Yet another abusive, control-freak father who never should have been allowed access after the marital separation. Dad is identified as LEVI PARKER.
See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Arizona.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/arizona-dad-shot-killed-daughters-died-article-1.2476773
Arizona dad who fatally shot two young daughters two days before Christmas has died
BY Keri Blakinger /
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS /
Friday, December 25, 2015, 10:53 AM
The Arizona dad and National Guard member who killed his two young daughters in cold blood has died, officials said.
Levi Parker, 37, murdered the children, MacKenzie Lee Parker, 8, and Haylee Parker, 5, in the midst of a custody battle with his estranged wife, according to a report.
Deputies were called to the Parker home at Veranda at Ventana Condominiums around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, after the girls’ mother received a threatening phone call.
"He made statements to her that basically led her to believe this was her last chance to talk to the kids alive," Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, according to KNXV-TV.
When they arrived on scene five minutes later, deputies “attempted to talk to a male inside the residence from outside the front door,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.
“Soon after, deputies heard one gun shot and they forced entry into the home. Inside, they found the father and two daughters, all with gun shot wounds.”
MacKenzie died at the scene, while Haylee died at a local hospital and Parker was on life support until he died Thursday at Banner University Medical Center, according to KOLD-TV.
Nanos said that Parker and his wife were having legal problems and that on the day of the shooting the girls were visiting their father. They’d been separated for three months and were involved in a divorce case.
The girls’ aunt, Joan Parker, told the Arizona Daily Star that Parker was trying to get custody and that he was unhappy his wife had a new boyfriend.
“He did not want another man with his girls,” she said.
“I personally think he’s been through so much in the military, almost 15 years. He could have developed PTSD or some kind of mental condition.”
Just a month before the killing, Parker posted on Facebook MacKenzie’s Christmas list, which included everything from a horse to chocolate to a guitar.
"This is tough," Nanos said. "It's a couple hours before what's supposed to be the best day in the world for little kids... our community lost two little ones."
A neighbor told KOLD that the incident has been “the talk of the community” while another said, “It completely blindsided us. Like we were home and it sounded like someone pounding a nail on a board."
The girls’ family released a statement on Thursday.
“Please keep our family in your hearts and prayers in our unimaginable grief,” they said.
Showing posts with label PTSD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PTSD. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2016
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
"Primary caretaker" dad pleads guilty to involutary manslaughter in death of 3-month-old son; threw baby into because he was "frustrated" (Macon, Georgia)
Dad is identified as RICHARD ALLEN HICKS.
http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article38849418.html
Macon father sentenced to prison in infant son’s 2012 death
Richard Allen Hicks, 28, of Macon, pleaded guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the 2012 death of his infant son, Desmond.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by two years on probation.
By AMY LEIGH WOMACK
A little more than two years after Richard Allen Hicks was injured in a grenade attack in Iraq, he was charged with murder in the death of his 3-month-old son.
Hicks had served about five years in the U.S. Army.
After receiving the purple heart and other awards, he was honorably discharged in July 2011, his lawyer, Mark Beberman said during a Monday hearing in Bibb County Superior Court.
After finding it difficult to land a job, Hicks became the primary caregiver for his three children.
July 14, 2012, the mother of his youngest child, 3-month-old Desmond, came home and found the boy seemingly asleep on Hicks’ chest, said prosecutor Kevin Ströberg.
“She picked up Desmond and he wasn’t responsive. He wasn’t breathing,” Ströberg said.
After an unsuccessful attempt to revive the child by CPR, he was rushed to a local hospital where doctors discovered he had a fractured skull and a brain bleed.
The boy’s ribs also were fractured, Ströberg said.
Desmond was declared brain dead two days later, Ströberg said.
Hicks, 28, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Monday as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by two years on probation.
Once released, Hicks also must complete Bibb County’s Veterans Court program as a condition of his probation.
Ströberg said Hicks initially denied knowing his son was ill, but later admitted he threw him into a bassinet after becoming “frustrated” by the child’s crying.
The injuries Desmond suffered couldn’t have been the result of an accident unless he’d “fallen from a height of two stories,” Ströberg said.
Had the case gone to trial, Beberman said he would have argued that Desmond’s death was an accident and his client suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The boy’s head struck a plastic music box attached to the bassinet, likely causing a slow brain bleed, he said.
Children suffering such an injury have been known to cry at first, but then get quiet and go to sleep and show no outward signs that something’s wrong as the brain swells, Beberman said.
There’s a good chance the rib injuries are a result of the CPR attempt, he said.
Hicks has been held at the county jail since his July 16, 2012, arrest, according to jail records.
http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article38849418.html
Macon father sentenced to prison in infant son’s 2012 death
Richard Allen Hicks, 28, of Macon, pleaded guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the 2012 death of his infant son, Desmond.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by two years on probation.
By AMY LEIGH WOMACK
A little more than two years after Richard Allen Hicks was injured in a grenade attack in Iraq, he was charged with murder in the death of his 3-month-old son.
Hicks had served about five years in the U.S. Army.
After receiving the purple heart and other awards, he was honorably discharged in July 2011, his lawyer, Mark Beberman said during a Monday hearing in Bibb County Superior Court.
After finding it difficult to land a job, Hicks became the primary caregiver for his three children.
July 14, 2012, the mother of his youngest child, 3-month-old Desmond, came home and found the boy seemingly asleep on Hicks’ chest, said prosecutor Kevin Ströberg.
“She picked up Desmond and he wasn’t responsive. He wasn’t breathing,” Ströberg said.
After an unsuccessful attempt to revive the child by CPR, he was rushed to a local hospital where doctors discovered he had a fractured skull and a brain bleed.
The boy’s ribs also were fractured, Ströberg said.
Desmond was declared brain dead two days later, Ströberg said.
Hicks, 28, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Monday as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by two years on probation.
Once released, Hicks also must complete Bibb County’s Veterans Court program as a condition of his probation.
Ströberg said Hicks initially denied knowing his son was ill, but later admitted he threw him into a bassinet after becoming “frustrated” by the child’s crying.
The injuries Desmond suffered couldn’t have been the result of an accident unless he’d “fallen from a height of two stories,” Ströberg said.
Had the case gone to trial, Beberman said he would have argued that Desmond’s death was an accident and his client suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The boy’s head struck a plastic music box attached to the bassinet, likely causing a slow brain bleed, he said.
Children suffering such an injury have been known to cry at first, but then get quiet and go to sleep and show no outward signs that something’s wrong as the brain swells, Beberman said.
There’s a good chance the rib injuries are a result of the CPR attempt, he said.
Hicks has been held at the county jail since his July 16, 2012, arrest, according to jail records.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Dad pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter of 2-month-old son; claims baby's death was an "accident" from his PTSD (Lowell, Massachusetts)
Mom is right. Dad CHRISTOPHER BERRY's excuses are bull. This was no "accident" on his part.
I know lots of mothers with PTSD from years of ongoing abuse and trauma, and they don't kill the kids, "accidentally" or otherwise. In fact, they're still trying to do their best to protect them.
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/27632833/lowell-father-to-change-plea-in-shaken-baby-death
Lowell father pleads guilty in son's shaken-baby death
Posted: Dec 15, 2014 3:55 PM EST Updated: Dec 15, 2014 5:11 PM EST
LOWELL, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- An Army veteran from Lowell faced a judge Monday entering a guilty plea in the May, 2013 shaking death of his 2-month-old son.
"I am here today because I accidentally killed my son, William," Christopher Berry said as he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Monday.
He originally pleaded not guilty to second degree murder, but changed his plea once the charge was reduced. Prosecutors say Berry shook his son William to death after getting frustrated with the boy's crying.
"He was a beautiful baby. I saw him come into this world and I got to see him leave this world," said Lisa Cupan, William Berry's maternal grandmother.
Lisa Cupan and her daughter Sarah Cupan read victim impact statements in court Monday.
"No one should have to go through that. Especially my mother. She shouldn't have had to gone through that. And my sister. They're broken. That's a baby," Sarah Cupan said.
Berry served with the Army National Guard from 2008 to 201, and did one tour of duty in Afghanistan.His unit was attacked by a suicide bomber in 2011, and he's been treated for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder since returning home.
Lisa and Sarah Cupan say they just don't believe William's death was an accident.
"People have PTSD, and they don't kill babies," Lisa said.
"That's bull. It wasn't an accident," Sarah Cupan said. "Did you hear him? He was said it was an accident. No."
He was sentenced to 12 to 16 years in prison, a sentence William's grandmother says isn't long enough
"Change the law," Lisa said. "Take a life, get life."
I know lots of mothers with PTSD from years of ongoing abuse and trauma, and they don't kill the kids, "accidentally" or otherwise. In fact, they're still trying to do their best to protect them.
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/27632833/lowell-father-to-change-plea-in-shaken-baby-death
Lowell father pleads guilty in son's shaken-baby death
Posted: Dec 15, 2014 3:55 PM EST Updated: Dec 15, 2014 5:11 PM EST
LOWELL, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- An Army veteran from Lowell faced a judge Monday entering a guilty plea in the May, 2013 shaking death of his 2-month-old son.
"I am here today because I accidentally killed my son, William," Christopher Berry said as he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Monday.
He originally pleaded not guilty to second degree murder, but changed his plea once the charge was reduced. Prosecutors say Berry shook his son William to death after getting frustrated with the boy's crying.
"He was a beautiful baby. I saw him come into this world and I got to see him leave this world," said Lisa Cupan, William Berry's maternal grandmother.
Lisa Cupan and her daughter Sarah Cupan read victim impact statements in court Monday.
"No one should have to go through that. Especially my mother. She shouldn't have had to gone through that. And my sister. They're broken. That's a baby," Sarah Cupan said.
Berry served with the Army National Guard from 2008 to 201, and did one tour of duty in Afghanistan.His unit was attacked by a suicide bomber in 2011, and he's been treated for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder since returning home.
Lisa and Sarah Cupan say they just don't believe William's death was an accident.
"People have PTSD, and they don't kill babies," Lisa said.
"That's bull. It wasn't an accident," Sarah Cupan said. "Did you hear him? He was said it was an accident. No."
He was sentenced to 12 to 16 years in prison, a sentence William's grandmother says isn't long enough
"Change the law," Lisa said. "Take a life, get life."
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
PTSD defense for dad charged with killing 2-month-old son for crying (Lowell, Massachusetts)
Dad is identified as CHRISTOPHER BERRY.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/12/lowell_father_to_change_plea_in_shaken_baby_death
Lowell father to change plea in shaken-baby death
Monday, December 15, 2014
By: Associated Press
LOWELL — An Army veteran from Lowell is scheduled to appear in court for a change of plea hearing in the shaking death of his 2-month-old son. Christopher Berry is scheduled to appear in court Monday in connection with the May 2013 death of his son, William Berry.
Prosecutors say the 24-year-old Berry shook his son because he was frustrated with the child's crying. The boy died several days after he was taken to the hospital. He had previously pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
The Sun of Lowell reports that Berry's lawyer says in court documents that his client was severely affected by his military deployment to Afghanistan.
Attorney Elliot Savitz said that Berry exhibited a number of bizarre behaviors when he returned home that he blamed on post-traumatic stress disorder.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/12/lowell_father_to_change_plea_in_shaken_baby_death
Lowell father to change plea in shaken-baby death
Monday, December 15, 2014
By: Associated Press
LOWELL — An Army veteran from Lowell is scheduled to appear in court for a change of plea hearing in the shaking death of his 2-month-old son. Christopher Berry is scheduled to appear in court Monday in connection with the May 2013 death of his son, William Berry.
Prosecutors say the 24-year-old Berry shook his son because he was frustrated with the child's crying. The boy died several days after he was taken to the hospital. He had previously pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
The Sun of Lowell reports that Berry's lawyer says in court documents that his client was severely affected by his military deployment to Afghanistan.
Attorney Elliot Savitz said that Berry exhibited a number of bizarre behaviors when he returned home that he blamed on post-traumatic stress disorder.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Dad avoids jail even after admitting to creating, distributing child porn (United Kingdom)
The typical coddling of a sexually abusive, porn sick dad. Dad is identified as BOBBY LAY.
http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2014/08/19/father-avoids-jail-after-downloading-images-of-child-abuse/
PUBLISHED: August 19, 2014 11:59 am
Father avoids jail after downloading images of child abuse
A father who downloaded dozens of vile photos showing adults abusing young children has been spared a prison sentence.
Police found the pornographic pictures on Bobby Lay's laptop after carrying out a raid at his Wolverhampton home, Stafford Crown Court heard.
In his web browser's history, Lay had used search terms such as '14-year-old models' and 'underage porn pictures'.
Mr Neil Ahuja, prosecuting, said an examination of the computer also showed that he had uploaded two of the indecent photos on to a file-sharing website.
Lay, aged 33, of Sherwood Street, Whitmore Reans, admitted four charges of making indecent images of children and two of distributing indecent images.
He was given a three-year community order with sex offender treatment and ordered to register as a sex offender for five years, banned from working with children indefinitely and told to pay £535 costs.
Judge Paul Glenn told him: "The police found a number of indecent images at levels one to four on your laptop.
"The pictures were both girls and boys and some plainly very young.
"You raised the suggestion of a virus - I am tempted to say I have heard all that before. You mention anxiety and depression.
"Your final position seems to be you have no recollection of downloading - I find that hard to accept and I find it hard to accept you have no sexual attraction to children.
"You suffer from post traumatic stress, you have plainly been affected by finding out the quite tragic details of your early childhood. In your case there is more to be gained from rehabilitation rather than locking you up for a short period."
Mr Ahuja said the indecent pictures, found following the search on May 22 last year, comprised 397 at the least serious level one; 25 at level two; 68 at level three and 87 at the serious level four depicting children being abused by adults.
Some of the children were as young as four, while many were in the range of five to 10 years old.
Initially, Lay claimed there was a virus on his computer, then said he had been confused and that he had no sexual interest in children.
Mr Andrew Wallace, defending, said: "This is not a particularly aggravated case, it's a modest number of images and doesn't demonstrate someone who's poring over the internet looking for images of abuse."
Lay, who has a partner and a young son, was reluctant to accept what he had done because of the disgust shown by others.
http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2014/08/19/father-avoids-jail-after-downloading-images-of-child-abuse/
PUBLISHED: August 19, 2014 11:59 am
Father avoids jail after downloading images of child abuse
A father who downloaded dozens of vile photos showing adults abusing young children has been spared a prison sentence.
Police found the pornographic pictures on Bobby Lay's laptop after carrying out a raid at his Wolverhampton home, Stafford Crown Court heard.
In his web browser's history, Lay had used search terms such as '14-year-old models' and 'underage porn pictures'.
Mr Neil Ahuja, prosecuting, said an examination of the computer also showed that he had uploaded two of the indecent photos on to a file-sharing website.
Lay, aged 33, of Sherwood Street, Whitmore Reans, admitted four charges of making indecent images of children and two of distributing indecent images.
He was given a three-year community order with sex offender treatment and ordered to register as a sex offender for five years, banned from working with children indefinitely and told to pay £535 costs.
Judge Paul Glenn told him: "The police found a number of indecent images at levels one to four on your laptop.
"The pictures were both girls and boys and some plainly very young.
"You raised the suggestion of a virus - I am tempted to say I have heard all that before. You mention anxiety and depression.
"Your final position seems to be you have no recollection of downloading - I find that hard to accept and I find it hard to accept you have no sexual attraction to children.
"You suffer from post traumatic stress, you have plainly been affected by finding out the quite tragic details of your early childhood. In your case there is more to be gained from rehabilitation rather than locking you up for a short period."
Mr Ahuja said the indecent pictures, found following the search on May 22 last year, comprised 397 at the least serious level one; 25 at level two; 68 at level three and 87 at the serious level four depicting children being abused by adults.
Some of the children were as young as four, while many were in the range of five to 10 years old.
Initially, Lay claimed there was a virus on his computer, then said he had been confused and that he had no sexual interest in children.
Mr Andrew Wallace, defending, said: "This is not a particularly aggravated case, it's a modest number of images and doesn't demonstrate someone who's poring over the internet looking for images of abuse."
Lay, who has a partner and a young son, was reluctant to accept what he had done because of the disgust shown by others.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Dad gets 18 years in prison for stabbing death of 2-year-old daughter (Sydney, Australia)
Dad is identified as FARDEN FAZAH.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-13/farden-fazah-jailed-for-stabbing-murder/5318134
Sydney father receives 18-year jail sentence for stabbing murder of his two-year-old daughter
By court reporter Jamelle Wells
Updated Thu 13 Mar 2014, 4:15pm AEDT
A Sydney man who stabbed his two-year-old daughter to death has been jailed for at least 18 years.
After an argument on New Year's Day in 2011, Farden Fazah stabbed his wife Rasa 12 times in the stairwell of their unit in Canley Vale, in Sydney's west.
She sustained injuires to her face, hands and body.
Fazah, 25, then went into their unit and stabbed their daughter to death.
He pleaded guilty to his daughter's murder and to one count of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm for the attack on his wife.
In his judgment Justice Peter Hidden said Fazah's actions were "spontaneous" on the day but he had a history of controlling behaviour towards his wife.
He stopped her having her own money and from going shopping on her own.
Justice Hidden said Rasa's mother, who lives in Afghanistan, told her daughter to stay with Fazah and "be an obedient wife".
The judge said Fazah grew up in Kabul and suffered a post-traumatic stress disorder after he was held as a prisoner by the Taliban.
However the offender had entered an early guilty plea and had reasonable prospects of rehabilitation.
Fazah will be eligible for parole in 2030.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-13/farden-fazah-jailed-for-stabbing-murder/5318134
Sydney father receives 18-year jail sentence for stabbing murder of his two-year-old daughter
By court reporter Jamelle Wells
Updated Thu 13 Mar 2014, 4:15pm AEDT
A Sydney man who stabbed his two-year-old daughter to death has been jailed for at least 18 years.
After an argument on New Year's Day in 2011, Farden Fazah stabbed his wife Rasa 12 times in the stairwell of their unit in Canley Vale, in Sydney's west.
She sustained injuires to her face, hands and body.
Fazah, 25, then went into their unit and stabbed their daughter to death.
He pleaded guilty to his daughter's murder and to one count of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm for the attack on his wife.
In his judgment Justice Peter Hidden said Fazah's actions were "spontaneous" on the day but he had a history of controlling behaviour towards his wife.
He stopped her having her own money and from going shopping on her own.
Justice Hidden said Rasa's mother, who lives in Afghanistan, told her daughter to stay with Fazah and "be an obedient wife".
The judge said Fazah grew up in Kabul and suffered a post-traumatic stress disorder after he was held as a prisoner by the Taliban.
However the offender had entered an early guilty plea and had reasonable prospects of rehabilitation.
Fazah will be eligible for parole in 2030.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Dad jailed for 6 months for killing 19-month-old daugher; agency "failure" blamed (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
A violent father murders an infant girl, and everybody and everything is blamed. Except Daddy, who only got six months for the crime. It was an agency "failure." It was Daddy's PTSD. It was this, it was that.
Read carefully, and you'll see that dad LIAM CULVERHOUSE was violent before he was in the Army. But notice that nothing more is elaborated about that.
None of this bull crap would fly with a mother. Oh, the poor little mommy suffered from trauma and that's why she slaughtered the baby? Nobody would care, and you can just about bet she'd be doing years of prison time.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/child-death-review-finds-failures-30044399.html
Child death review finds 'failures'
Liam Culverhouse was last month jailed for six years after admitting killing his 19-month-old daughter
26 February 2014
A serious case review has found failings by health professionals who missed opportunities to save a baby girl killed by her ex-soldier father who was wounded in Afghanistan.
The report said there had been a failure by agencies to "discover or take into account the troubled background" of Liam Culverhouse in the run-up to the death of his daughter Khloe Abrams.
There were also difficulties in information-sharing and communication, and an inability by medical services to identify and respond to Khloe's significant injuries.
Lance Corporal Culverhouse was last month jailed for six years after admitting killing his 19-month-old daughter.
He lost his right eye in a rogue attack at an Afghan National Police checkpoint in Nad-e-Ali, Helmand province, in November 2009.
Five of his comrades were killed in the attack.
Eighteen months after returning home, Culverhouse assaulted his then seven-week-old daughter Khloe at the family home in Northampton, leaving her fighting for her life in hospital for nearly 18 months.
Culverhouse, who was medically discharged from the Army, pleaded guilty to causing or allowing the death of the toddler.
Medical professionals found in 2010 that he had begun to have some Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) symptoms and was feeling irritable.
A Serious Case Review (SCR) into Khloe's death by Northamptonshire Local Safeguarding Children Board found that there was a "failure to discover or take into account the troubled background of the father when providing universal services", as well as difficulties in inter-agency information-sharing and communication, and an "inability to identify and respond to the significant injuries suffered by the child".
The SCR found that nothing was ever discovered about the "maltreatment the child suffered during a short life" despite there being opportunities to do so.
In addition, had information about Culverhouse, who had a troubled and violent background that worsened following his injuries in Afghanistan, been properly shared it "should have led professionals to be very concerned about the safety of the child".
Khloe was admitted to hospital on May 8 2011 and found to have multiple injuries.
Read carefully, and you'll see that dad LIAM CULVERHOUSE was violent before he was in the Army. But notice that nothing more is elaborated about that.
None of this bull crap would fly with a mother. Oh, the poor little mommy suffered from trauma and that's why she slaughtered the baby? Nobody would care, and you can just about bet she'd be doing years of prison time.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/child-death-review-finds-failures-30044399.html
Child death review finds 'failures'
Liam Culverhouse was last month jailed for six years after admitting killing his 19-month-old daughter
26 February 2014
A serious case review has found failings by health professionals who missed opportunities to save a baby girl killed by her ex-soldier father who was wounded in Afghanistan.
The report said there had been a failure by agencies to "discover or take into account the troubled background" of Liam Culverhouse in the run-up to the death of his daughter Khloe Abrams.
There were also difficulties in information-sharing and communication, and an inability by medical services to identify and respond to Khloe's significant injuries.
Lance Corporal Culverhouse was last month jailed for six years after admitting killing his 19-month-old daughter.
He lost his right eye in a rogue attack at an Afghan National Police checkpoint in Nad-e-Ali, Helmand province, in November 2009.
Five of his comrades were killed in the attack.
Eighteen months after returning home, Culverhouse assaulted his then seven-week-old daughter Khloe at the family home in Northampton, leaving her fighting for her life in hospital for nearly 18 months.
Culverhouse, who was medically discharged from the Army, pleaded guilty to causing or allowing the death of the toddler.
Medical professionals found in 2010 that he had begun to have some Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) symptoms and was feeling irritable.
A Serious Case Review (SCR) into Khloe's death by Northamptonshire Local Safeguarding Children Board found that there was a "failure to discover or take into account the troubled background of the father when providing universal services", as well as difficulties in inter-agency information-sharing and communication, and an "inability to identify and respond to the significant injuries suffered by the child".
The SCR found that nothing was ever discovered about the "maltreatment the child suffered during a short life" despite there being opportunities to do so.
In addition, had information about Culverhouse, who had a troubled and violent background that worsened following his injuries in Afghanistan, been properly shared it "should have led professionals to be very concerned about the safety of the child".
Khloe was admitted to hospital on May 8 2011 and found to have multiple injuries.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Dad arrested for severely injuring 3-month-old son; blames his PTSD (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Seriously??? His PTSD made him do it? And this is being taken seriously?
Notice that there is no mention of a mother in the home.
Dad is identified as ANDREW LEACH.
http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/24666073/man-charged-with-child-abuse-after-baby-hospitalized
Man accused of abuse after baby hospitalized
Posted: Feb 07, 2014 4:22 PM EST Updated: Feb 08, 2014 12:54 AM EST
Written by Aaron Barker and Craig Huber
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) - Police said they arrested a man stationed at Nellis Air Force Base after a baby suffering from severe injuries was hospitalized last week.
Las Vegas Metro Police spokesman Officer Jose Hernandez said detectives were called to Sunrise Hospital on Feb. 2 to investigate a report of child abuse.
Hernandez said 31-year-old Andrew Leach, who is the victim's father, was charged with child abuse and substantial bodily or mental harm in connection with the child's injuries.
According to an arrest report, Leach told investigators that he was preparing to bathe his 3-month-old son when the child fell out of his arms, about 3 feet, to the floor. He said the boy then stiffened his arms and legs and stopped breathing.
Leach told investigators, according to the report, that he tried to perform CPR on the boy, but the child went limp. He said that he could not find a phone in his home to call for help, and ran to a neighbor's home and asked them to call 911.
The child was originally treated at O'Callaghan Hospital at the base, but was taken to Sunrise Hospital because of the severity of his injuries, according to the report.
The arrest report says a doctor at Sunrise Hospital told investigators that the boy's injuries were not caused by an impact. The doctor also said that when she questioned Leach about additional injuries that appeared to be about a month old, he had no explanation.
Leach told investigators he believed his son's most recent injuries were the result of him shaking him in an effort to revive the boy, according to the report.
According to the report, Leach suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as other psychological problems, and had been treated as recently as a week before his son was injured.
Therapist Scott Underwood has worked with PTSD patients.
"Unfortunately, you won't know what somebody is going to do sometimes until they do it," Underwood said. "They are overly vigilant, and they are reactive to things, more reactive than most people."
"The way that the mind tends to remember things when we're under a great deal of stress and traumatized is not the same way we would process things if we were thinking about them under normal circumstances," Underwood continued.
The child was still being treated at Sunrise Hospital on Friday, Hernandez said. According to the arrest report, the child had suffered massive brain swelling, cardiac arrest and respiratory failure.
Leach was being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $40,000 bond.
Notice that there is no mention of a mother in the home.
Dad is identified as ANDREW LEACH.
http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/24666073/man-charged-with-child-abuse-after-baby-hospitalized
Man accused of abuse after baby hospitalized
Posted: Feb 07, 2014 4:22 PM EST Updated: Feb 08, 2014 12:54 AM EST
Written by Aaron Barker and Craig Huber
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) - Police said they arrested a man stationed at Nellis Air Force Base after a baby suffering from severe injuries was hospitalized last week.
Las Vegas Metro Police spokesman Officer Jose Hernandez said detectives were called to Sunrise Hospital on Feb. 2 to investigate a report of child abuse.
Hernandez said 31-year-old Andrew Leach, who is the victim's father, was charged with child abuse and substantial bodily or mental harm in connection with the child's injuries.
According to an arrest report, Leach told investigators that he was preparing to bathe his 3-month-old son when the child fell out of his arms, about 3 feet, to the floor. He said the boy then stiffened his arms and legs and stopped breathing.
Leach told investigators, according to the report, that he tried to perform CPR on the boy, but the child went limp. He said that he could not find a phone in his home to call for help, and ran to a neighbor's home and asked them to call 911.
The child was originally treated at O'Callaghan Hospital at the base, but was taken to Sunrise Hospital because of the severity of his injuries, according to the report.
The arrest report says a doctor at Sunrise Hospital told investigators that the boy's injuries were not caused by an impact. The doctor also said that when she questioned Leach about additional injuries that appeared to be about a month old, he had no explanation.
Leach told investigators he believed his son's most recent injuries were the result of him shaking him in an effort to revive the boy, according to the report.
According to the report, Leach suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as other psychological problems, and had been treated as recently as a week before his son was injured.
Therapist Scott Underwood has worked with PTSD patients.
"Unfortunately, you won't know what somebody is going to do sometimes until they do it," Underwood said. "They are overly vigilant, and they are reactive to things, more reactive than most people."
"The way that the mind tends to remember things when we're under a great deal of stress and traumatized is not the same way we would process things if we were thinking about them under normal circumstances," Underwood continued.
The child was still being treated at Sunrise Hospital on Friday, Hernandez said. According to the arrest report, the child had suffered massive brain swelling, cardiac arrest and respiratory failure.
Leach was being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $40,000 bond.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Mom tries to keep son safe after dad's sexual abuse (South Bend, Indiana)
So sad, and yet to typical of the coddling that abuser dad get from the system. Mom was relatively lucky in that UNNAMED DAD seemed to tire of fighting for custody/visitation, and finally wandered off--at least for now. Too many moms are not so lucky.
http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/crime/article_a072468e-fbba-11e2-83c7-0019bb30f31a.html
Mother tries to keep son safe after father’s abuse
Posted: Sunday, August 4, 2013 7:00 am | Updated: 7:41 am, Sun Aug 4, 2013.
VIRGINIA BLACK South Bend Tribune
Posted on August 4, 2013
From the time Amy's son could speak, the worried boy would tell her, "Mom, the bogeyman's gonna get me!"
No, the Plymouth mother would reassure him, there's no bogeyman.
But the boy held on to his fears, which seemed to grow as he did.
When anyone pulled the toddler's pants down to change a diaper, he would quickly pull them back up. Bedtime featured terrible nightmares and, too often, a wet bed.
Other signs of trouble later emerged, Amy says now.
The boy’s father called Amy several times because his son had hit him in the gut, in the nose, in the genitals. The angry man would put the boy on the phone.
'I'd say, ‘Don't hit your dad,' and he'd be mad, but he'd say, ‘OK, Mom,’ " Amy says. "They fought like kids."
The boy began to refuse to spend time with his father, which Amy and her attorney attributed to his father's frequent bouts with drinking, which the boy openly discussed. That was despite the fact the father routinely bought his son expensive toys and treated him to Chuck E Cheese every weekend.
Court records describe how the boy would punch his Winnie the Pooh and say, "I'm killing my dad!"
Everything changed when the child turned 5. Amy re-members that moment in the kitchen, her son’s head slowly swiveling as he studied every corner.
'"Mom, there's no cameras in here. My dad can't see me,"' he told his mother. "It was like everything was becoming clear to him. You could just see it happening. The longer I kept him away, the more he was figuring stuff out,” his mother said.
They were standing near the sink when the dam that had been restraining the boy's emotions finally broke.
"He goes, 'Remember when you said that nobody could touch my privates?' I said, ‘Yeah.’
“And he goes, 'Well, my dad does it all the time. And when I punch him like you told me, you yell at me.' And then I knew," Amy says, describing how the two hugged each other, crying, as they sunk to the floor.
"I just apologized to him over and over again, 'I'm so sorry, I'm just so sorry.'. ... And he said, 'Mom, you didn't know. My dad lies a lot."
His father boasted that he could see his son at all times, the boy said, and he threatened to hurt him and the rest of the family if he ever told what happened when the two were alone.
Amy sobs at the memory, even now. "I just didn't know. I knew something was bad, but I didn't know."
‘He wanted me to be scared’
Amy and her son's father had not married, but he had immediately offered to support the boy and be a part of his life since he was born 11 years ago.
He was a hard worker, read the Bible, "was like an old Southern guy," Amy says of her son’s father. He would often come for dinner and spend time with her two other children from her earlier marriage.
Amy developed a condition much like Parkinson's, related to her job as a welder, and eventually went on dis-ability. When she was first having bouts of ill health, he was generous in providing for his son.
But after Amy reported the boy's revelations and a counselor confirmed the abuse, the Department of Child Services opened a case.
Because the abuse allegedly happened at the father's apartment in St. Joseph County, that was where the case was handled. A detective interviewed the father and reported to Amy the man “loves his son."
A letter from a deputy prosecutor on Jan. 9, 2009, broke the news that no charges would be filed.
"My decision not to charge does not necessarily mean that I do not believe the events described ... did not happen," she wrote. "Rather, I am concerned with initiating a lengthy, at times, distressing process that is unlikely to result in a conviction."
Meanwhile, the boy was opening up more to his DCS-assigned therapist.
The boy "disclosed that his father 'pulls my private parts' (while pointing to his penis) while they are 'in bed,' " she wrote in a July 24, 2007, letter to DCS.
In October 2008, the therapist reported the boy described his father tying him to a chair and forcing him to repeatedly watch scary movies, especially the "Chuckie" and "Friday the 13th" movies. Jason, the hockey mask-wearing villain of the "Friday the 13th" films, was the "bogeyman" the boy was most afraid of.
"Daddy made me watch it," the therapist quoted the boy. "He wanted me to be scared."
Who was lying?
A judge approved the DCS plan to continue treatment for the boy and his mother and to deny visitation with his father until he admitted what he'd done, apologized to his son and underwent parenting classes and treatment.
In a six-month review on June 20, 2008, a DCS case manager wrote, the man "does very little participation and he is still in denial about his drinking and that he inappropriately touched his son."
Amy says her son was beginning to work through his fear and anger when suddenly the boy's father hired another attorney who took a more aggressive approach. Then DCS, whose employees seemed as if they were in the boy's corner, did an about-face.
All of a sudden, possibly because of a state-mandated time frame for open cases, authorities wanted to close the case and reunite the boy and his father, first with supervised visits.
The DCS-contracted therapist, who the boy had learned to trust, objected to the move, saying the boy wasn't ready. She was pulled from the case, documents show.
The boy “reacted with extreme emotionality upon hearing he would have to visit his father," the new therapist wrote in a December 2009 report. He "has made disclosures to this therapist and his previous therapist as well. ... He qualifies for a (diagnosis) of PTSD."
Meanwhile, the court battle intensified. Both parents were ordered to take polygraphs. Despite the shaking of her hands because of her disability, a report confirms Amy passed hers. Her child’s father never turned one in, she says.
A CASA — Court Appointed Special Advocate — was ultimately appointed to try to sort out whether Amy was putting her son up to the allegations against his father.
The CASA described his impressions about the boy and his family in a subsequent 2009 report to the judge.
"This CASA was left with the impression that (the boy) was truthful and very intimidated by his father," he wrote.
He wrote of also meeting with the boy's father, who seemed to love his son but was full of anger and denial.
"This CASA understands the reason ... (for) visitation," he wrote, adding his opinion was "visitation should not begin at this time."
‘They had a job to do’
Yet Amy says she was told by a DCS case manager and her attorney that if she did not agree to the supervised visitation, her son would be taken from her and placed in foster care.
She says they told her son, "You just need to get over it. You need to see your dad. You're just going to make your dad feel bad."
During visitations supervised by a third party, according to a therapist's report, the man gave the boy money and toys, asked him to change into new pants he had brought for him, and winked at him.
But abruptly, after one visitation, the boy's father left town, Amy says.
The man sends letters and checks occasionally, and Amy and her son both worry about what will happen if he shows up again to claim his parenting rights.
"All I can figure is he was trying to get the heck out of there," Amy says. "Something else must have been going on."
But she and her children have picked up the pieces. The now-11-year-old boy, tan with summertime and the sports he loves, is charming and calm when talking about the ordeal.
"We were one wounded family," Amy says. "My kids learned subject matter they should not have even known existed yet."
The boy’s sister, nearly 15, recalls that her brother often took his anger out on her, and as recently as a year ago still refused to so much as spend the night at a friend’s house.
“You can see he’s a happy boy again,” she says, “and he’s not as scared. I know he’ll be OK.”
Amy had been fighting her disease, sometimes in a wheelchair, during the years of fighting for her son. She’s spent her life's savings on attorneys and other costs, she says.
She's disillusioned about a system that meant she couldn't speak out for her son for fear of being accused of filling him full of lies. “They have to listen to the children more,” she says.
And she's appalled that the costs involved with the lingering case might have spurred authorities to move so abruptly to close it. "They could have stood up for my son," Amy says.
"They had a job to do. That's all it boils down to.”
http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/crime/article_a072468e-fbba-11e2-83c7-0019bb30f31a.html
Mother tries to keep son safe after father’s abuse
Posted: Sunday, August 4, 2013 7:00 am | Updated: 7:41 am, Sun Aug 4, 2013.
VIRGINIA BLACK South Bend Tribune
Posted on August 4, 2013
From the time Amy's son could speak, the worried boy would tell her, "Mom, the bogeyman's gonna get me!"
No, the Plymouth mother would reassure him, there's no bogeyman.
But the boy held on to his fears, which seemed to grow as he did.
When anyone pulled the toddler's pants down to change a diaper, he would quickly pull them back up. Bedtime featured terrible nightmares and, too often, a wet bed.
Other signs of trouble later emerged, Amy says now.
The boy’s father called Amy several times because his son had hit him in the gut, in the nose, in the genitals. The angry man would put the boy on the phone.
'I'd say, ‘Don't hit your dad,' and he'd be mad, but he'd say, ‘OK, Mom,’ " Amy says. "They fought like kids."
The boy began to refuse to spend time with his father, which Amy and her attorney attributed to his father's frequent bouts with drinking, which the boy openly discussed. That was despite the fact the father routinely bought his son expensive toys and treated him to Chuck E Cheese every weekend.
Court records describe how the boy would punch his Winnie the Pooh and say, "I'm killing my dad!"
Everything changed when the child turned 5. Amy re-members that moment in the kitchen, her son’s head slowly swiveling as he studied every corner.
'"Mom, there's no cameras in here. My dad can't see me,"' he told his mother. "It was like everything was becoming clear to him. You could just see it happening. The longer I kept him away, the more he was figuring stuff out,” his mother said.
They were standing near the sink when the dam that had been restraining the boy's emotions finally broke.
"He goes, 'Remember when you said that nobody could touch my privates?' I said, ‘Yeah.’
“And he goes, 'Well, my dad does it all the time. And when I punch him like you told me, you yell at me.' And then I knew," Amy says, describing how the two hugged each other, crying, as they sunk to the floor.
"I just apologized to him over and over again, 'I'm so sorry, I'm just so sorry.'. ... And he said, 'Mom, you didn't know. My dad lies a lot."
His father boasted that he could see his son at all times, the boy said, and he threatened to hurt him and the rest of the family if he ever told what happened when the two were alone.
Amy sobs at the memory, even now. "I just didn't know. I knew something was bad, but I didn't know."
‘He wanted me to be scared’
Amy and her son's father had not married, but he had immediately offered to support the boy and be a part of his life since he was born 11 years ago.
He was a hard worker, read the Bible, "was like an old Southern guy," Amy says of her son’s father. He would often come for dinner and spend time with her two other children from her earlier marriage.
Amy developed a condition much like Parkinson's, related to her job as a welder, and eventually went on dis-ability. When she was first having bouts of ill health, he was generous in providing for his son.
But after Amy reported the boy's revelations and a counselor confirmed the abuse, the Department of Child Services opened a case.
Because the abuse allegedly happened at the father's apartment in St. Joseph County, that was where the case was handled. A detective interviewed the father and reported to Amy the man “loves his son."
A letter from a deputy prosecutor on Jan. 9, 2009, broke the news that no charges would be filed.
"My decision not to charge does not necessarily mean that I do not believe the events described ... did not happen," she wrote. "Rather, I am concerned with initiating a lengthy, at times, distressing process that is unlikely to result in a conviction."
Meanwhile, the boy was opening up more to his DCS-assigned therapist.
The boy "disclosed that his father 'pulls my private parts' (while pointing to his penis) while they are 'in bed,' " she wrote in a July 24, 2007, letter to DCS.
In October 2008, the therapist reported the boy described his father tying him to a chair and forcing him to repeatedly watch scary movies, especially the "Chuckie" and "Friday the 13th" movies. Jason, the hockey mask-wearing villain of the "Friday the 13th" films, was the "bogeyman" the boy was most afraid of.
"Daddy made me watch it," the therapist quoted the boy. "He wanted me to be scared."
Who was lying?
A judge approved the DCS plan to continue treatment for the boy and his mother and to deny visitation with his father until he admitted what he'd done, apologized to his son and underwent parenting classes and treatment.
In a six-month review on June 20, 2008, a DCS case manager wrote, the man "does very little participation and he is still in denial about his drinking and that he inappropriately touched his son."
Amy says her son was beginning to work through his fear and anger when suddenly the boy's father hired another attorney who took a more aggressive approach. Then DCS, whose employees seemed as if they were in the boy's corner, did an about-face.
All of a sudden, possibly because of a state-mandated time frame for open cases, authorities wanted to close the case and reunite the boy and his father, first with supervised visits.
The DCS-contracted therapist, who the boy had learned to trust, objected to the move, saying the boy wasn't ready. She was pulled from the case, documents show.
The boy “reacted with extreme emotionality upon hearing he would have to visit his father," the new therapist wrote in a December 2009 report. He "has made disclosures to this therapist and his previous therapist as well. ... He qualifies for a (diagnosis) of PTSD."
Meanwhile, the court battle intensified. Both parents were ordered to take polygraphs. Despite the shaking of her hands because of her disability, a report confirms Amy passed hers. Her child’s father never turned one in, she says.
A CASA — Court Appointed Special Advocate — was ultimately appointed to try to sort out whether Amy was putting her son up to the allegations against his father.
The CASA described his impressions about the boy and his family in a subsequent 2009 report to the judge.
"This CASA was left with the impression that (the boy) was truthful and very intimidated by his father," he wrote.
He wrote of also meeting with the boy's father, who seemed to love his son but was full of anger and denial.
"This CASA understands the reason ... (for) visitation," he wrote, adding his opinion was "visitation should not begin at this time."
‘They had a job to do’
Yet Amy says she was told by a DCS case manager and her attorney that if she did not agree to the supervised visitation, her son would be taken from her and placed in foster care.
She says they told her son, "You just need to get over it. You need to see your dad. You're just going to make your dad feel bad."
During visitations supervised by a third party, according to a therapist's report, the man gave the boy money and toys, asked him to change into new pants he had brought for him, and winked at him.
But abruptly, after one visitation, the boy's father left town, Amy says.
The man sends letters and checks occasionally, and Amy and her son both worry about what will happen if he shows up again to claim his parenting rights.
"All I can figure is he was trying to get the heck out of there," Amy says. "Something else must have been going on."
But she and her children have picked up the pieces. The now-11-year-old boy, tan with summertime and the sports he loves, is charming and calm when talking about the ordeal.
"We were one wounded family," Amy says. "My kids learned subject matter they should not have even known existed yet."
The boy’s sister, nearly 15, recalls that her brother often took his anger out on her, and as recently as a year ago still refused to so much as spend the night at a friend’s house.
“You can see he’s a happy boy again,” she says, “and he’s not as scared. I know he’ll be OK.”
Amy had been fighting her disease, sometimes in a wheelchair, during the years of fighting for her son. She’s spent her life's savings on attorneys and other costs, she says.
She's disillusioned about a system that meant she couldn't speak out for her son for fear of being accused of filling him full of lies. “They have to listen to the children more,” she says.
And she's appalled that the costs involved with the lingering case might have spurred authorities to move so abruptly to close it. "They could have stood up for my son," Amy says.
"They had a job to do. That's all it boils down to.”
Monday, May 20, 2013
Baby dies after assault by dad (Lowell, Massachusetts)
Since when does PTSD make you murder babies? Total crap.
Dad is identified as CHRISTOPHER BERRY.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20130520/NEWS/305209846/1052
Monday, May 20, 2013
2-month-old Lowell baby boy dies
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOWELL — Prosecutors say a 2-month-old Lowell baby allegedly shaken by his father has died.
The Middlesex district attorney's office says William Berry was taken off life support and died Friday at Tufts Floating Hospital for Children in Boston.
An autopsy has been performed and could result in additional charges against the father, 22-year-old Christopher Berry.
Prosecutors allege he shook the baby boy on May 11 causing catastrophic brain injuries. He pleaded guilty last week to assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury. He is being held on $500,000 bail.
Berry's attorney says his client has post-traumatic stress disorder after serving a year in Afghanistan and has been receiving medication and counseling.
Dad is identified as CHRISTOPHER BERRY.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20130520/NEWS/305209846/1052
Monday, May 20, 2013
2-month-old Lowell baby boy dies
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOWELL — Prosecutors say a 2-month-old Lowell baby allegedly shaken by his father has died.
The Middlesex district attorney's office says William Berry was taken off life support and died Friday at Tufts Floating Hospital for Children in Boston.
An autopsy has been performed and could result in additional charges against the father, 22-year-old Christopher Berry.
Prosecutors allege he shook the baby boy on May 11 causing catastrophic brain injuries. He pleaded guilty last week to assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury. He is being held on $500,000 bail.
Berry's attorney says his client has post-traumatic stress disorder after serving a year in Afghanistan and has been receiving medication and counseling.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Dad murders 5-year-old daughter, her mom (Bourbon County, Kansas)
The killer daddy is identified as DONALD "BRYCE" PRESTLEY.
http://www.fstribune.com/story/1959714.html
Fatalities at house fire ruled murder-suicide
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
By Jason E. Silvers
Officials have ruled a tragic incident that took place Wednesday, April 10, in rural Bourbon County a double murder-suicide.
A news release from the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office said Monday that while there are lab reports still pending, an investigation has determined the incident, which left three people dead, to be a double homicide/suicide.
The bodies of Terry Lynn Prestley, 30, and her 5-year-old daughter, Alivia Prestley, were found by investigators Thursday in the burned remains of a house at 688 240th St., victims of gunshot wounds. A third body, that of 30-year-old Donald "Bryce" Prestley, was found in a vehicle just south of the residence. All of the bodies were transported last week to Kansas City, Kan., for autopsies.
As a result of the investigation and autopsies, it was determined that the female in the residence, as well as the child, died as a result of a firearm. Donald Prestley was found to have died as a result of a self-inflicted injury, the release said.
Bourbon County Sheriff Ron Gray said Monday that Donald Prestley died from a gunshot, although Gray didn't know if the same gun was used in all three deaths. He declined to release what type of firearm was used. He said reports are preliminary and he has so far only received limited information on the case.
Investigators are currently in the process of completing the investigation and are still following up leads. Once the case is completed, it will be sent to the Bourbon County Attorney's Office for review, the release said.
Gray said he could not estimate when the investigation or lab reports would be complete.
"That could be weeks," he said. "Toxicology and other lab reports take awhile."
Gray said that at this point in the investigation, he has seen no indication that drugs and/or alcohol were involved in the deaths, although lab reports that are pending could indicate otherwise.
"I've seen no indication of that at all," he said. "Not that I'm aware of. I haven't been told anything like that."
Gray said he could also not comment on a possible motive or cause of the fire. That information could possibly be revealed after the investigation is complete. He said he has not yet spoken with the state fire marshal about the cause of the fire.
Given Donald "Bryce" Prestley's military background, post-traumatic stress disorder is an issue that is being looked into as part of the investigation. Gray said the true reason for the tragedy may never be known. "We're following up leads," he said.
"We may never know the reason why."
Gray said three dogs in the house also died, although he is not sure if the animals were killed by gunshots or if they died in the fire. He said he has not viewed any necropsy results for the animals.
Last Wednesday, units from Scott Township and Garland Rural Fire departments were dispatched to a structure fire in rural Bourbon County. Once the fire was extinguished, the bodies of an adult and child were discovered in the residence.
The sheriff's office asked for and received assistance from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas State Fire Marshal's Office.
The family has requested that the public respect the privacy of the surviving daughter and family members, the release said.
Alivia Prestley was a student at the Christian Learning Center. Donald Prestley, a 2000 graduate of Fort Scott High School, served in the U.S. Army from 2000 to 2008, including one tour of duty in South Korea and three tours in Iraq. Terry Lynn Prestley, also a FSHS graduate, was a stay-at-home mother. The couple was married in 2003 in Miami, Okla., according to the Prestleys' obituary that appeared in Saturday's edition of The Tribune.
Following cremation, memorial services took place Monday at the Grace Baptist Tabernacle with memorials suggested to the Andon Prestley Scholarship fund and left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel.
http://www.fstribune.com/story/1959714.html
Fatalities at house fire ruled murder-suicide
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
By Jason E. Silvers
Officials have ruled a tragic incident that took place Wednesday, April 10, in rural Bourbon County a double murder-suicide.
A news release from the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office said Monday that while there are lab reports still pending, an investigation has determined the incident, which left three people dead, to be a double homicide/suicide.
The bodies of Terry Lynn Prestley, 30, and her 5-year-old daughter, Alivia Prestley, were found by investigators Thursday in the burned remains of a house at 688 240th St., victims of gunshot wounds. A third body, that of 30-year-old Donald "Bryce" Prestley, was found in a vehicle just south of the residence. All of the bodies were transported last week to Kansas City, Kan., for autopsies.
As a result of the investigation and autopsies, it was determined that the female in the residence, as well as the child, died as a result of a firearm. Donald Prestley was found to have died as a result of a self-inflicted injury, the release said.
Bourbon County Sheriff Ron Gray said Monday that Donald Prestley died from a gunshot, although Gray didn't know if the same gun was used in all three deaths. He declined to release what type of firearm was used. He said reports are preliminary and he has so far only received limited information on the case.
Investigators are currently in the process of completing the investigation and are still following up leads. Once the case is completed, it will be sent to the Bourbon County Attorney's Office for review, the release said.
Gray said he could not estimate when the investigation or lab reports would be complete.
"That could be weeks," he said. "Toxicology and other lab reports take awhile."
Gray said that at this point in the investigation, he has seen no indication that drugs and/or alcohol were involved in the deaths, although lab reports that are pending could indicate otherwise.
"I've seen no indication of that at all," he said. "Not that I'm aware of. I haven't been told anything like that."
Gray said he could also not comment on a possible motive or cause of the fire. That information could possibly be revealed after the investigation is complete. He said he has not yet spoken with the state fire marshal about the cause of the fire.
Given Donald "Bryce" Prestley's military background, post-traumatic stress disorder is an issue that is being looked into as part of the investigation. Gray said the true reason for the tragedy may never be known. "We're following up leads," he said.
"We may never know the reason why."
Gray said three dogs in the house also died, although he is not sure if the animals were killed by gunshots or if they died in the fire. He said he has not viewed any necropsy results for the animals.
Last Wednesday, units from Scott Township and Garland Rural Fire departments were dispatched to a structure fire in rural Bourbon County. Once the fire was extinguished, the bodies of an adult and child were discovered in the residence.
The sheriff's office asked for and received assistance from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas State Fire Marshal's Office.
The family has requested that the public respect the privacy of the surviving daughter and family members, the release said.
Alivia Prestley was a student at the Christian Learning Center. Donald Prestley, a 2000 graduate of Fort Scott High School, served in the U.S. Army from 2000 to 2008, including one tour of duty in South Korea and three tours in Iraq. Terry Lynn Prestley, also a FSHS graduate, was a stay-at-home mother. The couple was married in 2003 in Miami, Okla., according to the Prestleys' obituary that appeared in Saturday's edition of The Tribune.
Following cremation, memorial services took place Monday at the Grace Baptist Tabernacle with memorials suggested to the Andon Prestley Scholarship fund and left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Dad admits "head-butting" 7-week-old daughter (Peabody, Massachusetts)
Apart from the Iraq excuses, this is a pretty typical daddy abuse story. Deadbeat Daddy has a few brews, is playing video games/xbox/etc., gets "frustrated" by crying baby/dirty diapers/normal infant behavior--and bashes the baby. Then lies about it.
Dad is identified as RICHARD ELIAS.
http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1837419344/Father-admits-hurting-infant
February 26, 2013
Father admits hurting infant
23-year-old gets 3-4 years in prison, blames PTSD from Iraq war service
BY JULIE MANGANIS STAFF WRITER
PEABODY — A Peabody man who admitted to shaking and “head-butting” his 7-week-old daughter because she would not stop crying while he was trying to play Xbox was sentenced to three to four years in state prison yesterday.
The baby suffered brain damage and may have permanent damage to her vision.
Richard Elias, 23, received the prison term, to be followed by two years of supervised probation, as a result of a plea agreement.
That agreement was negotiated after it became apparent that an important witness in the case — the infant’s mother and Elias’ wife — had dropped her divorce complaint and was no longer interested in testifying against him. In fact, Rachel Elias, 38, sat just a few feet from her husband, chatting with him, prior to the start of yesterday’s hearing and, according to court papers, has taken the baby, Isabella, to see him in jail.
Elias’ lawyer laid blame for the abuse on post-traumatic stress disorder, arising from his service in Iraq with the U.S. Army in 2007. As part of a unit that searched for mines and improvised explosive devices, Elias came upon the scene of a suicide bombing that had killed approximately 15 people, his lawyer said.
The abuse that led to two counts of assault and battery on a child causing serious injury occurred in October 2011, when Elias, 22, was home alone with the baby, prosecutor Kate MacDougall told Salem Superior Court Judge Timothy Feeley.
On Oct. 20, Rachel Elias had gone out to pick up her two older children when her husband found himself changing Isabella’s diaper. He later told investigators that he became frustrated when the infant immediately soiled her new diaper and confessed to shaking the baby and slamming her head into the table.
That shaking triggered a series of seizures in the infant, who was evaluated. But Elias said nothing about what he had done, and doctors sent the baby home, not sure what had caused the seizures.
About two weeks later, on Oct. 29, Rachel Elias went to a Halloween party, her first night out since the birth of the baby. Richard Elias stayed home with the infant, who was fussing as he drank beer and attempted to play Xbox Live with other players online.
Later that night, he called his wife and told her the baby was suffering seizures again, MacDougall told the judge.
What he didn’t tell her was that he had picked up his daughter, squeezed and shook her and then slammed his own head into hers, MacDougall said.
Rachel Elias returned home, but instead of taking the baby to the hospital, the couple waited, Rachel recording the seizures on her cellphone to show doctors later. MacDougall described the recordings as showing the infant in the throes of a seizure, her tiny hands opening and closing.
The next morning, the couple took the baby to a pediatrician, who immediately sent them to North Shore Children’s Hospital. From there, the baby was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital with injuries that included swelling and bleeding on both sides of her brain and in her retinas. Doctors also discovered that the baby’s ribs had been broken on at least two occasions.
Richard Elias initially tried to convince investigators from the Peabody police and the Department of Children and Families that he had simply handled the infant a little roughly while bouncing her on his knee.
But confronted with additional information about the baby’s injuries, he confessed.
He told investigators that after he head-butted the infant, her skull felt “spongy,” and he became worried enough to ask his fellow Xbox players what to do. They urged him to call 911.
But he didn’t, the prosecutor said.
While Elias could have faced up to 30 years in prison, the recommendation of three to four years was based in part on his willingness to accept responsibility, as well as his underlying mental health issues, which “left him particularly ill-equipped to care for an infant child.”
More than a year and a half later, the baby has made far greater progress than anyone originally expected, MacDougall said, but is expected to suffer some degree of permanent damage to her vision.
Defense lawyer John Apruzzese, in a sentencing memorandum, included information about the baby’s condition now, including mild motor delays but no seizures for the past year.
Elias, meanwhile, has obtained assistance from the Veterans Administration, which will provide in-patient treatment for his PTSD and a substance abuse problem after he completes his prison term, Apruzzese told the judge.
It’s help that Elias, who was briefly hospitalized while still in the service, should have been — but was not — getting after his discharge in the spring of 2011, his lawyer said.
In his sentencing memorandum, Apruzzese said the family was strained by financial problems at the time of the two incidents.
Elias hadn’t worked since his discharge from the service that May, and his wife was earning less because she was working fewer hours after the birth of their child. Weeks earlier, Elias had been involved in a car accident in his wife’s car, but coverage for the damage was denied because he hadn’t been listed as a driver on the insurance policy, the lawyer wrote. They were trying to save money to fix the car and put it back on the road.
Rachel Elias declined to comment outside court yesterday.
In court papers, Apruzzese described how during visits at Middleton Jail, where Elias has been held since his arrest, the baby gives her father “high-fives” through the glass partition.
“I’m terribly sorry for my actions,” Elias told the judge yesterday, his voice breaking slightly. “I wish to become a good father and a good man.”
Dad is identified as RICHARD ELIAS.
http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1837419344/Father-admits-hurting-infant
February 26, 2013
Father admits hurting infant
23-year-old gets 3-4 years in prison, blames PTSD from Iraq war service
BY JULIE MANGANIS STAFF WRITER
PEABODY — A Peabody man who admitted to shaking and “head-butting” his 7-week-old daughter because she would not stop crying while he was trying to play Xbox was sentenced to three to four years in state prison yesterday.
The baby suffered brain damage and may have permanent damage to her vision.
Richard Elias, 23, received the prison term, to be followed by two years of supervised probation, as a result of a plea agreement.
That agreement was negotiated after it became apparent that an important witness in the case — the infant’s mother and Elias’ wife — had dropped her divorce complaint and was no longer interested in testifying against him. In fact, Rachel Elias, 38, sat just a few feet from her husband, chatting with him, prior to the start of yesterday’s hearing and, according to court papers, has taken the baby, Isabella, to see him in jail.
Elias’ lawyer laid blame for the abuse on post-traumatic stress disorder, arising from his service in Iraq with the U.S. Army in 2007. As part of a unit that searched for mines and improvised explosive devices, Elias came upon the scene of a suicide bombing that had killed approximately 15 people, his lawyer said.
The abuse that led to two counts of assault and battery on a child causing serious injury occurred in October 2011, when Elias, 22, was home alone with the baby, prosecutor Kate MacDougall told Salem Superior Court Judge Timothy Feeley.
On Oct. 20, Rachel Elias had gone out to pick up her two older children when her husband found himself changing Isabella’s diaper. He later told investigators that he became frustrated when the infant immediately soiled her new diaper and confessed to shaking the baby and slamming her head into the table.
That shaking triggered a series of seizures in the infant, who was evaluated. But Elias said nothing about what he had done, and doctors sent the baby home, not sure what had caused the seizures.
About two weeks later, on Oct. 29, Rachel Elias went to a Halloween party, her first night out since the birth of the baby. Richard Elias stayed home with the infant, who was fussing as he drank beer and attempted to play Xbox Live with other players online.
Later that night, he called his wife and told her the baby was suffering seizures again, MacDougall told the judge.
What he didn’t tell her was that he had picked up his daughter, squeezed and shook her and then slammed his own head into hers, MacDougall said.
Rachel Elias returned home, but instead of taking the baby to the hospital, the couple waited, Rachel recording the seizures on her cellphone to show doctors later. MacDougall described the recordings as showing the infant in the throes of a seizure, her tiny hands opening and closing.
The next morning, the couple took the baby to a pediatrician, who immediately sent them to North Shore Children’s Hospital. From there, the baby was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital with injuries that included swelling and bleeding on both sides of her brain and in her retinas. Doctors also discovered that the baby’s ribs had been broken on at least two occasions.
Richard Elias initially tried to convince investigators from the Peabody police and the Department of Children and Families that he had simply handled the infant a little roughly while bouncing her on his knee.
But confronted with additional information about the baby’s injuries, he confessed.
He told investigators that after he head-butted the infant, her skull felt “spongy,” and he became worried enough to ask his fellow Xbox players what to do. They urged him to call 911.
But he didn’t, the prosecutor said.
While Elias could have faced up to 30 years in prison, the recommendation of three to four years was based in part on his willingness to accept responsibility, as well as his underlying mental health issues, which “left him particularly ill-equipped to care for an infant child.”
More than a year and a half later, the baby has made far greater progress than anyone originally expected, MacDougall said, but is expected to suffer some degree of permanent damage to her vision.
Defense lawyer John Apruzzese, in a sentencing memorandum, included information about the baby’s condition now, including mild motor delays but no seizures for the past year.
Elias, meanwhile, has obtained assistance from the Veterans Administration, which will provide in-patient treatment for his PTSD and a substance abuse problem after he completes his prison term, Apruzzese told the judge.
It’s help that Elias, who was briefly hospitalized while still in the service, should have been — but was not — getting after his discharge in the spring of 2011, his lawyer said.
In his sentencing memorandum, Apruzzese said the family was strained by financial problems at the time of the two incidents.
Elias hadn’t worked since his discharge from the service that May, and his wife was earning less because she was working fewer hours after the birth of their child. Weeks earlier, Elias had been involved in a car accident in his wife’s car, but coverage for the damage was denied because he hadn’t been listed as a driver on the insurance policy, the lawyer wrote. They were trying to save money to fix the car and put it back on the road.
Rachel Elias declined to comment outside court yesterday.
In court papers, Apruzzese described how during visits at Middleton Jail, where Elias has been held since his arrest, the baby gives her father “high-fives” through the glass partition.
“I’m terribly sorry for my actions,” Elias told the judge yesterday, his voice breaking slightly. “I wish to become a good father and a good man.”
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Voyeur dad gets 4-month sentence (London, England)
Typical coddling of UNNAMED DAD.
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2012/04/20/19660926.html
Voyeur dad gets four-month sentence
Secret closeup photos of his daughters and their friends playing in a backyard pool has landed a London father in jail for four months
The man, 44, was found guilty of the little-tested law of voyeurism in January. This week, Superior Court Justice Alan Bryant sentenced the man to four months in jail and two years of probation.
It's one of the few voyeurism cases to be tried since the law was enacted in 2005.
The man's photos were discovered in 2009 by one of his daughters when she was using his computer.
The photos were of her and her friends -- zoom shots of their clothed private areas. They were all in their early teens.
London police found more than 6,000 photos focused on their chests, buttocks and genitals. They were filed under the initials of each girl's name.
Some of the photos were taken through the basement window where the man spent a lot of time on the computer.
Police also found pictures of the man masturbating. The man's name can't be identified because of a publication ban that protects the victims' identities.
Bryant said in his sentencing decision that there wasn't any evidence of sexual touching or sexual interference.
The girls weren't tricked into having their pictures taken and the images were not distributed.
A pre-sentence report was prepared for the case. The man told the probation officer who wrote it that he came from a troubled background and was a victim of "confinement, sexual torture and severe emotional abuse" as a child.
He was placed in foster care as a young teenager and had difficulty with the law when he was a teenager.
His marriage has ended and his bail conditions prohibited him from contacting his kids. He has been living with another woman and her teen daughter.
There is also some history of panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia. His past mental health issues have made it tough to stay employed.
Bryant noted the man expressed no remorse, and blamed his eldest daughter "for putting the pictures on his computer as a form of revenge.
"He hypothesizes that if his eldest daughter did not do it, it was likely that his estranged wife did it."
The man's position "lacks reality," the judge said.
Two of his daughters filed victim impact statements. One no longer trusts her father and doesn't trust men in general. The other wrote she felt guilty for not protecting her siblings.
The daughter who found the photos wrote that she misses her father and wants to regain contact with him.
Part of the man's probation order includes a condition to stay away from his children. His name will be added to the federal sex offender registry.
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2012/04/20/19660926.html
Voyeur dad gets four-month sentence
COURTS: 44-year-old father was convicted after photos of his daughters and their friends were found on his computer
Last Updated: April 20, 2012 8:04pm
The man, 44, was found guilty of the little-tested law of voyeurism in January. This week, Superior Court Justice Alan Bryant sentenced the man to four months in jail and two years of probation.
It's one of the few voyeurism cases to be tried since the law was enacted in 2005.
The man's photos were discovered in 2009 by one of his daughters when she was using his computer.
The photos were of her and her friends -- zoom shots of their clothed private areas. They were all in their early teens.
London police found more than 6,000 photos focused on their chests, buttocks and genitals. They were filed under the initials of each girl's name.
Some of the photos were taken through the basement window where the man spent a lot of time on the computer.
Police also found pictures of the man masturbating. The man's name can't be identified because of a publication ban that protects the victims' identities.
Bryant said in his sentencing decision that there wasn't any evidence of sexual touching or sexual interference.
The girls weren't tricked into having their pictures taken and the images were not distributed.
A pre-sentence report was prepared for the case. The man told the probation officer who wrote it that he came from a troubled background and was a victim of "confinement, sexual torture and severe emotional abuse" as a child.
He was placed in foster care as a young teenager and had difficulty with the law when he was a teenager.
His marriage has ended and his bail conditions prohibited him from contacting his kids. He has been living with another woman and her teen daughter.
There is also some history of panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia. His past mental health issues have made it tough to stay employed.
Bryant noted the man expressed no remorse, and blamed his eldest daughter "for putting the pictures on his computer as a form of revenge.
"He hypothesizes that if his eldest daughter did not do it, it was likely that his estranged wife did it."
The man's position "lacks reality," the judge said.
Two of his daughters filed victim impact statements. One no longer trusts her father and doesn't trust men in general. The other wrote she felt guilty for not protecting her siblings.
The daughter who found the photos wrote that she misses her father and wants to regain contact with him.
Part of the man's probation order includes a condition to stay away from his children. His name will be added to the federal sex offender registry.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Mount Ranier killer had supervised visitation with toddler daughter, despite threats (Tacoma, Washington)
Well, it seems that BENJAMIN COLTON BARNES shot and wounded four people at a party, then murdered a National Park Ranger while trying to escape. Now the the "alleged" killer has been found--he apparently froze to death.
Why we are posting this here is because of this man's history. Notice how this clearly violent, disturbed father was coddled by the family courts. The mother of their child clearly observed (and ACCURATELY PREDICTED) that this guy was a disaster waiting to happen. And she was basically ignored. The GAL ordered supervised visitation anyway and ordered BOTH PARENTS into parenting classes and the like. As if all this was just as much Mom's fault! We all know it was just going to be a question of time before this dangerous man would have passed his useless "evaluations" and complied with all the useless "treatment recommendations." And after that? I shudder to think.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/02/mt-rainier-ranger-shot-to_n_1179378.html
Mount Rainier Shooting: Suspected Gunman Found Dead
MIKE BAKER
First Posted: 01/ 2/12 09:22 AM ET Updated: 01/ 2/12 05:25 PM ET
MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. -- The body of an Iraq war veteran suspected in the slaying of a Mount Rainier National Park ranger was believed to have been found in chest-deep snow on Monday, authorities said.
Authorities believe Benjamin Colton Barnes, 24, fled to the remote park following an earlier shooting that wounded four near Seattle, sparking a search by SWAT team members and other police.
The body believed to be Barnes was found face down in the snow, said Washington State Patrol spokesman Guy Gill. The identity was not confirmed.
Almost all park visitors were evacuated from the area following the shooting of ranger Margaret Anderson. The park remained closed for a second day Monday.
Barnes has had a troubled transition to civilian life, with accusations he suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and is suicidal.
He was involved in a custody dispute in Tacoma in July, during which his toddler daughter's mother sought a temporary restraining order against him, according to court endocumts.
The woman told authorities he was suicidal and possibly suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after deploying to Iraq in 2007-2008, and had once sent her a text message saying "I want to die."
She alleged that he gets easily irritated, angry and depressed and keeps an arsenal of weapons in his home. She wrote that she feared for the child's safety.
Undated photos provided by police showed a shirtless, tattooed Barnes brandishing two weapons, a large rifle and a smaller firearm with a large clip.
In November 2011, a guardian ad litem recommended parenting and communication classes for both parents and recommending Barnes be allowed to continue supervised visits with the child, two days a week.
That visitation schedule was to continue until he completed a domestic violence evaluation and mental health evaluation and complied with all treatment recommendations.
On New Year's, there was an argument at a house party in Skyway, south of Seattle, and gunfire erupted, police said. Barnes was connected to the shooting, said Sgt. Cindi West, King County Sheriff's spokeswoman.
Two of the three people who fled the scene were located. West said authorities were trying to find Barnes and had been in contact with his family to ask them to convince him to step forward and "tell his side of the story."
At Mount Rainier around 10:20 a.m. Sunday, the gunman had sped past a checkpoint to make sure vehicles have tire chains, which are sometimes necessary in snowy conditions, Bacher said.
One ranger began following him while Anderson, a 34-year-old mother of two young children who was married to another Mount Rainier park ranger, eventually blocked the road to stop the driver.
Before fleeing, the gunman fired shots at both Anderson and the ranger that trailed him, but only Anderson was hit.
Anderson would have been armed, as she was one of the rangers tasked with law enforcement, Bacher said. Pierce Co. Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said she was shot before she had even got out of the vehicle
Why we are posting this here is because of this man's history. Notice how this clearly violent, disturbed father was coddled by the family courts. The mother of their child clearly observed (and ACCURATELY PREDICTED) that this guy was a disaster waiting to happen. And she was basically ignored. The GAL ordered supervised visitation anyway and ordered BOTH PARENTS into parenting classes and the like. As if all this was just as much Mom's fault! We all know it was just going to be a question of time before this dangerous man would have passed his useless "evaluations" and complied with all the useless "treatment recommendations." And after that? I shudder to think.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/02/mt-rainier-ranger-shot-to_n_1179378.html
Mount Rainier Shooting: Suspected Gunman Found Dead
MIKE BAKER
First Posted: 01/ 2/12 09:22 AM ET Updated: 01/ 2/12 05:25 PM ET
MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. -- The body of an Iraq war veteran suspected in the slaying of a Mount Rainier National Park ranger was believed to have been found in chest-deep snow on Monday, authorities said.
Authorities believe Benjamin Colton Barnes, 24, fled to the remote park following an earlier shooting that wounded four near Seattle, sparking a search by SWAT team members and other police.
The body believed to be Barnes was found face down in the snow, said Washington State Patrol spokesman Guy Gill. The identity was not confirmed.
Almost all park visitors were evacuated from the area following the shooting of ranger Margaret Anderson. The park remained closed for a second day Monday.
Barnes has had a troubled transition to civilian life, with accusations he suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and is suicidal.
He was involved in a custody dispute in Tacoma in July, during which his toddler daughter's mother sought a temporary restraining order against him, according to court endocumts.
The woman told authorities he was suicidal and possibly suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after deploying to Iraq in 2007-2008, and had once sent her a text message saying "I want to die."
She alleged that he gets easily irritated, angry and depressed and keeps an arsenal of weapons in his home. She wrote that she feared for the child's safety.
Undated photos provided by police showed a shirtless, tattooed Barnes brandishing two weapons, a large rifle and a smaller firearm with a large clip.
In November 2011, a guardian ad litem recommended parenting and communication classes for both parents and recommending Barnes be allowed to continue supervised visits with the child, two days a week.
That visitation schedule was to continue until he completed a domestic violence evaluation and mental health evaluation and complied with all treatment recommendations.
On New Year's, there was an argument at a house party in Skyway, south of Seattle, and gunfire erupted, police said. Barnes was connected to the shooting, said Sgt. Cindi West, King County Sheriff's spokeswoman.
Two of the three people who fled the scene were located. West said authorities were trying to find Barnes and had been in contact with his family to ask them to convince him to step forward and "tell his side of the story."
At Mount Rainier around 10:20 a.m. Sunday, the gunman had sped past a checkpoint to make sure vehicles have tire chains, which are sometimes necessary in snowy conditions, Bacher said.
One ranger began following him while Anderson, a 34-year-old mother of two young children who was married to another Mount Rainier park ranger, eventually blocked the road to stop the driver.
Before fleeing, the gunman fired shots at both Anderson and the ranger that trailed him, but only Anderson was hit.
Anderson would have been armed, as she was one of the rangers tasked with law enforcement, Bacher said. Pierce Co. Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said she was shot before she had even got out of the vehicle
Monday, December 19, 2011
Dad held for "head butting" 7-week-old daughter could be released on bail (Peabody, Massachusetts)
Dad RICHARD ELIAS only babysat his 7-week-old daughter twice, but that was enough to give her severe brain injuries and fractured ribs. He has already confessed to "head butting" and violently shaking her.
Daddy's lawyer is blaming it on PTSD, which is total bull****.
http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1759190832/Father-charged-with-head-butting-infant-remains-held
December 17, 2011
Father charged with 'head butting' infant remains held
By Julie Manganis
Staff writer The Salem News Sat Dec 17, 2011, 04:06 AM EST
PEABODY — The Peabody father charged with shaking and head-butting his 7-week-old daughter in October could seek release on bail at his next court appearance, his lawyer suggested during a hearing yesterday.
Richard Elias, 22, pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury during his arraignment yesterday in Salem Superior Court.
The baby, Isabella, who suffered severe injuries, including some brain death, has been discharged from the hospital, said prosecutor Kate MacDougall. Her long-term prognosis is still unclear, but she is expected to be blind and will likely suffer from severe developmental issues.
Elias allegedly confessed to shaking the child, triggering seizures, while caring for her while his wife was out picking up her other children. Two weeks later, as his wife attended a Halloween party — her first night out since giving birth in September — Elias confessed to shaking and "head butting" the infant, triggering more seizures.
He also allegedly squeezed the infant hard enough to break ribs, MacDougall said.
Elias's wife is now seeking a divorce, the prosecutor said.
Elias had been held without bail as a danger to the child and the public but yesterday, MacDougall opted instead to ask for a high cash bail of $75,000.
MacDougall said she was concerned a dangerousness finding and detention order would expire before the complex case was ready to be tried.
But Elias's attorney, Mark Schmidt, asked Judge Timothy Feeley for more time to prepare a bail argument in the case.
Feeley agreed to set the $75,000 bail requested by MacDougall without prejudice, so Schmidt could return to court at a future hearing and argue for lower bail.
Schmidt said in court yesterday that his client, who served as a Marine in Germany and Iraq, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, which is likely to be an issue raised again in his defense.
A pre-trial hearing, and possibly a new bail argument, is set for Jan. 30.
If convicted, Elias faces up to 15 years in prison on each of the two counts against him.
Daddy's lawyer is blaming it on PTSD, which is total bull****.
http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1759190832/Father-charged-with-head-butting-infant-remains-held
December 17, 2011
Father charged with 'head butting' infant remains held
By Julie Manganis
Staff writer The Salem News Sat Dec 17, 2011, 04:06 AM EST
PEABODY — The Peabody father charged with shaking and head-butting his 7-week-old daughter in October could seek release on bail at his next court appearance, his lawyer suggested during a hearing yesterday.
Richard Elias, 22, pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury during his arraignment yesterday in Salem Superior Court.
The baby, Isabella, who suffered severe injuries, including some brain death, has been discharged from the hospital, said prosecutor Kate MacDougall. Her long-term prognosis is still unclear, but she is expected to be blind and will likely suffer from severe developmental issues.
Elias allegedly confessed to shaking the child, triggering seizures, while caring for her while his wife was out picking up her other children. Two weeks later, as his wife attended a Halloween party — her first night out since giving birth in September — Elias confessed to shaking and "head butting" the infant, triggering more seizures.
He also allegedly squeezed the infant hard enough to break ribs, MacDougall said.
Elias's wife is now seeking a divorce, the prosecutor said.
Elias had been held without bail as a danger to the child and the public but yesterday, MacDougall opted instead to ask for a high cash bail of $75,000.
MacDougall said she was concerned a dangerousness finding and detention order would expire before the complex case was ready to be tried.
But Elias's attorney, Mark Schmidt, asked Judge Timothy Feeley for more time to prepare a bail argument in the case.
Feeley agreed to set the $75,000 bail requested by MacDougall without prejudice, so Schmidt could return to court at a future hearing and argue for lower bail.
Schmidt said in court yesterday that his client, who served as a Marine in Germany and Iraq, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, which is likely to be an issue raised again in his defense.
A pre-trial hearing, and possibly a new bail argument, is set for Jan. 30.
If convicted, Elias faces up to 15 years in prison on each of the two counts against him.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Dad sentenced to just probation, treatment for attempted murder of four kids (Appleton, Wisconsin)
Notice that the headline and the first paragraph are misleading. This wasn't a scheme in the "planning" stage. It wasn't something that had merely been sketched out in a notebook or on the back of a napkin.
Dad DEKE SURI had ALREADY GIVEN these kids prescription sleeping pills. Then he "changed his mind" and called 911. How, uh, sweet.
Notice how Daddy's actions are blamed on PTSD, which is pretty ridiculous. I know lots of domestic violence survivors who live with varying degrees of post-traumatic stress. None of them have tried to kill people.
See our previous post here, which will refresh your memory as to what this was about.
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2011/07/dad-charged-with-attempted-homicide.html
This wasn't about PTSD or war service. This was about a manipulative sociopathic man whose wife had left him. This sadistic bastard actually TELEPHONED her in advance to tell her of his intentions. And notice the classic abuser narcissism, how he was going to kill the kids so they wouldn't "suffer" from the loss of their father.
So clearly these attempted murders took place during Daddy's visitation time. This was a (failed) spousal revenge killing. And it only could have become possible because this idiot had been provided with access to the children in advance.
And had this been a mother who had attempted the murder of her four kids, this would have been all over the national media. And she wouldn't be getting just "treatment" for it either.
http://wislawjournal.com/2011/10/13/father-sentenced-for-planning-to-kill-self-kids/
Father sentenced for planning to kill self, kids
POSTED: Thursday, October 13th, 2011 at 10:25 am
BY: Associated Press
APPLETON, Wis. (AP) — An Iraq war veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder has been sentenced to probation and treatment in Outagamie County for his plans to kill his four children and himself.
Deke Suri faced up to 104 years in prison, but both the defense and prosecutors agreed treatment was best for the 37-year-old town of Oneida man.
Last December Suri gave his children, ages 5 to 11, some prescription sleeping pills, left a note about his plans to kill himself and the children and outlined funeral arrangements. But, he changed his mind and called 911. Suri was initially charged with four counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, but pleaded guilty to attempted child abuse.
The Appleton Post-Crescent says Suri will be treated at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, then moved to Tomah.
Dad DEKE SURI had ALREADY GIVEN these kids prescription sleeping pills. Then he "changed his mind" and called 911. How, uh, sweet.
Notice how Daddy's actions are blamed on PTSD, which is pretty ridiculous. I know lots of domestic violence survivors who live with varying degrees of post-traumatic stress. None of them have tried to kill people.
See our previous post here, which will refresh your memory as to what this was about.
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2011/07/dad-charged-with-attempted-homicide.html
This wasn't about PTSD or war service. This was about a manipulative sociopathic man whose wife had left him. This sadistic bastard actually TELEPHONED her in advance to tell her of his intentions. And notice the classic abuser narcissism, how he was going to kill the kids so they wouldn't "suffer" from the loss of their father.
So clearly these attempted murders took place during Daddy's visitation time. This was a (failed) spousal revenge killing. And it only could have become possible because this idiot had been provided with access to the children in advance.
And had this been a mother who had attempted the murder of her four kids, this would have been all over the national media. And she wouldn't be getting just "treatment" for it either.
http://wislawjournal.com/2011/10/13/father-sentenced-for-planning-to-kill-self-kids/
Father sentenced for planning to kill self, kids
POSTED: Thursday, October 13th, 2011 at 10:25 am
BY: Associated Press
APPLETON, Wis. (AP) — An Iraq war veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder has been sentenced to probation and treatment in Outagamie County for his plans to kill his four children and himself.
Deke Suri faced up to 104 years in prison, but both the defense and prosecutors agreed treatment was best for the 37-year-old town of Oneida man.
Last December Suri gave his children, ages 5 to 11, some prescription sleeping pills, left a note about his plans to kill himself and the children and outlined funeral arrangements. But, he changed his mind and called 911. Suri was initially charged with four counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, but pleaded guilty to attempted child abuse.
The Appleton Post-Crescent says Suri will be treated at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, then moved to Tomah.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Dad sentenced to 15 years for throwing 3-month-old daughter and fracturing her skull (DeFuniak Springs, Florida)
Daddy JERID DAY was upset from his job, see. He had PTSD. That's why he threw his 3-month-old daughter into her crib, thus breaking her head and skull. Yea, that stress thing is something pretty awful.
What a lot of crap.
http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/Former_Walton_County_Deputy_sentenced_15_years_122905644.html
Former Walton County Deputy sentenced 15 years for child abuse
DeFuniak Springs- Judge Kelvin Wells sentenced Jerid Day to 15 years in prison after April’s conviction of child abuse and child neglect.
Posted: 9:28 PM May 31, 2011
Reporter: Danielle Koleniak
A former Walton County Sheriff’s Deputy will be going to prison for abusing his infant daughter last year.
Judge Kelvin Wells sentenced Jerid Day to 15 years in prison after April’s conviction of child abuse and child neglect.
The courtroom testimony was quite emotional.
Day’s uncle took the stand telling the judge that the former Walton County Deputy suffered job-related post-traumatic stress disorder.
"A lot of people do not have a great appreciation for what our law enforcement officers go through on a daily basis," said Frank Day.
Last July Day grabbed the three-month old by the foot and threw her into her crib, breaking her leg and fracturing her skull.
Day’s ex-wife Christina Goss took the stand with Emma in her arms.
"July 27th was the worst day of my life. He took away a father from all three of my children," she cried.
Judge Wells sentenced Day to 15 years in prison fallowed by five years of probation.
What a lot of crap.
http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/Former_Walton_County_Deputy_sentenced_15_years_122905644.html
Former Walton County Deputy sentenced 15 years for child abuse
DeFuniak Springs- Judge Kelvin Wells sentenced Jerid Day to 15 years in prison after April’s conviction of child abuse and child neglect.
Posted: 9:28 PM May 31, 2011
Reporter: Danielle Koleniak
A former Walton County Sheriff’s Deputy will be going to prison for abusing his infant daughter last year.
Judge Kelvin Wells sentenced Jerid Day to 15 years in prison after April’s conviction of child abuse and child neglect.
The courtroom testimony was quite emotional.
Day’s uncle took the stand telling the judge that the former Walton County Deputy suffered job-related post-traumatic stress disorder.
"A lot of people do not have a great appreciation for what our law enforcement officers go through on a daily basis," said Frank Day.
Last July Day grabbed the three-month old by the foot and threw her into her crib, breaking her leg and fracturing her skull.
Day’s ex-wife Christina Goss took the stand with Emma in her arms.
"July 27th was the worst day of my life. He took away a father from all three of my children," she cried.
Judge Wells sentenced Day to 15 years in prison fallowed by five years of probation.
Friday, May 27, 2011
DASTARDLY DADS FROM THE ARCHIVES (San Diego, California - 2009)
This is a classic case of court incompetence and corruption. It is good to see that dad HENRY PARSON finally had to face the music--but only because he got caught molesting other people's kids. How many other children are in similar situations, but their fathers haven't been caught?
http://www.10news.com/news/19265275/detail.html
La Jolla Mom Says She Kidnapped Daughter To Protect Her
Woman's Ex-Husband Now Behind Bars
Lauren Reynolds
10News I-Team Reporter
POSTED: 4:00 pm PDT April 23, 2009
UPDATED: 5:40 pm PDT May 6, 2009
SAN DIEGO -- When Joyce Murphy gave birth late in life to a beautiful, healthy little girl, it was a surprise. Murphy was told she couldn't have children.
"I was ecstatic," she said.
She is a 20-year employee of the University of California, San Diego, and was married to Henry Parson when her daughter was born.
"In the beginning, he was very charming," she said.
But as their child grew, Murphy said, her husband's behavior became disturbing.
"He would wake me up at two o'clock in the morning, tell me about pornography he'd seen and wanted to reenact, and it was pornography about kids."
She became frightened of his post traumatic stress disorder from his tour in Vietnam, which included a story about raping villagers. She filed for divorce in 2002 when her daughter was 6.
A battle ensued in San Diego County Family Court over custody of the little girl.
Murphy claimed that her daughter was afraid of Parson.
"She would cry if she had to be left with him," said Murphy.
The young girl told a doctor that when Parson was angry he pushed down on her shoulders and injured her. The doctor reported it to Child Protective Service, which Murphy said termed the incident inconclusive.
"From that point on, I was demonized by the courts," she said.
She said she was viewed as a delusional, argumentative trouble maker, while Parson was viewed more favorably.
One therapist appointed by Family Court, Marilyn Marshall, wrote that Mr. Parson was "no danger to anyone, especially his daughter."
"So this therapist said it was my fears of the father that was making the child afraid," Murphy explained.
Parsons was granted immediate overnight visits.
"And I just broke," said Murphy. "I thought, either I go to jail or I protect my child. It was like a primal instinct."
Murphy took her daughter and ran. She was arrested in Florida, brought to San Diego and tossed in jail.
She eventually pleaded no contest to felony kidnapping, accepting the charge without admitting guilt. She was placed on probation.
"I was told I was toxic to my daughter," said Murphy.
Her bosses at UCSD stood by her, but she lost her daughter to her ex-husband and was granted only limited visitation.
"And I thought, all I'm trying to do is protect my little girl from someone I know is a danger," said Murphy.
So she waited and worried for six years, until a call last November. Murphy had to pick up her daughter, because another young girl had bravely come forward, accusing Parson of molesting her. Parson was now the one behind bars.
"This man is a monster, and he hurts little girls," said Murphy.
The criminal complaint charges Parson with hurting three girls, two of them younger than 14 years old. The charges include oral sex with a child, molestation, possessing child porn and using a child to make porn.
A report from the District Attorney's Office said, "The defendant's computers and camera were seized ... revealed numerous photographs of young girls."
Using those photographs, an Oceanside police officer was able to identify and speak with one of the girls, which led to more charges against Parson.
Joyce Murphy feels vindicated, but it's bittersweet.
"I blame the entire family court system," she said, "because they are not held accountable."
I-Team reporter Lauren Reynolds posed the question to the supervising judge of the San Diego County Family Court, Lorna Alksne.
"Is family court doing a good job?"
"Family court is doing an excellent job," Alksne said.
She said each judge must juggle between 200 and 300 cases every month. She said the judges read before work, after work and during breaks to be prepared for their full day of hearings.
She can't comment directly on the Murphy case, and was not involved, but she acknowledges the need for improvement in how child custody cases are decided.
"Family Court has, statewide, some issues on how do you really make a determination on where children should live?"
Joyce Murphy said Family Court's only good decision in her case was granting her full permanent custody of her daughter after her ex husband was jailed.
Henry Parson's daughter is not one of the victims alleged in the criminal complaint. Parson declined to speak with the 10News I-Team. His attorney has a policy of not commenting on pending criminal cases.
http://www.10news.com/news/19265275/detail.html
La Jolla Mom Says She Kidnapped Daughter To Protect Her
Woman's Ex-Husband Now Behind Bars
Lauren Reynolds
10News I-Team Reporter
POSTED: 4:00 pm PDT April 23, 2009
UPDATED: 5:40 pm PDT May 6, 2009
SAN DIEGO -- When Joyce Murphy gave birth late in life to a beautiful, healthy little girl, it was a surprise. Murphy was told she couldn't have children.
"I was ecstatic," she said.
She is a 20-year employee of the University of California, San Diego, and was married to Henry Parson when her daughter was born.
"In the beginning, he was very charming," she said.
But as their child grew, Murphy said, her husband's behavior became disturbing.
"He would wake me up at two o'clock in the morning, tell me about pornography he'd seen and wanted to reenact, and it was pornography about kids."
She became frightened of his post traumatic stress disorder from his tour in Vietnam, which included a story about raping villagers. She filed for divorce in 2002 when her daughter was 6.
A battle ensued in San Diego County Family Court over custody of the little girl.
Murphy claimed that her daughter was afraid of Parson.
"She would cry if she had to be left with him," said Murphy.
The young girl told a doctor that when Parson was angry he pushed down on her shoulders and injured her. The doctor reported it to Child Protective Service, which Murphy said termed the incident inconclusive.
"From that point on, I was demonized by the courts," she said.
She said she was viewed as a delusional, argumentative trouble maker, while Parson was viewed more favorably.
One therapist appointed by Family Court, Marilyn Marshall, wrote that Mr. Parson was "no danger to anyone, especially his daughter."
"So this therapist said it was my fears of the father that was making the child afraid," Murphy explained.
Parsons was granted immediate overnight visits.
"And I just broke," said Murphy. "I thought, either I go to jail or I protect my child. It was like a primal instinct."
Murphy took her daughter and ran. She was arrested in Florida, brought to San Diego and tossed in jail.
She eventually pleaded no contest to felony kidnapping, accepting the charge without admitting guilt. She was placed on probation.
"I was told I was toxic to my daughter," said Murphy.
Her bosses at UCSD stood by her, but she lost her daughter to her ex-husband and was granted only limited visitation.
"And I thought, all I'm trying to do is protect my little girl from someone I know is a danger," said Murphy.
So she waited and worried for six years, until a call last November. Murphy had to pick up her daughter, because another young girl had bravely come forward, accusing Parson of molesting her. Parson was now the one behind bars.
"This man is a monster, and he hurts little girls," said Murphy.
The criminal complaint charges Parson with hurting three girls, two of them younger than 14 years old. The charges include oral sex with a child, molestation, possessing child porn and using a child to make porn.
A report from the District Attorney's Office said, "The defendant's computers and camera were seized ... revealed numerous photographs of young girls."
Using those photographs, an Oceanside police officer was able to identify and speak with one of the girls, which led to more charges against Parson.
Joyce Murphy feels vindicated, but it's bittersweet.
"I blame the entire family court system," she said, "because they are not held accountable."
I-Team reporter Lauren Reynolds posed the question to the supervising judge of the San Diego County Family Court, Lorna Alksne.
"Is family court doing a good job?"
"Family court is doing an excellent job," Alksne said.
She said each judge must juggle between 200 and 300 cases every month. She said the judges read before work, after work and during breaks to be prepared for their full day of hearings.
She can't comment directly on the Murphy case, and was not involved, but she acknowledges the need for improvement in how child custody cases are decided.
"Family Court has, statewide, some issues on how do you really make a determination on where children should live?"
Joyce Murphy said Family Court's only good decision in her case was granting her full permanent custody of her daughter after her ex husband was jailed.
Henry Parson's daughter is not one of the victims alleged in the criminal complaint. Parson declined to speak with the 10News I-Team. His attorney has a policy of not commenting on pending criminal cases.
Monday, April 11, 2011
"Caretaker" dad abused kids for years; Judge, social workers ignored evidence, and now son has permanent brain damage (Augusta, Georgia)
Dad TOM BEASLEY was a full-time "caretaker" dad who was presumably "disabled" from a back injury and couldn't (wouldn't?) work. Nevertheless, his alleged "disability" sure didn't hinder him from terrorizing his wife and sons. These kids were severely abused for years, and everybody had to follow Daddy's "script" as to what had happened. (The wife, it seems, was severely abused as well, but that's not examined in much detail here.) Thanks to the incompetence of judges like Herbert Kernaghan and the CPS workers of Columbia County, these kids were returned to their abuser daddy again and again. Now one son has permanent brain damage (blind, deaf, partially paralyzed) and the other is severely traumatized.
Note that even though Mom was abused as well, she has been convicted of child cruelty for not seeking medical treatment for her son in a timely manner, and has been stripped of custody. Note that fathers are very seldom held to the same standard when the mother or stepmother has abused the children. And almost none of these fathers are subject to physical abuse or violent threats.
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/crime-courts/2011-04-09/records-show-cycle-sons-vicious-abuse
Records show cycle of sons' vicious abuseBy Sandy Hodson
Staff Writer
Saturday, April 9, 2011
The first time Tom and April Beasley's oldest son nearly died, the doctors believed the child had excessive fluid on his brain.
A month later, on Nov. 7, 2001, when they brought the screaming and temporarily blinded 3-year-old back to the Medical College of Georgia Children's Medical Center, the attending neurologist was suspicious. The earlier treatment should have worked.
The doctor ordered a full MRI. The test found that in addition to two brain injuries, the child had four healing rib fractures.
"Dr. (Yong) Park further added that there was no way to determine the age of these injuries, but there was no doubt that (the boy) was a victim of child abuse," Lee Woods, then a Richmond County detective, wrote in a report.
Richmond County Division of Family and Children Services caseworker Monique Duggins obtained temporary custody of the boy and his infant brother.
Dr. Elizabeth Sekul also told Juvenile Court Judge Herbert Kernaghan at a hearing on Dec. 18, 2001, that the older Beasley son was abused. She explained that the toddler had suffered a shear brain injury, which indicates shaken baby syndrome. Someone shook the child while squeezing him around the torso, she believed.
The physicians, the DFCS caseworker, and the Court Appointed Special Advocate all believed the children needed protection. But Kernaghan threw out the child advocate's testimony, and less than a month after doctors concluded that the 3-year-old suffered two life-threatening events, the judge sent the Beasley children home.
It was the first time the child protective services system failed the children, but not the last, according to approximately 5,000 pages of documents The Augusta Chronicle reviewed. Police reports, hospital records, interviews, and reports by DFCS and Court Appointed Special Advocates show Kernaghan, and later social workers, ignored attempts to expose Beasley.
Because the system operates in secrecy, seven more years would pass before anyone outside this confidential circle learned what Beasley was doing to his children and how the system had failed to protect them.
As Assistant District Attorney Hank Syms would tell a jury in November, why Tom Beasley was able to abuse his sons for years -- until the older boy suffered permanent brain damage and both boys endured suicidal depression while still in grade school -- might never be understood.
THE PROSECUTOR'S FILE on the Beasleys revealed that several people tried to save the children, but the system brushed them off.
When Kernaghan sent the boys back to their parents, Duggins, the caseworker, was so concerned that she went to those in charge of the Augusta DFCS office, who consulted higher-ups in Atlanta. They got Special Assistant Attorney General Gary Glover to ask Kernaghan to reconsider his order, but the judge denied the request in July 2002, and nothing further was done.
Lee Woods, the sheriff's detective, sought to have Beasley prosecuted in late 2001 and into 2002, but the then-3-year-old son was too young or too scared to say what happened to him. That, compounded by the inability to determine when the boy was injured and who was responsible, made prosecution impossible, then-Chief Assistant District Attorney Bill Bowcutt explained to Woods.
Juvenile Court Judge Willie Saunders, who prosecuted child cruelty cases before leaving the district attorney's office for private practice, said it's common for an abused child to deny it. Sometimes, it takes prolonged age-appropriate counseling and time for a child to open up. And if a child fears he will be taken from his home, even an abusive one, it's traumatic.
Beasley and his wife denied the abuse, and Beasley had a script his wife and sons had to follow to explain the boys' injuries.
At first, Beasley was convincing, said Dan Hillman, the director of Augusta's Child Enrichment Center. When Beasley could no longer convince someone that nothing was wrong, he used intimidation.
"Everyone was scared of him," Hillman said.
The Beasley family flew under the radar for about two years. The boys, always clad in long-sleeve shirts and long pants, were not allowed to play with other children. Beasley, disabled by a back injury in 2000, was their full-time caretaker.
In February 2005, school nurse Tina Wisniewski at Sue Reynolds Elementary called Beasley. His older son had a fever and his stomach was swollen. Beasley refused to come for the boy until she threatened to call an ambulance. It was the third time the child nearly died.
Back at MCG again, Beasley refused to let doctors run a CT scan -- a similar procedure that led to the discovery of broken ribs and the first abuse allegations. The hospital chairman had to be brought in to settle the conflict between Beasley and the medical staff. The child required emergency surgery and several weeks in the hospital.
A year later, DFCS caseworker Brian Wilson was called to the school to see the oldest boy. The child had returned to school on Feb. 28, 2006, after being absent the day before. There was bruising and swelling above and below his left eye. Wisniewski, the school nurse, told him it was the third time the child showed up with a black eye that school year.
A doctor who examined the brothers after they were taken into custody reported both had scars and marks indicating physical abuse. Wilson and the CASA volunteer recommended that the children stay in state custody, at least until the Beasleys underwent psychological testing and attended parenting classes. The older boy was admitted to the hospital again, this time because he was suicidal.
Three weeks later, Kernaghan, who died in 2007, sent the boys back to their parents.
THE BEASLEYS sold their Richmond County home and in July 2006 moved to Columbia County, away from teachers and the school nurse whom Beasley blamed for what he considered hounding by DFCS.
It wasn't long before the new teachers in Columbia County became suspicious. The first call to DFCS about bruises, welts and scratches was deemed unfounded when caseworker Kendall Jones asked the boys whether they had been abused, and they denied it, in June 2007.
About five months later, during the new school year, Michele Sherman, then principal of Greenbrier Elementary, called DFCS when the younger Beasley son's first-grade teacher realized he could barely sit. DFCS caseworker Dondiel Johnson closed the case because "no identified needs were found."
On Feb. 28, 2008, Sherman and teacher Jill Coleman took pictures when the older boy came to school with a knot on his forehead, and the younger with a bruise on his face. When the principal called DFCS again, she said she was told to stop calling.
Four days later, the Beasleys took their older son, now 9, to the Medical College of Georgia Hospital's emergency room. This time, the brain injury left the boy blind in one eye, deaf in one ear, partially paralyzed and intellectually damaged.
Beasley pressured a doctor to put in his son's medical records that the boy's injuries could have been caused, as he insisted, by a fall inside the house.
During the weeks that followed, Beasley refused hospital staff's requests for a parent to remain at night to ensure the little boy didn't fall out of bed. Beasley was adamant he would take the boy home instead of following the doctors' recommendation for specialized in-patient rehabilitation in Atlanta.
This time, Columbia County DFCS office director Linda Joesbury got involved in the case. The agency went to Juvenile Court Judge Doug Flanagan to get state custody. The older boy went to the Atlanta hospital, and his brother went to a foster family.
The once quiet and well-behaved 7-year-old became a terror in a series of foster homes and in three different schools, where he spent most of his time in the principals' offices.
On one occasion, he was holding the teddy bear Sherman kept in the Greenbrier office. "He pinches. Dad pinches (his brother) when he is sick. He digs his nails in as hard as he can," the principal heard him say to the bear.
For the younger son of Beasley, relating the tale of abuse came out in bits. He tried to explain what happened to his brother, but just talking about it was traumatizing. The boy said he saw his father snatch his brother up by the feet and drive his head into the wood floor.
When a dentist asked him how he got a scar on the inside of his lip, the child balled up a fist and aimed at his mouth. "Pow," he said. He was hospitalized twice with suicidal depression. The doctors diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. His older brother couldn't remember what happened, but he had nightmares and crying spells.
Beasley and his wife were indicted June 25, 2008, on child abuse charges based on the physical injuries and the younger boy's account of what had been happening since they moved to Columbia County.
Beasley also held their heads underwater, forced them into too-cold and too-hot baths, and made them stay in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time, the boy said.
Once separated from her husband, April Beasley, who testified she was cowed by the years of abuse, confirmed her younger son's account. She testified against her ex-husband in November 2010 and pleaded guilty in February 2011 to child cruelty for the two-day delay in seeking medical treatment in March 2008. She received a probated sentence and is working to regain custody of her sons, who are now living with her mother and stepfather.
A COLUMBIA COUNTY Superior Court jury convicted Tom Beasley on Nov. 17 after deliberating less than 15 minutes. The judge, at the urging of prosecutors, imposed the maximum sentence possible, 110 years in prison.
According to the Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths, nearly 20 million reports of suspected abuse and neglect have been made in the past decade. Although about two-thirds are deemed unfounded, it is often only a matter of time before new reports are filed and abuse is substantiated.
By that time, as with the Beasley children, the damage is done.
"The cycle of abuse doesn't stop with the physical act," Saunders, the juvenile court judge, said. "The psychological and emotion scars can and do last a lifetime."
Note that even though Mom was abused as well, she has been convicted of child cruelty for not seeking medical treatment for her son in a timely manner, and has been stripped of custody. Note that fathers are very seldom held to the same standard when the mother or stepmother has abused the children. And almost none of these fathers are subject to physical abuse or violent threats.
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/crime-courts/2011-04-09/records-show-cycle-sons-vicious-abuse
Records show cycle of sons' vicious abuseBy Sandy Hodson
Staff Writer
Saturday, April 9, 2011
The first time Tom and April Beasley's oldest son nearly died, the doctors believed the child had excessive fluid on his brain.
A month later, on Nov. 7, 2001, when they brought the screaming and temporarily blinded 3-year-old back to the Medical College of Georgia Children's Medical Center, the attending neurologist was suspicious. The earlier treatment should have worked.
The doctor ordered a full MRI. The test found that in addition to two brain injuries, the child had four healing rib fractures.
"Dr. (Yong) Park further added that there was no way to determine the age of these injuries, but there was no doubt that (the boy) was a victim of child abuse," Lee Woods, then a Richmond County detective, wrote in a report.
Richmond County Division of Family and Children Services caseworker Monique Duggins obtained temporary custody of the boy and his infant brother.
Dr. Elizabeth Sekul also told Juvenile Court Judge Herbert Kernaghan at a hearing on Dec. 18, 2001, that the older Beasley son was abused. She explained that the toddler had suffered a shear brain injury, which indicates shaken baby syndrome. Someone shook the child while squeezing him around the torso, she believed.
The physicians, the DFCS caseworker, and the Court Appointed Special Advocate all believed the children needed protection. But Kernaghan threw out the child advocate's testimony, and less than a month after doctors concluded that the 3-year-old suffered two life-threatening events, the judge sent the Beasley children home.
It was the first time the child protective services system failed the children, but not the last, according to approximately 5,000 pages of documents The Augusta Chronicle reviewed. Police reports, hospital records, interviews, and reports by DFCS and Court Appointed Special Advocates show Kernaghan, and later social workers, ignored attempts to expose Beasley.
Because the system operates in secrecy, seven more years would pass before anyone outside this confidential circle learned what Beasley was doing to his children and how the system had failed to protect them.
As Assistant District Attorney Hank Syms would tell a jury in November, why Tom Beasley was able to abuse his sons for years -- until the older boy suffered permanent brain damage and both boys endured suicidal depression while still in grade school -- might never be understood.
THE PROSECUTOR'S FILE on the Beasleys revealed that several people tried to save the children, but the system brushed them off.
When Kernaghan sent the boys back to their parents, Duggins, the caseworker, was so concerned that she went to those in charge of the Augusta DFCS office, who consulted higher-ups in Atlanta. They got Special Assistant Attorney General Gary Glover to ask Kernaghan to reconsider his order, but the judge denied the request in July 2002, and nothing further was done.
Lee Woods, the sheriff's detective, sought to have Beasley prosecuted in late 2001 and into 2002, but the then-3-year-old son was too young or too scared to say what happened to him. That, compounded by the inability to determine when the boy was injured and who was responsible, made prosecution impossible, then-Chief Assistant District Attorney Bill Bowcutt explained to Woods.
Juvenile Court Judge Willie Saunders, who prosecuted child cruelty cases before leaving the district attorney's office for private practice, said it's common for an abused child to deny it. Sometimes, it takes prolonged age-appropriate counseling and time for a child to open up. And if a child fears he will be taken from his home, even an abusive one, it's traumatic.
Beasley and his wife denied the abuse, and Beasley had a script his wife and sons had to follow to explain the boys' injuries.
At first, Beasley was convincing, said Dan Hillman, the director of Augusta's Child Enrichment Center. When Beasley could no longer convince someone that nothing was wrong, he used intimidation.
"Everyone was scared of him," Hillman said.
The Beasley family flew under the radar for about two years. The boys, always clad in long-sleeve shirts and long pants, were not allowed to play with other children. Beasley, disabled by a back injury in 2000, was their full-time caretaker.
In February 2005, school nurse Tina Wisniewski at Sue Reynolds Elementary called Beasley. His older son had a fever and his stomach was swollen. Beasley refused to come for the boy until she threatened to call an ambulance. It was the third time the child nearly died.
Back at MCG again, Beasley refused to let doctors run a CT scan -- a similar procedure that led to the discovery of broken ribs and the first abuse allegations. The hospital chairman had to be brought in to settle the conflict between Beasley and the medical staff. The child required emergency surgery and several weeks in the hospital.
A year later, DFCS caseworker Brian Wilson was called to the school to see the oldest boy. The child had returned to school on Feb. 28, 2006, after being absent the day before. There was bruising and swelling above and below his left eye. Wisniewski, the school nurse, told him it was the third time the child showed up with a black eye that school year.
A doctor who examined the brothers after they were taken into custody reported both had scars and marks indicating physical abuse. Wilson and the CASA volunteer recommended that the children stay in state custody, at least until the Beasleys underwent psychological testing and attended parenting classes. The older boy was admitted to the hospital again, this time because he was suicidal.
Three weeks later, Kernaghan, who died in 2007, sent the boys back to their parents.
THE BEASLEYS sold their Richmond County home and in July 2006 moved to Columbia County, away from teachers and the school nurse whom Beasley blamed for what he considered hounding by DFCS.
It wasn't long before the new teachers in Columbia County became suspicious. The first call to DFCS about bruises, welts and scratches was deemed unfounded when caseworker Kendall Jones asked the boys whether they had been abused, and they denied it, in June 2007.
About five months later, during the new school year, Michele Sherman, then principal of Greenbrier Elementary, called DFCS when the younger Beasley son's first-grade teacher realized he could barely sit. DFCS caseworker Dondiel Johnson closed the case because "no identified needs were found."
On Feb. 28, 2008, Sherman and teacher Jill Coleman took pictures when the older boy came to school with a knot on his forehead, and the younger with a bruise on his face. When the principal called DFCS again, she said she was told to stop calling.
Four days later, the Beasleys took their older son, now 9, to the Medical College of Georgia Hospital's emergency room. This time, the brain injury left the boy blind in one eye, deaf in one ear, partially paralyzed and intellectually damaged.
Beasley pressured a doctor to put in his son's medical records that the boy's injuries could have been caused, as he insisted, by a fall inside the house.
During the weeks that followed, Beasley refused hospital staff's requests for a parent to remain at night to ensure the little boy didn't fall out of bed. Beasley was adamant he would take the boy home instead of following the doctors' recommendation for specialized in-patient rehabilitation in Atlanta.
This time, Columbia County DFCS office director Linda Joesbury got involved in the case. The agency went to Juvenile Court Judge Doug Flanagan to get state custody. The older boy went to the Atlanta hospital, and his brother went to a foster family.
The once quiet and well-behaved 7-year-old became a terror in a series of foster homes and in three different schools, where he spent most of his time in the principals' offices.
On one occasion, he was holding the teddy bear Sherman kept in the Greenbrier office. "He pinches. Dad pinches (his brother) when he is sick. He digs his nails in as hard as he can," the principal heard him say to the bear.
For the younger son of Beasley, relating the tale of abuse came out in bits. He tried to explain what happened to his brother, but just talking about it was traumatizing. The boy said he saw his father snatch his brother up by the feet and drive his head into the wood floor.
When a dentist asked him how he got a scar on the inside of his lip, the child balled up a fist and aimed at his mouth. "Pow," he said. He was hospitalized twice with suicidal depression. The doctors diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. His older brother couldn't remember what happened, but he had nightmares and crying spells.
Beasley and his wife were indicted June 25, 2008, on child abuse charges based on the physical injuries and the younger boy's account of what had been happening since they moved to Columbia County.
Beasley also held their heads underwater, forced them into too-cold and too-hot baths, and made them stay in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time, the boy said.
Once separated from her husband, April Beasley, who testified she was cowed by the years of abuse, confirmed her younger son's account. She testified against her ex-husband in November 2010 and pleaded guilty in February 2011 to child cruelty for the two-day delay in seeking medical treatment in March 2008. She received a probated sentence and is working to regain custody of her sons, who are now living with her mother and stepfather.
A COLUMBIA COUNTY Superior Court jury convicted Tom Beasley on Nov. 17 after deliberating less than 15 minutes. The judge, at the urging of prosecutors, imposed the maximum sentence possible, 110 years in prison.
According to the Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths, nearly 20 million reports of suspected abuse and neglect have been made in the past decade. Although about two-thirds are deemed unfounded, it is often only a matter of time before new reports are filed and abuse is substantiated.
By that time, as with the Beasley children, the damage is done.
"The cycle of abuse doesn't stop with the physical act," Saunders, the juvenile court judge, said. "The psychological and emotion scars can and do last a lifetime."
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Dad ordered to pay compensation to daughter for sex abuse (Brisbane, Australia)
UNNAMED DAD has been ordered to pay $45,000 to his daughter for sexually abusing her between the ages of 14 and 17. He was convicted back in 2007.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/father-ordered-to-pay-compensation-to-his-daughter-for-sex-abuse/story-e6freoof-1225935006584
Father ordered to pay compensation to his daughter for sex abuse
Tony Keim
From: The Courier-Mail October 06, 2010 3:30PM
A SUNSHINE Coast father has been ordered to pay $45,000 in compensation to his daughter for sexually abusing her over a three-year period while she was a teenager.
Brisbane District Court judge Tony Rafter ordered the father, now aged 51, pay his daughter, now aged 22, criminal compensation for sexual offences committed on the girl, then aged between 14 and 17, between December 2002 and December 2005.
Judge Rafter, SC, in a written decision published today, said the father was convicted in Maroochydore District Court on October 25, 2007, on two counts of rape and one each of incest and maintaining a sexual relationship with a child.
On December 17, 2007, the man was sentenced in the Brisbane District Court to 10 years jail for the offences against his daughter and declared a serious violent offender – meaning he is required to serve at least 80 per cent of the term behind bars.
The court was told the daughter suffered significant mental or nervous shock and adverse impacts as result of the abuse – which included up to 12 acts of sexual intercourse – inflicted by her father, who was then aged between 43 and 46.
Judge Rafter said the girl, in her victim impact statement and affidavit to the court, claimed to have suffered "significant impact" as a result of the sexual attacks.
"The (girl) has difficulty sleeping, suffers from nightmares several times each week and has flashbacks when in public and during sexual activity," he said.
"She worries that she will be unable to have children as a consequence of the offences.
"She was teased badly at school when other children found out what had happened and her grades deteriorated.
"Her relationships with other family members have suffered ... (and her) mother did not believe her and one of her brothers and her paternal grandmother refuse to talk to her."
The court was told the girl was examined by psychiatrist Dr Barbara McGuire late last year and was diagnosed as suffering from severe post traumatic stress disorder.
"Dr McGuire states that the (victim's) sense of violation, low self-esteem, increased fear and mistrust of men, past poor judgment in the choice of sexual partners and promiscuity are features of the diagnosis of (PTSD)," Judge Rafter said.
Judge Rafter ordered the father pay his daughter a total of $44,250 in compensation – $21,750 for mental or nervous shock and $22,500 for adverse impacts as a result of the sexual offences.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/father-ordered-to-pay-compensation-to-his-daughter-for-sex-abuse/story-e6freoof-1225935006584
Father ordered to pay compensation to his daughter for sex abuse
Tony Keim
From: The Courier-Mail October 06, 2010 3:30PM
A SUNSHINE Coast father has been ordered to pay $45,000 in compensation to his daughter for sexually abusing her over a three-year period while she was a teenager.
Brisbane District Court judge Tony Rafter ordered the father, now aged 51, pay his daughter, now aged 22, criminal compensation for sexual offences committed on the girl, then aged between 14 and 17, between December 2002 and December 2005.
Judge Rafter, SC, in a written decision published today, said the father was convicted in Maroochydore District Court on October 25, 2007, on two counts of rape and one each of incest and maintaining a sexual relationship with a child.
On December 17, 2007, the man was sentenced in the Brisbane District Court to 10 years jail for the offences against his daughter and declared a serious violent offender – meaning he is required to serve at least 80 per cent of the term behind bars.
The court was told the daughter suffered significant mental or nervous shock and adverse impacts as result of the abuse – which included up to 12 acts of sexual intercourse – inflicted by her father, who was then aged between 43 and 46.
Judge Rafter said the girl, in her victim impact statement and affidavit to the court, claimed to have suffered "significant impact" as a result of the sexual attacks.
"The (girl) has difficulty sleeping, suffers from nightmares several times each week and has flashbacks when in public and during sexual activity," he said.
"She worries that she will be unable to have children as a consequence of the offences.
"She was teased badly at school when other children found out what had happened and her grades deteriorated.
"Her relationships with other family members have suffered ... (and her) mother did not believe her and one of her brothers and her paternal grandmother refuse to talk to her."
The court was told the girl was examined by psychiatrist Dr Barbara McGuire late last year and was diagnosed as suffering from severe post traumatic stress disorder.
"Dr McGuire states that the (victim's) sense of violation, low self-esteem, increased fear and mistrust of men, past poor judgment in the choice of sexual partners and promiscuity are features of the diagnosis of (PTSD)," Judge Rafter said.
Judge Rafter ordered the father pay his daughter a total of $44,250 in compensation – $21,750 for mental or nervous shock and $22,500 for adverse impacts as a result of the sexual offences.
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