Just unbelievable incompetence and abuser father coddling.
Dad is identified as MICHAEL HERRON.
See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Colorado.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/call7-investigators/childs-death-after-being-placed-with-troubled-dad-raises-new-questions-about-denver-human-services
Child's death after being placed with troubled dad raises new questions about Denver Human Services
By: John Ferrugia
Posted: 10:55 AM, May 1, 2015
DENVER - Two month D'anthony Herron arrived at the Denver Health emergency room near death, with horrific trauma to his head.
His father, Michael Herron, who was caring for the baby and his two year old brother alone, claimed the infant had fallen off a counter while he was giving D’Anthony a bath.
Herron called his girlfriend and mother of the children telling her there had been an accident.
“I get to the hospital…and they have D'anthony hooked up to all these wires already,” said Amber Lucero, “And they have his head wrapped. And he wasn't even conscious.”
The scene overwhelmed her.
“I just broke down and I couldn't believe it,” she said.
Doctors told Amber that her two month old baby had likely been abused by her boyfriend and that his story didn’t match the grave injuries her son had suffered.
“He had a skull fracture,” she said. “He had bleeding in the brain and his brain was swollen and his skull was pushed up and he had suffered from seizures and a stroke.”
Doctors told her there was no hope of saving this tiny child who had been born bright-eyed and healthy.
Now, her baby had nearly no brain function and simply could not survive.
Amber and her mother held the baby for two hours after nurses un-hooked him from life support.
“He finally took his last breath,” she said, “And I just remember he went (soft breath) and his had just rolled to the side ... And that is when we just knew."
“Do you think Michael should have had those children by himself?” asked CALL7 Investigator John Ferrugia.
“No,” she said through tears, “No.”
A CALL7 investigation has found that Michael Herron had a long history of mental illness, a police record that includes domestic violence and drug use, and a list of referrals -- or complaints -- to Denver Human Services that stretches back to 2002.
In fact, a complaint was made to DHS when D'anthony was born in May of 2014.
At the time, the parents were living apart, Michael in transitional housing and Amber in a motel with her mother.
The morning after D’Anthony’s birth, Amber says Michael was in her hospital room.
“He started calling me names. He started calling my mom names. He started getting loud. So security came in,” she said.
“Hospital security?” asked Ferrugia.
“Yeah”, she replied, "And he was threatening to take D’Anthony and just leave that day.”
“That's when the social worker came in,” she said.
According to D-H-S documents submitted to juvenile court -- and obtained from the family -- that social worker called DHS.
"Hospital staff concerned about Mr. Herron’s ability to care for D’Anthony and was very angry at the hospital," the document reads.
And there was a second call the following day by an unlisted party.
Records show the complaints were "not accepted" and determined to be "unfounded."
Michael Herron took home the newborn to care for him and their other two-year old son.
Amber says, at the time, she believed the child was given to Michael because he was living in transitional housing at Decatur House, a Mercy Housing Project in Denver.
But she says she was concerned about the children’s safety.
“Because of the way he was with his temper and attitude, I don't think he should have the kids," she said.
Records show that on July 15th, 2014 DHS was called again.
The complaint, or "referral," read: "Heard Mr. Herron screaming at the kids. The next day (his two year old son) had a scratch on his face."
Sources familiar with the investigation tell CALL7 Investigator John Ferrugia that there was also concern by the caller that Michael Herron was overwhelmed by caring for the newborn and the two-year old.
Despite all the apparent red flags and concerns about child safety, DHS left the kids with him.
Heron is accused of beating D’Anthony five days later, and doctors found it wasn't the first time the baby had been injured.
"He had previous injuries that were already healing," said Amber. "His ribs were broken."
That is confirmed by the autopsy report obtained by the CALL7 Investigators.
Records confirm that DHS caseworkers and supervisors knew Michael Herron was a serious risk.
In 2013 a complaint was "founded" - or confirmed - for domestic violence.
"Mr. Herron was punching and choking Ms. Lucero," the report read.
Again in 2013 a complaint called in was "not accepted."
"Mr. Herron screaming at Ms. Lucero and pushing her,” read the report. “Mr. Herron reports that he does not know how to calm a crying baby.”
In 2009 a complaint was "founded" for "sex abuse."
Michael Herron was arrested for sexually assaulting his daughter by a previous marriage.
The child was 7-years old, and had significant health problems.
While D-H-S was convinced the assault occurred, the charges were dropped as the child may have been too young to testify.
In 2004 D-H-S records show that caseworkers and supervisors knew Michael Herron suffered from mental illness.
"Mr. Herron is bipolar," read he report.
Herron’s father, Danny Herron, told CALL7 Investigator John Ferrugia that his son has long suffered from mental problems.
“He started writing suicide notes when he was about seventeen, maybe 18 talking about how he's going to kill himself”, said Danny Herron
“So I called the police and they came and got him and took him to this mental hospital,” he said.
“And that's when they diagnosed that he had bi-polar “.
“He had bi-polar disorder?" asked Ferrugia.
Danny Herron nod his head.
Danny Herron is guardian of his granddaughter who made the sexual abuse complaint against Michael Herron when she was 7 years old....
The claim "founded" by DHS.
“Danny, does it make any sense to you that human services, knowing what they knew, gave him children?” asked Ferrugia.
“No, no”, he said. “I don't see why they would have did that at all.”
What's more, amber claims when she and Michael applied for food stamps in 2013 for one of their children, Michael was referred to a mental health facility by DHS for an evaluation.
“He told me they were talking about putting him on medication for being bipolar and schizophrenic,” she said.
Records make clear, and amber admits, the couple was often violent with one another.
In the past, Amber has also pled guilty to domestic violence against Michael Herron and had a protection order filed against her.
But despite all the referrals and complaints to DHS during their tumultuous relationship she says that, other than at the hospital when D’Anthony was dying she has not been interviewed by DHS.
“Have you ever seen a caseworker from Denver Human Services?” asked Ferrugia
“No,” Amber replied.
“Never?" Ferrugia asked.
“No,” she replied.
A spokesman for the Denver Department of Human Services says DHS officials have no comment on the case as they claim they are legally prohibited from talking about the case.
Michael Herron remains in jail, charged with the murder of his two-month old son.
This is yet another case uncovered by an ongoing CALL7 investigation that raises questions about DHS practice, supervision of caseworkers, and judgment in the placement of vulnerable children.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Friday, May 1, 2015
Dad with history of domestic violence, custody and child support disputes stabs to death 13-month-old daughter, her mother (Eastpointe, Michigan)
Dad is identified as CURTIS HAMPTON, JR. The fact that Daddy had a history of domestic violence AND child custody/child support disputes with other women should have been an absolute red flag.
http://www.macombdaily.com/general-news/20150430/slain-eastpointe-woman-was-stabbed-14-times-daughter-once
Slain Eastpointe woman was stabbed 14 times, daughter once
By Norb Franz, The Macomb Daily Posted: 04/30/15, 11:24 AM EDT | Updated: 2 hrs ago
An Eastpointe woman found dead in her home in February had been stabbed 14 times, while her 13-month-old daughter whose body was on a pillow placed on the 29-year-old mother died of a single stab wound that pierced her heart and a lung, according to testimony Thursday in court.
The bodies of Monique Rakowski, 29, and her daughter Carmon were found Feb. 12 in a bathroom of their home in the 23700 block of Normandy Street. Rakowski’s ex-boyfriend and father of the little girl, Curtis Hampton Jr., is charged in the slayings. At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing in 38th District Court, Judge Carl Gerds III ordered Hampton, 30, to stand trial on murder and other charges.
Forensic pathologist Mary Pietrangelo of the Macomb County Medical Examiner’s Office testified the Eastpointe woman suffered stab wounds to her breasts, her right arm and back, and blunt force trauma to her neck, chest and skull.
The bodies were discovered by Rakowski’s father. Michael Rakowski went to the home, located in the Nine Mile Road-Gratiot Avenue area, at the request of his wife because she had not her from their daughter. From the witness stand, he gave this account: After he entered the house, he called out, but nobody responded.
The bathroom door was locked, so he checked other rooms, which were unoccupied. Saying he would not have been comfortable leaving with the bathroom unchecked, he broke through the door and made the gruesome discovery. Monique was lying on her back, with nickels placed over her eyes. Little Carmon was on her back on the pillow with a pacifier in her mouth.
“I took the pacifier out of her mouth and tried to breath some life into her,” the father and grandfather said. “I could tell it was way too late.”
He then dialed 911.
The next day, Feb. 13, Hampton turned himself in the Dearborn Police Department. Claiming he had been stabbed, he was transported to Oakwood Hospital where he was treated for approximately one hour.
During a more than three-hour interview at the Eastpointe Police Department, Detective Joseph Madonia said Hampton claimed that he told Monique Rakowski there was a warrant for his arrest and that she became angry that he’d be going to jail and leaving her behind. Hampton said he tried to cuddle with her one last time in bed but she kicked him, said Madonia, who headed the Eastpointe police investigation into the double slaying.
The detective said Hampton alleged that she grabbed a knife and hit him first. “He stated she removed the knife from his chest and went to stab him again and missed, and struck Carmon,” Madonia said during questioning by Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Therese Tobin. Hampton told investigators the fight spilled from the bedroom into a hallway and to the bedroom. Madonia said Hampton claimed he and Rakowski had a conversation as she sat on the bathroom room while he was on the toilet. Hampton admitted that he stabbed Rakowski, the detective said.
“He said he had two knives, one in each hand. He said he used both,” Madonia said.
Hampton cleaned off the knives and fled the house hours later, police said.
Hampton’s mother testified that she received a troubling text message from the cellphone that she had given to him to use. Anita Hampton said he drove to the apartment complex where she resides and that he gave her a bag containing clothes and the phone.
Details of the lengthy text message were not revealed in court. However, Anita Hampton said she was worried about him, so she phoned her daughter. Then she spoke with him a second time.
“After the conversation, he did go to the Dearborn Police Department and turn himself in,” the suspect’s mother added.
Defense attorney Timothy Barkovic argued that police failed to adequately consider whether Hampton may have acted in self-defense. Barkovic unsuccessfully tried to convince Judge Gerds to have Hampton’s statement to police suppressed.
Barkovic declared in court that he did not have any defense witnesses for Thursday’s probable-cause hearing. Moments later, Hampton muttered that he wanted to take the stand, but the judge denied the request.
In deciding whether prosecutors provided sufficient evidence for Curtis Hampton to stand trial, Gerds scoffed at Hampton’s version of events as told by Madonia.
“He’s come up with a story so absurd, I’m not sure it’s evidence at all,” the judge said before ordering Hampton to stand trial on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of felony murder and single counts of first-degree child abuse and attempted third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Hampton remains in custody at the Macomb County Jail without bond.
If convicted of any of the murder charges, Hampton would receive a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance for parole.
Even before the altercation that left Rakowski and Carmon dead, Hampton and Rakowski had a violent relationship.
Last July, he was arrested and charged with domestic violence second offense/aggravated assault, district court records show. That charge is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both. At the time, Gerds ordered Hampton to not contact Rakowski and stay at least 1,000 feet from the Normandy street residence.
Last August, Hampton pleaded no contest, which is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. Judge Gerds sentenced him to 12 months of probation, fines and costs totaling $1,490, set other restrictions and lifted the no-contact order, court records show.
Hampton has two older children from different mothers. In January, he wrote a letter to Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Tracey Yokich, requesting parenting time to spend more time with both boys despite what he considered stormy relationships with both mothers. In the letter, Hampton acknowledged a previous domestic violence charge but told the judge that he was confident had controlled his temper after attending court-ordered anger management counseling.
A few weeks before the slayings of Monique Rakowski and Carmon, a bench warrant for Hampton’s arrest had been issued for arrearage on child support payments involving one of his sons, according to Circuit Court records.
http://www.macombdaily.com/general-news/20150430/slain-eastpointe-woman-was-stabbed-14-times-daughter-once
Slain Eastpointe woman was stabbed 14 times, daughter once
By Norb Franz, The Macomb Daily Posted: 04/30/15, 11:24 AM EDT | Updated: 2 hrs ago
An Eastpointe woman found dead in her home in February had been stabbed 14 times, while her 13-month-old daughter whose body was on a pillow placed on the 29-year-old mother died of a single stab wound that pierced her heart and a lung, according to testimony Thursday in court.
The bodies of Monique Rakowski, 29, and her daughter Carmon were found Feb. 12 in a bathroom of their home in the 23700 block of Normandy Street. Rakowski’s ex-boyfriend and father of the little girl, Curtis Hampton Jr., is charged in the slayings. At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing in 38th District Court, Judge Carl Gerds III ordered Hampton, 30, to stand trial on murder and other charges.
Forensic pathologist Mary Pietrangelo of the Macomb County Medical Examiner’s Office testified the Eastpointe woman suffered stab wounds to her breasts, her right arm and back, and blunt force trauma to her neck, chest and skull.
The bodies were discovered by Rakowski’s father. Michael Rakowski went to the home, located in the Nine Mile Road-Gratiot Avenue area, at the request of his wife because she had not her from their daughter. From the witness stand, he gave this account: After he entered the house, he called out, but nobody responded.
The bathroom door was locked, so he checked other rooms, which were unoccupied. Saying he would not have been comfortable leaving with the bathroom unchecked, he broke through the door and made the gruesome discovery. Monique was lying on her back, with nickels placed over her eyes. Little Carmon was on her back on the pillow with a pacifier in her mouth.
“I took the pacifier out of her mouth and tried to breath some life into her,” the father and grandfather said. “I could tell it was way too late.”
He then dialed 911.
The next day, Feb. 13, Hampton turned himself in the Dearborn Police Department. Claiming he had been stabbed, he was transported to Oakwood Hospital where he was treated for approximately one hour.
During a more than three-hour interview at the Eastpointe Police Department, Detective Joseph Madonia said Hampton claimed that he told Monique Rakowski there was a warrant for his arrest and that she became angry that he’d be going to jail and leaving her behind. Hampton said he tried to cuddle with her one last time in bed but she kicked him, said Madonia, who headed the Eastpointe police investigation into the double slaying.
The detective said Hampton alleged that she grabbed a knife and hit him first. “He stated she removed the knife from his chest and went to stab him again and missed, and struck Carmon,” Madonia said during questioning by Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Therese Tobin. Hampton told investigators the fight spilled from the bedroom into a hallway and to the bedroom. Madonia said Hampton claimed he and Rakowski had a conversation as she sat on the bathroom room while he was on the toilet. Hampton admitted that he stabbed Rakowski, the detective said.
“He said he had two knives, one in each hand. He said he used both,” Madonia said.
Hampton cleaned off the knives and fled the house hours later, police said.
Hampton’s mother testified that she received a troubling text message from the cellphone that she had given to him to use. Anita Hampton said he drove to the apartment complex where she resides and that he gave her a bag containing clothes and the phone.
Details of the lengthy text message were not revealed in court. However, Anita Hampton said she was worried about him, so she phoned her daughter. Then she spoke with him a second time.
“After the conversation, he did go to the Dearborn Police Department and turn himself in,” the suspect’s mother added.
Defense attorney Timothy Barkovic argued that police failed to adequately consider whether Hampton may have acted in self-defense. Barkovic unsuccessfully tried to convince Judge Gerds to have Hampton’s statement to police suppressed.
Barkovic declared in court that he did not have any defense witnesses for Thursday’s probable-cause hearing. Moments later, Hampton muttered that he wanted to take the stand, but the judge denied the request.
In deciding whether prosecutors provided sufficient evidence for Curtis Hampton to stand trial, Gerds scoffed at Hampton’s version of events as told by Madonia.
“He’s come up with a story so absurd, I’m not sure it’s evidence at all,” the judge said before ordering Hampton to stand trial on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of felony murder and single counts of first-degree child abuse and attempted third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Hampton remains in custody at the Macomb County Jail without bond.
If convicted of any of the murder charges, Hampton would receive a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance for parole.
Even before the altercation that left Rakowski and Carmon dead, Hampton and Rakowski had a violent relationship.
Last July, he was arrested and charged with domestic violence second offense/aggravated assault, district court records show. That charge is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both. At the time, Gerds ordered Hampton to not contact Rakowski and stay at least 1,000 feet from the Normandy street residence.
Last August, Hampton pleaded no contest, which is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. Judge Gerds sentenced him to 12 months of probation, fines and costs totaling $1,490, set other restrictions and lifted the no-contact order, court records show.
Hampton has two older children from different mothers. In January, he wrote a letter to Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Tracey Yokich, requesting parenting time to spend more time with both boys despite what he considered stormy relationships with both mothers. In the letter, Hampton acknowledged a previous domestic violence charge but told the judge that he was confident had controlled his temper after attending court-ordered anger management counseling.
A few weeks before the slayings of Monique Rakowski and Carmon, a bench warrant for Hampton’s arrest had been issued for arrearage on child support payments involving one of his sons, according to Circuit Court records.
Dad charged with assauting 3-month-old baby (Plainfield, Connecticut)
Dad is identified as SHAWN SIEGRIST. No mention of a mother in the home.
http://www.norwichbulletin.com/article/20150430/NEWS/150439949/1994
Plainfield father charged with assault in alleged child abuse case involving 3-month-old
By Adam Benson
The Bulletin
Posted Apr. 30, 2015 at 3:29 PM Updated Apr 30, 2015 at 4:48 PM
PLAINFIELD - State police arrested a Plainfield father today on a warrant charging him in connection with a December assault on his 3-month-old infant in Brooklyn.
Shawn Siegrist, 26, of 16 Cranska Drive, was taken into custody at 11 a.m. at his home and charged with second-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor.
According to police, detectives with the Eastern District Major Crime Squad began investigating after the report of child abuse of a 3-month-old. The incident occurred Dec. 3.
The baby was taken to The William W. Backus Hospital’s emergency center and then moved to the Connecticut Children’s Memorial Hospital for further medical evaluation and treatment.
After a lengthy investigation, detectives said they found a history of unexplained injuries to the infant and obtained a warrant for Siegrist’s arrest.
He is being held on $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear Friday in Danielson Superior Court.
http://www.norwichbulletin.com/article/20150430/NEWS/150439949/1994
Plainfield father charged with assault in alleged child abuse case involving 3-month-old
By Adam Benson
The Bulletin
Posted Apr. 30, 2015 at 3:29 PM Updated Apr 30, 2015 at 4:48 PM
PLAINFIELD - State police arrested a Plainfield father today on a warrant charging him in connection with a December assault on his 3-month-old infant in Brooklyn.
Shawn Siegrist, 26, of 16 Cranska Drive, was taken into custody at 11 a.m. at his home and charged with second-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor.
According to police, detectives with the Eastern District Major Crime Squad began investigating after the report of child abuse of a 3-month-old. The incident occurred Dec. 3.
The baby was taken to The William W. Backus Hospital’s emergency center and then moved to the Connecticut Children’s Memorial Hospital for further medical evaluation and treatment.
After a lengthy investigation, detectives said they found a history of unexplained injuries to the infant and obtained a warrant for Siegrist’s arrest.
He is being held on $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear Friday in Danielson Superior Court.
Three-year-old boy tests positive for cocaine while "in the custody of his father" (Rock Hill, South Carolina)
Yet another example of media ambiguity. While "in the custody of his father"--what does this mean? Dad was supposed to be supervising? Or that this was a court-ordered custody/visitation situation? And notice that there is no mention of a mother being arrested for "allowing" cocaine in the home. In fact there is no mention of a mother at all.
Dad is identified as MATTHEW TYLER EPPS.
http://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/crime/article19801464.html
Crime April 28, 2015
Police arrest Rock Hill dad after son tests positive for cocaine
By staff reports - The Herald -
A Rock Hill father is charged with child neglect after his 3-year-old son tested positive for cocaine, police say.
The Department of Social Services notified local law enforcement in March after the child was hospitalized for a reported head injury. The boy was disoriented, but didn’t have any head trauma, according to a Rock Hill Police report.
Detectives say that hospital officials reported that the boy ingested the cocaine when he was in the custody of his father, around March 12.
After a month-long investigation, warrants were issued for Matthew Tyler Epps, age 27, police records show. Epps has been charged with unlawful conduct toward a child.
Rock Hill Police arrested Epps on Monday, according to booking records.
By Tuesday morning, he was being held at the Moss Justice Detention Center in York on a $4,000 bond.
Dad is identified as MATTHEW TYLER EPPS.
http://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/crime/article19801464.html
Crime April 28, 2015
Police arrest Rock Hill dad after son tests positive for cocaine
By staff reports - The Herald -
A Rock Hill father is charged with child neglect after his 3-year-old son tested positive for cocaine, police say.
The Department of Social Services notified local law enforcement in March after the child was hospitalized for a reported head injury. The boy was disoriented, but didn’t have any head trauma, according to a Rock Hill Police report.
Detectives say that hospital officials reported that the boy ingested the cocaine when he was in the custody of his father, around March 12.
After a month-long investigation, warrants were issued for Matthew Tyler Epps, age 27, police records show. Epps has been charged with unlawful conduct toward a child.
Rock Hill Police arrested Epps on Monday, according to booking records.
By Tuesday morning, he was being held at the Moss Justice Detention Center in York on a $4,000 bond.
Dad charged with assault for beating and choking daughter (Douglas, Wyoming)
Can't help but wonder if dad MICHAEL PINGS is single and/or custodial. Notice that there is no mention of a mother in the home. And that he assaulted his daughter for doing housework (washing the dishes) "wrong." This suggests that she may have taken on these responsibilities--typical in a father custody home. But of course, the mother's erasure from the story goes without explanation, and Dad's custodial status is left obscure.
http://www.douglas-budget.com/news/article_d0a95ac8-ede8-11e4-9709-bb416551c33a.html
Man hit with four child abuse charges
Posted: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 7:00 am
By KASEY M. ORR Reporter
A Douglas man was arrested at the end of March and has been charged with four felonies which include child abuse and assault with a deadly weapon.
Michael Pings has had trouble in Converse County before, including previous assault and drug charges, but now will go before the district court for allegedly beating, choking and threatening his daughter, a girl younger than 16 years old whose name is being withheld.
According to court affidavits, the girl told police she had broken a plate while washing dishes on the evening of March 24, after which her father threw her to the floor and held her by the throat while punching and kicking her, before holding a broken piece of the plate to her throat and saying he would kill her.
She told officers that, on the morning following this attack, her father struck her on the back with items, including a fireplace tool. Court documents state the police observed marks including a scratch on the girl’s neck and bruises on her back they felt were consistent with the type of actions she described.
Officers arrested Pings and took the girl into protective custody.
The charges carried over to the district court include one count of child abuse, one count of strangulation of a household member, aggravated assault threatening with a drawn deadly weapon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Maximum penalties for the charges, should Pings be found guilty, are up to 30 years in prison and $40,000 in fines.
http://www.douglas-budget.com/news/article_d0a95ac8-ede8-11e4-9709-bb416551c33a.html
Man hit with four child abuse charges
Posted: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 7:00 am
By KASEY M. ORR Reporter
A Douglas man was arrested at the end of March and has been charged with four felonies which include child abuse and assault with a deadly weapon.
Michael Pings has had trouble in Converse County before, including previous assault and drug charges, but now will go before the district court for allegedly beating, choking and threatening his daughter, a girl younger than 16 years old whose name is being withheld.
According to court affidavits, the girl told police she had broken a plate while washing dishes on the evening of March 24, after which her father threw her to the floor and held her by the throat while punching and kicking her, before holding a broken piece of the plate to her throat and saying he would kill her.
She told officers that, on the morning following this attack, her father struck her on the back with items, including a fireplace tool. Court documents state the police observed marks including a scratch on the girl’s neck and bruises on her back they felt were consistent with the type of actions she described.
Officers arrested Pings and took the girl into protective custody.
The charges carried over to the district court include one count of child abuse, one count of strangulation of a household member, aggravated assault threatening with a drawn deadly weapon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Maximum penalties for the charges, should Pings be found guilty, are up to 30 years in prison and $40,000 in fines.
After 6 years, DA finally drops murder charges against 10-year-old boy who shot abusive custodial father (Belen, New Mexico)
While there are some children who murder their parents because of mental illness and/or sociopathology, research shows that the majority are severely abused kids. That's why I'm suspicious as to why the father was never indicated for abuse--I don't think the authorities want to admit that they let this guy slide so long through their own incompetence/indifference that the son took the matter into his own hands.
And if Mom was really the only abusive one, why would they let the boy live with her after the father was killed? They don't even seem to believe their own stories.
Here is our post on this case from 2009.
http://www.abqjournal.com/577102/news/da-to-drop-first-degree-murder-charge-against-belen-boy.html
DA to drop murder charge against boy who shot dad
By Julia M. Dendinger / Valencia County News-bulletin Assistant Editor
UPDATED: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 10:35 pm
PUBLISHED: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 3:51 pm
BELEN – After several years of legal setbacks, prosecutors say they will drop a first-degree murder charge filed against a Belen boy who was 10 years old when he allegedly shot his father in the back of the head with a shotgun at the family home.
“This was the hardest decision I’ve had to make during my time as district attorney. This is a case that seems to have been fatally flawed from the beginning,” 13th Judicial District Attorney Lemuel Martinez told the News-Bulletin on Wednesday.
Benjamin Hilburn was charged after allegedly killing his father, 42-year-old Bryon Hilburn, in August 2009.
Testimony by Hilburn’s then-6-year-old sister about the shooting, and the boy’s admissions when he called 911 and to officers at the scene – “I shot my dad in the head because he was punishing me,” he told them – were ruled inadmissible.
An appeal by the District Attorney’s Office was unsuccessful.
Martinez said that given the evidence left to use at trial, there was little choice but to drop the charge because the existing evidence was insufficient.
He said his office would seek to dismiss the charges without prejudice in the event new witnesses or evidence come to light in the future.
Throughout the long process, Martinez said it was always the intent of the state to obtain treatment for Benjamin Hilburn.
“Any child of 10 who responds to anger, disrespect or rage in a violent manner, especially using a deadly weapon, is in need of treatment so they can address these kinds of events in a nonviolent way,” the district attorney said.
“That is not going to happen in this case. The child is going to get away with murder.”
Testimony excluded
In June 2011, retired 13th Judicial District Judge John Pope declared Hilburn competent to stand trial.
That started the clock, giving the state four months to adjudicate the case, but appeals by both sides stretched that time limit out to this year.
In May 2012, pro-tem District Judge Tommy Jewell ruled that Hilburn’s sister, Emily, who was 8 years old by then, was not fit to testify as she unable to distinguish truth from fantasy. Experts testified that the girl was in a dissociative state on several occasions while being evaluated.
The state asked Jewell to reconsider his decision, Martinez said, arguing that the testimony from the expert the judge based his decision on came solely from interviews with the girl’s mother, not Emily herself.
“We believe the judge could have interviewed the child himself to determine the veracity of her testimony, the quality of her memory and ability to tell the truth,” Martinez said Wednesday. “The expert did not interview the child.”
After the judge denied the request for reconsideration, Martinez said the state went so far as to seek advice from the state Attorney General’s Office to see if it had a basis for an appeal.
“We were told it would be a very high standard to meet and we wouldn’t prevail,” he said.
In August 2013, just days before Hilburn’s trial was scheduled to begin, District Judge George Eichwald agreed to allow the defense to appeal his decision to allow the use of the 911 recording from the night of the shooting.
The New Mexico Court of Appeals ultimately ruled the 911 tape couldn’t be used at trial. In a recording of the 911 call, the young Hilburn tells a dispatcher about the shooting.
“I was just so over my head,” he told the dispatcher.
“I shot him in the back of the head. I got so angry at him.”
911 call
The boy repeatedly asked the dispatcher for emergency responders to “hurry up.”
When officers arrived at his house on Vivian Drive in Belen, Hilburn told them to go quickly into the house and then said he shot his father.
Police found Bryon Hilburn lying behind the doorway, partially blocking it.
He was bleeding heavily from the back of his head but still alive.
The report says that Benjamin Hilburn led police to the weapon reportedly used in the shooting, a camouflage-colored 20-gauge shotgun.
Police found a spent shell casing in the hallway.
Officers placed Benjamin Hilburn into custody, and his sister eventually was handed over to her grandfather.
According to the report, officers described Benjamin as emotionless after the shooting.
His sister told police she was playing video games when she saw her brother holding a weapon.
She said she heard a gunshot, and then saw her father lying on the floor.
Bryon Hilburn was pronounced dead at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque about an hour after the initial call.
The New Mexico children’s code prevents children under 13 from making statements that incriminate themselves, Martinez said, so both Hilburn’s statements to the police on the night of the shooting and the 911 recording were ruled inadmissible for that same reason.
Benjamin Hilburn was allowed to move to Oklahoma in 2013 to live with his mother, Monica Albear, while awaiting trial.
After her son was charged, Albear said her ex-husband abused both her and their three children.
The state’s Children, Youth and Families Department investigated nine complaints of abuse at the home but substantiated only one – against Albear.
At the time of the shooting, Bryon Hilburn had custody of Benjamin, and Martinez said that to his knowledge, the complaints to CYFD were made and investigated while Albear and Byron Hilburn were still together.
“While he was in his father’s custody, I don’t know of any reports,” he said. Martinez said that to the best of his knowledge, Hilburn is not receiving any kind of treatment.
“It is our hope he is,” Martinez said. “We are fearful for his mother and sister’s well-being based on his previous actions.”
And if Mom was really the only abusive one, why would they let the boy live with her after the father was killed? They don't even seem to believe their own stories.
Here is our post on this case from 2009.
http://www.abqjournal.com/577102/news/da-to-drop-first-degree-murder-charge-against-belen-boy.html
DA to drop murder charge against boy who shot dad
By Julia M. Dendinger / Valencia County News-bulletin Assistant Editor
UPDATED: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 10:35 pm
PUBLISHED: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 3:51 pm
BELEN – After several years of legal setbacks, prosecutors say they will drop a first-degree murder charge filed against a Belen boy who was 10 years old when he allegedly shot his father in the back of the head with a shotgun at the family home.
“This was the hardest decision I’ve had to make during my time as district attorney. This is a case that seems to have been fatally flawed from the beginning,” 13th Judicial District Attorney Lemuel Martinez told the News-Bulletin on Wednesday.
Benjamin Hilburn was charged after allegedly killing his father, 42-year-old Bryon Hilburn, in August 2009.
Testimony by Hilburn’s then-6-year-old sister about the shooting, and the boy’s admissions when he called 911 and to officers at the scene – “I shot my dad in the head because he was punishing me,” he told them – were ruled inadmissible.
An appeal by the District Attorney’s Office was unsuccessful.
Martinez said that given the evidence left to use at trial, there was little choice but to drop the charge because the existing evidence was insufficient.
He said his office would seek to dismiss the charges without prejudice in the event new witnesses or evidence come to light in the future.
Throughout the long process, Martinez said it was always the intent of the state to obtain treatment for Benjamin Hilburn.
“Any child of 10 who responds to anger, disrespect or rage in a violent manner, especially using a deadly weapon, is in need of treatment so they can address these kinds of events in a nonviolent way,” the district attorney said.
“That is not going to happen in this case. The child is going to get away with murder.”
Testimony excluded
In June 2011, retired 13th Judicial District Judge John Pope declared Hilburn competent to stand trial.
That started the clock, giving the state four months to adjudicate the case, but appeals by both sides stretched that time limit out to this year.
In May 2012, pro-tem District Judge Tommy Jewell ruled that Hilburn’s sister, Emily, who was 8 years old by then, was not fit to testify as she unable to distinguish truth from fantasy. Experts testified that the girl was in a dissociative state on several occasions while being evaluated.
The state asked Jewell to reconsider his decision, Martinez said, arguing that the testimony from the expert the judge based his decision on came solely from interviews with the girl’s mother, not Emily herself.
“We believe the judge could have interviewed the child himself to determine the veracity of her testimony, the quality of her memory and ability to tell the truth,” Martinez said Wednesday. “The expert did not interview the child.”
After the judge denied the request for reconsideration, Martinez said the state went so far as to seek advice from the state Attorney General’s Office to see if it had a basis for an appeal.
“We were told it would be a very high standard to meet and we wouldn’t prevail,” he said.
In August 2013, just days before Hilburn’s trial was scheduled to begin, District Judge George Eichwald agreed to allow the defense to appeal his decision to allow the use of the 911 recording from the night of the shooting.
The New Mexico Court of Appeals ultimately ruled the 911 tape couldn’t be used at trial. In a recording of the 911 call, the young Hilburn tells a dispatcher about the shooting.
“I was just so over my head,” he told the dispatcher.
“I shot him in the back of the head. I got so angry at him.”
911 call
The boy repeatedly asked the dispatcher for emergency responders to “hurry up.”
When officers arrived at his house on Vivian Drive in Belen, Hilburn told them to go quickly into the house and then said he shot his father.
Police found Bryon Hilburn lying behind the doorway, partially blocking it.
He was bleeding heavily from the back of his head but still alive.
The report says that Benjamin Hilburn led police to the weapon reportedly used in the shooting, a camouflage-colored 20-gauge shotgun.
Police found a spent shell casing in the hallway.
Officers placed Benjamin Hilburn into custody, and his sister eventually was handed over to her grandfather.
According to the report, officers described Benjamin as emotionless after the shooting.
His sister told police she was playing video games when she saw her brother holding a weapon.
She said she heard a gunshot, and then saw her father lying on the floor.
Bryon Hilburn was pronounced dead at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque about an hour after the initial call.
The New Mexico children’s code prevents children under 13 from making statements that incriminate themselves, Martinez said, so both Hilburn’s statements to the police on the night of the shooting and the 911 recording were ruled inadmissible for that same reason.
Benjamin Hilburn was allowed to move to Oklahoma in 2013 to live with his mother, Monica Albear, while awaiting trial.
After her son was charged, Albear said her ex-husband abused both her and their three children.
The state’s Children, Youth and Families Department investigated nine complaints of abuse at the home but substantiated only one – against Albear.
At the time of the shooting, Bryon Hilburn had custody of Benjamin, and Martinez said that to his knowledge, the complaints to CYFD were made and investigated while Albear and Byron Hilburn were still together.
“While he was in his father’s custody, I don’t know of any reports,” he said. Martinez said that to the best of his knowledge, Hilburn is not receiving any kind of treatment.
“It is our hope he is,” Martinez said. “We are fearful for his mother and sister’s well-being based on his previous actions.”
Dad wanted on capital murder charges in death of 17-month-old daughter turns himself in (Jackson, Mississippi)
Notice the vagueness which is typical in this kind of news article. The child was "with her father" when the "incident occurred." Does this mean she was killed in a custody/visitation situation? There is no way of knowing. This one reason why it is so hard to quantify the number of children harmed in custody/visitation situations.
Dad is identified as RICKY DAVIS.
http://www.wjtv.com/story/28953331/dad-wanted-for-capital-murder-of-17-month-old-in-custody
Dad wanted for capital murder of 17-month-old turns himself in
Posted: May 01, 2015 12:10 PM EDT Updated: May 01, 2015 12:50 PM EDT
By Donesha Aldridge, Web Content Manager/Producer
JACKSON, Miss. - The dad wanted for capital murder in the death of his 17-month-old daughter is now in custody.
Police said 20-year-old Ricky Davis turned himself in.
The child, Ra'Kayla Silman, was rushed to the hospital Saturday to be treated for head trauma. During the preliminary investigation, police were told that the child had fallen and hurt herself.
The child was with her father, Davis, when the incident occurred, police said.
Medical doctors said Ra'Kayla's injures were not consistent with a fall and that it did not appear to be accidental.
Ra'Kayla died from her injures on Tuesday.
Davis is waiting for his court hearing.
Dad is identified as RICKY DAVIS.
http://www.wjtv.com/story/28953331/dad-wanted-for-capital-murder-of-17-month-old-in-custody
Dad wanted for capital murder of 17-month-old turns himself in
Posted: May 01, 2015 12:10 PM EDT Updated: May 01, 2015 12:50 PM EDT
By Donesha Aldridge, Web Content Manager/Producer
JACKSON, Miss. - The dad wanted for capital murder in the death of his 17-month-old daughter is now in custody.
Police said 20-year-old Ricky Davis turned himself in.
The child, Ra'Kayla Silman, was rushed to the hospital Saturday to be treated for head trauma. During the preliminary investigation, police were told that the child had fallen and hurt herself.
The child was with her father, Davis, when the incident occurred, police said.
Medical doctors said Ra'Kayla's injures were not consistent with a fall and that it did not appear to be accidental.
Ra'Kayla died from her injures on Tuesday.
Davis is waiting for his court hearing.
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