed in a car crash after Dad was being pursued by the police for assaulting his girlfriend.
See our previous post here.
http://news.gila1019.com/jury-convicts-gasoa-balas-of-aggravated-assault/
Jury Convicts Gasoa Balas of Aggravated Assault!
by admin • September 23, 2013
Globe, Arizona – Gila County Attorney Bradley D. Beauchamp announced that on September 21, 2013, Gasoa Balas was convicted of three domestic violence related offenses following a three day jury trial. According to Chief Deputy County Attorney Shawn C. Fuller, who prosecuted the case, Balas was convicted of two felony counts of Aggravated Assault, one of which was proven to be a dangerous offense, and one count of misdemeanor assault.
According to evidence presented at trial, Balas was arrested on August 21, 2011, after viciously assaulting his girlfriend with a pair of scissors following an argument they had inside their home in Payson. Neighbors called 911 in the early-morning hours after they heard his girlfriend screaming for help. Payson Police Officer, Billy Hoffman, quickly responded to the scene and apprehended Balas as he was leaving the home. Inside the residence Officer Hoffman made contact with the victim, who was crying and injured.
In addition to finding Balas guilty of assaulting the victim, the jury found that one of the offenses was a dangerous offense and that two aggravating factors existed: harm to the victim, and that the domestic violence was committed in the presence of children.
Presiding Superior Court Judge Peter J. Cahill, who presided over the trial, set sentencing for October 14, 2013. Balas is facing a mandatory prison sentence of up to 15 years.
The Gila County Attorney’s Office is also prosecuting Balas for an unrelated murder, and that case is set for trial on December 4, 2013.
County Attorney Beauchamp commended the Payson Police Department, especially Officer Billy Hoffman, for the hard work and dedication that went into the investigation of the case.
PRESS RELEASE Bradley D. Beauchamp
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Dad leaves toddlers alone in car while he gambles at casino; did this happen during Dad's custody time? (Scottsdale, Arizona)
So we're told that Daddy was with his "girlfriend." We're not told she was the mother of these children, which makes me suspect she wasn't. So was this a custody/visitation situation? We're not told.
Meanwhile, notice that CPS has taken custody of the kids. So if there is a mother somewhere else, she is being punished for Daddy's irresponsibility. Unfortunately, this happens a lot.
Dad is identified as THOMAS DEVEREAUX.
http://myfox8.com/2014/10/24/toddlers-left-alone-in-car-while-father-gambles-at-casino/
Toddlers left alone in car while father gambles at casino
Posted 7:13 am, October 24, 2014, by CNN Wire, Updated at 02:11pm, October 24, 2014
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A Mesa dad faces child abuse charges after he allegedly left his two children in a parked car while he was at a Scottsdale casino early Wednesday morning.
The children, ages 2 and 3, were found in the vehicle on the upper level of Talking Stick Resort’s parking garage at 9800 E. Indian Bend Rd. by security officers with the casino’s bike patrol, a court document stated.
Salt River police officers found Thomas Devereux, 29, with his girlfriend on the main floor of the casino at around 2:50 a.m..
Child Protective Services were notified and took custody of the children.
Devereux was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on one count of child abuse and one count of endangering the life of a minor.
Meanwhile, notice that CPS has taken custody of the kids. So if there is a mother somewhere else, she is being punished for Daddy's irresponsibility. Unfortunately, this happens a lot.
Dad is identified as THOMAS DEVEREAUX.
http://myfox8.com/2014/10/24/toddlers-left-alone-in-car-while-father-gambles-at-casino/
Toddlers left alone in car while father gambles at casino
Posted 7:13 am, October 24, 2014, by CNN Wire, Updated at 02:11pm, October 24, 2014
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A Mesa dad faces child abuse charges after he allegedly left his two children in a parked car while he was at a Scottsdale casino early Wednesday morning.
The children, ages 2 and 3, were found in the vehicle on the upper level of Talking Stick Resort’s parking garage at 9800 E. Indian Bend Rd. by security officers with the casino’s bike patrol, a court document stated.
Salt River police officers found Thomas Devereux, 29, with his girlfriend on the main floor of the casino at around 2:50 a.m..
Child Protective Services were notified and took custody of the children.
Devereux was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on one count of child abuse and one count of endangering the life of a minor.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Dad accused of child abuse in death of 2-year-old son (Glendale, Arizona)
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.yourwestvalley.com/glendale/article_94be6650-5b00-11e4-88d0-1b500685dff2.html
Man accused of child abuse in Glendale tot's death
Posted: Thursday, October 23, 2014 3:06 pm
abc15.com
GLENDALE, Ariz. - A 29-year-old man is accused of child abuse after the death of a 2-year-old boy in Glendale.
The case began in January when Glendale police and fire personnel responded to a call of an unresponsive child at an apartment complex near 51st and Northern avenues.
The child was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
A doctor who examined the child noted several areas of bruising, according to court documents.
The suspect, who police say is the biological father of the child, was interviewed by police that day and told detectives he was watching the boy and the boy’s sibling when he caught the child urinating on the floor.
He grabbed the boy and carried him to the bathroom where the child slipped from his grasp and fell on top of the bathtub, striking his stomach, the suspect told detectives.
The suspect said he kept checking on the boy and that the boy had eaten and had water.
According to the documents, at around 5:30 p.m. the child told the suspect his stomach hurt.
About half an hour later the boy’s mother arrived home.
She told police the suspect did not tell her what had happened. The suspect said they fed the boy and he vomited.
The child was put to bed around 7:45 p.m. and the suspect claimed he checked on him frequently.
Around 2:30 a.m., the suspect checked the child and found him with his eyes open and not breathing.
The suspect told authorities he started CPR and called 911.
During an autopsy, the medical examiner found the boy had a perforated intestine which would be very painful and cause the child to be very sick. The doctor said the boy also had other injuries, including abrasions a couple of days old to a healing rib fracture up to three months old.
The doctor who examined the boy at the hospital told police the trauma occurred from a punch or kick and not from falling onto the bathtub.
The doctor also said the boy may have survived had he received medical treatment early on.
When the suspect was arrested on Tuesday, October 21, he denied causing injuries to the boy and maintained that the child fell from his hands onto the bathtub.
ABC15 is not identifying the suspect as he has not yet been formally charged.
http://www.yourwestvalley.com/glendale/article_94be6650-5b00-11e4-88d0-1b500685dff2.html
Man accused of child abuse in Glendale tot's death
Posted: Thursday, October 23, 2014 3:06 pm
abc15.com
GLENDALE, Ariz. - A 29-year-old man is accused of child abuse after the death of a 2-year-old boy in Glendale.
The case began in January when Glendale police and fire personnel responded to a call of an unresponsive child at an apartment complex near 51st and Northern avenues.
The child was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
A doctor who examined the child noted several areas of bruising, according to court documents.
The suspect, who police say is the biological father of the child, was interviewed by police that day and told detectives he was watching the boy and the boy’s sibling when he caught the child urinating on the floor.
He grabbed the boy and carried him to the bathroom where the child slipped from his grasp and fell on top of the bathtub, striking his stomach, the suspect told detectives.
The suspect said he kept checking on the boy and that the boy had eaten and had water.
According to the documents, at around 5:30 p.m. the child told the suspect his stomach hurt.
About half an hour later the boy’s mother arrived home.
She told police the suspect did not tell her what had happened. The suspect said they fed the boy and he vomited.
The child was put to bed around 7:45 p.m. and the suspect claimed he checked on him frequently.
Around 2:30 a.m., the suspect checked the child and found him with his eyes open and not breathing.
The suspect told authorities he started CPR and called 911.
During an autopsy, the medical examiner found the boy had a perforated intestine which would be very painful and cause the child to be very sick. The doctor said the boy also had other injuries, including abrasions a couple of days old to a healing rib fracture up to three months old.
The doctor who examined the boy at the hospital told police the trauma occurred from a punch or kick and not from falling onto the bathtub.
The doctor also said the boy may have survived had he received medical treatment early on.
When the suspect was arrested on Tuesday, October 21, he denied causing injuries to the boy and maintained that the child fell from his hands onto the bathtub.
ABC15 is not identifying the suspect as he has not yet been formally charged.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Dad charged with aggravated assault for choking, beating 14-year-old son (Buckeye, Arizona)
Can't help but wonder whether CESAR COVARRUBIAS is a single father. Notice that there is mention of unspecified siblings, but not of a mother in the home.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/Buckeye-father-allegedly-assaulted-son-over-bad-grades-279856242.html
Buckeye father allegedly assaults son over grades
by Tami Hoey
azfamily.com
Posted on October 20, 2014 at 6:53 PM Updated yesterday at 7:41 PM
BUCKEYE, Ariz. -- A Buckeye father has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting his 14-year-old son over grades.
Cesar Covarrubias was arrested Sunday. According to the police report, Covarrubias told police he was discussing his son's grades and how he should be punished.
His son reportedly said something that upset his father, and police say Covarrubias pushed the teen to the floor.
The victim and his siblings told police Covarrubias grabbed him by the throat using both hands. The teen said he couldn't recall whether his airway was cut off. He added he didn't think he lost consciousness.
The officer says he observed fresh bruises and marks on the left side of the teen's neck, according to the police report. The teen said he tried to punch his dad in self-defense. The fight moved upstairs, where the teen said he was thrown onto a bed.
The teen also told police his father punched him with a closed fist on his back. The victim said that once they heard police arriving, the attack stopped. According to court paperwork, the teen said fights like this one have occurred in the past, but have been escalating.
Covarrubias was booked into jail on charges of child abuse, aggravated assault of a minor and disorderly conduct.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/Buckeye-father-allegedly-assaulted-son-over-bad-grades-279856242.html
Buckeye father allegedly assaults son over grades
by Tami Hoey
azfamily.com
Posted on October 20, 2014 at 6:53 PM Updated yesterday at 7:41 PM
BUCKEYE, Ariz. -- A Buckeye father has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting his 14-year-old son over grades.
Cesar Covarrubias was arrested Sunday. According to the police report, Covarrubias told police he was discussing his son's grades and how he should be punished.
His son reportedly said something that upset his father, and police say Covarrubias pushed the teen to the floor.
The victim and his siblings told police Covarrubias grabbed him by the throat using both hands. The teen said he couldn't recall whether his airway was cut off. He added he didn't think he lost consciousness.
The officer says he observed fresh bruises and marks on the left side of the teen's neck, according to the police report. The teen said he tried to punch his dad in self-defense. The fight moved upstairs, where the teen said he was thrown onto a bed.
The teen also told police his father punched him with a closed fist on his back. The victim said that once they heard police arriving, the attack stopped. According to court paperwork, the teen said fights like this one have occurred in the past, but have been escalating.
Covarrubias was booked into jail on charges of child abuse, aggravated assault of a minor and disorderly conduct.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Dad with sole custody loses 11-year-old son to foster care after beating; why are authorities pushing for him to get custody back and not mom? (Tucson, Arizona)
Yet another one of those cases where you have to read between the lines and notice what is NOT said and what is NOT explained.
UNNAMED DAD had SOLE CUSTODY and was allowed to move out of state, away from the mother. Mothers are increasingly banned from moveaways, but the same restrictions apparently don't apply to dads.
The father is obviously abusive. He beat the boy hard enough to make him fall to the floor and then continued to beat him. The beating left the boy with welts and broken blood vessels.
During the initial 911 call, the boy (obviously traumatized and stuttering) reported he wanted to live with Mom. It appears that he was pressured to later recant and say he wants to live with the abuser again.
So the authorities put the boy in foster care, where he is reputedly depressed and not doing well.
Why is the boy in foster care and not with mom? Notice that the explanation is short and vague to the extreme, that she was "not deemed a possible placement after the father’s arrest." Why not? Is she more abusive than Daddy? There are no claims that she is. I suspect nothing but politics here, given that no specifics are given that could document their deceit (or likely corruption).
Meanwhile, the abusive father is full of denial, trying to convince the child protection officials that photos of his son's back just show that it's merely "red." The officials aren't buying it.
But that has stopped Daddy from GETTING CUSTODY BACK. His elderly mother is supposed to be moving in to "help," but the boy's mother protested because the elderly mother couldn't possibly "effectively protect" the child. Of course she couldn't. It's total nonsense.
Frankly it is UTTER BULLS*** that this mother doesn't get custody back, but of course abusers are outstanding at smearing the protective parent, instigating trauma bonding with the victim, and forcing the victim to recant for fear of additional abuse. The boy was obviously threatened and punished for calling his mother after the beating and saying what he said.
And of course the authorities are all ready to play enablers to the abusive daddy.
Who says daddies are discriminated against?
And how much you want to bet he beat the mother too?
These questions are not only NOT RAISED but are buried under a ridiculous "philosophical" treatise about what child abuse is or isn't.
http://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-dad-calls-it-spanking-officials-say-abuse/article_40cdd03a-afb4-542b-907e-b56a3c1e906b.html
Tucson dad calls it spanking; authorities say abuse
22 hours ago • By Patty Machelor
A Tucson man used a folded belt to discipline his son — and now he is facing criminal charges and his child is in foster care.
Authorities say the 42-year-old father crossed the line from legal spanking into child abuse last February when he hit his 11-year-old son hard enough to leave welts.
The father says he merely gave his child a spanking that left red marks, and that no one who saw the boy afterwards deemed the injuries serious enough to need medical treatment. He hadn’t spanked his son for a year, he says, and is something he does rarely.
“This wasn’t abuse. But even if you considered it abuse, how would it rise to the level of a removal?” he asks. “Why would it go that far?”
His son was put into foster care in February and, after months of hearings and legal debate, remains there today. The man’s criminal case is no less complicated: He was indicted on felony child abuse charges once, but then the case was sent back and a second grand jury declined to indict. He now faces a misdemeanor charge of child abuse.
Officials with the Arizona Department of Child Safety declined to discuss the case or whether the agency has any specific protocols when it comes to spanking and corporal punishment.
The case highlights the ongoing debate over how far a parent should go when disciplining a child. Arizona law permits parents to hit their children but only in a “reasonable and appropriate” manner.
The controversy has grown even more intense since last month’s indictment of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. Peterson is facing felony child abuse charges after he used a switch from a tree to discipline his 4-year-old son.
Since 1986, the number of people who support spanking nationally is still high, but falling — from 84 percent to about 70 percent in 2012, reports the University of Chicago’s General Social Survey. Worldwide, 32 countries prohibit spanking.
School performance
A scrapbook shows some of the boy’s many accomplishments: honor student, budding pianist, natural athlete. But his father, whom the Star is not identifying to protect the child’s identity, says nine months in foster homes and group care have left his son depressed, disoriented and rapidly gaining weight.
Court records from the father’s criminal case show that while the boy was initially angry and wanted to live with his mother after his father hit him with the belt, he now wants to be with his father again.
The pair moved to Tucson from the East Coast in 2013 a few years after the father won sole custody. The boy sees his mother periodically, during vacations and summer breaks, but she was not deemed a possible placement after the father’s arrest. Attempts to reach the boy’s mother were unsuccessful.
In general, the father says he employs other means of discipline — such as loss of privileges and grounding. But he says last February’s punishment was harsher because of his son’s repeated lying about how he was doing in school. The father says that when he found his son had again lied and missed eight assignments, he decided to give him “eight straps.”
Afterwards, the father left to run some errands and received a call from Tucson police about an emergency call made by his son.
“He called his mom and complained and she coerced him to call 911,” the father says. “They arrested me on the spot.”
A Pima County grand jury indicted the father in March on felony child abuse charges. But the case went back to a second grand jury after a judge found the original panel didn’t receive enough information about how, under Arizona law, a parent, guardian or teacher can use physical force against a child as long as it’s “reasonably necessary and appropriate to maintain discipline.”
During the proceedings, a Tucson police detective testified that the boy said his father hit him so hard on the buttocks that he fell, and then continued to hit him with the belt when he was on the floor. The boy told police and investigators that he was frightened and that his father was angry, transcripts show.
Police records describe welts and the speckling of broken blood vessels on the boy’s skin. Dr. Dale Woolridge, who examined photographs of the boy’s injuries, told police that a large amount of force had caused the marks — force the doctor said “exceeds discipline.”
The father testified that he used a belt because he subscribes to a philosophy that parents should not use their hands to punish their children. He also testified that the boy tried to move away from him during the spanking, and that was the reason he was hit on his legs and back as well as his buttocks.
“I have never touched him with my hands in any type of, you know, aggressive way,” he told the second grand jury, records show. “So, as his father, someone who loves him more than anyone, I believed this was the best course of action, you know, given the seriousness of the lesson that he needed to learn.”
Afterward, when the boy called 911, he told the person on the line that he wanted to go live with his mother, who resides out-of-state.
“I, I, I, I, I just call, I just called because I thought I like, I could go live with my mom because, I, she said I’m old enough to decide or something,” he said, a transcript of the call shows.
He later said in the 911 call that it wasn’t typical of his father to hit him.
“I mean, he doesn’t like usually do this. He’s, I mean, he’s usually good, but this time he kinda went too far,” the boy told the police.
The second grand jury declined to indict by a vote of 7-6.
No ideal punishment
Rebecca Mueller, the misdemeanor-unit supervisor with the County Attorney’s Office, says the child-abuse cases her office prosecutes go beyond what people typically think of as a spanking.
“While the person charged might qualify it as a spanking, we are looking at exactly what that conduct was,” Mueller says.
A spanking, developmental psychologist Marjorie Gunnoe says, should include no more than two swats on a child’s arm, leg or buttocks with an open hand, and should be administered to children ages 2 to 7 — and then phased out.
Gunnoe, of Calvin College in Michigan, believes spanking can sometimes be necessary for a parent to bring about a “healthy level of compliance.”
Her position is not a popular one in the academic world, she says, but most of the public agrees with her. She says there is no ideal when it comes to punishment and that how a parent proceeds depends on the child.
Some children need an occasional spanking, while others do not, she said, but outlawing spanking would put parents in a situation “where their hands are so tied that they cannot parent effectively.”
But Deborah Sendek, program director for the National Center for Effective Discipline, says other means of disciplining children work better. Spanking risks traumatizing the child physically and emotionally, she says.
Women who were spanked as children often have trouble establishing boundaries in relationships and are more vulnerable to domestic violence, she says. Men who were hit, in turn, often have trouble recognizing other people’s boundaries and are more at risk to become abusers.
Banning spanking would take the guess work out of figuring out when hitting is OK, she says.
“In all 50 states in the U.S., parents are allowed to use what’s called reasonable force. But what’s reasonable isn’t always defined the same between you or me or someone else,” she says. “The laws are still very ambiguous and the word reasonable interprets differently to different people.”
Laws, not protocol
The Tucson father spends his free time researching his case. He carries around stacks of legal documents and printouts of research papers, along with a small album that holds photos of his son.
A couple of weeks ago, the father drove to Phoenix to meet with officials from the state’s Department of Child Safety. He shared with them a photograph of the strap mark on his son’s back, urging them to agree that it was merely red and not welt-riddled with broken blood vessels, but they disagreed.
He asked for a copy of their protocol on spanking and says he was told they don’t have any protocol because they follow the law.
Late last week, the man said, his son was supposed to return home to live with both his father and his paternal grandmother, who moved here from Florida to help. The father, under this plan, would have received in-home services from child-welfare workers.
But the case stalled again when the child’s mother protested. Her attorney filed the concern, saying the grandmother could not effectively protect her grandson from her son.
The child, who sees his father twice a week during supervised visits, remains at a group home.
UNNAMED DAD had SOLE CUSTODY and was allowed to move out of state, away from the mother. Mothers are increasingly banned from moveaways, but the same restrictions apparently don't apply to dads.
The father is obviously abusive. He beat the boy hard enough to make him fall to the floor and then continued to beat him. The beating left the boy with welts and broken blood vessels.
During the initial 911 call, the boy (obviously traumatized and stuttering) reported he wanted to live with Mom. It appears that he was pressured to later recant and say he wants to live with the abuser again.
So the authorities put the boy in foster care, where he is reputedly depressed and not doing well.
Why is the boy in foster care and not with mom? Notice that the explanation is short and vague to the extreme, that she was "not deemed a possible placement after the father’s arrest." Why not? Is she more abusive than Daddy? There are no claims that she is. I suspect nothing but politics here, given that no specifics are given that could document their deceit (or likely corruption).
Meanwhile, the abusive father is full of denial, trying to convince the child protection officials that photos of his son's back just show that it's merely "red." The officials aren't buying it.
But that has stopped Daddy from GETTING CUSTODY BACK. His elderly mother is supposed to be moving in to "help," but the boy's mother protested because the elderly mother couldn't possibly "effectively protect" the child. Of course she couldn't. It's total nonsense.
Frankly it is UTTER BULLS*** that this mother doesn't get custody back, but of course abusers are outstanding at smearing the protective parent, instigating trauma bonding with the victim, and forcing the victim to recant for fear of additional abuse. The boy was obviously threatened and punished for calling his mother after the beating and saying what he said.
And of course the authorities are all ready to play enablers to the abusive daddy.
Who says daddies are discriminated against?
And how much you want to bet he beat the mother too?
These questions are not only NOT RAISED but are buried under a ridiculous "philosophical" treatise about what child abuse is or isn't.
http://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-dad-calls-it-spanking-officials-say-abuse/article_40cdd03a-afb4-542b-907e-b56a3c1e906b.html
Tucson dad calls it spanking; authorities say abuse
22 hours ago • By Patty Machelor
A Tucson man used a folded belt to discipline his son — and now he is facing criminal charges and his child is in foster care.
Authorities say the 42-year-old father crossed the line from legal spanking into child abuse last February when he hit his 11-year-old son hard enough to leave welts.
The father says he merely gave his child a spanking that left red marks, and that no one who saw the boy afterwards deemed the injuries serious enough to need medical treatment. He hadn’t spanked his son for a year, he says, and is something he does rarely.
“This wasn’t abuse. But even if you considered it abuse, how would it rise to the level of a removal?” he asks. “Why would it go that far?”
His son was put into foster care in February and, after months of hearings and legal debate, remains there today. The man’s criminal case is no less complicated: He was indicted on felony child abuse charges once, but then the case was sent back and a second grand jury declined to indict. He now faces a misdemeanor charge of child abuse.
Officials with the Arizona Department of Child Safety declined to discuss the case or whether the agency has any specific protocols when it comes to spanking and corporal punishment.
The case highlights the ongoing debate over how far a parent should go when disciplining a child. Arizona law permits parents to hit their children but only in a “reasonable and appropriate” manner.
The controversy has grown even more intense since last month’s indictment of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. Peterson is facing felony child abuse charges after he used a switch from a tree to discipline his 4-year-old son.
Since 1986, the number of people who support spanking nationally is still high, but falling — from 84 percent to about 70 percent in 2012, reports the University of Chicago’s General Social Survey. Worldwide, 32 countries prohibit spanking.
School performance
A scrapbook shows some of the boy’s many accomplishments: honor student, budding pianist, natural athlete. But his father, whom the Star is not identifying to protect the child’s identity, says nine months in foster homes and group care have left his son depressed, disoriented and rapidly gaining weight.
Court records from the father’s criminal case show that while the boy was initially angry and wanted to live with his mother after his father hit him with the belt, he now wants to be with his father again.
The pair moved to Tucson from the East Coast in 2013 a few years after the father won sole custody. The boy sees his mother periodically, during vacations and summer breaks, but she was not deemed a possible placement after the father’s arrest. Attempts to reach the boy’s mother were unsuccessful.
In general, the father says he employs other means of discipline — such as loss of privileges and grounding. But he says last February’s punishment was harsher because of his son’s repeated lying about how he was doing in school. The father says that when he found his son had again lied and missed eight assignments, he decided to give him “eight straps.”
Afterwards, the father left to run some errands and received a call from Tucson police about an emergency call made by his son.
“He called his mom and complained and she coerced him to call 911,” the father says. “They arrested me on the spot.”
A Pima County grand jury indicted the father in March on felony child abuse charges. But the case went back to a second grand jury after a judge found the original panel didn’t receive enough information about how, under Arizona law, a parent, guardian or teacher can use physical force against a child as long as it’s “reasonably necessary and appropriate to maintain discipline.”
During the proceedings, a Tucson police detective testified that the boy said his father hit him so hard on the buttocks that he fell, and then continued to hit him with the belt when he was on the floor. The boy told police and investigators that he was frightened and that his father was angry, transcripts show.
Police records describe welts and the speckling of broken blood vessels on the boy’s skin. Dr. Dale Woolridge, who examined photographs of the boy’s injuries, told police that a large amount of force had caused the marks — force the doctor said “exceeds discipline.”
The father testified that he used a belt because he subscribes to a philosophy that parents should not use their hands to punish their children. He also testified that the boy tried to move away from him during the spanking, and that was the reason he was hit on his legs and back as well as his buttocks.
“I have never touched him with my hands in any type of, you know, aggressive way,” he told the second grand jury, records show. “So, as his father, someone who loves him more than anyone, I believed this was the best course of action, you know, given the seriousness of the lesson that he needed to learn.”
Afterward, when the boy called 911, he told the person on the line that he wanted to go live with his mother, who resides out-of-state.
“I, I, I, I, I just call, I just called because I thought I like, I could go live with my mom because, I, she said I’m old enough to decide or something,” he said, a transcript of the call shows.
He later said in the 911 call that it wasn’t typical of his father to hit him.
“I mean, he doesn’t like usually do this. He’s, I mean, he’s usually good, but this time he kinda went too far,” the boy told the police.
The second grand jury declined to indict by a vote of 7-6.
No ideal punishment
Rebecca Mueller, the misdemeanor-unit supervisor with the County Attorney’s Office, says the child-abuse cases her office prosecutes go beyond what people typically think of as a spanking.
“While the person charged might qualify it as a spanking, we are looking at exactly what that conduct was,” Mueller says.
A spanking, developmental psychologist Marjorie Gunnoe says, should include no more than two swats on a child’s arm, leg or buttocks with an open hand, and should be administered to children ages 2 to 7 — and then phased out.
Gunnoe, of Calvin College in Michigan, believes spanking can sometimes be necessary for a parent to bring about a “healthy level of compliance.”
Her position is not a popular one in the academic world, she says, but most of the public agrees with her. She says there is no ideal when it comes to punishment and that how a parent proceeds depends on the child.
Some children need an occasional spanking, while others do not, she said, but outlawing spanking would put parents in a situation “where their hands are so tied that they cannot parent effectively.”
But Deborah Sendek, program director for the National Center for Effective Discipline, says other means of disciplining children work better. Spanking risks traumatizing the child physically and emotionally, she says.
Women who were spanked as children often have trouble establishing boundaries in relationships and are more vulnerable to domestic violence, she says. Men who were hit, in turn, often have trouble recognizing other people’s boundaries and are more at risk to become abusers.
Banning spanking would take the guess work out of figuring out when hitting is OK, she says.
“In all 50 states in the U.S., parents are allowed to use what’s called reasonable force. But what’s reasonable isn’t always defined the same between you or me or someone else,” she says. “The laws are still very ambiguous and the word reasonable interprets differently to different people.”
Laws, not protocol
The Tucson father spends his free time researching his case. He carries around stacks of legal documents and printouts of research papers, along with a small album that holds photos of his son.
A couple of weeks ago, the father drove to Phoenix to meet with officials from the state’s Department of Child Safety. He shared with them a photograph of the strap mark on his son’s back, urging them to agree that it was merely red and not welt-riddled with broken blood vessels, but they disagreed.
He asked for a copy of their protocol on spanking and says he was told they don’t have any protocol because they follow the law.
Late last week, the man said, his son was supposed to return home to live with both his father and his paternal grandmother, who moved here from Florida to help. The father, under this plan, would have received in-home services from child-welfare workers.
But the case stalled again when the child’s mother protested. Her attorney filed the concern, saying the grandmother could not effectively protect her grandson from her son.
The child, who sees his father twice a week during supervised visits, remains at a group home.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Dad described as "loving" despite being arrested for 1st-degree murder in sexual abuse and beating death of 1-month-old twin daughter (Phoenix, Arizona)
More denial of male violence, specifically father violence. Let's look at the facts. Daddy has a criminal history with three prior felonies (which the reporters don't tell us about till the end, and then they don't bother to tell us what they are). We have a dead 1-month-old baby with bruises, a skull fracture, fractured ribs, bite marks, and "injuries consistent with sexual assault." Sickening stuff.
And yet we're assured that this sicko little sh** is "always loving and caring". It's just mind blowing, really.
Dad is identified as DURYEA BENNETT.
http://www.kpho.com/story/26742043/father-charged-in-death-of-his-1-month-old-baby
Father arrested in death of 1-month-old twin daughter
Posted: Oct 09, 2014 1:24 AM EDT
Updated: Oct 09, 2014 5:43 PM EDT
By Jonathan Lowe
By Steve Stout
PHOENIX (CBS5) - Police have arrested a Phoenix father on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with the death of one of his 1-month-old twin girls.
A judge imposed a bond of $1 million for 39-year-old Duryea Bennett during his initial court appearance on Thursday.
Bennett was jailed on charges of murder and child abuse, a police spokesman said.
Bennett was taken into custody Wednesday night after signs of trauma were found on the body of his daughter, Natalyah, after she was taken to a Phoenix hospital, where she died, Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump said.
Crump said hospital staff found numerous injuries, including bruises, a skull fracture, fractured ribs, bite marks and injuries consistent with sexual assault.
Bennett told his 14-year-old son that the infant was not breathing and the teen called 911, reporting the infant had stopped breathing while she was in the bath at her home in the area of 43rd Avenue and Baseline Road about 1 p.m. Thursday, according to the police.
Phoenix Fire Department officials said the girl, who was pronounced dead at the hospital just before 2 p.m. Thursday, was only 35 days old.
Investigators said the father was the only adult home with seven children.
Bennett told police it was the first time he was alone with the twin infants. Bennett said he used force and hit the infant numerous times on the back and stomach in an attempt to stop her from choking on milk from an earlier feeding, the police report states.
He also told police he bit his daughter in an attempt to revive her.
"I only got to see both of them once since they been born," said JohnnieMae Stevenson, the baby's aunt.
"The baby was choking. He turned her up. The baby threw up, and then he had put them in the bath and then went to go get a towel," Stevenson explained. "The next thing you know, the baby was not breathing."
Next-door neighbor Jason Knight had arrived home about 3:30 p.m. and saw police with the father.
"I seen the gentleman in the driveway," Knight said. "The cops had him in handcuffs, and the next thing you know, they put him in the back seat and hauled him off."
Even though the father attempted CPR, police called the incident "suspicious" early in the investigation.
"I was told that the baby had just stopped breathing and that the baby had bruises," Stevenson said.
Everyone in her family, Stevenson said, is clueless as to why the newest member of her family is gone too soon. "He (the baby's father) was always loving and caring," Stevenson said. "So it would be a shocker if something did come and suspect that he did it."
The baby's father is facing charges of murder and child abuse. The surviving twin girl is said to be doing just fine.
Bennett has a criminal history with three prior felonies.
And yet we're assured that this sicko little sh** is "always loving and caring". It's just mind blowing, really.
Dad is identified as DURYEA BENNETT.
http://www.kpho.com/story/26742043/father-charged-in-death-of-his-1-month-old-baby
Father arrested in death of 1-month-old twin daughter
Posted: Oct 09, 2014 1:24 AM EDT
Updated: Oct 09, 2014 5:43 PM EDT
By Jonathan Lowe
By Steve Stout
PHOENIX (CBS5) - Police have arrested a Phoenix father on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with the death of one of his 1-month-old twin girls.
A judge imposed a bond of $1 million for 39-year-old Duryea Bennett during his initial court appearance on Thursday.
Bennett was jailed on charges of murder and child abuse, a police spokesman said.
Bennett was taken into custody Wednesday night after signs of trauma were found on the body of his daughter, Natalyah, after she was taken to a Phoenix hospital, where she died, Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump said.
Crump said hospital staff found numerous injuries, including bruises, a skull fracture, fractured ribs, bite marks and injuries consistent with sexual assault.
Bennett told his 14-year-old son that the infant was not breathing and the teen called 911, reporting the infant had stopped breathing while she was in the bath at her home in the area of 43rd Avenue and Baseline Road about 1 p.m. Thursday, according to the police.
Phoenix Fire Department officials said the girl, who was pronounced dead at the hospital just before 2 p.m. Thursday, was only 35 days old.
Investigators said the father was the only adult home with seven children.
Bennett told police it was the first time he was alone with the twin infants. Bennett said he used force and hit the infant numerous times on the back and stomach in an attempt to stop her from choking on milk from an earlier feeding, the police report states.
He also told police he bit his daughter in an attempt to revive her.
"I only got to see both of them once since they been born," said JohnnieMae Stevenson, the baby's aunt.
"The baby was choking. He turned her up. The baby threw up, and then he had put them in the bath and then went to go get a towel," Stevenson explained. "The next thing you know, the baby was not breathing."
Next-door neighbor Jason Knight had arrived home about 3:30 p.m. and saw police with the father.
"I seen the gentleman in the driveway," Knight said. "The cops had him in handcuffs, and the next thing you know, they put him in the back seat and hauled him off."
Even though the father attempted CPR, police called the incident "suspicious" early in the investigation.
"I was told that the baby had just stopped breathing and that the baby had bruises," Stevenson said.
Everyone in her family, Stevenson said, is clueless as to why the newest member of her family is gone too soon. "He (the baby's father) was always loving and caring," Stevenson said. "So it would be a shocker if something did come and suspect that he did it."
The baby's father is facing charges of murder and child abuse. The surviving twin girl is said to be doing just fine.
Bennett has a criminal history with three prior felonies.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Dad arrested for shaking 7-week-old son; baby in "extremely critical" condition (Phoenix, Arizona)
Dad is identified as GUADALUPE GONZALES.
http://www.kfyi.com/onair/arizona-news-55067/father-accused-of-shaking-newborn-baby-12834953
Father Accused of Shaking Newborn Baby
Posted Monday, October 6th 2014 @ 4pm (KFYI News)
A Phoenix man is arrested for allegedly shaking his 7-week-old son.
On Sunday, the mom leaves the baby in Guadalupe Gonzales' care. He originally tells police he takes a Percocet and lays down on the sofa with the baby on the floor below. The man says he wakes up after falling off the sofa and landing on the infant.
The father also claims the baby falls a few inches when he gives him a shower afterwards. He later recants his story and tells police his son wouldn't stop crying so he shakes him about fifteen times.
Gonzales is being charges with child abuse -- a class 2 felony. The child is in extremely critical condition.
http://www.kfyi.com/onair/arizona-news-55067/father-accused-of-shaking-newborn-baby-12834953
Father Accused of Shaking Newborn Baby
Posted Monday, October 6th 2014 @ 4pm (KFYI News)
A Phoenix man is arrested for allegedly shaking his 7-week-old son.
On Sunday, the mom leaves the baby in Guadalupe Gonzales' care. He originally tells police he takes a Percocet and lays down on the sofa with the baby on the floor below. The man says he wakes up after falling off the sofa and landing on the infant.
The father also claims the baby falls a few inches when he gives him a shower afterwards. He later recants his story and tells police his son wouldn't stop crying so he shakes him about fifteen times.
Gonzales is being charges with child abuse -- a class 2 felony. The child is in extremely critical condition.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Mom was afraid that abusive, controlling father would strip her of child custody if she left; instead he slaughtered the whole family (Maine)
Sadly, this is a typical family annihilation scenario. A control freak abuser father who insisted on total power over his wife and kids. Notice the mother's concerns about losing custody of her children if she were to leave this creep. This is a very common threat with these guys.
Dad is identified as JOEL SMITH.
http://www.pressherald.com/2014/07/29/new-details-emerge-in-saco-murder-suicide/
New details emerge in Saco murder-suicide: ‘She was afraid of him’
Heather Smith’s sister-in-law describes a marriage fraught with difficulties, including alcoholism, financial problems and controlling behavior.
By Matt Byrne Staff Writer
Heather Smith was afraid of her husband and frightened that he would take custody of their children if she ended their relationship, a family member said Tuesday.
The relationship of Heather and Joel Smith, whose bodies were found Sunday in Saco along with those of their three children in a murder-suicide, was complex and fraught with difficulties, said Jennifer Montez, Heather Smith’s sister-in-law.
Montez said that since Heather and Joel Smith began dating, he had a tendency to control the relationship, a habit that intensified when the couple married in 2010 and had two children together. Montez, 36, of Laveen, Arizona, is married to Heather Smith’s brother and described how she and other relatives would receive panicked, late-night phone calls from her sister-in-law.
“She was afraid of him,” Montez said. “And she was afraid of losing her children. So she actually sacrificed her happiness and her life because she was not willing to be a part-time mom, she wasn’t willing to see her kids only once every three weeks.”
There were other demons that plagued the couple, factors that Montez said contributed to the family’s strife.
“I’m not going to lie, they were both alcoholics,” Montez said. “That’s where some of the money problems happened.”
Montez, in a nearly hour-long interview with the Portland Press Herald, disputed the assertion that her sister-in-law was a drug addict, and that allegations of her opioid use only emerged about two weeks before the couple’s death. For the majority of their relationship, Montez said, Heather Smith maintained the family’s only stable income while her husband sought construction work in Arizona, and later in Maine, often only securing sporadic employment.
Much of their disharmony, and Heather Smith’s fear, centered on the raising of their three children, Montez said.
Heather’s oldest son, Jason Montez, 12, was born in Arizona before Joel and Heather met; his biological father has never been in the picture. During that time, Heather lived with her mother, who cared for Jason when Heather worked.
When Heather and Joel got together, they moved into an apartment within a matter of months, according to Montez.
The Montez clan, with several branches of the family within about a 30-minute drive of one another in cities around Phoenix, stayed in close touch. Poolside barbecues and extended family meals were at least weekly occurrences. Everyone knew what was going on with everyone else.
At first, the family thought Joel was good for Heather, and that she seemed happy. The families started to get to know each other when Heather announced in 2007 that she was expecting a child with Joel. They named him Noah, who was 7 at the time of his death.
When the baby was born, the Montez family tried to welcome Joel into the fold, but he was distrustful, Montez said.
He restricted the family’s access to Noah, asserting more control than he did with Jason, who was raised with help from the extended Montez family before Joel met Heather, Montez said.
Visits with Noah were allowed only at Heather’s and Joel’s home; family members were not allowed to take him overnight, or for day trips or car rides. Heather also was noticeably absent from holiday gatherings and family parties.
“He said he was a better parent than her, even though she already had a child and he didn’t,” Montez said. “If we bought (their children) a toy and he didn’t like it, they couldn’t play with it.”
Although he was holding three jobs in the days before he used a 12-gauge shotgun to kill his wife and their children July 26, Joel struggled to maintain steady employment, and it was on Heather’s steady income that the family often scraped by, Montez said.
“Unfortunately, they continued their relationship and had another child, even though they had so much turmoil,” she said.
Montez believes the couple’s move to New England was spurred by a 2009 vacation to see Joel’s father, who lives in Maine. It was a rare getaway from parenthood, Montez said – Jason stayed with Joel’s mother.
“We were not allowed to have him,” she said.
The visit was recorded in an album of Facebook photos, in which a pregnant Heather posed for pictures in Old Orchard Beach with her husband, and at an arcade. It was fall, and the leaves were turning brilliant shades of red and orange. When they came back to Arizona, Montez said, the idea to move to Maine percolated.
“They kept talking about it, ‘We’re thinking about moving there,’ ” Montez recalled. “I said, ‘Your problems are going to follow you.’
“ In hindsight, Montez believes the move to New England was designed to cut Heather off from the support network and familiarity of Arizona.
“He moved her to Maine to isolate her so she would feel she had no resources and would feel trapped,” Montez said. “He isolated her from all her family and all her friends.”
Once they settled in Saco, Heather found a position in a doctor’s office and Joel again sought work in construction.
Both parents were drinking heavily every night, and the stress began to affect Heather’s work performance, Montez said. Heather was getting in trouble, and managers gave her fewer hours. Then she lost the job.
When she was fired less than a year ago, Joel found positions as a handyman for the RiverView Apartments complex where they lived, at a separate apartment building, and working part time at Target.
The Montez family knew Heather and Joel were struggling. The couple asked to borrow money from family members. Heather, who was unhappy in the relationship, told Montez that she felt powerless to escape, despite repeated offers by her family to help her do just that.
Early in 2014, she told Montez about a plan to use a portion of the couple’s forthcoming tax return to take her children and get an apartment for herself.
The time came, the money arrived, but Heather’s plan never materialized.
The last time Montez heard news of her sister-in-law was July 15, when Joel called Montez’s husband to tell them that Heather was checked into a hospital because she was apparently in withdrawal from opioid use.
The family was alarmed, but Joel sounded calm, Montez said. He told them he had taken the children to his father’s house, and removed his guns from the residence. He took Heather to the hospital, and was looking for rehabilitation facilities where she could get clean.
Montez tried to help, looking up names of clinics in the area, but couldn’t get in touch with her brother-in-law.
Two weeks later, Montez learned they were all dead.
Dad is identified as JOEL SMITH.
http://www.pressherald.com/2014/07/29/new-details-emerge-in-saco-murder-suicide/
New details emerge in Saco murder-suicide: ‘She was afraid of him’
Heather Smith’s sister-in-law describes a marriage fraught with difficulties, including alcoholism, financial problems and controlling behavior.
By Matt Byrne Staff Writer
Heather Smith was afraid of her husband and frightened that he would take custody of their children if she ended their relationship, a family member said Tuesday.
The relationship of Heather and Joel Smith, whose bodies were found Sunday in Saco along with those of their three children in a murder-suicide, was complex and fraught with difficulties, said Jennifer Montez, Heather Smith’s sister-in-law.
Montez said that since Heather and Joel Smith began dating, he had a tendency to control the relationship, a habit that intensified when the couple married in 2010 and had two children together. Montez, 36, of Laveen, Arizona, is married to Heather Smith’s brother and described how she and other relatives would receive panicked, late-night phone calls from her sister-in-law.
“She was afraid of him,” Montez said. “And she was afraid of losing her children. So she actually sacrificed her happiness and her life because she was not willing to be a part-time mom, she wasn’t willing to see her kids only once every three weeks.”
There were other demons that plagued the couple, factors that Montez said contributed to the family’s strife.
“I’m not going to lie, they were both alcoholics,” Montez said. “That’s where some of the money problems happened.”
Montez, in a nearly hour-long interview with the Portland Press Herald, disputed the assertion that her sister-in-law was a drug addict, and that allegations of her opioid use only emerged about two weeks before the couple’s death. For the majority of their relationship, Montez said, Heather Smith maintained the family’s only stable income while her husband sought construction work in Arizona, and later in Maine, often only securing sporadic employment.
Much of their disharmony, and Heather Smith’s fear, centered on the raising of their three children, Montez said.
Heather’s oldest son, Jason Montez, 12, was born in Arizona before Joel and Heather met; his biological father has never been in the picture. During that time, Heather lived with her mother, who cared for Jason when Heather worked.
When Heather and Joel got together, they moved into an apartment within a matter of months, according to Montez.
The Montez clan, with several branches of the family within about a 30-minute drive of one another in cities around Phoenix, stayed in close touch. Poolside barbecues and extended family meals were at least weekly occurrences. Everyone knew what was going on with everyone else.
At first, the family thought Joel was good for Heather, and that she seemed happy. The families started to get to know each other when Heather announced in 2007 that she was expecting a child with Joel. They named him Noah, who was 7 at the time of his death.
When the baby was born, the Montez family tried to welcome Joel into the fold, but he was distrustful, Montez said.
He restricted the family’s access to Noah, asserting more control than he did with Jason, who was raised with help from the extended Montez family before Joel met Heather, Montez said.
Visits with Noah were allowed only at Heather’s and Joel’s home; family members were not allowed to take him overnight, or for day trips or car rides. Heather also was noticeably absent from holiday gatherings and family parties.
“He said he was a better parent than her, even though she already had a child and he didn’t,” Montez said. “If we bought (their children) a toy and he didn’t like it, they couldn’t play with it.”
Although he was holding three jobs in the days before he used a 12-gauge shotgun to kill his wife and their children July 26, Joel struggled to maintain steady employment, and it was on Heather’s steady income that the family often scraped by, Montez said.
“Unfortunately, they continued their relationship and had another child, even though they had so much turmoil,” she said.
Montez believes the couple’s move to New England was spurred by a 2009 vacation to see Joel’s father, who lives in Maine. It was a rare getaway from parenthood, Montez said – Jason stayed with Joel’s mother.
“We were not allowed to have him,” she said.
The visit was recorded in an album of Facebook photos, in which a pregnant Heather posed for pictures in Old Orchard Beach with her husband, and at an arcade. It was fall, and the leaves were turning brilliant shades of red and orange. When they came back to Arizona, Montez said, the idea to move to Maine percolated.
“They kept talking about it, ‘We’re thinking about moving there,’ ” Montez recalled. “I said, ‘Your problems are going to follow you.’
“ In hindsight, Montez believes the move to New England was designed to cut Heather off from the support network and familiarity of Arizona.
“He moved her to Maine to isolate her so she would feel she had no resources and would feel trapped,” Montez said. “He isolated her from all her family and all her friends.”
Once they settled in Saco, Heather found a position in a doctor’s office and Joel again sought work in construction.
Both parents were drinking heavily every night, and the stress began to affect Heather’s work performance, Montez said. Heather was getting in trouble, and managers gave her fewer hours. Then she lost the job.
When she was fired less than a year ago, Joel found positions as a handyman for the RiverView Apartments complex where they lived, at a separate apartment building, and working part time at Target.
The Montez family knew Heather and Joel were struggling. The couple asked to borrow money from family members. Heather, who was unhappy in the relationship, told Montez that she felt powerless to escape, despite repeated offers by her family to help her do just that.
Early in 2014, she told Montez about a plan to use a portion of the couple’s forthcoming tax return to take her children and get an apartment for herself.
The time came, the money arrived, but Heather’s plan never materialized.
The last time Montez heard news of her sister-in-law was July 15, when Joel called Montez’s husband to tell them that Heather was checked into a hospital because she was apparently in withdrawal from opioid use.
The family was alarmed, but Joel sounded calm, Montez said. He told them he had taken the children to his father’s house, and removed his guns from the residence. He took Heather to the hospital, and was looking for rehabilitation facilities where she could get clean.
Montez tried to help, looking up names of clinics in the area, but couldn’t get in touch with her brother-in-law.
Two weeks later, Montez learned they were all dead.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Charges pending against non-custodial dad, his brother in drive-by shooting of daughter; why are other kids now in custody of alleged shooter's parents? (Tuscon, Arizona)
This makes no sense at all, unless there is some kind of corruption or collusion. The mother was not involved in the shooting at all. Was not in the cars involved. Was notified that her daughter was shot by a phone call.
So why do the parents of the alleged shooter have custody, even temporary custody, of the mother's other children? Especially if Mom had primary custody before the shooting, and has no history with CPS? She "hopes" to get the kids back??? What the hell is going on in Tucson??? Why did the Department of Child Safety do this? What's their motivation?
http://www.kvoa.com/news/mother-speaks-after-road-rage-shootout/
8 hours 4 minutes ago
by Sam Salzwedel
Mother speaks after road rage shootout
TUCSON - The mother of a girl injured in a road rage shootout said her daughter spent about 4 hours in the hospital after a bullet lodged in her leg.
Jennifer Otero was not in the vehicle Thursday when her daughter was shot. She said she is no longer in a relationship with the father who was driving. After receiving a phone call, she rushed to the crime scene and spent hours with her daughter at the hospital.
"It was just stressful," Otero said.
"I didn't know what to think. It was surreal. It was a nightmare to me. It's still a nightmare to me."
Police have not said who started the aggressive driving, who pulled out a gun first or who shot first.
Two brothers in the other vehicle are facing Drive-By Shooting charges. Their family has said they were the victims and acting in self defense.
Detectives are still working on the case, and police say charges against the father are pending. Tucson Police said the Department of Child Safety placed the children with family. Otero said the children are with the father's parents. She said she normally has primary custody and has no history with the state's child welfare agency. She hopes to get them back soon.
So why do the parents of the alleged shooter have custody, even temporary custody, of the mother's other children? Especially if Mom had primary custody before the shooting, and has no history with CPS? She "hopes" to get the kids back??? What the hell is going on in Tucson??? Why did the Department of Child Safety do this? What's their motivation?
http://www.kvoa.com/news/mother-speaks-after-road-rage-shootout/
8 hours 4 minutes ago
by Sam Salzwedel
Mother speaks after road rage shootout
TUCSON - The mother of a girl injured in a road rage shootout said her daughter spent about 4 hours in the hospital after a bullet lodged in her leg.
Jennifer Otero was not in the vehicle Thursday when her daughter was shot. She said she is no longer in a relationship with the father who was driving. After receiving a phone call, she rushed to the crime scene and spent hours with her daughter at the hospital.
"It was just stressful," Otero said.
"I didn't know what to think. It was surreal. It was a nightmare to me. It's still a nightmare to me."
Police have not said who started the aggressive driving, who pulled out a gun first or who shot first.
Two brothers in the other vehicle are facing Drive-By Shooting charges. Their family has said they were the victims and acting in self defense.
Detectives are still working on the case, and police say charges against the father are pending. Tucson Police said the Department of Child Safety placed the children with family. Otero said the children are with the father's parents. She said she normally has primary custody and has no history with the state's child welfare agency. She hopes to get them back soon.
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