More on Dad GUY TURCOTTE, more excuses....
http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Weight+Turcotte+woes+killing+children+psychiatrist/4878205/story.html
Weight of Guy Turcotte's woes led to killing children: psychiatrist
Deep depression; 'He couldn't take any more'
By SUE MONTGOMERY, The Gazette June 2, 2011
Cardiologist Guy Turcotte wasn't suffering from schizophrenia, psychosis, manic depression or a personality disorder the night he stabbed his children to death.
The 39-year-old had always been in good physical health, had a flawless work record, and had never dabbled in drugs or delinquency as a teen.
So what possessed him on Feb. 20, 2009, to grip a knife with two hands and plunge it repeatedly into the tiny torsos of his children, Olivier, 5 and Anne-Sophie, 3, despite their painful moans?
He just couldn't take it any more. That was the conclusion drawn by Roch-Hugo Bouchard, a psychiatrist hired by the defence who spent more than two hours with Turcotte March 4 at the Rivière des Prairies detention centre.
Bouchard is the second psychiatrist called by the defence to say Turcotte, who is on trial for firstdegree murder, couldn't cope with the sudden changes in his life, such as the discovery of his wife having an affair with the couple's personal trainer, Martin Huot.
Turcotte had the classic symptoms of depression: trouble sleeping, loss of appetite, loss of energy, Bouchard said on the 30th day of the trial.
"It's a bit like being in sinking sand," Bouchard said. "The more he tries to get out, the more stuck he feels."
He said Turcotte's sadness throughout the six-year marriage to Isabelle Gaston began to deepen into a depression in December 2008, and that downward spiral was triggered by three events: Gaston had cosmetic surgery despite Turcotte's protests, Gaston took the children to Cuba over Christmas, when Turcotte was on call at St. Jérôme's Hotel Dieu Hospital and a disastrous New Year's Eve night on the town with another couple.
Christmas was an important holiday for Turcotte and he felt that it should be celebrated together as a family, testified Bouchard, who is an assistant director at the Institute for Mental Health in Quebec City.
When Turcotte and Gaston rang in 2009 at a bar with Huot and his wife, Patricia Giroux, Turcotte felt Gaston was having fun with everyone but him.
"After 2008, something broke and things got much more difficult," Bouchard said.
A key date in Turcotte's decline into despair was Jan. 14, 2009, when Giroux informed Turcotte she'd discovered a string of romantic emails between their spouses.
"He was very angry and devastated," Bouchard said. "The day before, he didn't think it was possible (that his wife was having an affair) and now the proof was before him."
Turcotte felt as though he'd been replaced as a father, husband and friend.
The night he killed the children, Turcotte was exhausted, sad and weak, said Bouchard, who was in the courtroom through most of Turcotte's two weeks of testimony.
"It was the accumulation of everything on his shoulders and he couldn't take any more," Bouchard said.
As a result, Turcotte was incapable of judging the nature of his actions.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Child welfare agency: We "should have done more" to protect now dead baby left with single, unemployed dad (Cambridge, Ontario, Canada)
Well now that the baby is dead, a child welfare agency admits it "should have done more" to protect a baby who was shaken to death while left alone with her "stressed" and unemployed single father, SEAN SUMMERS. Even though Mom had "primary care," our professional meddler friends just couldn't leave well enough alone. No, we had to draw up a "voluntary" plan involving Daddy--even though the grandparents had clear concerns about this guy. It's no surprise that as this volatile young man got "angry" and "jealous" because he thought his ex-girlfriend was "cheating" on him--even though it's not "cheating" when you've already broken up. (It's called moving on with your life.) It's also no big suprise that a 19-year-old dude who probably had no experience in taking care of young infants would take out his "frustration" on a helpless baby. All of this was very predictable.
And all these "child welfare" people can say is that they didn't "understand" the "events" before them. What's there to understand? The baby was just fine living with mom and her parents. The ex-boyfriend didn't need to be involved in any way, shape, or form. And we need to stop telling young, unmarried mothers that they must "involve" the sperm donor. This is a sure-fire recipe for disaster.
http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/541918--agency-admits-to-mistakes-before-shaking-death-of-baby
Agency admits to mistakes before shaking death of baby
CAMBRIDGE — The head of the local child-welfare agency admits it should have done more to protect an infant who was shaken to death by her teenage father.
Kayleigh Ingram-Summers died of “devastating” head injuries after she was left alone with the stressed, unemployed 19-year-old in his tiny rented bedroom in Cambridge last July.
A social worker for Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region had been involved with the family of the four-month-old girl for about a month before the death.
“I think we take some responsibility for this given what we knew at the time,” said Alison Scott, executive director of the agency.
“Everyone who was involved in that little girl’s life didn’t understand the significance and the seriousness of the events that were rolling out in front of them. That was the tragedy.”
Sean Summers, now 20, pleaded guilty this week to manslaughter and was sentenced to the equivalent of eight years in prison.
According to an agreed statement of facts outlined in Kitchener court, he was suspected of earlier abuse after bruises were found on the infant.
Summers admitted to an agency caseworker that he caused the bruises — though not through actual abuse — and told her he didn’t want to be left alone with his daughter.
The result was a voluntary plan stipulating Summers only have visits with the child while watched by his estranged girlfriend, Kaitlyn Ingram.
Ingram, 18, had primary care of the baby and lived with her supportive parents, Keith and Karen, who had voiced concerns about Summers and attended a meeting where the plan was drawn up by the agency.
Scott said the voluntary agreement — which also called for counselling and other supports — clearly wasn’t strict enough as the relationship between the young couple deteriorated in the two weeks leading up to the death.
“We didn’t see it quickly enough,” she said.
Summers grew angry and jealous because he thought Ingram had cheated on him.
“They were fighting, they were young and their relationship was under a lot of stress,” Scott said.
Telephone messages were left for the agency by members of the Ingram family expressing ongoing concerns, though Scott said direct contact was never made.
Despite those concerns, the squabbling and a pattern of suspicious bruising, the young parents eventually arranged for Summers to care alone for the baby during the day for three consecutive days.
After the first day, they argued about a text message from a man that Summers had found on Ingram’s cellphone.
The morning of the second day, he told her he didn’t want to take the child because it was raining and they would be cooped up in his bare basement room.
Nevertheless, according to the agreed facts, Ingram got her father to drive her over to his place to drop the baby off. Summers was upset, in part because Ingram was going to spend time with friends.
“That clearly violated the plan that was in place, which said (Summers) was not to be left alone with this baby,” Scott said.
She said the agency wasn’t told about it at the time and still doesn’t know why it happened.
Members of the Ingram family declined to comment — as did police, Crown and defence lawyers, and a pediatrician who admitted the infant to hospital as a safety precaution after bruises were first detected.
Within an hour of being left with Kayleigh against his wishes, Summers was texting Ingram to ask when she was going to pick her up.
Throughout the day, he left profane messages accusing her of being a bad mother.
Summers also left a voicemail message for the agency social worker assigned to the case.
At some point, he violently shook Kayleigh. The reason wasn’t specified in the agreed facts, although the prosecutor suggested he took his anger at Ingram out on their daughter.
When Ingram and her father returned to pick Kayleigh up that night, she was pale, unresponsive and having difficulty breathing.
They immediately took her to Cambridge Memorial Hospital. While they were there, Summers sent more messages basically admitting responsibility.
“I never meant for any of this to happen,” he said in one. “It’s all my fault.”
Transferred to Hamilton for emergency surgery, Kayleigh was later taken off life support and died July 12.
In hindsight, Scott said, the agency made a mistake by leaving only a voluntary supervision plan in place.
She said it should have apprehended the child, or at least required visits by Summers to be supervised by agency staff.
“Based on what we knew then, I think it was insufficient to have the mother alone supervising that access,” Scott said.
“Even with what we knew in the first couple of weeks, it was probably unreasonable to put that burden of responsibility on that young mom’s shoulders.”
With the criminal case completed, the circumstances of the death — as with the deaths of all children under five — will automatically be reviewed by a provincial committee of professionals in the field.
Dr. Jack Stanborough, the regional coroner, said it could then be referred to a second committee for recommendations on ways to prevent similar deaths in future.
He will consider the results of that process “very closely” to determine if it would also be useful to hold an inquest.
“If society has recognized that a child is in a compromised position and that is brought to the attention of children’s aid and then the child dies anyway, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to say ‘we’ve got to look at this,’ ” Stanborough said.
“When children die with children’s aid involvement . . . we cannot do our job right without looking at that in detail.”
And all these "child welfare" people can say is that they didn't "understand" the "events" before them. What's there to understand? The baby was just fine living with mom and her parents. The ex-boyfriend didn't need to be involved in any way, shape, or form. And we need to stop telling young, unmarried mothers that they must "involve" the sperm donor. This is a sure-fire recipe for disaster.
http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/541918--agency-admits-to-mistakes-before-shaking-death-of-baby
Thu Jun 2 2011
Agency admits to mistakes before shaking death of baby
CAMBRIDGE — The head of the local child-welfare agency admits it should have done more to protect an infant who was shaken to death by her teenage father.
Kayleigh Ingram-Summers died of “devastating” head injuries after she was left alone with the stressed, unemployed 19-year-old in his tiny rented bedroom in Cambridge last July.
A social worker for Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region had been involved with the family of the four-month-old girl for about a month before the death.
“I think we take some responsibility for this given what we knew at the time,” said Alison Scott, executive director of the agency.
“Everyone who was involved in that little girl’s life didn’t understand the significance and the seriousness of the events that were rolling out in front of them. That was the tragedy.”
Sean Summers, now 20, pleaded guilty this week to manslaughter and was sentenced to the equivalent of eight years in prison.
According to an agreed statement of facts outlined in Kitchener court, he was suspected of earlier abuse after bruises were found on the infant.
Summers admitted to an agency caseworker that he caused the bruises — though not through actual abuse — and told her he didn’t want to be left alone with his daughter.
The result was a voluntary plan stipulating Summers only have visits with the child while watched by his estranged girlfriend, Kaitlyn Ingram.
Ingram, 18, had primary care of the baby and lived with her supportive parents, Keith and Karen, who had voiced concerns about Summers and attended a meeting where the plan was drawn up by the agency.
Scott said the voluntary agreement — which also called for counselling and other supports — clearly wasn’t strict enough as the relationship between the young couple deteriorated in the two weeks leading up to the death.
“We didn’t see it quickly enough,” she said.
Summers grew angry and jealous because he thought Ingram had cheated on him.
“They were fighting, they were young and their relationship was under a lot of stress,” Scott said.
Telephone messages were left for the agency by members of the Ingram family expressing ongoing concerns, though Scott said direct contact was never made.
Despite those concerns, the squabbling and a pattern of suspicious bruising, the young parents eventually arranged for Summers to care alone for the baby during the day for three consecutive days.
After the first day, they argued about a text message from a man that Summers had found on Ingram’s cellphone.
The morning of the second day, he told her he didn’t want to take the child because it was raining and they would be cooped up in his bare basement room.
Nevertheless, according to the agreed facts, Ingram got her father to drive her over to his place to drop the baby off. Summers was upset, in part because Ingram was going to spend time with friends.
“That clearly violated the plan that was in place, which said (Summers) was not to be left alone with this baby,” Scott said.
She said the agency wasn’t told about it at the time and still doesn’t know why it happened.
Members of the Ingram family declined to comment — as did police, Crown and defence lawyers, and a pediatrician who admitted the infant to hospital as a safety precaution after bruises were first detected.
Within an hour of being left with Kayleigh against his wishes, Summers was texting Ingram to ask when she was going to pick her up.
Throughout the day, he left profane messages accusing her of being a bad mother.
Summers also left a voicemail message for the agency social worker assigned to the case.
At some point, he violently shook Kayleigh. The reason wasn’t specified in the agreed facts, although the prosecutor suggested he took his anger at Ingram out on their daughter.
When Ingram and her father returned to pick Kayleigh up that night, she was pale, unresponsive and having difficulty breathing.
They immediately took her to Cambridge Memorial Hospital. While they were there, Summers sent more messages basically admitting responsibility.
“I never meant for any of this to happen,” he said in one. “It’s all my fault.”
Transferred to Hamilton for emergency surgery, Kayleigh was later taken off life support and died July 12.
In hindsight, Scott said, the agency made a mistake by leaving only a voluntary supervision plan in place.
She said it should have apprehended the child, or at least required visits by Summers to be supervised by agency staff.
“Based on what we knew then, I think it was insufficient to have the mother alone supervising that access,” Scott said.
“Even with what we knew in the first couple of weeks, it was probably unreasonable to put that burden of responsibility on that young mom’s shoulders.”
With the criminal case completed, the circumstances of the death — as with the deaths of all children under five — will automatically be reviewed by a provincial committee of professionals in the field.
Dr. Jack Stanborough, the regional coroner, said it could then be referred to a second committee for recommendations on ways to prevent similar deaths in future.
He will consider the results of that process “very closely” to determine if it would also be useful to hold an inquest.
“If society has recognized that a child is in a compromised position and that is brought to the attention of children’s aid and then the child dies anyway, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to say ‘we’ve got to look at this,’ ” Stanborough said.
“When children die with children’s aid involvement . . . we cannot do our job right without looking at that in detail.”
"Caretaker" dad found guilty of abusing 9-week-old son (Dayton, Ohio)
Dad DAVID A. DARST has finally been found guilty of abusing his infant son, a baby who was only 9 weeks of age.
http://www.timesbulletin.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=166611
6/3/2011 12:07:00 AM
Guilty verdict in baby-shaking case retrial
By ED GEBERT
Times Bulletin News Writer
On Thursday, a jury of eight men and four women accomplished what a jury three months earlier could not do -- reach a verdict in the case against David A. Darst. The first trial ended when jurors could not agree on whether or not the Van Wert man caused major injuries to his then nine-week-old son back in April of 2010. This time after more than six hours of deliberations, the 12 on the panel reached a guilty verdict against Darst on the charge of second-degree felony child endangering.
"I'm happy," stated Assistant Van Wert County Prosecutor Eva Yarger after the verdict was read. "I think this was the right verdict, and I think justice was served. I believed in this case, which is why I tried it again."
The prosecution accused Darst of causing a serious injury to the infant when he watched the baby alone on April 22, 2010. Young Logan Darst was finally taken to the Van Wert County Hospital emergency room two days later when he was apparently having some sort of seizures. The baby was subsequently transferred to Dayton Children's Hospital where medical personnel noticed two subdural hematomas, or brain bleeds. The child was also diagnosed with retinal hemorrhages in both eyes and a brain injury from lack of oxygen. The doctors in Dayton gave the case a high probability of being Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS).
In his defense, Darst claimed that the only thing that happened to his son on the 22nd was that the child had slipped from his grasp while on the arm of an upholstered chair. Darst stated that he managed to trap the baby against the arm of the chair so he would not fall, causing three small bruises on the infant's chest. These bruises were not enough to cause injuries common to SBS. On the witness stand, Darst even admitted that the baby's head did not hit the arm of the chair or the floor during that incident.
While the prosecution pointed to Darst as the child's caretaker when the brain injuries occurred, both Darst and his wife claimed the real damage was done the next evening while the couple was at work and Logan was being watched by relatives. However, statements made to investigators placed a big change in the baby's behavior after the child was left with his father. In testimony, both parents made the claim that the baby was actually fine during that day and that earlier statements were incorrect.
The baby was dismissed from Dayton Children's Hospital on April 28, 2010 into foster care. In August, he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor near his spinal cord. Logan Darst died of cancer in January at the age of 11 months. Doctors found there was no correlation between the SBS injuries and the cancer.
One of the toughest parts of the trial for jury members was wading through the testimony from doctors involved in the case. Yarger said she was deliberate about making sure that evidence was presented clearly in the retrial. "I think I approached the medical testimony differently," she disclosed. "I tried to make it simpler and on a more understandable level. I've dealt with these things and been to seminars and been to training and I forget that ordinary people may not 'get it' the first time."
The major chore for jurors was to figure out who to believe when conflicting testimony was given. While other relatives gave one side of the story, the Darsts frequently denied that version, offering their own and even calling the others 'liars' when confronted by the differing stories. As for Yarger, she said simply that the decision to retry the case after the March mistrial was because she knew which side to believe.
"I believed [Darst] did it, and I felt it was important to at least try again," she declared." I honestly, in my heart, knew he did it... I think it is justice for Logan. I think it's important in the future. If the defendant has any other children, this is now on his record. That was our concern all along, any future children, because his wife believed him. If they were going to have more children, that was always going to be a concern."
Judge Sumner Walters presided over the three-day trial in Van Wert County Court of Common Pleas. With the conviction, Darst now faces a June 30 sentencing hearing. He faces from two to eight years in prison and a maximum $15,000 fine.
http://www.timesbulletin.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=166611
6/3/2011 12:07:00 AM
Guilty verdict in baby-shaking case retrial
By ED GEBERT
Times Bulletin News Writer
On Thursday, a jury of eight men and four women accomplished what a jury three months earlier could not do -- reach a verdict in the case against David A. Darst. The first trial ended when jurors could not agree on whether or not the Van Wert man caused major injuries to his then nine-week-old son back in April of 2010. This time after more than six hours of deliberations, the 12 on the panel reached a guilty verdict against Darst on the charge of second-degree felony child endangering.
"I'm happy," stated Assistant Van Wert County Prosecutor Eva Yarger after the verdict was read. "I think this was the right verdict, and I think justice was served. I believed in this case, which is why I tried it again."
The prosecution accused Darst of causing a serious injury to the infant when he watched the baby alone on April 22, 2010. Young Logan Darst was finally taken to the Van Wert County Hospital emergency room two days later when he was apparently having some sort of seizures. The baby was subsequently transferred to Dayton Children's Hospital where medical personnel noticed two subdural hematomas, or brain bleeds. The child was also diagnosed with retinal hemorrhages in both eyes and a brain injury from lack of oxygen. The doctors in Dayton gave the case a high probability of being Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS).
In his defense, Darst claimed that the only thing that happened to his son on the 22nd was that the child had slipped from his grasp while on the arm of an upholstered chair. Darst stated that he managed to trap the baby against the arm of the chair so he would not fall, causing three small bruises on the infant's chest. These bruises were not enough to cause injuries common to SBS. On the witness stand, Darst even admitted that the baby's head did not hit the arm of the chair or the floor during that incident.
While the prosecution pointed to Darst as the child's caretaker when the brain injuries occurred, both Darst and his wife claimed the real damage was done the next evening while the couple was at work and Logan was being watched by relatives. However, statements made to investigators placed a big change in the baby's behavior after the child was left with his father. In testimony, both parents made the claim that the baby was actually fine during that day and that earlier statements were incorrect.
The baby was dismissed from Dayton Children's Hospital on April 28, 2010 into foster care. In August, he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor near his spinal cord. Logan Darst died of cancer in January at the age of 11 months. Doctors found there was no correlation between the SBS injuries and the cancer.
One of the toughest parts of the trial for jury members was wading through the testimony from doctors involved in the case. Yarger said she was deliberate about making sure that evidence was presented clearly in the retrial. "I think I approached the medical testimony differently," she disclosed. "I tried to make it simpler and on a more understandable level. I've dealt with these things and been to seminars and been to training and I forget that ordinary people may not 'get it' the first time."
The major chore for jurors was to figure out who to believe when conflicting testimony was given. While other relatives gave one side of the story, the Darsts frequently denied that version, offering their own and even calling the others 'liars' when confronted by the differing stories. As for Yarger, she said simply that the decision to retry the case after the March mistrial was because she knew which side to believe.
"I believed [Darst] did it, and I felt it was important to at least try again," she declared." I honestly, in my heart, knew he did it... I think it is justice for Logan. I think it's important in the future. If the defendant has any other children, this is now on his record. That was our concern all along, any future children, because his wife believed him. If they were going to have more children, that was always going to be a concern."
Judge Sumner Walters presided over the three-day trial in Van Wert County Court of Common Pleas. With the conviction, Darst now faces a June 30 sentencing hearing. He faces from two to eight years in prison and a maximum $15,000 fine.
Custodial dad charged with rape and murder of teen daughter who was labeled a "runaway" in 2006 (Ceres, California)
Disgusting. Notice how custody was taken away from the mother because she was "depressed" from being abused. She was forced to flee to out-of-state shelters--even ran to CANADA--to escape her violent husband. And the result is that she socked with a custody suit which went on for 8 FREAKING YEARS. Typical control freak abuser sh**. No wonder she was "depressed." In reality, she was worn out and exhausted, and I don't suppose it really lifts your mood when some moronic "court investigator" labels you an "unfit parent" because you've been in fighting mode for so many years, and nothing you do manages to secure your safety or the safety of your children.
So instead of jailing daddy for his abuse, giving Mom sole custody, and allowing her to move where she likes, the courts GIVE DAD MARK EDWARD MESITI CUSTODY. Despite a history of drug/alcohol abuse, domestic violence, "anger" issues, and general criminality, this father got custody of two teenagers. But then Daddy had money, and Mom didn't.
Before the year is out, Daddy and the new step report the teen daughter as a "runaway."
Notice that during this short time, child welfare workers received "several warnings of danger in the home" and even the police have been out to the house on "multiple visits." Even the children's attorney was "deeply concerned." But typically, nothing happened to change the situation.
Mom told the police she didn't think the girl was a runaway, that she should be classified as a missing person. But they ignored her. The typical treatment that women and mothers get from those in authority.
Three years later, in 2009, police found the daughter's body buried in the backyard of the home Daddy had been renting at the time--but only after a "cold case" investigator took an interest in the case and pushed the matter.
Daddy is now charged with rape and murder. In fact, NOW the police have found "computer" evidence (a videotape?) that Daddy sexually assaulted the girl while she was apparently drugged and unconscious.
But who were the judge, the "court investigator," and other "professionals" who handed this girl over to a known abuser? Where are their names? Why aren't they held accountable?
http://www.modbee.com/2011/06/02/1716153/father-charged-in-death.html
Friday, Jun. 03, 2011
Ceres father charged in death
Body of 14-year-old girl was found in back yard in 2009
By Sue Nowicki
Alycia Mesiti was 14 years old in August 2006, enrolled to attend the year-old Central Valley High School in Ceres. But before classes began, her father and his girlfriend reported her as a runaway.
In March 2009, officers unearthed Alycia's body in the back yard of the home the family rented in the 3500 block of Alexis Court in west Ceres.
Her father, Mark Edward Mesiti, was booked at the Stanislaus County Jail on Thursday afternoon on charges of murder with malice, one count of lewd and lascivious acts on a child, and one count of rape or sodomy. He is expected to be arraigned today or Monday in Stanislaus County Superior Court.
The tragic story that has taken years to unfold includes plenty of red flags of potential problems, from an eight-year custody dispute to a disturbing report by a court- ordered attorney.
According to previous stories in the SanJose Mercury News, the Ceres Courier and The Bee, as well as law enforcement reports, here is what happened:
Custody battle
Alycia and her older brother were placed in her father's custody in November 2005, about the time the family moved to Ceres. In the previous seven years, Mesiti was convicted of bank fraud and drunken driving, and charged with domestic violence. He was ordered to attend anger-management classes and landed in prison after failing to attend court-ordered drug and alcohol treatment programs.
But the children's mother, Roberta Allen, had her own problems. She battled depression and a court investigator called her an unfit parent. There were reports of a suicide attempt and fights with the two children. She told a Mercury News reporter that she suffered years of persecution by Mesiti and had fled to other states and even to Canada, where she and the children lived in battered women's shelters.
She said her husband could afford to hire an attorney in the custody battle, while her own responses were handwritten.
As the battle raged for eight years, the children at times stayed with aunts and grandparents.
In the nine months the two teenagers lived with Mesiti before Alycia was reported missing, the children's court-appointed lawyer, Jonnie Herring, wrote in her report to a Santa Clara County judge that she was "deeply concerned about both minors, especially Alycia."
Police and child welfare workers received several warnings of danger in the home. Ceres police confirmed multiple visits there.
Then, on Aug. 16, 2006, Mesiti and his girlfriend, Shelly Walker-Welborn, called police and told them Alycia had run away from home. They said she had left Aug. 11 to visit friends in San Jose, where they had lived previously. They also claimed she had called Aug. 13 to say she was going camping with other, unnamed friends. Mesiti said his daughter had been acting out and having trouble adjusting to life in the valley after their move.
Allen, a restaurant worker in 2009, said she called the Ceres police to say she didn't believe her daughter had run away and instead should be classified as a missing person.
"The police stopped taking my calls," she said in 2009. "They said, 'She'll come home.' "
Four months after reporting Alycia missing, Mesiti and Walker-Welborn moved to Los Angeles.
New effort on cold case
The case languished until the early months of 2009, when Sgt. James Robbins became the investigations supervisor for Ceres police. He ordered new interviews, which ultimately led to a cadaver dog being taken to the family's old home.
Three days after Alycia's body was discovered in a grave 6 feet by 6 feet by 4 feet deep adjacent to the patio, Los Angeles police went to Mesiti and Walker-Welborn's apartment and found it full of equipment to make methamphetamine. They arrested the couple and placed Walker-Welborn's 12-year-old daughter in protective custody.
Charges later were dropped against Walker-Welborn, who testified against Mesiti.
Mesiti was convicted March 18 of manufacturing methamphetamine; on May 12, he was sentenced to five years in state prison. He was sent to North Kern State Prison in Delano, about 35 miles northwest of Bakersfield.
Ceres police picked him up there Thursday morning, said Deputy Police Chief Mike Borges.
According to an affidavit filed June 4, 2009, Ceres police officer Keith Griebel said Mesiti "has admitted to burying Alycia and a search of Mark's computer after it was seized pursuant to a search warrant shows evidence Alycia was being sexually assaulted on several different times by Mark while she was apparently unconscious."
In an apparently unrelated case, Gregory Joseph Ulrich, a 53-year-old Modesto man who knew Mesiti, was convicted in April 2006 of molesting Alycia. He was released from jail a few days before Alycia's disappearance.
Borges said it has taken police more than two years to get custody of Mesiti because "he was using delaying tactics" on his meth conviction in Los Angeles. "He went through probably four attorneys. Finally, the judge had enough and he went to trial."
Alycia's memorial was held in Cupertino in April 2009. She was described as a girl who liked horses and the music of Shakira, one who was pictured cooking macaroni and cheese and hugging a Snoopy doll.
Allen, her mom, was having trouble sleeping back then. She had last seen her daughter one day in 2006 when they ate lunch together in downtown San Jose. She next saw Alycia at the Stanislaus County coroner's office.
"There was nothing left of her," Allen said.
So instead of jailing daddy for his abuse, giving Mom sole custody, and allowing her to move where she likes, the courts GIVE DAD MARK EDWARD MESITI CUSTODY. Despite a history of drug/alcohol abuse, domestic violence, "anger" issues, and general criminality, this father got custody of two teenagers. But then Daddy had money, and Mom didn't.
Before the year is out, Daddy and the new step report the teen daughter as a "runaway."
Notice that during this short time, child welfare workers received "several warnings of danger in the home" and even the police have been out to the house on "multiple visits." Even the children's attorney was "deeply concerned." But typically, nothing happened to change the situation.
Mom told the police she didn't think the girl was a runaway, that she should be classified as a missing person. But they ignored her. The typical treatment that women and mothers get from those in authority.
Three years later, in 2009, police found the daughter's body buried in the backyard of the home Daddy had been renting at the time--but only after a "cold case" investigator took an interest in the case and pushed the matter.
Daddy is now charged with rape and murder. In fact, NOW the police have found "computer" evidence (a videotape?) that Daddy sexually assaulted the girl while she was apparently drugged and unconscious.
But who were the judge, the "court investigator," and other "professionals" who handed this girl over to a known abuser? Where are their names? Why aren't they held accountable?
http://www.modbee.com/2011/06/02/1716153/father-charged-in-death.html
Friday, Jun. 03, 2011
Ceres father charged in death
Body of 14-year-old girl was found in back yard in 2009
By Sue Nowicki
Alycia Mesiti was 14 years old in August 2006, enrolled to attend the year-old Central Valley High School in Ceres. But before classes began, her father and his girlfriend reported her as a runaway.
In March 2009, officers unearthed Alycia's body in the back yard of the home the family rented in the 3500 block of Alexis Court in west Ceres.
Her father, Mark Edward Mesiti, was booked at the Stanislaus County Jail on Thursday afternoon on charges of murder with malice, one count of lewd and lascivious acts on a child, and one count of rape or sodomy. He is expected to be arraigned today or Monday in Stanislaus County Superior Court.
The tragic story that has taken years to unfold includes plenty of red flags of potential problems, from an eight-year custody dispute to a disturbing report by a court- ordered attorney.
According to previous stories in the SanJose Mercury News, the Ceres Courier and The Bee, as well as law enforcement reports, here is what happened:
Custody battle
Alycia and her older brother were placed in her father's custody in November 2005, about the time the family moved to Ceres. In the previous seven years, Mesiti was convicted of bank fraud and drunken driving, and charged with domestic violence. He was ordered to attend anger-management classes and landed in prison after failing to attend court-ordered drug and alcohol treatment programs.
But the children's mother, Roberta Allen, had her own problems. She battled depression and a court investigator called her an unfit parent. There were reports of a suicide attempt and fights with the two children. She told a Mercury News reporter that she suffered years of persecution by Mesiti and had fled to other states and even to Canada, where she and the children lived in battered women's shelters.
She said her husband could afford to hire an attorney in the custody battle, while her own responses were handwritten.
As the battle raged for eight years, the children at times stayed with aunts and grandparents.
In the nine months the two teenagers lived with Mesiti before Alycia was reported missing, the children's court-appointed lawyer, Jonnie Herring, wrote in her report to a Santa Clara County judge that she was "deeply concerned about both minors, especially Alycia."
Police and child welfare workers received several warnings of danger in the home. Ceres police confirmed multiple visits there.
Then, on Aug. 16, 2006, Mesiti and his girlfriend, Shelly Walker-Welborn, called police and told them Alycia had run away from home. They said she had left Aug. 11 to visit friends in San Jose, where they had lived previously. They also claimed she had called Aug. 13 to say she was going camping with other, unnamed friends. Mesiti said his daughter had been acting out and having trouble adjusting to life in the valley after their move.
Allen, a restaurant worker in 2009, said she called the Ceres police to say she didn't believe her daughter had run away and instead should be classified as a missing person.
"The police stopped taking my calls," she said in 2009. "They said, 'She'll come home.' "
Four months after reporting Alycia missing, Mesiti and Walker-Welborn moved to Los Angeles.
New effort on cold case
The case languished until the early months of 2009, when Sgt. James Robbins became the investigations supervisor for Ceres police. He ordered new interviews, which ultimately led to a cadaver dog being taken to the family's old home.
Three days after Alycia's body was discovered in a grave 6 feet by 6 feet by 4 feet deep adjacent to the patio, Los Angeles police went to Mesiti and Walker-Welborn's apartment and found it full of equipment to make methamphetamine. They arrested the couple and placed Walker-Welborn's 12-year-old daughter in protective custody.
Charges later were dropped against Walker-Welborn, who testified against Mesiti.
Mesiti was convicted March 18 of manufacturing methamphetamine; on May 12, he was sentenced to five years in state prison. He was sent to North Kern State Prison in Delano, about 35 miles northwest of Bakersfield.
Ceres police picked him up there Thursday morning, said Deputy Police Chief Mike Borges.
According to an affidavit filed June 4, 2009, Ceres police officer Keith Griebel said Mesiti "has admitted to burying Alycia and a search of Mark's computer after it was seized pursuant to a search warrant shows evidence Alycia was being sexually assaulted on several different times by Mark while she was apparently unconscious."
In an apparently unrelated case, Gregory Joseph Ulrich, a 53-year-old Modesto man who knew Mesiti, was convicted in April 2006 of molesting Alycia. He was released from jail a few days before Alycia's disappearance.
Borges said it has taken police more than two years to get custody of Mesiti because "he was using delaying tactics" on his meth conviction in Los Angeles. "He went through probably four attorneys. Finally, the judge had enough and he went to trial."
Alycia's memorial was held in Cupertino in April 2009. She was described as a girl who liked horses and the music of Shakira, one who was pictured cooking macaroni and cheese and hugging a Snoopy doll.
Allen, her mom, was having trouble sleeping back then. She had last seen her daughter one day in 2006 when they ate lunch together in downtown San Jose. She next saw Alycia at the Stanislaus County coroner's office.
"There was nothing left of her," Allen said.
Dad charged with suffocating 1-year-old daughter (Greenville, South Carolina)
Dad JAMES ALLEN JOHNSON has apparently admitted that he suffocated his daughter....
http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/06/03/2199124/travelers-rest-dad-charged-with.html
Travelers Rest dad charged with killing 1-year-old
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A father in Travelers Rest has been charged with homicide by child abuse in the suffocation death of his 1-year-old daughter.
Greenville County authorities say Nevaeh Sprouse was taken to the hospital last month after her mother said she choked while drinking a glass of tea. The child died two days later.
But an arrest warrant says 26-year-old James Allen Johnson gave investigators a written statement saying he suffocated the girl.
Authorities say an autopsy found bruises and other signs of abuse and matched information Johnson told investigators.
Johnson is being held without bond in the Greenville County jail. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney.
http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/06/03/2199124/travelers-rest-dad-charged-with.html
Travelers Rest dad charged with killing 1-year-old
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A father in Travelers Rest has been charged with homicide by child abuse in the suffocation death of his 1-year-old daughter.
Greenville County authorities say Nevaeh Sprouse was taken to the hospital last month after her mother said she choked while drinking a glass of tea. The child died two days later.
But an arrest warrant says 26-year-old James Allen Johnson gave investigators a written statement saying he suffocated the girl.
Authorities say an autopsy found bruises and other signs of abuse and matched information Johnson told investigators.
Johnson is being held without bond in the Greenville County jail. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Babysitting dad leaves kids home alone so he can "drink and watch sports" (Clarkville, Tennessee)
For every legitimate "stay-at-home" dad, there must be dozens like DAVID MARK DIXON. While his wife is off at work supporting his lazy @$$, Daddy leaves the kids at home alone so he can "go drink and watch sports."
The problem with these guys is that you don't dare divorce them. Because they're the "primary parent" (don't you know) while you're the EVIL NEGLECTFUL WORKING MOM. So these lazy idiots get custody and child support!
http://www.newschannel5.com/story/14830544/father-arrested-after-leaving-daughters-alone-in-apartment
Father Arrested After Leaving Daughters Alone In Apartment
Posted: Jun 02, 2011 5:53 PM CDT
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Police in Clarksville said a man was arrested after leaving his two children alone in his apartment to go drink and watch sports.
Officers arrested 32-year old David Mark Dixon and charged him with two counts of child abuse and neglect.
They said Dixon went to have drinks and watch a game, leaving his two daughters, aged seven and nine, alone in their Union Hall apartment Tuesday night.
Police also said Dixon left the door unlocked.
The girls' mother was at work at the time. DCS was notified.
The problem with these guys is that you don't dare divorce them. Because they're the "primary parent" (don't you know) while you're the EVIL NEGLECTFUL WORKING MOM. So these lazy idiots get custody and child support!
http://www.newschannel5.com/story/14830544/father-arrested-after-leaving-daughters-alone-in-apartment
Father Arrested After Leaving Daughters Alone In Apartment
Posted: Jun 02, 2011 5:53 PM CDT
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Police in Clarksville said a man was arrested after leaving his two children alone in his apartment to go drink and watch sports.
Officers arrested 32-year old David Mark Dixon and charged him with two counts of child abuse and neglect.
They said Dixon went to have drinks and watch a game, leaving his two daughters, aged seven and nine, alone in their Union Hall apartment Tuesday night.
Police also said Dixon left the door unlocked.
The girls' mother was at work at the time. DCS was notified.
Dad on trial for stalking adult daughter (Largo, Florida)
Dad DENNIS HOBBS is far from a concerned, if overprotective, father. This guy is a scary sicko.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/father-on-trial-in-pinellas-county-accused-of-stalking-adult-daughter/1173229
Father on trial in Pinellas County accused of stalking adult daughterBy Curtis Krueger, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, June 3, 2011
LARGO — Dennis Hobbs is a father who wanted to keep tabs on his 18-year-old daughter because he worried that she was skipping school, smoking and having sex with her boyfriend.
But when St. Petersburg police found Hobbs one night in spring 2010, he was inside his car dressed in black, wearing face paint and a wig, near the abuse shelter where his daughter had gone to live. Inside the car was a loaded gun and detailed notebooks recording her activities.
So, in an unusual case, Hobbs was charged with stalking his own adult daughter and this week went on trial.
It's a strange case because of the goofy wig and the face paint, but in other ways it relates to an issue every parent faces — how far do you go to direct a child, even an adult child?
Defense attorney Denis de Vlaming said Hobbs was simply concerned for a wayward child and wanted to prevent her from making bad choices. He said it would have been a crime for him not to help her.
But Assistant State Attorney Theodora Komninos said Hobbs crossed the line into a criminal case of stalking, and detailed how Hobbs kept approaching and bothering his adult daughter long after she asked him to stay away.
"What this case is about is control and limits," she said.
For her part, daughter Lyndsay Hobbs, now 20, testified that after she learned how her father was dressed in the disguise and near the shelter where she was staying, "I felt more scared for my life than I've ever been."
She said the incident made her fear that "I could have been kidnapped that night and sent anywhere in the world."
Hobbs is 60, and retired after working in computer programing and other technical matters for AT&T. He has no criminal record in Florida. He and his wife now live in Texas, but returned for the trial.
Lyndsay Hobbs is an artist who studied at the highly regarded Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota. But according to testimony this week, her father was concerned about her behavior when she was as young as 16.
He found a birth control pill in her room, disapproved of her boyfriend, believed she had been drinking and discovered risque comments she made on Facebook, which even she now acknowledges were inappropriate. She also was charged with shoplifting.
But prosecutors say Hobbs went too far. He came to see her at her job at a CVS against her will, and came uninvited more than once to her boyfriend's family's house, where she stayed for a time, witnesses testified. Lyndsay Hobbs testified that she got a temporary injunction against her father "because he would not leave me alone." She moved into an abuse shelter to get away from him, and because "I felt more safe there."
But he hired a private investigator and found her. He even knew somehow that she had bought a scooter while at the shelter, even though she never told him that.
He also wanted her to leave Ringling and move along with his wife to Texas, saying she could continue her studies there.
After Hobbs was arrested, police arranged for his daughter to make a secretly recorded phone call to him.
On the rather scratchy recording, which was played in court, she said she was scared of him because he kept stalking her. He denied stalking and said she had been lying.
"I just want to live my life," she said.
"You want to live a life of sex and drugs," he said. He told her he loved her.
"I think you want someone you can control," she said.
The case is expected to go to the all-female jury this afternoon.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/father-on-trial-in-pinellas-county-accused-of-stalking-adult-daughter/1173229
Father on trial in Pinellas County accused of stalking adult daughterBy Curtis Krueger, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, June 3, 2011
LARGO — Dennis Hobbs is a father who wanted to keep tabs on his 18-year-old daughter because he worried that she was skipping school, smoking and having sex with her boyfriend.
But when St. Petersburg police found Hobbs one night in spring 2010, he was inside his car dressed in black, wearing face paint and a wig, near the abuse shelter where his daughter had gone to live. Inside the car was a loaded gun and detailed notebooks recording her activities.
So, in an unusual case, Hobbs was charged with stalking his own adult daughter and this week went on trial.
It's a strange case because of the goofy wig and the face paint, but in other ways it relates to an issue every parent faces — how far do you go to direct a child, even an adult child?
Defense attorney Denis de Vlaming said Hobbs was simply concerned for a wayward child and wanted to prevent her from making bad choices. He said it would have been a crime for him not to help her.
But Assistant State Attorney Theodora Komninos said Hobbs crossed the line into a criminal case of stalking, and detailed how Hobbs kept approaching and bothering his adult daughter long after she asked him to stay away.
"What this case is about is control and limits," she said.
For her part, daughter Lyndsay Hobbs, now 20, testified that after she learned how her father was dressed in the disguise and near the shelter where she was staying, "I felt more scared for my life than I've ever been."
She said the incident made her fear that "I could have been kidnapped that night and sent anywhere in the world."
Hobbs is 60, and retired after working in computer programing and other technical matters for AT&T. He has no criminal record in Florida. He and his wife now live in Texas, but returned for the trial.
Lyndsay Hobbs is an artist who studied at the highly regarded Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota. But according to testimony this week, her father was concerned about her behavior when she was as young as 16.
He found a birth control pill in her room, disapproved of her boyfriend, believed she had been drinking and discovered risque comments she made on Facebook, which even she now acknowledges were inappropriate. She also was charged with shoplifting.
But prosecutors say Hobbs went too far. He came to see her at her job at a CVS against her will, and came uninvited more than once to her boyfriend's family's house, where she stayed for a time, witnesses testified. Lyndsay Hobbs testified that she got a temporary injunction against her father "because he would not leave me alone." She moved into an abuse shelter to get away from him, and because "I felt more safe there."
But he hired a private investigator and found her. He even knew somehow that she had bought a scooter while at the shelter, even though she never told him that.
He also wanted her to leave Ringling and move along with his wife to Texas, saying she could continue her studies there.
After Hobbs was arrested, police arranged for his daughter to make a secretly recorded phone call to him.
On the rather scratchy recording, which was played in court, she said she was scared of him because he kept stalking her. He denied stalking and said she had been lying.
"I just want to live my life," she said.
"You want to live a life of sex and drugs," he said. He told her he loved her.
"I think you want someone you can control," she said.
The case is expected to go to the all-female jury this afternoon.
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