Is TONY KING a single father? Once again, we see no mention of a mother in the home. And it's hard to believe that if there had been a mother in this home, that she wouldn't come up in some way.
http://stjoechannel.com/fulltext?nxd_id=341352
Both Sides Rest Case in Trial of Father Accused of Killing Son
By: Melinda Barrett
Updated: May 1, 2013
(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) Testimony came to a close in the trial of a northwest Missouri father charged with killing his own son.
Tony King of Bethany, Mo. is charged with murder, child abuse and arson.
Wednesday, his defense team worked to prove his innocence.
Jurors in King's trial also learned more about the boy some suspect was a victim of abuse.
Testimony from school officials in Bethany pointed out that they had suspected Jeremiah Lamm was being abused, but they never could link their suspicion to his father.
Lamm's teacher, principal and school counselor fought back tears as they recalled the 7-year-old coming to school with bruises and other injuries.
They said they often questioned where the injuries came from, and that the first grader's stories rarely added up.
The principal called the child abuse hotline in the weeks leading up to a fire at his home in Bethany on January 11, 2012.
School officials also pointed out Lamm's lack of attendance at school during the months leading up to the fire.
A doctor testified that the boy had been had been strangled, and that the fire did not cause his death.
The prosecution alleges King is responsible for the abuse, and, the child's teacher suspected that too.
She recalled the last time she saw Lamm at school.
"It was getting close to dismissal time, and in my gut, I just had a feeling that I didn't want to send him home, I was so worried. I knelt down to him at his desk, and I looked in his eyes, and I said Jeremiah I love you so much. I want you to know that I care about you, and you deserve to have every person in your life treat you good," said Jamie Carter, first grader teacher at South Harrison Elementary.
King's attorneys brought in investigators from the Children's Division of the Division of Social Services who said they did visit his home and interviewed the boy.
The reports from DSS came back as good and the boy's stories seemed to add up with his injuries.
They also said King was always cooperative with them and allowed them in his home.
The state and defense both rested their cases on Wednesday.
Closing statements are expected to begin Thursday.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Dad arrested for choking 3-year-old son; boy has life-threatening brain injuries (Huntsville, Alabama)
Notice that Daddy didn't call 911 himself, but took the 3-year-old son to his aunt's house, who then rushed him to the emergency room.
Somehow I'm thinking MAURICE CARTWRIGHT is a single father who does not live with the mother, or else he would have contacted her. Custody/visitation situation?
http://www.waaytv.com/news/local/huntsville-father-arrested-for-choking-his-toddler-son/article_08f51b14-b30e-11e2-8160-001a4bcf6878.html
Huntsville father arrested for choking his toddler son
Posted: Thursday, May 2, 2013 4:52 am | Updated: 7:43 am, Thu May 2, 2013.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY)-- Police arrested a Huntsville man for choking his 3-year-old son while under the father's care.
Maurice Cartwright, 33, said that his son woke up from a nap, unable to breathe. Cartwright took the child to his aunt, who then rushed the child to the emergency room.
Officials at the E.R. said the child showed signs of being choked. The victim received a C.T. scan where doctors found the child was suffering from brain trauma and severe bleeding. The child was sent to surgery with life-threatening injuries.
Police arrested the father who is charged with child abuse.
Somehow I'm thinking MAURICE CARTWRIGHT is a single father who does not live with the mother, or else he would have contacted her. Custody/visitation situation?
http://www.waaytv.com/news/local/huntsville-father-arrested-for-choking-his-toddler-son/article_08f51b14-b30e-11e2-8160-001a4bcf6878.html
Huntsville father arrested for choking his toddler son
Posted: Thursday, May 2, 2013 4:52 am | Updated: 7:43 am, Thu May 2, 2013.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY)-- Police arrested a Huntsville man for choking his 3-year-old son while under the father's care.
Maurice Cartwright, 33, said that his son woke up from a nap, unable to breathe. Cartwright took the child to his aunt, who then rushed the child to the emergency room.
Officials at the E.R. said the child showed signs of being choked. The victim received a C.T. scan where doctors found the child was suffering from brain trauma and severe bleeding. The child was sent to surgery with life-threatening injuries.
Police arrested the father who is charged with child abuse.
Dad arrested for aggravated abuse, criminally negligent homicide in drowning death of 13-month-old son (Cullman Alabama)
Is B.J. BRYANT a single father? Notice there is no mention of a mother in this home at all.
http://www.cullmantimes.com/local/x319974637/Father-arrested-for-negligence-in-13-month-old-son-s-death
May 2, 2013
Father arrested for negligence in 13-month-old son’s death
By Lauren Estes
The Cullman Times
A 22-year-old Cullman father has been charged with negligence and abuse in the case of his 13-month-old son’s drowning.
B.J. Bryant, 22, was arrested for aggravated abuse and criminally negligent homicide on Tuesday, April 30, after an 11-month investigation by the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office in the death by drowning of his son, Chief Deputy Max Bartlett said.
“Based on the conditions of the scene and the home, we had reason to believe the child had been severely neglected,” Bartlett said. “After a long and lengthy investigation led by Justin Tyus, we were able to get the elements necessary to prosecute this case.”
Bartlett said on May 21, 2012, officers responded to a call in reference to a small child that was unresponsive after he had been in the bathtub. An officer responded and attempted to revive the child and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived at the scene shortly. The child was later transported to Cullman Regional Medical Center’s emergency room and then medflighted to Children’s Hospital where the child was put on life support and died a week later.
“We’ve worked hand in hand with the D.A’s office and Wilson Blaylock; he’s helped us come to a resolution in this case,” Bartlett said. “This will be a very sensitive case due to the circumstances, so we don’t want to go into too much depth on details. Justin has worked very hard on the case and had diligence in seeing it through. These are hard cases for the officers involved, especially emotionally. We are advocates of the victims, and in this case, we have a small child that can’t speak for himself.”
Cullman County Sheriff Mike Rainey, Bartlett and Tyus commended several groups that have been helpful throughout the investigation.
“The Juvenile Probation Office, DHR (Department of Human Resources), the staff at Child Haven and the District Attorney’s office have helped pave our investigation,” Tyus said. “It’s been a cumulative effort between everyone in Cullman County to make sure that this case is heard.”
Bryant is being held at the Cullman County Detention Center on a $36,000 cash bond. He has been charged with criminally negligent homicide, a class-A misdemeanor and aggravated child abuse, a class-B felony.
“There were multiple factors that contributed to drowning and death of this child,” Tyus said. “I wanted to speak for this child who can’t speak for himself. His story needs to be heard, that is the biggest thing.”
Bartlett stressed that practicing safety with young children is vital, especially around water.
“To all parents, especially young ones, we’ve had too many children die by drowning; it could be in bath tubs, swimming pools, whatever,” Bartlett said. “If they are a small child, it only takes a moment for tragedy to strike, this is not that type of circumstance, this is a criminal matter.”
http://www.cullmantimes.com/local/x319974637/Father-arrested-for-negligence-in-13-month-old-son-s-death
May 2, 2013
Father arrested for negligence in 13-month-old son’s death
By Lauren Estes
The Cullman Times
A 22-year-old Cullman father has been charged with negligence and abuse in the case of his 13-month-old son’s drowning.
B.J. Bryant, 22, was arrested for aggravated abuse and criminally negligent homicide on Tuesday, April 30, after an 11-month investigation by the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office in the death by drowning of his son, Chief Deputy Max Bartlett said.
“Based on the conditions of the scene and the home, we had reason to believe the child had been severely neglected,” Bartlett said. “After a long and lengthy investigation led by Justin Tyus, we were able to get the elements necessary to prosecute this case.”
Bartlett said on May 21, 2012, officers responded to a call in reference to a small child that was unresponsive after he had been in the bathtub. An officer responded and attempted to revive the child and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived at the scene shortly. The child was later transported to Cullman Regional Medical Center’s emergency room and then medflighted to Children’s Hospital where the child was put on life support and died a week later.
“We’ve worked hand in hand with the D.A’s office and Wilson Blaylock; he’s helped us come to a resolution in this case,” Bartlett said. “This will be a very sensitive case due to the circumstances, so we don’t want to go into too much depth on details. Justin has worked very hard on the case and had diligence in seeing it through. These are hard cases for the officers involved, especially emotionally. We are advocates of the victims, and in this case, we have a small child that can’t speak for himself.”
Cullman County Sheriff Mike Rainey, Bartlett and Tyus commended several groups that have been helpful throughout the investigation.
“The Juvenile Probation Office, DHR (Department of Human Resources), the staff at Child Haven and the District Attorney’s office have helped pave our investigation,” Tyus said. “It’s been a cumulative effort between everyone in Cullman County to make sure that this case is heard.”
Bryant is being held at the Cullman County Detention Center on a $36,000 cash bond. He has been charged with criminally negligent homicide, a class-A misdemeanor and aggravated child abuse, a class-B felony.
“There were multiple factors that contributed to drowning and death of this child,” Tyus said. “I wanted to speak for this child who can’t speak for himself. His story needs to be heard, that is the biggest thing.”
Bartlett stressed that practicing safety with young children is vital, especially around water.
“To all parents, especially young ones, we’ve had too many children die by drowning; it could be in bath tubs, swimming pools, whatever,” Bartlett said. “If they are a small child, it only takes a moment for tragedy to strike, this is not that type of circumstance, this is a criminal matter.”
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Dad gets prison for sexually assaulting his daughters for years (Charleston, West Virginia)
The scumbag dad is identified as BILLY TOWNSEND.
http://www.dailymail.com/policebrfs/201304300106
Tuesday April 30, 2013
Father sentenced to 51 to 205 years in prison for sexually assaulting his daughters
by Cheryl Caswell Daily Mail staff
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Kanawha judge sentenced a Clendenin father to 51 to 205 years in prison for sexually assaulting his daughters for years.
Billy Townsend, 41, apologized in court, and his attorney asked for a 25-year sentence.
After listening to one of the victims testify, at times in graphic detail, about the assaults that occurred over her lifetime, Circuit Judge Charles King said he couldn't justify that sentence.
"Since I was a small child, my sister and I went through things no child should have to go through," she said. "I was 6 when he started molesting me."
She said her father was an alcoholic and frequently abusive to her mother also. But he was sober when he sought her out, she said.
The teenager said that in addition to the sexual abuse, Townsend would choke her, punch her in the stomach and threaten to kill her and her mother if she told.
She was 12 when he brutally raped her, she said. The first time was in his truck, but later he began to come to her bedroom at night. He told her he was in love with her.
Townsend held his head in his hands as the girl spoke tearfully. He never looked at her.
"I've heard he has found religion," she said. "His whole family thinks he has changed, but I don't believe it. He deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison.
"I'm tired of worrying who his next victim will be," she said.
Townsend was arrested last June after one of the victims disclosed the abuse to police. He waived a grand jury indictment and pleaded guilty to two charges of first-degree sexual abuse and one charge of third-degree sexual abuse.
He received two 25-100 year sentences and a one-to-five-year sentence. Townsend will have to register for life as a sexual offender
http://www.dailymail.com/policebrfs/201304300106
Tuesday April 30, 2013
Father sentenced to 51 to 205 years in prison for sexually assaulting his daughters
by Cheryl Caswell Daily Mail staff
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Kanawha judge sentenced a Clendenin father to 51 to 205 years in prison for sexually assaulting his daughters for years.
Billy Townsend, 41, apologized in court, and his attorney asked for a 25-year sentence.
After listening to one of the victims testify, at times in graphic detail, about the assaults that occurred over her lifetime, Circuit Judge Charles King said he couldn't justify that sentence.
"Since I was a small child, my sister and I went through things no child should have to go through," she said. "I was 6 when he started molesting me."
She said her father was an alcoholic and frequently abusive to her mother also. But he was sober when he sought her out, she said.
The teenager said that in addition to the sexual abuse, Townsend would choke her, punch her in the stomach and threaten to kill her and her mother if she told.
She was 12 when he brutally raped her, she said. The first time was in his truck, but later he began to come to her bedroom at night. He told her he was in love with her.
Townsend held his head in his hands as the girl spoke tearfully. He never looked at her.
"I've heard he has found religion," she said. "His whole family thinks he has changed, but I don't believe it. He deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison.
"I'm tired of worrying who his next victim will be," she said.
Townsend was arrested last June after one of the victims disclosed the abuse to police. He waived a grand jury indictment and pleaded guilty to two charges of first-degree sexual abuse and one charge of third-degree sexual abuse.
He received two 25-100 year sentences and a one-to-five-year sentence. Townsend will have to register for life as a sexual offender
More on father who shot 1-year-old son in the head; baby has life-threatening injuries (Waveland, Mississippi)
More on dad KHIRY THOMAS, the allegedly "depressed" daddy who shot his 1-year-old son in the head. All in an isolated motel room before offing himself.
Lots of interesting things here. Daddy picked up the baby from HIS PARENTS' HOUSE. There is mention of a relative, an aunt.
THERE IS STILL NO MENTION OF THE MOTHER WHO APPARENTLY HAD HER BABY TAKEN AWAY FROM HER--only to be given to a presumably mentally ill (vengeful) father and his enabler family in denial. Why? Who was behind the decision?
http://www.wlox.com/story/22119715/police-investigating-shooting-of-father-and-son-in-waveland
Father dead, son injured in Waveland shooting
Posted: Apr 30, 2013 1:36 PM EDT
Updated: May 01, 2013 6:54 AM EDT
By Al Showers
WAVELAND, MS (WLOX) - Waveland investigators are trying to put together the pieces of a shooting that left a young father dead and his infant son fighting for his life.
Few official details have been released, but a source told WLOX News the baby was shot in the head. Fortunately, he is expected to survive.
The child's father, 22-year-old Khiry Thomas, died of a gunshot wound to the head, and police said it appears to be self inflicted.
"Evidence at the scene is indicating toward that the baby was shot," said investigator David Allen. "We are still determining the exact method by which the baby was shot."
According to a relative, Khiry Thomas arrived at the Coast Inn and Suites in a taxi after stopping at his parents' home to pick up his infant son. She said Thomas had been depressed and recently sought treatment.
"The last time I saw Khiry, he was telling me when he came and got his bag was that he was leaving and he wasn't coming back, and that we didn't have to worry about him no more when he left," said Khiry's aunt, Toni Thomas recalled. "I didn't think nothing of it because he was leaving and he was supposed to be going by his mom's house."
Toni Thomas said her nephew stayed with her from time to time. And that he loved his son, and had a lot to live for.
"Khiry was an intelligent person. He was smart, he made straight A's in school. He used to tell my mom he wanted to be an architect."
She doesn't believe Thomas would take his own life or harm his son.
"Me, personally? I don't think he done it. I don't think he done it... Khiry is not capable of doing nothing like that. He's too smart for that."
Lots of interesting things here. Daddy picked up the baby from HIS PARENTS' HOUSE. There is mention of a relative, an aunt.
THERE IS STILL NO MENTION OF THE MOTHER WHO APPARENTLY HAD HER BABY TAKEN AWAY FROM HER--only to be given to a presumably mentally ill (vengeful) father and his enabler family in denial. Why? Who was behind the decision?
http://www.wlox.com/story/22119715/police-investigating-shooting-of-father-and-son-in-waveland
Father dead, son injured in Waveland shooting
Posted: Apr 30, 2013 1:36 PM EDT
Updated: May 01, 2013 6:54 AM EDT
By Al Showers
WAVELAND, MS (WLOX) - Waveland investigators are trying to put together the pieces of a shooting that left a young father dead and his infant son fighting for his life.
Few official details have been released, but a source told WLOX News the baby was shot in the head. Fortunately, he is expected to survive.
The child's father, 22-year-old Khiry Thomas, died of a gunshot wound to the head, and police said it appears to be self inflicted.
"Evidence at the scene is indicating toward that the baby was shot," said investigator David Allen. "We are still determining the exact method by which the baby was shot."
According to a relative, Khiry Thomas arrived at the Coast Inn and Suites in a taxi after stopping at his parents' home to pick up his infant son. She said Thomas had been depressed and recently sought treatment.
"The last time I saw Khiry, he was telling me when he came and got his bag was that he was leaving and he wasn't coming back, and that we didn't have to worry about him no more when he left," said Khiry's aunt, Toni Thomas recalled. "I didn't think nothing of it because he was leaving and he was supposed to be going by his mom's house."
Toni Thomas said her nephew stayed with her from time to time. And that he loved his son, and had a lot to live for.
"Khiry was an intelligent person. He was smart, he made straight A's in school. He used to tell my mom he wanted to be an architect."
She doesn't believe Thomas would take his own life or harm his son.
"Me, personally? I don't think he done it. I don't think he done it... Khiry is not capable of doing nothing like that. He's too smart for that."
Custodial dad, gal pal get prison for abuse of his 2-year-old son; had only had custody for SIX WEEKS (Douglas County, Nebraska)
Of course, dad CHAD CYMBALISTA blames his girlfriend for everything. Even though Daddy Dearest admits putting the makeup on his 2-year-old son to disguise his bruises. And it looks like he admits making the boy sleep on a urine-soaked blanket. And punishing him for wanting food.
But check this out: you have go 13 paragraphs to find out that this sh** of a father HAD CUSTODY, and had only had custody for SIX FREAKING WEEKS.
So of course the big unasked (and unanswered) question is WHO GAVE THIS ABUSER DAD CUSTODY and WHY? What happened to this little boy's mother? As so often happens, the mother has been utterly erased from the news account, as if she had never existed...
Who says daddies are discriminated against again? Notice that this entitled little sh** thinks he can take a few classes and get custody back.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20130501/NEWS/705019883/1707
Makeup couldn't mask tot's injuries from 'horrific' abuse; dad, girlfriend get prison
By Todd Cooper
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
There was no hiding the child's disfiguring injuries in a Douglas County district courtroom Tuesday.
Nor was there any concealing of the abuse of the child by his father and the father's girlfriend.
Not like Chad Cymbalista and his then-girlfriend, Nicole Corcoran, had tried to do April 24, 2012, when they caked makeup on the boy's face and took him to the Nebraska Medical Center. Tuesday, their abuse of the little boy was laid bare.
Several times, prosecutor Molly Keane held up a photo of the 2-year-old — taken moments after doctors removed the makeup.
In the photo, the toothy toddler has a goose-egg knot in the center of his forehead, both eyes swollen shut, abrasions on his cheeks and a lower lip marred by what doctors believe was a burn. Doctors further found marks in the shape of adult hands on his arms — and other bruises in various stages of healing.
The photo of the boy — in a hospital gown adorned with big-eared dogs — cried out for punishment, Keane said.
“This was horrific treatment,” Keane said, noting that one investigator described it as “torture.”
Shuffling through that photo and others, Douglas County District Judge Greg Schatz rejected a probation officer's recommendation of probation for Cymbalista, who had no record.
Cymbalista and Corcoran, both 27, faced up to 20 years in prison.
The judge sentenced Cymbalista to four to five years in prison for attempted child abuse — the reduced charge to which he pleaded guilty. He then sentenced Corcoran, mother of three other young children, to eight to 10 years on the same charge.
In giving Corcoran twice as much time as Cymbalista, Schatz cited comments made by Corcoran's children, who witnessed the beatings.
The children, who lived with Cymbalista and his child, said Corcoran would call the toddler “dumb” and “stupid” and beat him in the face and head while Cymbalista was at work. She and Cymbalista would force him to sleep on a urine-soaked blanket. And they would use toddler gates to pen in the boy “for daring to seek out food,” Keane said.
And, Keane noted, the two did all that damage in just the six weeks that they had taken over custody of the boy.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine called the abuse brutal.
“Sometimes it's hard for people to imagine that anyone is capable of hurting a defenseless child,” he said. “There are so many people who would just love to have this child and would be willing to do whatever it takes to raise the child the way it should be raised.”
Fortunately, the child is in one such home now — with a foster family that dotes on him and cares for him, authorities say. Now 3, he's eager and bright and talkative, said Shakil Malik, a deputy Douglas County attorney who met with the boy a couple of months ago.
He's mostly overcome his injuries. There's no discernible brain damage, but the child may have slight scarring beneath the eyes.
The biggest lingering issue: A plastic surgeon testified that the boy likely will need surgery to repair his lower lip. After losing a third of his lip, the child had a severe drooling and dribbling problem — and was unable to swallow properly.
But he's now able to eat and drink.
“He's doing as well as can be expected,” Kleine said.
Cymbalista and Corcoran had told authorities that the toddler tore open a cut to his lip by eating popcorn salt. He then picked at it for more than a month before the two decided to take the boy to the hospital, they said.
Doctors found the popcorn-salt story incredible. They suspect that the child suffered a burn to his lower lip that wasn't treated for weeks.
Cymbalista admitted that they covered up the boy's injuries with makeup. However, neither Cymbalista nor Corcoran admitted to the abuse.
As Corcoran's attorney, Bill Eustice, pointed out, Cymbalista blamed Corcoran and vice versa.
Cymbalista had taken classes and had since made efforts to become involved in the boy's life, with the goal of having custody of him again, said his attorney, James Kozel.
Corcoran, for her part, read a five-minute statement in which she denied abusing the boy. She insisted she loved him as if he were her own. She also said she was “born to be a mother.”
“I don't have a mean bone in my body,” Corcoran said. “I love all children. It breaks my heart to see them in any pain. ... I'm only responsible for not asserting myself in my relationship.”
To that, Schatz pointed to her children's accounts of their mother's abuse of the young boy.
“The judge did a good job in discerning who was the more responsible of the two,” Kleine said. “Even so, it's hard to imagine that the child's own father could just stand by and allow this to happen.”
Under state sentencing guidelines, inmates must serve half the lower term of their sentences before being eligible for parole and most are released after serving half the upper term.
But check this out: you have go 13 paragraphs to find out that this sh** of a father HAD CUSTODY, and had only had custody for SIX FREAKING WEEKS.
So of course the big unasked (and unanswered) question is WHO GAVE THIS ABUSER DAD CUSTODY and WHY? What happened to this little boy's mother? As so often happens, the mother has been utterly erased from the news account, as if she had never existed...
Who says daddies are discriminated against again? Notice that this entitled little sh** thinks he can take a few classes and get custody back.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20130501/NEWS/705019883/1707
Makeup couldn't mask tot's injuries from 'horrific' abuse; dad, girlfriend get prison
By Todd Cooper
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
There was no hiding the child's disfiguring injuries in a Douglas County district courtroom Tuesday.
Nor was there any concealing of the abuse of the child by his father and the father's girlfriend.
Not like Chad Cymbalista and his then-girlfriend, Nicole Corcoran, had tried to do April 24, 2012, when they caked makeup on the boy's face and took him to the Nebraska Medical Center. Tuesday, their abuse of the little boy was laid bare.
Several times, prosecutor Molly Keane held up a photo of the 2-year-old — taken moments after doctors removed the makeup.
In the photo, the toothy toddler has a goose-egg knot in the center of his forehead, both eyes swollen shut, abrasions on his cheeks and a lower lip marred by what doctors believe was a burn. Doctors further found marks in the shape of adult hands on his arms — and other bruises in various stages of healing.
The photo of the boy — in a hospital gown adorned with big-eared dogs — cried out for punishment, Keane said.
“This was horrific treatment,” Keane said, noting that one investigator described it as “torture.”
Shuffling through that photo and others, Douglas County District Judge Greg Schatz rejected a probation officer's recommendation of probation for Cymbalista, who had no record.
Cymbalista and Corcoran, both 27, faced up to 20 years in prison.
The judge sentenced Cymbalista to four to five years in prison for attempted child abuse — the reduced charge to which he pleaded guilty. He then sentenced Corcoran, mother of three other young children, to eight to 10 years on the same charge.
In giving Corcoran twice as much time as Cymbalista, Schatz cited comments made by Corcoran's children, who witnessed the beatings.
The children, who lived with Cymbalista and his child, said Corcoran would call the toddler “dumb” and “stupid” and beat him in the face and head while Cymbalista was at work. She and Cymbalista would force him to sleep on a urine-soaked blanket. And they would use toddler gates to pen in the boy “for daring to seek out food,” Keane said.
And, Keane noted, the two did all that damage in just the six weeks that they had taken over custody of the boy.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine called the abuse brutal.
“Sometimes it's hard for people to imagine that anyone is capable of hurting a defenseless child,” he said. “There are so many people who would just love to have this child and would be willing to do whatever it takes to raise the child the way it should be raised.”
Fortunately, the child is in one such home now — with a foster family that dotes on him and cares for him, authorities say. Now 3, he's eager and bright and talkative, said Shakil Malik, a deputy Douglas County attorney who met with the boy a couple of months ago.
He's mostly overcome his injuries. There's no discernible brain damage, but the child may have slight scarring beneath the eyes.
The biggest lingering issue: A plastic surgeon testified that the boy likely will need surgery to repair his lower lip. After losing a third of his lip, the child had a severe drooling and dribbling problem — and was unable to swallow properly.
But he's now able to eat and drink.
“He's doing as well as can be expected,” Kleine said.
Cymbalista and Corcoran had told authorities that the toddler tore open a cut to his lip by eating popcorn salt. He then picked at it for more than a month before the two decided to take the boy to the hospital, they said.
Doctors found the popcorn-salt story incredible. They suspect that the child suffered a burn to his lower lip that wasn't treated for weeks.
Cymbalista admitted that they covered up the boy's injuries with makeup. However, neither Cymbalista nor Corcoran admitted to the abuse.
As Corcoran's attorney, Bill Eustice, pointed out, Cymbalista blamed Corcoran and vice versa.
Cymbalista had taken classes and had since made efforts to become involved in the boy's life, with the goal of having custody of him again, said his attorney, James Kozel.
Corcoran, for her part, read a five-minute statement in which she denied abusing the boy. She insisted she loved him as if he were her own. She also said she was “born to be a mother.”
“I don't have a mean bone in my body,” Corcoran said. “I love all children. It breaks my heart to see them in any pain. ... I'm only responsible for not asserting myself in my relationship.”
To that, Schatz pointed to her children's accounts of their mother's abuse of the young boy.
“The judge did a good job in discerning who was the more responsible of the two,” Kleine said. “Even so, it's hard to imagine that the child's own father could just stand by and allow this to happen.”
Under state sentencing guidelines, inmates must serve half the lower term of their sentences before being eligible for parole and most are released after serving half the upper term.
Dad shoots 1-year-old son in the head, kills self (Waveland, Mississippi)
Confusing and misleading news account. Going by the headline, you would figure that father and son were the victim of a street crime. Not that Daddy Dearest nearly killed his 1-year-old son with his own gun.
Whether the baby's injury was "accidental" from a bullet fragment or intentional hardly seems the point. It's still a pretty selfish and sickening thing to kill yourself when you apparently have sole responsibility for a mere baby. A baby who will witness this trauma without being able to fully comprehend it. A baby who has no way of contacting the authorities. A baby who has no one to take care of him, feed him, or comfort him. But do we really think that Daddy gave a sh** about all that either way?
Which leads to the next question. Why was this father checking into a motel alone with a baby? What happened to the baby's mother?
I suspect this will turn out to be one of those scenarios where Mom was breaking off with Dad's sorry @$$, but in order to punish/control her, he took off with her child and nearly killed him.
Daddy is identified as KHIRY THOMAS.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/05/01/4632998/father-killed-son-wounded-in-waveland.html
Father killed, son wounded in Waveland shooting
Published: May 1, 2013 Updated 10 hours ago
The Associated Press
WAVELAND, Miss. — Waveland police are investigating the shooting of man and his 1-year-old son at the Coast Inn.
Detective David Allen tells The Sun Herald ( http://bit.ly/16ks0TB) police found 22-year-old Khiry Thomas dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head about 8:30 p.m. Monday. Allen says the child survived and is expected to live.
Police believe Thomas checked into the motel Sunday.
Allen said police are trying to determine if the child was struck in the head by a bullet fragment or was shot. The case remained under investigation.
Coroner Jim Faulk said Thomas' death has been ruled a suicide.
Whether the baby's injury was "accidental" from a bullet fragment or intentional hardly seems the point. It's still a pretty selfish and sickening thing to kill yourself when you apparently have sole responsibility for a mere baby. A baby who will witness this trauma without being able to fully comprehend it. A baby who has no way of contacting the authorities. A baby who has no one to take care of him, feed him, or comfort him. But do we really think that Daddy gave a sh** about all that either way?
Which leads to the next question. Why was this father checking into a motel alone with a baby? What happened to the baby's mother?
I suspect this will turn out to be one of those scenarios where Mom was breaking off with Dad's sorry @$$, but in order to punish/control her, he took off with her child and nearly killed him.
Daddy is identified as KHIRY THOMAS.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/05/01/4632998/father-killed-son-wounded-in-waveland.html
Father killed, son wounded in Waveland shooting
Published: May 1, 2013 Updated 10 hours ago
The Associated Press
WAVELAND, Miss. — Waveland police are investigating the shooting of man and his 1-year-old son at the Coast Inn.
Detective David Allen tells The Sun Herald ( http://bit.ly/16ks0TB) police found 22-year-old Khiry Thomas dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head about 8:30 p.m. Monday. Allen says the child survived and is expected to live.
Police believe Thomas checked into the motel Sunday.
Allen said police are trying to determine if the child was struck in the head by a bullet fragment or was shot. The case remained under investigation.
Coroner Jim Faulk said Thomas' death has been ruled a suicide.
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