Dad gets 4-8 years for beating death of 3-year-old son; had refused to return boy to mother and authorities refused to help (Dauphin County, Pennsylvania)

Another update to the killer dads and custody lists. Once again, the backstory is totally omitted.

Here it is in a nutshell. And here are our former posts on this case.

The parents had no formal custody agreement (one reason why mothers should get automatic custody barring any reason why they shouldn't). The father played no role in child’s life until January 2010. Note that the father WAS allowed visitation by mother. In March 2010, the father refused to return child or allow maternal contact. The mother's early May 2010 petition for emergency custody WAS DENIED BY  Judge Andrew Dowling despite allegations of child abuse. The custody hearing was set for June 2010. The child died before then of traumatic brain injury. Though the death was ruled a homicide, no charges had been filed as late as September 2010. The grandmother planned to file a lawsuit against county Children and Youth; I'm not sure of the outcome of that.

Note that STEPHEN DIXON could be out of prison in as little as two years. This was a total slap on the wrist, and one of the worst cases we have covered here in terms of CPS/judicial incompetence and cover up for a custodial father.

http://www.abc27.com/story/20045722/man-gets-4-8-years-for-death-of-son-3

Man gets 4-8 years for death of son, 3

Posted: Nov 08, 2012 4:25 PM EST Updated: Nov 09, 2012 9:34 AM EST

By Kendra Nichols

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) - A Dauphin County man will spend 4-8 years in prison for the death of his three-year-old son more than two years ago.

Stephen Dixon, 22, of Swatara Township, received the sentence Thursday after pleading no contest to charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, and endangering the welfare of a child in the death of Jayahn Cox-Phoenix.

Jayahn died May 25, 2010 on his third birthday when he was taken off life support at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, four days after Dixon called 911 to report that the boy had accidentally drowned in the bathtub of his apartment in the 3600 block of Chambers Hill Road.

Prosecutors said an autopsy later showed that Jayahn had suffered several non-accidental injuries and that his death was caused by both drowning and a traumatic brain injury.

Investigators believe Dixon became angry and beat the boy after he wet himself, then put him in the bathtub in an attempt to conceal what he had done. Dixon claimed his son accidentally drowned in the tub when he walked outside to let out his dog.

"I don't forgive him. I don't forgive his family," Jayahn's mother, Jasmine Cox said after the sentencing.

Dixon in the courtroom had turned around and looked at Cox and her family and said, "I didn't kill my son."

"I didn't look at him," Cox said. "I don't believe him. I know he hurt my son. There's nothing he can say or do to bring him back."

Cox believes Dixon's sentence should have been longer.

"The sentence that the judge gave out is probably the right sentence," Chief Assistant District Attorney Sean McCormack said.

"I am just disappointed that the laws, the way they are written, do not call for a longer sentence. Neither family is walking away happy today. I do not think anybody can walk away happy from a case like this."

Cox is expecting a baby boy in six weeks. She says she visits Jayahn's grave every week. "I am living in hell," she said. "I just want my son back. I miss him so much."

With credit for time served, Dixon will be eligible for parole in two years.

Dad charged with homicide in death of 3-year-old son; boy was in "exclusive care and custody of father" (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

FINALLY, dad STEPHEN DIXON has been charged with homicide in the murder of his 3-year-old son.

See our previous post about this case here:

http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2010/09/dad-refuses-to-return-3-year-old-son.html

And this is what I had to say about this case back in September:

This is what happens when an unmarried sperm donor's "rights" are respected more than the rights of a child or a mother. This is what happens when the testimony of mothers and grandmothers is ignored by judges and others in authority.

Dad STEPHEN S. DIXON apparently took no interest in his 3-year-old son till last January. Given all the pressure these days on moms ("Children NEEEED a father, and you are failing them if you don't provide one!"), Mom was "nice" and allowed weekend visitation. Then Daddy decided he didn't feel like returning the child. Guess daddies are under no social obligation to be "nice" in return. Mom contacted the police and they said "there was nothing they could do." Dad then filed a bogus child abuse charge against Mom, that was unfounded. Dad blocked all phone calls from Mom and Grandma. Other family members reported abuse allegations to CYS regarding DAD, and it seems that all the charges were pretty much ignored (which is typical in my experience). Eventually CYS told the grandmother to stop bothering them with "unfounded allegations."Finally, Mom filed a petition for emergency custody. JUDGE ANDREW DOWLING TURNED HER DOWN. Eleven days later, the little boy was hospitalized. And then he was dead. Murdered, the coroner now says.

When are the child protection people, the judges, and the police going to be held accountable for their role in these crimes?

http://www.abc27.com/Global/story.asp?S=14233778


Harrisburg area man charged with homicide in death of son, 3
Posted: Mar 11, 2011 10:51 AM CST
Updated: Mar 11, 2011 11:02 AM CST

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) - Police have arrested a Dauphin County man in the death of his three-year-old son.

Stephen Dixon was taken into custody Thursday night and charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, and child endangerment, according to Swatara Township police.

The charges stem from death of Jayahn Cox-Phoenix, who had been rushed to Penn State Hershey Medical Center on May 21 after Dixon reported that the boy had accidentally drowned in the bathtub of a home in the 3600 block of Chambers Hill Road, authorities said.

The boy died four days later on his third birthday.

District Attorney Ed Marsico said an autopsy later showed that Cox-Phoenix had suffered several non-accidental injuries and that his death was caused by both drowning and a traumatic brain injury.

Marsico said the child suffered a severe injury to his brain that was "immediately debilitating" and was not the result of an accidental fall into the bathtub.

He said the brain injury was caused while the boy was in the exclusive care and custody of his father.

Dixon was sent to Dauphin County Prison without bail.

Dad refused to return 3-year-old son after visitation; now boy's death is ruled a homicide (Swatara Township, Pennsylvania)

This is what happens when an unmarried sperm donor's "rights" are respected more than the rights of a child or a mother. This is what happens when the testimony of mothers and grandmothers is ignored by judges and others in authority.

Dad STEPHEN S. DIXON apparently took no interest in his 3-year-old son till last January. Given all the pressure these days on moms ("Children NEEEED a father, and you are failing them if you don't provide one!"), Mom was "nice" and allowed weekend visitation. Then Daddy decided he didn't feel like returning the child. Guess daddies are under no social obligation to be "nice" in return.

Mom contacted the police and they said "there was nothing they could do." Dad then filed a bogus child abuse charge against Mom, that was unfounded. Dad blocked all phone calls from Mom and Grandma. Other family members reported abuse allegations to CYS regarding DAD, and it seems that all the charges were pretty much ignored (which is typical in my experience). Eventually CYS told the grandmother to stop bothering them with "unfounded allegations."

Finally, Mom filed a petition for emergency custody. JUDGE ANDREW DOWLING TURNED HER DOWN.

Eleven days later, the little boy was hospitalized. And then he was dead. Murdered, the coroner now says.

When are the child protection people, the judges, and the police going to be held accountable for their role in these crimes?

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/09/swatara_township_boys_death_ru_1.html

Swatara Township boy's death ruled homicide; maternal grandmother says she tried to report child abuse, but was rebuffed
Published: Thursday, September 23, 2010, 12:00 AM
Updated: Thursday, September 23, 2010, 12:43 PM
LARA BRENCKLE, The Patriot-News

The Dauphin County coroner’s office announced Wednesday what Tammy Beltz said she’s known since May 25.

Her grandson Jayahn Cox-Phoenix’s death was a homicide.

The coroner ruled Jayahn, 3, died as a result of freshwater drowning and traumatic brain injury, according to a news release.

Swatara Township police issued a news release stating they were opening an investigation into Jayahn’s death.

Jayahn was found unresponsive in the bathtub of a home in the 3600 block of Chambers Hill Road on May 21, police said.

The district attorney’s office, the police and Dauphin County Children and Youth Services, which was involved in Jayahn’s life, declined further comment. No charges have been filed.

But Beltz, of Harrisburg, is talking. She said she has been even before the day her grandson, who loved walking to the store and afternoons at Chuck E. Cheese’s, died.

Jayahn, she said, was being abused. She had proof, she said, but no one would listen.

“I have 11 grandkids,” Beltz said. “I lost my grandson, and I feel like I failed as a grandmom because I couldn’t protect him.”

Born to Beltz’s daughter, Jasmine Cox, in 2007, Jayahn and Cox lived with Beltz in her Crescent Street home.

Stephen S. Dixon, Jayhan’s father, didn’t care for him until January, Beltz said. Initially, Beltz said, her daughter allowed Dixon to care for the boy on weekends. On March 21, Beltz said, Dixon took Jayahn and then refused to return him when the weekend was over.

Beltz and her daughter called police, but were told that with no formal custody arrangement and Dixon’s acknowledged paternity, there was nothing they could do.

Two days later, according to court documents provided by Beltz, Dixon lodged a child-abuse complaint against Cox with Dauphin County Children and Youth’s Childline. Those allegations were unfounded, Beltz said.

Throughout April, Cox and Beltz attempted to contact Jayahn and Dixon.

Those calls, Beltz said, either went unanswered, were blocked or answered evasively.

Beltz made several calls to CYS after reports from other family members and friends told her that Jayahn was being abused.

She said she never heard back from CYS on the findings of her family’s allegations.

“They never came out, never invited us to a safety plan meeting, nothing,” Beltz said.

In a last-ditch effort, Beltz went to Dixon’s home to try to get Jayahn back. The police were called, she said, and refused to let her take Jayahn.

Beltz called CYS during the incident to plead her case one more time, she said. She said she was told to stop bothering caseworkers with unfounded allegations.

The next day, May 7, Cox filed a handwritten petition for emergency custody.

“I also reported to Children and Youth about my son being beat,” she wrote. “I haven’t seen or talked to my son in over two months now. Every time I call and ask to speak to my son, he’s either asleep, not there, just left or half the time they don’t even pick up.”

On May 11, Judge Andrew Dowling denied the petition, saying the court “failed to see sufficient allegations of conditions or facts.”

Eleven days later, Jayahn was hospitalized.

A cell phone number for Dixon was disconnected.

A woman who answered the phone at another number, which Dixon had given in court papers, said Dixon would not be speaking to a reporter about his son’s death and told a reporter to never call her home again.

Beltz and her daughter are grappling with the loss. When she misses her grandson, Beltz plays the message Jayahn left on her phone in one of his last calls, about three days before his father took custody of him. It’s all she has left of him, she said.

“Why nanna not answering phone?” his baby voice asks his mother. Then the line goes quiet.

Arrest of custodial dad in 3-year-old son's murder provides little comfort to mom, grandma (Dauphin County, Pennsylvania)

We've reported on this case several times. It's one of the more notable examples of official incompetence I have seen--especially outside the State of Florida, which is infamous for this kind of boneheaded fumbling. Custodial dad STEVEN S. DIXON has been arrested and charged with the murder of his 3-year-old son. But this murder was completely avoidable, which makes it all the more sickening.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/03/arrest_in_3-year-old_boys_deat.html

Arrest in 3-year-old boy's death provides little comfort for mother and grandmother
Published: Friday, March 11, 2011, 8:38 PM
By LARA BRENCKLE, The Patriot-News

Jayahn Cox Phoenix, also known as Jayahn Cox Dixon, died on his third birthday.

For months, Jayahn Cox-Phoenix’s mother and grandmother insisted he was being abused by his father. They called Dauphin County Children and Youth, begging for help.

When Jayahn died May 25, 2010, his third birthday, they felt abandoned by the system they said should have protected the boy.

The arrest of the boys’ father, Stephen S. Dixon, in connection with Jayahn’s death provided little comfort for the women Friday.

Though Dixon told police he left the boy unattended in the bathtub of his Swatara Twp. home, in charging Dixon with homicide prosecutors said there is evidence the toddler was beaten.

It’s a situation that Jayahn’s grandmother, Tammy Beltz, and his mother, Jasmine Cox, have repeatedly said could have been prevented if authorities had stepped in.

At the time of Jayahn’s death, Cox and Beltz were trying to get custody of the boy from Dixon and had voiced concerns to county youth authorities about how they feared the boy was being treated.

Jayahn had been in his father’s custody for about two months before his death.

“They’re heartbroken,” the family’s attorney, Ben Andreozzi, said. “Nothing is going to bring the child back.”

The family’s goal now is both seeing justice in the case and seeing that another family doesn’t suffer the same agony, Andreozzi said.

For months, he’s been fighting for access to CYS records detailing the agency’s response to concerns raised by Beltz and Cox.

So far, he said, he’s had limited success.

For now, Andreozzi said he is focused on working with CYS and the Department of Welfare to get the answers the family wants. It is his hope it can be done without having to file a civil law suit, he said.

At a press conference Friday, Dauphin County District Attorney Edward M. Marsico Jr. and Assistant District Attorney Sean McCormack stood behind CYS, saying an internal investigation revealed no missteps.

Though the department is somewhat hampered by confidentiality laws governing such cases, McCormack said unequivocally “this death was not caused by negligence by CYS.”

“They did not miss anything,” McCormack said. “Every death is investigated, by state law. We did, and we do not believe there was any dropping of the ball.”

Michael Race, spokesman for the Department of Welfare, said it does not comment on investigations.

Dauphin County’s spokeswoman, Amy Richards, said no other officials could be reached for comment and deferred to McCormack’s statements.

According to the arrest affidavit, Jayahn, who was sleeping the same bed with Dixon at his father’s apartment in the 3600 block of Chambers Hill Road, wet the bed around 11:30 a.m. on May 21.

When Jayahn and Dixon woke up and discovered the accident, Dixon told police he stripped his son and started filling the bathtub, according to arrest documents.

When the family dog began barking, Dixon, who works at the New Cumberland Army Depot, told police he wrapped Jayahn in a towel, placed him in a room and took the dog outside.
When Dixon returned, the affidavit said, he found Jayahn floating face-down in the tub. Investigators said Dixon first called his girlfriend, who advised him to call for help, which he then did.

The girlfriend, who stayed at the home with her own children, has not been charged.

Jayahn died four days later at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

The initial cause of death was drowning, but the Dauphin County Coroner did not rule the case a homicide until September, when further forensic investigation was completed.

“This injury was immediately debilitating,” Marsico said. “This injury was not the result of an accidental fall into a bathtub.”

Marsico said the autopsy did not find signs of past abuse.

In the months following the death, authorities said they were meeting with medical investigators and taking time to build a solid case.

Police arrested Dixon at his job Thursday night and, in addition to homicide, charged him with aggravated assault and child endangerment. He was arraigned Friday and placed in Dauphin County prison without bail, as is often the case in homicide cases.

He did not have a lawyer as of late Friday afternoon.

Cathleen Palm, executive director of the Berks County-based Protect our Children Committee, said the arrest is another strong signal the state needs a child welfare ombudsman to act as a back-stop for county CYS officials.

“We ask a lot of the system to protect our children,” Palm said. “We need to step back and ask what we’re doing as a state to support children, and to support the folks who are out there making those decisions.”

Dad bound over for trial in death of 3-year-old son; boy in "exclusive custody" of father at time of death (Swatara township, Pennsylvania)

A lot is omitted from the article below. Very often I find that potentially embarrassing scandals regarding custody/visitation and/or  public corruption/incompetence have a way of "disappearing" from the media over time. And this case is a prime example.

What's missing here? The fact that dad STEPHEN S. DIXON had refused to return the boy to his mother after visitation. And that the boy was in the "exclusive custody" of his father at the time of his murder. For MONTHS this had been so. And that the authorities refused to do anything about it, despite serious allegations of abuse. See our previous post here:

http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2011/03/dad-charged-with-homicide-in-death-of-3.html

This is what we said about this case originally:

This is what happens when an unmarried sperm donor's "rights" are respected more than the rights of a child or a mother. This is what happens when the testimony of mothers and grandmothers is ignored by judges and others in authority.

Dad STEPHEN S. DIXON apparently took no interest in his 3-year-old son till January 2010. Given all the pressure these days on moms ("Children NEEEED a father, and you are failing them if you don't provide one!"), Mom was "nice" and allowed weekend visitation. Then Daddy decided he didn't feel like returning the child. Guess daddies are under no social obligation to be "nice" in return. Mom contacted the police and they said "there was nothing they could do." Dad then filed a bogus child abuse charge against Mom, that was ultimately unfounded. Dad blocked all phone calls from Mom and Grandma. Other family members reported abuse allegations to CYS regarding DAD, and it seems that all the charges were pretty much ignored (which is typical in my experience). Eventually CYS told the grandmother to stop bothering them with "unfounded allegations." Finally, Mom filed a petition for emergency custody. JUDGE ANDREW DOWLING TURNED HER DOWN. Eleven days later, the little boy was hospitalized. And then he was dead.

When are the child protection people, the judges, and the police going to be held accountable for their role in these crimes?

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/04/stephen_dixon_bound_over_for_t.html

Swatara Township dad bound over for trial in the death of his 3-year-old son
Published: Thursday, April 07, 2011, 3:58 PM
By LARA BRENCKLE, The Patriot-News The Patriot-News

Stephen S. Dixon was bound over on homicide, aggravated assault and child endangerment charges following a preliminary hearing this afternoon in the death of his three-year-old son.

Jayahn Cox-Phoenix died May 25, 2010, at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. After a six-month investigation, Jayahn's death was ruled homicide due to freshwater drowning and traumatic brain injury.

The autopsy report, read into the court record, indicated 13 separate instances of injury, accounting for more than 20 bruises, scrapes and hemorrhages.

Dixon will be formally arraigned at a later date.

Victims of child abuse often killed by "caretaking" fathers (Kentucky)

It is horrible whenever a child dies at the hands of an adult. But if we are to prevent child abuse--especially the most horrific and fatal kind--we must be clear on who represents the greatest risk.

Although mothers are singled out a lot in the media, note that only 1 of the 7 Kentucky cases cited below involved the abusive actions of the mother.


The other perpetrators? THREE "caretaking" dads (At least TWO of the Moms were at work), a male babysitter (a friend of Daddy's), and a boyfriend of the mother's. The last case is still under investigation.


http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091213/NEWS01/912130304/1008/Victims+of+child+abuse+come+from+all+parts+of+Kentucky+


Victims of child abuse come from all parts of Kentucky
The Courier-Journal • December 13, 2009

Here is a look at a few of the children who died from abuse or neglect in the past 16months. About 35 to 40 Kentucky children die each year in such circumstances.

Victoria Kayana Vaughn, 2 months, of Owensboro

Victoria died Oct. 1, 2008, after a beating from her father, Robert Joseph Arvin, 33, who was watching her while his wife, Victoria's mother, was at work. Arvin admitted slamming the baby's head against a table, Daviess Commonwealth's Attorney Bruce Kuegel said. Arvin pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 35 years. Kuegel said he wasn't aware of any reports of suspected abuse before Victoria's death.

Katelynn Stinnett, 2, of Lexington

Katelynn died Dec. 3, 2008, after she allegedly was raped and thrown to the floor by Brian Crabtree, a friend of the girl's father, Daniel Stinnett. Crabtree was caring for the girl while her father was at work. Crabtree has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and murder.

Karlie Mellick, 9 months, of Louisville

Karlie died June 11 after allegedly being battered by Matthew Vaughn, 21, the boyfriend of Karlie's mother, Kara Mellick, while she was at work. The infant suffered head injuries, fractured ribs, a broken leg and arm and severe bruising. Vaughn, who told police he shook the child and slammed her onto the floor, has pleaded not guilty to murder. Court records don't reflect past involvement by social-service officials, but in the days before Karlie's death, her mother, four day-care workers and a physician had noticed bruising to the infant's face and ear.

Chloe Senseman, 2 months, of Boone County
Chloe died July 12 from head trauma. Her father, Benjamin Senseman, 30, who was watching the infant while the mother, Laura Senseman, was at work, has pleaded not guilty to murder and is awaiting trial.

Gaige Pyles, 7 months, of Kenton County
Gaige died Aug. 17 from brain injuries that resulted from a shaking, according to a police report. His father, Matthew Pyles, 27, has pleaded not guilty to murder and is awaiting trial.

Stephen Troy, 23 months, of Laurel County
Stephen died of abdominal injuries Oct. 23. His mother, Amanda Johnson, 21, has pleaded not guilty to murder and is awaiting trial.

Antione Dixon, 17 months, of Louisville

Antione died Nov. 29 at Kosair Children's Hospital from blunt-force trauma to multiple parts of his body. The Jefferson County coroner has ruled the death a homicide and Louisville Metro Police are investigating.

Dad brings 3-year-old daughter along while meeting prostitute (Daytona Beach, Florida)

Dad is identified as JAMIE ESPOSITO. Why was this little girl in Daddy's care anyway? Where is her mother? Notice that there is ZERO mention of her, and that the little girl is now in the grandfather's care. WHY? What happened to Mom?

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT

http://www.news-journalonline.com/breakingnews/2012/04/police-sting-father-brings-along-3-year-old-while-meeting-prostitute.html

Police sting: Father brings along 3-year-old while meeting prostitute

STAFF REPORT

April 21, 2012 11:45 AM

 

 DAYTONA BEACH -- Police arrested 17 people in a two-day prostitution sting along Ridgewood Avenue this week, including a father who had his 3-year-old daughter with him at the time.
The sting, conducted Thursday and Friday, resulted in arrests of eight men and nine women, according to police reports released today.

The men included Jamie Esposito, the 27-year-old Orlando father who had a toddler in his SUV when he drove up to an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute.

"I know you got your baby, so I'll make it quick," the officer said, according to an arrest report. After agreeing on a price and arranging to go inside a hotel room, the officer told Esposito he could bring his daughter inside to watch TV during the encounter, the report said.

In addition to solicitation of prostitution, Esposito was charged with child neglect, police said. His daughter was released to her grandfather.

Police said the stings are part of a continuing effort to clean up the city's part of Ridgewood Avenue. Many of the arrests were made in areas around Fremont Avenue and Wilder Boulevard.

Other men charged:

Donald Brown of DeBary, Frederick Bismarck of Daytona Beach, Jason Burns of Palm Coast, Herbert Foster of Eustis, Valdimar Sigfusson of Ormond Beach, Stephen Hagg of Port Orange and Stephen Adams of Ormond Beach.

All were charged with solicitation to commit prostitution, and Foster was also charged with resisting arrest after he ran from police.

The women charged with solicitation of prostitution were:

Wanda Bratcher, Kara Pennington, Adrianna Gardner, Heather Mishook and Gertie Kearse, all of Daytona Beach, Darlene Dixon and Jennifer Lahive of Holly Hill and Jessica Walker of Palmetto, Ga.

Another woman, Shannon DeAngelis of St. Augustine, was charged with solicitation of a lewd act after police said she demanded an officer expose himself -- to prove he wasn't a cop before she got in his car.

Trial postponed for dad accused of drowning his 3 kids (Rockville, Maryland)

Dad MARK CASTILLO will have his trial delayed until at least October. Castillo has already confessed to drowning his three kids. Though this particular article does not explore this case very fully, the ex-wife had tried to keep the father from getting visitation because of his past history, but the judges and custody evaluators ignored her.

http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story/Child-Murder-Trial-Postponed/CCz2fgxd3EmLa9nVvMp6vw.cspx

Child Murder Trial Postponed
Last Update: 6/30 1:44 pm

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The trial of a Rockville man accused of drowning his three young children in a Baltimore hotel bathtub has been postponed until October.

Prosecutors asked for the delay in the trial of Mark Castillo, which had been scheduled for Wednesday. A spokesman for the Baltimore state's attorney's office says more time was needed for testing of evidence.

Castillo's public defender, Natasha Moody, says she objected to the postponement and would have preferred to go to trial Wednesday.

Castillo has often behaved erratically in court and voiced displeasure with the slow pace of his case.

Police have said Castillo confessed to drowning his children. He had been involved in a custody battle with his ex-wife. Defense attorneys plan to argue that he is not criminally responsible for the killings.

And here's an article from 2008 about Castillo (note other examples cited of Maryland dads who had killed their offspring).

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.md.killings31mar31,0,7009233,full.story

3 children killed at city hotel
Father expected to be charged; family in custody fight
By Arin Gencer, Nicole Fuller and Annie Linskey Sun Reporters

March 31, 2008

A Montgomery County father engaged in a custody battle brought his three children to an Inner Harbor hotel and apparently killed them yesterday, Baltimore police said.

The bodies were discovered after the man called hotel security about 1:15 p.m. from his 10th-floor room at the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards, saying that he had killed his children and was considering harming himself, said Officer Troy Harris, a city police spokesman.

When security personnel entered the room, police said, they found the three dead children: Anthony Castillo, 6; Austin Castillo, 4; and Athena Castillo, 2.

Their father, identified by police as Mark Castillo, 41, was taken to University of Maryland Medical Center with what appeared to be minor self-inflicted cuts, authorities said.

Sterling Clifford, a police spokesman, said homicide detectives are investigating the possibility that the children were drowned, suffocated or strangled. Clifford said they were not shot or stabbed.

"There is some evidence that something happened in the bathroom. What that is, I do not know," he said late last night. Detectives were awaiting autopsy results. Clifford said it was likely that Castillo would be charged overnight.

Police executed a search warrant yesterday at Mark Castillo's home in Montgomery County.

Castillo's estranged wife, Amy Castillo, also lives in Montgomery County, a police source said. She was interviewed by detectives last night.

Mark and Amy Castillo were separated, and online court records indicate that they have been involved in a long-running custody battle in Montgomery County.

In the Silver Spring neighborhood where Amy Castillo lives on Waterford Road, the lights were on throughout a two-story brick house, though no one responded to knocks on the door. A shattered window by the door was held together with duct tape.

Neighbors, just learning of the news, reacted with horror. One next-door neighbor who identified herself as a friend burst into tears, sank down in her doorway and sobbed upon hearing about the deaths.

The news generated similar dismay in Baltimore. Mayor Sheila Dixon slipped out of a community meeting at a Little Italy restaurant yesterday afternoon to take cell phone calls about the dead children. She returned minutes later and spoke with emotion in her voice."There are some things we have no control over," she told the crowd of about 100, referring to the killings.

Dixon and Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III are expected to hold a news conference today at police headquarters.Clifford, the police spokesman, said Mark Castillo seemed to have "some history" of domestic violence. Court records show a domestic dispute between him and Amy Castillo in December 2006.

They had been sharing custody of three minor children since mid-2006, when Amy Castillo filed divorce papers, according to court records. A judge had ordered that Mark Castillo's visits with the children be supervised.

In September 2006, a Montgomery County circuit judge ordered that Mark Castillo undergo a psychological review, and later court entries show that he was undergoing therapy. But that December, when domestic violence issues emerged, a court ordered that Mark Castillo leave the home and have no contact with Amy Castillo.

In June 2007, Amy Castillo filed an emergency motion to prevent Mark Castillo from having access to the children, records show. The outcome was unclear, but Mark Castillo filed motions to enforce a visitation agreement. Another court date was set for May.Lt. Paul Starks, a Montgomery County police spokesman, said "there was an active agreement for visitation, and he and she were working with that." He added that county police had "a limited role in this."

Reached by phone yesterday, Amy Castillo's attorney, John R. Tjaden, did not know about the deaths and declined to comment.

One of the family's neighbors, Keith Lamirande, 41, said he didn't see the family much.

"Cop cars would be called out there with quite a level of frequency ... for what I assume was domestic problems," said Lamirande, who has lived in the area six years. Police were at the home last week, he added, recalling two police cars rushing to the house.

Property records, which valued the home near Indian Spring Village at more than $450,000 in 2007, indicate that it is owned by Amy Castillo.

At one point yesterday, two men were seen inside, opening the door for six people just arriving.

Maria and Octave Habesch, who live on the street, knew the family and said they had been neighbors for a while.Maria Habesch, 79, said she last saw the children Friday, playing in front of the house with other kids. She hadn't seen Mark Castillo in two years, she said, but described him as very friendly.

"He was always very polite to us, always acknowledging me," she said."I can't believe it - the kids," she said. "They were such a lovely family. ... Oh, beautiful kids."

Yesterday afternoon at the Marriott, city police officers, hotel security and red-uniformed bellhops stood in the lobby to prevent nonguests from entering the building. A homicide detective interviewed one man in a chair, while people checked in at the front desk.

Top police commanders, including Bealefeld and Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Barksdale, came to the scene. Detectives were getting a search warrant to collect evidence from the room Mark Castillo checked into Saturday.

Outside, police cruisers lined West Lombard and Eutaw streets, where the hotel is located, along with a firetruck and two ambulances. Employees from the neighboring Holiday Inn, as well as curious passers-by, stood on the sidewalk, speculating as to what might have happened.

Larry Laguda, a cabdriver, said he was standing in front of the hotel when police cars arrived in large numbers.

Laguda said he went to the hotel door to find out what was going on. In the six or so years he's driven in the area, he said, he's never seen "something of this magnitude."

He was shocked to hear that three children were killed, and shook his head in disbelief.

Several guests who had come to the hotel yesterday for a brunch with radio station WSMJ shared his reaction.

Hotel officials declined to comment, citing the police investigation."We cannot divulge any information at this time," said Cornel Jones, director of security.

Over the past few years, there have been several incidents in Maryland involving fathers or other relatives accused of killing young children.

Last month, a West Baltimore man said "demons" made him throw his 3-year-old son off the Key Bridge. Stephen Todd Nelson, 37, was charged with first-degree murder. He and the child's mother, Natisha Johnson, had battled in court over custody and visitation issues.

At Thanksgiving, David Peter Brockdorff, 40, killed his former wife, her three children and himself with a .22-caliber rifle. The bodies were found in a Montgomery County park. The couple had divorced.

In March last year, four children were found dead in their Frederick County house. Their father, Pedro Rodriguez, 28, was found hanged in the foyer.

In May 2004, three Mexican children were killed in Northwest Baltimore. Two older family members were convicted of the killings and are serving two consecutive life sentences without parole.

arin.gencer@baltsun.com nicole.fuller@baltsun.com annie.linskey@baltsun.com
Sun reporters Richard Irwin and Tom Pelton contributed to this article

138 Killer Dads: Fathers who ended their children's lives in situations involving child custody, visitation, and/or child support (USA)

An update to our previous 76 Killer Dads and 88 Killer Dads lists.

This is not a comprehensive list of all U.S. fathers who have killed their children in situations involving domestic violence and/or child abuse. This list is limited to articles I have found personally where there was an identifiable child custody, visitation, and/or child support angle in the children's deaths. Even then, I can’t claim that this is a comprehensive list of child custody, visitation, and or child-support- related murders. Quite often, newspaper articles just don’t provide enough information to make a judgment call.

There is no time limit to the actual dates of death on this list, though most are comparatively recent— usually (but not always) with an article on the deaths appearing in the last year or two. (Often it takes years for charges to get filed in these cases, or for cases to go to trial.) However, there are references to a few cases going back to the 1990s.

Feel free to use this as a data base for additional research or to narrow the deaths down to the time period and/or geographic setting of your choosing.

If you know of a worthy case that has been omitted, feel free to contact me and I will see about adding the case during the next update.

At present, we now have 38 states represented. The state leader? Florida--at 17. Hey, stay classy all you abuser daddies down there in the Sunshine State, okay?

138 Killer Dads: Fathers who ended their children's lives in situations involving child custody, visitation, and/or child support (USA)

ALABAMA

Franklin County

Father: PAUL GONZALEZ
Victim(s): Andrea Gonzalez (5 years)
Date of Death: Reported missing in Nov. 1993. Body never recovered.
Custodial father eventually pleads guilty to manslaughter. Stepmother charged with child abuse.

Jefferson County

Father: CORY RICE
Victim(s): Janiya Nicole Hale (1 year)
Date of Death: July 2009
Father, a registered sex offender, is charged with murder. Daughter died during overnight visitation.

Morgan County

Father: GARY LEE WILBOURN
Victim(s): Amy Jean Wilbourn (infant)
Date of Death: December 2008
Father with either “temporary” or “permanent” custody of infant daughter charged with capital murder. In October 2010, father pleads not guilty, with trial scheduled for August 2011.

ARIZONA

Cococino County

Father: RYAN PETERS
Victim(s): Teigan Peters (aka Teigan Brown) (3 years)
Date of Death: June 2009
Daughter killed in murder-suicide during court-ordered visitation . Mother had applied for orders of protection.

Maricopa County

Father: ALLEN CHAMBERS
Victim(s): Mindi Chambers (17 years)
Date of Death: Assumed to have been murdered around the time she went missing in 1982.
Custodial father ALLEN CHAMBERS is now presumed to have murdered Mindi Chambers around the time she went missing. Daughter had reported sexual abuse to the authorities. Not reported as officially missing till 1995.

Father: JEFFREY DUCHANE
Victim(s): Trenay Duchane (12 years)
Date of Death: Nov. 2008
Custodial father and stepmother convicted of murder.

Father: RAUL MOLINA GONZALEZ
Victim(s): Anthony Gonzalez (11 years)
Date of Death: Summer 2005
Father convicted of murdering son during summer visitation.

Father: NUSHAWN CAMPBELL
Victim(s): Unnamed son (5 years)
Date of Death: June 2009
Father with sole custody stabs son to death in failed murder-suicide. Mother had been trying to regain custody. In October 2010, father pleads guilty to 1st-degree murder.

Father: ANDRE LETEVE
Victim(s): Alec Leteve (5 years), Asher Leteve (1 year)
Date of Death: March 2010
Parents in process of getting divorce, but had agreed to joint custody. Sons shot to death in failed murder-suicide. Father apparently "feared" mother would attempt a move away.

Pima County

Father: CHRISTOPHER PAINE
Victim(s): Ariana Paine (3 years), Tyler Paine (4 years)
Date of Death: 2006
Mother originally got custody in 2003. In January 2006, father asked for informal visitation, which the mother granted. In March, the father refused to return the children. The mother contacted the Tucson police regarding her custody order, and they refused to retrieve the children. Within months the children are dead (exact date unknown, only one body was found). Mother sues City of Tucson CPS, and they settled for $1 million in June 2008. In October 2010, Judge Carmine Cornello dismissed mother’s suit against the police.

CALIFORNIA

Contra Costa County

Father: ERHAN KAYIK
Victim(s): Volkan Kayik (16 years)
Date of Death: July 2007
Custodial father found guilty in 2009 of strangulation death of son.

El Dorado County

Father: DAVID ELIOTT
Victim(s): Chandler Nash-Eliott (11 years)
Date of Death: Dec. 2009
Father not charged in the "suicide" of son. Father had physical custody, parents had shared legal custody. Father had extensive history with CPS regarding neglect, abuse, lack of supervision, etc.

Los Angeles County

Father: DAVID HELMS
Victim(s): Lance Helms (2 1/2 years)
Date of Death: 1995
Custodial dad convicted in beating death of son. Father had obtained custody despite extensive history of violence, drug abuse.

Father: CAMERON BROWN
Victim(s): Lauren Sarene Key (4 years)
Date of Death: Nov. 2000
Father scheduled to go to trial for 3rd time for death of daughter. Daughter was allegedly pushed off cliff during visitation in order to avoid child support.

Father: EDUARDO VILLAREAL
Victim(s): Trudy Bonilla (ex-girlfriend, mother of child), Naomi (ten days)
Date of Death: October 2010
Father in “custody dispute” with mother of newborn child rams his truck into bedroom where his ex, the baby are sleeping. Both are killed.

Orange County

Father: GIDEON WALTER OMONDI
Victim(s): Richie Omondi (4 years)
Date of Death: 2006
Father shared custody with the child's mother. Convicted of 1st-degree murder in Jan. 2010. Drowned son to avoid child support.

Father: UNNAMED FATHER
Victim(s): Soon to be ex-wife, daughter (8 years)
Date of Death: November 2010
Father in “custody dispute” shoots and kills ex-wife, daughter in murder-suicide.

Riverside County

Father: ALEXANDRO BAEZA
Victim(s): Isaac Gallegos (2 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Father charged with murder in the death of son, who was killed during weekend visitation with the father. Parents had never been married and had been in a “custody dispute” for the past year. The “family” had a history with CPS.

Sacramento County

Father: ADRIAN RAMON MCGRATH
Victim(s): Jeremiah McGrath (3 years)
Date of Death: March 2010
Son beaten to death in home of father, stepmother

San Bernadino County

Father: JESUS ROMAN FUENTES
Victim(s): Jesus Gabriel Fuentes (4 years)
Date of Death: Feb. 2010
Father crashes car, shoots to death son during visitation. Parents divorced. Father in critical condition from self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Father: STEPHEN CHARLES GARCIA
Victim(s): Wyatt Garcia (9 months)
Date of Death: Jan. 2010
Father kills son during court-ordered visitation. Murder-suicide. Parents never married. Mother had pleaded with 3 judges regarding father's violence, threats.

San Diego County

Father: DENNIS POTTS
Victim(s): Tori Vienneau (22 years), Dean Springtube (10 months)
Date of Death: July 2006
Father is convicted Sept. 2009 in the murders of his former girlfriend and son. Father didn't want to take paternity test, pay child support.

Ventura County

Father: JAMES MULVANEY
Victim(s): Jason Mulvaney (12 years), Jennifer Mulvaney (7 years)
Date of Death: Sept. 2009
Father stabs to death son and daughter in murder-suicide during overnight visitation. Parents had shared custody and were still involved in divorce, custody case.

COLORADO

Arapahoe County

Father: AARON THOMPSON
Victim(s): Aarone Thompson (7 years)
Date of Death: Reported missing in Nov. 2005. Body never recovered.
Father convicted in Sept. 2009 in daughter's murder. Father had custody, as he had abducted the children from mother in Michigan.

El Paso County

Father: HANIF SIMS
Victim(s): Genesis Sims (9 years)
Date of Death: December 2008
Father obtained custody in New Jersey and retained custody despite child abuse investigations in that state. Father and girlfriend relocated to Colorado. Girl’s remains found in former home’s crawl space in May 2010. In November 2010, Father, girlfriend both charged in girl’s death, ordered to trial.

Jefferson County

Father: JOSEPH TRUJILLO
Victim(s): Adrian Trujillo (5 months)
Date of Death: Jan. 2010
Father charged in death of infant son. Father had physical custody while mother in military. Father alleged to have left baby alone while father went out drinking for 7 hours. Baby later found dead. In October 2010, father sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Logan County

Father: MARK WEEKS
Victim(s): Alexis McClain (3 years)
Date of Death: July 2010
Custodial father, step charged with murder in death of daughter. Non-custodial mother lives out of state, apparently in California. Father’s next court appearance scheduled for January 2011.

CONNECTICUT

New Haven County

Father: MORRIES D. HILL SR.
Victim(s): Morries Hill Jr. (5 months)
Date of Death: 2008
Father charged in connection with the death of son. Baby died from "severe physical abuse." Infant died in father's home during overnight visitation.

FLORIDA

Bay County

Father: THOMAS EVERETT BROWN IV
Victim(s): unnamed Child (20 months), unnamed child injured (7 months)
Date of Death: August 2010
Father facing open murder count in beating death of 20-month-old child. News accounts mention that parents lived in separate households, but custody/visitation arrangements not explained. Father has violent criminal record.

Citrus County

Father: SPENCER WEAVER
Victim(s): Unnamed son (2 months)
Date of Death: February 2010
Father with extensive criminal background being investigated in death of infant son, who died during visitation with father.

Colllier County

Father: SAMUEL SEJOUR
Victim(s): Elijay Kye Aliazar (3 months)
Date of Death: Jan. 2009
Father had shared custody with infant's mother. Son died of blunt force trauma to the head during visitation. Father charged w. 2nd-degree murder.

Duval County

Father: JOSI M. HALL
Victim(s): Kyla Hall (1 year)
Date of Death: 2008
Father had sole custody, and had been cleared of previous abuse allegations. Daughter died of blunt force trauma at home. Father convicted of 2nd-degree murder, and in May 2010, sentenced to life in prison.

Gilchrist County

Father: ROLAND MATTHEW
Victim(s): Kristina Hepp (4 years)
Date of Death: April 2009
Father filed for custody in November 2008, obtained it in February 2009. Child was apparently sexually abused, battered, and tortured from the start. In April 2010, father pleaded no contest to 1st-degree murder, and sentenced to life in prison.

Hillsborough County

Father: CHAUNCEY ROBINSON
Victim(s): Chavon Robinson (22 months)
Date of Death: Feb. 2008
Father convicted Dec. 2009 of murdering child during visitation.

Father: JUSTIN GARWACKI
Victim(s): John Taylor Baxley (3 years)
Date of Death: August 2010
Son normally lived with mother in Missouri. Child died during summer visitation with father, girlfriend. Both charged with murder.

Jackson County

Father: WESLEY JONATHAN WILLIAMS
Victim(s): Danielle Baker (mother), sons Ahmaad (4 years) and Amarion (1 year), and unrelated infant.
Date of Death: 2005
Father allegedly committed quadruple murder because he was angry about child support.

Lake County

Father: RICHARD L. ADAMS
Victim(s): Kayla McKean (6 years)
Date of Death: 1998
Custodial father beat daughter to death. Had been subject of multiple CPS investigations.

Lee County

Father: MANUEL DE JESUS ROSALES
Victim(s): Karminda Rosales Salazar (20-year-old daughter that survived stabbing), grandson Josue Rosales (2 months)
Date of Death: May 2010
Custodial father sexually abused daughter, she gave birth to older child who survives. Father then attacked adult daughter with knife, and stabbed to death son she had with boyfriend.

Father: RYAN COSTELLO
Victim(s): Darwin (3 months)
Date of Death: June 2010
Father charged with 2nd-degree murder, but in November 2010, Costello released on bond and Judge J. Seals granted him visitation with surviving son.

Orange County

Father: ROOSEVELT BRADLEY II
Victim(s): Roosevelt Bradley III (8 months)
Date of Death: Aug. 2009
Father arrested for murder of infant during visitation.

Osceola County

Father: MELVIN ORTIZ
Victim(s): Unnamed Son (5 years)
Date of Death: July 2009
Son beaten to death while visiting father, stepmother.

Palm Beach County

Father: TONY CAMACHO
Victim(s): Crystal Camacho (8 years), Nelson Camacho (10 years)
Date of Death: Dec. 2006
Father and mother were finalizing divorce. During Christmas visitation, father stabbed daughter, then killed her and brother Nelson Camacho (10 years) in arson murder-suicide. Mother had unsuccessfully petitioned for protection. Article from November 2010 mentions that surviving mother Jennie Carter is now an advocate for victims of domestic violence.

Pasco County

Father: THOMAS LUDWIG
Victim(s): Diella Ludwig (2 months)
Date of Death: Dec. 2008
CPS granted father THOMAS LUDWIG custody of infant twins. Father charged with 1st-degree murder in Diella's death.

Seminole County

Father: FIDEL JUAREZ-AVILA, SR
Victim(s): Aurelia Juarez (14 months)
Date of Death: June 2008
In March 2010, custodial father sentenced to 21 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter in death of daughter.

Volusia County

Father: MICHAEL REESE
Victim(s): Jeremiah Reese (14 years)
Date of Death: Sept. 2009
Jeremiah Reese died of "accidental overdose" at the home of his custodial father. Father had long history of abuse, neglect with CPS.

GEORGIA

Athens-Clarke County

Father: KEITH JERMAINE GRESHAM
Victim(s): Keionte Gresham (4 years), Keion Gresham (7 years)
Date of Death: May 2010
Father shot children to death in murder-suicide during visitation. Had extensive history of stalking, domestic violence.

DeKalb County

Father: GARY DETOMA
Victim(s): Gary DeToma Jr. (5 years), Will DeToma (4 years – injured)
Date of Death: July 2010
Father seeking “full custody” charged with murder of 5-year-old son during visitation. Parents had been going through divorce.

HAWAII

Honolulu County

Father: NAEEM WILLIAMS
Victim(s): Talia Williams (5 years)
Date of Death: 2005
Custodial father still facing charges in daughter's death. Had gained custody just 7 months before murder.

IDAHO

Ada County

Father: NICHOLAS BACON
Victim(s): Bekm Bacon (8 months)
Date of Death: Feb. 2010
Father shot to death son in murder-suicide. Parents going through divorce, but had joint custody. Infant killed during visitation with father.

Jerome County

Father: ROBERT ARAGON
Victim(s): Sage Aragon (11 years)
Date of Death: Dec. 2008
Custodial father acquitted of involuntary manslaughter in hypothermia death of daughter. Father had told to her to walk to mother's home during blizzard.

Twin Falls County

Father: JIM NICE JR.
Victim(s): Justin Nice (6 years), Spencer Nice (6 years), Raquel Anna Nice (2 years)
Date of Death: 2005
Father murdered children with rat poison during court-ordered visitation.

ILLINOIS

Cook County

Father: JAMES LARRY
Victim(s): Jahad Larry (7 months), Kalesh Larry (3 years), Keyshai Fields (16 years), Tawana Thompson Larry (19 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Father with extensive criminal background charged in the murder of infant son, wife, two nieces. Had been awarded joint custody of infant through paternity action one week prior to killings.

Kane County

Father: ANTONY MANGIAMELE
Victim(s): Riley (2 years)
Date of Death: February 2005
Father kills son in murder-suicide during unsupervised visitation ordered by Judge William Weir. According to October 2010 article, the judge resigned on the 4th anniversary of the boy’s murder.

McClean County

Father: MICHAEL CONNELLY
Victim(s): Duncan Connelly (6 years) and Jack Connelly (4 years)
Date of Death: March 2009
Father killed sons in murder-suicide during court-ordered visitation. Mother had extensive involvement with the courts trying to prevent contact with father.

Father: JEFF MEECE
Victim(s): Erika Meese (14 months)
Date of Death: August 2009
In September 2010, father found unfit to stand trial for murder, though he had been granted twice weekly visitation. Daughter beaten to death with a baseball bat.

Will County

Father: CHIDI ESI
Victim(s): Nathan Esi (19 months)
Date of Death: Oct. 2009
Father accused of drowning son during visitation.

INDIANA

Delaware County

Father: RYAN MCCONNIEL
Victim(s): Lauren McConniel (5 years)
Date of Death: March 2010
Custodial father, step charged with felony child neglect charges. Girl died of severe malnutrition despite CPS investigations. Evidence that child was also sexually abused. Mother lost custody during divorce the year before in Knoxville, Tennessee. She was not represented by a lawyer.

Green County

Father: RONALD A. BOHANNON
Victim(s): Travis Bohannon (14 months)
Date of Death: Aug. 2009
Father separated from wife. Son "accidently" shot during visitation. Father convicted of reckless homicide Jan. 2010.

Lake County

Father: CORDELL RICHARDSON
Victim(s): Eboni Richardson (19 months)
Date of Death: Aug. 2009
Father shot daughter during visitation. Didn't want child's mother to do a move away.

Father: TERRY BETHEL (aka Terry Noel)
Victim(s): Josiah Shaw (13 months)
Date of Death: Jan. 2008
Father allegedly arranged to have visitation with son, then shot him to death to avoid child support.

Father: LEON BURNS
Victim(s): Leon Walker (5 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Boy found bound, tortured and beaten to death in home of custodial father. Death ruled a homicide.

Tippecanoe County

Father: CHRISTIAN GAUVIN
Victim(s): Aiyana Gauvin (4 years)
Date of Death: March 2005
Child beaten to death after months of abuse and neglect. Custodial father sentenced to 50 years in prison.

KANSAS

Shawnee County

Father: JAMES KRAIG KAHLER
Victim(s): Karen Kahler (44 years), Emily Kahler (18 years), Lauren Kahler (16 years), Dorothy Wight (89 years)
Date of Death: Nov. 2009
Parents were in the process of divorcing, reportedly "sparring over children."

Sumner County

Father: UNNAMED FATHER
Victim(s): Caden Michael Reemes (4 years)
Date of Death: August 2009
Child asphyxiated at the home of his custodial UNNAMED FATHER.

KENTUCKY

Anderson County

Father: TIMOTHY FRAZIER
Victim(s): Cole Frazier (21 months)
Date of Death: May 2009
Father obtained custody with police assistance through fraudulent EPO. Shot son to death in murder-suicide. Mother suing police, city.

Clark County

Father: PATRICK WATKINS
Victim(s): Michaela Watkins (10 years)
Date of Death: 2007
Custodial father, stepmother found guilty of murder in girl's death. Girl removed from mother's home by social workers.

LOUISIANA

Calcasieu Parish

Father: WILLIAM STEWARD VINCENT
Victim(s): Savanna Vincent (5 years)
Date of Death: June 2008
In July 2010, custodial father, step finally indicted for 2nd-degree murder.

East Baton Rouge Parish

Father: CLAYTON LEE MURPHY JR.
Victim(s): Juwan Murphy (8 years), Tayshuan Murphy (2 years)
Date of Death: October 2008
Father stabbed children to death during visitation in order to “get back” at his estranged wife. Had threatened to harm the children before. Convicted of 1st-degree murder in June 2010.

Livingston Parish

Father: EDUARDO KYLE HERODIAS
Victim(s): Kaylene Herodias (4 months), Kayla Herodias (4 months – severely injured)
Date of Death: May 2010
Father in “custody battle” with babies’ mother charged with 1st-degree murderer in death of twin daughter. Dad admitted shaking the babies during his visitation time.

Orleans Parish

Father: DANNY PLATT
Victim: Ja'Shawn (2 years)
Date of Death: January 2010
Father arrested in murder of son during weekend visitation; alleged that father had been trying to avoid paying back child support.

Pointe Coupee Parish

Father: AARON BOWMAN
Victim(s): Aaron Bowman, Jr.
Date of Death: Nov. 2009
Father had "temporary" custody of son, 2-year-old daughter when son beaten to death. Father charged with 1st-degree murder.

MAINE

Kennebec County

Father: SHANE SOUCY
Victim(s): Connor Soucy (4 months)
Date of Death: Aug. 2009
Infant became "unresponsive" during visit with father. Later died at hospital.

MARYLAND

Baltimore County

Father: MARK CASTILLO
Victim(s): Anthony Castillo (6 years), Austin Castillo (4 years), Athena Castillo (2 years)
Date of Death: Mar. 2008
Mother had tried to stop father from having access, but blocked by courts. Children murdered during court-ordered visitation.

Father: STEPHEN NELSON
Victim(s): Turner Jordan Nelson (3 years)
Date of Death: Feb. 2008
Murdered by father by being thrown off bridge. Father and mother had argued in court over custody.

Father: TIMOTHY LEWIS
Victim(s): Chloe Lewis (6 months)
Date of Death: October 2010
“Sole Guardian” father charged with murder in suffocation death of daughter. Mom apparently lives in a group home and was “refused” custody.

Father: TYRONE HAMBER
Victim(s): Melonia Hamber (2 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Father charged in daughter's beating death. Child had been visiting with father for two weeks prior to her death.

Hartford County

Father: KEATON IRONS
Victim(s): Shamyrah Irons (1 year)
Date of Death: May 2010
Child beaten to death while child was “in the care and custody of her father.” Father charged with murder.

MASSACHUSETTS

Bristol County

Father: KRISTOPHER GRIFFIN
Victim(s): Kaitlyn (6 years)
Date of Death: July 2009
Father allegedly murdered daughter because he was concerned about a possible move away.

Worcester County

Father: LESLIE G. SHULER
Victim(s): Nathaniel Turner (7 years)
Date of Death: June 2009
Father charged with beating death of son. Took place during father's summer visitation.

MICHIGAN

Montcalm County

Father: OLIVER BRAMAN
Victim(s): Elaine Kaczor-Braman (stepmother), Nicholas Braman (9 years)
Date of Death: October 2007
Custodial father with history of domestic violence, child abuse kills second wife, son in murder-suicide. Mother had reclaimed custody of older sons after they ran away. Father pleaded guilty to abusing the older boys, but failed to show up for sentencing. CPS, however, refused to remove youngest son. In July 2010, protective mother filed federal suit against child protective services.

Oakland County

Father: JOHN KELLY
Victim(s): unnamed infant (13 weeks)
Date of Death: Feb. 2010
Infant died during unsupervised visitation.

Ottawa County

Father: SALVATOR FLORES
Victim(s): Sandra Flores (10 years)
Date of Death: August 2010
Girl dies after suffering convulsions in the home of her custodial father. Father had history of complaints with CPS, and girl and previously been removed from the home.

St. Clair County

Father: JOE GALVAN
Victim(s): Prhaze Galvan (3 years)
Date of Death: Jan. 2010
Child died of blunt force trauma in home of custodial father, stepmother. Both face murder charges. In August 2010, convicted of murder and torture, and later sentenced to life in prison. Later ombudsman report refuses to clarify why father with history of domestic violence, child abuse, and criminal behavior had been granted custody, and how he was able to retain it.

Wayne County

Father: STEVEN NICHOLSON
Victim(s): Ella Grace Stafford (15 months), Jonathan Sanderlin (13 months)
Date of Death: October 201
Father had full custody of son, “partial” custody of daughter. Charged with felony murder in the scalding/drowning deaths of the two children. Appears mother of son lost custody when accused of “kidnapping” for refusing contact/visitation. Father has history of domestic violence, drug/alcohol abuse.

MISSOURI

Cass/Jackson Counties

Father: MARK GUENTHER
Victim(s): Elizabeth Guenther (18 months)
Date of Death: Feb. 2010
Father to be charged with 2nd-degree murder. Baby suffered fatal skull fracture during father's weekend visitation.

Father: DAN PORTER
Victim(s): Sam Porter (7 years), Lindsey Porter (8 years)
Date of Death: June 2004
Father murdered children during court-ordered visitation. Had extensive history of domestic violence.

Father: MARINO SALINAS
Victim(s): Avee Hunter (4 months)
Date of Death: April 2010
Father charged with 1st-degree murder. Prosecutors say that father plotted to kill baby to avoid child support.

Greene County

Father: KYLE BAYLOR
Victim(s): Vaniessa Baylor (1 year)
Date of Death: February 2010
Father charged with 2nd-degree murder in daughter's death. Parents had separated, but father had been serving as "caregiver" for past week. Father had been scheduled to start paying child support to mother.

St. Louis County

Father: Nathaniel Robinson
Victim(s): Desmon Valenzuela (3 years)
Date of Death: 2007
Father obtained custody 1 month before child's beating death. Convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jan 2010.

MONTANA

Missoula County

Father: ROBERT J. WILKES
Victim(s): Gabriel Wilkes (3 months)
Date of Death: October 2008
In June 2010, custodial father convicted of homicide in death of infant son.

NEBRASKA

Dodge County

Father: LUCAS PETERSON
Victim(s): Trista Peterson (1 year)
Date of Death: January 2007
As of October 2010, the Nebraska Supreme Court has affirmed that this “sole caretaker” father can be charged in child abuse resulting in death, unlawful burial. In April 2007, Peterson had cut a deal with prosecutors and lead authorities to daughter’s grave.

NEVADA

Clark County

Father: BRANDON TODD ARDUINO
Victim(s): Brandon Christopher Arduino-Boggs (13 years)
Date of Death: Sept. 2009
Son killed in auto homicide case where father DUI. Parents had been in lengthy child custody case.

Father: ALEX KOPYSTENSKI
Victim(s): Giovani Kopystenski (5 years)
Date of Death: July 2009
Custodial father. Autistic son "accidentally" shoots himself in head after finding gun in father's car.

Father: RICHARD MARTINO
Victims(s): Zander Martino (2 years)
Date of Death: July 2007
Father had gained custody just two months before son's beating death.

NEW JERSEY

Essex County

Father: TAMIR LITTLE
Victim(s): Neveah Turner (3 years)
Date of Death: November 2009
Father gained custody in July 2009, and began abusing the child almost immediately. Father arrested, charged with murder in May 2010.

Father: SHAMSIDDEN ABDUR-RAHEEM
Victim(s): Zara Malani-Lin Abdur (3 months)
Date of Death: February 2010
Father had been “feuding” with mother about how often he got to see the baby. While mother was getting a protection order, father abducted baby from babysitting grandmother. Baby was “allegedly” thrown off bridge. In May 2010, baby’s body was found and positively identified.

Passaic County

Father: EDELMIRO GONZALEZ
Victim(s): Adrian Gonzalez (7 years)
Date of Death: Nov. 2009
Father in "bitter custody dispute" with "estranged" wife. 7-year-old son shot to death, 11-year-old son, wife, in critical condition.

NEW MEXICO

Bernalillo County

Father: RICHARD ROBERT SANCHEZ
Victim(s): Richard Jr, Daniel, and Christopher Sanchez
Date of Death: Aug. 2001
Father "went missing" with sons during custodial visit. Bodies recovered, identified in July 2009.

Santa Fe County
Father: MELVIN MARTINEZ
Victim(s): Derek Martinez (12 years), Devin Martinez (10 years)
Date of Death: June 2010
Father shoots sons to death in murder-suicide during summer visitation. Protective mother’s concerns dismissed by judge.

NEW YORK

Columbia County

Father: FRANKLIN HANKERSON
Victim(s): Khliff Taylor Hankerson (5 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Son killed in murder-suicide during visitation.

Erie County

Father: JAMES E. KENT
Victim(s); Joshua Kent (3 years)
Date of Death: Mar. 2005
Sole custody father beats son to death.

Genessee County

Father: UNNAMED FATHER
Victim(s); Marcus Peters (6 years)
Date of Death: Oct. 2009
Child dies during weekend visitation with father, but authorities say death not "suspicious."

Monroe County

Father: MARK RESCH
Victim(s): Hunter Resch (7 years)
Date of Death: Feb. 2010
Child shot to death in murder-suicide during court-ordered visitation. Father had history of domestic violence, mother had filed two orders of protection.

Orange County

Father: CHRISTOPHER RHODES
Victim(s): Jerica Rhodes (7 years)
Date of Death: Jan. 2005
Sole custody father convicted in daughter's stabbing death. Had extensive history of domestic violence.

NORTH CAROLINA

Carteret County

Father: MICHAEL LEE WYNE II
Victim(s): unnamed daughter (11 years)
Date of Death: June 2010
Father reports “accidentally” shooting and killing daughter just one day after she arrived for summer visitation from Arkansas.

Dare County

Father: DOUGLAS MONT
Victim(s): Catrina J. Mont (9 years), Daniel Preston Mont (6 years), Theresa Lynn Mont (4 years)
Date of Death: February 1995
Father with visitation abducted children from home in Delaware, then shot them to death in murder-suicide in North Carolina.

Edgecombe County

Father: BRICE MCMILLAN
Victim(s): Tyler Brice (13 years)
Date of Death: June 2008
Custodial father, stepmother convicted of 2nd-degree murder. Boy tied to tree, died of dehydration, heat exhaustion.

OKLAHOMA

Bryan County

Father: WOLF ABEL
Victim(s): Cheyenne Wolf (11 years)
Date of Death: April 2008
Custodial father, stepmother charged in girl's death. As of September 2010, girl’s remains still unclaimed.

OHIO

Cuyahoga County

Father: ANTHONY JOHNSON
Victim(s) Anthony Johnson Jr.
Date of Death: Aug. 2009
Father accused of beating child to death during visitation.

Franklin/Delaware Counties

Father: DANIEL J. DOBSON
Victim(s): Nicole Dobson (15 years), Sarah Dobson (11 years)
Date of Death: Dec. 2009
Father had physical placement of 15-year-old daughter. "Shared parenting" plan in place with divorced mother. Girls shot to death in murder-suicide.

Highland County

Father: WESLEY COONROD
Victim(s): Steven Coonrod (3 years), Thomas Coonrod (4 years)
Date of Death: March 2010
Father with “full custody” charged with murder in arson deaths of two sons. News accounts mention history of domestic violence, alcoholism, “suspicious” fires at previous homes. In October 2010, Coonrod convicted on two counts of child endangering; jury deadlocked on murder, arson charges.

Stark County

Father: JAMES MAMMONE III
Victim(s): Macy Mammone (5 years), James Mammone (3 years), Margaret Eakin (57 years)
Date of Death: June 2009
Divorced father convicted of stabbing children, beating to death former mother-in-law in Jan. 2010.

OREGON

Clackamas County

Father: DONALD L. COCKRELL
Victim(s): Alexis Pounder (3 years)
Date of Death: Jan. 2010
Father, mother had shared custody. Father, girlfriend charged with beating, starving girl to death. Mother allegedly blocked from seeing child by father.

Lane County
Father: RICHARD RAUCHER
Victim(s): Erin Raucher, Aidan Raucher (no ages given)
Date of Death: September 2010
“Despondent” stay-at-home dad granted “joint custody” in divorce. Kills daughters in murder-suicide, though mother had offered to pay father child support.

Mutnomah County

Father: CHRISTOPHER ROSILLO
Victim(s): Oleander Labier (5 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Custodial father, fiancée charged in girl's death.

PENNSYLVANIA

Dauphin County

Father: STEPHEN S. DIXON
Victim(s): Jayahn Cox-Phoenix
Date of Death: May 2010
Parents had no formal custody agreement. Father played no role in child’s life until January 2010. Father allowed to visit by mother. In March 2010, father refused to return child or allow maternal contact. Mom’s early May 2010 petition for emergency custody denied by Judge Andrew Dowling despite allegations of child abuse. Custody hearing set for June 2010. Child dies before then of traumatic brain injury. Though death ruled a homicide, no charges filed as of September 2010. Grandmother plans lawsuit against county Children and Youth.

Franklin County

Father: CONWAY WELLER
Victim(s): Leeairra Ann Weller (5 years), Caleigh Ann Weller (8 months)
Date of Death: October 2010
Father with “shared custody” kills two daughters through carbon monoxide poisoning in murder-suicide.

Philadelphia County

Father: DOMINGO "ANIBAL" FERREIRA
Victim(s) Charlenni Ferreira (10 years)
Date of Death: Oct. 2009
Girl died from abuse in the home of her custodial father, stepmother. Father later (allegedly) committed suicide in jail cell.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Anderson County

Father: JAMES T. DICKERSON
Victim(s): Jeremy Dickerson (7 years)
Date of Death: July 2009
Father with "full custody" charged in son's beating death.

Berkeley County

Father: ROGER “TONY” WILLIAMS
Victim(s): Rodricus Williams (2 years)
Date of Death: June 2010
Father, girlfriend charged with homicide in death of son during summer visitation.

Chester County

Father: UNNAMED FATHER
Victim(s): Xymerra Evans (11 months)
Date of Death: Sept. 2009
Child sexually abused, beaten during visitation with father. Later died at hospital.

TENNESSEE

Dyer County

Father: CHRISTOPHER MILBURN
Victim(s): Stevie Noelle (15 years), foster father Todd Randolph, foster mother Susan Randolph (injured)
Date of Death: August 2009
Daughter disclosed sexual abuse by custodial father. Children’s Services placed her with foster family in the same neighborhood. Father shoots daughter, foster parents in murder-suicide. In August 2010, non-custodial mother files lawsuit against the State of Tennessee.

Shelby County

Father: CURTIS LEE MORRIS, JR.
Victim(s): Isaiah Snipes (16 months)
Date of Death: Nov. 2009
Father had just obtained custody of son, 3-year-old daughter in Sept. 2009. Father charged with 2nd-degree murder.

Warren County

Father: MITCHELL STONE
Victim(s): Kayndace (3 years), Akeelia (1 year)
Date of Death: May 2009
Custodial father, stepmother charged in deaths of two girls.

TEXAS

Bexar County

Father: DOMINIQUE REED
Victim(s): Zaniyah Reed (2 months)
Date of Death: October 2010
Father accused of killing infant during visitation.

Denton County

Father: DUKE WATROUS
Victim(s): Ashley Watrous (10 years)
Date of Death: Dec. 2009
Custodial father charged in shooting death.

Gaines/Yoakum Counties

Father: MARIO ROMERO
Victim(s): Mitchell Romero (3 years), unnamed mother
Date of Death: Oct. - Nov. 2009
Mother reportedly murdered by father during child abduction. Son later killed in car accident.

Guadalupe County

Father: DAVID BRASSE
Victim(s): Sarah Brasse (8 years)
Date of Death: February 2009
Custodial dad accused of medical neglect in death of daughter. Mother had been trying to regain custody since 2007. September 2010: Father indicted on charges of injury to a child. CPS had previously investigated the case two years before child’s death.

Harris County

Father: ALEX MCGOWEN DUNCAN
Victim(s): Tekerrious “TK” Jackson
Date of Death: July 2010
Father charged with murder in beating death of son during summer visitation.

Father: MOHAMMAD GOHER
Victim(s): Saeed (12 years), Saedah (14 years), Aisha (7 years)
Date of Death: September 2010
Despite an extensive history of domestic violence, father granted unsupervised visitation. Children shot to death while sleeping. Father charged with capital murder.

Jasper County

Father: LEO DESMOREAUX IV
Victim(s): Triston Dobbins (21 months)
Date of Death: Dec. 2007
Boy died of head injuries while visiting father, stepmother. Father on trial for capital murder in January 2010.

Travis County

Father: LEONARD “IVAN” SOLIZ
Victim(s): Julian Soliz (5 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Custodial dad claims he was in jail on probation violation when son beaten to death, allegedly by girlfriend.

UTAH

Salt Lake County

Father: CLINTON HART
Victim(s): Vanessa Medina (4 years)
Date of Death: June 2010
Dad got custody of child as part of “messy” divorce. Took children from Oregon to Utah. One and a half years later, father charged with felony murder. In October 2010, father pleaded not guilty.

VIRGINIA

Chesterfield County

Father: BRANDON L. PARKER
Victim(s): Elijah Parker (2 months)
Date of Death: June 2010
Custodial dad charged with 2nd-degree murder.

Norfolk County

Father: JOSHUA SAWYER
Victim(s): Carly Sawyer (5 years)
Date of Death: June 2009
Custodial father, stepmother charged with 2nd-degree murder. Mother lost custody during divorce, father denied mother contact. In October 2010, father sentenced to life in prison after conviction.

WEST VIRGINIA

Mercer County

Father: RONALD HOLCOMB
Victim(s): Brooklyn Holcomb (5 years)
Date of Death: Jan. 2007
Custodial father convicted of 2nd-degree murder in daughter's death. Mother had lost custody the year before after applying for child support.

WASHINGTON
Grays Harbor County

Father: MICHAEL VANDERVEER
Victim(s): Ti-Ryn Emery (4 ½ months)
Date of Death: October 2010
Father arrested in death of infant son. Parents “not together” and baby had been in father’s “care.”

WISCONSIN

Saulk County

Father: DAVID R. YATES
Victim(s): Savannah Yates, Tyler Yates (3-week-old twins)
Date of Death: April 2008
Father charged with 1st-degree intention homicide. Despite being on probation, father apparently granted weekend visitation. In October 2010, father convicted, sentenced to life in prison.

175 Killer Dads: Fathers who ended their children's lives in situations involving child custody, visitation, and/or child support (USA)

An update to our previous 76 Killer Dads, 88 Killer Dads, and 138 Killer Dads lists.

This is NOT a comprehensive list of all U.S. fathers who have killed their children in situations involving domestic violence and/or child abuse. This list is limited to articles I have found where there is an identifiable child custody, visitation, and/or child support angle in the children's deaths. Even then, I can’t claim that this is a comprehensive list of child custody, visitation, and or child-support- related murders. Quite often, newspaper articles just don’t provide enough information to make a judgment call.

There is no time limit to the actual dates of death on this list, though most are comparatively recent— usually (but not always) with an article on the deaths appearing in the last three years or so. (Often it takes years for charges to get filed in these cases, or for cases to go to trial.) Note that there are several cases going back to the 1990s.

Feel free to use this as a data base for additional research or to narrow the deaths down to the time period, geographic setting, or other criteria of your choosing.

If you know of a worthy case that has been omitted, feel free to contact me and I will see about adding the case during the next update. This is very much a work in progress.

Because many have asked which cases specifically involve a family court which ignored the concerns of a protective mother or involved notable court and/or CPS incompetence/corruption, I have marked some of the more egregious cases of that type with an asterisk. Of course, the criterion is somewhat subjective, and is also based on having enough media coverage to discern whether these factors were present. Once again, that doesn’t mean that other cases on this list didn’t involve those factors. Only that I have insufficient information at this time.

Additional information can be found on all these cases by searching the Dastardly Dads site.

175 Killer Dads: Fathers who ended their children's lives in situations involving child custody, visitation, and/or child support (USA)

ALABAMA

Franklin County

Father: PAUL GONZALEZ
Victim(s): Andrea Gonzalez (5 years)
Date of Death: Reported missing in November 1993. Body never recovered.
Custodial father eventually pleads guilty to manslaughter. Stepmother charged with child abuse.

Jefferson County

Father: CORY RICE
Victim(s): Janiya Nicole Hale (1 year)
Date of Death: July 2009
Father, a registered sex offender, is charged with murder. Daughter died during overnight visitation.

Mobile County

Father: JOHN DEBLASE
Victim(s): Natalie Deblase (4 years), Chase Deblase (3 years)
Date of Death: Unclear. Bodies located in December 2010 after children hadn’t been seen for months.
Father was apparently custodial at the time of children’s deaths. Both father, girlfriend are charged with murder.

Montgomery County

Father: ALVIN JOHNSON
Victim(s): Chad (C.J.) Johnson (3 years)
Date of Death: May 2008
Father had been in “custody battle” with mother, and had secured custody just two months before the boy’s murder. Father on trial in November 2010.

Morgan County

Father: GARY LEE WILBOURN
Victim(s): Amy Jean Wilbourn (infant)
Date of Death: December 2008
Father with either “temporary” or “permanent” custody of infant daughter charged with capital murder. In October 2010, father pleads not guilty, with trial scheduled for August 2011.

ARIZONA

Cococino County

*Father: RYAN PETERS
Victim(s): Teigan Peters (aka Teigan Brown) (3 years)
Date of Death: June 2009
Daughter killed in murder-suicide during court-ordered visitation . Mother had applied for orders of protection.

Maricopa County

Father: ALLEN CHAMBERS
Victim(s): Mindi Chambers (17 years)
Date of Death: Assumed to have been murdered around the time she went missing in 1982.
Custodial father ALLEN CHAMBERS is now presumed to have murdered Mindi Chambers around the time she went missing. Daughter had reported sexual abuse to the authorities. Not reported as officially missing till 1995.

Father: JEFFREY DUCHANE
Victim(s): Trenay Duchane (12 years)
Date of Death: November 2008
Custodial father and stepmother convicted of murder.

Father: RAUL MOLINA GONZALEZ
Victim(s): Anthony Gonzalez (11 years)
Date of Death: Summer 2005
Father convicted of murdering son during summer visitation.

*Father: NUSHAWN CAMPBELL
Victim(s): Unnamed son (5 years)
Date of Death: June 2009
Father with sole custody stabs son to death in failed murder-suicide. Mother had been trying to regain custody. In October 2010, father pleaded guilty to 1st-degree murder.

Father: ANDRE LETEVE
Victim(s): Alec Leteve (5 years), Asher Leteve (1 year)
Date of Death: March 2010
Parents in process of getting divorce, but had agreed to joint custody. Sons shot to death in failed murder-suicide. Father apparently "feared" mother would attempt a move away.

Father: SERGIO THOMAS
Victim(s): 7-month-old daughter
Date of Death: December 2010
Father arrested for death of 7-month-old daughter. Parents had “verbal custody agreement” to share children on weekly basis. Dad had history of domestic violence arrests.

Pima County

*Father: CHRISTOPHER PAINE
Victim(s): Ariana Paine (3 years), Tyler Paine (4 years)
Date of Death: 2006
Mother originally got custody in 2003. In January 2006, father asked for informal visitation, which the mother granted. In March, the father refused to return the children. The mother contacted the Tucson police regarding her custody order, and they refused to retrieve the children. Within months the children are dead (exact date unknown, only one body was found). Mother sued City of Tucson CPS, and they settled for $1 million in June 2008. In October 2010, Judge Carmine Cornello dismissed mother’s suit against the police.

CALIFORNIA

Contra Costa County

Father: ERHAN KAYIK
Victim(s): Volkan Kayik (16 years)
Date of Death: July 2007
Custodial father found guilty in 2009 of strangulation death of son.

El Dorado County

Father: DAVID ELIOTT
Victim(s): Chandler Nash-Eliott (11 years)
Date of Death: December 2009
Father not charged in the "suicide" of son. Father had physical custody, parents had shared legal custody. Father had extensive history with CPS regarding neglect, abuse, lack of supervision, etc.

Los Angeles County

Father: DAVID HELMS
Victim(s): Lance Helms (2 1/2 years)
Date of Death: 1995
Custodial dad convicted in beating death of son. Father had obtained custody despite extensive history of violence, drug abuse.

Father: CAMERON BROWN
Victim(s): Lauren Sarene Key (4 years)
Date of Death: November 2000
Father scheduled to go to trial for 3rd time for death of daughter. Daughter was allegedly pushed off cliff during visitation in order to avoid child support.

Father: EDUARDO VILLAREAL
Victim(s): Trudy Bonilla (ex-girlfriend, mother of child), Naomi (ten days)
Date of Death: October 2010
Father in “custody dispute” with mother of newborn child rams his truck into bedroom where his ex, the baby are sleeping. Both are killed.

Orange County

Father: GIDEON WALTER OMONDI
Victim(s): Richie Omondi (4 years)
Date of Death: 2006
Father shared custody with the child's mother. Drowned son to avoid child support. Father convicted of 1st-degree murder in January 2010.

Father: UNNAMED FATHER
Victim(s): Soon to be ex-wife, daughter (8 years)
Date of Death: November 2010
Father in “custody dispute” shoots and kills ex-wife, daughter in murder-suicide.

Riverside County

*Father: ALEXANDRO BAEZA
Victim(s): Isaac Gallegos (2 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Father charged with murder in the death of son, who was killed during weekend visitation with the father. Parents had never been married and had been in a “custody dispute” for the past year. The “family” had a history with CPS. Father had shown zero interest in the baby for the first year. And yet the judge--in this case Judge John M. Pacheco--awarded the father twice-a-week visitation anyway. He then proceeded to ignore the mother's concerns regarding the child's injuries and signs of psychological trauma. In fact, he threatened to strip the mother of custody for bringing up her concerns. In December 2010, father ordered to trial.

Father: ANGEL GARCIA III
Victim(s): 5-year-old daughter
Date of Death: November 2010
Father, step arrested for murder, accessory to murder. Custodial status unclear.

Sacramento County

Father: ADRIAN RAMON MCGRATH
Victim(s): Jeremiah McGrath (3 years)
Date of Death: March 2010
Son beaten to death in home of father, stepmother

San Bernadino County

Father: JESUS ROMAN FUENTES
Victim(s): Jesus Gabriel Fuentes (4 years)
Date of Death: February 2010
Father crashes car, shoots to death son during visitation. Parents divorced. Father in critical condition from self-inflicted gunshot wound.

*Father: STEPHEN CHARLES GARCIA
Victim(s): Wyatt Garcia (9 months)
Date of Death: January 2010
Father kills son in murder-suicide during court-ordered visitation. Parents never married. Mother had pleaded with 3 judges regarding father's violence, threats.

San Diego County

Father: DENNIS POTTS
Victim(s): Tori Vienneau (22 years), Dean Springtube (10 months)
Date of Death: July 2006
Father is convicted September 2009 in the murders of his former girlfriend and son. Father didn't want to take paternity test, pay child support.

Ventura County

Father: JAMES MULVANEY
Victim(s): Jason Mulvaney (12 years), Jennifer Mulvaney (7 years)
Date of Death: September 2009
Father stabs to death son and daughter in murder-suicide during overnight visitation. Parents had shared custody and were still involved in divorce, custody case.

COLORADO

Arapahoe County

Father: AARON THOMPSON
Victim(s): Aarone Thompson (7 years)
Date of Death: Reported missing in November 2005. Body never recovered.
Father convicted in September 2009 in daughter's murder. Father had custody, as he had abducted the children from mother in Michigan.

El Paso County

*Father: HANIF SIMS
Victim(s): Genesis Sims (9 years)
Date of Death: December 2008
Father obtained custody in New Jersey and retained custody despite child abuse investigations in that state. Father and girlfriend relocated to Colorado. Girl’s remains found in former home’s crawl space in May 2010. In November 2010, Father, girlfriend both charged in girl’s death, ordered to trial.

Jefferson County

Father: JOSEPH TRUJILLO
Victim(s): Adrian Trujillo (5 months)
Date of Death: January 2010
Father charged in death of infant son. Father had physical custody while mother in military. Father alleged to have left baby alone while father went out drinking for 7 hours. Baby later found dead. In October 2010, father sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Logan County

Father: MARK WEEKS
Victim(s): Alexis McClain (3 years)
Date of Death: July 2010
Custodial father, step charged with murder in death of daughter. Non-custodial mother lives out of state, apparently in California. Father’s next court appearance scheduled for January 2011.

CONNECTICUT

New Haven County

Father: MORRIES D. HILL SR.
Victim(s): Morries Hill Jr. (5 months)
Date of Death: 2008
Father charged in connection with the death of son. Baby died from "severe physical abuse." Infant died in father's home during overnight visitation.

FLORIDA

Alachua County

Father: ANTHONY SCOTT ENCLARDE
Victim(s): Ashton (14 months)
Date of Death: January 2011
Father charged with manslaughter. Custodial arrangements not clear, though mother did not live in the home and apparently gave birth in North Carolina. Father on probation for previous child neglect concerning another child.

Bay County

Father: THOMAS EVERETT BROWN IV
Victim(s): unnamed Child (20 months), unnamed child injured (7 months)
Date of Death: August 2010
Father facing open murder count in beating death of 20-month-old child. News accounts mention that parents lived in separate households, but custody/visitation arrangements not explained. Father has violent criminal record.

Citrus County

Father: SPENCER WEAVER
Victim(s): Unnamed son (2 months)
Date of Death: February 2010
Father with extensive criminal background being investigated in death of infant son, who died during visitation with father.

Colllier County

Father: SAMUEL SEJOUR
Victim(s): Elijay Kye Aliazar (3 months)
Date of Death: January 2009
Father had shared custody with infant's mother. Son died of blunt force trauma to the head during visitation. Father charged w. 2nd-degree murder.

Duval County

*Father: JOSI M. HALL
Victim(s): Kyla Hall (1 year)
Date of Death: 2008
Father had sole custody, and had been cleared of previous abuse allegations. Daughter died of blunt force trauma at home. Father convicted of 2nd-degree murder, and in May 2010, sentenced to life in prison.

Father: ERNEST WRIGHT
Victim(s): Mesia Wright (2 years)
Date of Death: November 2010
Girl dies of methadone overdose while in visitation with father. Babysitting girlfriend charged with aggravated manslaughter. Mom had primary custody, but “allowed” child to stay with father when at work or school.

Gilchrist County

Father: ROLAND MATTHEW
Victim(s): Kristina Hepp (4 years)
Date of Death: April 2009
Father filed for custody in November 2008, obtained it in February 2009. Child was apparently sexually abused, battered, and tortured from the start. In April 2010, father pleaded no contest to 1st-degree murder, and sentenced to life in prison.

Hillsborough County

Father: CHAUNCEY ROBINSON
Victim(s): Chavon Robinson (22 months)
Date of Death: February 2008
Father convicted in December 2009 of murdering child during visitation.

Father: JUSTIN GARWACKI
Victim(s): John Taylor Baxley (3 years)
Date of Death: August 2010
Son normally lived with mother in Missouri. Child died during summer visitation with father, girlfriend. Both charged with murder in February 2011.

*Father: DWAYNE POOLE
Victim(s): Ronderique Anderson (16 months)
Date of Death: February 2011
Father acquired custody after the mother of the baby’s under-aged mother died, and baby’s mother was placed in foster care. Father had previous arrests for battery, and is charged with 1st-degree murder.

Jackson County

Father: WESLEY JONATHAN WILLIAMS
Victim(s): Danielle Baker (mother), sons Ahmaad (4 years) and Amarion (1 year), and unrelated infant.
Date of Death: 2005
Father allegedly committed quadruple murder because he was angry about child support.

Lake County

Father: RICHARD L. ADAMS
Victim(s): Kayla McKean (6 years)
Date of Death: 1998
Custodial father beat daughter to death. Had been subject of multiple CPS investigations.

Lee County

Father: MANUEL DE JESUS ROSALES
Victim(s): Karminda Rosales Salazar (20-year-old daughter that survived stabbing), grandson Josue Rosales (2 months)
Date of Death: May 2010
Custodial father sexually abused daughter, she gave birth to older child who survives. Father then attacked adult daughter with knife, and stabbed to death son she had with boyfriend.

Father: RYAN COSTELLO
Victim(s): Darwin (3 months)
Date of Death: June 2010
Father charged with 2nd-degree murder, but in November 2010, Costello released on bond and Judge J. Seals granted him visitation with surviving son.

Orange County

Father: ROOSEVELT BRADLEY II
Victim(s): Roosevelt Bradley III (8 months)
Date of Death: August 2009
Father arrested for murder of infant during visitation.

Osceola County

Father: MELVIN ORTIZ
Victim(s): Unnamed Son (5 years)
Date of Death: July 2009
Son beaten to death while visiting father, stepmother.

Palm Beach County

*Father: TONY CAMACHO
Victim(s): Crystal Camacho (8 years), Nelson Camacho (10 years)
Date of Death: December 2006
Father and mother were finalizing divorce. During Christmas visitation, father stabbed daughter, then killed her and brother Nelson Camacho (10 years) in arson murder-suicide. Mother had unsuccessfully petitioned for protection. Article from November 2010 mentions that surviving mother Jennie Carter is now an advocate for victims of domestic violence.

Pasco County

Father: THOMAS LUDWIG
Victim(s): Diella Ludwig (2 months)
Date of Death: December 2008
CPS granted father THOMAS LUDWIG custody of infant twins. Father charged with 1st-degree murder in Diella's death, and was convicted in November 2010.

Seminole County

Father: FIDEL JUAREZ-AVILA, SR
Victim(s): Aurelia Juarez (14 months)
Date of Death: June 2008
In March 2010, custodial father sentenced to 21 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter in death of daughter.

Volusia County

Father: MICHAEL REESE
Victim(s): Jeremiah Reese (14 years)
Date of Death: September 2009
Jeremiah Reese died of "accidental overdose" at the home of his custodial father. Father had long history of abuse, neglect with CPS.

GEORGIA

Athens-Clarke County

Father: KEITH JERMAINE GRESHAM
Victim(s): Keionte Gresham (4 years), Keion Gresham (7 years)
Date of Death: May 2010
Father shot children to death in murder-suicide during visitation. Had extensive history of stalking, domestic violence.

Clayton County

Father: JAMALL DECARLOS MATHIS
Victim(s): Ja’mari Myckahi Jones (17 months)
Date of Death: September 2009
In November 2010, father on trial for murdering son during visitation, allegedly to avoid child support.

DeKalb County

Father: GARY DETOMA
Victim(s): Gary DeToma Jr. (5 years), Will DeToma (4 years – injured)
Date of Death: July 2010
Father seeking “full custody” charged with murder of 5-year-old son during visitation. Parents had been going through divorce.

Gwinnett County

Father: ELVIS NOE GARCIA
Victim(s): Edward Garcia (1 year), Bradley Garcia (3 years)
Date of Death: February 2011
Father charged in fatal stabbing of two sons, and in critical stabbing of a third son. Father had been in “custody battle” with the mother over the children.

HAWAII

Honolulu County
*Father: NAEEM WILLIAMS
Victim(s): Talia Williams (5 years)
Date of Death: 2005
Custodial father still facing charges in daughter's death. Had gained custody just 7 months before murder.

IDAHO

Ada County

Father: NICHOLAS BACON
Victim(s): Bekm Bacon (8 months)
Date of Death: February 2010
Father shot to death son in murder-suicide. Parents going through divorce, but had joint custody. Infant killed during visitation with father.

Jerome County

Father: ROBERT ARAGON
Victim(s): Sage Aragon (11 years)
Date of Death: December 2008
Custodial father acquitted of involuntary manslaughter in hypothermia death of daughter. Father had told to her to walk to mother's home during blizzard.

Twin Falls County

Father: JIM NICE JR.
Victim(s): Justin Nice (6 years), Spencer Nice (6 years), Raquel Anna Nice (2 years)
Date of Death: 2005
Father murdered children with rat poison during court-ordered visitation.

ILLINOIS

Cook County

Father: JAMES LARRY
Victim(s): Jahad Larry (7 months), Kalesh Larry (3 years), Keyshai Fields (16 years), Tawana Thompson Larry (19 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Father with extensive criminal background charged in the murder of infant son, wife, two nieces. Had been awarded joint custody of infant through paternity action one week prior to killings.

DuPage County
Father: RICHARD LYONS
Victim(s): Mya (9 years)
Date of Death: July 2008
In January 2011, father finally arrested in stabbing death of daughter. Had been staying with father for summer visitation.

Kane County

Father: ANTONY MANGIAMELE
Victim(s): Riley (2 years)
Date of Death: February 2005
Father kills son in murder-suicide during unsupervised visitation ordered by Judge William Weir. According to October 2010 article, the judge resigned on the 4th anniversary of the boy’s murder.

McClean County

*Father: MICHAEL CONNELLY
Victim(s): Duncan Connelly (6 years) and Jack Connelly (4 years)
Date of Death: March 2009
Father killed sons in murder-suicide during court-ordered visitation. Mother had extensive involvement with the courts trying to prevent contact with father.

Father: JEFF MEECE
Victim(s): Erika Meese (14 months)
Date of Death: August 2009
In September 2010, father found unfit to stand trial for murder, though he had been granted twice weekly visitation. Daughter beaten to death with a baseball bat.

Will County

Father: CHIDI ESI
Victim(s): Nathan Esi (19 months)
Date of Death: October 2009
Father accused of drowning son during visitation.

INDIANA

Delaware County

*Father: RYAN MCCONNIEL
Victim(s): Lauren McConniel (5 years)
Date of Death: March 2010
Custodial father, step charged with felony child neglect charges. Girl died of severe malnutrition despite CPS investigations. Evidence that child was also sexually abused. Mother lost custody during divorce the year before in Knoxville, Tennessee. She was not represented by a lawyer.

Green County

Father: RONALD A. BOHANNON
Victim(s): Travis Bohannon (14 months)
Date of Death: August 2009
Father separated from wife. Son "accidently" shot during visitation. Father convicted of reckless homicide January 2010.

Lake County

Father: CORDELL RICHARDSON
Victim(s): Eboni Richardson (19 months)
Date of Death: August 2009
Father shot daughter during visitation. Didn't want child's mother to do a move away.

Father: TERRY BETHEL (aka Terry Noel)
Victim(s): Josiah Shaw (13 months)
Date of Death: January 2008
Father allegedly arranged to have visitation with son, then shot him to death to avoid child support.

Father: LEON BURNS
Victim(s): Leon Walker (5 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Boy found bound, tortured and beaten to death in home of custodial father. Death ruled a homicide.

Marion County

Father: JOSHWA CARLISLE
Victim(s): Ex-girlfriend Tracie Shannon (22 years), Juliana (9 months)
Date of Death: September 2010
Father arrested in arson murder of ex-girlfriend, infant daughter. Father allegedly wanted to avoid paying child support.

Tippecanoe County

Father: CHRISTIAN GAUVIN
Victim(s): Aiyana Gauvin (4 years)
Date of Death: March 2005
Child beaten to death after months of abuse and neglect. Custodial father sentenced to 50 years in prison.

KANSAS

Montgomery County

*Father: RANDY COONS
Victim(s): Brooklyn Coons (23 months)
Date of Death: January 2008
Girl died in home of custodial father. Girlfriend convicted of 1st-degree murder. Mother deceased. Safety concerns of maternal grandparents ignored by KS SRS.

Shawnee County

Father: JAMES KRAIG KAHLER
Victim(s): Karen Kahler (44 years), Emily Kahler (18 years), Lauren Kahler (16 years), Dorothy Wight (89 years)
Date of Death: Nov. 2009
Parents were in the process of divorcing, reportedly "sparring over children."

Sumner County

Father: UNNAMED FATHER
Victim(s): Caden Michael Reemes (4 years)
Date of Death: August 2009
Child asphyxiated at the home of his custodial UNNAMED FATHER.

KENTUCKY

Anderson County

*Father: TIMOTHY FRAZIER
Victim(s): Cole Frazier (21 months)
Date of Death: May 2009
Father obtained custody with police assistance through fraudulent EPO. Shot son to death in murder-suicide. Mother suing police, city.

Clark County

Father: PATRICK WATKINS
Victim(s): Michaela Watkins (10 years)
Date of Death: 2007
Custodial father, stepmother found guilty of murder in girl's death. Girl removed from mother's home by social workers.

LOUISIANA

Bossier Parish

*Father: WESLEY LOWE
Victim(s): Anna Celeste Lowe (5 years)
Date of Death: January 2011
Father got “temporary custody” after accusing mother of abuse. Though charges were determined to be unfounded, father managed to get 4 district judges to sign off 5 times on extending order. Father had history of domestic violence, drug abuse. Father charged with negligible homicide, step with 1st-degree murder.

Calcasieu Parish

Father: WILLIAM STEWARD VINCENT
Victim(s): Savanna Vincent (5 years)
Date of Death: June 2008
In July 2010, custodial father, step finally indicted for 2nd-degree murder.

East Baton Rouge Parish

Father: CLAYTON LEE MURPHY JR.
Victim(s): Juwan Murphy (8 years), Tayshuan Murphy (2 years)
Date of Death: October 2008
Father stabbed children to death during visitation in order to “get back” at his estranged wife. Had threatened to harm the children before. Convicted of 1st-degree murder in June 2010.

Livingston Parish

Father: EDUARDO KYLE HERODIAS
Victim(s): Kaylene Herodias (4 months), Kayla Herodias (4 months – severely injured)
Date of Death: May 2010
Father in “custody battle” with babies’ mother charged with 1st-degree murderer in death of twin daughter. Dad admitted shaking the babies during his visitation time.

Orleans Parish

Father: DANNY PLATT
Victim: Ja'Shawn (2 years)
Date of Death: January 2010
Father arrested in murder of son during weekend visitation; alleged that father had been trying to avoid paying back child support.

Pointe Coupee Parish

Father: AARON BOWMAN
Victim(s): Aaron Bowman, Jr.
Date of Death: November 2009
Father had "temporary" custody of son, 2-year-old daughter when son beaten to death. Father charged with 1st-degree murder.

MAINE

Kennebec County

Father: SHANE SOUCY
Victim(s): Connor Soucy (4 months)
Date of Death: August 2009
Infant became "unresponsive" during visit with father. Later died at hospital.

MARYLAND

Baltimore County

*Father: MARK CASTILLO
Victim(s): Anthony Castillo (6 years), Austin Castillo (4 years), Athena Castillo (2 years)
Date of Death: March 2008
Mother had tried to stop father from having access, but blocked by courts. Children murdered during court-ordered visitation.

Father: STEPHEN NELSON
Victim(s): Turner Jordan Nelson (3 years)
Date of Death: February 2008
Murdered by father by being thrown off bridge. Father and mother had argued in court over custody. In January 2011, father sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Father: TIMOTHY LEWIS
Victim(s): Chloe Lewis (6 months)
Date of Death: October 2010
“Sole Guardian” father charged with murder in suffocation death of daughter. Mom apparently lives in a group home and was “refused” custody.

Father: TYRONE HAMBER
Victim(s): Melonia Hamber (2 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Father charged in daughter's beating death. Child had been visiting with father for two weeks prior to her death.

Hartford County

Father: KEATON IRONS
Victim(s): Shamyrah Irons (1 year)
Date of Death: May 2010
Child beaten to death while child was “in the care and custody of her father.” Father charged with murder.

Montgomery County

Father: GERALD ROBERT WELLS
Victim(s): Jacob Matthew Dunn (23 months)
Date of Death: October 2006
Parents were never married. Father frequently protested against paying child support. Just months after filing for joint custody, father murdered son by asphyxiation during “planned visit.”

Talbot County

Father: RICHARD W. SPICKNALL II
Victim(s): Destiny Array Spicknall, wounded (3 years), Richard Spicknall III (2 years)
Date of Death: September 1999
Father with joint custody fabricates story of car high jacking, children found shot in car seats. Mother had reported previous domestic violence incident. Father charged with murder.

MASSACHUSETTS

Bristol County

Father: KRISTOPHER GRIFFIN
Victim(s): Kaitlyn (6 years)
Date of Death: July 2009
Father allegedly murdered daughter because he was concerned about a possible move away.

Essex County

Father: ERNESTO GONZALEZ
Victim(s): Giovanni Gonzalez (5 years)
Date of Death: August 2008
Boy “disappeared” during “scheduled visit” with father. Formal visitation agreement had yet to be worked out. Father had previous criminal convictions, including assault. Has apparently confessed to killing the boy, but no criminal conviction. Body has not been found.

Worcester County

Father: LESLIE G. SHULER
Victim(s): Nathaniel Turner (7 years)
Date of Death: June 2009
Father charged with beating death of son. Took place during father's summer visitation.

MICHIGAN

Lenawee County

Father: JOHN SKELTON
Victim(s): Andrew Skelton (9 years), Alexander Skelton (7 years), Tanner Skelton (5 years)
Date of Death: Presumably around November 2010
Children were presumably killed during court-ordered visitation. Father has reported many stories—that he left them with a woman, that he left them with a mysterious “organization.” However, police strongly suspect the children were murdered. No bodies have been found.

Macomb County

Father: JEFF WOLFENBARGER
Victim(s): Lily Furneaux-Wolfenbarger (2 years)
Date of Death: November 2010
Parents “shared” custody. Stepmom “ suspected” in girl’s death.

Montcalm County

*Father: OLIVER BRAMAN
Victim(s): Elaine Kaczor-Braman (stepmother), Nicholas Braman (9 years)
Date of Death: October 2007
Custodial father with history of domestic violence, child abuse kills second wife, son in murder-suicide. Mother had reclaimed custody of older sons after they ran away. Father pleaded guilty to abusing the older boys, but failed to show up for sentencing. CPS, however, refused to remove youngest son. In July 2010, protective mother filed federal suit against child protective services.

Oakland County

Father: JOHN KELLY
Victim(s): unnamed infant (13 weeks)
Date of Death: February 2010
Infant died during unsupervised visitation.

Ottawa County

Father: SALVATOR FLORES
Victim(s): Sandra Flores (10 years)
Date of Death: August 2010
Girl dies after suffering convulsions in the home of her custodial father. Father had history of complaints with CPS, and girl and previously been removed from the home.

St. Clair County

*Father: JOE GALVAN
Victim(s): Prhaze Galvan (3 years)
Date of Death: January 2010
Child died of blunt force trauma in home of custodial father, stepmother. Both face murder charges. In August 2010, convicted of murder and torture, and later sentenced to life in prison. Later ombudsman report refuses to clarify why father with history of domestic violence, child abuse, and criminal behavior had been granted custody, and how he was able to retain it.

Wayne County

*Father: STEVEN NICHOLSON
Victim(s): Ella Grace Stafford (15 months), Jonathan Sanderlin (13 months)
Date of Death: October 2010
Father had full custody of son, “partial” custody of daughter. Both children lived with him. Charged with felony murder in the scalding/drowning deaths of the two children. Appears mother of son lost custody when accused of “kidnapping” for refusing contact/visitation. Father has history of domestic violence, drug/alcohol abuse.

MINNESOTA

Ramsey County

Father: JOHN OLSON
Victim(s): Mikayla Olson
Date of Death: 2004
Father given joint legal custody despite repeated threats to kill daughter, ex-wife. Two years after divorce, dad murdered daughter during “parenting time.”

MISSISSIPPI

Hinds County

Father: ZACCHAEUS BROWN
Victim(s): Jaheem Brown (4 months)
Date of Death: February 2011
Father charged with capital murder. Mother only 15 years of age, parents did not live together. Child fatally injured while at father’s home during weekend visitation. Not clear as to whether visitation voluntary or court-ordered.

MISSOURI

Cass/Jackson Counties

Father: CLINTON GALLAGHER
Victim(s): Alex Gallagher (6 years)
Date of Death: December 2010
Father kills son in murder –suicide after judge ignored mother’s request for order of protection, temporary custody.

Father: MARK GUENTHER
Victim(s): Elizabeth Guenther (18 months)
Date of Death: February 2010
Father to be charged with 2nd-degree murder. Baby suffered fatal skull fracture during father's weekend visitation.

*Father: DAN PORTER
Victim(s): Sam Porter (7 years), Lindsey Porter (8 years)
Date of Death: June 2004
Father murdered children during court-ordered visitation. Had extensive history of domestic violence.

Father: MARINO SALINAS
Victim(s): Avee Hunter (4 months)
Date of Death: April 2010
Father charged with 1st-degree murder. Prosecutors say that father plotted to kill baby to avoid child support.

Greene County

Father: KYLE BAYLOR
Victim(s): Vaniessa Baylor (1 year)
Date of Death: February 2010
Father charged with 2nd-degree murder in daughter's death. Parents had separated, but father had been serving as "caregiver" for past week. Father had been scheduled to start paying child support to mother.

Howell County

Father: UNNAMED DAD
Victim(s): Zeke Breeds (6 years)
Date of Death: September 2010
Boy died of drug overdose while living with custodial dad, step. Both are charged. Mother lives in St. Louis.

St. Louis County

Father: Nathaniel Robinson
Victim(s): Desmon Valenzuela (3 years)
Date of Death: 2007
Father obtained custody 1 month before child's beating death. Convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

MONTANA

Missoula County

Father: ROBERT J. WILKES
Victim(s): Gabriel Wilkes (3 months)
Date of Death: October 2008
In June 2010, custodial father convicted of homicide in death of infant son.

NEBRASKA

Dodge County

Father: LUCAS PETERSON
Victim(s): Trista Peterson (1 year)
Date of Death: January 2007
As of October 2010, the Nebraska Supreme Court has affirmed that this “sole caretaker” father can be charged in child abuse resulting in death, unlawful burial. In April 2007, Peterson had cut a deal with prosecutors and lead authorities to daughter’s grave. In January 2011, father finally pleads guilty to manslaughter. Has never been reported in the media what happened to the girl’s mother.

NEVADA

Clark County

Father: BRANDON TODD ARDUINO
Victim(s): Brandon Christopher Arduino-Boggs (13 years)
Date of Death: September 2009
Son killed in auto homicide case where father DUI. Parents had been in lengthy child custody case.

Father: ALEX KOPYSTENSKI
Victim(s): Giovani Kopystenski (5 years)
Date of Death: July 2009
Custodial father. Autistic son "accidentally" shoots himself in head after finding gun in father's car. In January 2011, father sentenced to 2 – 20 years in prison.

Father: RICHARD MARTINO
Victims(s): Zander Martino (2 years)
Date of Death: July 2007
Father had gained custody just two months before son's beating death.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Hillsborough County

Father: MANUEL GEHRING
Victim(s): Sarah Gehring (14 years), Phillip Gehring (11 years),
Date of Death: July 2003
Father with shared custody was still in custody “dispute” with mother. When father was supposed to return the children to their mother, father shot and killed the children and buried their bodies along an interstate in Ohio. Bodies not found till 2005. Father confessed to the murders, and committed suicide in prison.

NEW JERSEY

Essex County

Father: TAMIR LITTLE
Victim(s): Neveah Turner (3 years)
Date of Death: November 2009
Father gained custody in July 2009, and began abusing the child almost immediately. Father arrested, charged with murder in May 2010.

Father: SHAMSIDDEN ABDUR-RAHEEM
Victim(s): Zara Malani-Lin Abdur (3 months)
Date of Death: February 2010
Father had been “feuding” with mother about how often he got to see the baby. While mother was getting a protection order, father abducted baby from babysitting grandmother. Baby was “allegedly” thrown off bridge. In May 2010, baby’s body was found and positively identified.

Passaic County

Father: EDELMIRO GONZALEZ
Victim(s): Adrian Gonzalez (7 years)
Date of Death: November 2009
Father in "bitter custody dispute" with "estranged" wife. 7-year-old son shot to death, 11-year-old son, wife, in critical condition.

NEW MEXICO

Bernalillo County

Father: RICHARD ROBERT SANCHEZ
Victim(s): Richard Jr., Daniel, and Christopher Sanchez
Date of Death: August 2001
Father "went missing" with sons during custodial visit. Bodies recovered, identified in July 2009.
Santa Fe County

*Father: MELVIN MARTINEZ
Victim(s): Derek Martinez (12 years), Devin Martinez (10 years)
Date of Death: June 2010
Father shoots sons to death in murder-suicide during summer visitation. Protective mother’s concerns dismissed by judge.

NEW YORK

Bronx County

Father: ANTHONY MIKELL
Victim(s): Kevin Mikell (2 years)
Date of Death: February 1996
Father granted custody when mother being “probed” for child abuse. Father had previously been arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest. Child beaten to death.

Columbia County

Father: FRANKLIN HANKERSON
Victim(s): Khliff Taylor Hankerson (5 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Son killed in murder-suicide during visitation.

Erie County

Father: JAMES E. KENT
Victim(s); Joshua Kent (3 years)
Date of Death: March 2005
Sole custody father beats son to death.

Genessee County

Father: UNNAMED FATHER
Victim(s); Marcus Peters (6 years)
Date of Death: October 2009
Child dies during weekend visitation with father, but authorities say death not "suspicious."

Kings County

Father: CHRISTOPHER WILLIS
Victim(s): Datwan Murray (2 ½ years)
Date of Death: June 1993
Mother had legal custody, but father had refused to return child after visitation. Father appeared to be a major drug dealer with drug arsenal.

Monroe County

*Father: MARK RESCH
Victim(s): Hunter Resch (7 years)
Date of Death: February 2010
Child shot to death in murder-suicide during court-ordered visitation. Father had history of domestic violence, mother had filed two orders of protection.

Orange County

Father: PATRICK FITZGERALD
Victim(s): Leanne Fitzgerald (wife, 38 years), Ashley Fitzgerald (7 years), Shane Fitzgerald (4 years)
Date of Death: September 1998
Parents had not separated at time of murders. But father had history of domestic violence, and filing for orders of protections, child custody in Orange County Family Court.

*Father: CHRISTOPHER RHODES
Victim(s): Jerica Rhodes (7 years)
Date of Death: January 2005
Sole custody father convicted in daughter's stabbing death. Father had extensive history of domestic violence.

Richmond County

Father: DARRELL TAYLOR
Victim(s): Josiah Taylor (2 years)
Date of Death: November 2010
Boy killed during visitation with father. Babysitting girlfriend, father each blaming the other.

NORTH CAROLINA

Caldwell County

Father: ADAM BAKER
Victim(s): Zahra Baker (10 years)
Date of Death: Fall 2010
Step currently charged in girl’s murder. Custodial father has not been charged, though girl was apparently repeatedly abused in the home. Father relocated from Australia.

Carteret County

Father: MICHAEL LEE WYNE II
Victim(s): unnamed daughter (11 years)
Date of Death: June 2010
Father reports “accidentally” shooting and killing daughter just one day after she arrived for summer visitation from Arkansas.

Dare County

Father: DOUGLAS MONT
Victim(s): Catrina J. Mont (9 years), Daniel Preston Mont (6 years), Theresa Lynn Mont (4 years)
Date of Death: February 1995
Father with visitation abducted children from home in Delaware, then shot them to death in murder-suicide in North Carolina.

Edgecombe County

Father: BRICE MCMILLAN
Victim(s): Tyler Brice (13 years)
Date of Death: June 2008
Custodial father, stepmother convicted of 2nd-degree murder. Boy tied to tree, died of dehydration, heat exhaustion.

OKLAHOMA

Bryan County

Father: WOLF ABEL
Victim(s): Cheyenne Wolf (11 years)
Date of Death: April 2008
Custodial father, stepmother charged in girl's death. As of September 2010, girl’s remains still unclaimed. February 2011: Father found guilty of enabling child abuse, child abuse by neglect, unlawful removal of a body. Has never been reported how or why the father had custody, or what happened to the girl’s mother.

OHIO

Cuyahoga County

Father: ANTHONY JOHNSON
Victim(s) Anthony Johnson Jr.
Date of Death: August 2009
Father accused of beating child to death during visitation.

Franklin/Delaware Counties

Father: DANIEL J. DOBSON
Victim(s): Nicole Dobson (15 years), Sarah Dobson (11 years)
Date of Death: December 2009
Father had physical placement of 15-year-old daughter. "Shared parenting" plan in place with divorced mother. Girls shot to death in murder-suicide.

Hamilton County

*Father: CHRISTOPHER DANGERFIELD
Victim(s): Tyrese Short (3 years)
Date of Death: December 2010
Father charged with aggravated murder. Had been granted custody just 7 months before, though father had a lengthy criminal record including assault of a police officer.

Father: JAMES LYONS
Victim(s): Jaden Jenkins
Date of Death: September 2010
Father given custody after mother checked herself in for mental health treatment. Father charged with capital murder.

Highland County

Father: WESLEY COONROD
Victim(s): Steven Coonrod (3 years), Thomas Coonrod (4 years)
Date of Death: March 2010
Father with “full custody” charged with murder in arson deaths of two sons. News accounts mention history of domestic violence, alcoholism, “suspicious” fires at previous homes. In October 2010, Coonrod convicted on two counts of child endangering; jury deadlocked on murder, arson charges. In February 2011, convicted of two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Stark County

Father: JAMES MAMMONE III
Victim(s): Macy Mammone (5 years), James Mammone (3 years), Margaret Eakin (57 years)
Date of Death: June 2009
Divorced father convicted of stabbing children, beating to death former mother-in-law in January 2010.

OREGON

Clackamas County

Father: DONALD L. COCKRELL
Victim(s): Alexis Pounder (3 years)
Date of Death: January 2010
Father, mother had shared custody. Father, girlfriend charged with beating, starving girl to death. Mother allegedly blocked from seeing child by father.

Lane County

Father: RICHARD RAUCHER
Victim(s): Erin Raucher, Aidan Raucher (no ages given)
Date of Death: September 2010
“Despondent” stay-at-home dad granted “joint custody” in divorce. Kills daughters in murder-suicide, though mother had offered to pay father child support.

Mutnomah County

Father: CHRISTOPHER ROSILLO
Victim(s): Oleander Labier (5 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Custodial father, fiancée charged in girl's death.

PENNSYLVANIA

Dauphin County

*Father: STEPHEN S. DIXON
Victim(s): Jayahn Cox-Phoenix
Date of Death: May 2010
Parents had no formal custody agreement. Father played no role in child’s life until January 2010. Father allowed visitation by mother. In March 2010, father refused to return child or allow maternal contact. Mom’s early May 2010 petition for emergency custody denied by Judge Andrew Dowling despite allegations of child abuse. Custody hearing set for June 2010. Child dies before then of traumatic brain injury. Though death ruled a homicide, no charges filed as of September 2010. Grandmother plans lawsuit against county Children and Youth.

Franklin County

Father: CONWAY WELLER
Victim(s): Leeairra Ann Weller (5 years), Caleigh Ann Weller (8 months)
Date of Death: October 2010
Father with “shared custody” kills two daughters through carbon monoxide poisoning in murder-suicide.

Philadelphia County

*Father: DOMINGO "ANIBAL" FERREIRA
Victim(s) Charlenni Ferreira (10 years)
Date of Death: October 2009
Girl died from abuse in the home of her custodial father, stepmother. Father later (allegedly) committed suicide in jail cell.

Wyoming County

Father: JAMES ALAN AUSTIN
Victim(s): Unidentified infant
Date of Death: 1995
Single father acquired custody through surrogate mother. Pleaded guilty to 3rd-degree murder in baby’s beating death.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Anderson County

Father: JAMES T. DICKERSON
Victim(s): Jeremy Dickerson (7 years)
Date of Death: July 2009
Father with "full custody" charged in son's beating death.

Berkeley County

Father: ROGER “TONY” WILLIAMS
Victim(s): Rodricus Williams (2 years)
Date of Death: June 2010
Father, girlfriend charged with homicide in death of son during summer visitation.

Chester County

Father: UNNAMED FATHER
Victim(s): Xymerra Evans (11 months)
Date of Death: September 2009
Child sexually abused, beaten during visitation with father. Later died at hospital.

Chesterfield County

Father: MITCHELL CHARLES RIVERS
Victim(s): Mitchell Alexander Rivers (3 months)
Date of Death: 2005
Single adoptive dad convicted of homicide, sentenced to life in prison in February 2011.

TENNESSEE

Dyer County

*Father: CHRISTOPHER MILBURN
Victim(s): Stevie Noelle (15 years), foster father Todd Randolph, foster mother Susan Randolph (injured)
Date of Death: August 2009
Daughter disclosed sexual abuse by custodial father. Children’s Services placed her with foster family in the same neighborhood. Father shoots daughter, foster parents in murder-suicide. In August 2010, non-custodial mother files lawsuit against the State of Tennessee.

Fayette County

Father: SEAN LEIFER
Victim(s): Gage Leifer (9 months)
Date of Death: December 2009
In November 2010, father charged with murder. Boy’s death took place during father’s holiday visitation.

Shelby County

Father: CURTIS LEE MORRIS, JR.
Victim(s): Isaiah Snipes (16 months)
Date of Death: November 2009
Father had just obtained custody of son, 3-year-old daughter in September 2009. Father charged with 2nd-degree murder.

Warren County

Father: MITCHELL STONE
Victim(s): Kayndace (3 years), Akeelia (1 year)
Date of Death: May 2009
Custodial father, stepmother charged in deaths of two girls.

TEXAS

Bexar County

Father: DOMINIQUE REED
Victim(s): Zaniyah Reed (2 months)
Date of Death: October 2010
Father accused of killing infant during visitation.

Denton County

Father: DUKE WATROUS
Victim(s): Ashley Watrous (10 years)
Date of Death: December 2009
Custodial father charged in shooting death.

Donley County

*Father: ROBERT MONROE BABCOCK
Victim(s): Chance Mark Jones (4 years)
Date of Death: January 2011
Custodial father charged with capital murder. Boy beaten to death just weeks after father gained custody. Father had previously been uninvolved in child’s life.

Gaines/Yoakum Counties

Father: MARIO ROMERO
Victim(s): Mitchell Romero (3 years), unnamed mother
Date of Death: October- November 2009
Mother reportedly murdered by father during child abduction. Son later killed in car accident.

Guadalupe County

*Father: DAVID BRASSE
Victim(s): Sarah Brasse (8 years)
Date of Death: February 2009
Custodial dad accused of medical neglect in death of daughter. Mother had been trying to regain custody since 2007. September 2010: Father indicted on charges of injury to a child. CPS had previously investigated the case two years before child’s death.

Harris County

Father: ALEX MCGOWEN DUNCAN
Victim(s): Tekerrious “TK” Jackson
Date of Death: July 2010
Father charged with murder in beating death of son during summer visitation.

*Father: MOHAMMAD GOHER
Victim(s): Saeed (12 years), Saedah (14 years), Aisha (7 years)
Date of Death: September 2010
Despite an extensive history of domestic violence, father granted unsupervised visitation. Children shot to death while sleeping. Father charged with capital murder.

Jasper County

Father: LEO DESMOREAUX IV
Victim(s): Triston Dobbins (21 months)
Date of Death: December 2007
Boy died of head injuries while visiting father, stepmother. Father on trial for capital murder in January 2010.

San Jacinto County

*Father: PREDRAG PERISIC
Victim(s): Deyan Perisic (10 years), Danyela Perisic, injured (12 years)
Date of Death: December 2010
Father gained custody in Montreal, Canada in April 2010, and moved the children to Cold Spring, Texas. Mother regained custody in October 2010, and the children “disappeared” shortly thereafter. Father charged with shooting children when police tried to reclaim them.

Potter County

Father: ROBERT NUNEZ
Victim(s): Miguel Angel Nunez (18 moths)
Date of Death: 2004
Father had custody at the time of the baby’s “disappearance.” Mom was scheduled to get custody back due to custodial interference. Body not found until December 2010.

Travis County

Father: LEONARD “IVAN” SOLIZ
Victim(s): Julian Soliz (5 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Custodial dad claims he was in jail on probation violation when son beaten to death, allegedly by girlfriend.

UTAH

Salt Lake County

*Father: CLINTON HART
Victim(s): Vanessa Medina (4 years)
Date of Death: June 2010
Dad got custody of child as part of “messy” divorce. Took children from Oregon to Utah. One and a half years later, father charged with felony murder. In October 2010, father pleaded not guilty.

VIRGINIA

Chesterfield County

Father: BRANDON L. PARKER
Victim(s): Elijah Parker (2 months)
Date of Death: June 2010
Custodial dad charged with 2nd-degree murder.

Norfolk County

*Father: JOSHUA SAWYER
Victim(s): Carly Sawyer (5 years)
Date of Death: June 2009
Custodial father, stepmother charged with 2nd-degree murder. Mother lost custody during divorce, father denied mother contact. In October 2010, father sentenced to life in prison after conviction.

WEST VIRGINIA

Mercer County

*Father: RONALD HOLCOMB
Victim(s): Brooklyn Holcomb (5 years)
Date of Death: January 2007
Custodial father convicted of 2nd-degree murder in daughter's death. Mother had lost custody the year before after applying for child support.

WASHINGTON

Grays Harbor County

Father: MICHAEL VANDERVEER
Victim(s): Ti-Ryn Emery (4 ½ months)
Date of Death: October 2010
Father arrested in death of infant son. Parents “not together” and baby had been in father’s “care.”

Snohomish County

Father: STEPHEN BYRNE
Victim(s): Haley Byrne (9 years), Kelsey Byrne (11 years)
Date of Death: November 2004
Father who was “fixated” on his custody rights (and essentially had joint custody) kills daughters in murder-suicide. Father had history of domestic violence.

WISCONSIN

Saulk County

*Father: DAVID R. YATES
Victim(s): Savannah Yates, Tyler Yates (3-week-old twins)
Date of Death: April 2008
Father charged with 1st-degree intention homicide. Despite being on probation, father granted weekend visitation. In October 2010, father convicted, sentenced to life in prison.