We've posted on this case before. True to the Dastardly Dads axiom, lots of backstory is being "forgotten" as this case goes to trial. Namely that TONY MORENO had fought this mother for custody and had a history of domestic violence. And that the judge who denied the mother's restraining order and subsequently set up this murder actually had a name: BARRY C. PINKUS.
Past postings are here.
See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Connecticut.
http://fox61.com/2016/05/17/father-who-allegedly-threw-son-off-bridge-rejects-plea-lawyer-says-jury-wont-convict-him-of-murder/
Father who allegedly threw son off bridge rejects plea; lawyer says jury won’t convict him of murder
Posted 5:47 PM, May 17, 2016, by Samantha Schoenfeld and Laura Roberts, Updated at 12:33pm, May 18, 2016
MIDDLETOWN--The Middletown father who police say threw his son off a bridge has rejected a plea deal offered by prosecutors.
Tony Moreno is accused of killing his 7-month-old son Aaden on July 5, 2015 when he is said to have thrown the child off the Arrigoni Bridge, and then jumped off the bridge himself.
He was charged with murder and murder of a victim under the age of 16 and is being held on a $2 million bond.
Moreno's lawyer, Norm Pattis, met with prosecutors in the judge's chambers on Tuesday to discuss a plea deal, however, negotiations broke down.
Now the case is expected to go to trial in January.
Pattis told FOX 61, "The state wants to settle this case on terms we think are ridiculous. We're confident that a jury will not find Mr. Moreno guilty of murder and we'll take our chances at trial."
Pattis could not tell us the terms of the plea because it could be prejudicial during sentencing, but he called the number "obscenely high."
Tony Moreno in court
Last July, FOX 61 obtained a series of text messages exchanged between Moreno and the baby's mother, Adrianne Oyola, who had a restraining order out against Moreno weeks before the murder, but it was not extended at a hearing days before Aaden's death.
The text messages showed Moreno's mindset in the minutes before the incident.
Pattis said, "The jury will hear from Mr. Moreno about what actually took place on the bridge that night, not what police officers browbeat him into discussing in the wake of his child's death. No one should be subjected to a custodial interview when they watched their child go over a bridge and tumble to their death, yet this is what passes for law enforcement etiquette in Middletown. I'm looking forward to cross-examining those officers."
"We will unpack in studious detail what happened in the interrogation of Tony Moreno and a jury will decide whether what police got him to say is what happened or whether what Mr. Moreno will testify to is what happened," said Pattis.
Showing posts with label Order of Protection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Order of Protection. Show all posts
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Monday, March 14, 2016
Who gave father with history of assault, DUI, domestic violence who was subject to a restraining order visitation rights with a 7-year-old? (Connecticut)
Who the hell thought that giving a violent criminal like visitation with a 7-year old was a good idea, especially when the mother had a retraining order? Insane. Dad is identified as RODOLFO REVELLO.
http://patch.com/connecticut/trumbull/amber-alert-issued-7-year-old-ct-child-0
Amber Alert Cancelled for Trumbull Child Taken by Father [UPDATE]
Police in Connecticut and New York searched most of Saturday for Ariel Revello, 7, along with his Greenwich father.
Trumbull, CT
By Feroze Dhanoa (Patch National Staff) - March 14, 2016 10:24 am ET
By Rich Scinto, Patch Editor
TRUMBULL, CT- Police searched nearly all day Saturday for a 7-year-old child who was the subject of an Amber Alert after his father, who has a violent criminal history, forcibly took him from his home, according to police. The alert was cancelled around 6:40 p.m. after the child was found safe, however police continue to search for the boy's father.
At a press conference on Saturday, Trumbull Police Chief Michael Lombardo said the department would be devoting all of its resources to safely return Ariel Revello, 7, after his father Rodolfo Revello, 43, violently took the child from his Unity Road home.
According to police, the boy was located in Queens, N.Y. shortly after 5 p.m. when his father called Trumbull Police and said he was leaving the child with a relative. Officers in New York responded to the address and located the boy safe and unharmed.
The investigation remains active and police are seeking to obtain a warrant for the arrest of the father, Rodolfo Revello on multiple charges.
Police extended the search into New York because Rodolfo has a listed residence in Greenwich. New York State Police, Connecticut State Police and the New York Police Department are assisting in the investigation.
Lombardo said there was a possibility the child and his father are in New York but said authorities were not certain about what city or burrough the two could be in.
Police responded to the home on Unity Road around 4:30 a.m. for the report of a domestic incident.
The child’s mother and estranged wife of Revello sustained cuts, bruises and abrasions during the violent incident. Revello obtained a knife from the kitchen, but he was disarmed by his 17-year-old stepson.
The victim jumped out of a bedroom window and hid in the yard. She was taken to a local hospital and has since been released, Lombardo said. No other injuries were reported.
Revello took several thousand dollars worth of cash and jewelry before he left the residence in a 2015 white Ford van with Connecticut registration CO40379.
The victim had a restraining order against Revello that is active until September, said Lt. Leonard Scinto, police spokesman. He has visitation rights with his son. Police have been called to the residence in the past for incidents.
Rodolfo’s criminal history includes convictions for assault, disorderly conduct, violation of conditions of release and two DUIs. He was also convicted in federal court of distributing cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in federal court, Revello supplied cocaine to members of the Stamford Chapter of the Latin Kings, who then sold the drugs to their own customers.
He was arrested in 2011. He was sentenced to five years of prison in 2012 followed by four years of supervised release.
Federal records show he was released on September 16, 2014.
Police ask anyone with any information to either contact Trumbull Police at 203-261-3665 or 911.
http://patch.com/connecticut/trumbull/amber-alert-issued-7-year-old-ct-child-0
Amber Alert Cancelled for Trumbull Child Taken by Father [UPDATE]
Police in Connecticut and New York searched most of Saturday for Ariel Revello, 7, along with his Greenwich father.
Trumbull, CT
By Feroze Dhanoa (Patch National Staff) - March 14, 2016 10:24 am ET
By Rich Scinto, Patch Editor
TRUMBULL, CT- Police searched nearly all day Saturday for a 7-year-old child who was the subject of an Amber Alert after his father, who has a violent criminal history, forcibly took him from his home, according to police. The alert was cancelled around 6:40 p.m. after the child was found safe, however police continue to search for the boy's father.
At a press conference on Saturday, Trumbull Police Chief Michael Lombardo said the department would be devoting all of its resources to safely return Ariel Revello, 7, after his father Rodolfo Revello, 43, violently took the child from his Unity Road home.
According to police, the boy was located in Queens, N.Y. shortly after 5 p.m. when his father called Trumbull Police and said he was leaving the child with a relative. Officers in New York responded to the address and located the boy safe and unharmed.
The investigation remains active and police are seeking to obtain a warrant for the arrest of the father, Rodolfo Revello on multiple charges.
Police extended the search into New York because Rodolfo has a listed residence in Greenwich. New York State Police, Connecticut State Police and the New York Police Department are assisting in the investigation.
Lombardo said there was a possibility the child and his father are in New York but said authorities were not certain about what city or burrough the two could be in.
Police responded to the home on Unity Road around 4:30 a.m. for the report of a domestic incident.
The child’s mother and estranged wife of Revello sustained cuts, bruises and abrasions during the violent incident. Revello obtained a knife from the kitchen, but he was disarmed by his 17-year-old stepson.
The victim jumped out of a bedroom window and hid in the yard. She was taken to a local hospital and has since been released, Lombardo said. No other injuries were reported.
Revello took several thousand dollars worth of cash and jewelry before he left the residence in a 2015 white Ford van with Connecticut registration CO40379.
The victim had a restraining order against Revello that is active until September, said Lt. Leonard Scinto, police spokesman. He has visitation rights with his son. Police have been called to the residence in the past for incidents.
Rodolfo’s criminal history includes convictions for assault, disorderly conduct, violation of conditions of release and two DUIs. He was also convicted in federal court of distributing cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in federal court, Revello supplied cocaine to members of the Stamford Chapter of the Latin Kings, who then sold the drugs to their own customers.
He was arrested in 2011. He was sentenced to five years of prison in 2012 followed by four years of supervised release.
Federal records show he was released on September 16, 2014.
Police ask anyone with any information to either contact Trumbull Police at 203-261-3665 or 911.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Mom blamed for "allowing" violent pedophiliac father to live with her; father now charged with murdering 3-year-old daughter (Raleigh, North Carolina)
So a mother with three kids under seven is blamed by the authorities for "failing" to keep the kids safe from their homicidal, suicidal, (allegedly) mentally ill father who has also admitted to having pedophiliac fantasies.
They order her to take lots of (useless) classes and get an (often useless) order of protection, but apparently do nothing to get him off the streets or out of the home, and do nothing to actually support of her. He should have been thrown in a mental hospital a long time ago, but no. Blame Mom for trying to cope with this violent man alone.
Dad is identified as ALAN TYSHEEN EUGENE LASSITER.
Contrast with the custodial father in the post below, who dumped his kid on a girlfriend with suicidal, self-cutting, drug addiction issues. He does nothing to intervene, despite previous CPS concerns, and isn't blamed at all much less arrested.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article37403967.html
Wake report: Mother allowed ‘homicidal’ father to remain with family
Mother of children never sought protective order
Wake County social workers developed ‘safety plan’
Father was not supposed to have contact with children
By Anne Blythe and Thomasi McDonald
RALEIGH
A man accused of trying to drown his children had been living with them and their mother in Durham for nearly six months despite Wake County Human Services recommendations that he have no contact with them.
Alan Tysheen Eugene Lassiter, the 29-year-old father of three, is in Central Prison now, accused of one count of first-degree murder in the drowning death of his 3-year-old daughter and two charges of attempted murder related to an incident in Durham on Sept. 21.
On that Sunday evening, police said Lassiter threw Calista, 3, and her 5-year-old sister Bethany into a pond at the Audubon Lake apartments, near The Streets at Southpoint.
Police said Lassiter called 911 just after 9 p.m. and said Child Protective Services was trying to take his children. The caller told the dispatcher he had tried to get help because he was dealing with “pedophilia things” and “sexual desires,” but that the agency turned its back on him.
Lassiter’s 7-year-old son, Alan Lassiter Jr., was at the pond but got away.
Off-duty Durham County Sheriff’s Deputy David Earp, who lives at the apartment complex, pulled the girls from the pond. Calista was unconscious and died at the hospital two days later.
Wake County Human Services acknowledged on Friday that it was conducting internal reviews and an investigation into its involvement with the Lassiter family.
Though the work of Child Protective Services typically is kept confidential, state law allows the disclosure of information in the event of a child’s death.
Wake County Human Services became involved with the Lassiter family on Feb. 8, when a report of alleged neglect of Calista and her siblings came to the office.
Alan Lassiter, according to the report, was having suicidal and homicidal thoughts, which included harming the children.
Human Services workers began an immediate assessment of the situation, which included meeting with the three children and their mother, Ashley Ivey Lassiter. Not only did the assessors learn that Alan Lassiter was having suicidal, homicidal and inappropriate sexual thoughts about his children, they also learned that he had been involuntarily committed at WakeBrook Crisis Stabilization Center.
After his discharge on Feb. 16, just eight days after the first report to Wake County Human Services, Alan Lassister reportedly went to Durham to live with family.
On Feb. 20, the Durham County Department of Social Services assisted Wake County by interviewing Lassister. Under the “safety plan” put in place, Lassister agreed to continue getting mental health treatment and have no contact with his children until cleared by Wake County Social Services.
By March 17, the case for neglect had been substantiated by Wake County assessors, and the family was referred to Child Protective In-Home Services, according to the report released Friday.
Both parents were required to participate in classes, counseling and treatment programs in an attempt to make the home safe for the children. Alan Lassister was required to take anger management classes as well as get mental health treatment, and he sought help finding work.
Ashley Lassiter was required to get counseling and training in parenting skills.
Between March 17 and Sept. 18, Wake County Human Services workers had multiple meetings with the family. Alan Lassiter, according to the report, was not getting mental health treatment as regularly as recommended, and they did not think he was in good enough shape to have contact with his children.
Ashley Lassister had been advised to obtain a domestic violence restraining order but did not follow through with that recommendation, the report states.
The report contends that Ashley Lassiter told the social worker that Alan Lassiter no longer lived with the family and that she did not think the court order was necessary.
But after the drowning incident, Wake County Human Services workers discovered that Alan Lassiter had been living with the children and their mother since April. The report also states that their investigation showed that the children’s mother allowed Alan Lassister “to take the children to Durham,” but does not specify when or where.
Wake County Human Services workers obtained a court order to place the surviving children in county custody after the fatal incident. According to the report released Friday by Lisa Cauley, the Child Welfare Division director with Wake County Human Services, the boy and girl remain in county custody.
They order her to take lots of (useless) classes and get an (often useless) order of protection, but apparently do nothing to get him off the streets or out of the home, and do nothing to actually support of her. He should have been thrown in a mental hospital a long time ago, but no. Blame Mom for trying to cope with this violent man alone.
Dad is identified as ALAN TYSHEEN EUGENE LASSITER.
Contrast with the custodial father in the post below, who dumped his kid on a girlfriend with suicidal, self-cutting, drug addiction issues. He does nothing to intervene, despite previous CPS concerns, and isn't blamed at all much less arrested.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article37403967.html
Wake report: Mother allowed ‘homicidal’ father to remain with family
Mother of children never sought protective order
Wake County social workers developed ‘safety plan’
Father was not supposed to have contact with children
By Anne Blythe and Thomasi McDonald
RALEIGH
A man accused of trying to drown his children had been living with them and their mother in Durham for nearly six months despite Wake County Human Services recommendations that he have no contact with them.
Alan Tysheen Eugene Lassiter, the 29-year-old father of three, is in Central Prison now, accused of one count of first-degree murder in the drowning death of his 3-year-old daughter and two charges of attempted murder related to an incident in Durham on Sept. 21.
On that Sunday evening, police said Lassiter threw Calista, 3, and her 5-year-old sister Bethany into a pond at the Audubon Lake apartments, near The Streets at Southpoint.
Police said Lassiter called 911 just after 9 p.m. and said Child Protective Services was trying to take his children. The caller told the dispatcher he had tried to get help because he was dealing with “pedophilia things” and “sexual desires,” but that the agency turned its back on him.
Lassiter’s 7-year-old son, Alan Lassiter Jr., was at the pond but got away.
Off-duty Durham County Sheriff’s Deputy David Earp, who lives at the apartment complex, pulled the girls from the pond. Calista was unconscious and died at the hospital two days later.
Wake County Human Services acknowledged on Friday that it was conducting internal reviews and an investigation into its involvement with the Lassiter family.
Though the work of Child Protective Services typically is kept confidential, state law allows the disclosure of information in the event of a child’s death.
Wake County Human Services became involved with the Lassiter family on Feb. 8, when a report of alleged neglect of Calista and her siblings came to the office.
Alan Lassiter, according to the report, was having suicidal and homicidal thoughts, which included harming the children.
Human Services workers began an immediate assessment of the situation, which included meeting with the three children and their mother, Ashley Ivey Lassiter. Not only did the assessors learn that Alan Lassiter was having suicidal, homicidal and inappropriate sexual thoughts about his children, they also learned that he had been involuntarily committed at WakeBrook Crisis Stabilization Center.
After his discharge on Feb. 16, just eight days after the first report to Wake County Human Services, Alan Lassister reportedly went to Durham to live with family.
On Feb. 20, the Durham County Department of Social Services assisted Wake County by interviewing Lassister. Under the “safety plan” put in place, Lassister agreed to continue getting mental health treatment and have no contact with his children until cleared by Wake County Social Services.
By March 17, the case for neglect had been substantiated by Wake County assessors, and the family was referred to Child Protective In-Home Services, according to the report released Friday.
Both parents were required to participate in classes, counseling and treatment programs in an attempt to make the home safe for the children. Alan Lassister was required to take anger management classes as well as get mental health treatment, and he sought help finding work.
Ashley Lassiter was required to get counseling and training in parenting skills.
Between March 17 and Sept. 18, Wake County Human Services workers had multiple meetings with the family. Alan Lassiter, according to the report, was not getting mental health treatment as regularly as recommended, and they did not think he was in good enough shape to have contact with his children.
Ashley Lassister had been advised to obtain a domestic violence restraining order but did not follow through with that recommendation, the report states.
The report contends that Ashley Lassiter told the social worker that Alan Lassiter no longer lived with the family and that she did not think the court order was necessary.
But after the drowning incident, Wake County Human Services workers discovered that Alan Lassiter had been living with the children and their mother since April. The report also states that their investigation showed that the children’s mother allowed Alan Lassister “to take the children to Durham,” but does not specify when or where.
Wake County Human Services workers obtained a court order to place the surviving children in county custody after the fatal incident. According to the report released Friday by Lisa Cauley, the Child Welfare Division director with Wake County Human Services, the boy and girl remain in county custody.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Dad gets probation--despite destruction of property, violating protection order after abusing son (Laramie, Wyoming)
Typical of how men's crimes against women and children are not taken seriously. Had he behaved like this towards a male employer, you wouldn't see this indulgence.
Dad is identified as JOSHUA S. BAKER.
http://wyomingnews.com/articles/2015/09/25/news/20local_09-25-15.txt#.Vgizk5cYMQs
Joshua Baker gets probation for child abuse
CHEYENNE - Despite being arrested for property destruction and violating a protection order while out on bond in a child abuse case, Joshua S. Baker has been given a chance at probation.
Laramie County District Judge Catherine Rogers told Baker during his sentencing hearing Thursday that his conduct on bond was completely unacceptable, and his lack of appreciation for court orders "has to stop."
If it doesn't, she cautioned, she'll send him to prison where he won't have a choice or a voice.
For three counts of child abuse, Rogers sentenced Baker to five years of probation with an underlying prison term of three to five years and ordered him to complete the Intensive Supervision Program.
The judge said she believes Baker can build and provide a stable, secure future for his children, and prison won't accomplish that or make him a better, less-violent person and father.
Baker, 25, was charged in early April with one count of physical child abuse for injuring a young boy. He also was charged with two counts of mental child abuse for injuring the boy and his younger sister.
When he admitted to the crimes in late May, he said he became upset with the boy after sending him upstairs to use the bathroom and later finding feces going from the stairs to the bathroom.
Baker's leg shackles jingled as he walked to the podium and stood before the judge dressed in nice jeans, a tan suit coat, a blue checkered button-down shirt and a tie.
He's been in jail for more than 50 days since violating a protection order in August.
"I've done things over the past few months that I regret," he told the judge, getting emotional when saying the time he's spent in jail is time he'll never get back. "I just want an opportunity to salvage what I still have left in my life."
Baker's boss, a tearful longtime friend and a family friend all spoke on his behalf, calling him a good, selfless person and saying his recent actions are uncharacteristic.
His attorney, Christopher Humphrey, said the contact that resulted in the protection order violation charge was consensual, but that didn't make it any less wrong.
Baker learned in jail that he is not meant for incarceration and will do everything in his power to not be in that position again, Humphrey stressed.
"He just wants to be a citizen in this community who is a good father," he said.
The District Attorney's Victim/Witness Services coordinator, Mellissa Walls, read a letter in court written by the children's mother.
"I feel like I have failed my children by not being strong enough to leave," she wrote, saying she felt scared and powerless and focused on mending her relationship. "I put my love and trust in the wrong person."
Laramie County District Attorney Jeremiah Sandburg told the judge he wouldn't completely back out of the plea agreement in light of the bond violation, though he could.
He said the prosecutor who initially worked the case contemplated giving Baker first-offender treatment because of his immediate cooperation, which would have allowed him the possibility of keeping a felony conviction off his record if he completed probation.
After Baker violated his bond in April by being arrested for property destruction and trespassing, the prosecution entered into a plea agreement that suggested the suspended prison term that Rogers accepted.
Sandburg continued, saying he thinks Baker is in a downward spiral and something needs to be done to cut it off.
Rogers hopes that "something" will be the Intensive Supervision Program.
She told Baker she immediately was struck when reviewing his file by how "pretty full of (himself)" he seemed.
She said Baker didn't graduate high school but managed to land a high-paying job , making significantly more than many attorneys in this community.
"You were at the top of the mountain looking down," the judge told him, adding that Baker was 24 going on 25 and had the world in the palm of his hand.
While the time Baker spent in jail was minor compared to many other defendants, Rogers said she hopes and believes it has motivated him to grow up, recognize his obligations to his kids and family and get his anger and impulse issues under control.
Her last warning to Baker was that while he doesn't seem used to people telling him what to do, "it's coming" in the form of intensive supervision.
"I understand," he responded softly.
Dad is identified as JOSHUA S. BAKER.
http://wyomingnews.com/articles/2015/09/25/news/20local_09-25-15.txt#.Vgizk5cYMQs
Joshua Baker gets probation for child abuse
CHEYENNE - Despite being arrested for property destruction and violating a protection order while out on bond in a child abuse case, Joshua S. Baker has been given a chance at probation.
Laramie County District Judge Catherine Rogers told Baker during his sentencing hearing Thursday that his conduct on bond was completely unacceptable, and his lack of appreciation for court orders "has to stop."
If it doesn't, she cautioned, she'll send him to prison where he won't have a choice or a voice.
For three counts of child abuse, Rogers sentenced Baker to five years of probation with an underlying prison term of three to five years and ordered him to complete the Intensive Supervision Program.
The judge said she believes Baker can build and provide a stable, secure future for his children, and prison won't accomplish that or make him a better, less-violent person and father.
Baker, 25, was charged in early April with one count of physical child abuse for injuring a young boy. He also was charged with two counts of mental child abuse for injuring the boy and his younger sister.
When he admitted to the crimes in late May, he said he became upset with the boy after sending him upstairs to use the bathroom and later finding feces going from the stairs to the bathroom.
Baker's leg shackles jingled as he walked to the podium and stood before the judge dressed in nice jeans, a tan suit coat, a blue checkered button-down shirt and a tie.
He's been in jail for more than 50 days since violating a protection order in August.
"I've done things over the past few months that I regret," he told the judge, getting emotional when saying the time he's spent in jail is time he'll never get back. "I just want an opportunity to salvage what I still have left in my life."
Baker's boss, a tearful longtime friend and a family friend all spoke on his behalf, calling him a good, selfless person and saying his recent actions are uncharacteristic.
His attorney, Christopher Humphrey, said the contact that resulted in the protection order violation charge was consensual, but that didn't make it any less wrong.
Baker learned in jail that he is not meant for incarceration and will do everything in his power to not be in that position again, Humphrey stressed.
"He just wants to be a citizen in this community who is a good father," he said.
The District Attorney's Victim/Witness Services coordinator, Mellissa Walls, read a letter in court written by the children's mother.
"I feel like I have failed my children by not being strong enough to leave," she wrote, saying she felt scared and powerless and focused on mending her relationship. "I put my love and trust in the wrong person."
Laramie County District Attorney Jeremiah Sandburg told the judge he wouldn't completely back out of the plea agreement in light of the bond violation, though he could.
He said the prosecutor who initially worked the case contemplated giving Baker first-offender treatment because of his immediate cooperation, which would have allowed him the possibility of keeping a felony conviction off his record if he completed probation.
After Baker violated his bond in April by being arrested for property destruction and trespassing, the prosecution entered into a plea agreement that suggested the suspended prison term that Rogers accepted.
Sandburg continued, saying he thinks Baker is in a downward spiral and something needs to be done to cut it off.
Rogers hopes that "something" will be the Intensive Supervision Program.
She told Baker she immediately was struck when reviewing his file by how "pretty full of (himself)" he seemed.
She said Baker didn't graduate high school but managed to land a high-paying job , making significantly more than many attorneys in this community.
"You were at the top of the mountain looking down," the judge told him, adding that Baker was 24 going on 25 and had the world in the palm of his hand.
While the time Baker spent in jail was minor compared to many other defendants, Rogers said she hopes and believes it has motivated him to grow up, recognize his obligations to his kids and family and get his anger and impulse issues under control.
Her last warning to Baker was that while he doesn't seem used to people telling him what to do, "it's coming" in the form of intensive supervision.
"I understand," he responded softly.
Dad with history of DV facing 1st-degree murder charge in drowning death of 3-year-old daughter; attempted murder for 5- and 7-year olds (Durham, North Carolina)
Dad is identified as ALAN LASSITER.
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5929467-father-accused-of-trying-to-drown-kids-facing-murder-charge-after-child-dies/
Sep 24, 2015
Father accused of trying to drown kids facing murder charge after child dies
DURHAM COUNTY JAIL, NYT
Alan Lassiter, who called 911 and said he had tried to drown his daughters, has been charged after one of the children died
Hamilton Spectator
By Emery P. Dalesio
DURHAM, N.C. A North Carolina man accused of trying to drown his children in a pond at an apartment complex is facing a first-degree murder charge after his 3-year-old daughter died, police said Thursday.
Durham Police spokeswoman Kammie Michael said Alan Tysheen Lassiter is now charged with first-degree murder in the death of 3-year-old Calista Lassiter, who died at a hospital Wednesday.
It was three days ago that, according to police, Alan Lassiter tried to drown the girl and her sister in a pond at an apartment complex. Michael said the child was entirely underwater when an off-duty sheriff's deputy pulled her from the pond Sunday night.
Prior to the girl's death, the elder Lassiter was charged with three counts of attempted murder for trying to kill the three children. The 5-year-old who was floating in the pond crying has been released from the hospital, police said. The 7-year-old boy got away from his father and ran for help, they said.
Lassiter is jailed on $2 million bond and is awaiting a court hearing next month.
On Sunday night, Lassiter flagged down passers-by at the Audubon Lake apartments and told them he thought his son had been kidnapped and needed help finding him, apartment complex manager Sylvia Scott said Tuesday.
It wasn't until later that Lassiter told Scott and a 911 operator that he'd thrown his 3- and 5-year-old daughters in the pond, Scott said. The girls were pulled from about 5 feet of water by Durham County Sheriff's Deputy David Earp, who lives nearby.
Lassiter, 29, lived in Raleigh and apparently wound up at the apartment complex randomly, according to Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez.
Court records show Lassiter and his wife had a rocky start to their marriage six years ago.
Ashley Ivey sought a domestic violence protection order and signed a statement May 15, 2009, that said Lassiter "threatened to throw hot oil in my face and cut my hair off."
"He also threatened to take my son from me for a long time," the statement said. "All this started because I didn't want to marry him."
Ivey added that "things of this nature" had also happened previously.
Ivey voluntarily dismissed her complaint four days later.
Less than two weeks after that, Ivey and Lassiter were married.
The Associated Press
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5929467-father-accused-of-trying-to-drown-kids-facing-murder-charge-after-child-dies/
Sep 24, 2015
Father accused of trying to drown kids facing murder charge after child dies
DURHAM COUNTY JAIL, NYT
Alan Lassiter, who called 911 and said he had tried to drown his daughters, has been charged after one of the children died
Hamilton Spectator
By Emery P. Dalesio
DURHAM, N.C. A North Carolina man accused of trying to drown his children in a pond at an apartment complex is facing a first-degree murder charge after his 3-year-old daughter died, police said Thursday.
Durham Police spokeswoman Kammie Michael said Alan Tysheen Lassiter is now charged with first-degree murder in the death of 3-year-old Calista Lassiter, who died at a hospital Wednesday.
It was three days ago that, according to police, Alan Lassiter tried to drown the girl and her sister in a pond at an apartment complex. Michael said the child was entirely underwater when an off-duty sheriff's deputy pulled her from the pond Sunday night.
Prior to the girl's death, the elder Lassiter was charged with three counts of attempted murder for trying to kill the three children. The 5-year-old who was floating in the pond crying has been released from the hospital, police said. The 7-year-old boy got away from his father and ran for help, they said.
Lassiter is jailed on $2 million bond and is awaiting a court hearing next month.
On Sunday night, Lassiter flagged down passers-by at the Audubon Lake apartments and told them he thought his son had been kidnapped and needed help finding him, apartment complex manager Sylvia Scott said Tuesday.
It wasn't until later that Lassiter told Scott and a 911 operator that he'd thrown his 3- and 5-year-old daughters in the pond, Scott said. The girls were pulled from about 5 feet of water by Durham County Sheriff's Deputy David Earp, who lives nearby.
Lassiter, 29, lived in Raleigh and apparently wound up at the apartment complex randomly, according to Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez.
Court records show Lassiter and his wife had a rocky start to their marriage six years ago.
Ashley Ivey sought a domestic violence protection order and signed a statement May 15, 2009, that said Lassiter "threatened to throw hot oil in my face and cut my hair off."
"He also threatened to take my son from me for a long time," the statement said. "All this started because I didn't want to marry him."
Ivey added that "things of this nature" had also happened previously.
Ivey voluntarily dismissed her complaint four days later.
Less than two weeks after that, Ivey and Lassiter were married.
The Associated Press
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Mom arrested for "kidnapping" own child; dad with child abuse allegations--including protection order from CURRENT wife--gets custody (Hillsdale, Michigan)
So. Dad's word trumps the word of two women. What else is new in the American courts....
Wife #1 "abducted" their son because of abuse concerns involving his father. CPS even raised concerns. There are unspecified court reports. All hand waived away by an indifferent court.
Wife #2 sought a protection order. You don't get those unless there has been physical violence or a credible threat thereof. You don't get them because you and your spouse are having "trying times"-that's just dad's attempt to totally minimize and avoid responsibility for his own actions. Wife #2 didn't renew. Bad sign. Research is showing that when women don't renew it's not because the threat has gone away. It's because they can't without further jeopardizing their own safety.
AND NOW THIS ABUSER HAS CHILD CUSTODY.
Dad is identified as BRANDON RUFFIN.
http://www.hillsdale.net/article/20150915/NEWS/150919449
Kidnapper mom arrested, father retains custody
By Jason Dafnis
Posted Sep. 15, 2015 at 9:12 AM
Hillsdale, Mich.
HILLSDALE — After a court hearing on Monday afternoon, the father of a boy kidnapped by his mother now retains custody of his son.
Nicole Ruffin disappeared with her son, Laredo, after Judge Mike Smith granted interim custody to Brandon Ruffin, Laredo’s biological father and Nicole’s ex-husband, on Aug. 31. The court proceedings were punctuated by reports from Child Protective Services questioning the child’s safety.
After her disappearance, a felony warrant issued for Nicole’s arrest on a charge of parental kidnapping. Michigan State Police tracked and exhausted several leads since Sept. 1, locating and arresting her at a Spring Arbor convenience store on Monday. Laredo was remanded into police custody at the same time.
“There are a lot of concerns,” Karlye Horton, Nicole’s attorney, said at the civil hearing on Monday. Nicole, having been lodged at the Hillsdale County Jail only hours before, was not present for the proceedings.
Horton questioned Brandon’s suitability as Laredo’s custodian, citing several court reports about the child’s safety around Brandon. One of those reports included a personal protection order his current wife, Hannah, filed against Brandon earlier this year.
That record claims that Brandon laid hands on Hannah, though Brandon denies those claims, saying that he and his wife had “trying times” prior to the PPO’s expiration in July. Hannah and Brandon remain together today.
Horton also brought before Smith the claim that Brandon hadn’t seen Laredo more than a few times since Brandon and Nicole were divorced in 2012. Again, Brandon refuted the legitimacy of that argument, saying that he was never served the proper divorce papers or custody notifications.
“I saw my son on a regular basis,” Brandon said. He claims that after the divorce, his attempts to contact Nicole for scheduling were chronically ignored.
Hannah and other members of Brandon’s family and friends were present in the courtroom, as were members of Nicole’s family, both supporting their respective sides.
“Brandon has been dishonest about his position in the court,” Horton said.
Smith continued Brandon’s interim custody, an order which went into effect Monday and runs through an evidentiary hearing scheduled for Oct. 23. A more solid custody ruling is expected to be imposed on that date.
Horton declined to speak on behalf of her client following the hearing.
“I am a loving dad,” Brandon said after the conference. “I’m gonna keep fighting for custody of my son until the good Lord says I can’t anymore. It’s a happy day."
Wife #1 "abducted" their son because of abuse concerns involving his father. CPS even raised concerns. There are unspecified court reports. All hand waived away by an indifferent court.
Wife #2 sought a protection order. You don't get those unless there has been physical violence or a credible threat thereof. You don't get them because you and your spouse are having "trying times"-that's just dad's attempt to totally minimize and avoid responsibility for his own actions. Wife #2 didn't renew. Bad sign. Research is showing that when women don't renew it's not because the threat has gone away. It's because they can't without further jeopardizing their own safety.
AND NOW THIS ABUSER HAS CHILD CUSTODY.
Dad is identified as BRANDON RUFFIN.
http://www.hillsdale.net/article/20150915/NEWS/150919449
Kidnapper mom arrested, father retains custody
By Jason Dafnis
Posted Sep. 15, 2015 at 9:12 AM
Hillsdale, Mich.
HILLSDALE — After a court hearing on Monday afternoon, the father of a boy kidnapped by his mother now retains custody of his son.
Nicole Ruffin disappeared with her son, Laredo, after Judge Mike Smith granted interim custody to Brandon Ruffin, Laredo’s biological father and Nicole’s ex-husband, on Aug. 31. The court proceedings were punctuated by reports from Child Protective Services questioning the child’s safety.
After her disappearance, a felony warrant issued for Nicole’s arrest on a charge of parental kidnapping. Michigan State Police tracked and exhausted several leads since Sept. 1, locating and arresting her at a Spring Arbor convenience store on Monday. Laredo was remanded into police custody at the same time.
“There are a lot of concerns,” Karlye Horton, Nicole’s attorney, said at the civil hearing on Monday. Nicole, having been lodged at the Hillsdale County Jail only hours before, was not present for the proceedings.
Horton questioned Brandon’s suitability as Laredo’s custodian, citing several court reports about the child’s safety around Brandon. One of those reports included a personal protection order his current wife, Hannah, filed against Brandon earlier this year.
That record claims that Brandon laid hands on Hannah, though Brandon denies those claims, saying that he and his wife had “trying times” prior to the PPO’s expiration in July. Hannah and Brandon remain together today.
Horton also brought before Smith the claim that Brandon hadn’t seen Laredo more than a few times since Brandon and Nicole were divorced in 2012. Again, Brandon refuted the legitimacy of that argument, saying that he was never served the proper divorce papers or custody notifications.
“I saw my son on a regular basis,” Brandon said. He claims that after the divorce, his attempts to contact Nicole for scheduling were chronically ignored.
Hannah and other members of Brandon’s family and friends were present in the courtroom, as were members of Nicole’s family, both supporting their respective sides.
“Brandon has been dishonest about his position in the court,” Horton said.
Smith continued Brandon’s interim custody, an order which went into effect Monday and runs through an evidentiary hearing scheduled for Oct. 23. A more solid custody ruling is expected to be imposed on that date.
Horton declined to speak on behalf of her client following the hearing.
“I am a loving dad,” Brandon said after the conference. “I’m gonna keep fighting for custody of my son until the good Lord says I can’t anymore. It’s a happy day."
Sunday, September 13, 2015
"Custody dispute" dad pleads not guilty to throwing 7-month-old son off bridge (Middletown, Connecticut)
Okaay. So now Daddy's going to argue that he's crazy, so he's not guilty of throwing his infant son off the bridge. But golly, just a few days earlier, the Judge thought he was just fine when he denied the baby's mother a restraining order.
Dad is identified as TONY MORENO. We've posted on him before.
http://www.torontosun.com/2015/09/11/father-accused-of-throwing-baby-off-connecticut-bridge-pleads-not-guilty
Father accused of throwing baby off Connecticut bridge pleads not guilty
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Friday, September 11, 2015 01:52 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, September 11, 2015 02:03 PM EDT
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- A man accused of throwing his 7-month-old son off a bridge into the Connecticut River has pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
Police say 21-year-old Tony Moreno threw his son Aaden off the Arrigoni Bridge on July 5. A police affidavit states Moreno called his mother from the bridge asking her to pick up a phone with pictures of the baby and a stroller. Police say he then jumped over the railing into the river once she arrived with his brother and police officers.
Documents show Moreno and Aaden's mother were going through a custody dispute. A judge denied a permanent restraining order against him days earlier.
He appeared Thursday in Superior Court in Middletown. His public defender would not say if Moreno is planning to pursue an insanity defence.
Dad is identified as TONY MORENO. We've posted on him before.
http://www.torontosun.com/2015/09/11/father-accused-of-throwing-baby-off-connecticut-bridge-pleads-not-guilty
Father accused of throwing baby off Connecticut bridge pleads not guilty
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Friday, September 11, 2015 01:52 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, September 11, 2015 02:03 PM EDT
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- A man accused of throwing his 7-month-old son off a bridge into the Connecticut River has pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
Police say 21-year-old Tony Moreno threw his son Aaden off the Arrigoni Bridge on July 5. A police affidavit states Moreno called his mother from the bridge asking her to pick up a phone with pictures of the baby and a stroller. Police say he then jumped over the railing into the river once she arrived with his brother and police officers.
Documents show Moreno and Aaden's mother were going through a custody dispute. A judge denied a permanent restraining order against him days earlier.
He appeared Thursday in Superior Court in Middletown. His public defender would not say if Moreno is planning to pursue an insanity defence.
Monday, August 17, 2015
How abusive dad got custody in seven minutes (Worcester, Massachusetts)
The ONLY reason such a travesty could have taken place is the utter triumph of Fathers Rights in the family court system. Fathers are coddled and indulged despite histories of domestic violence, severe mental illness, drugs/alcohol abuse, evidence of child abuse...none of it matters in terms of gaining and retaining custody.
We've reported on custodial dad RANDALL LINTS before.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/08/15/seven-minutes-that-sealed-boy-fate/lLqEG1IEo4aDzBbFEZFXfI/story.html
7 minutes that set a child’s course for tragedy
Hearing that gave a Hardwick boy to father who allegedly beat and starved him was terse, incurious, disastrous
By Michael Levenson Globe Staff August 15, 2015
WORCESTER — It took seven minutes of rustling papers and perfunctory questions uttered in rapid-fire monotone, and the deal was done. A Worcester probate judge had transferred custody of a young boy from the grandmother who had raised him almost since birth to the father whom he barely knew. A year later, the father would be charged with nearly killing the boy by beating him and refusing him food and water.
Even though family members now say that the father had a history of violence and mental illness, and though he had only recently acknowledged that he was the father, Judge Lucille A. DiLeo never questioned Randall Lints’s fitness to raise his son.
And no party to the case suggested she should.
“OK, I think we have everything,” DiLeo said in a matter-of-fact voice, after reading aloud the main points of the custody papers, and ensuring that they had been signed by the father, mother, and grandmother standing before her. “Thank you, everybody.”
Legal experts say such quick approval is typical in cases like this one.
There was no dispute over the father’s petition for custody, because the family members had signed it before the brief hearing on June 30, 2014, a recording of which was obtained by the Globe. The judge simply ratified the family consensus. There was no one in court to speak specifically for the child.
The tragic fallout from the custody ruling has raised questions about whether probate courts can do more to protect the children whose lives their decisions most deeply affect. ‘They’re all standing there, they all agree, they all signed off on it, and that’s it.’
“We must reform our probate and family courts so that, in every case, the interests of children outweigh the desires and preferences of adults,” said Gail Garinger, a former juvenile court judge who heads the state Office of the Child Advocate. “Children in our courts need experienced professionals who will listen to them and help identify their genuine needs, skilled advocates for their interests, and decision-makers who will make the welfare of the children before them their highest priority.”
Other legal specialists, even as they acknowledge the horrors allegedly inflicted by Lints, recoil at the notion that judges should intervene in cases in which an entire family is in agreement about who should gain custody.
“The idea that the state gets to tell you whether you have it together enough to bring up your child is really a little bit scary,” said Mary E. O’Connell, a professor of child and family law at Northeastern University School of Law.
Indeed, in a custody case that is not disputed, the judge must presume that the adults have the child’s best interests at heart, said Edward M. Ginsburg, a retired probate court judge who served 25 years in Middlesex County.
“In this case, there is nothing that the judge should have done that she didn’t do: They’re all standing there, they all agree, they all signed off on it, and that’s it,” Ginsburg said. “In that context, it’s an administrative function.”
The 7-year-old boy has been in a coma since July 14, when paramedics carried him from Lints’s home in Hardwick with bruises across his body and burns on his feet.
He weighed just 38 pounds, having lost 12 to 15 pounds in recent weeks. Authorities say Lints had kept his son in his bedroom and starved and dehydrated him to stop him from urinating on the floor.
The case has focused intense scrutiny on the state Department of Children and Families, which had been monitoring the boy since February when it received back-to-back complaints that Lints was neglecting the child.
Officials have acknowledged that a state social worker visited the home just two weeks before the boy fell into a coma and his father called 911.
A year earlier, DiLeo had made what would turn out to be the fateful decision to transfer custody of the boy. In court, she ticked off the nuts and bolts of the deal: The maternal grandmother, who had been the boy’s legal guardian since 2008, would hand custody to Lints, 26.
Reading from the agreement, she confirmed his promise to enroll the boy in counseling and add him to his Medicaid plan. She affirmed the visitation rights of the boy’s mother, Amber Loiselle, who had been estranged from her son for two years.
No one present raised any objections that might have prompted DiLeo to question the arrangement. The judge sealed the deal with a series of questions to each family member.
“Did you sign here? Did you review it with your lawyer before you signed it? Understood it? Signed it freely and voluntarily?” And, finally, “Thank you.”
DiLeo could have appointed an attorney for the child or an independent advocate, called a guardian ad litem, to assess whether placing him with the father was in the boy’s best interests, said Sanford N. Katz, a professor emeritus at Boston College Law School and a specialist in family law.
“The focus of the case has to be on the child, not on the parents or anybody else,” Katz said. “Even though all the parties may agree the father is the one, an independent look at this might say no.”
DiLeo did not respond to several messages.
Still, it would have been highly unusual for her to intervene when there was no dispute over custody, said Robin M. Deutsch, the director of the Center of Excellence for Children, Families and the Law at William James College in Newton.
“If people don’t bring forward a concern, it’s really not up to the court to go on a fishing expedition,” Deutsch said. “It would be very inappropriate to say, ‘Wait a moment. Let’s get an evaluation.’ Instead, you say, ‘How great that they agreed; how wonderful.’ ”
If DiLeo had scrutinized the case, she might have discovered cause for concern.
In 2007, when Lints was first told that he was going to be a father, “He would call me and threaten to cut [the baby] out of my stomach,” Amber Loiselle told the Globe last month.
A year later, a judge in Fitchburg granted Loiselle a restraining order against Lints after he allegedly shoved her to the ground. Lints was not listed on the boy’s birth certificate, and the boy was told that his father was dead, according to relatives.
Lints only became involved in his son’s life in 2013, after he was sued by the state to provide child support and was ordered to take a paternity test, court records show.
Lints’s mother, Tina LaValley, said she warned her son, who has bipolar disorder and borderline schizophrenia, not to seek custody of the boy.
“I says, ‘You don’t want to put yourself in that situation,’ ” LaValley told NECN. “[He said], ‘I don’t want nobody calling me a deadbeat dad. I’m not going to be a deadbeat dad. That is my son. I’m going to raise my son.’ ”
We've reported on custodial dad RANDALL LINTS before.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/08/15/seven-minutes-that-sealed-boy-fate/lLqEG1IEo4aDzBbFEZFXfI/story.html
7 minutes that set a child’s course for tragedy
Hearing that gave a Hardwick boy to father who allegedly beat and starved him was terse, incurious, disastrous
By Michael Levenson Globe Staff August 15, 2015
WORCESTER — It took seven minutes of rustling papers and perfunctory questions uttered in rapid-fire monotone, and the deal was done. A Worcester probate judge had transferred custody of a young boy from the grandmother who had raised him almost since birth to the father whom he barely knew. A year later, the father would be charged with nearly killing the boy by beating him and refusing him food and water.
Even though family members now say that the father had a history of violence and mental illness, and though he had only recently acknowledged that he was the father, Judge Lucille A. DiLeo never questioned Randall Lints’s fitness to raise his son.
And no party to the case suggested she should.
“OK, I think we have everything,” DiLeo said in a matter-of-fact voice, after reading aloud the main points of the custody papers, and ensuring that they had been signed by the father, mother, and grandmother standing before her. “Thank you, everybody.”
Legal experts say such quick approval is typical in cases like this one.
There was no dispute over the father’s petition for custody, because the family members had signed it before the brief hearing on June 30, 2014, a recording of which was obtained by the Globe. The judge simply ratified the family consensus. There was no one in court to speak specifically for the child.
The tragic fallout from the custody ruling has raised questions about whether probate courts can do more to protect the children whose lives their decisions most deeply affect. ‘They’re all standing there, they all agree, they all signed off on it, and that’s it.’
“We must reform our probate and family courts so that, in every case, the interests of children outweigh the desires and preferences of adults,” said Gail Garinger, a former juvenile court judge who heads the state Office of the Child Advocate. “Children in our courts need experienced professionals who will listen to them and help identify their genuine needs, skilled advocates for their interests, and decision-makers who will make the welfare of the children before them their highest priority.”
Other legal specialists, even as they acknowledge the horrors allegedly inflicted by Lints, recoil at the notion that judges should intervene in cases in which an entire family is in agreement about who should gain custody.
“The idea that the state gets to tell you whether you have it together enough to bring up your child is really a little bit scary,” said Mary E. O’Connell, a professor of child and family law at Northeastern University School of Law.
Indeed, in a custody case that is not disputed, the judge must presume that the adults have the child’s best interests at heart, said Edward M. Ginsburg, a retired probate court judge who served 25 years in Middlesex County.
“In this case, there is nothing that the judge should have done that she didn’t do: They’re all standing there, they all agree, they all signed off on it, and that’s it,” Ginsburg said. “In that context, it’s an administrative function.”
The 7-year-old boy has been in a coma since July 14, when paramedics carried him from Lints’s home in Hardwick with bruises across his body and burns on his feet.
He weighed just 38 pounds, having lost 12 to 15 pounds in recent weeks. Authorities say Lints had kept his son in his bedroom and starved and dehydrated him to stop him from urinating on the floor.
The case has focused intense scrutiny on the state Department of Children and Families, which had been monitoring the boy since February when it received back-to-back complaints that Lints was neglecting the child.
Officials have acknowledged that a state social worker visited the home just two weeks before the boy fell into a coma and his father called 911.
A year earlier, DiLeo had made what would turn out to be the fateful decision to transfer custody of the boy. In court, she ticked off the nuts and bolts of the deal: The maternal grandmother, who had been the boy’s legal guardian since 2008, would hand custody to Lints, 26.
Reading from the agreement, she confirmed his promise to enroll the boy in counseling and add him to his Medicaid plan. She affirmed the visitation rights of the boy’s mother, Amber Loiselle, who had been estranged from her son for two years.
No one present raised any objections that might have prompted DiLeo to question the arrangement. The judge sealed the deal with a series of questions to each family member.
“Did you sign here? Did you review it with your lawyer before you signed it? Understood it? Signed it freely and voluntarily?” And, finally, “Thank you.”
DiLeo could have appointed an attorney for the child or an independent advocate, called a guardian ad litem, to assess whether placing him with the father was in the boy’s best interests, said Sanford N. Katz, a professor emeritus at Boston College Law School and a specialist in family law.
“The focus of the case has to be on the child, not on the parents or anybody else,” Katz said. “Even though all the parties may agree the father is the one, an independent look at this might say no.”
DiLeo did not respond to several messages.
Still, it would have been highly unusual for her to intervene when there was no dispute over custody, said Robin M. Deutsch, the director of the Center of Excellence for Children, Families and the Law at William James College in Newton.
“If people don’t bring forward a concern, it’s really not up to the court to go on a fishing expedition,” Deutsch said. “It would be very inappropriate to say, ‘Wait a moment. Let’s get an evaluation.’ Instead, you say, ‘How great that they agreed; how wonderful.’ ”
If DiLeo had scrutinized the case, she might have discovered cause for concern.
In 2007, when Lints was first told that he was going to be a father, “He would call me and threaten to cut [the baby] out of my stomach,” Amber Loiselle told the Globe last month.
A year later, a judge in Fitchburg granted Loiselle a restraining order against Lints after he allegedly shoved her to the ground. Lints was not listed on the boy’s birth certificate, and the boy was told that his father was dead, according to relatives.
Lints only became involved in his son’s life in 2013, after he was sued by the state to provide child support and was ordered to take a paternity test, court records show.
Lints’s mother, Tina LaValley, said she warned her son, who has bipolar disorder and borderline schizophrenia, not to seek custody of the boy.
“I says, ‘You don’t want to put yourself in that situation,’ ” LaValley told NECN. “[He said], ‘I don’t want nobody calling me a deadbeat dad. I’m not going to be a deadbeat dad. That is my son. I’m going to raise my son.’ ”
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Dad pleads not guilty to beating 4-month-old son to death, apparently during custody/visitation (Jefferson County, Kentucky)
The parents were obviously not together (i.e. reference to the father returning the baby to the mother's house). So this is apparently some sort of custody/visitation situation, though we don't know if it was court-ordered.
The mother filed for an order of protection for the baby after the father's assault, but it was too late. The baby died two days later.
Wonder if Mom previously had one for herself...
Dad is identified as DANIEL COX. See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Kentucky.
http://www.people.com/article/kentucky-father-pleads-not-guilty-beating-baby-son-to-death-in-car
Kentucky Dad Pleads Not Guilty to Beating Baby Son to Death While Driving
By Greg Hanlon
08/11/2015 AT 03:30 PM EDT
A Kentucky man has been charged with beating his 4-month-old son to death last Thursday while driving.
Daniel Cox, 35, pleaded not guilty on Monday at his arraignment on a murder charge. A married couple driving behind Cox on a major highway saw him repeatedly striking his son, Jayceon Chrystie, who was seated in a baby seat in the backseat passenger seat.
When Cox returned Jayceon to his mother's house, he was not breathing and had no pulse, the police report says. His left eye was swollen shut, and his right cheek and head were also swollen, police said. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition but died two days later of "inflicted traumatic injury to the head," Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Robert Fraction told the Associated Press.
Britton Stevenson, the driver who witnessed the beating and called 911, told PEOPLE he first thought Cox "was an impaired driver. Every so often the driver would swerve into the right lane of the four-lane highway."
It wasn't until he got closer that Stevenson realized he was hitting something, and so he called 911.
"The force that he was putting upon that baby, these were backhand blows," Stevenson said.
He added that Cox "seemed to get off on what he was doing. He'd hit the baby a couple times, fix his hat, and then he'd bob his head to the music. And then he'd go back and give the baby carriage another ferocious shake."
Stevenson said he has had trouble sleeping since witnessing the beating. "I'm on the edge, thinking my PTSD is gonna kick in," he said. "I have a 5-year-old grandson. I'm trying to block this out, because I feel like I could've done something. Maybe hit the vehicle."
According to court documents obtained by the Associated Press, Jayceon's mother, Kimberly Ann Chrystie, called 911 as soon as she saw her son. The next day, she filed an order of protection for her son against his father, but Jayceon died the next day.
Several hours after Kimberly called 911, Cox was arrested at the Veterans Administration hospital, Radcliffe, Kentucky, Police Chief Jeff Cross told PEOPLE. He added that cops have "been told" Cox is a veteran.
Cross said cops are investigating any criminal history Cox may have had, but he said, "I haven't been made aware of anything too significant."
"Obviously, the community is in shock," Cross added. "It's something that takes on a different meaning. Crimes against adults are bad enough, but when adults commit crimes against babies, it's hard to imagine how people can do something like this to a child."
"They're the purest and most precious part of our society. We as adults, it seems, do something every day to taint their world, in small ways and in major ways."
The mother filed for an order of protection for the baby after the father's assault, but it was too late. The baby died two days later.
Wonder if Mom previously had one for herself...
Dad is identified as DANIEL COX. See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Kentucky.
http://www.people.com/article/kentucky-father-pleads-not-guilty-beating-baby-son-to-death-in-car
Kentucky Dad Pleads Not Guilty to Beating Baby Son to Death While Driving
By Greg Hanlon
08/11/2015 AT 03:30 PM EDT
A Kentucky man has been charged with beating his 4-month-old son to death last Thursday while driving.
Daniel Cox, 35, pleaded not guilty on Monday at his arraignment on a murder charge. A married couple driving behind Cox on a major highway saw him repeatedly striking his son, Jayceon Chrystie, who was seated in a baby seat in the backseat passenger seat.
When Cox returned Jayceon to his mother's house, he was not breathing and had no pulse, the police report says. His left eye was swollen shut, and his right cheek and head were also swollen, police said. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition but died two days later of "inflicted traumatic injury to the head," Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Robert Fraction told the Associated Press.
Britton Stevenson, the driver who witnessed the beating and called 911, told PEOPLE he first thought Cox "was an impaired driver. Every so often the driver would swerve into the right lane of the four-lane highway."
It wasn't until he got closer that Stevenson realized he was hitting something, and so he called 911.
"The force that he was putting upon that baby, these were backhand blows," Stevenson said.
He added that Cox "seemed to get off on what he was doing. He'd hit the baby a couple times, fix his hat, and then he'd bob his head to the music. And then he'd go back and give the baby carriage another ferocious shake."
Stevenson said he has had trouble sleeping since witnessing the beating. "I'm on the edge, thinking my PTSD is gonna kick in," he said. "I have a 5-year-old grandson. I'm trying to block this out, because I feel like I could've done something. Maybe hit the vehicle."
According to court documents obtained by the Associated Press, Jayceon's mother, Kimberly Ann Chrystie, called 911 as soon as she saw her son. The next day, she filed an order of protection for her son against his father, but Jayceon died the next day.
Several hours after Kimberly called 911, Cox was arrested at the Veterans Administration hospital, Radcliffe, Kentucky, Police Chief Jeff Cross told PEOPLE. He added that cops have "been told" Cox is a veteran.
Cross said cops are investigating any criminal history Cox may have had, but he said, "I haven't been made aware of anything too significant."
"Obviously, the community is in shock," Cross added. "It's something that takes on a different meaning. Crimes against adults are bad enough, but when adults commit crimes against babies, it's hard to imagine how people can do something like this to a child."
"They're the purest and most precious part of our society. We as adults, it seems, do something every day to taint their world, in small ways and in major ways."
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
"Custody dispute" dad who threw 7-month-old baby off bridge to face judge (Middletown, Connecticut)
Dad is identified as TONY MORENO. The judge who allowed him to do this is Barry Pinkus.
http://www.rep-am.com/news/local/doc55ae4937b515b140041053.txt
Father charged with throwing baby off bridge faces a judge
Middletown man charged in the death of 7-month-old
MIDDLETOWN (AP) — A 21-year-old Middletown man accused of throwing his infant son off the Arrigoni Bridge and into the Connecticut River faces a judge to answer a murder charge.
Tony Moreno is scheduled to appear in Middlesex Superior Court Tuesday, charged in the death of 7-month-old Aaden Moreno.
Moreno has been held in a state Department of Correction medical unit under suicide watch since jumping off the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown on July 5, shortly after the baby was thrown into the water.
The child's body was later found two days later in East Haddam, south of where his father jumped.
Police say Tony Moreno has admitted throwing his son off the bridge.
The boy's 19-year-old mother, Adrianne Oyola, was denied a restraining order last month amid a bitter custody dispute.
http://www.rep-am.com/news/local/doc55ae4937b515b140041053.txt
Father charged with throwing baby off bridge faces a judge
Middletown man charged in the death of 7-month-old
MIDDLETOWN (AP) — A 21-year-old Middletown man accused of throwing his infant son off the Arrigoni Bridge and into the Connecticut River faces a judge to answer a murder charge.
Tony Moreno is scheduled to appear in Middlesex Superior Court Tuesday, charged in the death of 7-month-old Aaden Moreno.
Moreno has been held in a state Department of Correction medical unit under suicide watch since jumping off the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown on July 5, shortly after the baby was thrown into the water.
The child's body was later found two days later in East Haddam, south of where his father jumped.
Police say Tony Moreno has admitted throwing his son off the bridge.
The boy's 19-year-old mother, Adrianne Oyola, was denied a restraining order last month amid a bitter custody dispute.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Judge Barry C. Pinkus fails protective mom, so dad throws baby in the river and kills him (Middletown, Connecticut)
Judge Barry C. Pinkus is a condescending prick. And as far as I'm concerned, he's an accessory to murder.
Dad is identified as TONY MORENO.
Sadly reminiscent of the 2010 murder of 9-month-old Wyatt Garcia in California.
http://www.middletownpress.com/general-news/20150709/judge-in-middletown-rejected-no-contact-order-filed-by-aaden-morenos-mother-due-to-lack-of-imminent-harm
Judge in Middletown rejected no-contact order filed by Aaden Moreno’s mother due to lack of ‘imminent harm’
Joe Campbell, 43, protests outside the Middletown Superior Court Thursday morning, as Tony Moreno’s court-appointed public defender was appearing before Judge Gold. Campbell said he wants Judge Barry C. Pinkus held accountable for his ruling in the Aaden Moreno custody case. Brian Zahn — Middletown Press
By Brian Zahn, The Middletown Press Posted: 07/09/15, 12:03 PM EDT | Updated: 4 days ago MIDDLETOWN
Just seven days before Tony Moreno allegedly threw his infant into the Connecticut River, a judge rejected a no-contact order request against him for the 7-month-old and his mother Adrianna Oyola, citing a lack of “imminent harm,” court documents show.
Just before midnight Sunday, Moreno, 21, flung Aaden Moreno into the Connecticut River from where he stood on the Arrigoni Bridge, he admitted in a sworn statement, according to police.
He jumped minutes later while officers, alerted by a 911 call from a family member, watched him climbing over the railing, according to court documents.
He was taken by Lifestar to Hartford Hospital early Monday. Tuesday, spokesperson Tina Varona said Moreno was listed in critical condition. Thursday afternoon, when Director of Media Relations Rebecca Stewart was asked if Moreno was still there she responded, “He’s not our patient.”
Emails to the state Department of Correction media personnel asking if Moreno was in their custody were not answered by press time.
This week’s tragic events and revelations by the court and police have rocked the community and the families of the parents — and have made the national news all week.
Meanwhile, a transcript of court proceedings on June 29 details that Judge Barry C. Pinkus criticized Oyola, 19, and Moreno for “acting like children.” “(Y)ou need to grow up and deal with each other as adults, and you’re not doing that right now,” he said.
The hearing, which followed an order put in place on June 17 by Judge Edward Domnarski, was apparently the final case Pinkus heard before the court went into recess.
When Oyola applied for the restraining order on June 29, she said she did not know where Aaden was, as both Tony and Aaden went missing from a bedroom following a fight she had with Tony.
The fight concerned Oyola’s intention to take Aaden with her to dinner to see his grandfather. She said Moreno physically blocked her path from taking the baby, according to the court. Moreno told Pinkus that Oyola was throwing a “temper tantrum” and he did not want her to have custody of their son if she was going to act emotional, the documents say.
When Pinkus questioned Oyola on claims written in her application for a restraining order, she said Moreno is emotionally, and sometimes physically, abusive to her, the arraignment says.
In the affidavit, Oyola wrote that Moreno made various threats about making her disappear and sometimes shouted at their son if he was making too much noise. She also said Moreno hid two of her dresses the day of her high school graduation June 17, saying he thought it would be “funny.”
In court June 29, Moreno told Pinkus that on June 17 he took Aaden to a friend’s house for two hours and when he returned home, a family member sent him a screen shot that read: “did you know Tony’s baby is on Facebook?”
It was a photo and solicitation for information if anybody saw he or Aaden, court documents say.
It’s unclear who had posted the photograph on social media and where. #According to Moreno’s sworn statement, he made no attempt to contact Oyola when he took Aaden because his cell phone was broken.
Oyola said she filed for the restraining order because she did not know where her ex-boyfriend and son were on June 17.
On June 26, a friend of Moreno’s contacted the infant’s mother and reportedly said Moreno’s “mother, or her mother, was sick and wanted to see me and the baby.”
When Oyola arrived, Moreno allegedly rounded the corner and told her to sit down and demanded her phone. He allegedly threatened her that a lawyer said she could spend a year in jail if she didn’t cooperate with him and “make him happy.”
Oyola said she only lived with Moreno because it was all she could afford financially, but she had recently moved in with her two sisters, nephew and brother-in-law.
After Pinkus reviewed the facts of Oyola’s application, he declared that the issue seemed to pertain more to custody than protection.
“Are you afraid he’s going to come over and beat you up?” Pinkus asked.
“Sometimes,” Oyola said. “I feel like he’s always there, and it’s creepy.”
Moreno told the judge that Oyola acts in a way that is not “pleasant” and he did not want her to have the baby if she had a bad attitude.
“I’m just not convinced that there’s a continuous threat of present physical pain or physical injury,” Pinkus said in court. “Somebody needs to go downstairs and file a custody application, and you need to work out a parental rights agreement where the child is going to be, when the child is going to be with mom, when the child is going to be with dad, work out a child support order.”
According to Lt. Heather Desmond, at the same time, the Police Department was in the process of investigating the case against Moreno for two counts of violating a restraining order for the June 26 incident.
As Moreno’s court-appointed public defender, Jay McKay, was in Middletown Superior Court Thursday morning, outside a lone protester stood with a placard that criticized the judge.
The case had been moved to the Part A docket in the Middlesex Judicial District before Judge David Gold, where felony cases are typically handled.
Joe Campbell, 43, paced Court Street with a neon green sign, though barely legible from 20 feet away.
“Judge Barry C. Pinkus needs to be held accountable for his terrible handling of Aaden’s case,” he wrote.
Campbell, a Berlin native and father of four children, said he has been unable to sleep since reading news of the transcript.
“[Pinkus] was horrible to a 19-year-old,” Campbell said about the judge’s dismissal.
According to a transcript, Pinkus told Oyola and Moreno that he simply believed they did not have a good relationship, but he did not believe there was any danger involved. #Campbell said he believed Pinkus attempted to “mix up” Oyola’s words in court. “It seemed he was against the mother,” Campbell said.
Chief Court Administrator Patrick L. Carroll III said in a statement Wednesday that Pinkus’ ruling in the custody hearing “is representative of the difficult decisions that judges must make each and every day.”
“These discretionary decisions are made after an assessment of the evidence that is presented and in accordance with applicable state law,” Carroll said. “Yet even with a deliberative process, it is impossible for judges to predict the future with certainty.”
Dad is identified as TONY MORENO.
Sadly reminiscent of the 2010 murder of 9-month-old Wyatt Garcia in California.
http://www.middletownpress.com/general-news/20150709/judge-in-middletown-rejected-no-contact-order-filed-by-aaden-morenos-mother-due-to-lack-of-imminent-harm
Judge in Middletown rejected no-contact order filed by Aaden Moreno’s mother due to lack of ‘imminent harm’
Joe Campbell, 43, protests outside the Middletown Superior Court Thursday morning, as Tony Moreno’s court-appointed public defender was appearing before Judge Gold. Campbell said he wants Judge Barry C. Pinkus held accountable for his ruling in the Aaden Moreno custody case. Brian Zahn — Middletown Press
By Brian Zahn, The Middletown Press Posted: 07/09/15, 12:03 PM EDT | Updated: 4 days ago MIDDLETOWN
Just seven days before Tony Moreno allegedly threw his infant into the Connecticut River, a judge rejected a no-contact order request against him for the 7-month-old and his mother Adrianna Oyola, citing a lack of “imminent harm,” court documents show.
Just before midnight Sunday, Moreno, 21, flung Aaden Moreno into the Connecticut River from where he stood on the Arrigoni Bridge, he admitted in a sworn statement, according to police.
He jumped minutes later while officers, alerted by a 911 call from a family member, watched him climbing over the railing, according to court documents.
He was taken by Lifestar to Hartford Hospital early Monday. Tuesday, spokesperson Tina Varona said Moreno was listed in critical condition. Thursday afternoon, when Director of Media Relations Rebecca Stewart was asked if Moreno was still there she responded, “He’s not our patient.”
Emails to the state Department of Correction media personnel asking if Moreno was in their custody were not answered by press time.
This week’s tragic events and revelations by the court and police have rocked the community and the families of the parents — and have made the national news all week.
Meanwhile, a transcript of court proceedings on June 29 details that Judge Barry C. Pinkus criticized Oyola, 19, and Moreno for “acting like children.” “(Y)ou need to grow up and deal with each other as adults, and you’re not doing that right now,” he said.
The hearing, which followed an order put in place on June 17 by Judge Edward Domnarski, was apparently the final case Pinkus heard before the court went into recess.
When Oyola applied for the restraining order on June 29, she said she did not know where Aaden was, as both Tony and Aaden went missing from a bedroom following a fight she had with Tony.
The fight concerned Oyola’s intention to take Aaden with her to dinner to see his grandfather. She said Moreno physically blocked her path from taking the baby, according to the court. Moreno told Pinkus that Oyola was throwing a “temper tantrum” and he did not want her to have custody of their son if she was going to act emotional, the documents say.
When Pinkus questioned Oyola on claims written in her application for a restraining order, she said Moreno is emotionally, and sometimes physically, abusive to her, the arraignment says.
In the affidavit, Oyola wrote that Moreno made various threats about making her disappear and sometimes shouted at their son if he was making too much noise. She also said Moreno hid two of her dresses the day of her high school graduation June 17, saying he thought it would be “funny.”
In court June 29, Moreno told Pinkus that on June 17 he took Aaden to a friend’s house for two hours and when he returned home, a family member sent him a screen shot that read: “did you know Tony’s baby is on Facebook?”
It was a photo and solicitation for information if anybody saw he or Aaden, court documents say.
It’s unclear who had posted the photograph on social media and where. #According to Moreno’s sworn statement, he made no attempt to contact Oyola when he took Aaden because his cell phone was broken.
Oyola said she filed for the restraining order because she did not know where her ex-boyfriend and son were on June 17.
On June 26, a friend of Moreno’s contacted the infant’s mother and reportedly said Moreno’s “mother, or her mother, was sick and wanted to see me and the baby.”
When Oyola arrived, Moreno allegedly rounded the corner and told her to sit down and demanded her phone. He allegedly threatened her that a lawyer said she could spend a year in jail if she didn’t cooperate with him and “make him happy.”
Oyola said she only lived with Moreno because it was all she could afford financially, but she had recently moved in with her two sisters, nephew and brother-in-law.
After Pinkus reviewed the facts of Oyola’s application, he declared that the issue seemed to pertain more to custody than protection.
“Are you afraid he’s going to come over and beat you up?” Pinkus asked.
“Sometimes,” Oyola said. “I feel like he’s always there, and it’s creepy.”
Moreno told the judge that Oyola acts in a way that is not “pleasant” and he did not want her to have the baby if she had a bad attitude.
“I’m just not convinced that there’s a continuous threat of present physical pain or physical injury,” Pinkus said in court. “Somebody needs to go downstairs and file a custody application, and you need to work out a parental rights agreement where the child is going to be, when the child is going to be with mom, when the child is going to be with dad, work out a child support order.”
According to Lt. Heather Desmond, at the same time, the Police Department was in the process of investigating the case against Moreno for two counts of violating a restraining order for the June 26 incident.
As Moreno’s court-appointed public defender, Jay McKay, was in Middletown Superior Court Thursday morning, outside a lone protester stood with a placard that criticized the judge.
The case had been moved to the Part A docket in the Middlesex Judicial District before Judge David Gold, where felony cases are typically handled.
Joe Campbell, 43, paced Court Street with a neon green sign, though barely legible from 20 feet away.
“Judge Barry C. Pinkus needs to be held accountable for his terrible handling of Aaden’s case,” he wrote.
Campbell, a Berlin native and father of four children, said he has been unable to sleep since reading news of the transcript.
“[Pinkus] was horrible to a 19-year-old,” Campbell said about the judge’s dismissal.
According to a transcript, Pinkus told Oyola and Moreno that he simply believed they did not have a good relationship, but he did not believe there was any danger involved. #Campbell said he believed Pinkus attempted to “mix up” Oyola’s words in court. “It seemed he was against the mother,” Campbell said.
Chief Court Administrator Patrick L. Carroll III said in a statement Wednesday that Pinkus’ ruling in the custody hearing “is representative of the difficult decisions that judges must make each and every day.”
“These discretionary decisions are made after an assessment of the evidence that is presented and in accordance with applicable state law,” Carroll said. “Yet even with a deliberative process, it is impossible for judges to predict the future with certainty.”
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Dad in custody fight kills 7-month-old son after mom denied restraining order (Middletown, Connecticut)
This is what happens when those in authority choose to believe men and ignore the concerns of women. Once again, a child is dead because some (unnamed) judge blew off the mother's (legitimate) fears. When are these people going to be held responsible for their crimes?
The killer dad, who was also in a custody fight with the mother (big surprise) is identified as TONY MORENO. So it appears we have a new addition to the Killer Dads and Custody list for Connecticut.
http://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-middletown-baby-search-0707-20150706-story.html
Mother Of Baby Who Plunged Into River Feared For Child's Safety, Records Show
Police tape on the Arrigoni Bridge where officials say 22-year-old Tony Moreno jumped with his 7-month-old son Aaden Moreno.
Tony Moreno survived the fall into the Connecticut River and was taken to the hospital.
The child's body has not yet been recovered from the water.
Police are searching the Connecticut River for 7-month-old Aaden Moreno who plunged into the water when his father jumped from the Arrigoni Bridge Sunday night.
By Christine Dempsey and Shawn R. Beals
Mother of baby who plunged into river had filed for restraining order against father who jumped from bridge
Search for baby in Connecticut River classified as a recovery operation
July 6, 2015, 10:11 PM
MIDDLETOWN — The mother of a baby police say likely died after plunging into the Connecticut River Sunday asked authorities weeks ago for a restraining order against the child's father because she feared for the safety of the boy and herself, court records indicate..
Crews began searching the river for 7-month-old Aaden Moreno late Sunday. The child's father, Tony Moreno, 22, jumped from the Arrigoni Bridge and survived, police said. He has not been charged.
The search for a 7-month-old baby who died when his father jumped into the Connecticut River continued Monday, but was reclassified as a recovery effort with the child presumed dead.
Moreno's family called police about 11:45 p.m. on Sunday to say that he was threatening to commit suicide and that he had the baby with him, said police spokeswoman Lt. Heather Desmond.
Court records indicate there is an open child custody case involving Aaden's parents. The records show the baby's mother, Adrianne Oyola, applied for a restraining order against Moreno on June 17 because she feared for her child's and her own safety. Oyola wrote in the application that she and Moreno were happy until she became pregnant, but he began to verbally abuse, threaten and push her.
"He has told me he could make my son disappear any time of the day," she wrote. "He told me how he could make me disappear told me how he could kill me. I sometimes am scared to sleep. He told me he would put me in the ground and put something on me to make me disintegrate faster."
"I can't bring [the baby] around my family without [Moreno's] approval, but he could do anything he wants without letting me know," she wrote. "I feel that he is a danger to my child and me and would like to leave with my child and get full custody."
A temporary restraining order to keep Moreno away from Oyola and the child apparently was in place from June 17 until a hearing on June 29, when a second judge denied the restraining order application. It was unclear from court records Monday why the order was denied.
A neighbor at the home where Moreno and Oyola lived said family members are unable to make any public statements about the case.
Moreno survived the 120-foot fall from the bridge into the Connecticut River and was in stable condition at Hartford Hospital Monday afternoon. Moreno was unable to talk to police in the morning, but by the afternoon was "alert and conscious," police said.
Two police officers who arrived on the bridge after the initial call saw Moreno jump, but did not see the baby with him, Middletown police said in a statement. But sources said witnesses told police they saw a man on the bridge holding a baby over his head.
Emergency crews searched the river throughout the morning while investigators interviewed Moreno's family members and friends to determine whether someone else may have been watching the baby, police said. It was Moreno's scheduled night to have Aaden, Desmond said.
Three fire departments, two police agencies and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection all were involved in the investigation. State and federal agencies searched the river using helicopters.
In a short statement to reporters gathered at Harbor Park Monday afternoon, Desmond said the search for Aaden had shifted from a rescue effort to a recovery operation.
Middletown Mayor Daniel Drew said the police department is working with the Middlesex state's attorney on the investigation and that the department expects to file charges in the case soon.
"Right now our main priority is recovering Aaden and doing everything we can to return him to his family," Drew said. "This is a horrible tragedy. For Aaden to have had his whole life and whole future stolen from him is a tragedy that is almost impossible to put into words. I hope everybody keeps this little boy in their hearts and minds and prayers."
Later Monday night, two family friends organized a prayer vigil for Aaden in Middletown.
Taylor McPherson of Cromwell, who said she is a friend of the Moreno family, said she decided with her friend Diane Bennett to hold the vigil. A few dozen people gathered on the city's South Green at Main and Union streets for prayers and candle-lighting.
"We're showing the family they have the support of the whole community behind them," McPherson said.
Bennett was tying pieces of yarn around the wrists of people who attended the vigil, asking them to wear the simple bracelet until Aaden is found.
"The town needed this," Bennett said. "I know many people were probably home crying today, so we needed somewhere to come and cry as a community. I don't know the family but I know this town." Courant Staff Writers Chris Brodeur and Alaine Griffin contributed to this report.
The killer dad, who was also in a custody fight with the mother (big surprise) is identified as TONY MORENO. So it appears we have a new addition to the Killer Dads and Custody list for Connecticut.
http://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-middletown-baby-search-0707-20150706-story.html
Mother Of Baby Who Plunged Into River Feared For Child's Safety, Records Show
Police tape on the Arrigoni Bridge where officials say 22-year-old Tony Moreno jumped with his 7-month-old son Aaden Moreno.
Tony Moreno survived the fall into the Connecticut River and was taken to the hospital.
The child's body has not yet been recovered from the water.
Police are searching the Connecticut River for 7-month-old Aaden Moreno who plunged into the water when his father jumped from the Arrigoni Bridge Sunday night.
By Christine Dempsey and Shawn R. Beals
Mother of baby who plunged into river had filed for restraining order against father who jumped from bridge
Search for baby in Connecticut River classified as a recovery operation
July 6, 2015, 10:11 PM
MIDDLETOWN — The mother of a baby police say likely died after plunging into the Connecticut River Sunday asked authorities weeks ago for a restraining order against the child's father because she feared for the safety of the boy and herself, court records indicate..
Crews began searching the river for 7-month-old Aaden Moreno late Sunday. The child's father, Tony Moreno, 22, jumped from the Arrigoni Bridge and survived, police said. He has not been charged.
The search for a 7-month-old baby who died when his father jumped into the Connecticut River continued Monday, but was reclassified as a recovery effort with the child presumed dead.
Moreno's family called police about 11:45 p.m. on Sunday to say that he was threatening to commit suicide and that he had the baby with him, said police spokeswoman Lt. Heather Desmond.
Court records indicate there is an open child custody case involving Aaden's parents. The records show the baby's mother, Adrianne Oyola, applied for a restraining order against Moreno on June 17 because she feared for her child's and her own safety. Oyola wrote in the application that she and Moreno were happy until she became pregnant, but he began to verbally abuse, threaten and push her.
"He has told me he could make my son disappear any time of the day," she wrote. "He told me how he could make me disappear told me how he could kill me. I sometimes am scared to sleep. He told me he would put me in the ground and put something on me to make me disintegrate faster."
"I can't bring [the baby] around my family without [Moreno's] approval, but he could do anything he wants without letting me know," she wrote. "I feel that he is a danger to my child and me and would like to leave with my child and get full custody."
A temporary restraining order to keep Moreno away from Oyola and the child apparently was in place from June 17 until a hearing on June 29, when a second judge denied the restraining order application. It was unclear from court records Monday why the order was denied.
A neighbor at the home where Moreno and Oyola lived said family members are unable to make any public statements about the case.
Moreno survived the 120-foot fall from the bridge into the Connecticut River and was in stable condition at Hartford Hospital Monday afternoon. Moreno was unable to talk to police in the morning, but by the afternoon was "alert and conscious," police said.
Two police officers who arrived on the bridge after the initial call saw Moreno jump, but did not see the baby with him, Middletown police said in a statement. But sources said witnesses told police they saw a man on the bridge holding a baby over his head.
Emergency crews searched the river throughout the morning while investigators interviewed Moreno's family members and friends to determine whether someone else may have been watching the baby, police said. It was Moreno's scheduled night to have Aaden, Desmond said.
Three fire departments, two police agencies and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection all were involved in the investigation. State and federal agencies searched the river using helicopters.
In a short statement to reporters gathered at Harbor Park Monday afternoon, Desmond said the search for Aaden had shifted from a rescue effort to a recovery operation.
Middletown Mayor Daniel Drew said the police department is working with the Middlesex state's attorney on the investigation and that the department expects to file charges in the case soon.
"Right now our main priority is recovering Aaden and doing everything we can to return him to his family," Drew said. "This is a horrible tragedy. For Aaden to have had his whole life and whole future stolen from him is a tragedy that is almost impossible to put into words. I hope everybody keeps this little boy in their hearts and minds and prayers."
Later Monday night, two family friends organized a prayer vigil for Aaden in Middletown.
Taylor McPherson of Cromwell, who said she is a friend of the Moreno family, said she decided with her friend Diane Bennett to hold the vigil. A few dozen people gathered on the city's South Green at Main and Union streets for prayers and candle-lighting.
"We're showing the family they have the support of the whole community behind them," McPherson said.
Bennett was tying pieces of yarn around the wrists of people who attended the vigil, asking them to wear the simple bracelet until Aaden is found.
"The town needed this," Bennett said. "I know many people were probably home crying today, so we needed somewhere to come and cry as a community. I don't know the family but I know this town." Courant Staff Writers Chris Brodeur and Alaine Griffin contributed to this report.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Custodial dad charged in death of 10-year-old son had previous record of abusing children (Hennepin County, Minnesota)
CPS just loves abuser daddies. Even though they (somewhat reluctantly) helped his current wife protect her kids, they left his son, the one he had from a previous marriage, in Daddy's care.
Dad is identified as BARWAY COLLINS.
http://www.startribune.com/barway-collins-father-had-been-accused-of-abusing-4-of-his-other-children-records-show/308033971/
Barway Collins' father had been accused of abusing his other children, records show
Records show that he had mistreated children from a previous marriage.
By Karen Zamora Star Tribune June 18, 2015 — 9:22am
Well before 10-year-old Barway Collins was reported missing, then found dead, Hennepin County child protection services had found his father responsible for mistreating four of his other children.
Yet Barway remained in Pierre Collins’ care.
Two years ago, the father of six children had been ordered to stay away from four of them after they claimed he’d touched them in a sexual way and beat them, Hennepin County child protection reports show.
The documents offer little to no information about Barway, who was living with his father during and after the abuse.
Hennepin County now is in the process of terminating Collins’ parental rights to his youngest child, a 1-year-old boy he had with Yamah Collins, his current wife. Barway was living with Pierre, Yamah, the 1-year-old and another child Yamah had before meeting Pierre when he disappeared March 18 after being dropped off after school in front of their Crystal apartment. His body was found April 11 in the Mississippi River. Pierre Collins, 33, has been charged with killing Barway.
Rex Holzemer, assistant Hennepin County administrator of human services, said Wednesday that the county is legally obligated to file a petition to terminate parental rights “in any case where there’s egregious harm.”
“Bottom line is the reason we are filing [the petition] is because ultimately of the alleged murder of Barway,” Holzemer said. “So we got a requirement to go in and file that on the other kids, frankly, regardless of whether there had been abuse or not in the past.”
Collins’ ex-wife, Jennifer Beaver, told the Star Tribune in April that their “wonderful” relationship turned into a messy divorce after Collins physically or sexually abused her and their four children.
Collins had twins with Beaver and adopted her two oldest children. The six had been living together for some time before Barway, then 5, traveled from his native Liberia in 2011 to join his father, who had arrived around 2003.
In early 2013, one of Beaver’s children alleged that Collins had touched and kissed her in a sexual way, and another said Collins had beaten him, Hennepin County records show. A child protection investigation was opened.
Beaver applied for and was granted a restraining order, and Hennepin County found Collins responsible for “maltreatment” of the two children, records show. Beaver also reported the abuse to police. The county attorney’s office investigated, but found insufficient evidence for a criminal charge.
During that time, Beaver said Collins physically abused her and was rough with all the children, most of all with Barway, whom he spanked with a belt, she said. “He would literally whip him. … We fought so much about it. He told me to stay in my place, [that Barway] wasn’t my kid,” she said in April.
In August 2013, Hennepin County also investigated allegations that Collins had sexually abused a third child of Beaver’s, and he was ordered to “remain out of the home,” records show
The judge handling Collins’ case appointed a guardian ad litem charged with representing the best interests of the children, then, citing the guardian’s report, granted Beaver sole legal and physical custody of the four children. Beaver said she inquired about getting custody of Barway, but was told she had no legal rights to the boy, whose birth mother lived in Liberia.
The judge also ordered Collins to complete a “sexual boundaries education program” before seeking supervised parenting time and to pay $650 a month in child support for the four children.
By June 2013, the couple had filed for divorce. In November, the county closed its case with “services in place,” documents show.
“Our staff felt that the kids were safe, and we closed the case because Pierre was out of the picture,” Holzemer said. “Well, he comes back into the picture without us knowing, and that’s what makes it so difficult in these cases.
“If a family member agrees to protect their children and keep a perpetrator out of the picture and they have met their case plans, we close because children at that point seem to be safe. And you bring the perpetrator back in the picture and we don’t find out about it, significantly bad things can happen to kids during that period of time.
“As we all know, that domestic abuse cycle sometimes perpetuates itself, and unfortunately kids sometimes get caught in the middle of that. That’s a significant piece of the story here.”
In June 2014, Beaver returned “the abused children to [Collins] and left the state,” records say. Hennepin County referred the case to Chisago County, where Beaver had been living with the children, according to the case summary. Eventually the children went back to Beaver.
By that time, Collins was living with Yamah, Barway and the two younger children. He asked to modify his child support, and the court agreed to suspend the payments. When the case returned to Hennepin County court — early on the very day Barway went missing — the judge ordered Collins to find a job and to start paying more than $600 a month in child support.
The day Collins was arrested, a finding of maltreatment was made against him regarding his youngest child. Records say Collins “threatened physical and sexual abuse” of the 1-year-old son. The subsequent investigation found that Yamah’s two children, including the 1-year-old, “appeared to be healthy, clean and well-groomed,” and that there were “no safety concerns with the children” remaining with their mother.
In April, Collins declined to participate in an interview with child protection investigators but said, “I had nothing to do with [Barway’s disappearance]. I love my children. I would never hurt my children.”
His next court appearance is set for July 7.
Dad is identified as BARWAY COLLINS.
http://www.startribune.com/barway-collins-father-had-been-accused-of-abusing-4-of-his-other-children-records-show/308033971/
Barway Collins' father had been accused of abusing his other children, records show
Records show that he had mistreated children from a previous marriage.
By Karen Zamora Star Tribune June 18, 2015 — 9:22am
Well before 10-year-old Barway Collins was reported missing, then found dead, Hennepin County child protection services had found his father responsible for mistreating four of his other children.
Yet Barway remained in Pierre Collins’ care.
Two years ago, the father of six children had been ordered to stay away from four of them after they claimed he’d touched them in a sexual way and beat them, Hennepin County child protection reports show.
The documents offer little to no information about Barway, who was living with his father during and after the abuse.
Hennepin County now is in the process of terminating Collins’ parental rights to his youngest child, a 1-year-old boy he had with Yamah Collins, his current wife. Barway was living with Pierre, Yamah, the 1-year-old and another child Yamah had before meeting Pierre when he disappeared March 18 after being dropped off after school in front of their Crystal apartment. His body was found April 11 in the Mississippi River. Pierre Collins, 33, has been charged with killing Barway.
Rex Holzemer, assistant Hennepin County administrator of human services, said Wednesday that the county is legally obligated to file a petition to terminate parental rights “in any case where there’s egregious harm.”
“Bottom line is the reason we are filing [the petition] is because ultimately of the alleged murder of Barway,” Holzemer said. “So we got a requirement to go in and file that on the other kids, frankly, regardless of whether there had been abuse or not in the past.”
Collins’ ex-wife, Jennifer Beaver, told the Star Tribune in April that their “wonderful” relationship turned into a messy divorce after Collins physically or sexually abused her and their four children.
Collins had twins with Beaver and adopted her two oldest children. The six had been living together for some time before Barway, then 5, traveled from his native Liberia in 2011 to join his father, who had arrived around 2003.
In early 2013, one of Beaver’s children alleged that Collins had touched and kissed her in a sexual way, and another said Collins had beaten him, Hennepin County records show. A child protection investigation was opened.
Beaver applied for and was granted a restraining order, and Hennepin County found Collins responsible for “maltreatment” of the two children, records show. Beaver also reported the abuse to police. The county attorney’s office investigated, but found insufficient evidence for a criminal charge.
During that time, Beaver said Collins physically abused her and was rough with all the children, most of all with Barway, whom he spanked with a belt, she said. “He would literally whip him. … We fought so much about it. He told me to stay in my place, [that Barway] wasn’t my kid,” she said in April.
In August 2013, Hennepin County also investigated allegations that Collins had sexually abused a third child of Beaver’s, and he was ordered to “remain out of the home,” records show
The judge handling Collins’ case appointed a guardian ad litem charged with representing the best interests of the children, then, citing the guardian’s report, granted Beaver sole legal and physical custody of the four children. Beaver said she inquired about getting custody of Barway, but was told she had no legal rights to the boy, whose birth mother lived in Liberia.
The judge also ordered Collins to complete a “sexual boundaries education program” before seeking supervised parenting time and to pay $650 a month in child support for the four children.
By June 2013, the couple had filed for divorce. In November, the county closed its case with “services in place,” documents show.
“Our staff felt that the kids were safe, and we closed the case because Pierre was out of the picture,” Holzemer said. “Well, he comes back into the picture without us knowing, and that’s what makes it so difficult in these cases.
“If a family member agrees to protect their children and keep a perpetrator out of the picture and they have met their case plans, we close because children at that point seem to be safe. And you bring the perpetrator back in the picture and we don’t find out about it, significantly bad things can happen to kids during that period of time.
“As we all know, that domestic abuse cycle sometimes perpetuates itself, and unfortunately kids sometimes get caught in the middle of that. That’s a significant piece of the story here.”
In June 2014, Beaver returned “the abused children to [Collins] and left the state,” records say. Hennepin County referred the case to Chisago County, where Beaver had been living with the children, according to the case summary. Eventually the children went back to Beaver.
By that time, Collins was living with Yamah, Barway and the two younger children. He asked to modify his child support, and the court agreed to suspend the payments. When the case returned to Hennepin County court — early on the very day Barway went missing — the judge ordered Collins to find a job and to start paying more than $600 a month in child support.
The day Collins was arrested, a finding of maltreatment was made against him regarding his youngest child. Records say Collins “threatened physical and sexual abuse” of the 1-year-old son. The subsequent investigation found that Yamah’s two children, including the 1-year-old, “appeared to be healthy, clean and well-groomed,” and that there were “no safety concerns with the children” remaining with their mother.
In April, Collins declined to participate in an interview with child protection investigators but said, “I had nothing to do with [Barway’s disappearance]. I love my children. I would never hurt my children.”
His next court appearance is set for July 7.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Judge argues "cultural context" on why abusive, wife-beating father should get custodial rights over child he battered (United Kingdom)
Meet the new fathers rights tactic--a brilliant cooptation of neo-liberal ideology: "Cultural Context" as the latest way to minimize domestic violence and child abuse. In this particular case, we learn that "cultural context" basically means the following:
1) Don't believe women and children when they describe child abuse--believe Daddy (and his lies)
2) When faced with a preponderance of evidence that the father had STRANGLED the mother (a huge and proven red flag for lethal violence in the future), admit the facts but STILL say Daddy should have access to the traumatized child
So basically the same old crap in a new shiny bag.
Mom was clearly not on board with this "cultural context" thing. She sought out an order of protection and is trying to keep herself and her son out of harm's way. But her views on culture clearly don't matter. Only Daddy's and those of the abuser friendly judge.
Again, same old crap...
And in reality, just a way of reasserting colonialist ideology, i.e. that non-European people have a lesser developed sense of morality, and that non-Europeans women and children are "lesser than" and less deserving than their European counterparts.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/judge-says-cultural-context-should-be-considered-when-investigating-allegations-of-parental-child-abuse-10308692.html
Judge says 'cultural context' should be considered when investigating allegations of parental child abuse
Mrs Justice Pauffley's comments have enraged child protection experts
Emily Dugan Social Affairs Editor
Wednesday 10 June 2015
A High Court judge has enraged child protection experts after saying that “cultural context” should be taken into account when investigating allegations of parental child abuse.
Mrs Justice Pauffley said that within “many communities newly arrived” in Britain, children were “slapped and hit” for misbehaviour in a way which “at first excites the interest of child protection professionals.” Speaking about a particular case involving a boy who claimed he had been hit with a belt by his father, she said “proper allowance must be made” for the fact the family came from another culture - in this case, India.
Child protection experts have expressed their astonishment at the statement, saying that culture can never be a factor in assessing whether child abuse is taking place. An NSPCC spokesman said of the judge’s comments: “Children need to be protected irrespective of cultural sensitivities. Different practices are no excuse for child abuse taking place in this country and the law doesn’t make that distinction. Every child deserves the right to be safe and protected from physical abuse and the courts must reflect this.”
The Family Division High Court judge was deciding on a case in which a boy, who turns eight this month, complained that his father had physically assaulted him. The boy’s parents, who met and married in India, came to England on a six month visa and ended up staying on in the country.
The father opened the case because he wanted his son returned to his care after he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his wife and told to stay away from her and the boy.
Mrs Justice Pauffley had to make a preliminary decision about whether it was likely the man had attacked his wife and son. She concluded, following a hearing in London, that he had assaulted his wife but had not physically abused his son.
The boy had told investigators of physical assault, saying: “With his belt, he kind of hits me.” He described being hit on his back and leg with a “long belt”.
When asked how he felt, he replied: “Sad ... But I'm little brave ... I'm not scared of him... But normally I'm sad.” He nodded when asked whether it hurt, or left marks and whether they “went quite quickly”.
The father denied ever striking his son “with a belt or otherwise” but said he would give him a “slap or a tap”. He claimed: “this was not to slap [him] badly but to keep him disciplined.”
The man’s wife said she had seen him slap their son twice - as well as seeing him push and shout at their son.
But Mrs Justice Pauffley said: “I do not believe there was punitively harsh treatment of (the boy) of the kind that would merit the term physical abuse. Proper allowance must be made for what is, almost certainly, a different cultural context. #“Within many communities newly arrived in this country, children are slapped and hit for misbehaviour in a way which at first excites the interest of child protection professionals.”
She added: “In this instance ... (the boy) did not appear to have suffered more than sadness and transient pain from what was done to him.”
Alan Wood, head of children’s services in the London Borough of Hackney and former president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, said: “I can’t see what cultural practices are acceptable that involve physically hitting and restraining children. It seems a very unusual comment by the judge and I’d be surprised if the matter isn’t looked into at the Ministry of Justice.”
A press spokesman for the Judiciary said they were not yet looking into it but would do if they received formal complaints.
Mrs Justice Pauffley concluded that the man had subjected his wife to a “horribly aggressive and violent assault” in October 2014, where he attempted to strangle her and “violently pushed” her. She said the woman was extremely distressed and the boy “worried, even terrified.” The judge gave no detail about the progress of any police investigation.
It is not illegal for a parent to hit their child as long as the smack amounts to “reasonable punishment”. Unreasonable punishment is classed as a smack that leaves a mark on the child, or the use of an implement to hit the child, such as a belt or cane.
1) Don't believe women and children when they describe child abuse--believe Daddy (and his lies)
2) When faced with a preponderance of evidence that the father had STRANGLED the mother (a huge and proven red flag for lethal violence in the future), admit the facts but STILL say Daddy should have access to the traumatized child
So basically the same old crap in a new shiny bag.
Mom was clearly not on board with this "cultural context" thing. She sought out an order of protection and is trying to keep herself and her son out of harm's way. But her views on culture clearly don't matter. Only Daddy's and those of the abuser friendly judge.
Again, same old crap...
And in reality, just a way of reasserting colonialist ideology, i.e. that non-European people have a lesser developed sense of morality, and that non-Europeans women and children are "lesser than" and less deserving than their European counterparts.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/judge-says-cultural-context-should-be-considered-when-investigating-allegations-of-parental-child-abuse-10308692.html
Judge says 'cultural context' should be considered when investigating allegations of parental child abuse
Mrs Justice Pauffley's comments have enraged child protection experts
Emily Dugan Social Affairs Editor
Wednesday 10 June 2015
A High Court judge has enraged child protection experts after saying that “cultural context” should be taken into account when investigating allegations of parental child abuse.
Mrs Justice Pauffley said that within “many communities newly arrived” in Britain, children were “slapped and hit” for misbehaviour in a way which “at first excites the interest of child protection professionals.” Speaking about a particular case involving a boy who claimed he had been hit with a belt by his father, she said “proper allowance must be made” for the fact the family came from another culture - in this case, India.
Child protection experts have expressed their astonishment at the statement, saying that culture can never be a factor in assessing whether child abuse is taking place. An NSPCC spokesman said of the judge’s comments: “Children need to be protected irrespective of cultural sensitivities. Different practices are no excuse for child abuse taking place in this country and the law doesn’t make that distinction. Every child deserves the right to be safe and protected from physical abuse and the courts must reflect this.”
The Family Division High Court judge was deciding on a case in which a boy, who turns eight this month, complained that his father had physically assaulted him. The boy’s parents, who met and married in India, came to England on a six month visa and ended up staying on in the country.
The father opened the case because he wanted his son returned to his care after he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his wife and told to stay away from her and the boy.
Mrs Justice Pauffley had to make a preliminary decision about whether it was likely the man had attacked his wife and son. She concluded, following a hearing in London, that he had assaulted his wife but had not physically abused his son.
The boy had told investigators of physical assault, saying: “With his belt, he kind of hits me.” He described being hit on his back and leg with a “long belt”.
When asked how he felt, he replied: “Sad ... But I'm little brave ... I'm not scared of him... But normally I'm sad.” He nodded when asked whether it hurt, or left marks and whether they “went quite quickly”.
The father denied ever striking his son “with a belt or otherwise” but said he would give him a “slap or a tap”. He claimed: “this was not to slap [him] badly but to keep him disciplined.”
The man’s wife said she had seen him slap their son twice - as well as seeing him push and shout at their son.
But Mrs Justice Pauffley said: “I do not believe there was punitively harsh treatment of (the boy) of the kind that would merit the term physical abuse. Proper allowance must be made for what is, almost certainly, a different cultural context. #“Within many communities newly arrived in this country, children are slapped and hit for misbehaviour in a way which at first excites the interest of child protection professionals.”
She added: “In this instance ... (the boy) did not appear to have suffered more than sadness and transient pain from what was done to him.”
Alan Wood, head of children’s services in the London Borough of Hackney and former president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, said: “I can’t see what cultural practices are acceptable that involve physically hitting and restraining children. It seems a very unusual comment by the judge and I’d be surprised if the matter isn’t looked into at the Ministry of Justice.”
A press spokesman for the Judiciary said they were not yet looking into it but would do if they received formal complaints.
Mrs Justice Pauffley concluded that the man had subjected his wife to a “horribly aggressive and violent assault” in October 2014, where he attempted to strangle her and “violently pushed” her. She said the woman was extremely distressed and the boy “worried, even terrified.” The judge gave no detail about the progress of any police investigation.
It is not illegal for a parent to hit their child as long as the smack amounts to “reasonable punishment”. Unreasonable punishment is classed as a smack that leaves a mark on the child, or the use of an implement to hit the child, such as a belt or cane.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Violent dad was scheduled to appear in court for child support, but killed 1-year-old daughter, her mom instead (Chesterfield, Virginia)
Where do you start with a vicious criminal like STANDFORD SHAW, who murdered his 1-year-old daughter, her mother, and two other innocent people?
Why were the previous charges of arson and murder dismissed?
Why was his previous conviction for assault not taken seriously given the previous allegations of arson and murder?
Given this history, why did it not raise a SERIOUS RED FLAG when he is choking the mother of his infant daughter, when choking is a HIGHLY RELIABLE INDICATOR of future homicidal behavior? What fool thought that tossing Mom an order of protection and giving dad weekend jail time was a good sentence for a chronically dangerous man like this?
So Daddy shoots to death a BABY and the baby's mom, and kills two other people when he crashes his car.
There was clearly a record of escalating violence here which the authorities ignored since it "only" involved women and children.
Then what is the crap about having Daddy pay child support, as if he were some ordinary father going through a divorce? Absolutely dangerous move, as this is the sort of trigger that sets these guys off on a killing spree. Again, he should have been in prison rather than providing him with additional reason to "get revenge" against this innocent baby and her mom.
http://www.nbc12.com/story/29209737/court-records-reveal-fathers-violent-past-before-chesterfield-mmurders
Court records reveal father's violent past before Chesterfield murders
Posted: Jun 01, 2015 4:01 PM EDT Updated: Jun 01, 2015 6:27 PM EDT
By Ashley Monfort
CHESTERFIELD, VA (WWBT) - We now know more about the father accused of murdering his estranged girlfriend and their daughter in Chesterfield. Stafford Shaw's violent past is being revealed in court records.
He died after crashing his car while leading police on a chase on I-295. Two people in another car also died.
Now Shaw's family is speaking out and say there is more to the story.
Shaw was actually due in court this Friday for a child support hearing involving Leah, 1, his daughter and the youngest victim. And court documents show there was a history of violence with Leah's mother and another woman.
Months before police discovered the bodies of Morgan Rogers and her daughter Leah inside their Matoaca home, there was this protective order against Leah's father, Shaw. A criminal complaint says Shaw had "...grabbed (Morgan's ) throat and began choking her and bit her nose" and "She blacked out." Shaw was serving jail time on weekends for the assault.
On Friday, police say he murdered Morgan and Leah. He died after leading police on a chase and crashing on I-295.
"I cried out because that's my little," says Shaw's brother Charles Scott. "I know he had did some things but he is still my little brother bottom line, he is still my brother." Scott says his brother wanted to get back with is wife which upset Morgan. Before the crash, Scott says Shaw was on the phone with their sister. "This is what he said: She shot the baby as he was holding her and then the hurt from that, he shot her," says Scott. "There's no way he would have killed the child, there's no way."
But Chesterfield police say evidence shows Shaw shot his estranged girlfriend and their daughter to death. We asked if Scott ever thought his brother was violent. "That's not a side that we've seen," says Scott.
But according to court records, Shaw was found guilty of assaulting another woman seven years ago. In 1989, he was accused of murder and arson in Richmond, but that case was dismissed.
Scott says he would have told his brother to turn himself in.
Funeral arrangement for Morgan and Leah Rogers have not yet been made public.
Why were the previous charges of arson and murder dismissed?
Why was his previous conviction for assault not taken seriously given the previous allegations of arson and murder?
Given this history, why did it not raise a SERIOUS RED FLAG when he is choking the mother of his infant daughter, when choking is a HIGHLY RELIABLE INDICATOR of future homicidal behavior? What fool thought that tossing Mom an order of protection and giving dad weekend jail time was a good sentence for a chronically dangerous man like this?
So Daddy shoots to death a BABY and the baby's mom, and kills two other people when he crashes his car.
There was clearly a record of escalating violence here which the authorities ignored since it "only" involved women and children.
Then what is the crap about having Daddy pay child support, as if he were some ordinary father going through a divorce? Absolutely dangerous move, as this is the sort of trigger that sets these guys off on a killing spree. Again, he should have been in prison rather than providing him with additional reason to "get revenge" against this innocent baby and her mom.
http://www.nbc12.com/story/29209737/court-records-reveal-fathers-violent-past-before-chesterfield-mmurders
Court records reveal father's violent past before Chesterfield murders
Posted: Jun 01, 2015 4:01 PM EDT Updated: Jun 01, 2015 6:27 PM EDT
By Ashley Monfort
CHESTERFIELD, VA (WWBT) - We now know more about the father accused of murdering his estranged girlfriend and their daughter in Chesterfield. Stafford Shaw's violent past is being revealed in court records.
He died after crashing his car while leading police on a chase on I-295. Two people in another car also died.
Now Shaw's family is speaking out and say there is more to the story.
Shaw was actually due in court this Friday for a child support hearing involving Leah, 1, his daughter and the youngest victim. And court documents show there was a history of violence with Leah's mother and another woman.
Months before police discovered the bodies of Morgan Rogers and her daughter Leah inside their Matoaca home, there was this protective order against Leah's father, Shaw. A criminal complaint says Shaw had "...grabbed (Morgan's ) throat and began choking her and bit her nose" and "She blacked out." Shaw was serving jail time on weekends for the assault.
On Friday, police say he murdered Morgan and Leah. He died after leading police on a chase and crashing on I-295.
"I cried out because that's my little," says Shaw's brother Charles Scott. "I know he had did some things but he is still my little brother bottom line, he is still my brother." Scott says his brother wanted to get back with is wife which upset Morgan. Before the crash, Scott says Shaw was on the phone with their sister. "This is what he said: She shot the baby as he was holding her and then the hurt from that, he shot her," says Scott. "There's no way he would have killed the child, there's no way."
But Chesterfield police say evidence shows Shaw shot his estranged girlfriend and their daughter to death. We asked if Scott ever thought his brother was violent. "That's not a side that we've seen," says Scott.
But according to court records, Shaw was found guilty of assaulting another woman seven years ago. In 1989, he was accused of murder and arson in Richmond, but that case was dismissed.
Scott says he would have told his brother to turn himself in.
Funeral arrangement for Morgan and Leah Rogers have not yet been made public.
Dad with history of DV suspected of killing, burying 3-month-old daughter (Indianapolis, Indiana)
In a major fathers rights state like Indiana, it is no surprise that the mother did not go to the police until now. He absolutely would have retaliated since Indianapolis authorities would not have arrested him and kept him in jail. Notice that this POS was also a deadbeat "caretaker" who watched the baby while she had to work. Men who batter their partners are ALWAYS a danger to children, especially babies. Just as we see here....
Dad is identified as JEFFREY D. FAIRBANKS.
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2015/06/02/mom-claims-boyfriend-buried-baby-janna/28358683/
Mom claims father buried Baby Janna
Justin L. Mack, EDT June 2, 2015
The mother of missing 3-month-old Janna Rivera says her relationship with the child's father turned violent about two years ago, according to a personal protection order she filed Monday.
Yolanda Rivera-Gonzalez alleges that Jeffrey D. Fairbanks, 45, would beat her at least once a month, leaving her scarred, bruised and afraid that she and her children were not safe when he was around.
Rivera-Gonzalez also alleges in the personal protection order that Fairbanks admitted to burying their daughter while she was at work on Friday. He said that Janna died while he was watching her and Rivera-Gonzalez's two older children, according to the order.
The couple's only daughter was reported missing to Indianapolis police on Friday. Authorities over the next few days searched countywide for the infant's body.
Authorities have described Fairbanks as a person of interest in the case, but no suspects have been named. No arrests have been made.
IMPD Lt. Richard Riddle said Tuesday that police would not comment on any statements made by Janna's parents.
Without Janna's body, her cause of death remains unclear, and officials will not speculate publicly on what happened.
Nothing is said in the personal protection order about how the infant lost her life.
Police said Tuesday that they continue to search for answers. Riddle said there were no new developments in the investigation.
Since Friday, both IMPD and FBI investigators have searched near Janna's home in 4100 block of Candy Apple Boulevard, the Mount Comfort Transfer Station, the South Side Landfill and an undisclosed location.
None of the searches have yielded anything of value, Riddle said.
Police continue to ask the community for assistance.
In the personal protection order filed against Fairbanks, Rivera-Gonzalez said the incidents of domestic violence with Fairbanks were too frequent to count.
She alleges that Fairbanks had choked her, pushed her and struck her. She also detailed one occasion in which she alleges that Fairbanks sprayed her with a fire extinguisher during an argument.
Rivera-Gonzalez writes in the order that she never went to the police out of fear that Fairbanks would retaliate.
Marion Superior Judge Patrick Dietrick approved the personal protection order Monday.
It is one of two active protection orders filed against Fairbanks. The other, filed in June 2013, is associated with a charge of domestic battery that Fairbanks is facing in Hendricks County.
A pretrial hearing for that case is slated for July 9, according to online court records.
Efforts to reach Fairbanks for comment were unsuccessful.
Dad is identified as JEFFREY D. FAIRBANKS.
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2015/06/02/mom-claims-boyfriend-buried-baby-janna/28358683/
Mom claims father buried Baby Janna
Justin L. Mack, EDT June 2, 2015
The mother of missing 3-month-old Janna Rivera says her relationship with the child's father turned violent about two years ago, according to a personal protection order she filed Monday.
Yolanda Rivera-Gonzalez alleges that Jeffrey D. Fairbanks, 45, would beat her at least once a month, leaving her scarred, bruised and afraid that she and her children were not safe when he was around.
Rivera-Gonzalez also alleges in the personal protection order that Fairbanks admitted to burying their daughter while she was at work on Friday. He said that Janna died while he was watching her and Rivera-Gonzalez's two older children, according to the order.
The couple's only daughter was reported missing to Indianapolis police on Friday. Authorities over the next few days searched countywide for the infant's body.
Authorities have described Fairbanks as a person of interest in the case, but no suspects have been named. No arrests have been made.
IMPD Lt. Richard Riddle said Tuesday that police would not comment on any statements made by Janna's parents.
Without Janna's body, her cause of death remains unclear, and officials will not speculate publicly on what happened.
Nothing is said in the personal protection order about how the infant lost her life.
Police said Tuesday that they continue to search for answers. Riddle said there were no new developments in the investigation.
Since Friday, both IMPD and FBI investigators have searched near Janna's home in 4100 block of Candy Apple Boulevard, the Mount Comfort Transfer Station, the South Side Landfill and an undisclosed location.
None of the searches have yielded anything of value, Riddle said.
Police continue to ask the community for assistance.
In the personal protection order filed against Fairbanks, Rivera-Gonzalez said the incidents of domestic violence with Fairbanks were too frequent to count.
She alleges that Fairbanks had choked her, pushed her and struck her. She also detailed one occasion in which she alleges that Fairbanks sprayed her with a fire extinguisher during an argument.
Rivera-Gonzalez writes in the order that she never went to the police out of fear that Fairbanks would retaliate.
Marion Superior Judge Patrick Dietrick approved the personal protection order Monday.
It is one of two active protection orders filed against Fairbanks. The other, filed in June 2013, is associated with a charge of domestic battery that Fairbanks is facing in Hendricks County.
A pretrial hearing for that case is slated for July 9, according to online court records.
Efforts to reach Fairbanks for comment were unsuccessful.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
"Visit violent dad in prison---or join him" (Australia)
Very good article from Australia.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/visit-violent-dad-in-prison-or-join-him/story-fni0cx12-1227357563275
‘Visit violent dad in prison - or join him’
LIA HARRIS
The Sunday Telegraph May 17, 2015 12:00AM
AT the age of five she watched her father stab her mother in a carpark as horrified bystanders struggled to subdue him.
In the years since the terrifying attack in 2007, the girl’s mother, who almost died of her injuries, says her daughter has been forced to make regular visits to him against her will.
“She doesn’t see him as her father, she sees him as the man who tried to kill her mother,” Victims of Crime Assistance League vice-president Howard Brown said.
The girl and her traumatised mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are now on the run from authorities for failing to appear at custody hearings because they fear for their lives, Mr Brown said.
According to victims’ groups and experts, their story is just one of hundreds in which children are being forced by the courts to visit violent and abusive parents.
“There’s this belief that the father is more important than the worst of his behaviour.” VOCAL chief executive Robyn Cotterell-Jones said she handled such cases “every single day” and in some cases the children were so distressed that they became suicidal.
“They don’t want to talk to anyone because no one seems to help them. They start to struggle at school and start to get aggressive with mum because she’s the only one who’s safe to do that with,” Ms Cotterell-Jones said.
“They’ll come home after two or three weeks with the father and they bash into the mother and hate her because the father has told them to.
“I’ve had cases in which a psychologist has recommended the child stop seeing the father but the court order still forces them to.
“There’s this belief that the father is more important than the worst of his behaviour.”
University of Sydney Faculty of Education and Social Work Associate Professor Lesley Laing said although laws were amended in 2011 to put children’s safety above equal parenting rights, it was not being put into practice in the courts.
“The law has changed to say that exposure to domestic violence and child abuse should be the top consideration, but for many women that’s very hard to prove,” Ms Laing said.
“There’s no onus on men to prove the kids are safe, he doesn’t have to prove that he’s changed.”
“As soon as the woman alleges the children are unsafe, the spotlight then turns onto her and her emotional health. Very little is asked of the fathers.
“There’s no onus on men to prove the kids are safe, he doesn’t have to prove that he’s changed.”
“I spoke to women who have had to drag screaming children to meetings with their fathers but are worried if they don’t do that then they’ll lose the children altogether for defying court orders.”
The issue has long been a concern, according to Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia executive officer Karen Willis, who said it was another example of courts “favouring the offenders”.
“The trauma impact of witnessing domestic violence has terrible impacts on the subsequent adults, and the idea that offending behaviour between parents has no impact on the children is just wrong,” she said.
“The thought of having to visit someone who has traumatised you is traumatic.
“We see plenty of matters where women are forced to hand over their kids to people they know are violent.
“The kids need to come first.”
Dr Laing said all the women she interviewed during her research into the topic had been abused, often physically, in front of the children, and had all experienced failings in the system.
One woman said the Family Court told her the children’s father, who was charged with several assaults and breaching AVOs, “has to see his children” — despite them witnessing him “knock her to the ground with a baby in her arms”.
Another woman told her: “I had already made up my mind that I didn’t want the sleepovers because I really didn’t think it was safe for the children, but my lawyer convinced me that if I wouldn’t do it the judge would probably even now give me a slap on the wrist and give my ex more than I would be willing to give, so he really strongly recommended me to do this otherwise it would all blow up in my face.
“I didn’t feel like I had a choice.”
“Often the kids have witnessed the violence themselves. They’re victims too.”
Mr Brown said children were often ordered by the court to visit their abusive fathers because family psychologists believed it would help the offender’s rehabilitation and the court was promoting “equal parenting rights”.
“Then mum is forced to drag the kids in kicking and screaming to see dad because if she doesn’t she’s worried she’ll be held in contempt of the family court,” he said.
“Often the kids have witnessed the violence themselves. They’re victims too.”
The five-year-old girl who saw her father repeatedly stab her mother ultimately refused to see him.
“In that case the child put up such a fuss at the prison about seeing her father that the prison stopped her from being able to visit,” Mr Brown said.
The man was sentenced to four years non-parole for the attack, which left the girl’s mother with horrific scarring, nerve damage and emotional trauma.
Mr Brown said once the man was released from prison the mother decided it was too dangerous for them to risk another court hearing, so they went on the run.
“It is a tragedy that has happened too often and will occur again.”
For NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch, it is clear the judicial system should be doing “everything it can to protect those young people”.
“There have been numerous cases of domestic violence where the husband or the male partner has killed the children because he can’t get at the woman and it's the ultimate act of power and control over the female partner,” Mr Murdoch said.
“It is a tragedy that has happened too often and will occur again.
“In these types of instances, the safety of the woman experiencing the violence is paramount, but if anything can be placed above that it’s the welfare and safety of the children.”
Mr Murdoch said witnessing domestic violence severely affected children.
“We know that emotionally it has a very significant impact on kids and a lot of the time they are collateral damage in the domestic violence between their parents,” he said.
The best interests of the child were the paramount consideration in family law, federal Attorney-General George Brandis said.
“Because every family and child is different, family law matters are considered on an individual basis, considering the child’s best interests in their particular circumstances, including where family violence or child abuse is alleged,” he said.
“Where there is family violence or child abuse, the Family Law Act prioritises the safety of children in parenting matters over a meaningful relationship with both parents.”
The Australian Institute of Family Studies is due to report on the impact of the 2012 family violence changes to the Family Law Act in August this year.
My view: Howard Brown
WE need the Family Court to stop ordering victims of domestic violence to take their children to visit the abusive partners in jail after they have been convicted of very serious crimes.
This only allows the cycle of abuse to continue, with a court’s sanction.
We also need our police to use their checklists when at the scene of an incident, so that full and proper evidence is compiled and then presented to our courts.
You cannot blame judges and magistrates for failing victims, if all the evidence is not put before them.
We cannot just blame politicians either because we are all to blame and that is what needs to change.
We all have to stop turning a blind eye when we know that something is wrong.
We have to tell our mates that their attitude to women is wrong and they will no longer be our mates if they continue in that vein.
But above all we have to tell it as it really is: This is not “domestic violence” — it is plain, ordinary old “violence”.
We don’t tolerate it on our streets, we impose lock out laws and other measures to make our streets safe.
Violence should never be tolerated just because it occurs in the privacy of our own homes and if we don’t all stand up and say NO, it will continue unabated and the cost to us all is horrifying.
We damage our loved ones by abandoning them at their time of greatest need and normalise violence.
I for one don’t want to live in a society that tacitly accepts it as a fact of life.
It can be stopped. It must be stopped, so step up and just say “no, not on my watch”.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/visit-violent-dad-in-prison-or-join-him/story-fni0cx12-1227357563275
‘Visit violent dad in prison - or join him’
LIA HARRIS
The Sunday Telegraph May 17, 2015 12:00AM
AT the age of five she watched her father stab her mother in a carpark as horrified bystanders struggled to subdue him.
In the years since the terrifying attack in 2007, the girl’s mother, who almost died of her injuries, says her daughter has been forced to make regular visits to him against her will.
“She doesn’t see him as her father, she sees him as the man who tried to kill her mother,” Victims of Crime Assistance League vice-president Howard Brown said.
The girl and her traumatised mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are now on the run from authorities for failing to appear at custody hearings because they fear for their lives, Mr Brown said.
According to victims’ groups and experts, their story is just one of hundreds in which children are being forced by the courts to visit violent and abusive parents.
“There’s this belief that the father is more important than the worst of his behaviour.” VOCAL chief executive Robyn Cotterell-Jones said she handled such cases “every single day” and in some cases the children were so distressed that they became suicidal.
“They don’t want to talk to anyone because no one seems to help them. They start to struggle at school and start to get aggressive with mum because she’s the only one who’s safe to do that with,” Ms Cotterell-Jones said.
“They’ll come home after two or three weeks with the father and they bash into the mother and hate her because the father has told them to.
“I’ve had cases in which a psychologist has recommended the child stop seeing the father but the court order still forces them to.
“There’s this belief that the father is more important than the worst of his behaviour.”
University of Sydney Faculty of Education and Social Work Associate Professor Lesley Laing said although laws were amended in 2011 to put children’s safety above equal parenting rights, it was not being put into practice in the courts.
“The law has changed to say that exposure to domestic violence and child abuse should be the top consideration, but for many women that’s very hard to prove,” Ms Laing said.
“There’s no onus on men to prove the kids are safe, he doesn’t have to prove that he’s changed.”
“As soon as the woman alleges the children are unsafe, the spotlight then turns onto her and her emotional health. Very little is asked of the fathers.
“There’s no onus on men to prove the kids are safe, he doesn’t have to prove that he’s changed.”
“I spoke to women who have had to drag screaming children to meetings with their fathers but are worried if they don’t do that then they’ll lose the children altogether for defying court orders.”
The issue has long been a concern, according to Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia executive officer Karen Willis, who said it was another example of courts “favouring the offenders”.
“The trauma impact of witnessing domestic violence has terrible impacts on the subsequent adults, and the idea that offending behaviour between parents has no impact on the children is just wrong,” she said.
“The thought of having to visit someone who has traumatised you is traumatic.
“We see plenty of matters where women are forced to hand over their kids to people they know are violent.
“The kids need to come first.”
Dr Laing said all the women she interviewed during her research into the topic had been abused, often physically, in front of the children, and had all experienced failings in the system.
One woman said the Family Court told her the children’s father, who was charged with several assaults and breaching AVOs, “has to see his children” — despite them witnessing him “knock her to the ground with a baby in her arms”.
Another woman told her: “I had already made up my mind that I didn’t want the sleepovers because I really didn’t think it was safe for the children, but my lawyer convinced me that if I wouldn’t do it the judge would probably even now give me a slap on the wrist and give my ex more than I would be willing to give, so he really strongly recommended me to do this otherwise it would all blow up in my face.
“I didn’t feel like I had a choice.”
“Often the kids have witnessed the violence themselves. They’re victims too.”
Mr Brown said children were often ordered by the court to visit their abusive fathers because family psychologists believed it would help the offender’s rehabilitation and the court was promoting “equal parenting rights”.
“Then mum is forced to drag the kids in kicking and screaming to see dad because if she doesn’t she’s worried she’ll be held in contempt of the family court,” he said.
“Often the kids have witnessed the violence themselves. They’re victims too.”
The five-year-old girl who saw her father repeatedly stab her mother ultimately refused to see him.
“In that case the child put up such a fuss at the prison about seeing her father that the prison stopped her from being able to visit,” Mr Brown said.
The man was sentenced to four years non-parole for the attack, which left the girl’s mother with horrific scarring, nerve damage and emotional trauma.
Mr Brown said once the man was released from prison the mother decided it was too dangerous for them to risk another court hearing, so they went on the run.
“It is a tragedy that has happened too often and will occur again.”
For NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch, it is clear the judicial system should be doing “everything it can to protect those young people”.
“There have been numerous cases of domestic violence where the husband or the male partner has killed the children because he can’t get at the woman and it's the ultimate act of power and control over the female partner,” Mr Murdoch said.
“It is a tragedy that has happened too often and will occur again.
“In these types of instances, the safety of the woman experiencing the violence is paramount, but if anything can be placed above that it’s the welfare and safety of the children.”
Mr Murdoch said witnessing domestic violence severely affected children.
“We know that emotionally it has a very significant impact on kids and a lot of the time they are collateral damage in the domestic violence between their parents,” he said.
The best interests of the child were the paramount consideration in family law, federal Attorney-General George Brandis said.
“Because every family and child is different, family law matters are considered on an individual basis, considering the child’s best interests in their particular circumstances, including where family violence or child abuse is alleged,” he said.
“Where there is family violence or child abuse, the Family Law Act prioritises the safety of children in parenting matters over a meaningful relationship with both parents.”
The Australian Institute of Family Studies is due to report on the impact of the 2012 family violence changes to the Family Law Act in August this year.
My view: Howard Brown
WE need the Family Court to stop ordering victims of domestic violence to take their children to visit the abusive partners in jail after they have been convicted of very serious crimes.
This only allows the cycle of abuse to continue, with a court’s sanction.
We also need our police to use their checklists when at the scene of an incident, so that full and proper evidence is compiled and then presented to our courts.
You cannot blame judges and magistrates for failing victims, if all the evidence is not put before them.
We cannot just blame politicians either because we are all to blame and that is what needs to change.
We all have to stop turning a blind eye when we know that something is wrong.
We have to tell our mates that their attitude to women is wrong and they will no longer be our mates if they continue in that vein.
But above all we have to tell it as it really is: This is not “domestic violence” — it is plain, ordinary old “violence”.
We don’t tolerate it on our streets, we impose lock out laws and other measures to make our streets safe.
Violence should never be tolerated just because it occurs in the privacy of our own homes and if we don’t all stand up and say NO, it will continue unabated and the cost to us all is horrifying.
We damage our loved ones by abandoning them at their time of greatest need and normalise violence.
I for one don’t want to live in a society that tacitly accepts it as a fact of life.
It can be stopped. It must be stopped, so step up and just say “no, not on my watch”.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Dad kills 9-year-old son, 6-year-old daughter despite order of protection, supervised visitation (New Zealand)
Lots of crocodile tears here by moronic officials who refused to act on any number of red flag, refused to look at all the evidence, ignored the mother's concerns, and thus allowed two kids be viciously murdered by their father.
Dad is identified as EDWARD LIVINGSTONE.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/68011537/killer-dad-edward-livingstone-high-risk
Killer dad Edward Livingstone 'high risk'
A Dunedin inquest into the deaths of the Livingstone children has ended with top officials fighting back tears.
Bradley, 9, and his sister Ellen, 6, were shot dead by Livingstone at their home in the Dunedin suburb of St Leonards, shortly before 10pm on January 15 last year.
Livingstone, 51, was later found dead in the front bedroom of the house at 9 Kiwi St. A shotgun lay next to him.
He left a final note at his flat before the killings.
Katharine Webb, Livingstone's former wife and the mother of Bradley and Ellen, was the first of 18 witnesses called to give evidence at an inquest into the three deaths, which began on Tuesday in Dunedin.
She escaped the shooting unharmed.
OFFICIALS EMOTIONAL AS INQUEST CLOSES
Chief Coroner Deborah Marshall on Friday closed the inquest and reserved her decision.
She thanked Katharine Webb for her quiet dignity.
It reminded everyone "how much you have suffered", Marshall said, voice breaking.
Shortly before, Southern District Commander Andrew Coster underlined the emotional weight of the inquiry by also fighting back tears as he defended the police performance under a grilling from Webb's lawyer Anne Stevens. Police were "totally committed" to do better but "we can't change what happened", he said.
Coster said he had moved to close the cracks the Livingstone case had highlighted and more resources had been allocated to family violence in the district.
Police received 2000 family violence reports per year just in its Dunedin office.
Coster said if Livingstone's convictions in Australia from 1988 (arson and assault) had been known to the court dealing with his protection order breach, it was still questionable whether it would have made a difference.
At the time of the hearing, police still needed to know more about the convictions and the circumstances.
He said the information had come from a cell interview for intelligence purposes and entered into the police intelligence system..
If the officer he had known more detail about the case, it might have been an error not to have taken further action. In a best case scenario, a family violence meeting co-ordinator would have noticed the new information and followed it up.
The police prosecutor who opposed a discharge without conviction for Livingstone's second breach of his protection order could have sought an adjournment to investigate further his convictions in Australia.
"It's most likely it would have been granted."
Two constables who attended an incident at Livingstone's house on August 7 and were handed empty bullet shells which Livingstone had given his children, should have recorded it.
"It was a very significant matter and staff did not attach sufficient weight to it."
The fact police did not investigate a rape allegation by Webb was a failure and too much reliance was placed on Webb's desire not to take it further.
Police and other agencies did have a level of awareness of risk factors in the case and "there were a lot of things in place that led this group to believe the case was well managed."
Nothing of great significance suggested an major escalation of risk, he said.
"But if the police had taken ownership of the rape there is a distinct possibility we would not be here?" Stevens said.
Police would have needed a reliable confession from Livingstone to proceed with a prosecution if his wife did not want to pursue charges.
"I accept if convicted he would be in custody."
He agreed complainants could change their mind. Webb had engaged with Women's Refuge, she had a protection order, Livingstone had engaged with Emergency Psychiatric Services and the children were in a programme.
He was not sure much more could have been done.
"You can't make the right call in every instance."
Even if Livingstone had not received a discharge without conviction, he would almost certainly not have gone to prison, Coster said.
But each little step made here ultimately affected the outcome, Stevens said. Coster said it was unfair to assume outcomes would have been different if the case was handled better.
In other evidence, Mel Foot, who lived next door to the Livingstone house, remained adamant she had telephoned police in August to tell them about a threat Livingstone made to kill his family with an axe.
She had also told two constables who attended an incident at the Livingstone house on August 7.
"I'd warned everybody but nobody listened."
Coster said police were unable to verify Foot's claim.
LIVINGSTONE WAS 'HIGH RISK'
On Friday, former Dunedin probation officer Liqueshia Dougherty told the inquest she was briefed about Livingstone at an inter-agency family violence meeting about a week after he had breached a protection order on August 6, 2013, preventing him from contacting Webb.
The meeting was attended by several agencies including Police, Corrections, Child, Youth and Family and Women's Refuge. Dougherty noted on a document that she was told Livingstone was considered "high risk" and had narcissistic personality disorder, a high sense of entitlement and refused to accept his relationship with Webb was over.
She also noted that he had given his children bullet casings at a supervised visit as a "message for her [Webb]".
It was brought to her attention that Livingstone worked at Otago Correctional Facility and she made a note so she could pass it on to management at the prison.
"At the time it seemed like I was the only person in the room that wasn't aware of the information.
"Everybody seemed quite concerned. People felt there was more underneath it."
Dougherty said the reference to the bullet casings made her particularly concerned.
She did not recall knowing anything about an allegation that Livingstone had raped Webb.
Minutes of the meeting noted there had been two family violence incidents involving Livingstone and Webb, most recently on May 27.
They also noted that Livingstone had mental health issues and Women's Refuge was working closely with Webb who had written about wanting to end her relationship.
Livingstone's name was added to a high risk register.
People on that register were "kept a closer eye on", Dougherty said.
It indicated an issue that needed more intervention.
There were 31 new family violence related matters discussed at the meeting.
KEY POINTS FROM DAY ONE
* Katharine Webb said Edward Livingstone raped her in May 2013 shortly before they separated. She did not pursue charges because she wanted to focus on getting out of the house and keeping her children safe. She knew where to go for help if needed.
* In 2013, Livingstone twice (August 6-7 and September 14) breached a protection order preventing him from contacting Webb in the months before the shooting. He obtained police diversion on one charge and a discharge without conviction on the other.
* Livingstone had an historic conviction for arson in Australia dating back to 1988. The court heard he set fire to his former fiance's home after coming home to find her in bed with another man.
* Livingstone gave bullet casings to his children during a supervised visit after he separated from Webb.
* Livingstone told associates he had thoughts about killing his family and himself in the months before the shooting. Livingstone's neighbour Mel Foot said she contacted police in August 2013 and told them that Livingstone had talked about killing his family. Foot alleged the complaint was never followed up by police.
* Psychiatrist Christopher Wisely was unaware of Livingstone's historic conviction for arson or the incident involving the bullet casings. If Wisely had known it may have altered the risk assessment he gave to a judge at a sentencing hearing at Dunedin District Court on November 15, 2013, in relation to the second breach of the protection order. Livingstone was discharged without conviction.
* Police prosecutor Sergeant Kate Saxton said she was not fully aware of Livingstone's criminal offending in Australia at the time of the hearing. She could have sought an adjournment on the matter until she was sent all the information, but decided not to. Interpol sent her a copy of Livingstone's Australian criminal history on December 9. Saxton conceded that the information could have altered the outcome of the sentencing.
* Saxton also told the court that Livingstone should not have received diversion for the first breach of the protection order. Diversion was not available for breaching a court order, she said.
* Wisely said Edward Livingstone sourced the shotgun used in the shooting from a former flatmate's home. The flatmate did not know Livingstone had taken the gun until police came to his home after the shooting.
KEY POINTS FROM DAY TWO
* Southern District Commander Andrew Coster said police had failed to pick up red flags in the case and the Criminal Investigation Branch should have investigated an allegation, admitted by Livingstone, that he had brutally raped his wife Katharine in May, 2013. The police effort was well intentioned but inadequate and too much weight had been given to Katharine Webb's wishes. Livingstone should not have been considered eligible for diversion and police should have pursued the allegation despite the victim's desire not to pursue the allegation. Steps had been taken to address the failures, he said, with a specialist investigation unit set up.
* Detective Senior Sergeant Kallum Croudis, of the Dunedin police, admitted a series of significant failings by police staff who dealt with Livingstone and his family in the months before the shooting. Police had failed to follow-up in a timely way information Livingstone had an arson conviction in Australia. Bullet casings Livingstone gave to his children at a supervised visit and then handed to police should have been investigated.
* Livingstone drove to the Kiwi St property with a red fuel container full of petrol, a shotgun stolen from his former flatmate and ammunition. There were beers in the car, but blood tests would later show he was not over the legal limit. Livingstone entered the house through a side door using a key before shooting his children in their bedrooms.
* Police investigations showed Livingstone claimed he was abused at a boys' school in Sydney and had a violent father. His mother left the family when he was very young. He has a younger sister called Suzanne.
* Police received information, probably on August 8 last year, that Livingstone was harassing his former wife's neighbour by phone calls and text messages mainly wanting to know if his wife was still wearing her wedding ring. Police were also told Livingstone was sneaking around his former family home when his wife was at work. The informant (name suppressed) told police Livingstone was, "f...... nuts".
* The general practitioner treating Livingstone says she doubts the drugs she prescribed on May 16, 2013 (zyban and escitalopram) could have caused a psychotic episode leading him to rape his wife. He had not reported problems with past use of zyban. Livingstone's psychiatrist Chris Wisely believes Livingstone had an adverse reaction to the drugs that led to the rape his wife. The couple separated after the rape.
KEY POINTS FROM DAY THREE
* Livingstone deceived his psychotherapist by not telling her fully about his past or the full details of the incidents relating to his first breach of a protection order. The psychotherapist, whose name is suppressed, did not seek details of the police case and provided a letter, which was later produced in court, saying she did not believe Livingstone was a violent man, despite knowing he had raped Webb. Livingstone once told the psychotherapist he was a "sex addict".
* Barnardos employee Rebecca Cadogan, who supervised five of Livingstone's six arranged visits with Bradley and Ellen, said she was not surprised to learn he had killed his children. Cadogan said she had seen Livingstone become very aggressive and dominating during one of the sessions and instinctively thought of him when she heard about the shooting.
* Former flatmate Philip Mans said Livingstone's drinking increased while they lived together to a point, in the months before the shooting, where he could hardly stand some evenings and went to bed very depressed. Livingstone stole the gun used in the shooting from Mans' locked gun safe. Mans said he felt Livingstone had deceived and manipulated him.
* Forensic psychiatrist Dr David Chaplow said a clinical review identified that elements of Livingstone's care were inadequate. The review's main finding was that information held by various clinicians about Livingstone could have been shared better. Collectively they failed to ascertain Livingstone's danger to Webb. He had deceived them. However, while Livingstone's care could have been better, the review found there was nothing clinicians could have done to change the end result.
* Mark Godwin, from the Department of Corrections, said during Livingstone's recruitment for a job at Otago Correctional Facility checks indicated he had no criminal convictions, nor did he declare any. If the department had been aware Livingstone had an historic conviction for arson in Australia he may not have been hired. In December 2013, Livingstone received a final warning from Corrections after he was was discharged without conviction for breaching a protection order. If Livingstone had been convicted he may have lost his job, Godwin said.
Coster said Mel Foot's claim she told the police on August 8, 2013, about Livingstone wanting to kill his family with an axe emerged through the media.
Police investigated the claim thoroughly but nothing was available to verify the claim.
Police had gone through the calls made by Foot from her telephone and she had accepted no call had been made to convey the information.
She now maintained she had told police in person when officers called at the address on August 7, Coster said..
However the officers had no recollection of that information and believed they would have recorded such a significant thing.
Coster said Mel Foot's claim she told the police on August 8, 2013, about Livingstone wanting to kill his family with an axe emerged through the media.
Police investigated the claim thoroughly but nothing was available to verify the claim.
Police had gone through the calls made by Foot from her telephone and she had accepted no call had been made to convey the information.
She now maintained she had told police in person when officers called at the address on August 7, Coster said..
However the officers had no recollection of that information and believed they would have recorded such a significant thing.
Dad is identified as EDWARD LIVINGSTONE.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/68011537/killer-dad-edward-livingstone-high-risk
Killer dad Edward Livingstone 'high risk'
A Dunedin inquest into the deaths of the Livingstone children has ended with top officials fighting back tears.
Bradley, 9, and his sister Ellen, 6, were shot dead by Livingstone at their home in the Dunedin suburb of St Leonards, shortly before 10pm on January 15 last year.
Livingstone, 51, was later found dead in the front bedroom of the house at 9 Kiwi St. A shotgun lay next to him.
He left a final note at his flat before the killings.
Katharine Webb, Livingstone's former wife and the mother of Bradley and Ellen, was the first of 18 witnesses called to give evidence at an inquest into the three deaths, which began on Tuesday in Dunedin.
She escaped the shooting unharmed.
OFFICIALS EMOTIONAL AS INQUEST CLOSES
Chief Coroner Deborah Marshall on Friday closed the inquest and reserved her decision.
She thanked Katharine Webb for her quiet dignity.
It reminded everyone "how much you have suffered", Marshall said, voice breaking.
Shortly before, Southern District Commander Andrew Coster underlined the emotional weight of the inquiry by also fighting back tears as he defended the police performance under a grilling from Webb's lawyer Anne Stevens. Police were "totally committed" to do better but "we can't change what happened", he said.
Coster said he had moved to close the cracks the Livingstone case had highlighted and more resources had been allocated to family violence in the district.
Police received 2000 family violence reports per year just in its Dunedin office.
Coster said if Livingstone's convictions in Australia from 1988 (arson and assault) had been known to the court dealing with his protection order breach, it was still questionable whether it would have made a difference.
At the time of the hearing, police still needed to know more about the convictions and the circumstances.
He said the information had come from a cell interview for intelligence purposes and entered into the police intelligence system..
If the officer he had known more detail about the case, it might have been an error not to have taken further action. In a best case scenario, a family violence meeting co-ordinator would have noticed the new information and followed it up.
The police prosecutor who opposed a discharge without conviction for Livingstone's second breach of his protection order could have sought an adjournment to investigate further his convictions in Australia.
"It's most likely it would have been granted."
Two constables who attended an incident at Livingstone's house on August 7 and were handed empty bullet shells which Livingstone had given his children, should have recorded it.
"It was a very significant matter and staff did not attach sufficient weight to it."
The fact police did not investigate a rape allegation by Webb was a failure and too much reliance was placed on Webb's desire not to take it further.
Police and other agencies did have a level of awareness of risk factors in the case and "there were a lot of things in place that led this group to believe the case was well managed."
Nothing of great significance suggested an major escalation of risk, he said.
"But if the police had taken ownership of the rape there is a distinct possibility we would not be here?" Stevens said.
Police would have needed a reliable confession from Livingstone to proceed with a prosecution if his wife did not want to pursue charges.
"I accept if convicted he would be in custody."
He agreed complainants could change their mind. Webb had engaged with Women's Refuge, she had a protection order, Livingstone had engaged with Emergency Psychiatric Services and the children were in a programme.
He was not sure much more could have been done.
"You can't make the right call in every instance."
Even if Livingstone had not received a discharge without conviction, he would almost certainly not have gone to prison, Coster said.
But each little step made here ultimately affected the outcome, Stevens said. Coster said it was unfair to assume outcomes would have been different if the case was handled better.
In other evidence, Mel Foot, who lived next door to the Livingstone house, remained adamant she had telephoned police in August to tell them about a threat Livingstone made to kill his family with an axe.
She had also told two constables who attended an incident at the Livingstone house on August 7.
"I'd warned everybody but nobody listened."
Coster said police were unable to verify Foot's claim.
LIVINGSTONE WAS 'HIGH RISK'
On Friday, former Dunedin probation officer Liqueshia Dougherty told the inquest she was briefed about Livingstone at an inter-agency family violence meeting about a week after he had breached a protection order on August 6, 2013, preventing him from contacting Webb.
The meeting was attended by several agencies including Police, Corrections, Child, Youth and Family and Women's Refuge. Dougherty noted on a document that she was told Livingstone was considered "high risk" and had narcissistic personality disorder, a high sense of entitlement and refused to accept his relationship with Webb was over.
She also noted that he had given his children bullet casings at a supervised visit as a "message for her [Webb]".
It was brought to her attention that Livingstone worked at Otago Correctional Facility and she made a note so she could pass it on to management at the prison.
"At the time it seemed like I was the only person in the room that wasn't aware of the information.
"Everybody seemed quite concerned. People felt there was more underneath it."
Dougherty said the reference to the bullet casings made her particularly concerned.
She did not recall knowing anything about an allegation that Livingstone had raped Webb.
Minutes of the meeting noted there had been two family violence incidents involving Livingstone and Webb, most recently on May 27.
They also noted that Livingstone had mental health issues and Women's Refuge was working closely with Webb who had written about wanting to end her relationship.
Livingstone's name was added to a high risk register.
People on that register were "kept a closer eye on", Dougherty said.
It indicated an issue that needed more intervention.
There were 31 new family violence related matters discussed at the meeting.
KEY POINTS FROM DAY ONE
* Katharine Webb said Edward Livingstone raped her in May 2013 shortly before they separated. She did not pursue charges because she wanted to focus on getting out of the house and keeping her children safe. She knew where to go for help if needed.
* In 2013, Livingstone twice (August 6-7 and September 14) breached a protection order preventing him from contacting Webb in the months before the shooting. He obtained police diversion on one charge and a discharge without conviction on the other.
* Livingstone had an historic conviction for arson in Australia dating back to 1988. The court heard he set fire to his former fiance's home after coming home to find her in bed with another man.
* Livingstone gave bullet casings to his children during a supervised visit after he separated from Webb.
* Livingstone told associates he had thoughts about killing his family and himself in the months before the shooting. Livingstone's neighbour Mel Foot said she contacted police in August 2013 and told them that Livingstone had talked about killing his family. Foot alleged the complaint was never followed up by police.
* Psychiatrist Christopher Wisely was unaware of Livingstone's historic conviction for arson or the incident involving the bullet casings. If Wisely had known it may have altered the risk assessment he gave to a judge at a sentencing hearing at Dunedin District Court on November 15, 2013, in relation to the second breach of the protection order. Livingstone was discharged without conviction.
* Police prosecutor Sergeant Kate Saxton said she was not fully aware of Livingstone's criminal offending in Australia at the time of the hearing. She could have sought an adjournment on the matter until she was sent all the information, but decided not to. Interpol sent her a copy of Livingstone's Australian criminal history on December 9. Saxton conceded that the information could have altered the outcome of the sentencing.
* Saxton also told the court that Livingstone should not have received diversion for the first breach of the protection order. Diversion was not available for breaching a court order, she said.
* Wisely said Edward Livingstone sourced the shotgun used in the shooting from a former flatmate's home. The flatmate did not know Livingstone had taken the gun until police came to his home after the shooting.
KEY POINTS FROM DAY TWO
* Southern District Commander Andrew Coster said police had failed to pick up red flags in the case and the Criminal Investigation Branch should have investigated an allegation, admitted by Livingstone, that he had brutally raped his wife Katharine in May, 2013. The police effort was well intentioned but inadequate and too much weight had been given to Katharine Webb's wishes. Livingstone should not have been considered eligible for diversion and police should have pursued the allegation despite the victim's desire not to pursue the allegation. Steps had been taken to address the failures, he said, with a specialist investigation unit set up.
* Detective Senior Sergeant Kallum Croudis, of the Dunedin police, admitted a series of significant failings by police staff who dealt with Livingstone and his family in the months before the shooting. Police had failed to follow-up in a timely way information Livingstone had an arson conviction in Australia. Bullet casings Livingstone gave to his children at a supervised visit and then handed to police should have been investigated.
* Livingstone drove to the Kiwi St property with a red fuel container full of petrol, a shotgun stolen from his former flatmate and ammunition. There were beers in the car, but blood tests would later show he was not over the legal limit. Livingstone entered the house through a side door using a key before shooting his children in their bedrooms.
* Police investigations showed Livingstone claimed he was abused at a boys' school in Sydney and had a violent father. His mother left the family when he was very young. He has a younger sister called Suzanne.
* Police received information, probably on August 8 last year, that Livingstone was harassing his former wife's neighbour by phone calls and text messages mainly wanting to know if his wife was still wearing her wedding ring. Police were also told Livingstone was sneaking around his former family home when his wife was at work. The informant (name suppressed) told police Livingstone was, "f...... nuts".
* The general practitioner treating Livingstone says she doubts the drugs she prescribed on May 16, 2013 (zyban and escitalopram) could have caused a psychotic episode leading him to rape his wife. He had not reported problems with past use of zyban. Livingstone's psychiatrist Chris Wisely believes Livingstone had an adverse reaction to the drugs that led to the rape his wife. The couple separated after the rape.
KEY POINTS FROM DAY THREE
* Livingstone deceived his psychotherapist by not telling her fully about his past or the full details of the incidents relating to his first breach of a protection order. The psychotherapist, whose name is suppressed, did not seek details of the police case and provided a letter, which was later produced in court, saying she did not believe Livingstone was a violent man, despite knowing he had raped Webb. Livingstone once told the psychotherapist he was a "sex addict".
* Barnardos employee Rebecca Cadogan, who supervised five of Livingstone's six arranged visits with Bradley and Ellen, said she was not surprised to learn he had killed his children. Cadogan said she had seen Livingstone become very aggressive and dominating during one of the sessions and instinctively thought of him when she heard about the shooting.
* Former flatmate Philip Mans said Livingstone's drinking increased while they lived together to a point, in the months before the shooting, where he could hardly stand some evenings and went to bed very depressed. Livingstone stole the gun used in the shooting from Mans' locked gun safe. Mans said he felt Livingstone had deceived and manipulated him.
* Forensic psychiatrist Dr David Chaplow said a clinical review identified that elements of Livingstone's care were inadequate. The review's main finding was that information held by various clinicians about Livingstone could have been shared better. Collectively they failed to ascertain Livingstone's danger to Webb. He had deceived them. However, while Livingstone's care could have been better, the review found there was nothing clinicians could have done to change the end result.
* Mark Godwin, from the Department of Corrections, said during Livingstone's recruitment for a job at Otago Correctional Facility checks indicated he had no criminal convictions, nor did he declare any. If the department had been aware Livingstone had an historic conviction for arson in Australia he may not have been hired. In December 2013, Livingstone received a final warning from Corrections after he was was discharged without conviction for breaching a protection order. If Livingstone had been convicted he may have lost his job, Godwin said.
Coster said Mel Foot's claim she told the police on August 8, 2013, about Livingstone wanting to kill his family with an axe emerged through the media.
Police investigated the claim thoroughly but nothing was available to verify the claim.
Police had gone through the calls made by Foot from her telephone and she had accepted no call had been made to convey the information.
She now maintained she had told police in person when officers called at the address on August 7, Coster said..
However the officers had no recollection of that information and believed they would have recorded such a significant thing.
Coster said Mel Foot's claim she told the police on August 8, 2013, about Livingstone wanting to kill his family with an axe emerged through the media.
Police investigated the claim thoroughly but nothing was available to verify the claim.
Police had gone through the calls made by Foot from her telephone and she had accepted no call had been made to convey the information.
She now maintained she had told police in person when officers called at the address on August 7, Coster said..
However the officers had no recollection of that information and believed they would have recorded such a significant thing.
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