Dad is identified as DAVID ORR.
http://www.the-gazette.co.uk/news/crime-courts/articles/2014/10/29/514006-father-locked-up-for-violent-attack-on-son/
Father locked up for violent attack on son
Published: 29 Oct 2014 09:00
A violent thug has been caged after being convicted of attacking his teenage son.
David Orr was locked up for a year for lashing out at 16-year-old Darrel at a flat in Paisley earlier this year.
The town’s sheriff court heard that the 36-year-old attacked Darrel on February 22 this year in Fairway Avenue.
Orr, who was on bail from Livingston Sheriff Court at the time of the offence, struck out, punching Darrel on the head.
He also caused a breach of the peace at the property by shouting and acting in an aggressive manner.
Orr, who was held on remand at Low Moss Prison, in Bishopbriggs, as he awaited trial, was also charged with battering Emma Louise Welch at a different flat in the same street a few months later.
Prosecutors claimed he left Welch badly hurt and scarred for life after raining punches on her head on May 17 this year while she was in pal Kerry Clark’s flat.
And he was also accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice by threatening Welch with violence if she reported the assault to the police.
The last charge Orr faced was that, on May 19 this year, he knew Darrel was in Clark’s home and phoned her.
Court papers alleged that he demanded to speak to Darrel and threatened violence against him as he had spoken to police officers about the February attack. Welch told the court that Orr had attacked her and that Clark came to her rescue, pulling Orr off her.
She added: “He said I better not tell anyone that it was him that had done it.
“He was telling me not to tell anyone.
“This went on for a period of possibly three or four hours.
“His demeanour was erratic.”
Welch said that Orr was extremely drunk at the time and said “he didn’t know what he was talking about.”
She explained: “He said it was actually a 5ft female who had attacked me.
“There was only me, a guy called David Orr and Kerry in her house drinking at the time.
“I know who done it to me, it was David Orr.”
Welch was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital by ambulance where she received treatment for a 3cm cut above her right eyebrow, which has left a scar.
Although Welch said it was Orr who attacked her she was unable to identify Orr in the dock.
After Clark said she saw Welch bleeding but did not see how she had come by her injury, prosecutors were left without enough evidence to secure a conviction for the assault on Welch.
They were also left without enough to prove that he had threatened Darrel and Welch.
The jury took around an hour-and-fifteen minutes to find Orr guilty of attacking his son and causing a rammy.
He was jailed for 12 months for the assault and nine months for shouting and bawling.
The sentences, which will run alongside each other, were backdated to July, when he was first remanded in custody.
Killler Dads and Custody Lists
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Friday, October 31, 2014
Dad charged in shooting of 6-year-old son (Detroit, Michigan)
Dad is identified as DECOVIER ENGLISH.
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/27162464/detroit-police-investigating-shooting-of-6-year-old
Father charged after non-fatal shooting of 6-year-old son
Posted: Oct 30, 2014 7:56 AM EDT
Updated: Oct 30, 2014 4:45 PM EDT
By myFOXDetroit.com Staff
DETROIT (WJBK) - Prosecutors have charged a father in connection with the non-fatal shooting of his 6-year-old son.
The boy was shot in the wrist Wednesday night at a home in the 18400 block of Algonac on Detroit's east side.
Authorities say the gun belonged to the father, Decovier English, and was located in an upstairs bedroom.
The child was taken to the hospital and has been treated for the wound. English, 31, was arrested at the hospital without incident.
The father has been charged with Child Abuse Second Degree, Child Abuse Fourth Degree and Careless Discharge of a Weapon Causing Injury or Death.
English was arraigned Thursday and given a $10,000/10 percent bond. His preliminary examination will be held at 36th District Court at 1:30 a.m. November 13.
This is the second time this week a Detroit child has been shot. Tuesday, a 4-year-old boy shot himself in the leg after police say he got a hold of his mother's gun while she was sleeping.
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/27162464/detroit-police-investigating-shooting-of-6-year-old
Father charged after non-fatal shooting of 6-year-old son
Posted: Oct 30, 2014 7:56 AM EDT
Updated: Oct 30, 2014 4:45 PM EDT
By myFOXDetroit.com Staff
DETROIT (WJBK) - Prosecutors have charged a father in connection with the non-fatal shooting of his 6-year-old son.
The boy was shot in the wrist Wednesday night at a home in the 18400 block of Algonac on Detroit's east side.
Authorities say the gun belonged to the father, Decovier English, and was located in an upstairs bedroom.
The child was taken to the hospital and has been treated for the wound. English, 31, was arrested at the hospital without incident.
The father has been charged with Child Abuse Second Degree, Child Abuse Fourth Degree and Careless Discharge of a Weapon Causing Injury or Death.
English was arraigned Thursday and given a $10,000/10 percent bond. His preliminary examination will be held at 36th District Court at 1:30 a.m. November 13.
This is the second time this week a Detroit child has been shot. Tuesday, a 4-year-old boy shot himself in the leg after police say he got a hold of his mother's gun while she was sleeping.
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.
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.
Custodial dad sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in beating death of 6-year-old son (Pocaltello, Idaho)
As we do updates to the killer dads and custody lists, you may notice an interesting pattern. By the time these fathers are convicted and sentenced, their custody status has been neatly erased. This case is no different.
In fact, dad ANTHONY BLAKE VILES gained custody just TWO MONTHS before he beat to death his 6-year-old son, and before gaining custody, he had NEVER EVEN MET THE BOY. See here for additional background.
http://www.idahostatejournal.com/viles-sentenced-to-years/article_ff3b1c88-35e7-11e3-bc46-0019bb2963f4.html
Death of son gets Anthony Viles 15 years
Posted: Tuesday, October 15, 2013 4:20 pm | Updated: 11:58 pm, Tue Oct 15, 2013.
By Jimmy Hancock
POCATELLO — Anthony Blake Viles was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the death of his son Afton Allison.
Sixth District Judge Stephen Dunn, when imposing the sentence, said it was a difficult case because he didn’t believe Viles intended to kill Afton when striking him that April day.
“I think you hit him and a very tragic result came from that,” Dunn said.
But the judge was also clear that society needed to understand that the protection of children is paramount.
“I have to send a message not only to you but to others that children must be treated with great care,” Dunn said, calling the mistreatment of children a “huge problem in our society.”
Viles was charged with first-degree murder in April 2012 after his son died and in August he pleaded guilty to felony voluntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. At one point in the process, it was determined Viles was not competent to aid in his defense, and he was sent to State Hospital South for more than two months, returning with a diagnosis that he was now competent.
Tuesday’s sentencing hearing lasted nearly two hours and began with Viles’ attorney, Bannock County Public Defender Randy Schulthies, calling three witnesses. They included a caseworker with the child protection division of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare who knew Viles prior to Afton’s arrival, and who helped counsel him after his son came to Idaho, a therapist clinician at State Hospital South in Blackfoot, where Viles was committed for a time last year, and Viles’ grandfather.
All three testified to their particular knowledge of Viles’ character. All three testified that they believed violent behavior was out of character for Viles.
But the testimony of Beverly Clayton, the Health and Welfare case worker, and Viles’ grandfather Roy Viles also gave the court a glimpse into what Anthony Viles was dealing with when it came to 6-year-old Afton.
Washington state officials, when talking to Clayton, who was given their name by Viles as a reference, said Afton had some anger issues. Documented case history from Washington state, read in court by Schulthies, shows Afton had bouts controlling his anger and was prone to act out violently, kicking and hitting.
But it was Roy Viles who told the court that he witnessed Afton, on more than one occasion, attempt to hurt himself, hitting himself with toys during one incident and banging his head against a door jam during another.
Afton’s mother, who spoke to the court later in the proceeding, also confirmed that Afton was a lot of work to handle, also saying he was worth it.
All three of the witnesses Schulthies called agreed that Viles was not “equipped” with the skill set to handle Afton’s special needs.
After all witnesses had spoken, Schulthies made his recommendations to Dunn, telling the judge that he doesn’t believe Viles was attempting to hurt Afton when he struck out at the boy, but was doing so in reaction to a substantially difficult situation that he was not equipped to handle.
He recommended Viles be sentenced to three or four years fixed with 10 years indeterminate. He said Viles had asked him to request the judge consider a retained jurisdiction.
Bannock County Prosecutor Steve Herzog said that it is in the parent where trust is placed to protect the child.
“It sounds like Afton had a lot of needs and it was Mr. Viles job to meet those needs,” Herzog told Dunn. “Mr. Viles failed Afton.”
Then Herzog said that even assuming that Viles was just striking out at Afton in reaction to a bad situation, and that the child did experience the most substantial of his injuries when he hit his head falling back, his decision not to seek medical attention immediately was a sign that Viles was “detached.”
Instead, Herzog said, Viles went to visit his daughter, believing that he might not have the opportunity to see her again for a while, fearing he would be headed to prison.
Herzog recommended Viles be sentenced to seven year fixed and eight years indeterminate.
Viles then spoke to the judge, telling him that whatever sentence he handed down would not be as long as the sentence he has already imposed on his heart.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Afton,” Viles said.
Dunn agreed with Viles that the case was a tragic one, but immediately said he believed the entire 15 years available to him should be imposed. He said his primary decision was in determining how much of that 15 years should be fixed prison time, and how much should be left in the hands of the Department of Probation and Parole.
He sentenced Viles to seven years fixed and eight years indeterminate, adding that for those who would suggest he should bar Viles from ever being around children again, it was outside of his jurisdiction to make such a demand.
In fact, dad ANTHONY BLAKE VILES gained custody just TWO MONTHS before he beat to death his 6-year-old son, and before gaining custody, he had NEVER EVEN MET THE BOY. See here for additional background.
http://www.idahostatejournal.com/viles-sentenced-to-years/article_ff3b1c88-35e7-11e3-bc46-0019bb2963f4.html
Death of son gets Anthony Viles 15 years
Posted: Tuesday, October 15, 2013 4:20 pm | Updated: 11:58 pm, Tue Oct 15, 2013.
By Jimmy Hancock
POCATELLO — Anthony Blake Viles was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the death of his son Afton Allison.
Sixth District Judge Stephen Dunn, when imposing the sentence, said it was a difficult case because he didn’t believe Viles intended to kill Afton when striking him that April day.
“I think you hit him and a very tragic result came from that,” Dunn said.
But the judge was also clear that society needed to understand that the protection of children is paramount.
“I have to send a message not only to you but to others that children must be treated with great care,” Dunn said, calling the mistreatment of children a “huge problem in our society.”
Viles was charged with first-degree murder in April 2012 after his son died and in August he pleaded guilty to felony voluntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. At one point in the process, it was determined Viles was not competent to aid in his defense, and he was sent to State Hospital South for more than two months, returning with a diagnosis that he was now competent.
Tuesday’s sentencing hearing lasted nearly two hours and began with Viles’ attorney, Bannock County Public Defender Randy Schulthies, calling three witnesses. They included a caseworker with the child protection division of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare who knew Viles prior to Afton’s arrival, and who helped counsel him after his son came to Idaho, a therapist clinician at State Hospital South in Blackfoot, where Viles was committed for a time last year, and Viles’ grandfather.
All three testified to their particular knowledge of Viles’ character. All three testified that they believed violent behavior was out of character for Viles.
But the testimony of Beverly Clayton, the Health and Welfare case worker, and Viles’ grandfather Roy Viles also gave the court a glimpse into what Anthony Viles was dealing with when it came to 6-year-old Afton.
Washington state officials, when talking to Clayton, who was given their name by Viles as a reference, said Afton had some anger issues. Documented case history from Washington state, read in court by Schulthies, shows Afton had bouts controlling his anger and was prone to act out violently, kicking and hitting.
But it was Roy Viles who told the court that he witnessed Afton, on more than one occasion, attempt to hurt himself, hitting himself with toys during one incident and banging his head against a door jam during another.
Afton’s mother, who spoke to the court later in the proceeding, also confirmed that Afton was a lot of work to handle, also saying he was worth it.
All three of the witnesses Schulthies called agreed that Viles was not “equipped” with the skill set to handle Afton’s special needs.
After all witnesses had spoken, Schulthies made his recommendations to Dunn, telling the judge that he doesn’t believe Viles was attempting to hurt Afton when he struck out at the boy, but was doing so in reaction to a substantially difficult situation that he was not equipped to handle.
He recommended Viles be sentenced to three or four years fixed with 10 years indeterminate. He said Viles had asked him to request the judge consider a retained jurisdiction.
Bannock County Prosecutor Steve Herzog said that it is in the parent where trust is placed to protect the child.
“It sounds like Afton had a lot of needs and it was Mr. Viles job to meet those needs,” Herzog told Dunn. “Mr. Viles failed Afton.”
Then Herzog said that even assuming that Viles was just striking out at Afton in reaction to a bad situation, and that the child did experience the most substantial of his injuries when he hit his head falling back, his decision not to seek medical attention immediately was a sign that Viles was “detached.”
Instead, Herzog said, Viles went to visit his daughter, believing that he might not have the opportunity to see her again for a while, fearing he would be headed to prison.
Herzog recommended Viles be sentenced to seven year fixed and eight years indeterminate.
Viles then spoke to the judge, telling him that whatever sentence he handed down would not be as long as the sentence he has already imposed on his heart.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Afton,” Viles said.
Dunn agreed with Viles that the case was a tragic one, but immediately said he believed the entire 15 years available to him should be imposed. He said his primary decision was in determining how much of that 15 years should be fixed prison time, and how much should be left in the hands of the Department of Probation and Parole.
He sentenced Viles to seven years fixed and eight years indeterminate, adding that for those who would suggest he should bar Viles from ever being around children again, it was outside of his jurisdiction to make such a demand.
Custodial dad indicted on murder charges in death of 10-year-old daughter (Providence, Rhode Island)
Another update to the killer dads and custody list. Dad JORGE DEPINA had full custody at the time of his 10-year-old daughter's death. See more here.
http://wpri.com/2014/01/28/pawtucket-father-jorge-depina-accused-of-murder-remains-at-aci/
AG seeks life sentence for dad in girl’s murder
By billtomison Published: January 28, 2014, 1:22 pm
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Pawtucket man charged with killing his 10-year-old daughter last July was hauled into court Tuesday for a filing. Prosecutors for the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office had to notify the court that the state intends to seek a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for Jorge DePina.
DePina remains held without bail at the ACI in Cranston. He was indicted on murder charges earlier this month by a grand jury.
On July 3, 2013, DePina brought his daughter Aleida to the Miriam Hospital for treatment. The girl had bruises and burns all over her body when she was admitted, and just a few hours later she was pronounced dead. The cause of her death was determined to be blunt force trauma. Jorge DePina was arrested on Independence Day and charged with first-degree child abuse.
http://wpri.com/2014/01/28/pawtucket-father-jorge-depina-accused-of-murder-remains-at-aci/
AG seeks life sentence for dad in girl’s murder
By billtomison Published: January 28, 2014, 1:22 pm
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Pawtucket man charged with killing his 10-year-old daughter last July was hauled into court Tuesday for a filing. Prosecutors for the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office had to notify the court that the state intends to seek a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for Jorge DePina.
DePina remains held without bail at the ACI in Cranston. He was indicted on murder charges earlier this month by a grand jury.
On July 3, 2013, DePina brought his daughter Aleida to the Miriam Hospital for treatment. The girl had bruises and burns all over her body when she was admitted, and just a few hours later she was pronounced dead. The cause of her death was determined to be blunt force trauma. Jorge DePina was arrested on Independence Day and charged with first-degree child abuse.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Dad with "full custody" found guilty to beating death of 7-year-old son; sentenced to life in prison (Anderson County, South Carolina)
Update to a case on the killer dads and custody list. For more background, see here. Dad received "full custody" of the victim and his brother in 2006. The victim died of shock from blood loss after being beaten with a metal mop handle. The boy had been dead for at least two hours when the father called the authorities
Custodial dad JAMES T. DICKERSON was finally found guilty of his 7-year-old son's 2008 beating death in 2010, and sentenced to life in prison.
http://www.independentmail.com/news/local-news/crime/top-crime-and-courts-stories-2010-anderson
James T. Dickerson, 42, was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in jail after being found guilty of beating his son Jeremy Dickerson, 7, to death.
On the day after Thanksgiving in 2008, James Dickerson was in the middle of a methamphetamine-fueled binge when he rained down at least 50 blows that hit every single part of his son's body, except for the child's toes.
Judge Cordell Maddox needed to leave to courtroom for 10 minutes to regain his composure at the March trial before announcing the sentence that now has Dickerson spending life behind bars.
Custodial dad JAMES T. DICKERSON was finally found guilty of his 7-year-old son's 2008 beating death in 2010, and sentenced to life in prison.
http://www.independentmail.com/news/local-news/crime/top-crime-and-courts-stories-2010-anderson
James T. Dickerson, 42, was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in jail after being found guilty of beating his son Jeremy Dickerson, 7, to death.
On the day after Thanksgiving in 2008, James Dickerson was in the middle of a methamphetamine-fueled binge when he rained down at least 50 blows that hit every single part of his son's body, except for the child's toes.
Judge Cordell Maddox needed to leave to courtroom for 10 minutes to regain his composure at the March trial before announcing the sentence that now has Dickerson spending life behind bars.
Dad found guilty of 1st-degree murder in beating death of 3-year-old son during dad's summer visitation; boy's body found in dumpster (Memphis, Tennessee)
Another update to the killer dads and custody list. Though not reported here, this murder took place during the father's summer visitation. The mother lived out of state.
Here are some earlier posts on this case.
Dad is identified as MAURICE BROWN SR.
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/story/26184851/maurice-brown-found-guilty-of-murdering-son
Maurice Brown Found Guilty Of Murdering Son
Posted: Aug 03, 2014 3:09 PM EDT
Updated: Aug 10, 2014 11:19 PM EDT
By Lynnanne Nguyen, Reporter
DOWNTOWN MEMPHIS, Tenn. (FOX13) - It will be at least half a century before Maurice Brown even has a chance at being a free man again.
Prosecutors say Brown must serve a minimum of 51 years of his life sentence for killing his son, Maurice Brown, Jr.
Investigators say Brown beat his three year old son to death in the summer of 2012, and then tossed his body in a dumpster.
The jury found him guilty of all five counts Sunday, including first degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
“We do feel justice has been served,” Maurice Brown, Jr’s aunt, Princess Page said, “We still have to deal with the pain of not having Junior, we lost him too soon.”
Prosecutors and investigators celebrated outside the courtroom after the verdict was read, saying getting justice for little Maurice Brown, Jr. was a team effort, from the cell phone records police found pinning Maurice Brown, Sr. to the scene of the crime, to neighbors and witnesses who testified seeing Brown carry his son's lifeless body to the car the night he died.
“We are all delighted across the board, the right thing happened,” Prosecutor Jennifer Nichols said, “I think everyone appreciates the police department, but this is really one the public needs to be aware of, this case would not have been solved.”
But as celebrations and hugs filled the hallway outside this criminal courtroom, elsewhere Maurice Brown was grappling with the prospect of his future.
“Obviously it wasn't a verdict we wanted, so he's upset over a lot of things,” Brown’s Defense Attorney John Perry said, “He's re-lived some things he absolutely regrets, maintains the fact that he loved his son, it's a hard day for him.”
The defense still stands by its story that this was a case of child discipline gone too far.
“He was trying to give an honest version of the facts, the way that it happened,” Perry said of Brown’s testimony.
But family members of Maurice Brown, Jr. say they didn't believe one word.
“Lies, lies, lies. cries, and lies, that's exactly how I felt about everything he had to say,” Page said, “Someone has gotten away with this before, and Maurice was planning on getting away with this.”
It seems the jury didn't believe Brown either, finding him guilty on all five counts.
“Maurice Brown, Jr. is loved, he was loved by his family, our family loved him and we still continue to love him,” Page said, “Junior is watching over us the same way we watched over him those three years he was with us.
Maurice Brown, Sr. was sentenced to life in prison, but will be sentenced on the other four counts he was found guilty of on September 12th.
PREVIOUS STORY:
A jury has found Maurice Brown, Sr. guilty of first degree murder and has been sentenced to life in prison for beating his three-year old son, Maurice Brown, Jr., to death and tossing his body into a dumpster in July 2012. Prosecutor Jennifer Nichols tells FOX13 Brown will serve a minimum of 51 years before he's eligible for parole.
Brown was also found guilty on four other counts, including aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect, and will be sentenced on those charges on September 12th. The jury deliberated for about three hours before delivering a unanimous verdict.
"It was kind of a relief for me, just to know that justice has been served, the jury did its job, the deputies, the Memphis Police Department, everyone did what they were supposed to do, because I know Maurice (Brown, Sr.) felt he was going to get away with this," Maurice Brown, Jr.'s aunt, Princess Page, said.
Meanwhile defense is sticking to their story, that this was a case of child discipline gone too far.
"Obviously it wasn't a verdict we wanted, so he's upset over a lot of things. He's re-lived some things he absolutely regrets, maintains the fact that he loved his son," Brown's Defense Attorney John Perry said.
FOX13's Lynnanne Nguyen spoke to family members, prosecutors in the case, and Brown's defense attorney and will have a wrap up of the case on FOX13 News tonight at 5 & 9.
Here are some earlier posts on this case.
Dad is identified as MAURICE BROWN SR.
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/story/26184851/maurice-brown-found-guilty-of-murdering-son
Maurice Brown Found Guilty Of Murdering Son
Posted: Aug 03, 2014 3:09 PM EDT
Updated: Aug 10, 2014 11:19 PM EDT
By Lynnanne Nguyen, Reporter
DOWNTOWN MEMPHIS, Tenn. (FOX13) - It will be at least half a century before Maurice Brown even has a chance at being a free man again.
Prosecutors say Brown must serve a minimum of 51 years of his life sentence for killing his son, Maurice Brown, Jr.
Investigators say Brown beat his three year old son to death in the summer of 2012, and then tossed his body in a dumpster.
The jury found him guilty of all five counts Sunday, including first degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
“We do feel justice has been served,” Maurice Brown, Jr’s aunt, Princess Page said, “We still have to deal with the pain of not having Junior, we lost him too soon.”
Prosecutors and investigators celebrated outside the courtroom after the verdict was read, saying getting justice for little Maurice Brown, Jr. was a team effort, from the cell phone records police found pinning Maurice Brown, Sr. to the scene of the crime, to neighbors and witnesses who testified seeing Brown carry his son's lifeless body to the car the night he died.
“We are all delighted across the board, the right thing happened,” Prosecutor Jennifer Nichols said, “I think everyone appreciates the police department, but this is really one the public needs to be aware of, this case would not have been solved.”
But as celebrations and hugs filled the hallway outside this criminal courtroom, elsewhere Maurice Brown was grappling with the prospect of his future.
“Obviously it wasn't a verdict we wanted, so he's upset over a lot of things,” Brown’s Defense Attorney John Perry said, “He's re-lived some things he absolutely regrets, maintains the fact that he loved his son, it's a hard day for him.”
The defense still stands by its story that this was a case of child discipline gone too far.
“He was trying to give an honest version of the facts, the way that it happened,” Perry said of Brown’s testimony.
But family members of Maurice Brown, Jr. say they didn't believe one word.
“Lies, lies, lies. cries, and lies, that's exactly how I felt about everything he had to say,” Page said, “Someone has gotten away with this before, and Maurice was planning on getting away with this.”
It seems the jury didn't believe Brown either, finding him guilty on all five counts.
“Maurice Brown, Jr. is loved, he was loved by his family, our family loved him and we still continue to love him,” Page said, “Junior is watching over us the same way we watched over him those three years he was with us.
Maurice Brown, Sr. was sentenced to life in prison, but will be sentenced on the other four counts he was found guilty of on September 12th.
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A jury has found Maurice Brown, Sr. guilty of first degree murder and has been sentenced to life in prison for beating his three-year old son, Maurice Brown, Jr., to death and tossing his body into a dumpster in July 2012. Prosecutor Jennifer Nichols tells FOX13 Brown will serve a minimum of 51 years before he's eligible for parole.
Brown was also found guilty on four other counts, including aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect, and will be sentenced on those charges on September 12th. The jury deliberated for about three hours before delivering a unanimous verdict.
"It was kind of a relief for me, just to know that justice has been served, the jury did its job, the deputies, the Memphis Police Department, everyone did what they were supposed to do, because I know Maurice (Brown, Sr.) felt he was going to get away with this," Maurice Brown, Jr.'s aunt, Princess Page, said.
Meanwhile defense is sticking to their story, that this was a case of child discipline gone too far.
"Obviously it wasn't a verdict we wanted, so he's upset over a lot of things. He's re-lived some things he absolutely regrets, maintains the fact that he loved his son," Brown's Defense Attorney John Perry said.
FOX13's Lynnanne Nguyen spoke to family members, prosecutors in the case, and Brown's defense attorney and will have a wrap up of the case on FOX13 News tonight at 5 & 9.
Dad convicted of reckless homicide in death of 9-month-old son during holiday visitation (Fayette County, Tennessee)
Doing more updates to our killer dads and custody lists. Dad SEAN LEIFER had been charged with 1st-degree murder in the death of his 9-month-old son during his holiday visitation time. He was eventually convicted of reckless homicide in August 2011.
http://www.wbbjtv.com/news/local/Leifer-Found-Guilty-of-Reckless-Homicide-128851188.html
Leifer Found Guilty of Reckless Homicide
By ABC 7 Eyewitness News Staff
Story Created: Aug 31, 2011 at 7:44 PM CDT
A two-day jury trial finds a Fayette County man guilty of charges involving child abuse and homicide.
A jury found Sean Leifer, guilty of aggravate child abuse, but found him guilty of a lesser felony offense, reckless homicide.
Leifer was indicted in November of last year on charges of first degree murder and aggravated child abuse related to the suspicious death of his 9-month-old son, Gage. The child's death happened in December 2009 at a home in Oakland. A sentencing hearing is set for Friday, September 2.
Leifer faces sentences of 15-25 years on the child abuse conviction, and 2 to 4 years for his reckless homicide conviction.
http://www.wbbjtv.com/news/local/Leifer-Found-Guilty-of-Reckless-Homicide-128851188.html
Leifer Found Guilty of Reckless Homicide
By ABC 7 Eyewitness News Staff
Story Created: Aug 31, 2011 at 7:44 PM CDT
A two-day jury trial finds a Fayette County man guilty of charges involving child abuse and homicide.
A jury found Sean Leifer, guilty of aggravate child abuse, but found him guilty of a lesser felony offense, reckless homicide.
Leifer was indicted in November of last year on charges of first degree murder and aggravated child abuse related to the suspicious death of his 9-month-old son, Gage. The child's death happened in December 2009 at a home in Oakland. A sentencing hearing is set for Friday, September 2.
Leifer faces sentences of 15-25 years on the child abuse conviction, and 2 to 4 years for his reckless homicide conviction.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Murdered boy told police he thought his dad was going to kill him (Tyabb, Victoria, Australia)
An absolutely appalling case from Australia we've been following for a while. This father should have been arrested and locked up LONG before he murdered his son in a public setting. The evidence of official bungling, incompetence, and corruption just grows higher and deeper.
Dad was GREG ANDERSON.
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/oct/29/luke-batty-thought-father-going-to-kill-him
Luke Batty told police he thought his father was going to kill him
Inquest hears that murdered boy had described to detective how Greg Anderson had held out a knife and prayed
Mother Rosie Batty told the inquest she never thought her ex-husband was capable of killing.
Melissa Davey Tuesday 28 October 2014 23.24 EDT
Eleven-year-old Luke Batty told a detective and a child protection officer he thought his violent father, Greg Anderson, was going to kill him but he would not call police if he felt in danger because “dad would get angry”.
But detective Deborah Charteris also told the inquest into Luke’s death that she did not believe Luke was frightened of his father or at risk of physical harm.
Anderson killed Luke on a cricket field in Tyabb, Victoria in February, hitting him over the head with a cricket bat and stabbing him with a knife. He had a history of physically assaulting Luke’s mother, Rosie Batty, but not Luke.
The inquest heard that in September 2013, Charteris and a child protection officer interviewed Luke because Anderson had held up a knife to him while they were in a car together, saying, “This could be the one to end it all”.
Luke told the interviewers his father had been praying when the incident occurred, and he felt his father was going to kill him, the inquest at Melbourne coroner’s court heard on Wednesday morning.
But Luke then backtracked, Charteris said, saying he had been watching horror films around the time of the incident and had scared himself into thinking his father was directly threatening him. It was an explanation she found plausible, she said.
Luke told them he was not frightened of his father. Charteris concluded a criminal offence had not occurred and Luke was not in danger, closing her investigation.
Charteris said she told Luke that if he was ever alone with his father and felt scared he could call his mother or police, the inquest heard.
Luke became upset and responded: “I couldn’t do that to dad, he would get angry,” the inquest heard.
Senior counsel Rachel Doyle challenged Charteris on her conclusion that Luke’s father was threatening self-harm with the knife and therefore Luke was not in danger.
“Have you received any training that a threat of suicide should be taken into account when considering if there is a risk of family violence escalating or continuing?” she asked.
Charteris said based on what Luke had told her in the interview, Anderson had implied that he might self-harm but never explicitly said he would.
“How does a knife settle it other than by harming someone else or oneself?” Doyle said. “What I am suggesting to you [is] if there’s an inference of suicidal ideation, that itself is a risk factor relevant to the risk assessment. Did it not occur to you that another reason he was retreating from his first report of being scared may have been for a reason, namely not to get his father in trouble?”
Charteris responded: “I believed his account was an honest one and I didn’t believe he was trying to protect his father.”
The inquest heard Charteris was not told before she interviewed Luke that he had told an art therapist he was seeing that he was worried his father was going to jail, and “I feel like my life is walking a tightrope all of the time”.
Charteris said she knew at the time that Anderson was facing charges related to child sex abuse images. But she told the inquest she was not aware Luke’s mother had signed an undertaking with child protection officers to keep Luke within her line of sight, and not to allow Anderson to take photographs of Luke because of the charge.
On Tuesday, Charteris broke down as her evidence began, saying she had thought about whether she could have done things differently “a thousand times” since Luke’s death.
She said she had been told by Luke and his mother that they did not believe Anderson would harm Luke.
Giving evidence last week, Rosie Batty told the inquest that she never thought Anderson was capable of killing.
“All I had known was he had loved his son, never laid a hand on him, was never verbally abusive towards him,” Batty said.
The inquest continues.
Dad was GREG ANDERSON.
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/oct/29/luke-batty-thought-father-going-to-kill-him
Luke Batty told police he thought his father was going to kill him
Inquest hears that murdered boy had described to detective how Greg Anderson had held out a knife and prayed
Mother Rosie Batty told the inquest she never thought her ex-husband was capable of killing.
Melissa Davey Tuesday 28 October 2014 23.24 EDT
Eleven-year-old Luke Batty told a detective and a child protection officer he thought his violent father, Greg Anderson, was going to kill him but he would not call police if he felt in danger because “dad would get angry”.
But detective Deborah Charteris also told the inquest into Luke’s death that she did not believe Luke was frightened of his father or at risk of physical harm.
Anderson killed Luke on a cricket field in Tyabb, Victoria in February, hitting him over the head with a cricket bat and stabbing him with a knife. He had a history of physically assaulting Luke’s mother, Rosie Batty, but not Luke.
The inquest heard that in September 2013, Charteris and a child protection officer interviewed Luke because Anderson had held up a knife to him while they were in a car together, saying, “This could be the one to end it all”.
Luke told the interviewers his father had been praying when the incident occurred, and he felt his father was going to kill him, the inquest at Melbourne coroner’s court heard on Wednesday morning.
But Luke then backtracked, Charteris said, saying he had been watching horror films around the time of the incident and had scared himself into thinking his father was directly threatening him. It was an explanation she found plausible, she said.
Luke told them he was not frightened of his father. Charteris concluded a criminal offence had not occurred and Luke was not in danger, closing her investigation.
Charteris said she told Luke that if he was ever alone with his father and felt scared he could call his mother or police, the inquest heard.
Luke became upset and responded: “I couldn’t do that to dad, he would get angry,” the inquest heard.
Senior counsel Rachel Doyle challenged Charteris on her conclusion that Luke’s father was threatening self-harm with the knife and therefore Luke was not in danger.
“Have you received any training that a threat of suicide should be taken into account when considering if there is a risk of family violence escalating or continuing?” she asked.
Charteris said based on what Luke had told her in the interview, Anderson had implied that he might self-harm but never explicitly said he would.
“How does a knife settle it other than by harming someone else or oneself?” Doyle said. “What I am suggesting to you [is] if there’s an inference of suicidal ideation, that itself is a risk factor relevant to the risk assessment. Did it not occur to you that another reason he was retreating from his first report of being scared may have been for a reason, namely not to get his father in trouble?”
Charteris responded: “I believed his account was an honest one and I didn’t believe he was trying to protect his father.”
The inquest heard Charteris was not told before she interviewed Luke that he had told an art therapist he was seeing that he was worried his father was going to jail, and “I feel like my life is walking a tightrope all of the time”.
Charteris said she knew at the time that Anderson was facing charges related to child sex abuse images. But she told the inquest she was not aware Luke’s mother had signed an undertaking with child protection officers to keep Luke within her line of sight, and not to allow Anderson to take photographs of Luke because of the charge.
On Tuesday, Charteris broke down as her evidence began, saying she had thought about whether she could have done things differently “a thousand times” since Luke’s death.
She said she had been told by Luke and his mother that they did not believe Anderson would harm Luke.
Giving evidence last week, Rosie Batty told the inquest that she never thought Anderson was capable of killing.
“All I had known was he had loved his son, never laid a hand on him, was never verbally abusive towards him,” Batty said.
The inquest continues.
Dad convicted of murder in death of 20-month-old daughter (Newark, New Jersey)
Another case where Mom worked (2 jobs!) while Daddy f***ed up.
Dad is identified as TRAVIS HARTSFIELD JR.
http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/10/after_possible_mistrial_newark_father_convicted_of_murder_in_death_of_20-month-old_daughter.html
After possible mistrial, Newark father convicted of murder in death of 20-month-old daughter
Bill Wichert | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on October 28, 2014 at 6:30 PM, updated October 28, 2014 at 7:39 PM
NEWARK — With a juror excused for misconduct, the prospect of a second mistrial hung this morning over the case of Travis Hartsfield Jr. in the murder of his 20-month-old daughter.
But after interviewing the remaining jurors, Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin decided to add an alternate juror to the panel and instructed it to restart deliberations.
“You’re a new jury,” Ravin told the jurors.
After roughly two hours of deliberations, the reconstituted jury convicted Hartsfield of murder and child endangerment charges in the March 2011 death of his daughter, Asiyah Hartsfield.
Hartsfield, 28, of Newark, killed the girl by punching her in the stomach when she refused to eat.
“I’m happy now that she can rest in peace,” said the girl’s mother, Darshelle Joseph, in an interview after the verdict was handed down. “It was closure to everything.”
The guilty verdict marks the end to a long battle by Essex County prosecutors to convict Hartsfield, whose first trial ended in a mistrial last year when a jury was unable to reach a verdict.
Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Michele Miller, who represented the state in both trials, later said the verdict was “a long time coming.”
“He murdered that child,” Miller said. “He was a grown man and he…preyed upon a small child, his own child.”
Hartsfield's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 22.
On the morning of March 14, 2011, Joseph said she left her daughter with Hartsfield, because she had to go to one of her two jobs. They remained in contact throughout the day, Joseph said.
Around 12:30 a.m. on March 15, 2011, Hartsfield called Joseph and told her that when he went to change her diaper, “Asiyah wasn’t breathing” and that she was “ice cold,” Joseph said. Joseph said she told Hartsfield to call 911.
EMS workers later rushed the girl to University Hospital, where a doctor said the child had no pulse, no heart activity and was not breathing on her own. She was pronounced dead around 2 a.m., the doctor said.
A medical examiner later said the girl died as a result of a severed liver that caused her to bleed internally.
Hartsfield admitted to detectives that he had punched the girl twice in the stomach when she refused to eat.
With the defense conceding that Hartsfield caused his daughter’s death, the main issue during the trial was his state of mind and whether he intended to cause serious bodily injury to the girl.
Miller had said the fatal blows were intentional and called for the murder conviction.
But Hartsfield’s attorney, Susan Freedman, said he didn’t intend to seriously harm the child and referred to the incident as “quick and momentary and thoughtless and reactive.” She encouraged jurors to consider the lesser-included offense of reckless manslaughter.
Freedman declined to comment on the verdict.
In an interview outside the courthouse, one of the jurors said she was leaning toward the lesser-included offenses, because she didn’t think Hartsfield intended to kill his daughter.
But the juror said she ultimately agreed to the murder conviction because Hartsfield had punched the girl with such great force that she died as a result.
“Those blows that he issued the baby, I couldn’t get around those,” said the juror, who declined to provide her name. “Even if you’re angry, you shouldn’t punch a baby that hard.”
For a few days, however, it was possible that a mistrial would be declared due to the actions of one of the jurors.
The problem with the juror first came to light on Friday morning, when another juror raised concerns with Ravin and the attorneys about how the juror had spoke during deliberations about her previous involvement in an investigation by the Division of Youth and Family Services, according to Ravin, who recounted the events in court today.
The concerned juror said of his colleague, “She’s very emotional. She’s showing too much emotion and not basing her decision on facts and evidence,” according to Ravin.
The jury had begun its deliberations on Wednesday.
Ravin said he ultimately excused the juror on Friday, because during jury selection, she had failed to disclose that DYFS investigation as well as the fact that she had a prior theft conviction.
The judge found that the juror’s misconduct related solely to her and not to her interaction with the other jurors.
“She was being discharged regardless of any interaction with anybody else…She had to go,” Ravin said in court today.
Freedman called for a mistrial, claiming that the juror’s admissions had tainted the deliberations.
But after Ravin and the attoneys questioned the remaining jurors about the matter in separate interviews, Ravin rejected the mistrial bid and agreed to add the alternate juror to the panel.
“The court concludes that no deliberating juror has been tainted,” Ravin said.
Dad is identified as TRAVIS HARTSFIELD JR.
http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/10/after_possible_mistrial_newark_father_convicted_of_murder_in_death_of_20-month-old_daughter.html
After possible mistrial, Newark father convicted of murder in death of 20-month-old daughter
Bill Wichert | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on October 28, 2014 at 6:30 PM, updated October 28, 2014 at 7:39 PM
NEWARK — With a juror excused for misconduct, the prospect of a second mistrial hung this morning over the case of Travis Hartsfield Jr. in the murder of his 20-month-old daughter.
But after interviewing the remaining jurors, Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin decided to add an alternate juror to the panel and instructed it to restart deliberations.
“You’re a new jury,” Ravin told the jurors.
After roughly two hours of deliberations, the reconstituted jury convicted Hartsfield of murder and child endangerment charges in the March 2011 death of his daughter, Asiyah Hartsfield.
Hartsfield, 28, of Newark, killed the girl by punching her in the stomach when she refused to eat.
“I’m happy now that she can rest in peace,” said the girl’s mother, Darshelle Joseph, in an interview after the verdict was handed down. “It was closure to everything.”
The guilty verdict marks the end to a long battle by Essex County prosecutors to convict Hartsfield, whose first trial ended in a mistrial last year when a jury was unable to reach a verdict.
Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Michele Miller, who represented the state in both trials, later said the verdict was “a long time coming.”
“He murdered that child,” Miller said. “He was a grown man and he…preyed upon a small child, his own child.”
Hartsfield's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 22.
On the morning of March 14, 2011, Joseph said she left her daughter with Hartsfield, because she had to go to one of her two jobs. They remained in contact throughout the day, Joseph said.
Around 12:30 a.m. on March 15, 2011, Hartsfield called Joseph and told her that when he went to change her diaper, “Asiyah wasn’t breathing” and that she was “ice cold,” Joseph said. Joseph said she told Hartsfield to call 911.
EMS workers later rushed the girl to University Hospital, where a doctor said the child had no pulse, no heart activity and was not breathing on her own. She was pronounced dead around 2 a.m., the doctor said.
A medical examiner later said the girl died as a result of a severed liver that caused her to bleed internally.
Hartsfield admitted to detectives that he had punched the girl twice in the stomach when she refused to eat.
With the defense conceding that Hartsfield caused his daughter’s death, the main issue during the trial was his state of mind and whether he intended to cause serious bodily injury to the girl.
Miller had said the fatal blows were intentional and called for the murder conviction.
But Hartsfield’s attorney, Susan Freedman, said he didn’t intend to seriously harm the child and referred to the incident as “quick and momentary and thoughtless and reactive.” She encouraged jurors to consider the lesser-included offense of reckless manslaughter.
Freedman declined to comment on the verdict.
In an interview outside the courthouse, one of the jurors said she was leaning toward the lesser-included offenses, because she didn’t think Hartsfield intended to kill his daughter.
But the juror said she ultimately agreed to the murder conviction because Hartsfield had punched the girl with such great force that she died as a result.
“Those blows that he issued the baby, I couldn’t get around those,” said the juror, who declined to provide her name. “Even if you’re angry, you shouldn’t punch a baby that hard.”
For a few days, however, it was possible that a mistrial would be declared due to the actions of one of the jurors.
The problem with the juror first came to light on Friday morning, when another juror raised concerns with Ravin and the attorneys about how the juror had spoke during deliberations about her previous involvement in an investigation by the Division of Youth and Family Services, according to Ravin, who recounted the events in court today.
The concerned juror said of his colleague, “She’s very emotional. She’s showing too much emotion and not basing her decision on facts and evidence,” according to Ravin.
The jury had begun its deliberations on Wednesday.
Ravin said he ultimately excused the juror on Friday, because during jury selection, she had failed to disclose that DYFS investigation as well as the fact that she had a prior theft conviction.
The judge found that the juror’s misconduct related solely to her and not to her interaction with the other jurors.
“She was being discharged regardless of any interaction with anybody else…She had to go,” Ravin said in court today.
Freedman called for a mistrial, claiming that the juror’s admissions had tainted the deliberations.
But after Ravin and the attoneys questioned the remaining jurors about the matter in separate interviews, Ravin rejected the mistrial bid and agreed to add the alternate juror to the panel.
“The court concludes that no deliberating juror has been tainted,” Ravin said.
Dad charged with aggravated manslaughter in death of 9-week-old son (Camden, New Jersey)
Yet another case where Mom had to work--even though she had a newborn--while Daddy played at being the caretaker.
Dad is identified as JONATHAN GARRETT SR.
Why we need paid maternity leave....
http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/crime/2014/10/28/man-charged-infant-sons-death/18085273/
Camden father charged with shaking baby to death
PHIL DUNN, COURIER-POST 6:29 a.m. EDT October 29, 2014
A Camden man has been charged with allegedly shaking his infant son to death in February, authorities said.
Jonathan Garrett Sr., 30, is facing one count of aggravated manslaughter in connection with the death of his 9-week-old, Jonathan Garrett Jr.
The child suffered from hemorrhages to the brain, spine and eyes as well as retinal detachment from the alleged shaking, authorities said.
Police were called to Garrett's apartment on the 1300 block of Princess Avenue in Camden around 5:30 p.m. Feb. 1 for a report of an infant not breathing.
Garrett, who called 911, was home alone with his son. He had been watching him since about 9 p.m. the night before, while the infant's mother was at work.
The infant was transported to Cooper University Hospital and was initially diagnosed with a "subdural hematoma" or possible brain injury. The child also had a collapsed left lung, as well as an unstable blood pressure and heart rate, authorities said.
He later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead Feb. 2. The county medical examiner initially determined the cause of death would be "pending" until additional studies were completed.
Doctors at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Wills Eye Hospital reported the child suffered from multiple hemorrhages. The injuries were consistent with being shaken, doctors told authorities.
Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams of CHOP further stated the effects from being shaken would be "apparent almost immediately," according to the probable cause statement.
On Feb. 14, the infant's death was ruled a homicide due to blunt head trauma.
Garrett was unable to provide an explanation for the infant's injuries, authorities said. However he did tell detectives he was the only one watching his son the night he called 911.
Garrett was arraigned Tuesday in Camden County Superior Court. He was lodged in the Camden County Jail in default of $200,000 bail.
Dad is identified as JONATHAN GARRETT SR.
Why we need paid maternity leave....
http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/crime/2014/10/28/man-charged-infant-sons-death/18085273/
Camden father charged with shaking baby to death
PHIL DUNN, COURIER-POST 6:29 a.m. EDT October 29, 2014
A Camden man has been charged with allegedly shaking his infant son to death in February, authorities said.
Jonathan Garrett Sr., 30, is facing one count of aggravated manslaughter in connection with the death of his 9-week-old, Jonathan Garrett Jr.
The child suffered from hemorrhages to the brain, spine and eyes as well as retinal detachment from the alleged shaking, authorities said.
Police were called to Garrett's apartment on the 1300 block of Princess Avenue in Camden around 5:30 p.m. Feb. 1 for a report of an infant not breathing.
Garrett, who called 911, was home alone with his son. He had been watching him since about 9 p.m. the night before, while the infant's mother was at work.
The infant was transported to Cooper University Hospital and was initially diagnosed with a "subdural hematoma" or possible brain injury. The child also had a collapsed left lung, as well as an unstable blood pressure and heart rate, authorities said.
He later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead Feb. 2. The county medical examiner initially determined the cause of death would be "pending" until additional studies were completed.
Doctors at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Wills Eye Hospital reported the child suffered from multiple hemorrhages. The injuries were consistent with being shaken, doctors told authorities.
Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams of CHOP further stated the effects from being shaken would be "apparent almost immediately," according to the probable cause statement.
On Feb. 14, the infant's death was ruled a homicide due to blunt head trauma.
Garrett was unable to provide an explanation for the infant's injuries, authorities said. However he did tell detectives he was the only one watching his son the night he called 911.
Garrett was arraigned Tuesday in Camden County Superior Court. He was lodged in the Camden County Jail in default of $200,000 bail.
Felony murder trial begins for dad accused of killing 5-month-old son (Clarksville, Tennessee)
Dad is identified as JACOBI PENDER.
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/27152340/trial-begins-for-father-accused-in-sons-death
Trial begins for father accused in son's death
Posted: Oct 29, 2014 9:38 AM EDT Updated: Oct 29, 2014 9:38 AM EDT
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The trial has begun for a Middle Tennessee man accused of murder in the death of his infant son.
The Leaf-Chronicle (http://leafne.ws/1pY8nqJ) reports the trial of Jacobi Jarel Pender opened Monday afternoon with the 911 call he made after finding his 5-month-old son unresponsive in his crib.
The child, Isaiah Treyvon Pender, died on Nov. 11, 2012.
Jacobi Pender is charged with felony murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect.
He was charged after an autopsy found the child suffered from subdural hemorrhaging, bleeding on the brain and hemorrhaging of the spine.
Prosecutors said Pender has given varying accounts of how the infant could have received the injuries.
Defense attorney Stephanie Ritchie says a defense expert will testify that the child wasn't abused and died from natural causes.
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/27152340/trial-begins-for-father-accused-in-sons-death
Trial begins for father accused in son's death
Posted: Oct 29, 2014 9:38 AM EDT Updated: Oct 29, 2014 9:38 AM EDT
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The trial has begun for a Middle Tennessee man accused of murder in the death of his infant son.
The Leaf-Chronicle (http://leafne.ws/1pY8nqJ) reports the trial of Jacobi Jarel Pender opened Monday afternoon with the 911 call he made after finding his 5-month-old son unresponsive in his crib.
The child, Isaiah Treyvon Pender, died on Nov. 11, 2012.
Jacobi Pender is charged with felony murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect.
He was charged after an autopsy found the child suffered from subdural hemorrhaging, bleeding on the brain and hemorrhaging of the spine.
Prosecutors said Pender has given varying accounts of how the infant could have received the injuries.
Defense attorney Stephanie Ritchie says a defense expert will testify that the child wasn't abused and died from natural causes.
Custodial dad on trial for torture-murders of 3-year-old son, 4-year-old daughter; non-custodial mom blames herself, though she was forced to give up custody for lack of job (Mobile County, Alabama)
Gee, I suppose if Daddy was really having that many problems with the new gal pal taking care of the kids, he COULD have handed them back to their Mom and paid CHILD SUPPORT (and maybe alimony) so she could afforded to take care for of them. But he didn't do that, did he?
Custodial dad JOHN DEBLASIO is full of crap. He sounds like a classic sociopath who just reveled in torturing these kids. And his new girlfriend sounds about as bad as he was.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2811952/Nobody-blame-Mother-weeps-ex-husband-s-trial-choking-death-two-children-new-girlfriend-asked-choose-her.html
'Nobody can blame me more than myself': Mother weeps at ex-husband's trial for choking to death their two children after his new girlfriend 'asked him to choose between them and her'
Natalie DeBlase, four, and her brother Chase, three, were killed in 2010
Father John DeBlase and girlfriend Heather Keaton accused of murder
Today, victims' biological mother, Corrine DeBlase, broke down court
Said she trusted ex-husband to care for them after she gave up custody
'He was their father, he was supposed to protect them,' she told court
DeBlase allegedly confessed to choking to death children in 10 letters
In documents, he 'revealed Keaton gave him ultimatum: her or the kids'
DeBlase has blamed common-law wife for murder; the trial continues
By Sophie Jane Evans for MailOnline
Published: 21:51 EST, 28 October 2014 | Updated: 03:14 EST, 29 October 2014
The mother of two young children who were allegedly choked to death by their father wept in court today as she told of how she had trusted her ex-husband to care for them.
Wiping away tears, Corrine DeBlase said she had given up custody of her daughter Natalie, four, and three-year-old son Chase to John DeBlase in 2008 because she thought he was a 'good father'.
Dressed in a pink top with her hair scraped back, she told the court: 'He was their father, he was supposed to protect them. That's what a father is supposed to do.'
She added: 'Nobody can blame me more than I can blame myself. I know there are things I could have done then. I was their mother I should have done something.'
Natalie and Chase were killed in Mobile County, Alabama, in 2010. Chase's remains were found in a wooden area in Vancleave, Mississippi, in December 2010, six months after he was killed.
His sister's remains were discovered in Cintronelle days later. DeBlase, then 27, and his common-law wife, Heather Keaton, then 22, have been charged with murder. They have blamed each other.
Taking to the witness stand today, Mrs DeBlase said she had been forced to give up custody of her 'well-mannered' children after she lost her job and home, and her marriage collapsed.
She said that her ex-husband mainly treated Natalie like 'his little princess', but had once 'popped her in her mouth' when she was suffering from a night terror, according to AL.com.
She said the last time she had seen her children was November 17, 2009. A year later, she was told the youngsters were missing, Fox 10 reported.
'They were my heart. It may not seem the way they make it look but I loved them so much. I loved them so much and I can’t have no more (kids),' Mrs DeBlase told the court.
Yesterday, Brandon Newburn a former cellmate of DeBlase, claimed the suspect wrote a series of letters saying he choked the youngsters to 'end their suffering' at the hands of Keaton.
In the 10 letters, DeBlase reportedly said Keaton rained 'tortures and abuse' on his children at their home in Mobile County, Alabama, before finally giving him an ultimatum that it was 'her or the kids'.
The father also allegedly revealed that Keaton was spiking his children's sippy cups with antifreeze because she wanted to 'break their spirits so they would be more obedient to her will'.
In the hours before their deaths, the stepmother duct-taped and gagged the helpless youngsters, according to the letters, the TV station reported.
DeBlase then allegedly wrote he 'picked them up in the air and choked them to death... where their bodies hung lifeless,' adding: 'I know what I did was wrong, but she left me no choice.'
The defense contends Newburn coerced DeBlase and cannot be trusted.
Natalie was reportedly killed at her father's Peach Place apartment on March 4, 2010. Her brother died on June 20, 2010, according to police.
DeBlase's trial continues.
Custodial dad JOHN DEBLASIO is full of crap. He sounds like a classic sociopath who just reveled in torturing these kids. And his new girlfriend sounds about as bad as he was.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2811952/Nobody-blame-Mother-weeps-ex-husband-s-trial-choking-death-two-children-new-girlfriend-asked-choose-her.html
'Nobody can blame me more than myself': Mother weeps at ex-husband's trial for choking to death their two children after his new girlfriend 'asked him to choose between them and her'
Natalie DeBlase, four, and her brother Chase, three, were killed in 2010
Father John DeBlase and girlfriend Heather Keaton accused of murder
Today, victims' biological mother, Corrine DeBlase, broke down court
Said she trusted ex-husband to care for them after she gave up custody
'He was their father, he was supposed to protect them,' she told court
DeBlase allegedly confessed to choking to death children in 10 letters
In documents, he 'revealed Keaton gave him ultimatum: her or the kids'
DeBlase has blamed common-law wife for murder; the trial continues
By Sophie Jane Evans for MailOnline
Published: 21:51 EST, 28 October 2014 | Updated: 03:14 EST, 29 October 2014
The mother of two young children who were allegedly choked to death by their father wept in court today as she told of how she had trusted her ex-husband to care for them.
Wiping away tears, Corrine DeBlase said she had given up custody of her daughter Natalie, four, and three-year-old son Chase to John DeBlase in 2008 because she thought he was a 'good father'.
Dressed in a pink top with her hair scraped back, she told the court: 'He was their father, he was supposed to protect them. That's what a father is supposed to do.'
She added: 'Nobody can blame me more than I can blame myself. I know there are things I could have done then. I was their mother I should have done something.'
Natalie and Chase were killed in Mobile County, Alabama, in 2010. Chase's remains were found in a wooden area in Vancleave, Mississippi, in December 2010, six months after he was killed.
His sister's remains were discovered in Cintronelle days later. DeBlase, then 27, and his common-law wife, Heather Keaton, then 22, have been charged with murder. They have blamed each other.
Taking to the witness stand today, Mrs DeBlase said she had been forced to give up custody of her 'well-mannered' children after she lost her job and home, and her marriage collapsed.
She said that her ex-husband mainly treated Natalie like 'his little princess', but had once 'popped her in her mouth' when she was suffering from a night terror, according to AL.com.
She said the last time she had seen her children was November 17, 2009. A year later, she was told the youngsters were missing, Fox 10 reported.
'They were my heart. It may not seem the way they make it look but I loved them so much. I loved them so much and I can’t have no more (kids),' Mrs DeBlase told the court.
Yesterday, Brandon Newburn a former cellmate of DeBlase, claimed the suspect wrote a series of letters saying he choked the youngsters to 'end their suffering' at the hands of Keaton.
In the 10 letters, DeBlase reportedly said Keaton rained 'tortures and abuse' on his children at their home in Mobile County, Alabama, before finally giving him an ultimatum that it was 'her or the kids'.
The father also allegedly revealed that Keaton was spiking his children's sippy cups with antifreeze because she wanted to 'break their spirits so they would be more obedient to her will'.
In the hours before their deaths, the stepmother duct-taped and gagged the helpless youngsters, according to the letters, the TV station reported.
DeBlase then allegedly wrote he 'picked them up in the air and choked them to death... where their bodies hung lifeless,' adding: 'I know what I did was wrong, but she left me no choice.'
The defense contends Newburn coerced DeBlase and cannot be trusted.
Natalie was reportedly killed at her father's Peach Place apartment on March 4, 2010. Her brother died on June 20, 2010, according to police.
DeBlase's trial continues.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Dad arrested for swimming naked with 1-year-old daughter in public and resisting arrest; "took" baby from mother two weeks ago (Acoma, New Mexico)
What do you mean that dad MICHAEL LEE "took" the 1-year-old girl from her mother two weeks ago? Did he abduct her? Then say so. So then Daddy is caught acting perv-y, and it turns out he stole a truck, and he resists arrest?
Lots of weird sh** going on here. Somehow I think there is lot more here than meets the surface.
http://krqe.com/2014/10/27/father-accused-of-swimming-naked-with-baby-in-public/
Father accused of swimming naked with baby in public
By KRQE Staff Published: October 27, 2014, 11:14 am | Updated: October 27, 2014, 11:39 am
ACOMA, N.M. (KRQE) – A man accused of swimming naked in a hotel pool with his 1-year-old daughter has been arrested.
New Mexico State Police officers say they responded to a call at the Sky Casino in Acoma, and upon arrival made contact with Michale Lee, 35, of La Palma Calif., who had allegedly taken the girl from her mother in Mexico two weeks prior.
Police say Lee fled to California and stole a semi-truck in Oceanside, then drove to New Mexico.
Lee did not cooperate with officers at the hotel, police say, but he was eventually taken into custody. His child taken by the Children, Youth and Families Department.
Police say Lee has been charged with child abuse, receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle, resisting an officer and indecent exposure.
Lots of weird sh** going on here. Somehow I think there is lot more here than meets the surface.
http://krqe.com/2014/10/27/father-accused-of-swimming-naked-with-baby-in-public/
Father accused of swimming naked with baby in public
By KRQE Staff Published: October 27, 2014, 11:14 am | Updated: October 27, 2014, 11:39 am
ACOMA, N.M. (KRQE) – A man accused of swimming naked in a hotel pool with his 1-year-old daughter has been arrested.
New Mexico State Police officers say they responded to a call at the Sky Casino in Acoma, and upon arrival made contact with Michale Lee, 35, of La Palma Calif., who had allegedly taken the girl from her mother in Mexico two weeks prior.
Police say Lee fled to California and stole a semi-truck in Oceanside, then drove to New Mexico.
Lee did not cooperate with officers at the hotel, police say, but he was eventually taken into custody. His child taken by the Children, Youth and Families Department.
Police say Lee has been charged with child abuse, receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle, resisting an officer and indecent exposure.
Dad accused of abusing 5-week-old daughter says baby "fell" into Playstation controller (Sanford, Florida)
Dad is identified as MAX NEGRON.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-father-arrested-infant-fell-on-playstation-20141027-story.html
Sanford dad accused of abuse said baby fell onto Playstation controller
By Tiffany Walden, Orlando Sentinel
October 27, 2014, 2:12 PM
A 21-year-old Sanford father is facing child-abuse charges after his story about his 5-week-old daughter falling from his arms onto a Playstation game controller didn't match her serious head injury, officials said..
Max Negron was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated battery and aggravated child abuse.
He bonded out of Seminole County jail on Saturday. According to his arrest report, Negron was left at home with his 5-week-old daughter while his wife went to work on Oct. 7.
When she returned home, Negron told her he tried to burp the baby around 4 p.m. But the infant abruptly kicked and fell from his arms onto the bedroom floor, landing on the game controller.
"Negron explained that he was seated on the edge of the bed when this occurred, and that the infant was face down on his lap prior to him attempting to raise her to his chest," the report said.
Negron saw a small amount of blood when he picked up the girl. So he and his wife rushed her to Central Florida Regional Hospital, where doctors said she had a fracture to the left side of her skull. She was treated at a local hospital.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-father-arrested-infant-fell-on-playstation-20141027-story.html
Sanford dad accused of abuse said baby fell onto Playstation controller
By Tiffany Walden, Orlando Sentinel
October 27, 2014, 2:12 PM
A 21-year-old Sanford father is facing child-abuse charges after his story about his 5-week-old daughter falling from his arms onto a Playstation game controller didn't match her serious head injury, officials said..
Max Negron was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated battery and aggravated child abuse.
He bonded out of Seminole County jail on Saturday. According to his arrest report, Negron was left at home with his 5-week-old daughter while his wife went to work on Oct. 7.
When she returned home, Negron told her he tried to burp the baby around 4 p.m. But the infant abruptly kicked and fell from his arms onto the bedroom floor, landing on the game controller.
"Negron explained that he was seated on the edge of the bed when this occurred, and that the infant was face down on his lap prior to him attempting to raise her to his chest," the report said.
Negron saw a small amount of blood when he picked up the girl. So he and his wife rushed her to Central Florida Regional Hospital, where doctors said she had a fracture to the left side of her skull. She was treated at a local hospital.
Dad with numberous domestic assault convictions charged with 2nd-degree murder in beating death of 2-month-old son (Deer River, Minnesota)
And nobody saw this coming? With this thug's history of violence, it was virtually a sure thing this would happen if you put him in charge of infant caretaking.
Was there a mother in the home? Or was this a custody/visitation situation? They don't say.
Dad is identified as EMERY J. JENKINS.
http://www.startribune.com/local/280451252.html
Minn. father with many convictions jailed in baby's beating death; bite marks found
Article by: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune
Updated: October 26, 2014 - 6:00 PM
Joseph, not yet 3 months old, suffered a skull fracture, broken ribs and what appeared to be cuts or bites to his chest, hands and feet.
A man in northern Minnesota with a long criminal history of violent behavior is accused of second-degree murder in the beating death of his son, not yet 3 months old.
Emery J. Jenkins, of Deer River, remains jailed Sunday in the Itasca County jail ahead of a court appearance Monday, his 38th birthday, to answer allegations that he killed his son, Joseph, on Oct. 16.
According to the Sheriff’s Office and the criminal complaint:
Early on the afternoon of Oct. 16, a caller to 911 said the infant was in the family’s home and not breathing. Emergency personal responded and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Joseph before he was taken to a Deer River hospital and then airlifted to St. Marys Hospital in Duluth.
The 2 1/2-month old baby died the next day from what the medical examiner described as “blunt force trauma,” more commonly known as blows from a beating. Joseph suffered a skull fracture, broken ribs and what appeared to be cuts or bites to his chest, hands and feet.
Jenkins was arrested Thursday afternoon and told authorities he dropped Joseph on his head in a bathtub and that a neighbor’s dog had bitten the boy while the infant was in a car seat.
Court records show numerous acts of domestic-related violence in Minnesota from 1995 to 2010. He’s been convicted three times for domestic assault, once for violating a protection order, twice for other assaults, three times for disorderly conduct and once for drunken driving.
Was there a mother in the home? Or was this a custody/visitation situation? They don't say.
Dad is identified as EMERY J. JENKINS.
http://www.startribune.com/local/280451252.html
Minn. father with many convictions jailed in baby's beating death; bite marks found
Article by: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune
Updated: October 26, 2014 - 6:00 PM
Joseph, not yet 3 months old, suffered a skull fracture, broken ribs and what appeared to be cuts or bites to his chest, hands and feet.
A man in northern Minnesota with a long criminal history of violent behavior is accused of second-degree murder in the beating death of his son, not yet 3 months old.
Emery J. Jenkins, of Deer River, remains jailed Sunday in the Itasca County jail ahead of a court appearance Monday, his 38th birthday, to answer allegations that he killed his son, Joseph, on Oct. 16.
According to the Sheriff’s Office and the criminal complaint:
Early on the afternoon of Oct. 16, a caller to 911 said the infant was in the family’s home and not breathing. Emergency personal responded and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Joseph before he was taken to a Deer River hospital and then airlifted to St. Marys Hospital in Duluth.
The 2 1/2-month old baby died the next day from what the medical examiner described as “blunt force trauma,” more commonly known as blows from a beating. Joseph suffered a skull fracture, broken ribs and what appeared to be cuts or bites to his chest, hands and feet.
Jenkins was arrested Thursday afternoon and told authorities he dropped Joseph on his head in a bathtub and that a neighbor’s dog had bitten the boy while the infant was in a car seat.
Court records show numerous acts of domestic-related violence in Minnesota from 1995 to 2010. He’s been convicted three times for domestic assault, once for violating a protection order, twice for other assaults, three times for disorderly conduct and once for drunken driving.
Dad convicted of capital murder for stabbing-arson deaths of 13-month-old son and his mother; wanted to avoid child support (For Worth, Texas)
A fairly timely update to a case we have been following since 2011. Dad THOMAS OLIVAS was convicted of capital murder in the deaths of his 13-month-old son and the baby's mother--and all because he wanted to avoid child support.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/02/6169693/jury-begins-deliberation-in-arlington.html
Bedford man convicted of capital murder for killing a girlfriend and their son
Posted Thursday, Oct. 02, 2014
By Mitch Mitchell
FORT WORTH — A Bedford man whose life got complicated because he had children with two girlfriends was convicted of capital murder Thursday for killing one of the women and their son.
Thomas Olivas, 31, was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally stabbing former girlfriend Mechelle Gandy, 26, of Arlington, and then setting her apartment on fire, which killed their 13-month-old son, Asher Olivas, on March 20, 2011.
Olivas knew that Gandy had been in touch with the Texas attorney general’s office to try to get him to pay child support for Asher, and he was about to be forced to take a paternity test, prosecutor Kevin Rousseau told jurors during the trial that began Sept. 9.
Also, Gandy forwarded nude pictures of Olivas to Rebeca Raudry, the mother of Olivas’ other child, and Raudry confronted Olivas about the pictures, Rousseau said. Olivas told Raudry that Gandy must have hacked his phone and sent the pictures, but Raudry said she didn’t believe him, so Olivas threw her and her two children out of the house in the middle of the night, Rousseau said.
These events infuriated Olivas, but there was no reason to kill Asher, Rousseau said.
“There are two human beings who have been erased from the face of the planet,” Rousseau said. “That baby could have never pointed a finger at anybody. He owed that baby money. Don’t let him go.”
On the night of March 20, 2011, emergency responders to a fire call at apartments in the 2200 block of President’s Corner Drive in north Arlington quickly found Gandy, who had been stabbed several times. Several hours later, they found Asher in the debris near his burned up crib. He died of burns, the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office reported.
“This man called Asher ‘the devil’s child’ and repeatedly asked Mechelle to get an abortion, to destroy Asher,” said prosecutor Tamla Ray. “He claimed to acknowledge Asher as his son but didn’t want Asher to have his last name.”
Prosecutors were not seeking the death penalty.
Olivas’ attorneys said no physical evidence tied him to the two deaths. The indictment against Olivas was a result of tunnel vision by investigators who failed to develop alternative theories or suspects in these murders, according to Joetta Keene and Tim Moore.
Keene said investigators could have built a case against Raudry just as easily as they built a case against Olivas using circumstantial evidence and innuendo. Burglars could have come into Gandy’s apartment and set the fire to destroy evidence, Keene said. Gandy’s wallet was missing and there were pry marks on the back door of her apartment, Keene said.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the presumption of innocence alone is enough to exonerate Thomas,” Keene said.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/02/6169693/jury-begins-deliberation-in-arlington.html
Bedford man convicted of capital murder for killing a girlfriend and their son
Posted Thursday, Oct. 02, 2014
By Mitch Mitchell
FORT WORTH — A Bedford man whose life got complicated because he had children with two girlfriends was convicted of capital murder Thursday for killing one of the women and their son.
Thomas Olivas, 31, was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally stabbing former girlfriend Mechelle Gandy, 26, of Arlington, and then setting her apartment on fire, which killed their 13-month-old son, Asher Olivas, on March 20, 2011.
Olivas knew that Gandy had been in touch with the Texas attorney general’s office to try to get him to pay child support for Asher, and he was about to be forced to take a paternity test, prosecutor Kevin Rousseau told jurors during the trial that began Sept. 9.
Also, Gandy forwarded nude pictures of Olivas to Rebeca Raudry, the mother of Olivas’ other child, and Raudry confronted Olivas about the pictures, Rousseau said. Olivas told Raudry that Gandy must have hacked his phone and sent the pictures, but Raudry said she didn’t believe him, so Olivas threw her and her two children out of the house in the middle of the night, Rousseau said.
These events infuriated Olivas, but there was no reason to kill Asher, Rousseau said.
“There are two human beings who have been erased from the face of the planet,” Rousseau said. “That baby could have never pointed a finger at anybody. He owed that baby money. Don’t let him go.”
On the night of March 20, 2011, emergency responders to a fire call at apartments in the 2200 block of President’s Corner Drive in north Arlington quickly found Gandy, who had been stabbed several times. Several hours later, they found Asher in the debris near his burned up crib. He died of burns, the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office reported.
“This man called Asher ‘the devil’s child’ and repeatedly asked Mechelle to get an abortion, to destroy Asher,” said prosecutor Tamla Ray. “He claimed to acknowledge Asher as his son but didn’t want Asher to have his last name.”
Prosecutors were not seeking the death penalty.
Olivas’ attorneys said no physical evidence tied him to the two deaths. The indictment against Olivas was a result of tunnel vision by investigators who failed to develop alternative theories or suspects in these murders, according to Joetta Keene and Tim Moore.
Keene said investigators could have built a case against Raudry just as easily as they built a case against Olivas using circumstantial evidence and innuendo. Burglars could have come into Gandy’s apartment and set the fire to destroy evidence, Keene said. Gandy’s wallet was missing and there were pry marks on the back door of her apartment, Keene said.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the presumption of innocence alone is enough to exonerate Thomas,” Keene said.
Dad in "custody battle" with mom pleads guilty to capital murder in the shooting deaths of their three children; gets life without parole (Houston, Texas)
Another follow-up to one of our more infamous cases. It was very obvious that dad MOHAMMAD GOHER should NEVER have been allowed any access to the kids given his history of violence. But as often happens, especially in the Texas legal system, he was granted access anyway. So of course he used the opportunity to murder the kids. A totally preventable crime.
Dad finally pleaded guilty in January 2014 and was sentenced to life without parole.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/15/mohammad-goher-killed-3-kids_n_4604364.html
Mohammad Goher Pleads Guilty In Shooting Deaths Of 3 Children
Posted: 01/15/2014 4:20 pm EST Updated: 01/23/2014 6:56 pm EST
HOUSTON (AP) -- A Houston man pleaded guilty Wednesday to capital murder for the shooting deaths of his three children in 2010 when he was locked in a custody dispute with the children's mother.
Mohammad Goher, 50, admitted his guilt in exchange for a sentence of life without parole. Court records show Goher admitted to shooting 14-year-old Saeedah, 12-year-old Saeed and 7-year-old Aisha while they slept at his apartment in September 2010.
The Houston Chronicle cites investigators in reporting ( HTTP://BIT.LY/1A7KLO1 ) that Goher and his wife, Norma Martinez, were divorcing and waging a custody battle when he killed the children.
After shooting them, he turned the gun on himself but survived a gunshot wound to the head.
Martinez filed for divorce in February 2010 and has said she suffered years of abuse. She and the children had lived in a shelter following the divorce filing.
Martinez argued in the days following the deaths that authorities required her to adhere to a court-ordered visitation schedule even though she documented the abuse.
Goher in 2006 was convicted of assault of a family member and placed on deferred adjudication. Court records indicated Goher was intoxicated and beat his wife with his hands and fists, leaving her bruised and injuring her right hand.
Dad finally pleaded guilty in January 2014 and was sentenced to life without parole.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/15/mohammad-goher-killed-3-kids_n_4604364.html
Mohammad Goher Pleads Guilty In Shooting Deaths Of 3 Children
Posted: 01/15/2014 4:20 pm EST Updated: 01/23/2014 6:56 pm EST
HOUSTON (AP) -- A Houston man pleaded guilty Wednesday to capital murder for the shooting deaths of his three children in 2010 when he was locked in a custody dispute with the children's mother.
Mohammad Goher, 50, admitted his guilt in exchange for a sentence of life without parole. Court records show Goher admitted to shooting 14-year-old Saeedah, 12-year-old Saeed and 7-year-old Aisha while they slept at his apartment in September 2010.
The Houston Chronicle cites investigators in reporting ( HTTP://BIT.LY/1A7KLO1 ) that Goher and his wife, Norma Martinez, were divorcing and waging a custody battle when he killed the children.
After shooting them, he turned the gun on himself but survived a gunshot wound to the head.
Martinez filed for divorce in February 2010 and has said she suffered years of abuse. She and the children had lived in a shelter following the divorce filing.
Martinez argued in the days following the deaths that authorities required her to adhere to a court-ordered visitation schedule even though she documented the abuse.
Goher in 2006 was convicted of assault of a family member and placed on deferred adjudication. Court records indicated Goher was intoxicated and beat his wife with his hands and fists, leaving her bruised and injuring her right hand.
Custodial dad convicted of capital murder in death of 4-year-old son; had assumed custody from CPS but a few weeks before (Memphis, Texas)
Another update to the killer dads and custody list. Back in 2010, Child Protective Services gave this father custody, even though the father didn't even know he was a father. Within weeks, the 4-year-old boy had been beaten to death over a brutal 11-day period.
Custodial dad ROBERT MONROE BABCOCK was finally convicted of capital murder in June 2012, and sentenced to life without parole.
http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2012-06-08/west-texas-man-who-killed-son-gets-life-without-parole#.VE5vZNEtDSl
West Texas man who killed son gets life without parole
Posted: June 8, 2012 - 11:59am
By BOBBY CERVANTES Morris News Service
MEMPHIS — Following a week of testimony about Chance Mark Jones’ brutal last days, a Hall County jury convicted the 4-year-old’s father of murder Thursday.
Judge Stuart Messer sentenced Robert Monroe Babcock, 39, to life in prison without parole. The jury of six men and six women deliberated for about an hour before returning the guilty verdict Thursday afternoon at the Hall County courthouse.
Prosecutors said Babcock physically abused his son in an 11-day rage in December 2010 that ended with Chance undergoing emergency brain surgery Jan. 4, 2011, at Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo.
The boy died a day later at the hospital. His eyes were blackened and swollen shut. A lump appeared on his forehead. More than 100 bruises, cuts and scrapes — some fresh and some old — covered his small body, medical witnesses said.
Graphic images shown to the jury depicted the abuse as the child lay clinging to life, breathing through a ventilator.
Babcock, who took in Chance only a few weeks before beating the boy to death, hung his head as 100th District Attorney Luke Inman characterized him as a recklessly abusive father who had confessed to hitting his son.
“You think to yourself, Chance was imprisoned by this defendant in his own house,” Inman said. “This was the defendant’s torture chamber.”
Inman stood in front of a large photo of the smiling boy — the words “Don’t Take A Chance” appeared over the child’s face — while reminding jurors of the suffering.
“Those things should have never happened to Chance,” Inman said. “This defendant’s actions changed everyone’s life who knew Chance.”
The district attorney pressed the jury to convict Babcock on the capital murder charge, known in legal circles as “mini-cap” because it does not carry the death penalty, while Babcock attorney Dale Rabe urged jurors to find his client guilty of reckless conduct. Jurors also had the options of convicting Babcock of manslaughter or felony murder.
Rabe reminded the jury of medical testimony from defense witnesses, who said a 1993 vehicle rollover that launched Babcock into a barbed-wire fence and required emergency brain surgery had changed the man.
“It was an action he could not control that put him in the situation he was placed in,” Rabe said. Medications Babcock takes “make him prone to aggressive outbursts.”
Earlier in the week, Rabe focused on Babcock’s outcries for help raising Chance to state Child Protective Services officials and relatives. Those pleas went unanswered, Rabe said.
In interviews with police, Babcock said he met Chance’s mother in Amarillo but did not know he fathered the child until 2010, when CPS turned Chance over to him. The boy’s mother has not been identified.
At least five jurors sobbed as Chance’s former caretakers gave witness impact statements. Babcock kept his head low as they spoke.
Heather Hill, who cared for Chance for two years, said she still does not know what to tell Chance’s sister when she asks for him.
“He was a remarkable boy with a beautiful smile that touched everybody,” Hill said. His sister “wants to know when he’ll come back from Jesus so she can play with him.”
Addressing the defendant, Hill said Babcock would always be a murderer in her mind, not Chance’s father.
“He thrived on love and affection,” she said of the boy. “How could you abuse a child that immediately called you Daddy?”
Custodial dad ROBERT MONROE BABCOCK was finally convicted of capital murder in June 2012, and sentenced to life without parole.
http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2012-06-08/west-texas-man-who-killed-son-gets-life-without-parole#.VE5vZNEtDSl
West Texas man who killed son gets life without parole
Posted: June 8, 2012 - 11:59am
By BOBBY CERVANTES Morris News Service
MEMPHIS — Following a week of testimony about Chance Mark Jones’ brutal last days, a Hall County jury convicted the 4-year-old’s father of murder Thursday.
Judge Stuart Messer sentenced Robert Monroe Babcock, 39, to life in prison without parole. The jury of six men and six women deliberated for about an hour before returning the guilty verdict Thursday afternoon at the Hall County courthouse.
Prosecutors said Babcock physically abused his son in an 11-day rage in December 2010 that ended with Chance undergoing emergency brain surgery Jan. 4, 2011, at Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo.
The boy died a day later at the hospital. His eyes were blackened and swollen shut. A lump appeared on his forehead. More than 100 bruises, cuts and scrapes — some fresh and some old — covered his small body, medical witnesses said.
Graphic images shown to the jury depicted the abuse as the child lay clinging to life, breathing through a ventilator.
Babcock, who took in Chance only a few weeks before beating the boy to death, hung his head as 100th District Attorney Luke Inman characterized him as a recklessly abusive father who had confessed to hitting his son.
“You think to yourself, Chance was imprisoned by this defendant in his own house,” Inman said. “This was the defendant’s torture chamber.”
Inman stood in front of a large photo of the smiling boy — the words “Don’t Take A Chance” appeared over the child’s face — while reminding jurors of the suffering.
“Those things should have never happened to Chance,” Inman said. “This defendant’s actions changed everyone’s life who knew Chance.”
The district attorney pressed the jury to convict Babcock on the capital murder charge, known in legal circles as “mini-cap” because it does not carry the death penalty, while Babcock attorney Dale Rabe urged jurors to find his client guilty of reckless conduct. Jurors also had the options of convicting Babcock of manslaughter or felony murder.
Rabe reminded the jury of medical testimony from defense witnesses, who said a 1993 vehicle rollover that launched Babcock into a barbed-wire fence and required emergency brain surgery had changed the man.
“It was an action he could not control that put him in the situation he was placed in,” Rabe said. Medications Babcock takes “make him prone to aggressive outbursts.”
Earlier in the week, Rabe focused on Babcock’s outcries for help raising Chance to state Child Protective Services officials and relatives. Those pleas went unanswered, Rabe said.
In interviews with police, Babcock said he met Chance’s mother in Amarillo but did not know he fathered the child until 2010, when CPS turned Chance over to him. The boy’s mother has not been identified.
At least five jurors sobbed as Chance’s former caretakers gave witness impact statements. Babcock kept his head low as they spoke.
Heather Hill, who cared for Chance for two years, said she still does not know what to tell Chance’s sister when she asks for him.
“He was a remarkable boy with a beautiful smile that touched everybody,” Hill said. His sister “wants to know when he’ll come back from Jesus so she can play with him.”
Addressing the defendant, Hill said Babcock would always be a murderer in her mind, not Chance’s father.
“He thrived on love and affection,” she said of the boy. “How could you abuse a child that immediately called you Daddy?”
Dad gets life in prison for killing 11-month-old daughter and her mother to avoid child support (Prince George's County, Virginia)
Another "whatever happened to" follow-up from the killer dads and custody list.
Dad RICHMOND PHILLIPS was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in March 2013 for the murders of his 11-month-old daughter and her mother. Dad wanted to avoid child support.
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/03/richmond-phillips-sentencing-to-come-after-murder-of-wynetta-wright-baby-daughter-86552.html
Richmond Phillips sentenced for murder of Wynetta Wright, baby daughter
By Brad Bell March 22, 2013 - 08:18 am
The former MPD officers who killed his mistress and left their 11-month-old daughter to die in a hot car in 2011 will spend the rest of his life in jail.
Richmond Phillips, who was convicted in January of fatally shooting Wynetta Wright and then leaving their young daughter, Jaylin, to die was sentenced to two life sentences plus 20 years in prison Friday.
Phillips will not have the possibility of parole.
Wright and her daughter were found dead in May of 2011, shortly before she and Phillips were supposed to appear in court for a child support hearing. Shortly thereafter, the 20-year-old mother was found dead inside Oxon Run Stream Valley Park.
Jaylin was later found dead inside a car in the 2400 block of Southern Avenue.
Thank you Jesus, because justice has been served," said Wright's mother, Wyvette Wright.
She says she's hoped for the death penalty, but she is glad the judge threw away the key
"He is the devil himself, there's no other way to put it. He was heartless, senseless, didn't care about nothing," Wyvette said.
Everett Tucker, Wynetta's father, added, " I just think he is a true monster. I don't believe he had remorse or anything for what he did. I just think he's a true monster."
During his trial, prosecutors spun Phillips, then 39, as a liar and a cheater who would do anything to conceal his mistress and child from his wife. Before the murder, he had served as a narcotics officer with the Metropolitan Police Department for eight years.
Tucker says the sentence lifted a weight, and he hopes his daughter and granddaughter can rest in peace.
"Two beautiful people," Tucker continued. "They still in my life, but they up here with the Lord right about now."
Dad RICHMOND PHILLIPS was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in March 2013 for the murders of his 11-month-old daughter and her mother. Dad wanted to avoid child support.
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/03/richmond-phillips-sentencing-to-come-after-murder-of-wynetta-wright-baby-daughter-86552.html
Richmond Phillips sentenced for murder of Wynetta Wright, baby daughter
By Brad Bell March 22, 2013 - 08:18 am
The former MPD officers who killed his mistress and left their 11-month-old daughter to die in a hot car in 2011 will spend the rest of his life in jail.
Richmond Phillips, who was convicted in January of fatally shooting Wynetta Wright and then leaving their young daughter, Jaylin, to die was sentenced to two life sentences plus 20 years in prison Friday.
Phillips will not have the possibility of parole.
Wright and her daughter were found dead in May of 2011, shortly before she and Phillips were supposed to appear in court for a child support hearing. Shortly thereafter, the 20-year-old mother was found dead inside Oxon Run Stream Valley Park.
Jaylin was later found dead inside a car in the 2400 block of Southern Avenue.
Thank you Jesus, because justice has been served," said Wright's mother, Wyvette Wright.
She says she's hoped for the death penalty, but she is glad the judge threw away the key
"He is the devil himself, there's no other way to put it. He was heartless, senseless, didn't care about nothing," Wyvette said.
Everett Tucker, Wynetta's father, added, " I just think he is a true monster. I don't believe he had remorse or anything for what he did. I just think he's a true monster."
During his trial, prosecutors spun Phillips, then 39, as a liar and a cheater who would do anything to conceal his mistress and child from his wife. Before the murder, he had served as a narcotics officer with the Metropolitan Police Department for eight years.
Tucker says the sentence lifted a weight, and he hopes his daughter and granddaughter can rest in peace.
"Two beautiful people," Tucker continued. "They still in my life, but they up here with the Lord right about now."
Dad ruled competent to stand trial in death of 5-week-old son; parents had just separated and baby killed during father's visitation (Winfield, West Virginia)
Still doing case updates on the killer dad and custody lists. This update comes from last summer.
Dad ROBERT JEREMY SMITH is accused of killing his 5-week-old son during visitation. The parents had separated.
Though the father has a typical cover story regarding the boy's death (he "dropped" him), that doesn't exactly explain why the police found a bloody hammer in the house. Or why the baby had abrasions on his forehead and multiple skull fractures. Or why Dad cut his own throat in an apparent suicide attempt. Or why the baby's body was found in the back seat of a car.
Notice that Smith's own mother filed a domestic violence petition to gain custody of his first child (from an earlier relationship) when that child showed up at the hospital with a "suspicious" injury. The mother's mother also claimed that Smith could be "controlling" and "violent."
Of course that petition was dismissed.
http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20140628/GZ01/140629340
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Evaluation says Hurricane man accused of killing infant son competent to stand trial
By Ryan Quinn, Staff writer
WINFIELD, W.Va. — A psychiatric evaluation of the Hurricane man accused of killing his 5-week-old son has concluded that he’s competent to stand trial and states that he has “indicated a desire to defend himself and be judged not guilty.”
The evaluation, filed in Putnam County Circuit Court on Thursday, states that Robert Jeremy Smith said he wouldn’t consider a plea bargain because it would be an admission of guilt, but “later entertained the possibility of admitting to certain charges that did directly imply he intentionally harmed the child.”
Smith, 33, of Shank Avenue, is charged with death of a child by a parent as a result of child abuse. His son, Madden, was found dead in the back seat of a car on Venable Avenue, in Kanawha City, on May 21.
Smith also was there, with his throat cut — police said he apparently attempted suicide.Smith told police that Madden died after he accidentally dropped him from about chest-high after picking him up with his bad right arm. The evaluation notes that Smith was diagnosed with arm muscle atrophy in March.
“I urge people not to form a judgment too quickly in this case,” Shawn Bayliss, Smith’s attorney, told the Gazette-Mail on Thursday. “We have no idea what the evidence is going to show, but we believe it’s going to show that this was an accidental trauma, not an intentional or nefarious act.”
Bayliss said the situation is hard on every member of Smith’s family.
The report states that Smith doesn’t have a mental disease or defect and that he understands the proceedings against him and can rationally consult with his attorney. It also says Smith didn’t lack substantial capacity to understand his actions at the time of the alleged offense.
Huntington psychiatrist and neurologist Dr. Bobby Miller II performed the evaluation.
Bayliss referred Smith to Miller to “provide information regarding any psychiatric diagnosis, the examinee’s mental status, and forensic psychiatry opinions regarding the issue of competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, and/or diminished capacity.”
The evaluation states that Smith denied that he was intoxicated at the time of the child’s death. He told police, according to a criminal complaint, that he had been watching Madden at his mother’s home when he picked the child up to change his diaper and accidentally dropped him. Smith said Madden began gasping for air, and then Smith couldn’t find a pulse. He said he attempted CPR but was unable to revive the boy, and that he shook the baby.
The complaint states that Madden had abrasions on his forehead when examined by paramedics, and appeared to have suffered multiple skull fractures.
Police said they found a hammer in the house with blood on it. The evaluation states that Smith “offered the possibility that more injuries would have occurred during his vigorous attempts of resuscitation while the child was on a hard surface.”
Smith said he is an unlikely person to harm a child because his father was murdered.
“He had purposed himself to be a super father,” the report states. “Between Mr. Smith and his wife they had 7 children including three children under the age of 1 from his current marriage.”
Smith said stress in his relationship with his wife included financial problems and the fact that one of their children was still in the hospital after being born with her intestines outside her body. He said they had decided to separate and live with their parents.
The evaluation states that Smith previously was treated at a Prestera Center in Charleston for depression and a three-year addiction to prescription pain medication. He said he attempted suicide once before the incident but that he’s not currently suicidal. He is under psychiatric care at the Western Regional Jail.
A March medical record said, “Depression with anxiety was noted to be a chronic problem” and that Smith “reported severe symptoms that occurred daily in his right arm” and had been complaining about weakness there since January 2013. In 2011, he was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, major depressive disorder and opioid abuse.
The report states that West Virginia Child Protective Services got an anonymous report in May that Smith was abusing drugs.
It also states that, in 2009, Smith and Megan Haynes, who is not Smith’s current wife, brought their first child, Maddox, to the hospital with what was “noted to be a suspicious injury.”
“A protection plan was initiated and the parents were not allowed to be alone with the child,” the report states. The mothers of Smith and Haynes were placed on the parenting plan for Maddox, and Haynes’ mother “stated that she did not like Mr. Smith because he was controlling and could be violent.” However, “Despite the family dynamics and allegations, no maltreatment was substantiated.”
Smith’s mother tried to gain custody of Maddox by filing a domestic violence petition against Smith alleging that the child was in grave danger, but the DVP was dismissed.
Smith has a bail hearing set for 3:30 p.m. on July 9.
Dad ROBERT JEREMY SMITH is accused of killing his 5-week-old son during visitation. The parents had separated.
Though the father has a typical cover story regarding the boy's death (he "dropped" him), that doesn't exactly explain why the police found a bloody hammer in the house. Or why the baby had abrasions on his forehead and multiple skull fractures. Or why Dad cut his own throat in an apparent suicide attempt. Or why the baby's body was found in the back seat of a car.
Notice that Smith's own mother filed a domestic violence petition to gain custody of his first child (from an earlier relationship) when that child showed up at the hospital with a "suspicious" injury. The mother's mother also claimed that Smith could be "controlling" and "violent."
Of course that petition was dismissed.
http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20140628/GZ01/140629340
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Evaluation says Hurricane man accused of killing infant son competent to stand trial
By Ryan Quinn, Staff writer
WINFIELD, W.Va. — A psychiatric evaluation of the Hurricane man accused of killing his 5-week-old son has concluded that he’s competent to stand trial and states that he has “indicated a desire to defend himself and be judged not guilty.”
The evaluation, filed in Putnam County Circuit Court on Thursday, states that Robert Jeremy Smith said he wouldn’t consider a plea bargain because it would be an admission of guilt, but “later entertained the possibility of admitting to certain charges that did directly imply he intentionally harmed the child.”
Smith, 33, of Shank Avenue, is charged with death of a child by a parent as a result of child abuse. His son, Madden, was found dead in the back seat of a car on Venable Avenue, in Kanawha City, on May 21.
Smith also was there, with his throat cut — police said he apparently attempted suicide.Smith told police that Madden died after he accidentally dropped him from about chest-high after picking him up with his bad right arm. The evaluation notes that Smith was diagnosed with arm muscle atrophy in March.
“I urge people not to form a judgment too quickly in this case,” Shawn Bayliss, Smith’s attorney, told the Gazette-Mail on Thursday. “We have no idea what the evidence is going to show, but we believe it’s going to show that this was an accidental trauma, not an intentional or nefarious act.”
Bayliss said the situation is hard on every member of Smith’s family.
The report states that Smith doesn’t have a mental disease or defect and that he understands the proceedings against him and can rationally consult with his attorney. It also says Smith didn’t lack substantial capacity to understand his actions at the time of the alleged offense.
Huntington psychiatrist and neurologist Dr. Bobby Miller II performed the evaluation.
Bayliss referred Smith to Miller to “provide information regarding any psychiatric diagnosis, the examinee’s mental status, and forensic psychiatry opinions regarding the issue of competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, and/or diminished capacity.”
The evaluation states that Smith denied that he was intoxicated at the time of the child’s death. He told police, according to a criminal complaint, that he had been watching Madden at his mother’s home when he picked the child up to change his diaper and accidentally dropped him. Smith said Madden began gasping for air, and then Smith couldn’t find a pulse. He said he attempted CPR but was unable to revive the boy, and that he shook the baby.
The complaint states that Madden had abrasions on his forehead when examined by paramedics, and appeared to have suffered multiple skull fractures.
Police said they found a hammer in the house with blood on it. The evaluation states that Smith “offered the possibility that more injuries would have occurred during his vigorous attempts of resuscitation while the child was on a hard surface.”
Smith said he is an unlikely person to harm a child because his father was murdered.
“He had purposed himself to be a super father,” the report states. “Between Mr. Smith and his wife they had 7 children including three children under the age of 1 from his current marriage.”
Smith said stress in his relationship with his wife included financial problems and the fact that one of their children was still in the hospital after being born with her intestines outside her body. He said they had decided to separate and live with their parents.
The evaluation states that Smith previously was treated at a Prestera Center in Charleston for depression and a three-year addiction to prescription pain medication. He said he attempted suicide once before the incident but that he’s not currently suicidal. He is under psychiatric care at the Western Regional Jail.
A March medical record said, “Depression with anxiety was noted to be a chronic problem” and that Smith “reported severe symptoms that occurred daily in his right arm” and had been complaining about weakness there since January 2013. In 2011, he was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, major depressive disorder and opioid abuse.
The report states that West Virginia Child Protective Services got an anonymous report in May that Smith was abusing drugs.
It also states that, in 2009, Smith and Megan Haynes, who is not Smith’s current wife, brought their first child, Maddox, to the hospital with what was “noted to be a suspicious injury.”
“A protection plan was initiated and the parents were not allowed to be alone with the child,” the report states. The mothers of Smith and Haynes were placed on the parenting plan for Maddox, and Haynes’ mother “stated that she did not like Mr. Smith because he was controlling and could be violent.” However, “Despite the family dynamics and allegations, no maltreatment was substantiated.”
Smith’s mother tried to gain custody of Maddox by filing a domestic violence petition against Smith alleging that the child was in grave danger, but the DVP was dismissed.
Smith has a bail hearing set for 3:30 p.m. on July 9.
Dad pleads not guilty to capital murder charges for beating death of 2-month-old son (Tuscumbia, Alabama)
Dad is identified as MICHAEL WADE LOGAN SR. No mention of a mother in the home.
http://www.timesdaily.com/news/local/father-pleads-not-guilty-in-son-s-death/article_13fba9d8-5ad8-11e4-a43f-0017a43b2370.html
Father pleads not guilty in son’s death
Posted: Thursday, October 23, 2014 12:14 pm | Updated: 12:43 pm, Thu Oct 23, 2014.
By Tom Smith Senior Staff Writer
TUSCUMBIA — Michael Wade Logan Sr. pleaded not guilty in the August death of his 2-month-old son during an arraignment hearing this morning in Colbert County Court. Logan, 29, 83 N. Main St.,
Tuscumbia, was arrested Aug. 7, and charged with capital murder in his son’s death, Tuscumbia police said.
Tuscumbia police detective Wes Holland said Logan was charged after a preliminary autopsy indicated the child died from multiple trauma to the head and body.
“The injuries were not accidental,” Tuscumbia Police Chief Tony Logan, who is not related to Michael Logan, said at the time of the arrest.
Michael Logan was indicted Sept. 29. According to the grand jury indictment, he is accused of “intentionally slamming the baby (Michael Logan Jr.) down on his knees” which caused the injuries that led to the child’s death.
Michael Logan is being held in the Colbert County Jail without bail.
http://www.timesdaily.com/news/local/father-pleads-not-guilty-in-son-s-death/article_13fba9d8-5ad8-11e4-a43f-0017a43b2370.html
Father pleads not guilty in son’s death
Posted: Thursday, October 23, 2014 12:14 pm | Updated: 12:43 pm, Thu Oct 23, 2014.
By Tom Smith Senior Staff Writer
TUSCUMBIA — Michael Wade Logan Sr. pleaded not guilty in the August death of his 2-month-old son during an arraignment hearing this morning in Colbert County Court. Logan, 29, 83 N. Main St.,
Tuscumbia, was arrested Aug. 7, and charged with capital murder in his son’s death, Tuscumbia police said.
Tuscumbia police detective Wes Holland said Logan was charged after a preliminary autopsy indicated the child died from multiple trauma to the head and body.
“The injuries were not accidental,” Tuscumbia Police Chief Tony Logan, who is not related to Michael Logan, said at the time of the arrest.
Michael Logan was indicted Sept. 29. According to the grand jury indictment, he is accused of “intentionally slamming the baby (Michael Logan Jr.) down on his knees” which caused the injuries that led to the child’s death.
Michael Logan is being held in the Colbert County Jail without bail.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Custodial dad, girlfriend to stand trial for torture-murder of 2-year-old daughter (Stockton, California)
Another update on a case we have been following for the last few months. STILL no word on what happened to this little girl's mother or how/why the father was able to gain and retain custody despite CONSTANT allegations of abuse to the authorities from family and neighbors.
Dad is identified as DWIGHT SLAY, JR.
http://www.recordnet.com/article/20140903/News/140909932
Couple to stand trial in toddler's death
By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore
Record Staff Writer
Posted Sep. 3, 2014 @ 12:01 am
STOCKTON — The image of a toddler’s body with ligature marks on her neck and covered in bruises is not easy to erase.
That is according to a judge who has ordered a Stockton couple to trial in the death of a 2-year-old child found asphyxiated and with numerous injuries inside their home.
The toddler’s biological father, 27-year-old Dwight Slay Jr., and his girlfriend, 30-year-old Latima Denise Coleman, are accused of child abuse resulting in death, torture and corporal injury to a child, facing a potential life sentence in prison if convicted on those charges. Slay additionally faces one count of willful cruelty to a child.
Superior Court Judge Bernard Garber heard testimony in a four-day preliminary hearing and decided Tuesday there was enough evidence to show Slay and Coleman can be tried in the slaying of toddler Tafari Barris.
County Chief Medical Examiner Bennett Omalu described injuries that demonstrated an ongoing pattern of abuse to the child, including scars on her lips, contusions, prior head trauma and a broken arm.
“Those were not fatal wounds,” he said.
Her ultimate demise was due to asphyxiation and blunt force trauma to the head, according to Omalu, whose findings also show Tafari had been smothered.
“A child of that age, she just had too many scars on her body,” Omalu said.
Pictures of Tafari's battered body were shown on a projector screen during the hearing, at one point causing Coleman to tear up.
Garber said he believes the autopsy findings will have an "incredible effect" on a jury if the case goes that far.
“That’s an image that’s difficult to remove from your mind,” he said.
Prosecutors allege the couple had abused Tafari since at least January and evidence presented in court indicates Slay’s sister had been trying to obtain custody of the child because of the abuse.
Public records also reveal that both law enforcement and social workers responded to the couple’s home multiple times for reports of possible abuse from neighbors and family members.
Authorities even upgraded the investigation to an “at-risk” missing person on April 2 following failed attempts to find Tafari.
She was found dead April 6 by emergency responders at the couple’s home in the Sierra Vista housing development after a 911 call was placed reporting the child was unresponsive.
There are witness accounts that are inconsistent with one another from friends who testified they had been at the home the day Tafari died.
Juan Prado, one of the friends, testified he had been drinking at the residence the night before the 911 call, when Slay went upstairs with Tafari. He said Coleman, he and another woman stayed downstairs.
Prado said he grew tired of waiting for Slay and decided to go upstairs to say he was leaving.
“I heard a funny noise,” Prado said, adding that it sounded like a belch. “It had to be the baby.”
Prado said he saw Tafari lying on her belly; vomit on the floor; and Slay standing over the vomit.
According to Prado, Slay said, “she’s just sick bro.”
Prado said he learned Tafari was dead the next day.
Coleman’s defense attorney Rick Gibson argued Tuesday that Prado’s testimony shows his client is not responsible for Tafari’s death. He also argued that Omalu’s findings that the child had vomit in her lungs from suffocation support Prado’s account.
Deputy Public Defender Patrick Smalling, who is representing Slay, contended Prado’s testimony was unreliable because he had “numerous” beers and admittedly ingested marijuana on the evening in question.
Despite the lack of direct evidence, Deputy District Attorney Angela Hayes said the defendants were placed alone with the child by witnesses between April 6 and the night before. Both would be responsible as either a perpetrator or as an aider.
Hayes said Slay could have easily given the child to his sister instead of abusing her.
Coleman and Slay are both scheduled to return to court Sept. 15 for arraignment on the charges.
Dad is identified as DWIGHT SLAY, JR.
http://www.recordnet.com/article/20140903/News/140909932
Couple to stand trial in toddler's death
By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore
Record Staff Writer
Posted Sep. 3, 2014 @ 12:01 am
STOCKTON — The image of a toddler’s body with ligature marks on her neck and covered in bruises is not easy to erase.
That is according to a judge who has ordered a Stockton couple to trial in the death of a 2-year-old child found asphyxiated and with numerous injuries inside their home.
The toddler’s biological father, 27-year-old Dwight Slay Jr., and his girlfriend, 30-year-old Latima Denise Coleman, are accused of child abuse resulting in death, torture and corporal injury to a child, facing a potential life sentence in prison if convicted on those charges. Slay additionally faces one count of willful cruelty to a child.
Superior Court Judge Bernard Garber heard testimony in a four-day preliminary hearing and decided Tuesday there was enough evidence to show Slay and Coleman can be tried in the slaying of toddler Tafari Barris.
County Chief Medical Examiner Bennett Omalu described injuries that demonstrated an ongoing pattern of abuse to the child, including scars on her lips, contusions, prior head trauma and a broken arm.
“Those were not fatal wounds,” he said.
Her ultimate demise was due to asphyxiation and blunt force trauma to the head, according to Omalu, whose findings also show Tafari had been smothered.
“A child of that age, she just had too many scars on her body,” Omalu said.
Pictures of Tafari's battered body were shown on a projector screen during the hearing, at one point causing Coleman to tear up.
Garber said he believes the autopsy findings will have an "incredible effect" on a jury if the case goes that far.
“That’s an image that’s difficult to remove from your mind,” he said.
Prosecutors allege the couple had abused Tafari since at least January and evidence presented in court indicates Slay’s sister had been trying to obtain custody of the child because of the abuse.
Public records also reveal that both law enforcement and social workers responded to the couple’s home multiple times for reports of possible abuse from neighbors and family members.
Authorities even upgraded the investigation to an “at-risk” missing person on April 2 following failed attempts to find Tafari.
She was found dead April 6 by emergency responders at the couple’s home in the Sierra Vista housing development after a 911 call was placed reporting the child was unresponsive.
There are witness accounts that are inconsistent with one another from friends who testified they had been at the home the day Tafari died.
Juan Prado, one of the friends, testified he had been drinking at the residence the night before the 911 call, when Slay went upstairs with Tafari. He said Coleman, he and another woman stayed downstairs.
Prado said he grew tired of waiting for Slay and decided to go upstairs to say he was leaving.
“I heard a funny noise,” Prado said, adding that it sounded like a belch. “It had to be the baby.”
Prado said he saw Tafari lying on her belly; vomit on the floor; and Slay standing over the vomit.
According to Prado, Slay said, “she’s just sick bro.”
Prado said he learned Tafari was dead the next day.
Coleman’s defense attorney Rick Gibson argued Tuesday that Prado’s testimony shows his client is not responsible for Tafari’s death. He also argued that Omalu’s findings that the child had vomit in her lungs from suffocation support Prado’s account.
Deputy Public Defender Patrick Smalling, who is representing Slay, contended Prado’s testimony was unreliable because he had “numerous” beers and admittedly ingested marijuana on the evening in question.
Despite the lack of direct evidence, Deputy District Attorney Angela Hayes said the defendants were placed alone with the child by witnesses between April 6 and the night before. Both would be responsible as either a perpetrator or as an aider.
Hayes said Slay could have easily given the child to his sister instead of abusing her.
Coleman and Slay are both scheduled to return to court Sept. 15 for arraignment on the charges.
Dad murders 3-year-old son, 5-year-old daughter, their mother after she arrives to pick them up from visitation (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Yet another follow up, this time from a story first posted in August. At that time this was still an UNNAMED DAD. Now we see that he was later identified as WILLIAM ROLANDO FUENTES GODINEZ.
Even though this POS gunned down and killed three innocent people, notice there is still a tendency to blame all these murders on "marital problems" or "issues between the man and the woman." This just deflects responsibility away from the killer, and blames the mother for the father's acts. And notice that the mother is blamed even though she tried to accommodate this POS with visitation.
This is why fathers with histories of domestic violence should be banned from contact with the kids. Mothers should not be put in harm's way because they are being pressured or required to "facilitate" the abuser's access to the kids. After a marital breakup, all these guys want to do is punish mom, and they know the most vicious thing they can do is destroy her children.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/crimewatch/police-four-dead-including-two-children-in-east-tulsa-apartment/article_610ccdfe-309e-5c10-94b5-9105ae3c2f9e.html
Police: Man kills wife, two children before committing suicide; victims identified
The victims include two small children, ages 3 and 5.
Posted: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 12:00 am
By SAMANTHA VICENT & KENDRICK MARSHALL
World Staff Writers
An estranged couple from Guatemala and their two small children were found dead in a murder-suicide in Tulsa early Tuesday after experiencing several months of marital problems, authorities said.
Police responded to a call at the Bradford Townhouses, 2190 S. 109th East Ave., around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday after a tenant reported finding four bodies there with gunshot wounds.
“(Family members) were visiting the apartment residence, and one of the … residents came home and found them deceased,” Tulsa Police Department spokeswoman Demita Kinard said.
Guatemala’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Houston said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that William Rolando Fuentes Godinez, 35, fatally shot his wife, Maribel Jaqueline Ramirez Fuentes, 22, and then killed their 3-year-old son, Franklin Yosiel Fuentes Ramirez, and 5-year-old daughter, Caroline Michelle Fuentes Ramirez.
Police also found a 2-year-old girl unharmed in the home, and she has since been returned to her mother, they said.
The Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ statement says a family friend said Fuentes Godinez regularly threatened to kill his wife and children if she refused to let him return home. “The female victim had dropped off the children … at their father’s apartment earlier in the day,” Tulsa Police Sgt. Dave Walker said in a release.
“The female victim returned in the evening hours and brought a 2-year-old child with her. This child was related to the female victim’s roommate and they were living at a separate location.”
Fuentes Godinez had two male roommates, neither of whom were home at the time the shootings occurred, Walker said.
Ramirez Fuentes and Fuentes Godinez were from San Pedro Sacatepequez, San Marcos, which is in Guatemala’s southwest corner, officials said. Their children were born in the United States, and Guatemalan authorities said a family friend reported that the couple separated two months ago.
ReeRee Elmore, a five-year resident of the apartment complex, said the family, like most others living there, kept to themselves.
“I just saw (Fuentes Godinez) when he would come outside smoking a cigarette,” she said. “He didn’t talk to anybody or bother anybody. … It’s just shocking to me because you just can’t picture somebody doing that.”
Shirley Bradley, who has lived at the complex for eight years, shared a building with the family. She said she heard a suspicious noise around 10:15 p.m. Monday coming from the area around Fuentes Godinez’s apartment but was still shocked to see multiple patrol cars in the area overnight.
“Our dog ran from the furthest point of that apartment to my door and would not come away from the corner, so I’m assuming that’s when something was going on,” Bradley said. “From what I understand, … she brought the kids over to visit and then she went to buy groceries, and when she came back … is when it all went down.” Bradley didn’t know the family personally but said she believes that the complex has seen an increase in crime during her time there. The violent deaths have prompted her to think about moving, she said.
“My heart goes out for those babies,” she said. “They did nothing wrong. No matter the issues between the man and the woman, the children were innocent.”
The Guatemalan Consulate will continue to assist the family’s survivors and Tulsa authorities during their investigation, officials there said.
“If necessary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will cover the costs of repatriation of remains, if it were the family’s desire,” the office’s statement, written in Spanish, says.
The deaths increase Tulsa’s homicide total for the year to 35 and Tulsa’s suicide total for the year to 58, police said.
Even though this POS gunned down and killed three innocent people, notice there is still a tendency to blame all these murders on "marital problems" or "issues between the man and the woman." This just deflects responsibility away from the killer, and blames the mother for the father's acts. And notice that the mother is blamed even though she tried to accommodate this POS with visitation.
This is why fathers with histories of domestic violence should be banned from contact with the kids. Mothers should not be put in harm's way because they are being pressured or required to "facilitate" the abuser's access to the kids. After a marital breakup, all these guys want to do is punish mom, and they know the most vicious thing they can do is destroy her children.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/crimewatch/police-four-dead-including-two-children-in-east-tulsa-apartment/article_610ccdfe-309e-5c10-94b5-9105ae3c2f9e.html
Police: Man kills wife, two children before committing suicide; victims identified
The victims include two small children, ages 3 and 5.
Posted: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 12:00 am
By SAMANTHA VICENT & KENDRICK MARSHALL
World Staff Writers
An estranged couple from Guatemala and their two small children were found dead in a murder-suicide in Tulsa early Tuesday after experiencing several months of marital problems, authorities said.
Police responded to a call at the Bradford Townhouses, 2190 S. 109th East Ave., around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday after a tenant reported finding four bodies there with gunshot wounds.
“(Family members) were visiting the apartment residence, and one of the … residents came home and found them deceased,” Tulsa Police Department spokeswoman Demita Kinard said.
Guatemala’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Houston said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that William Rolando Fuentes Godinez, 35, fatally shot his wife, Maribel Jaqueline Ramirez Fuentes, 22, and then killed their 3-year-old son, Franklin Yosiel Fuentes Ramirez, and 5-year-old daughter, Caroline Michelle Fuentes Ramirez.
Police also found a 2-year-old girl unharmed in the home, and she has since been returned to her mother, they said.
The Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ statement says a family friend said Fuentes Godinez regularly threatened to kill his wife and children if she refused to let him return home. “The female victim had dropped off the children … at their father’s apartment earlier in the day,” Tulsa Police Sgt. Dave Walker said in a release.
“The female victim returned in the evening hours and brought a 2-year-old child with her. This child was related to the female victim’s roommate and they were living at a separate location.”
Fuentes Godinez had two male roommates, neither of whom were home at the time the shootings occurred, Walker said.
Ramirez Fuentes and Fuentes Godinez were from San Pedro Sacatepequez, San Marcos, which is in Guatemala’s southwest corner, officials said. Their children were born in the United States, and Guatemalan authorities said a family friend reported that the couple separated two months ago.
ReeRee Elmore, a five-year resident of the apartment complex, said the family, like most others living there, kept to themselves.
“I just saw (Fuentes Godinez) when he would come outside smoking a cigarette,” she said. “He didn’t talk to anybody or bother anybody. … It’s just shocking to me because you just can’t picture somebody doing that.”
Shirley Bradley, who has lived at the complex for eight years, shared a building with the family. She said she heard a suspicious noise around 10:15 p.m. Monday coming from the area around Fuentes Godinez’s apartment but was still shocked to see multiple patrol cars in the area overnight.
“Our dog ran from the furthest point of that apartment to my door and would not come away from the corner, so I’m assuming that’s when something was going on,” Bradley said. “From what I understand, … she brought the kids over to visit and then she went to buy groceries, and when she came back … is when it all went down.” Bradley didn’t know the family personally but said she believes that the complex has seen an increase in crime during her time there. The violent deaths have prompted her to think about moving, she said.
“My heart goes out for those babies,” she said. “They did nothing wrong. No matter the issues between the man and the woman, the children were innocent.”
The Guatemalan Consulate will continue to assist the family’s survivors and Tulsa authorities during their investigation, officials there said.
“If necessary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will cover the costs of repatriation of remains, if it were the family’s desire,” the office’s statement, written in Spanish, says.
The deaths increase Tulsa’s homicide total for the year to 35 and Tulsa’s suicide total for the year to 58, police said.
Custodial dad found guilty of manslaughter in torture-murder of 11-year-old daughter (Sarasota, Florida)
Doing some follow up work on some of the many cases we follow here at Dastardly. Somehow we missed that custodial dad KENNETH STODDARD was finally convicted of manslaughter last month.
The mother lived in North Carolina and after Dad gained custody, she basically lost all contact.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20140905/BREAKING/140909816
Stoddard guilty of manslaughter in death of daughter
By Gabrielle Russon
Published: Friday, September 5, 2014 at 3:15 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, September 5, 2014 at 5:21 p.m.
SARASOTA - The trees and Spanish moss block out the afternoon sun, casting shade over this house on a dead-end street east of the interstate. A white horse shakes its mane in a nearby pasture and down the road are manicured, expensive homes and a golf course.
It's been nearly two years since 11-year-old Melissa Stoddard was killed here, suffocating after being tied to a plywood board with duct tape placed over her mouth.
Melissa's death would forever alter the lives of those close to her, but none more than her five half-siblings. They were removed from this home but not before witnessing weeks of abuse and the frantic rescue efforts as first-responders tried to save the girl that night in December 2012.
On Friday, Melissa's case ended as a jury convicted her biological father, Kenneth Stoddard, on a trio of felonies — including aggravated manslaughter — that could send him to prison for up to 65 years.
In June, his partner, Misty Stoddard, was found guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
It was Misty Stoddard who placed the tape over Melissa's mouth, the fatal act, prosecutors said. But it was the child's father who failed to protect her, bought the board and knew what was happening in the home.
The mother lived in North Carolina and after Dad gained custody, she basically lost all contact.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20140905/BREAKING/140909816
Stoddard guilty of manslaughter in death of daughter
By Gabrielle Russon
Published: Friday, September 5, 2014 at 3:15 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, September 5, 2014 at 5:21 p.m.
SARASOTA - The trees and Spanish moss block out the afternoon sun, casting shade over this house on a dead-end street east of the interstate. A white horse shakes its mane in a nearby pasture and down the road are manicured, expensive homes and a golf course.
It's been nearly two years since 11-year-old Melissa Stoddard was killed here, suffocating after being tied to a plywood board with duct tape placed over her mouth.
Melissa's death would forever alter the lives of those close to her, but none more than her five half-siblings. They were removed from this home but not before witnessing weeks of abuse and the frantic rescue efforts as first-responders tried to save the girl that night in December 2012.
On Friday, Melissa's case ended as a jury convicted her biological father, Kenneth Stoddard, on a trio of felonies — including aggravated manslaughter — that could send him to prison for up to 65 years.
In June, his partner, Misty Stoddard, was found guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
It was Misty Stoddard who placed the tape over Melissa's mouth, the fatal act, prosecutors said. But it was the child's father who failed to protect her, bought the board and knew what was happening in the home.
Dad charged in carbon monoxide death of 6-year-old daughter had court-ordered visitation despite history of child neglect, drug abuse, prison record (Syracuse, New York)
Doing some follow up on recent cases. Remember the case of the Syracuse, New York father charged in the carbon monoxide death of his 6-year-old daughter? The one he left home alone while he was out at the casino? We figured this was a custody/visitation case...and sure enough, subsequent research has shown that it was. COURT-ORDERED visitation no less, in upstate New York, which has been dominated by fathers rights groups for years. We increasingly see the "fruit" of their labors, namely dead kids that were left with unfit fathers.
There was no rational reason for an idiot like GLENN COLLINS to have access. Why don't guys like this get supervised visitation instead of protective mothers? And this sh** has the nerve to intimidate/harass the surviving child into not testifying?
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/10/mother_of_6-year-old_girl_killed_in_carbon_monoxide_poisoning_had_fought_with_fa.html
Mother of 6-year-old killed in carbon monoxide poisoning feared for girl's safety
By Julie McMahon on October 09, 2014 at 8:13 PM, updated October 09, 2014 at 9:46 PM
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- In the four years since Glenn Collins was released from prison, his daughter's mother feared hearing that her 6-year-old Gabriella was hurt in his care.
After the girl's stays with her father, she complained of being bored, unwashed and of his long absences, said Julianne Steinbrecher, the mother.
On Aug. 29, she received the dreaded phone call.
During that visit with his daughter, Collins arrived home to 106 Carlton Drive in Salina from a trip with a woman to Turning Stone casino. He found Gabriella and his 14-year-old son Jaidon Collins unresponsive, authorities said. Gabriella was pronounced dead at Upstate University Hospital from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a generator.
Steinbrecher was required by court order to allow her daughter to visit Glenn Collins.
"She would kick and scream and cry, 'Mommy, I don't want to go.' Being a mother it obviously broke my heart but I had to follow what a court order said."
The July court order included specific conditions, many of which were broken the day of Gabriella's death.
The court order requires a parent or adult over the age of 18 to watch the girl at all times. Specifically, the parents agreed that either the father or one of his parents would supervise. But police say Gabriella was left with her half-brother Jaidon, which is explicitly prohibited by the court order.
The court order also requires that Gabriella make regular phone calls to check in with her mother. Steinbrecher expected a call that night, but never received one, typical of visits with Collins, she said.
Under the court order, Collins was required to notify Steinbrecher of any event that would affect the child's health. Power had been cut to the house on Aug. 13. Collins had since placed a generator inside the house, authorities have said. Gabriella had told her mother about a power outage at the house when she returned from her last visit. She told Steinbrecher that she had stayed with Collins' parents. Steinbrecher had no knowledge of a generator being used at the house.
Finally, the court order required each parent to send each other copies of a driving record within a specified time period. When Steinbrecher did not receive Collins', she filed a petition with the court asking to take away Collins' visitation rights until he could prove he had a valid drivers' license. The petition was not processed by the court by the time Gabriella had died.
The court awarded Steinbrecher $8.04 a month, she said. Steinbrecher said she hasn't received a payment since November 2013. Collins has missed several hearings on child support, she said.
The relationship between Steinbrecher and Collins has been difficult since the night of Feb. 10, 2010, when police raided the couple's home for drugs, court papers show. Gabriella was two years old at the time. Police found 800 doses of drugs in a safe, according to the court papers issued by Onondaga County Family Court. Steinbrecher said she did not have access to the safe or know they were there.
A month later, out on bail, Collins was again charged with a drug offense when he was stopped with heroin in New York City, the court papers say. According to the records, Collins pleaded guilty to both charges.
He was admitted to prison in July 2010, and was released in April 2011 on parole.
Surrounded by their parents and other family members, Steinbrecher and her boyfriend Seamus Quinn spoke to Syracuse.com about the loss of the 6-year-old girl. They waited until Thursday, when charges were announced, to avoid interfering with an investigation into the incident.
Steinbrecher said she didn't blame the court, 14-year-old Jaidon or herself. She placed the blame solely on Glenn Collins.
His whereabouts in the hours before the girl's death infuriate her, she said.
"It disgusts me. You have money to go to the casino but you can't pay your NiMo bill, your child support? It doesn't surprise me. Nothing surprises me anymore with his actions."
Days after Gabriella died, the couple published an obituary which left Glenn Collins completely out. The girl's name was listed as Gabriella Antoinette Steinbrecher-Quinn. Collins, they said, didn't have a right to her name or condolences.
"I am her father," Quinn said. "If you asked him what her favorite color was, he wouldn't be able to tell you. If you asked him who her kindergarten teacher was, he wouldn't be able to tell you. I was there on the first day of school. I helped her tie her shoes for the first time. We did so much family stuff together, the three of us."
Quinn, Steinbrecher and the 6-year-old girl lived happily in their Syracuse home for four years, the couple said. They said the girl called Quinn "Dad" and Collins "Glenn."
Before the funeral, Collins texted Steinbrecher, the only communication the two have had since the girl's death. This text message is the only communication Julianne Steinbrecher has received from her 6-year-old daughter's father Glenn Collins since the girl died at his house.
Collins was not invited to the funeral or calling hours.
"I want that memory in his head of what he found that morning - you have to live with that memory," Steinbrecher said. "You're not going to see her at peace in that casket. You live with that memory of you finding her dead. I want that etched in his brain."
Steinbrecher said the charges against Collins (second-degree manslaughter, theft of services and criminal impersonation and harassment) give her some comfort.
"I feel some sort of comfort, I'm angry, and my grieving process starts now after all of this," she said. "This is what I've been waiting for, some kind of justice for her in all this."
Steinbrecher and Quinn said life hasn't been anywhere near the same since their daughter with the great big smile and even bigger personality died.
They described her as loving to sing and dance, as well as spending time outdoors at the family's camp. She learned to love school and had tons of friends who she loved to share her toys with. SpongeBob SquarePants was her favorite cartoon character.
Steinbrecher vowed to be at every one of Collins' court appearances until the day she would be given the opportunity to speak.
"It won't be nice," she said. "He took the best part of me. He took my whole life. It's changed. It's like the day before I was a mother."
There was no rational reason for an idiot like GLENN COLLINS to have access. Why don't guys like this get supervised visitation instead of protective mothers? And this sh** has the nerve to intimidate/harass the surviving child into not testifying?
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/10/mother_of_6-year-old_girl_killed_in_carbon_monoxide_poisoning_had_fought_with_fa.html
Mother of 6-year-old killed in carbon monoxide poisoning feared for girl's safety
By Julie McMahon on October 09, 2014 at 8:13 PM, updated October 09, 2014 at 9:46 PM
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- In the four years since Glenn Collins was released from prison, his daughter's mother feared hearing that her 6-year-old Gabriella was hurt in his care.
After the girl's stays with her father, she complained of being bored, unwashed and of his long absences, said Julianne Steinbrecher, the mother.
On Aug. 29, she received the dreaded phone call.
During that visit with his daughter, Collins arrived home to 106 Carlton Drive in Salina from a trip with a woman to Turning Stone casino. He found Gabriella and his 14-year-old son Jaidon Collins unresponsive, authorities said. Gabriella was pronounced dead at Upstate University Hospital from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a generator.
Steinbrecher was required by court order to allow her daughter to visit Glenn Collins.
"She would kick and scream and cry, 'Mommy, I don't want to go.' Being a mother it obviously broke my heart but I had to follow what a court order said."
The July court order included specific conditions, many of which were broken the day of Gabriella's death.
The court order requires a parent or adult over the age of 18 to watch the girl at all times. Specifically, the parents agreed that either the father or one of his parents would supervise. But police say Gabriella was left with her half-brother Jaidon, which is explicitly prohibited by the court order.
The court order also requires that Gabriella make regular phone calls to check in with her mother. Steinbrecher expected a call that night, but never received one, typical of visits with Collins, she said.
Under the court order, Collins was required to notify Steinbrecher of any event that would affect the child's health. Power had been cut to the house on Aug. 13. Collins had since placed a generator inside the house, authorities have said. Gabriella had told her mother about a power outage at the house when she returned from her last visit. She told Steinbrecher that she had stayed with Collins' parents. Steinbrecher had no knowledge of a generator being used at the house.
Finally, the court order required each parent to send each other copies of a driving record within a specified time period. When Steinbrecher did not receive Collins', she filed a petition with the court asking to take away Collins' visitation rights until he could prove he had a valid drivers' license. The petition was not processed by the court by the time Gabriella had died.
The court awarded Steinbrecher $8.04 a month, she said. Steinbrecher said she hasn't received a payment since November 2013. Collins has missed several hearings on child support, she said.
The relationship between Steinbrecher and Collins has been difficult since the night of Feb. 10, 2010, when police raided the couple's home for drugs, court papers show. Gabriella was two years old at the time. Police found 800 doses of drugs in a safe, according to the court papers issued by Onondaga County Family Court. Steinbrecher said she did not have access to the safe or know they were there.
A month later, out on bail, Collins was again charged with a drug offense when he was stopped with heroin in New York City, the court papers say. According to the records, Collins pleaded guilty to both charges.
He was admitted to prison in July 2010, and was released in April 2011 on parole.
Surrounded by their parents and other family members, Steinbrecher and her boyfriend Seamus Quinn spoke to Syracuse.com about the loss of the 6-year-old girl. They waited until Thursday, when charges were announced, to avoid interfering with an investigation into the incident.
Steinbrecher said she didn't blame the court, 14-year-old Jaidon or herself. She placed the blame solely on Glenn Collins.
His whereabouts in the hours before the girl's death infuriate her, she said.
"It disgusts me. You have money to go to the casino but you can't pay your NiMo bill, your child support? It doesn't surprise me. Nothing surprises me anymore with his actions."
Days after Gabriella died, the couple published an obituary which left Glenn Collins completely out. The girl's name was listed as Gabriella Antoinette Steinbrecher-Quinn. Collins, they said, didn't have a right to her name or condolences.
"I am her father," Quinn said. "If you asked him what her favorite color was, he wouldn't be able to tell you. If you asked him who her kindergarten teacher was, he wouldn't be able to tell you. I was there on the first day of school. I helped her tie her shoes for the first time. We did so much family stuff together, the three of us."
Quinn, Steinbrecher and the 6-year-old girl lived happily in their Syracuse home for four years, the couple said. They said the girl called Quinn "Dad" and Collins "Glenn."
Before the funeral, Collins texted Steinbrecher, the only communication the two have had since the girl's death. This text message is the only communication Julianne Steinbrecher has received from her 6-year-old daughter's father Glenn Collins since the girl died at his house.
Collins was not invited to the funeral or calling hours.
"I want that memory in his head of what he found that morning - you have to live with that memory," Steinbrecher said. "You're not going to see her at peace in that casket. You live with that memory of you finding her dead. I want that etched in his brain."
Steinbrecher said the charges against Collins (second-degree manslaughter, theft of services and criminal impersonation and harassment) give her some comfort.
"I feel some sort of comfort, I'm angry, and my grieving process starts now after all of this," she said. "This is what I've been waiting for, some kind of justice for her in all this."
Steinbrecher and Quinn said life hasn't been anywhere near the same since their daughter with the great big smile and even bigger personality died.
They described her as loving to sing and dance, as well as spending time outdoors at the family's camp. She learned to love school and had tons of friends who she loved to share her toys with. SpongeBob SquarePants was her favorite cartoon character.
Steinbrecher vowed to be at every one of Collins' court appearances until the day she would be given the opportunity to speak.
"It won't be nice," she said. "He took the best part of me. He took my whole life. It's changed. It's like the day before I was a mother."
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Dad charged with abusing 2-month-old daughter--just days after he appeared before the judge for abusing his 7-year-old step daughter (Canton Township, Michigan)
This case baffles me. Was there a mother in this home? Notice that it is reported that Dad allegedly abused the baby between October 8 and October 14. If there had been a mother in the home, wouldn't she have reported the abuse before a week passed? And if there was a mother in the home who failed to report the abuse before a week passed, wouldn't she have been charged? But no there is no mention of a mother being charged with anything.
Nor is there any mention of a mother responding to the abuse allegations regarding the 7-year-old step daughter.
So was Daddy caring for a 2-month-old infant alone for at least a week? Why were there step kids in the home with him? Did he have custody? Did Mom "disappear"? Is she even alive?
What happened to Mom? With a guy who is this abusive to kids, you got to wonder what he could have done to their mother.
Dad is identified as VINCENT JOEL FRENCH II.
http://www.wxyz.com/news/father-charged-with-abusing-his-infant-daughter
Father charged with abusing his infant daughter
By: Mike Woolfolk
Posted: 6:35 PM, Oct 24, 2014
Updated: 6:36 PM, Oct 24, 2014
(WXYZ) - A Canton man faces felony child abuse charges in connection with injuries to his infant daughter.
Vincent Joel French II, 33, appeared in 35th District Court by video for the second time in three days to face a judge. French is accused of injuring his two-month old daughter at The Crossings apartment complex on Honeytree Boulevard in Canton between October 8 and October 14.
“Is it alleged there’s a broken femur involved in one of these matters?” asked Judge James Plakas during the arraignment. The investigating officer answered, “Yes, your Honor."
The infant child suffered a fractured leg and three fractured ribs. She was treated by doctors and released from a hospital.
Friday’s court appearance was not French’s first.
“Did I not just arraign him on a domestic violence involving a minor child earlier this week?” asked Judge Plakas. Again, the investigating officer replied, “Yes.”
On Wednesday, French answered misdemeanor charges of child abuse and domestic violence involving his 7-year old stepdaughter.
As he contemplated bond, Judge Plakas told French, “I know they’re just allegations, but its a lot of them over a period of time, here.” He added, “I need to protect children from you.”
Plakas imposed a $500,000 cash bond on French and told him that if he posts bond, he is to have no contact of any kind with minors and he must wear a GPS tether.
Meanwhile, the two-month old infant, 7-year old stepdaughter and a 9-year old stepson, who was not injured, have all been placed in protective custody while the case is handled. French is due back in court on November 7.
Nor is there any mention of a mother responding to the abuse allegations regarding the 7-year-old step daughter.
So was Daddy caring for a 2-month-old infant alone for at least a week? Why were there step kids in the home with him? Did he have custody? Did Mom "disappear"? Is she even alive?
What happened to Mom? With a guy who is this abusive to kids, you got to wonder what he could have done to their mother.
Dad is identified as VINCENT JOEL FRENCH II.
http://www.wxyz.com/news/father-charged-with-abusing-his-infant-daughter
Father charged with abusing his infant daughter
By: Mike Woolfolk
Posted: 6:35 PM, Oct 24, 2014
Updated: 6:36 PM, Oct 24, 2014
(WXYZ) - A Canton man faces felony child abuse charges in connection with injuries to his infant daughter.
Vincent Joel French II, 33, appeared in 35th District Court by video for the second time in three days to face a judge. French is accused of injuring his two-month old daughter at The Crossings apartment complex on Honeytree Boulevard in Canton between October 8 and October 14.
“Is it alleged there’s a broken femur involved in one of these matters?” asked Judge James Plakas during the arraignment. The investigating officer answered, “Yes, your Honor."
The infant child suffered a fractured leg and three fractured ribs. She was treated by doctors and released from a hospital.
Friday’s court appearance was not French’s first.
“Did I not just arraign him on a domestic violence involving a minor child earlier this week?” asked Judge Plakas. Again, the investigating officer replied, “Yes.”
On Wednesday, French answered misdemeanor charges of child abuse and domestic violence involving his 7-year old stepdaughter.
As he contemplated bond, Judge Plakas told French, “I know they’re just allegations, but its a lot of them over a period of time, here.” He added, “I need to protect children from you.”
Plakas imposed a $500,000 cash bond on French and told him that if he posts bond, he is to have no contact of any kind with minors and he must wear a GPS tether.
Meanwhile, the two-month old infant, 7-year old stepdaughter and a 9-year old stepson, who was not injured, have all been placed in protective custody while the case is handled. French is due back in court on November 7.
Dad leaves toddlers alone in car while he gambles at casino; did this happen during Dad's custody time? (Scottsdale, Arizona)
So we're told that Daddy was with his "girlfriend." We're not told she was the mother of these children, which makes me suspect she wasn't. So was this a custody/visitation situation? We're not told.
Meanwhile, notice that CPS has taken custody of the kids. So if there is a mother somewhere else, she is being punished for Daddy's irresponsibility. Unfortunately, this happens a lot.
Dad is identified as THOMAS DEVEREAUX.
http://myfox8.com/2014/10/24/toddlers-left-alone-in-car-while-father-gambles-at-casino/
Toddlers left alone in car while father gambles at casino
Posted 7:13 am, October 24, 2014, by CNN Wire, Updated at 02:11pm, October 24, 2014
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A Mesa dad faces child abuse charges after he allegedly left his two children in a parked car while he was at a Scottsdale casino early Wednesday morning.
The children, ages 2 and 3, were found in the vehicle on the upper level of Talking Stick Resort’s parking garage at 9800 E. Indian Bend Rd. by security officers with the casino’s bike patrol, a court document stated.
Salt River police officers found Thomas Devereux, 29, with his girlfriend on the main floor of the casino at around 2:50 a.m..
Child Protective Services were notified and took custody of the children.
Devereux was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on one count of child abuse and one count of endangering the life of a minor.
Meanwhile, notice that CPS has taken custody of the kids. So if there is a mother somewhere else, she is being punished for Daddy's irresponsibility. Unfortunately, this happens a lot.
Dad is identified as THOMAS DEVEREAUX.
http://myfox8.com/2014/10/24/toddlers-left-alone-in-car-while-father-gambles-at-casino/
Toddlers left alone in car while father gambles at casino
Posted 7:13 am, October 24, 2014, by CNN Wire, Updated at 02:11pm, October 24, 2014
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A Mesa dad faces child abuse charges after he allegedly left his two children in a parked car while he was at a Scottsdale casino early Wednesday morning.
The children, ages 2 and 3, were found in the vehicle on the upper level of Talking Stick Resort’s parking garage at 9800 E. Indian Bend Rd. by security officers with the casino’s bike patrol, a court document stated.
Salt River police officers found Thomas Devereux, 29, with his girlfriend on the main floor of the casino at around 2:50 a.m..
Child Protective Services were notified and took custody of the children.
Devereux was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on one count of child abuse and one count of endangering the life of a minor.
Nine-month-old baby shot by dad has died (Howard County, Indiana)
Who the hell cleans a handgun with a 9-month-old infant by your side? Unbelievable stupidity. If that is in fact what happened.
Dad is identified as JOHN W. HAMBAUGH III.
http://www.kokomotribune.com/news/baby-shot-by-father-wednesday-has-died/article_b573e712-5ba5-11e4-87c2-0b5790894ed0.html
Baby shot by father Wednesday has died
Posted: Friday, October 24, 2014 2:00 pm
By Mike Fletcher
Kokomo Tribune
The baby who was shot by his father Wednesday has died.
Howard County Sheriff Steve Rogers said the 9-month-old passed away Thursday at Riley Children’s Hospital, Indianapolis.
“We were notified by the Marion County Coroner’s office Thursday that the child has passed,” Rogers said Friday.
Deputies responded just before 5 p.m. to the home of 31-year-old John W. Hambaugh III, at 406 Fawn Drive, after receiving multiple 911 calls advising two people had been shot. Upon arrival, deputies found Hambaugh and his 9-month-old son being treated for gunshot wounds. After the shooting, the child’s mother, Leah Martin, moved the child to the front yard, where she and neighbors rendered aid until medics and deputies arrived, Rogers said.
Police reported Hambaugh was seated in the kitchen area of Timbernest Townhomes apartment, where he was preparing to clean his handgun. When Hambaugh attempted to disassemble the gun, a round inadvertently left in the handgun discharged. The bullet entered the inside of Hambaugh's left thigh and went through to strike the child in the head. Evidence at the scene, which is consistent with witness reports, suggests the child was standing to the side of Hambaugh at the time of the shooting.
“The shooting was described as an accident, but we’re treating it as a death investigation,” Rogers said.
Dad is identified as JOHN W. HAMBAUGH III.
http://www.kokomotribune.com/news/baby-shot-by-father-wednesday-has-died/article_b573e712-5ba5-11e4-87c2-0b5790894ed0.html
Baby shot by father Wednesday has died
Posted: Friday, October 24, 2014 2:00 pm
By Mike Fletcher
Kokomo Tribune
The baby who was shot by his father Wednesday has died.
Howard County Sheriff Steve Rogers said the 9-month-old passed away Thursday at Riley Children’s Hospital, Indianapolis.
“We were notified by the Marion County Coroner’s office Thursday that the child has passed,” Rogers said Friday.
Deputies responded just before 5 p.m. to the home of 31-year-old John W. Hambaugh III, at 406 Fawn Drive, after receiving multiple 911 calls advising two people had been shot. Upon arrival, deputies found Hambaugh and his 9-month-old son being treated for gunshot wounds. After the shooting, the child’s mother, Leah Martin, moved the child to the front yard, where she and neighbors rendered aid until medics and deputies arrived, Rogers said.
Police reported Hambaugh was seated in the kitchen area of Timbernest Townhomes apartment, where he was preparing to clean his handgun. When Hambaugh attempted to disassemble the gun, a round inadvertently left in the handgun discharged. The bullet entered the inside of Hambaugh's left thigh and went through to strike the child in the head. Evidence at the scene, which is consistent with witness reports, suggests the child was standing to the side of Hambaugh at the time of the shooting.
“The shooting was described as an accident, but we’re treating it as a death investigation,” Rogers said.