This article says just enough to be confusing. We have a 14-year-old girl who "mysteriously" dies in the home of her stepmother. But notice that the girl doesn't live there. She lives with her (obviously custodial) UNNAMED DAD elsewhere. So the dad and the step had separated, but were not divorced? And Daddy was still using the step to babysit while he worked? Your guess is as good as mine. Notice that "the family" (meaning Dad, the step, both?) had "a history" with CPS in "other states." But true to form, that doesn't mean they lost their kids as a result. Custodial daddies seldom do.
But notice the Great Unanswered Question here. How did Daddy get custody? How did he keep custody, even though he (and/or his gal pal, later wife) had a history of "alleged" child abuse? What happened to this girl's mother? Is she deceased? If she's alive, then who or what caused her to lose custody? Guess we'll never know what the girl thought of the (abusive) living arrangements she was forced into, now that she's dead...
http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/who-or-what-killed-a-14-year-old-girl%3F
Who or what killed a 14-year-old girl?Teen found dead at stepmom's home
Updated: Wednesday, 04 May 2011, 9:07 AM MDT
Published : Tuesday, 03 May 2011, 6:13 PM MDT
Reporter: Celina Westervelt
ROSWELL, NM (KRQE) - Who or what killed a 14-year-old girl in her stepmother's home? Roswell police say they received a 911 call about the girl at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. When they arrived at the scene, she was already dead.
The girl was staying at her stepmother's house while her dad worked overnight. Investigators say the house was filthy. When the father learned that the girl was unresponsive, he called 911.
Police aren't sure how the girl died, but they hope an autopsy will shed some clues. They're investigating the case as child abuse resulting in death.
The woman who lives at the house has a 1-year-old child with the 14-year-old's father. That child lives at the home, while the 14-year-old lived with her father at another residence.
News 13 has learned that the family has a history with child protective services in other states.
A spokesperson for the state Children, Youth and Family department couldn't comment on the case except to say that the 1-year-old has been placed into state custody.
Neighbors say the news is a lot to take in. 'I wouldn't have never expected anything to come from that side of the house. We are right in front of them so I figured I would hear some stuff coming from their house but i've never heard anything," said Andrea Martinez. She added that they never noticed anything unusual about the family, but did say the 14-year-old kept to herself.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Son, 10, says he shot Neo-Nazi CUSTODIAL dad (Riverside, California)
Notice that you have to read carefully to find out that this neo-Nazi daddy, JEFF RUSSELL HALL, had custody of this child. Though police are careful to say that the shooting had "nothing to do" with Daddy's politics, it is no secret that extreme ultra-right wingers are associated with authoritarianism, violence, and abuse in their personal lives--not just in their political lives. In addition, we know that past research has shown that many of these neo-Nazi/white supremacist abuser daddies are attracted to fathers rights politics, such as Stuart Showalter in Indiana. They are very big on helping abuser daddies get custody, so as to punish "the bitch" who left them. See this blog post on Showalter here:
http://mothersoflostchildren.wordpress.com/2009/07/09/former-neonaziskinhead-fights-for-boone-county-fathers-while-blasting-mothers/
So who gave Hall custody and why? Were we just a little bit afraid of him, so we caved? I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. So much for the myth that daddies can't get custody.
Here's my prediction, based on past cases of children who murdered abusive custodial fathers: There will be a major investigation. The report will be quickly sealed, since, after all, we wouldn't want to embarrass the authorities who knew about the father's violence and failed to do anything to protect the child. And then the child will be labeled "mentall ill" and sent to "a home." When in reality, the child was exercising his or her god-given right to self-defense. But that's how the system treats kids. That's the real sickness.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_whall04.9c8f4d.html
Police: Son, 10, says he shot Neo-Nazi dad06:45 AM PDT on Wednesday, May 4, 2011
By DAVID KECK and JOHN ASBURY
The Press-Enterprise
The 10-year-old son of a white supremacist leader told investigators during questioning that he intentionally shot his father with a handgun inside their Riverside home, police said.
Riverside police were still verifying the boy's statement as to what happened when Jeff Russell Hall was shot and killed at about 4 a.m. Sunday. The shooting had nothing to do with the 32-year-old man's neo-Nazi political activities with the National Socialist Movement, Lt. Ed Blevins said by phone Tuesday.
"We don't want to say a motive until we can verify what occurred," Blevins said. "We believe it was an intentional act. We think we know what happened, but tomorrow it could be something completely different."
"We're still looking at it," Blevins said, adding that it was a rather straightforward case. "There are still a couple of different angles to it."
The boy, oldest of Hall's five children, was expected to be charged Wednesday with murder, Blevins said. Police have not released the boy's name. He is being held at Juvenile Hall. The Riverside County district attorney was scheduled to interview the boy Tuesday afternoon, Blevins said.
District attorney's officials said any charges were confidential because of the boy's age. The boy is scheduled for a juvenile detention hearing Monday in Juvenile Court, district attorney's spokesman John Hall said. He can not be tried as an adult because he is under 14.
The boy is one of two children from Hall's first marriage, Blevins said. The mother of the boy and the second oldest child lived out of state. Three younger children, including toddlers, in the home belonged to Hall's second wife.
Child Protective Services took custody of the other four children, who also were in the home at the time of the shooting. Hall's current wife, who also was not named, is not suspected of any crime, Blevins said.
Police responded to a shots fired call at 4:04 a.m. Sunday and arrived to find Hall inside the home with a single bullet wound to his upper body. Riverside firefighters pronounced him dead 16 minutes later, according to the Riverside County coroner.
There was no reported argument leading up to the shooting and police believe the shooting occurred immediately before the 911 call.
Investigators recovered the pistol they believe was used in the shooting, along with a rifle. Blevins said they found the pistol under a bed. Authorities did not know if the guns were licensed to Hall.
Police had no record of previous calls to the home for domestic violence at the Halls home in the 5400 block of Lauder Court. Child abuse was not suspected. The boy had no history or prior run-ins with law enforcement.
Police had responded to a number of complaints about protesters at the residence demonstrating against Hall's activities with the Detroit-based National Socialist Movement, Blevins said.
Hall was the Southwestern States Regional Director for the organization, which promotes white separatism among other race-based goals. He gained national notoriety last year when he ran for Riverside's Western Municipal Water District, garnering over 25 percent of the vote.
On websites, Hall listed meetings held at his home on the last Saturday of every month and drew an organized protest last spring from counter groups who published his address.
Hall frequently led patrols at the U.S.-Mexico border against illegal immigrants in Arizona and California, according to the published reports and the National Socialist Movement website. He also led protests against illegal immigration around Southern California, including one in Riverside two years ago that turned violent when hundreds of counter-demonstrators faced off against the group.
Commander Jeff Schoep, head of the National Socialist Movement, called Hall in a statement on the organization's website, "A loving Father of five children, a family man, and a dedicated American Patriot."
http://mothersoflostchildren.wordpress.com/2009/07/09/former-neonaziskinhead-fights-for-boone-county-fathers-while-blasting-mothers/
So who gave Hall custody and why? Were we just a little bit afraid of him, so we caved? I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. So much for the myth that daddies can't get custody.
Here's my prediction, based on past cases of children who murdered abusive custodial fathers: There will be a major investigation. The report will be quickly sealed, since, after all, we wouldn't want to embarrass the authorities who knew about the father's violence and failed to do anything to protect the child. And then the child will be labeled "mentall ill" and sent to "a home." When in reality, the child was exercising his or her god-given right to self-defense. But that's how the system treats kids. That's the real sickness.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_whall04.9c8f4d.html
Police: Son, 10, says he shot Neo-Nazi dad06:45 AM PDT on Wednesday, May 4, 2011
By DAVID KECK and JOHN ASBURY
The Press-Enterprise
The 10-year-old son of a white supremacist leader told investigators during questioning that he intentionally shot his father with a handgun inside their Riverside home, police said.
Riverside police were still verifying the boy's statement as to what happened when Jeff Russell Hall was shot and killed at about 4 a.m. Sunday. The shooting had nothing to do with the 32-year-old man's neo-Nazi political activities with the National Socialist Movement, Lt. Ed Blevins said by phone Tuesday.
"We don't want to say a motive until we can verify what occurred," Blevins said. "We believe it was an intentional act. We think we know what happened, but tomorrow it could be something completely different."
"We're still looking at it," Blevins said, adding that it was a rather straightforward case. "There are still a couple of different angles to it."
The boy, oldest of Hall's five children, was expected to be charged Wednesday with murder, Blevins said. Police have not released the boy's name. He is being held at Juvenile Hall. The Riverside County district attorney was scheduled to interview the boy Tuesday afternoon, Blevins said.
District attorney's officials said any charges were confidential because of the boy's age. The boy is scheduled for a juvenile detention hearing Monday in Juvenile Court, district attorney's spokesman John Hall said. He can not be tried as an adult because he is under 14.
The boy is one of two children from Hall's first marriage, Blevins said. The mother of the boy and the second oldest child lived out of state. Three younger children, including toddlers, in the home belonged to Hall's second wife.
Child Protective Services took custody of the other four children, who also were in the home at the time of the shooting. Hall's current wife, who also was not named, is not suspected of any crime, Blevins said.
Police responded to a shots fired call at 4:04 a.m. Sunday and arrived to find Hall inside the home with a single bullet wound to his upper body. Riverside firefighters pronounced him dead 16 minutes later, according to the Riverside County coroner.
There was no reported argument leading up to the shooting and police believe the shooting occurred immediately before the 911 call.
Investigators recovered the pistol they believe was used in the shooting, along with a rifle. Blevins said they found the pistol under a bed. Authorities did not know if the guns were licensed to Hall.
Police had no record of previous calls to the home for domestic violence at the Halls home in the 5400 block of Lauder Court. Child abuse was not suspected. The boy had no history or prior run-ins with law enforcement.
Police had responded to a number of complaints about protesters at the residence demonstrating against Hall's activities with the Detroit-based National Socialist Movement, Blevins said.
Hall was the Southwestern States Regional Director for the organization, which promotes white separatism among other race-based goals. He gained national notoriety last year when he ran for Riverside's Western Municipal Water District, garnering over 25 percent of the vote.
On websites, Hall listed meetings held at his home on the last Saturday of every month and drew an organized protest last spring from counter groups who published his address.
Hall frequently led patrols at the U.S.-Mexico border against illegal immigrants in Arizona and California, according to the published reports and the National Socialist Movement website. He also led protests against illegal immigration around Southern California, including one in Riverside two years ago that turned violent when hundreds of counter-demonstrators faced off against the group.
Commander Jeff Schoep, head of the National Socialist Movement, called Hall in a statement on the organization's website, "A loving Father of five children, a family man, and a dedicated American Patriot."
Prison for dad, struggles for baby (Omaha, Nebraska)
Dad KELSEY CANDLER will be spending 15-20 years in prison--basically for destroying any life his son might have had. Notice that Mom has had her parental rights terminated too, though her responsibility in all this is not clarified--other than having bad taste in men.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20110504/NEWS97/705049926
Prison for dad, struggles for babyBy Todd Cooper
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Antonio Candler turned 1 year old the other day, but that may be one of the few firsts the child experiences.
The profoundly disabled boy likely will have no first step, his foster mother told a judge in a letter Tuesday. No first baseball game. No first day of school. No first solid food.
Little Antonio is being fed through a tube. Medical personnel have been focused on ensuring he can swallow his saliva without choking.
Such is the damage his father wrought when Kelsey Candler, 22, shook the healthy 2-month-old baby in June at their Omaha home, fracturing the boy’s skull and causing retinal hemorrhaging.
Noting the child’s catastrophic injuries, Douglas County District Judge Greg Schatz on Tuesday sentenced Kelsey Candler to 15 to 20 years in prison. Candler had pleaded guilty to child abuse and faced up to 20 years.
“This is an absolutely horrific set of facts,” said Candler’s attorney, Chad Brown. “It’s unbelievably sad, in more ways than one.”
Brown said Kelsey Candler was raised in a fine family by parents who had adopted him as a young child out of his native Honduras. However, he developed a mental illness and eventually was diagnosed as bipolar, Brown said.
The Fremont High School graduate alternated between taking his medication and self-medicating with marijuana, his lawyer said.
Then came June 10.
Candler became upset when Antonio began screaming. He put a bottle on the shelf and grabbed Antonio. He first claimed that he dropped Antonio, then tried to shake him awake.
However, doctors determined that Antonio had fractures to both the front and back of his head, indicating that his head likely had been bashed into some solid object, prosecutor Jim Masteller said.
During the court case, a Nebraska Regional Center doctor evaluated Kelsey Candler and confirmed that he was bipolar. However, the psychiatrist concluded that Candler was capable of discerning right from wrong at the time he shook the baby, Judge Schatz noted.
Both Candler and the child’s mother, Angela McGowan, have relinquished their parental rights.
The judge’s voice broke as he spoke of reading the foster mother’s letter detailing Antonio’s condition.
“It’s a terribly sad case,” Masteller said. “I don’t know that he’s going to progress. The (doctors) expect him to be infant-like for the rest of his life.”
http://www.omaha.com/article/20110504/NEWS97/705049926
Prison for dad, struggles for babyBy Todd Cooper
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Antonio Candler turned 1 year old the other day, but that may be one of the few firsts the child experiences.
The profoundly disabled boy likely will have no first step, his foster mother told a judge in a letter Tuesday. No first baseball game. No first day of school. No first solid food.
Little Antonio is being fed through a tube. Medical personnel have been focused on ensuring he can swallow his saliva without choking.
Such is the damage his father wrought when Kelsey Candler, 22, shook the healthy 2-month-old baby in June at their Omaha home, fracturing the boy’s skull and causing retinal hemorrhaging.
Noting the child’s catastrophic injuries, Douglas County District Judge Greg Schatz on Tuesday sentenced Kelsey Candler to 15 to 20 years in prison. Candler had pleaded guilty to child abuse and faced up to 20 years.
“This is an absolutely horrific set of facts,” said Candler’s attorney, Chad Brown. “It’s unbelievably sad, in more ways than one.”
Brown said Kelsey Candler was raised in a fine family by parents who had adopted him as a young child out of his native Honduras. However, he developed a mental illness and eventually was diagnosed as bipolar, Brown said.
The Fremont High School graduate alternated between taking his medication and self-medicating with marijuana, his lawyer said.
Then came June 10.
Candler became upset when Antonio began screaming. He put a bottle on the shelf and grabbed Antonio. He first claimed that he dropped Antonio, then tried to shake him awake.
However, doctors determined that Antonio had fractures to both the front and back of his head, indicating that his head likely had been bashed into some solid object, prosecutor Jim Masteller said.
During the court case, a Nebraska Regional Center doctor evaluated Kelsey Candler and confirmed that he was bipolar. However, the psychiatrist concluded that Candler was capable of discerning right from wrong at the time he shook the baby, Judge Schatz noted.
Both Candler and the child’s mother, Angela McGowan, have relinquished their parental rights.
The judge’s voice broke as he spoke of reading the foster mother’s letter detailing Antonio’s condition.
“It’s a terribly sad case,” Masteller said. “I don’t know that he’s going to progress. The (doctors) expect him to be infant-like for the rest of his life.”
Dad admits killing 8-week-old daughter (Easton, Pennsylvania)
Dad JOSEPH A. URQUIA has pleaded guilty to beating to death his 8-week-old daughter. Seems that Daddy--who had a history of child abuse--punched her in the head because he was frustrated with her crying.
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-easton-baby-murder-child-abuse-20110505,0,4343764.story
Easton man admits to killing baby daughter
By Riley Yates, OF THE MORNING CALL
11:59 a.m. EDT, May 5, 2011
The first photograph showed a beautiful baby girl, healthy and smiling.
The second, taken two weeks later, showed her dead in a morgue, her mouth open and bruising across much of the left side of her face.
On Thursday, the girl's father, Joseph A. Urquia, pleaded guilty to beating her to death on Dec. 19 at their Easton home, admitting he punched her "at least twice" in the head because she wouldn't stop crying.
Urquia, who has a history of child abuse, faces a maximum of 20 to 40 years in prison for the third-degree murder of 8-week-old Joselynn Urquia.
"He held her in his right hand and punched her twice with his left hand. At least twice," Northampton County First Deputy District Attorney Terence Houck recounted, before later handing a series of photographs of the girl to Judge Paula Roscioli.
According to court records filed by police, Urquia at first claimed he had dropped Joselynn in their N. Seventh Street apartment, but later admitted striking her in the head because he was "frustrated and angry" because he couldn't console her.
The baby became "lifeless and unresponsive" after the blows, Urquia told investigators. Joselynn died two days later after being taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest with serious head injuries.
The plea was made at Urquia's arraignment, the earliest possible time. The girl's mother, Brenda de la Cruz, sat in the jury box with drawn face, dabbing her eyes and leaning to hear a Spanish interpreter.
Under the plea agreement, Urquia waived any appeals, except over the sentence he receives. It came as prosecutors could have sought a first-degree murder conviction and the death penalty, and as Urquia's defense argued he was an unequipped parent who "just lost it."
"You did not intend to kill Joselynn?" defense lawyer Gary Asteak asked Urquia.
"Never," Urquia said.
Third-degree murder is a killing done with "malice," a legal term that means Urquia acted with a willful disregard for the risk of death his actions created.
"You are admitting that you in fact struck your infant child on numerous occasions, which caused her death?" Roscioli asked Urquia.
"Yes, your honor," said Urquia, who spoke in a clear voice, with puffy eyes but no outward display of emotion.
Urquia faces sentencing on June 9, and Roscioli ordered him to undergo psychological and drug and alcohol evaluations.
Afterward, Houck said the plea was appropriate given the facts of the case. Houck will be asking for Urquia to get the maximum sentence allowed.
"This was a situation where he assaulted this child in the course of a very few short minutes or seconds," Houck said. "It was not something that the defendant planned out, but in the same respect, he did it with great anger and with great force."
Houck added: "He did it without regard at all to the value of Joselynn's life."
Asteak called the murder a "tragedy of epic proportions."
"He's a 21-year-old who is holding down a full-time job, going to school, two infants on his hands and he just snapped," Asteak said. "A crying child on this Sunday morning just caused him to do the unthinkable."
Urquia, who is bipolar, was on probation at the time for abusing his and de la Cruz's older daughter.
In 2009, he admitted to spanking that girl, who was 3 months old at the time, so hard it caused a large bruise across her buttocks. He pleaded guilty to simple assault, a misdemeanor.
At Thursday's proceeding, Roscioli noted that Urquia lied to doctors who treated Joselynn, claiming she had fallen and not been struck. Roscioli asked Houck whether it would have made a difference if he had been truthful.
"No one on Earth" can answer that definitively, Houck said.
"I can only tell you that no good can come from a [medical] history that isn't true," he said.
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-easton-baby-murder-child-abuse-20110505,0,4343764.story
Easton man admits to killing baby daughter
By Riley Yates, OF THE MORNING CALL
11:59 a.m. EDT, May 5, 2011
The first photograph showed a beautiful baby girl, healthy and smiling.
The second, taken two weeks later, showed her dead in a morgue, her mouth open and bruising across much of the left side of her face.
On Thursday, the girl's father, Joseph A. Urquia, pleaded guilty to beating her to death on Dec. 19 at their Easton home, admitting he punched her "at least twice" in the head because she wouldn't stop crying.
Urquia, who has a history of child abuse, faces a maximum of 20 to 40 years in prison for the third-degree murder of 8-week-old Joselynn Urquia.
"He held her in his right hand and punched her twice with his left hand. At least twice," Northampton County First Deputy District Attorney Terence Houck recounted, before later handing a series of photographs of the girl to Judge Paula Roscioli.
According to court records filed by police, Urquia at first claimed he had dropped Joselynn in their N. Seventh Street apartment, but later admitted striking her in the head because he was "frustrated and angry" because he couldn't console her.
The baby became "lifeless and unresponsive" after the blows, Urquia told investigators. Joselynn died two days later after being taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest with serious head injuries.
The plea was made at Urquia's arraignment, the earliest possible time. The girl's mother, Brenda de la Cruz, sat in the jury box with drawn face, dabbing her eyes and leaning to hear a Spanish interpreter.
Under the plea agreement, Urquia waived any appeals, except over the sentence he receives. It came as prosecutors could have sought a first-degree murder conviction and the death penalty, and as Urquia's defense argued he was an unequipped parent who "just lost it."
"You did not intend to kill Joselynn?" defense lawyer Gary Asteak asked Urquia.
"Never," Urquia said.
Third-degree murder is a killing done with "malice," a legal term that means Urquia acted with a willful disregard for the risk of death his actions created.
"You are admitting that you in fact struck your infant child on numerous occasions, which caused her death?" Roscioli asked Urquia.
"Yes, your honor," said Urquia, who spoke in a clear voice, with puffy eyes but no outward display of emotion.
Urquia faces sentencing on June 9, and Roscioli ordered him to undergo psychological and drug and alcohol evaluations.
Afterward, Houck said the plea was appropriate given the facts of the case. Houck will be asking for Urquia to get the maximum sentence allowed.
"This was a situation where he assaulted this child in the course of a very few short minutes or seconds," Houck said. "It was not something that the defendant planned out, but in the same respect, he did it with great anger and with great force."
Houck added: "He did it without regard at all to the value of Joselynn's life."
Asteak called the murder a "tragedy of epic proportions."
"He's a 21-year-old who is holding down a full-time job, going to school, two infants on his hands and he just snapped," Asteak said. "A crying child on this Sunday morning just caused him to do the unthinkable."
Urquia, who is bipolar, was on probation at the time for abusing his and de la Cruz's older daughter.
In 2009, he admitted to spanking that girl, who was 3 months old at the time, so hard it caused a large bruise across her buttocks. He pleaded guilty to simple assault, a misdemeanor.
At Thursday's proceeding, Roscioli noted that Urquia lied to doctors who treated Joselynn, claiming she had fallen and not been struck. Roscioli asked Houck whether it would have made a difference if he had been truthful.
"No one on Earth" can answer that definitively, Houck said.
"I can only tell you that no good can come from a [medical] history that isn't true," he said.
Dad with "post-natal depression" killed daughter (Bristol, England, United Kingdom)
Oh puleeze. Ever since I first heard about this whole "post-partum" depression for daddies thing, I figured it as just another crock of sh**. Either you're talking about garden-variety depression. Or you're talking about a dad like MARK BRUTON-YOUNG, who's just searching for an effective pseudo-defense as to why he deliberately murdered his infant daughter. Hint: the fact that Daddy had the wherewithall to search the internet "for months" looking for a way to kill a newborn child suggests to me that this is premeditated, 1st-degree murder--not a debillitating case of the baby blues.
And the FRs tell us that mothers--who actually do go through radical hormonal changes with pregnancy and childbirth--monopolize the mental health card. Um, don't think so.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8495720/Father-with-post-natal-depression-killed-daughter.html
Father with 'post-natal depression' killed daughterA father who believed he was suffering from male post-natal depression searched the internet for information on how to kill a baby before suffocating his six-month-old daughter, a jury heard.
By Richard Savill 5:17PM BST 05 May 2011
Mark Bruton-Young, 36, an architect, allegedly murdered his daughter, Harriet, after he resented the intrusion of the “unplanned” baby into his married life, Bristol Crown Court heard.
The jury was told he used the search engine Google to research methods of killing his daughter after he failed to bond with her, and blamed her for his marriage problems.
Bruton-Young spent months on a work computer searching for ways to kill, including punching babies in the stomach, cot death, choking and poisoning, before deciding on suffocation, the jury heard.
Paul Dunkels, prosecuting, said: “It is the prosecution's case that having searched the internet for this information, being overwhelmed with being a father and resenting his child, he killed his daughter Harriet by suffocating her.”
Bruton-Young denies murder between June 26 and June 27 2009.
The court heard Harriet was an unplanned, unwanted child when she was born to her father and her mother, Clare, also an architect, of Kingsway, Glos., in December 2008.
Bruton-Young, an architect at RPS, a Bristol firm, had problems coping with the birth almost immediately.
Colleagues described him as ''depressed'' and claimed he spent all his time on his computer.
Mr Dunkels said: “It was not a planned pregnancy and from the outset her father had difficulty in coming to terms with fatherhood and was depressed by it.
“He resented the intrusion of Harriet into his married life. Using a computer at work to search for information, it provided a window into his thoughts and his intentions.
“Initially, he searched for information on bonding with your baby, depression and coping with fatherhood.”
But in early February 2009 Bruton-Young used a work computer to look at “how to get an unwanted baby adopted".
He searched for information on “how a child might be harmed or die and a baby being suffocated, and what signs might be detected if a baby was suffocated.''
Forensic searches on the hard-drives of three work computers found he made hundreds of searches between January and June 2009.
In January he Googled 'coming to terms with fatherhood'.
But by February these had developed into post natal depression searches and even "I thought I wanted kids but now I don't know", the court heard.
Over the next few months his searches explored death by anti-freeze poisoning, lead poisoning and the effects of punching a child in the stomach. He searched 'dies of suffocation' on June 8, 2009.
Mr Dunkels said: “The defendant's searches begin to concentrate on suffocation and the signs that might be left behind if a baby was suffocated.” The court head Bruton-Young had received counselling and was seeing a health visitor in the six months following Harriet's birth.
The trial continues.
And the FRs tell us that mothers--who actually do go through radical hormonal changes with pregnancy and childbirth--monopolize the mental health card. Um, don't think so.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8495720/Father-with-post-natal-depression-killed-daughter.html
Father with 'post-natal depression' killed daughterA father who believed he was suffering from male post-natal depression searched the internet for information on how to kill a baby before suffocating his six-month-old daughter, a jury heard.
By Richard Savill 5:17PM BST 05 May 2011
Mark Bruton-Young, 36, an architect, allegedly murdered his daughter, Harriet, after he resented the intrusion of the “unplanned” baby into his married life, Bristol Crown Court heard.
The jury was told he used the search engine Google to research methods of killing his daughter after he failed to bond with her, and blamed her for his marriage problems.
Bruton-Young spent months on a work computer searching for ways to kill, including punching babies in the stomach, cot death, choking and poisoning, before deciding on suffocation, the jury heard.
Paul Dunkels, prosecuting, said: “It is the prosecution's case that having searched the internet for this information, being overwhelmed with being a father and resenting his child, he killed his daughter Harriet by suffocating her.”
Bruton-Young denies murder between June 26 and June 27 2009.
The court heard Harriet was an unplanned, unwanted child when she was born to her father and her mother, Clare, also an architect, of Kingsway, Glos., in December 2008.
Bruton-Young, an architect at RPS, a Bristol firm, had problems coping with the birth almost immediately.
Colleagues described him as ''depressed'' and claimed he spent all his time on his computer.
Mr Dunkels said: “It was not a planned pregnancy and from the outset her father had difficulty in coming to terms with fatherhood and was depressed by it.
“He resented the intrusion of Harriet into his married life. Using a computer at work to search for information, it provided a window into his thoughts and his intentions.
“Initially, he searched for information on bonding with your baby, depression and coping with fatherhood.”
But in early February 2009 Bruton-Young used a work computer to look at “how to get an unwanted baby adopted".
He searched for information on “how a child might be harmed or die and a baby being suffocated, and what signs might be detected if a baby was suffocated.''
Forensic searches on the hard-drives of three work computers found he made hundreds of searches between January and June 2009.
In January he Googled 'coming to terms with fatherhood'.
But by February these had developed into post natal depression searches and even "I thought I wanted kids but now I don't know", the court heard.
Over the next few months his searches explored death by anti-freeze poisoning, lead poisoning and the effects of punching a child in the stomach. He searched 'dies of suffocation' on June 8, 2009.
Mr Dunkels said: “The defendant's searches begin to concentrate on suffocation and the signs that might be left behind if a baby was suffocated.” The court head Bruton-Young had received counselling and was seeing a health visitor in the six months following Harriet's birth.
The trial continues.
Historic U.S. Supreme Court Case, re Sacks vs. Sacks (Florida)
May 5, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS CONFERENCE May 6th, 2011 at 12 Noon
Location:
US Supreme Court
One First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20543
Sidewalk in front of the US Supreme Court
HISTORIC US SUPREME COURT CASE
Child Advocates and Legal Scholars are anxiously awaiting the filing of a Petition for Writ of Certiorari on May 6, 2011 at 12 noon at the US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. in the Sacks v. Sacks case.
This truly will be an Historic Day at the US Supreme Court, for America’s children and their “Protective Parents”, as this landmark case is being hand delivered by a Florida Mother and exposes a national crisis all over the US.
The Sacks v. Sacks case is the perfect opportunity for the US Supreme Court to thoroughly explore and address the issue of Battered Mothers and child abuse, and their documented evidence of “protective parents” losing custody and the failure of family courts and Child Protective Services to thoroughly investigate and handle Domestic Violence, child sexual/and or child physical abuse cases properly, therefore resulting in a verdict, contrary to the “bests interests of the child(ren)”.
Kathleen Russell, from the Center for Judicial Excellence, in the California Progress Report, on 10/19/09 “When Family Courts Get It Wrong”, says “When a parent harms his or her own child, family courts are supposed to step in and safeguard the victim. Can you imagine what a tragedy it would be if courts awarded custody to the wrong parent Actually according to one conservative estimate, more than 58, 000 children a year are court ordered by family courts into unsupervised visitation contact with physically or sexually abusive parents following a divorce in the U.S. The fact that this type of scandal is taking place in the American justice system defies the imagination. Not since the Roman Catholic Church pedophile scandal has the US seen this type of institutional harm inflicted on innocent children.” (www.centerforjudicalexcelllence.org)
The National Organization for Women, NOW and the NOW Ad Hoc Law Committee are addressing this issue and in their Spring 2011, “and explore what can happen to a protective mother and her children when she does nothing more than to protect her children”, as quoted on page 36 of the Petition for Certiorari.
The Petitioner, in the US Supreme Court case, Linda Marie Sacks, has been chosen as the “Poster Mother” of the Family Court Crisis, is interviewed for the article.(www.now.org) Click on the Family Law Spring Newsletter.
On April 21, 2011, in the BMCCVI Digest Number 2011, reports that Eileen King representing Justice for Children participated in the Office of Violence Against Women Roundtable Discussion that took place at George Washington University Law School. The Roundtable was organized by Rita Smith, the Director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Prof. Joan Meier, Director of the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DVLEAP) at GWU Law School. OVW will post a report about the Roundtable on their website in the near future. (www.justiceforchildren.org) and (www.dvleap.org)
As noted by Barry Goldstein, Esq. The Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) is part of the US Justice Department that provides grants for programs to reduce and prevent domestic violence. They recently sponsored a forum for their staff and other professionals in various parts of the government to learn about the crisis in the custody court system.
“It was a discussion based upon current scientific research and actual experiences that courts are routinely making catastrophic mistakes in failing to protect children and domestic violence survivors. Linda Marie Sacks, a Florida Mother, truly the “All American Mom”, has only seen her children at the Family Tree House Visitation Center for 82 hours in the last 4 years and 2 months, is challenging the “Best Interests of The Children” Statute 61.13, as Domestic Violence, child sexual and physical abuse must be considered in a judge’s decision determining the “Best Interests of the Children”. In the Pro se Cert Petition, Sacks raises the constitutional implications of a fit parent to the care, custody, of her children, and without a finding of unfitness by clear and convincing evidence, established by the US Supreme Court ruling in Santosky v. Kramer, U.S. 745, 769-770 (1982).
Her daughters said in April 2007, “Mommy fight for us and do something every day to get us back and don’t ever stop”. Their Mother not only kept her promise to them, but now is a national spokesperson on the child custody crisis, and is speaking up for her children, and all of America’s children affected by the failure of our justice system to protect our most innocent children from sexual and physical abuse. She is a formidable legal opponent, as she has been self taught, going to “Internet Law School” to continue her legal challenge after spending $140,000 to undo an unjust custody decision. The Fifth District Court of Appeals REVERSED and REMANDED the issue of child custody back to the lower court for a violation of the Petitioners constitutional rights to due process, in 08/08. This rare reversal provided no relief as the lower court of Judge Shawn L. Briese refused to abide by the Appeals court and refused to protect the children and said one child lied about being sexually abused.
In an article by John Weiss, from Post-Bulletin, Rochester, MN , “Do children lie about sexual abuse? Not Usually.” Children do lie, but seldom about being abused. “All human beings can and do lie, but it’s hard for kids to do it about sex”, said Victor Vieth, the director of the national Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University. “They can’t lie about something they have no knowledge of” he said, and children don’t learn about oral sex from Sesame Street.
Dr. Deborah Day of Psychological Affiliates, the court ordered custody evaluator said the minor child at 8 years old had pediatric bipolar and that negates any child sexual abuse, and then thwarted the DCF investigation. The court record clearly showed that the child DID NOT have bipolar, but the trial court still refused to protect the children, which is typical from cases all over the US.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Male caretakers scrutinized in violent deaths of children (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Occasionally, there will be a piece in the mainstream media that reports the unvarnished (politically uncorrect) truth about men, fathers, and child abuse. This is one of those pieces. We have always acknowledged that mothers make up the majority of neglect cases; after all, they represent the majority of caretakers. In some cases, the neglect is simply being "guilty" of being poor (inadequate food in the home, lack of access to medical care, etc.). In other cases, this neglect takes the form of "failing" to protect a child from the overtly violent father or boyfriend. At any rate, we see here that DELIBERATE abuse is in fact DOMINATED by men and fathers, though they make up a MINORITY OF ACTUAL FULL-TIME CARETAKERS. And once again, despite recent efforts to promote the idea that shaken baby syndrome is "equal opportunity," the fact still remains that most of the perpetrators are dads and boyfriends.
Notice how mothers are held responsible for making sure their babies are safe, though. I wouldn't mind this in the slightest IF custody laws allowed women to make their own decisions about the care of their children (no more forced "visitation" with an indifferent and/or abusive former sperm donor boyfriend trying to reduce his child support). I'd also like to see mothers gain access to decent maternity leaves AND high quality affordable daycare, so they're not forced into using the unemployed daddy as a "caretaker" while she works.
And we need to stop this gender-neutral myth that mothers and fathers are interchangeable. They're not. "Stay-at-home" daddies are NOT the same as mothers who choose to stay at home. More often than not, these so-called stay-at-homes are nothing but abusive deadbeats who cannot or will not hold a job. Notice that CPS is now looking at male caretakers as a "risk factor" for child abuse. And watch the fathers rights folks start howling about how this is "discrimination"....
Hat tip to Angelfury.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/05/02/child-abuse-neglect-study/
Male caregivers scrutinized in violent deaths of childrenby Sasha Aslanian, Minnesota Public Radio
May 2, 2011
St. Paul, Minn. — A state-mandated study into child deaths and near-fatal injuries found men to blame two-thirds of the time.
The Child Mortality Review Board examined more than 200 preventable deaths of Minnesota children between 2005 and 2009.
Most of the cases chosen for review were homicides, or near-fatal inflicted injuries of children due to child maltreatment. But the board also reviewed accidents, such as drownings, unexplained infant deaths, and suicides.
In many cases, infants and toddlers were being cared for by unemployed fathers, stepfathers or boyfriends of the mothers. As a result, the study could prompt new scrutiny of men from child protection workers.
The board examined 71 cases involving fatal or near-fatal inflicted injuries. Three-quarters of the deaths involved children under age four.
FEMALES ASSOCIATED WITH NEGLECT, MALES WITH ABUSE
Female caregivers were most often the offenders in cases that involved neglect. But males were often the offenders in abuse cases, said Erin Sullivan Sutton, assistant commissioner for children and family services for the state Department of Human Services.
According to the report, 51 percent of the offenders who lived in the same household as the child were unemployed. Often they abused alcohol or drugs.
Half the incidents involved children under one year old. The most common cause of death was abusive head trauma or shaken baby syndrome.
Authorities and health officials have done a lot to educate the public about shaken baby syndrome. State law requires new parents to watch a video about how vulnerable infant brains are to shaking or blunt force before leaving the hospital, and health care providers bring it up at every well-baby visit until a child is three years old. Child care providers receive training.
But Sullivan Sutton said many potential caregivers don't receive that kind of training, so it falls to mothers to make sure they are leaving their children in safe hands.
"If mom knows that a caregiver or potential care giver has a potential for violence, has hit her or hit somebody else then she shouldn't leave the baby with that individual," she said. "If the person doesn't have experience caring for infants, that's not a good situation.
The report describes adults frustrated and angry by a child's crying, feeding, sleeping or toileting problems.
"We see kids are crying because they're hungry, kids are crying because they have soiled diapers and that crying is what triggers the violence," Sullivan Sutton said.
PARENTING EDUCATION VITAL
Becky Dale, interim director of Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota said the report it speaks to a need to educate the whole community about what it takes to care for children.
"It's a really fast learning curve when you become a parent," Dale said. "And one thing I noticed about the report was there wasn't any reference to education about child development before people become parents."
Dale suggests parenting education could start much earlier. Junior high students could learn how to comfort a crying baby, or about safe sleeping arrangements that won't smother a baby.
Given how often a child is killed by woman's boyfriend or unprepared father while the mother is at work, there are opportunities to improve children's lives, said Marcie Jeffrys, director of policy development for the Children's Defense Fund.
"I think we really need to look at our child care policies if we want to address those kids who are being left alone maybe with an adult who just isn't equipped emotionally to take care of them," she said.
Jeffrys said cuts in child care assistance mean fewer families have good options for safe places to leave their children, particularly those that have low-wage jobs. She notes that between 2003 and 2009, annual state spending for child care assistance decreased by one-fifth, and 4,000 families are currently on the waiting list.
Better child care could probably help, but it likely won't eliminate the danger these children are in, Jeffrys said.
Later this year, child protection workers will add some new questions to their risk assessments. They'll ask if a male is alone in caring for a child under three and if he's employed.
After two years of gathering data, the Department of Human Services will decide whether those factors should be weighed in determining the risk the child is in.
Notice how mothers are held responsible for making sure their babies are safe, though. I wouldn't mind this in the slightest IF custody laws allowed women to make their own decisions about the care of their children (no more forced "visitation" with an indifferent and/or abusive former sperm donor boyfriend trying to reduce his child support). I'd also like to see mothers gain access to decent maternity leaves AND high quality affordable daycare, so they're not forced into using the unemployed daddy as a "caretaker" while she works.
And we need to stop this gender-neutral myth that mothers and fathers are interchangeable. They're not. "Stay-at-home" daddies are NOT the same as mothers who choose to stay at home. More often than not, these so-called stay-at-homes are nothing but abusive deadbeats who cannot or will not hold a job. Notice that CPS is now looking at male caretakers as a "risk factor" for child abuse. And watch the fathers rights folks start howling about how this is "discrimination"....
Hat tip to Angelfury.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/05/02/child-abuse-neglect-study/
Male caregivers scrutinized in violent deaths of childrenby Sasha Aslanian, Minnesota Public Radio
May 2, 2011
St. Paul, Minn. — A state-mandated study into child deaths and near-fatal injuries found men to blame two-thirds of the time.
The Child Mortality Review Board examined more than 200 preventable deaths of Minnesota children between 2005 and 2009.
Most of the cases chosen for review were homicides, or near-fatal inflicted injuries of children due to child maltreatment. But the board also reviewed accidents, such as drownings, unexplained infant deaths, and suicides.
In many cases, infants and toddlers were being cared for by unemployed fathers, stepfathers or boyfriends of the mothers. As a result, the study could prompt new scrutiny of men from child protection workers.
The board examined 71 cases involving fatal or near-fatal inflicted injuries. Three-quarters of the deaths involved children under age four.
FEMALES ASSOCIATED WITH NEGLECT, MALES WITH ABUSE
Female caregivers were most often the offenders in cases that involved neglect. But males were often the offenders in abuse cases, said Erin Sullivan Sutton, assistant commissioner for children and family services for the state Department of Human Services.
According to the report, 51 percent of the offenders who lived in the same household as the child were unemployed. Often they abused alcohol or drugs.
Half the incidents involved children under one year old. The most common cause of death was abusive head trauma or shaken baby syndrome.
Authorities and health officials have done a lot to educate the public about shaken baby syndrome. State law requires new parents to watch a video about how vulnerable infant brains are to shaking or blunt force before leaving the hospital, and health care providers bring it up at every well-baby visit until a child is three years old. Child care providers receive training.
But Sullivan Sutton said many potential caregivers don't receive that kind of training, so it falls to mothers to make sure they are leaving their children in safe hands.
"If mom knows that a caregiver or potential care giver has a potential for violence, has hit her or hit somebody else then she shouldn't leave the baby with that individual," she said. "If the person doesn't have experience caring for infants, that's not a good situation.
The report describes adults frustrated and angry by a child's crying, feeding, sleeping or toileting problems.
"We see kids are crying because they're hungry, kids are crying because they have soiled diapers and that crying is what triggers the violence," Sullivan Sutton said.
PARENTING EDUCATION VITAL
Becky Dale, interim director of Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota said the report it speaks to a need to educate the whole community about what it takes to care for children.
"It's a really fast learning curve when you become a parent," Dale said. "And one thing I noticed about the report was there wasn't any reference to education about child development before people become parents."
Dale suggests parenting education could start much earlier. Junior high students could learn how to comfort a crying baby, or about safe sleeping arrangements that won't smother a baby.
Given how often a child is killed by woman's boyfriend or unprepared father while the mother is at work, there are opportunities to improve children's lives, said Marcie Jeffrys, director of policy development for the Children's Defense Fund.
"I think we really need to look at our child care policies if we want to address those kids who are being left alone maybe with an adult who just isn't equipped emotionally to take care of them," she said.
Jeffrys said cuts in child care assistance mean fewer families have good options for safe places to leave their children, particularly those that have low-wage jobs. She notes that between 2003 and 2009, annual state spending for child care assistance decreased by one-fifth, and 4,000 families are currently on the waiting list.
Better child care could probably help, but it likely won't eliminate the danger these children are in, Jeffrys said.
Later this year, child protection workers will add some new questions to their risk assessments. They'll ask if a male is alone in caring for a child under three and if he's employed.
After two years of gathering data, the Department of Human Services will decide whether those factors should be weighed in determining the risk the child is in.
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