Where to even start with dad VONDELL MALACHI....the 17-hour police standoff is a particularly charming finale. Boy, is this guy the master of Daddy Drama or what....
http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=611728
7 month old baby who was dropped from a car in police chase is in DSS custody Posted: 04.29.2011 at 12:10 PM Updated: 04.29.2011 at 4:10 PM
Vondell Malachi is charged with murder, among other charges.
Bennettsville police tell NewsChannel 15 a 7-month-old baby boy is out of the hospital and has been placed in the custody of the Department of Social Services.
Police say Vondell Malachi dropped off the infant outside Marlboro Park Hospital Wednesday afternoon.
Officers say Malachi was involved in a chase with police Wednesday when he slowed down his car and dropped the infant out the door.
Police tell us the baby's right arm was scratched up, but the boy is ok.
Malachi is charged with murder in the death of the baby's mother, Takeyia Easterling, 20, of Marlboro County.
Officers say he led them on a 20-mile chase, before he drove to his mother's house on Union Street in Bennettsville and parked his car.
They say he stayed in that car and was involved in a standoff with deputies for more than 17 hours before he was taken into custody.
The Marlboro County Sheriff's Office charged Malachi with murder and failure to stop for a blue light in connection with the chase.
We're told DSS officials, Marlboro County Sheriff's Office and the Fourth Circuit Solicitor's Office are deciding what charges to file against Malachi for dropping the baby from the car.
Officers tell us a hearing could be held to determine if Easterling's relatives will get the baby.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Custodial dad sentenced to life in prison for torture/murder of 5-year-old daughter (Gresham, Oregon)
Even if you're a hardbitten crime blogger, the details of this case will sicken you. What this little girl put up with for her short life...and to think she could have been adopted by a family that could have cared for her. But no, sicko daddy GUALDALUPE "LUPE" ROSILLO and his charming gal pal just had to have custody. Only to torture this child for three long years before she was mercifully delivered from their clutches, and then, only by her own death.
And now sicko daddy wants to take parenting classes in prison, and counsel other fathers on the care of special needs children? Oh for God's sake, get me my barf bag....
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=130385636029485300
Dead child’s father sentenced to life in prisonGirlfriend serving 20 years for manslaughter, abuse
By Mara Stine
The Gresham Outlook, Apr 26, 2011, Updated Apr 26, 2011
The father of a 5-year-old Gresham girl who was tortured, beaten and abused to death will spend at least 25 years in prison.
Christopher Andrew “Andy” Rosillo, 24, was sentenced by Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Michael McShane on Tuesday, April 26, to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years.
Rosillo pleaded guilty to murder by abuse on March 16, two days after his longtime girlfriend, Guadalupe “Lupé” Quintero, 24, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for her role in the killing of Oleander “Andie” Rosillo. Quintero, who was crowned Miss Teen Clackamas County in 2006, is serving a 20-year sentence.
Rosillo showed no remorse during his sentencing hearing but said he was “sorry to all of the people I have hurt during this tragic event, especially sorry for my daughter who has passed on. She never deserved any of this.”
He also apologized to the dead girl’s two younger half-siblings, who are now in foster care, “for the pain and sorrow that you have to go through life without a mother and a father.”
The two younger children are the biological children of Rosillo and Quintero, who was not Oleander’s biological mother.
One of the worst child abuse cases
Investigators called the girl’s murder the worst case of child abuse and neglect they’d investigated. Court documents show the girl was abused and tortured for more than three years before she died on April 13, 2010. Police found the girl unconscious and not breathing when they responded to a report of an injured child in an apartment at 418 S.E. 169th Ave., just north of Southeast Stark Street.
At the time of her death, Oleander weighed 28 pounds. She was covered from head to toe with bruises, abrasions and wounds in various stages of healing. She also had multiple broken ribs, some of which had been broken repeatedly, a repeatedly broken thighbone and scarring on some of her internal organs.
Rosillo admitted to breaking the girl’s femur, saying he later made a point of kicking her there, knowing it would hurt more. He told police he was the sole disciplinarian, admitting to beating the girl with a belt, back scratcher and broom handle.
As punishment, he forced the girl to do wall squats and kneel on hard surfaces, such as tile or linoleum flooring, for up to an hour. He’d make her kneel on a brick or uncooked rice on the floor, or stand on her toes in the corner. Eventually she’d crumble from the pain and he’d beat her for that.
Meanwhile, his girlfriend also beat the girl and “made it easy” for the man to kill his daughter, police and court officials said. She also told people that if Rosillo ever touched her biological children, she’d leave him.
Court documents report the girl was only 2 when her father and his girlfriend began abusing her. This was just a short time after Oleander, who had been living with a loving foster family that wanted to adopt her in Washington, went to live with her biological father and his girlfriend.
Impact felt nationwide
And now sicko daddy wants to take parenting classes in prison, and counsel other fathers on the care of special needs children? Oh for God's sake, get me my barf bag....
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=130385636029485300
Dead child’s father sentenced to life in prisonGirlfriend serving 20 years for manslaughter, abuse
By Mara Stine
The Gresham Outlook, Apr 26, 2011, Updated Apr 26, 2011
The father of a 5-year-old Gresham girl who was tortured, beaten and abused to death will spend at least 25 years in prison.
Christopher Andrew “Andy” Rosillo, 24, was sentenced by Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Michael McShane on Tuesday, April 26, to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years.
Rosillo pleaded guilty to murder by abuse on March 16, two days after his longtime girlfriend, Guadalupe “Lupé” Quintero, 24, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for her role in the killing of Oleander “Andie” Rosillo. Quintero, who was crowned Miss Teen Clackamas County in 2006, is serving a 20-year sentence.
Rosillo showed no remorse during his sentencing hearing but said he was “sorry to all of the people I have hurt during this tragic event, especially sorry for my daughter who has passed on. She never deserved any of this.”
He also apologized to the dead girl’s two younger half-siblings, who are now in foster care, “for the pain and sorrow that you have to go through life without a mother and a father.”
The two younger children are the biological children of Rosillo and Quintero, who was not Oleander’s biological mother.
One of the worst child abuse cases
Investigators called the girl’s murder the worst case of child abuse and neglect they’d investigated. Court documents show the girl was abused and tortured for more than three years before she died on April 13, 2010. Police found the girl unconscious and not breathing when they responded to a report of an injured child in an apartment at 418 S.E. 169th Ave., just north of Southeast Stark Street.
At the time of her death, Oleander weighed 28 pounds. She was covered from head to toe with bruises, abrasions and wounds in various stages of healing. She also had multiple broken ribs, some of which had been broken repeatedly, a repeatedly broken thighbone and scarring on some of her internal organs.
Rosillo admitted to breaking the girl’s femur, saying he later made a point of kicking her there, knowing it would hurt more. He told police he was the sole disciplinarian, admitting to beating the girl with a belt, back scratcher and broom handle.
As punishment, he forced the girl to do wall squats and kneel on hard surfaces, such as tile or linoleum flooring, for up to an hour. He’d make her kneel on a brick or uncooked rice on the floor, or stand on her toes in the corner. Eventually she’d crumble from the pain and he’d beat her for that.
Meanwhile, his girlfriend also beat the girl and “made it easy” for the man to kill his daughter, police and court officials said. She also told people that if Rosillo ever touched her biological children, she’d leave him.
Court documents report the girl was only 2 when her father and his girlfriend began abusing her. This was just a short time after Oleander, who had been living with a loving foster family that wanted to adopt her in Washington, went to live with her biological father and his girlfriend.
Impact felt nationwide
Deputy District Attorney Nathan Vasquez – in a move usually reserved for crime victims or their loved ones – made a rare victim impact statement to the court on behalf of the community.
He’s received phone calls, emails and letters from across the nation from people in disbelief at the agony Oleander endured. Grand jurors and forensic scientists who worked on the case appeared in court for the sentencing.
“Everyone who has dealt with this case has suffered,” Vasquez said.
By all accounts, Oleander was a sweet, beautiful, innocent child – despite being born with medical problems that she later overcame. She was no more trouble than any other healthy child, detectives said.
Her father’s relatives still struggle to understand how their loved one could have committed such a senseless, tragic crime, Vasquez said. “The pain they are feeling is amplified by many factors,” Vasquez said. “She was failed by family members. She was failed by many people in the sense that her abuse was apparent. It was understood, and no one spoke up on her behalf.”
Only last week, Vasquez learned how traumatized Oleander’s now 4-year-old half-sister and nearly 2-year-old half-brother are by the loss of their big sister.
With time and therapy, he hopes they can come to terms with how their parents could have committed such horrific crimes, Vasquez said.
During the hearing, three women related to Oleander’s biological mother encouraged Rosillo to turn to God.
“It’s not too late for you … to turn your life over to him,” said Diane Spence, Oleander’s biological grandmother. “God is holding her in his arms and is wiping all tears from her eyes.”
Before the sentencing hearing ended, Rosillo told the courtroom he would like to counsel fathers on “how hard it is to take care of a child with special needs so they don’t have to end up with a case like mine.”
While incarcerated, he also plans to take parenting classes.
As sheriff’s deputies led him from the courtroom in handcuffs, Rosillo’s mother, Marrian Turner of Sandy, tearfully said, “I love you, mijo.”
And while she loves her son and mourns losing him to prison, minutes later she thanked prosecutor Vasquez for putting him there.
“We wanted justice for little Andie,” she said, crying.
Dad who killed infant son by slamming him to ground gets 25 years (Columbus, Ohio)
We've reported on this sorry paternal specimen before. Now QUINDELL SHERMAN will be doing 25 years in prison for murdering his infant son.
http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2011/05/03/story-columbus-man-sentenced-for-killing-son.html?sid=102
Man Who Killed Infant Son By Slamming Him To Ground Gets 25 YearsTuesday, May 3, 2011 12:55 PM
Updated: Tuesday, May 3, 2011 1:14 PM
WBNS-10TV
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man who killed his infant son by throwing him repeatedly on the ground during a fight with the child's mother learned his sentence on Tuesday.
Quindell Sherman was sentenced in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to 25 years in prison for the death of his son, Jayden, in November, 10TV's Tino Ramos reported.
Sherman, 20, killed the boy during a dispute with the child's mother on East 16th Avenue. Prosecutors said Sherman slammed the 3-month-old into a concrete landing before dragging the child down the street "like a rag doll."
At one point, Sherman threw the boy into the air and he landed more than 20 feet away, prosecutors said.
Police arrested Sherman after finding him hiding in a trash can. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to aggravated murder charges.
"It's hard for me to believe that those were my actions that I committed on Nov. 16," Sherman said. "I wanted to do, all I wanted to do, was be the best father to my son. As a result of my actions, I won't have a chance to be his father."
http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2011/05/03/story-columbus-man-sentenced-for-killing-son.html?sid=102
Man Who Killed Infant Son By Slamming Him To Ground Gets 25 YearsTuesday, May 3, 2011 12:55 PM
Updated: Tuesday, May 3, 2011 1:14 PM
WBNS-10TV
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man who killed his infant son by throwing him repeatedly on the ground during a fight with the child's mother learned his sentence on Tuesday.
Quindell Sherman was sentenced in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to 25 years in prison for the death of his son, Jayden, in November, 10TV's Tino Ramos reported.
Sherman, 20, killed the boy during a dispute with the child's mother on East 16th Avenue. Prosecutors said Sherman slammed the 3-month-old into a concrete landing before dragging the child down the street "like a rag doll."
At one point, Sherman threw the boy into the air and he landed more than 20 feet away, prosecutors said.
Police arrested Sherman after finding him hiding in a trash can. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to aggravated murder charges.
"It's hard for me to believe that those were my actions that I committed on Nov. 16," Sherman said. "I wanted to do, all I wanted to do, was be the best father to my son. As a result of my actions, I won't have a chance to be his father."
Police: Boy assaulted as he tried to calm dad (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Yet another charming drunkard daddy in our midst. Meet MARIO CORTES-DELGADILLO. And where was the mother when Daddy was having his fit? Who knows. Once again, Mom has been written out of the story.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/05/03/1171986/police-boy-assaulted-as-he-tries.html
Police: Boy assaulted as he tries to calm dadFrom Staff Reports
A 42-year-old Raleigh man was arrested Monday and charged with child abuse in the assault of his son.
Raleigh police said Mario Cortes-Delgadillo was intoxicated when his child, who is under the age of 16, attempted to calm his father down.
Police said Cortes-Delgadillo then assaulted his son, "pushing him and grabbing him around the neck," according to arrest warrants filed in the Wake County Magistrate's Office.
Cortes-Delgadillo, of 3809 French Lake Drive, was in custody in the Wake County jail on a $3,000 bond.
INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/05/03/1171986/police-boy-assaulted-as-he-tries.html
Police: Boy assaulted as he tries to calm dadFrom Staff Reports
A 42-year-old Raleigh man was arrested Monday and charged with child abuse in the assault of his son.
Raleigh police said Mario Cortes-Delgadillo was intoxicated when his child, who is under the age of 16, attempted to calm his father down.
Police said Cortes-Delgadillo then assaulted his son, "pushing him and grabbing him around the neck," according to arrest warrants filed in the Wake County Magistrate's Office.
Cortes-Delgadillo, of 3809 French Lake Drive, was in custody in the Wake County jail on a $3,000 bond.
Single, adoptive dad sentenced to 119 years in prison for torture/abuse of 15-year-old son (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
We've posted on dad JEREMIAH LOVATO before. What he did to his adopted "son" was more than "abuse" -- it was out-and-out torture. And who is it who authorized this guy to adopt a child? How well did we do our research? Not very well, it sure seems. Not that anybody will be held accountable or anything....
http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Adoptive_father_sentenced_to_119_years_for_abuse_121120754.html?storySection=story
Abusive Father To Appeal 119 Year Sentence Prosecutors said Jeremiah Lovato beat his adopted son with a meat tenderizer, strangled him, and stomped on his testicles when the teen tried to deflect the abuse.
Posted: 4:31 PM May 2, 2011
Reporter: KKTV/Associated Press
Jeremiah Lovato has been charged with first degree child abuse for allegedly beating his 15-year-old son.
A Colorado Springs man convicted of beating his adopted teenage son was sentenced to 119 years in prison Monday, but his attorney says he will appeal.
Jeremiah Lovato, 40, was accused of hitting his son with lumber, a meat tenderizer and a belt. The two lived in Craig before moving to the outskirts of Colorado Springs in 2009 after the adoption became official. He was found guilty of sexual assault for stomping on his adopted son's testicles.
Authorities say the beatings were revealed when the teen jumped a fence in January 2010 and ran to a neighbor rather than face more abuse.
The judge said this was one of the worst cases of child abuse he has ever seen. The 16-year-old said he'd like to see his adoptive father "locked away for a long time." Lovato's attorney says his client is "indigent" and has asked for a public defender to lead the appeal.
The teen is currently living with a foster family.
http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Adoptive_father_sentenced_to_119_years_for_abuse_121120754.html?storySection=story
Abusive Father To Appeal 119 Year Sentence Prosecutors said Jeremiah Lovato beat his adopted son with a meat tenderizer, strangled him, and stomped on his testicles when the teen tried to deflect the abuse.
Posted: 4:31 PM May 2, 2011
Reporter: KKTV/Associated Press
Jeremiah Lovato has been charged with first degree child abuse for allegedly beating his 15-year-old son.
A Colorado Springs man convicted of beating his adopted teenage son was sentenced to 119 years in prison Monday, but his attorney says he will appeal.
Jeremiah Lovato, 40, was accused of hitting his son with lumber, a meat tenderizer and a belt. The two lived in Craig before moving to the outskirts of Colorado Springs in 2009 after the adoption became official. He was found guilty of sexual assault for stomping on his adopted son's testicles.
Authorities say the beatings were revealed when the teen jumped a fence in January 2010 and ran to a neighbor rather than face more abuse.
The judge said this was one of the worst cases of child abuse he has ever seen. The 16-year-old said he'd like to see his adoptive father "locked away for a long time." Lovato's attorney says his client is "indigent" and has asked for a public defender to lead the appeal.
The teen is currently living with a foster family.
Former custodial dad kills ex-wife, father-in-law after losing custody (Costa Mesa, California)
Yup, just another one of those poor, misunderstood daddies. He was depraved because he was deprived, don't you know.
Here's the real deal. Once again, we have an abusive father, ROBERT ALLAN LEHMAN who used custody issues as a tool for tormenting his ex-wife (e.g. domestic abuse by proxy). His wife feared for her safety because of his "temper"--and had in fact APPLIED for a restraining order (which she apparently didn't receive or that fact would have been noted here. In retrospect, will the authorities admit that they effed up?) And yet Daddy GOT CUSTODY ANYWAY. Of course. Despite all the FR lies to the contrary, abusive fathers are remarkably successful in getting their way.
So who gave this double killer custody of a young special needs girl? Don't look for the press to tell you. Wouldn't want to embarass a judge or any of the minions of court whores out there.
So apparently at some point, somebody decided that it was insane to leave a vulnerable child in the care of this goofball who couldn't even bother to show up for family court. Arrogance and entitlement does that to you, unfortunately. So custody was changed back to the mother.
Well, Daddy wasn't having any of that. Must have control! Even if we have to do it in a Big Bloody Daddy Drama! If the mother had to be slaughtered in a barrage of gun fire to keep her away from her child, so be it! And her father too! And at a scene outside a school where many other innocent people could have been hurt, including children! After all, other people would just be collateral damage to a narcissistic killer like Daddy, wouldn't they?
Again, why was Daddy coddled by the system? This is no unforseeable "tragedy." There were red flags all over the place with this guy. All of which were ignored until it was too late. And now two people are dead. And a little girl is motherless.
Hat tip to Annie.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/-299051--.html
Published: May 4, 2011
Updated: May 5, 2011 7:23 a.m.
Police: Man missed custody hearing, killed 2By CINDY CARCAMO, SALVADOR HERNANDEZ and SEAN EMERY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
COSTA MESA – A man is suspected of shooting and killing his ex-wife and her father shortly after losing custody of his 7-year-old daughter Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
Emily Ford, left, and Russell Ford. Police said Robert Allan Lehmann, 36, opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun, killing the father and daughter in view of neighbors and parents picking up their children at a school near the home at the 3400 block of Santa Clara Circle.
According to court records, Robert Allan Lehmann, 36, had been embroiled in a dispute with his ex-wife, Emily Ford, 32, for about two years, arguing over attorney fees, custody and to what school they would send their special-needs 7-year-old daughter.
Records show Lehmann and Ford were scheduled to appear in family court Tuesday morning, but Lehmann did not show up. The court hearing was pushed back to 4 p.m., but records show Lehmann again failed to show up.
Costa Mesa police said the shooting occurred about two hours later, after Lehmann lost custody of his daughter. Ford and her father, Russell Ford, 62, drove to Lehmann's home to pick up the girl.
Police said Lehmann opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun, killing the father and daughter in view of neighbors and parents picking up their children at a school near the home at the 3400 block of Santa Clara Circle.
Officers went to the home after receiving calls that shots had been fired, said Lt. Bryan Glass. One of the calls reporting the shooting came from Lehmann, who called police shortly after the shooting.
Witnesses said they heard 10 to 15 shots, some of which hit cars parked in front of the home.
“If it weren't for the cars in front of here I'd be dead right now,” said Yara Oliveira, director of the school, adding that children were playing outdoors in a grassy area when the shooting occurred. “It was horrible. Horrible.”
Anup Poudyal was picking up his 2-year-old boy at the time. When he heard the shots, he grabbed his boy and ran inside.
“The kids were playing outside in the grass when this happened,” Poudyal said. “That's the scary part.”
His car, a Honda Pilot, was hit by a bullet.
Jim Gosliga said he was helping a friend's son move into the neighborhood when he heard shots. He walked outside and saw a man in the driveway of the home, reloading a gun.
“He just kind of came out, and I saw him point down and fire off some shots,” he said.
Gosliga asked people to call police, and noticed that the man also was talking on a phone. He said the man appeared unsteady.
“He had taken something because he was all woozy,” Gosliga said. “I asked him what it was and he said it didn't matter.”
Frank Bettner, a neighbor, said he saw the man talking on the phone shortly after hearing shots.
“I asked him if he shot somebody. He said, 'Yes, I did,' “ Bettner said. “He was just very calm.”
Bettner said he walked inside the home and found a handgun on a nightstand, near the door. He picked up the weapon with a piece of clothing, he said, and emptied the clip.
Investigators returned to the home at the 3400 block of Santa Clara Circle Wednesday morning to continue to piece together more details that led to the killing of the father and daughter, said Sgt. Darrel Rainey.
A large yellow tarp used by police to cover the gruesome scene remained in place near the driveway of the home, near where neighbors said they saw the man point toward the ground and fire.
Bloodstains remained on the sidewalk.
Despite early reports that the couple's 7-year-old daughter was inside the home, police said Wednesday that she was not in the house when the shooting took place. She was with her stepmother nearby, police said. She is now in the custody of relatives.
Ford's baby, who is not related to Lehmann, was found inside a parked car. The baby's father has taken custody of the baby, Glass said.
Lehmann remains in the custody of Costa Mesa police, Glass said, and has been booked on suspicion of two counts of murder with special circumstances.
Court records show Lehmann and Ford were married for about 10 months before being legally separated. In August 2009, the legal battle intensified, with the couple fighting over custody, legal fees and where their daughter would go to school.
In October 2004, records show Ford applied for a restraining order.
“He has an inability to control his temper, and I fear for our safety when he loses it,” she wrote in the order.
When arguing with Lehmann, Ford sometimes turned to her father, asking for help and to pick her up, records show.
Shortly after August 2009, Ford applied for sole custody of their daughter.
Here's the real deal. Once again, we have an abusive father, ROBERT ALLAN LEHMAN who used custody issues as a tool for tormenting his ex-wife (e.g. domestic abuse by proxy). His wife feared for her safety because of his "temper"--and had in fact APPLIED for a restraining order (which she apparently didn't receive or that fact would have been noted here. In retrospect, will the authorities admit that they effed up?) And yet Daddy GOT CUSTODY ANYWAY. Of course. Despite all the FR lies to the contrary, abusive fathers are remarkably successful in getting their way.
So who gave this double killer custody of a young special needs girl? Don't look for the press to tell you. Wouldn't want to embarass a judge or any of the minions of court whores out there.
So apparently at some point, somebody decided that it was insane to leave a vulnerable child in the care of this goofball who couldn't even bother to show up for family court. Arrogance and entitlement does that to you, unfortunately. So custody was changed back to the mother.
Well, Daddy wasn't having any of that. Must have control! Even if we have to do it in a Big Bloody Daddy Drama! If the mother had to be slaughtered in a barrage of gun fire to keep her away from her child, so be it! And her father too! And at a scene outside a school where many other innocent people could have been hurt, including children! After all, other people would just be collateral damage to a narcissistic killer like Daddy, wouldn't they?
Again, why was Daddy coddled by the system? This is no unforseeable "tragedy." There were red flags all over the place with this guy. All of which were ignored until it was too late. And now two people are dead. And a little girl is motherless.
Hat tip to Annie.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/-299051--.html
Published: May 4, 2011
Updated: May 5, 2011 7:23 a.m.
Police: Man missed custody hearing, killed 2By CINDY CARCAMO, SALVADOR HERNANDEZ and SEAN EMERY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
COSTA MESA – A man is suspected of shooting and killing his ex-wife and her father shortly after losing custody of his 7-year-old daughter Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
Emily Ford, left, and Russell Ford. Police said Robert Allan Lehmann, 36, opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun, killing the father and daughter in view of neighbors and parents picking up their children at a school near the home at the 3400 block of Santa Clara Circle.
According to court records, Robert Allan Lehmann, 36, had been embroiled in a dispute with his ex-wife, Emily Ford, 32, for about two years, arguing over attorney fees, custody and to what school they would send their special-needs 7-year-old daughter.
Records show Lehmann and Ford were scheduled to appear in family court Tuesday morning, but Lehmann did not show up. The court hearing was pushed back to 4 p.m., but records show Lehmann again failed to show up.
Costa Mesa police said the shooting occurred about two hours later, after Lehmann lost custody of his daughter. Ford and her father, Russell Ford, 62, drove to Lehmann's home to pick up the girl.
Police said Lehmann opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun, killing the father and daughter in view of neighbors and parents picking up their children at a school near the home at the 3400 block of Santa Clara Circle.
Officers went to the home after receiving calls that shots had been fired, said Lt. Bryan Glass. One of the calls reporting the shooting came from Lehmann, who called police shortly after the shooting.
Witnesses said they heard 10 to 15 shots, some of which hit cars parked in front of the home.
“If it weren't for the cars in front of here I'd be dead right now,” said Yara Oliveira, director of the school, adding that children were playing outdoors in a grassy area when the shooting occurred. “It was horrible. Horrible.”
Anup Poudyal was picking up his 2-year-old boy at the time. When he heard the shots, he grabbed his boy and ran inside.
“The kids were playing outside in the grass when this happened,” Poudyal said. “That's the scary part.”
His car, a Honda Pilot, was hit by a bullet.
Jim Gosliga said he was helping a friend's son move into the neighborhood when he heard shots. He walked outside and saw a man in the driveway of the home, reloading a gun.
“He just kind of came out, and I saw him point down and fire off some shots,” he said.
Gosliga asked people to call police, and noticed that the man also was talking on a phone. He said the man appeared unsteady.
“He had taken something because he was all woozy,” Gosliga said. “I asked him what it was and he said it didn't matter.”
Frank Bettner, a neighbor, said he saw the man talking on the phone shortly after hearing shots.
“I asked him if he shot somebody. He said, 'Yes, I did,' “ Bettner said. “He was just very calm.”
Bettner said he walked inside the home and found a handgun on a nightstand, near the door. He picked up the weapon with a piece of clothing, he said, and emptied the clip.
Investigators returned to the home at the 3400 block of Santa Clara Circle Wednesday morning to continue to piece together more details that led to the killing of the father and daughter, said Sgt. Darrel Rainey.
A large yellow tarp used by police to cover the gruesome scene remained in place near the driveway of the home, near where neighbors said they saw the man point toward the ground and fire.
Bloodstains remained on the sidewalk.
Despite early reports that the couple's 7-year-old daughter was inside the home, police said Wednesday that she was not in the house when the shooting took place. She was with her stepmother nearby, police said. She is now in the custody of relatives.
Ford's baby, who is not related to Lehmann, was found inside a parked car. The baby's father has taken custody of the baby, Glass said.
Lehmann remains in the custody of Costa Mesa police, Glass said, and has been booked on suspicion of two counts of murder with special circumstances.
Court records show Lehmann and Ford were married for about 10 months before being legally separated. In August 2009, the legal battle intensified, with the couple fighting over custody, legal fees and where their daughter would go to school.
In October 2004, records show Ford applied for a restraining order.
“He has an inability to control his temper, and I fear for our safety when he loses it,” she wrote in the order.
When arguing with Lehmann, Ford sometimes turned to her father, asking for help and to pick her up, records show.
Shortly after August 2009, Ford applied for sole custody of their daughter.
Wife beater daddy gets child custody, then murders the kids (Saint-Edmond-de Grantham, Quebec, Canada)
For decades now, the fathers rights movement has been telling us that if only all those poor, wounded daddies out their weren't "deprived" of ther children, then we wouldn't have all these murders borne of "frustration."
Can we finally call them on their bullsh** now?
Dad THOMAS HOULE was an "alleged" wife beater (and probable child abuser, since men who do one tend to do the other). Did that stop him from getting child visitation? Not at all! In fact, this abuser daddy got the whole enchalada. Basically full custody!
Did full custody make Daddy happy? Not at all. He brutally murdered two of the kids (their bodies were burned beyond recognition). A third is injured, and thoroughly traumatized. Because for some of these guys, full custody just isn't enough control. We must have the huge Daddy Drama bloodbath so everybody knows how you can't cross Daddy by leaving him. And also to really, really punish that "bitch" for leaving our sorry @$$!
And still we see how the media doesn't get it. We have a batterer who brutally murdered two young children and yet we blame it all on a "marital dispute"?! This is 100% crap. Say a mugger tried to steal your bag on the streets, and when you tried to resist, he broke your jaw. Does that make the incident a "street dispute"? Or an assault? Obviously, it sounds absurd to call this kind of incident a "dispute." So why do the police and the media still insist on blaming domestic violence on a "dispute" rather than attribute responsibility to the one who committed the crime?
So who gave this killer daddy custody? Will we see the name of the judge who allowed this crime to proceed according to plan? Don't hold your breath.
Hat tip to Annie.
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/Murder+suicide+suspected+childrens+death/4721675/story.html
Murder-suicide suspected in children’s deathBryanna Bradley/Postmedia News
Adrian Humphreys, National Post · May 3, 2011 | Last Updated: May 4, 2011 8:02 AM ET
When dense, black smoke wafted above the trees of a rural Quebec community neighbours thought the sugar shack next door was ablaze but when police arrived, the scene was far more crushing: two young children were dead inside a burning pickup truck, a third, suffering burns to his arms and head, stood nearby, watching helplessly.
Monday morning’s discovery in Saint-Edmond-de-Grantham, 100 kilometres northeast of Montreal, set police on a search for the father, Martin Houle, 37, a local farmer and owner of the truck.
Throughout the night a helicopter with infrared equipment, tracking dogs and ground officers wearing night-vision goggles, scoured the surrounding woods.
About noon Tuesday, Mr. Houle’s body was found a kilometre from the carnage. He, too, had burn marks. His cause of death is under investigation.
Police are now trying to understand what happened — including confirming the identity of the children, believed to be Mr. Houle’s 18-month-old daughter and eight-year-old son, who were burnt beyond recognition — in a case where the only witness is a traumatized six-year-old boy.
Police are gently interviewing him in hospital.
Circumstantial evidence suggests a murder-suicide in the midst of a marital dispute. The mother of the children was in the northern United States at the time and has now returned to what remains of her family.
“At the scene, to the officers’ horror, there were two bodies inside the car as it was burning. We also found a six-year-old boy who was just standing near the scene who also had some burns and he was taken to a hospital in Montreal,” said Sergeant Louis-Philippe Ruel, spokesman for the Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police.
“The fire was so intense we can’t identify the bodies that were inside the car, but circumstantial evidence tends to point to them being the other two children.”
The surviving boy, Antoine, is in stable condition.
“They spoke to him for a little while yesterday, but we are still waiting for the whole story from him because we wanted to let him rest,” said Sgt. Ruel.
Saint-Edmond-de-Grantham is a rural village west of Drummondville that has one grocery store, one church and about 50 houses in the centre with the remaining families living on surrounding farms.
“Our little town of 794 souls is like a big family. We are very close,” said Mayor Marie-Andrée Auger.
“It’s a tragedy, for sure. The family is known by all the community, a big family that has been here for a long time. It is a very sad story. We could not imagine this happening.”
Mr. Houle’s family own farmland and run a maple sugar shack on a long rural road running southeast from the village centre.
Local reports said Mr. Houle had been granted custody of the three children after a marital split and the mother had publicly claimed to be a victim of spousal violence. Sgt. Ruel declined to comment.
Police met with her when she returned to the area and she is staying with family in the area, he said.
Can we finally call them on their bullsh** now?
Dad THOMAS HOULE was an "alleged" wife beater (and probable child abuser, since men who do one tend to do the other). Did that stop him from getting child visitation? Not at all! In fact, this abuser daddy got the whole enchalada. Basically full custody!
Did full custody make Daddy happy? Not at all. He brutally murdered two of the kids (their bodies were burned beyond recognition). A third is injured, and thoroughly traumatized. Because for some of these guys, full custody just isn't enough control. We must have the huge Daddy Drama bloodbath so everybody knows how you can't cross Daddy by leaving him. And also to really, really punish that "bitch" for leaving our sorry @$$!
And still we see how the media doesn't get it. We have a batterer who brutally murdered two young children and yet we blame it all on a "marital dispute"?! This is 100% crap. Say a mugger tried to steal your bag on the streets, and when you tried to resist, he broke your jaw. Does that make the incident a "street dispute"? Or an assault? Obviously, it sounds absurd to call this kind of incident a "dispute." So why do the police and the media still insist on blaming domestic violence on a "dispute" rather than attribute responsibility to the one who committed the crime?
So who gave this killer daddy custody? Will we see the name of the judge who allowed this crime to proceed according to plan? Don't hold your breath.
Hat tip to Annie.
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/Murder+suicide+suspected+childrens+death/4721675/story.html
Murder-suicide suspected in children’s deathBryanna Bradley/Postmedia News
Adrian Humphreys, National Post · May 3, 2011 | Last Updated: May 4, 2011 8:02 AM ET
When dense, black smoke wafted above the trees of a rural Quebec community neighbours thought the sugar shack next door was ablaze but when police arrived, the scene was far more crushing: two young children were dead inside a burning pickup truck, a third, suffering burns to his arms and head, stood nearby, watching helplessly.
Monday morning’s discovery in Saint-Edmond-de-Grantham, 100 kilometres northeast of Montreal, set police on a search for the father, Martin Houle, 37, a local farmer and owner of the truck.
Throughout the night a helicopter with infrared equipment, tracking dogs and ground officers wearing night-vision goggles, scoured the surrounding woods.
About noon Tuesday, Mr. Houle’s body was found a kilometre from the carnage. He, too, had burn marks. His cause of death is under investigation.
Police are now trying to understand what happened — including confirming the identity of the children, believed to be Mr. Houle’s 18-month-old daughter and eight-year-old son, who were burnt beyond recognition — in a case where the only witness is a traumatized six-year-old boy.
Police are gently interviewing him in hospital.
Circumstantial evidence suggests a murder-suicide in the midst of a marital dispute. The mother of the children was in the northern United States at the time and has now returned to what remains of her family.
“At the scene, to the officers’ horror, there were two bodies inside the car as it was burning. We also found a six-year-old boy who was just standing near the scene who also had some burns and he was taken to a hospital in Montreal,” said Sergeant Louis-Philippe Ruel, spokesman for the Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police.
“The fire was so intense we can’t identify the bodies that were inside the car, but circumstantial evidence tends to point to them being the other two children.”
The surviving boy, Antoine, is in stable condition.
“They spoke to him for a little while yesterday, but we are still waiting for the whole story from him because we wanted to let him rest,” said Sgt. Ruel.
Saint-Edmond-de-Grantham is a rural village west of Drummondville that has one grocery store, one church and about 50 houses in the centre with the remaining families living on surrounding farms.
“Our little town of 794 souls is like a big family. We are very close,” said Mayor Marie-Andrée Auger.
“It’s a tragedy, for sure. The family is known by all the community, a big family that has been here for a long time. It is a very sad story. We could not imagine this happening.”
Mr. Houle’s family own farmland and run a maple sugar shack on a long rural road running southeast from the village centre.
Local reports said Mr. Houle had been granted custody of the three children after a marital split and the mother had publicly claimed to be a victim of spousal violence. Sgt. Ruel declined to comment.
Police met with her when she returned to the area and she is staying with family in the area, he said.
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