Intimate Violence Deaths in the News

Springfield, MA: Trial of Springfield man accused of killing his estranged wife gets under way

2012-02-17T22:31:00.000-05:00

Springfield, Mass- The trial of a Springfield man accused of stabbing his estranged wife then setting her home on fire to hide his crimes has started.

Opening statements and testimony in the trial of 41-year-old Benjamin Sanchez began Thursday in Hampden Superior Court.

Sanchez is charged with murder, arson and violating a restraining order in connection with the July 2009 death of 38-year-old Ana Cruz. She died of multiple stab wounds and smoke inhalation.

The Republican (http://bit.ly/zJR8qs) reports that Cruz's children took the stand Thursday. Her son testified that he had heard Sanchez threaten to kill his mother on multiple occasions.

Sanchez's lawyer said in opening statements that there is no evidence to connect his client to Cruz's death.

New Bedford, MA: Mass. man pleads guilty to killing mom, girlfriend

2012-02-17T22:13:00.000-05:00

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — A New Bedford man faces life without parole after admitting he fatally stabbed his mother and his girlfriend in 2009.

Bristol District Attorney Sam Sutter said Friday 39-year-old Gary Gomes pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the slaying of 48-year-old Robyn Mendes and manslaughter in the death of 61-year-old Katherine Gomes.

Their bodies were found in a New Bedford apartment after neighbors smelled natural gas. Police found Gomes barricaded with a third person who wasn't hurt.

The New Bedford Standard Times reports Gomes had a history of violence toward Mendes, including an assault conviction and restraining orders. Prosecutors said he dressed her body and put it on a bed near an "I love you" message written in blood on a wall. They said he killed his mother two days earlier.

Sentencing is on Thursday.

Philadelphia, PA: Police: Teen Arrested In Shooting Death Of Pregnant Girlfriend In South Philadelphia

2012-02-17T20:17:00.001-05:00

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Philadelphia police have made an arrest in the murder of a South Philadelphia woman whose body was found early Thursday morning in the basement of her home.

Authorities say the murder took place inside a home along the 2300 block of South Mildred Street. The 24-year-old victim, identified by police as Tiffany Gillespie , was pregnant.

Police arrested 19-year-old Aaron Fitzpatrick at about noon. They say he shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend during a domestic dispute.

Gillespie was found by her mother, lying in her basement with a gunshot wound to the head. Police say the victim and Fitzpatrick were no strangers to police and they had a very tumultuous relationship.

“They had been arguing over the last 24-hour period. He was upset with the fact that she was pregnant with his baby and he killed her for that,” said Homicide Captain James Clark.

Police say they are waiting for a results from the medical examiner to determine how far along the victim was in her pregnancy when she was killed. At this point, police say Fitzpatrick will be charged with only one count of murder.

Lealman, FL: Sheriff: Man forced to admit fault in cell phone video before being killed

2012-02-17T20:14:00.000-05:00

LEALMAN — The 39-second cell phone video made that morning shows Landy Martinez-Esquivel bound in his bathtub and crying.

It's not Jose's fault, the 21-year-old says in Spanish, according to authorities. It was my fault.

What exactly he's referring to, we don't know.

But an hour later, the same name surfaces in a desperate 911 call.

"Help. Help. They're going to kill me. Help. Please help me. Help me," Martinez-Esquivel yells to a dispatcher. "Jose, no!"

For nearly two hours on the morning of Dec. 21, authorities say Jose Magana Adame, 24, kept Martinez-Esquivel, his ex-boyfriend, a prisoner in his own home in unincorporated Lealman.

Then Adame shot him while he was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Friday.

The shots come in rapid succession, about 50 seconds into the call, amidst a plea for help.

One shot was to the back of his head. The other, through the chest.

"Both wounds were fatal," said Gualtieri.

Authorities tried to triangulate the cell phone call that morning, but were sent to the wrong address.

Adame and Martinez-Esquivel had a long on-again, off-again relationship. They had lived together at 5476 57th Ave. N for about three weeks.

But in the days leading up to the incident, they had been arguing over a vehicle.

On Dec. 13, Martinez-Esquivel called the Sheriff's Office to report that his ex-boyfriend had stolen his vehicle. Adame had apparently taken the vehicle a couple of weeks before, left the state, and had been blowing through red-light cameras and racking up parking tickets, all of which were being sent to Martinez-Esquivel, according to an incident report.

The squabble over the car eventually caused Adame to move out, Gualtieri said.

Those around Martinez-Esquivel were worried for him. One of the home owners, identified as Yadira Guzman, was so worried about Adame coming back to the home that she installed a video surveillance system throughout the house. She monitored the cameras remotely from North Carolina, Gualtieri said.

At about 11:15 a.m. the day of the shooting, she called deputies to tell them that her video surveillance had been cut. She was worried and wanted them to do a welfare check.

Deputies came to the home and found a broken-out window and a door ajar. They found Martinez-Esquivel in a bedroom, dead.

Deputies found remnants of duct tape on his wrists and legs.

After the shooting, Adame fled to Hickory, N.C., where he was arrested on an unrelated burglary, according to authorities. Adame, who is in the country illegally, also was placed on an immigration hold. Adame denied committing the homicide and being in Pinellas County, Gualtieri said.

A Pinellas County grand jury eventually indicted him on the murder charge.

On Friday, he was in jail in Catawba County, N.C., on charges of murder and burglary. He's expected to be returned to Pinellas County within the month.

With Adame's arrest, the Sheriff's Office has made an arrest in each of the 14 homicides in its jurisdiction in 2011, Gaultieri said during a press conference Friday. The Sheriff's Office has cleared 64 of 66 homicides in the past five years.

However, there has been a decline in major crimes in Pinellas, including murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and major thefts, according to Gualtieri, who became sheriff last November. These crimes have dropped nearly 8 percent since last year to 11,415. Meanwhile, arrests jumped 28 percent for those crimes to 2,801.

"This is very significant against the backdrop of all of the changes in the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office in the last several fiscal years," he said. "These have been transformational times for the Sheriff's Office."

Oviedo, FL: Man accused of murdering girlfriend in Oviedo apartment

2012-02-17T19:53:00.000-05:00

OVIEDO --
Seminole County deputies believe they have figured out what happened at an apartment where they found one person dead and another severely injured.

Capt. Dan Purcell said Jorge L. Nieves, 25, faces second-degree murder charges for killing his 28-year-old girlfriend, Karla Gladris Barretto Pagan, in their apartment.

Deputies said they received a 911 call from an adult family member just after midnight Friday reporting a "suspicious incident" at the Mystic Cove apartments.

“We believe that this stemmed from a domestic dispute inside the residence minutes prior to our arrival or within a very short time period before our arrival,” Purcell said.

When deputies arrived, they found Barretto Pagan dead inside a bedroom. They found Nieves in serious condition. Nieves was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

He is now in police custody and is expected to be OK.

Deputies will not say if this was a murder-suicide attempt.

However, they did reveal a 3-year-old and an 11-year-old were inside the apartment when the murder took place.

Investigators said this was an isolated incident.

Still, neighbors were concerned when they woke up to find investigators all over their neighborhood and said it's normally a very quiet area.

"You can usually hear a pin drop," said Alexander Rosa, who lives near the crime scene. "I mean, we'll have the normal stuff, like a car theft, but nothing like this."

Investigators would not exactly say how Barretto Pagan died but they say a gun was not involved in her death.

Fremont, NE: Woman hurt, man dead in Fremont

2012-02-17T19:48:00.000-05:00

A domestic dispute probably led to a woman being shot in the face and a man's apparent suicide Thursday night in Fremont, Neb., authorities said.
Garrett Corn, 22, of Fremont died of an apparent gunshot wound to the head, officials said Friday, and a 23-year-old Fremont woman was injured in the shooting case that began about 8:40 p.m.

“It appears to have been a domestic situation,'' Fremont police Deputy Chief Jeff Elliott said. “She suffered multiple gunshots to the face.''

He said the woman was taken to the Fremont Area Medical Center and then transferred to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha.

“The shooting remains under investigation,'' Elliott said.

He would not say if Corn and the woman were married or in a relationship, nor would he release her name.

Corn was found about an hour after incident began in the southwest part of Fremont, Elliott said, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. He said as two Fremont police officers tracked Corn, they heard a single gunshot.

The woman's injuries occurred at an address on Union Street between First and Second Streets, he said. Corn was discovered about a half-block away near a shed.

Elliott said the Dodge County Sheriff's Office, the Nebraska State Patrol and the Omaha Police Department assisted in the case. He said an OPD helicopter helped locate Corn.

“I want to thank all the agencies that helped,'' he said. “The Omaha Police Department's helicopter was of immense value.''

East Hollywood, CA: Domestic dispute behind East Hollywood shooting, police say

2012-02-17T19:45:00.000-05:00

Domestic violence is believed to have triggered an East Hollywood shooting that left two dead, including the gunman, and three others wounded, police said.

Lt. Andy Nieman of the Los Angeles Police Department said the shooter had a former relationship with a woman who lived at the home. She is among the three survivors, he said.

Police believe the victim whose body was found inside the burned-out home in the 500 block of North Harvard Boulevard is a man.

When authorities arrived at the scene about 12:40 p.m. in response to the shooting, the home was already engulfed in flames.

Nieman said several police and firefighters put themselves at risk of being shot or injured in the fire to help rescue the three survivors, who have only been identified as two 38-year-old women and a 34-year-old man.
"This is a tragedy for the neighborhood," Nieman said.

Police did not identify the alleged gunman or any of the victims.

Haleiwa, HI: Police: Victim in apparent murder-suicide was avid North Shore canoe paddler

2012-02-16T12:38:00.003-05:00

Wednesday morning's apparent murder-suicide at Waimea Bay has left a quiet North Shore community stunned.

"I'm like wait a minute I know this family, I know this family," says Faith Craycroft, who paddled with Amy Kaufman.

Craycroft knew 40 year-old Amy and 41 year-old Chris Kaufman through Amy's love for paddling.

"The first time I met her was at a first year birthday party, and one of those instant people you think you know for a whole lifetime," says Craycroft.

Amy was a member of the North Shore Canoe Club, and was well liked by fellow paddlers.

"That's all she did, she paddled. When she wasn't paddling she was with the kids on the beach," says Craycroft.

"I only knew Amy for a short time but the affect she had on me, I just can't imagine the people that she had a lot of long term friendships with."

Friends say she had a smile and spirit that would light up any room. Many say Amy and Chris Kaufman were the most likeable of people.

"She was one of those kinds of people, very friendly just so likeable," says Craycroft. "And he seemed equally the same just a wonderful dad."

Friends say Amy had recently separated from her husband Chris Kaufman. According to court records, she had filed for divorce on January 12. The couple has 2 sons a 5 year-old and 14 year-old.

"Apparently she had some major stuff going on with her but she never let on, that's the thing you would never know she was having personal problems and stuff," says Craycroft.

Several friends say Chris Kaufman was distraught about the pending divorce.

"It's just still so unbelievable that could happen to such a nice family," says Craycroft.

Police believe Chris Kaufman is the suspect in the deadly shooting.

"It's just really shocking and I know it's a loss for the North Shore Canoe Club because she was a big part of their paddling family," says Craycroft.

Family and friends are caring for the couples two sons.

Gallia County, OH: UPDATE: Man Accused of Murdering Wife in Gallia County; Name Released

2012-02-16T12:36:00.002-05:00

GALLIA COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- We continue to follow a developing story from Gallia County where a man is behind bars in connection with the death of his wife.

Police recently released the woman's identity. Her name is Stephanie Ramey. She's 28, and police say she was shot and killed by her husband.

David Ramey, of Vinton, has been arrested and charged with aggravated murder.

According to the sheriff's department, David Ramey on Wednesday morning went to his mother's home along Hartsook Road in Vinton, which is located in northern Gallia County.

That's where Stephanie Ramey had been staying. Police say David Ramey walked into a bedroom and shot her twice -- killing her.

David Ramey was taken into custody a short time later after deputies caught up with him pulling into the parking lot of his job.

“They were together, had been married and living together and just recently had some trouble in the marriage some domestic disputes where he had been staying separately the past several nights and came back into the home this morning," Gallia County Sheriff Joe Browning said.

The Rameys have two children; they were at school when all of this happened.

Browning says David Ramey is also charged with disrupting public service in connection with pulling a phone cord out of the wall in the midst of allegedly committing the crime.

Finally, there is a gun specification on the aggravated murder charge.

Article: Branstad OKs bill toughening strangulation penalty

2012-02-16T11:45:00.002-05:00

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Gov. Terry Branstad has signed into law a measure toughening penalties for domestic abuse cases that involve strangulation.

The measure signed by Branstad on Wednesday will let judges sentence people convicted of strangling a domestic partner to a year in prison. The current limit is 30 days in jail.

Branstad says the measure strengthens Iowa law and makes sense.

Iowa City Democratic Rep. Vicki Lensing was a main backer of the measure. She says it sends a signal that lawmakers are serious about toughening penalties for domestic abuse.

Ames Democratic Sen. Herman Quirmbach says abuse that includes strangulation are often a signal that more violence is looming. He says lawmakers must take the issue seriously.

The Legislature overwhelmingly approved the measure with little debate.

New York, NY: Suspect Killed In Subway Station Was Wanted For Shooting Girlfriend's Daughter In Head

2012-02-16T11:31:00.002-05:00

Yesterday's shootout in a Hamilton Heights subway station left a veteran NYPD detective wounded and a suspect dead. Police say that Michael McBride, 52, was wanted for shooting his girlfriend's daughter in the head on Monday, and police had been surveilling him. Then, apparently realizing that he was being tailed, McBride ran into the West 145th Street subway station and then started firing.

The NY Times reports, "According to Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, Mr. McBride, who was about 10 feet from the officers, emptied his revolver, hitting Detective Kevin Herlihy, 47, a plainclothes member of the Police Department’s warrant section, in the left biceps." Kelly said, "Detective Herlihy returned fire, striking McBride in the chest," and commended Herlihy for "good old-fashioned courage." Subway riders on the platform dodged the gunfire by "diving for safety behind benches and trash cans."

McBride managed to run up the subway station's exit at 145th and St. Nicholas Avenue, but then collapsed on the landing. He was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital. McBride, who was found with a .22-caliber gun, was identified by his girlfriend's daughter as the man who shot her in the head—the 25-year-old woman remains in critical condition.

Herlihy, a 17-year veteran, was released from the hospital today. He said, "Thank you for all the support. I just want to spend time with my family," and said of the shooting itself, "It was just instinct more than anything."

Buffalo, NY: Man sentenced for murder over sandwich

2012-02-16T11:25:00.002-05:00

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The man who killed his girlfriend over a sandwich was served justice on Wednesday for the senseless murder.

It began about a year ago on Breckenridge Street in Buffalo when Marcus Gottsche and his ex-girlfriend, 28-year-old Jasmine Armour, got into a fight over a sandwich. Gottsche then shot her in the back, killing her.

At his trial in December, Gottsche was convicted of second degree murder. He did not testify in his defense.

But Wednesday he spoke publicly for the first time about the case, saying that he's not a murderer or a violent or deceitful man. It didn't do much good though as State Supreme Court Justice Russell Buscaglia sentenced him to 25 years to life in prison. It was not enough for the victim's mother.

Catherine Crago said, "This isn't closure. This is like taking a fist full of coarse salt and stuffing it into the sucking chest wound that used to be my only child."

Gottsche did apologize to the vitctim's mother, but she says she's become a different person after this experience - one without hope.

The defense had asked for the minimum, which would have been 15 years to life in prison, but the judge went for the maximum instead.

St. Cloud, FL: On-again, off-again boyfriend arrested in death of Osceola teen

2012-02-16T11:17:00.000-05:00

ST. CLOUD, Fla. —

Someone has been charged in the murder of a St. Cloud teenager who disappeared last summer.

Sixteen-year-old Ashley Jung's remains were found in a back yard, and police said they believe her on-again, off-again boyfriend killed her.

St. Cloud police chief Pete Gauntlett said interviews with friends and family members are helping them get inside Jung's relationship with her boyfriend. The chief said it was violent and it ended in murder, but they're still working to figure out why.

Jung's father stood quietly next to St. Cloud's police chief at a news conference Wednesday and listened to some of the answers about his daughter's death.

"Ashley was 16 years of age and a boyfriend who's a number of years older, and there was an ongoing domestic issue," Gauntlett said.

That boyfriend was 20-year-old Anthony Guglielmini. Investigators said the two had an on-and-off relationship. They said they believe she went with him willingly, but something went wrong.

"It is our belief that his actions led to some sort of confrontation and ultimately her death," Gauntlett said.

Members of Jung's family searched for her after she was reported missing last year.

"I loved that child ... I've done many things for that girl," Jung's grandfather Thomas McQuay said in June 2011.

The last time anyone saw her was Memorial Day. Almost a month later, a man testing his lawnmower in the back yard of a vacant house in St. Cloud found her remains.

Now, eight months later, Gugliemini is charged with her murder. He is already in jail on a burglary charge.

Detectives have questioned him, but said he has not cooperated. The chief said evidence including DNA and cellphone records are enough to charge him with Jung's murder.

Gauntlett said the medical examiner was able to tell them how Jung died, but they are not releasing that information because they are still working to build their case against Guglielmini.

Penrose, CO: Fremont shooting ruled a suicide

2012-02-16T10:13:00.000-05:00

PENROSE — A rural Fremont County woman was released from jail Tuesday after an autopsy and on-scene investigation confirmed her story that her companion committed suicide as the couple argued Sunday.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation authorities continued an investigation on-scene Tuesday at the Mountaindale Campground, 15 miles northwest of Penrose near the Beaver Creek State Wildlife Area, where Claude Ouellette, 53, was found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head.

Valorie Jean Rice, 45, was arrested for domestic violence harassment in connection with the incident pending outcome of an investigation.

"Review of the shooting scene evidence and the results of Ouellette’s autopsy, support the original claim by Rice that Ouellette shot himself during a domestic dispute in the couple’s motor home," said Capt. Don Pinover of the Fremont County Sheriff's Office. "All charges against Rice have been dismissed and Ouellette’s death has been classified as a suicide."

Woodland, GA: Wife charged with killing husband after domestic dispute

2012-02-16T10:09:00.002-05:00

WOODLAND, GA (WTVM) - Officials with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations say a Talbot County man is dead after a domestic dispute with his wife Monday night.

Kelsie Kimball has lived on Ferguson Lane for about 30 years, but she never expected to see crime tape covering a home just down the road.

"I found out at work this morning and it took me a good bit, a few minutes, to pull myself together enough to where I could go back to work," said Kimball.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations says around 10 pm on Monday night Talbot County Sheriff's Deputies were called to a home on Ferguson Lane in Woodland.

Inside the house, they found 58-year-old Danny Lackey with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials say deputies have arrested his wife, Tina Lackey, 45, and charged her with murder.

"He liked to go to the river. He rode around in his truck with his dogs in the back, and he was just a regular guy," said Kimball describing the victim.

Kimball says the Lackeys were always friendly neighbors. While she is sad she will not ever see Danny again, Kimball cannot believe his wife, who she says has two kids, could be capable of this.

"She's taken my daughter with her daughter to go do things, and you know I trusted her with my child. So, that's saying a lot because I don't trust many people with my children," said the neighbor.

Investigators believe the murder stemmed from a domestic dispute between the married couple. Kimball says she did not think they had any more problems than other couples, but her heart goes out to family members affected by the crime.

"I don't begin to know what to say to them. I'm just so sorry that this happened."

Lackey is currently being held in the Talbot County jail.

Oakland, CA: Oakland woman charged with murder in boyfriend's fatal stabbing

2012-02-16T10:04:00.002-05:00

OAKLAND -- Murder charges were filed Wednesday against a woman in the stabbing death Monday night of her boyfriend, police said.

Everlee Avery, 47, is charged in the death of Ernest Williams, 51, of Oakland, her boyfriend of about six months.

Police said the stabbing happened about 10:12 p.m. Monday during an argument the two were having in the kitchen of Avery's apartment in the 3200 block of East 27th Street in East Oakland.

Police were summoned to the scene by neighbors and arrested Avery. Williams died a short time later at a hospital.

Police said the couple had disputes in the past, some of which required a police response.

Peoria, IL: Police arrest suspect in Wednesday stabbing death

2012-02-16T10:01:00.000-05:00

PEORIA — An argument over living arrangements early Wednesday apparently led to the stabbing death of a man in South Peoria and an arrest on a murder charge within hours.

Police were called at 3:51 a.m. to 2807 W. Latrobe St. and found Manuel Melendez, 35, with a stab wound to the chest. He was taken to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:25 a.m.

By early afternoon, police had arrested Johnathan Powers, 26, and booked him into the Peoria County Jail on a single count of first-degree murder. He likely will make his first appearance before a judge to determine his bond Thursday or Friday.

Melendez allegedly was involved in a domestic dispute with his fiancee, Victoria Powers, in the home they shared on Latrobe. As they reportedly argued over the number of people being allowed to stay at their house, he struck her, and the woman’s brother, Johnathan Powers, intervened.

A struggle ensued, and one or both men grabbed for a knife, according to police. Melendez was stabbed in the chest.

Few of those involved in the incident speak English well, and Melendez is an illegal immigrant. Those factors complicated the initial phases of the investigation and hampered authorities’ abilities to confirm certain details of the victim’s identification.

A Wednesday autopsy confirmed the cause of death as stab wounds to the chest, said Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll.

It was not clear how long Melendez had been in the United States, though he apparently traveled regularly between Peoria and Kansas City, where he had additional family. His death marks the first homicide of 2012 in the city of Peoria.

Danielson, CT: Trial in Pomfret stabbing death selects jurors

2012-02-16T09:55:00.002-05:00

Danielson, Conn. — A cross-section of Eastern Connecticut residents took the witness stand in Danielson Superior Court Wednesday with jury selection under way for an upcoming murder trial.

From retiree to self-employed construction contractor, cafe owner to social worker, a mix of potential jurors were questioned by attorneys as part of the voir dire process for the trial of Timothy J. Quail Sr.

Quail, 48, is charged with murder in the 2009 stabbing death of his former girlfriend, Robin Cloutier, 38, at her Pomfret home.

In Connecticut, each potential juror is questioned as part of the voir dire process, while other states conduct a group voir dire. The exercise highlighted the difficulty in retaining people willing or able to serve in a trial that is expected to begin April 12 and continue into May.

Quail, in dress slacks and shirt with tie, listened quietly as his attorney, Mark E. Hauslaib, and state prosecutors Matthew Crockett and Patricia Froehlich, who is the Windham County state’s attorney, took turns asking questions.

Presumed innocent

Hauslaib asked one potential juror if she understood the definition of “presumption of innocence.”

“In a criminal case, the entire burden as you know, rests with the state of Connecticut,” Hauslaib said. “I, on the other hand, don’t have to prove anything. Do you think that’s fair? If I chose not to put Mr. Quail on the stand, would you hold that against him?”

Froehlich and Hauslaib agreed to dismiss several of the people — one was a woman with 1- and 5-year-old children at home, and another watched the clock and said he was thinking about the lunch crowd at his restaurant.

By the end of the day, the attorneys, under the guidance of Judge John D. Boland, agreed on five jurors of the 14 needed. Twelve jurors and two alternates are needed to complete the panel. Jury selection is expected to continue today.

A cross-section of Eastern Connecticut residents took the witness stand in Danielson Superior Court Wednesday with jury selection under way for an upcoming murder trial.

From retiree to self-employed construction contractor, cafe owner to social worker, a mix of potential jurors were questioned by attorneys as part of the voir dire process for the trial of Timothy J. Quail Sr.

Quail, 48, is charged with murder in the 2009 stabbing death of his former girlfriend, Robin Cloutier, 38, at her Pomfret home.

In Connecticut, each potential juror is questioned as part of the voir dire process, while other states conduct a group voir dire. The exercise highlighted the difficulty in retaining people willing or able to serve in a trial that is expected to begin April 12 and continue into May.

Quail, in dress slacks and shirt with tie, listened quietly as his attorney, Mark E. Hauslaib, and state prosecutors Matthew Crockett and Patricia Froehlich, who is the Windham County state’s attorney, took turns asking questions.

Presumed innocent

Hauslaib asked one potential juror if she understood the definition of “presumption of innocence.”

“In a criminal case, the entire burden as you know, rests with the state of Connecticut,” Hauslaib said. “I, on the other hand, don’t have to prove anything. Do you think that’s fair? If I chose not to put Mr. Quail on the stand, would you hold that against him?”

Froehlich and Hauslaib agreed to dismiss several of the people — one was a woman with 1- and 5-year-old children at home, and another watched the clock and said he was thinking about the lunch crowd at his restaurant.

By the end of the day, the attorneys, under the guidance of Judge John D. Boland, agreed on five jurors of the 14 needed. Twelve jurors and two alternates are needed to complete the panel. Jury selection is expected to continue today.

Kingman, AZ: Nevada Man Accused in Stabbing Death in Arizona

2012-02-16T09:53:00.002-05:00

KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities say a Nevada man is facing extradition from Arizona in the stabbing death of a woman found in a burning car near Kingman.

They say 42-year-old John David Marshall, of Henderson, is being held in the Mohave County Jail without bail awaiting an extradition hearing.

Authorities say he's facing murder and kidnapping charges.

A friend of the woman called 911 at about 11 a.m. Tuesday to say Marshall claimed to have killed his ex-girlfriend and was driving somewhere to kill himself.

The car was found on fire near Golden Valley, west of Kingman, and the victim was found inside the burning vehicle.

Mohave County Sheriff deputies captured Marshall after he ran from the burning car.

Henderson police say the woman's name is being withheld until her family is notified.

Article: At least 34 domestic violence deaths in Minnesota last year

2012-02-14T20:43:00.000-05:00

Despite many women doing the “right thing,” at least 23 were murdered in 2011 as a result of domestic violence.
Erica Staab, executive director of HOPE Center, said many of the murder victims got others involved, contacted the police, had orders for protection, and were in the process of leaving their abuser.
“We do know that leaving is often the most dangerous and critical time,” Staab said. “It’s why people stay. If he’s threatened ‘If you leave I will kill you and kill your family’ - women know this is true.”
At least four children, six family members, and one man were also killed as a result of domestic violence in 2011.
These numbers were included in the annual Femicide Report released last week by the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women. The organization has tracked domestic violence deaths since 1989, compiling the Femicide Report from news accounts of domestic violence deaths.
Liz Richards, with the MCBW, said the coalition documents the deaths to direct attention to the dangerous reality of domestic violence.
With at least 25 murders in 2009 and 29 murders in 2010, the 34 murders in 2011 is part of a three-year increase.
“It’s daunting and incredibly sad,” Staab said. “There are ways to come together to create safer environments. One of the things we’ve been trying to look at is funding prevention.”
Staab said examples of prevention include educating people on what healthy relationships look like, how to create healthy relationships, and teaching skills to help reduce arguments. She said it’s important that there’s collaboration at home and in the school system to role model healthy relationships.
Without a way of predicting which abusers will end up killing their partner, the Femicide Report does include several “red flags” for batterer lethality. Some of the red flags include separation, extended history of domestic violence or other violence, pregnancy, access to a firearm, threats to use a weapon, stalking, attempted strangulation, forced sex, extreme jealousy, control of daily activities, and threats or fantasies of homicide or suicide.
Staab said it’s important to take all threats seriously. She said quite a few of the women who were murdered as a result of domestic violence in 2011 were threatened; and the attacks, unfortunately, weren’t a surprise.
Faribault has appeared twice on the annual Femicide Report, in 1995 and again in 1996. On Oct. 9, 1995, Marlene Mayhak was found on the kitchen floor of her home. She had been on the phone with one of her daughters just before her husband, Richard Lee Mayhak, 52, shot her twice and then shot himself.
On Sept. 12, 1996, Julie Carroll, 43, was found dead after her 10-year-old daughter ran to a neighbor’s house to report that she and her mother had been shot by her mother’s boyfriend. Carroll’s 3-year-old child was unharmed. Erroll James Grosman surrendered to police, was released from the Rice County Jail when his bail was lowered to $500,000, and committed suicide in mid-December 1996.
Staab said she started volunteering with places like HOPE Center after her friend Carroll was murdered by her boyfriend. She said Carroll’s death is still why she does what she does.
“(Domestic violence) affects so many age groups and leaves behind so many victims,” Staab said. “We recommend people come seek out help. So many times a neighbor tells someone about HOPE Center. Knowing your concern can make a difference.”

Chattanooga, TN: Police: man admits killing wife, leads them to body Valentine's Eve

2012-02-14T20:30:00.000-05:00

CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) -- If Robert Hardnett's Facebook postings are accurate, he was more than twice the age of his wife Elizabeth when they married almost two decades ago.

At most, she would have been 16 years old.

But this Valentine's Day, Hardnett is in the Hamilton County Jail.

"He just walked into the jail; told them he'd murdered his wife," Chattanooga Police Public Information Officer Nathan Hartwig says. "We took it from there."

'There' led to Power Supply, Inc., on Daisy Street, early Monday evening. Hardnett works there as a truck driver.

"They found her inside the building," Ofc. Hartwig says. "She appeared to have been shot four to six times, and she was dead on the scene."

Investigators believe Elizabeth Hardnett was killed inside the warehouse, after hours. They've recovered a handgun they believe fired the bullets that killed her.

"I can't get into motive, or his intentions, right now," Ofc. Hartwig says.

The Hardnett's Facebook pages offer only hints.

Robert Hardnett's Bio speaks of his "wonderful family of four kids and a loving wife Elizabeth of 18 years."

He has posted several pictures of himself with his wife, smiling.

But both list their status as 'separated.'

Valentine's Day morning, Eyewitness News visited the house in the Woodmore subdivision, listed as Robert Hardnett's home address.

Knocks produced no answer. Neighbors confirm the that Hardnett's nephew lives there. They recognized Robert Hardnett, but not Elizabeth.

A visit to another listed address, near the UT Chattanooga campus, gleans even fewer results.

Hartwig confirms that Tennessee's Department of Children's Services is "involved", but offers no specifics as to whether the couple's children are with family, or in state custody.

"Our child abuse investigators are involved," he says. "That isn't to say we've heard any allegations of abuse."

Court records, however, indicate that Elizabeth Hardnett had been charged with child neglect in December 2010. The record is scant; but says that the District Attorney General's Office dropped the charges.

Robert Hardnett's record bordered on spotless; two traffic and equipment citations in the past fifteen years, both work-related.

He now faces charges of criminal homicide.

The couple's daughter, Janniece, tells Eyewitness News that she's staying with cousins. She's not confirmed the status of her siblings.

Hardnett's Facebook page points to a competitive streak; particularly in athletics.

He lists his avocation as 'tennis instructor for twenty years.' His photo albums include pictures of professional players Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

His personal credo: "I will persist until I succeed. I will play my best at all times. I will do my best under any and all circumstances."

"I will not be tempted of anger when losing a point. Instead I will try much harder to win the next. I will persist until I succeed."

Hardnett is confined in isolation, according to jail authorities. He is being watched "very closely."

His first date in court is February 21.

Elizabeth Hardnett's body awaits an autopsy Wednesday.

Emanuel County, FL: Emanuel County man charged in wife's death

2012-02-14T20:20:00.000-05:00

A 46-year-old Emanuel County man has been charged in the Sunday murder of his wife.
The Emanuel County Sheriff’s Office responded to the couple’s home on Ebenezer Church Road where they discovered Sherry Kirkland, 49, had been fatally shot.
Her husband, George Walter Kirkland has been charged with murder and remains in the Emanuel County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center without bond.

Indianapolis, IN: Police: Murder-suicide may have stemmed from extra-marital affair

2012-02-14T19:58:00.000-05:00

Indianapolis

IMPD detectives said they believe a Sunday murder-suicide may have stemmed from an ongoing dispute about an extra-marital affair.

Officers found 50-year-old Derek Tully suffering from at least one gunshot wound inside a home in the 10600 block of Courageous Drive. Police found 48-year-old John Caffrey suffering froma single gunshot wound outside of the home.

Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators believe Caffrey went inside the home and shot Tully. Caffrey then exited the house and shot himself.

Hennepin, IL: Two dead in apparent Putnam County murder-suicide

2012-02-14T19:46:00.000-05:00

HENNEPIN, Ill. —
Authorities say an elderly man shot his wife to death and then killed himself in their central Illinois home.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Department says 73-year-old James Price and 83-year-old Darlene Price were found dead Sunday evening.

A news release from Sheriff Kevin Doyle's office says Darlene Price was shot once by her husband, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The (Peoria) Journal Star reported James Price was a retired ironworker. He received a Citizen of Year Award in 2008 for his volunteer work.

The Illinois State Police assisted with the investigation. The Putnam County death investigator pronounced the couple dead at the scene.

Alameda, CA: Man, woman in apparent murder-suicide in Alameda

2012-02-14T19:42:00.000-05:00

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Police say a man and a woman were found in an Alameda home in what appears to be a murder-suicide.

Officers responded to a report of shots fired around 6:30 p.m. Monday and found a 30-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man with gunshots wounds.

Lt. Sean Lynch says the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The man was taken to the hospital, where he died early Tuesday.

Lynch says the shooting is under investigation, but it appears that the man shot the woman, whom he once dated, before turning the gun on himself.

The handgun used in the shooting was found at the scene and registered to the man.

Article: Sen. Leahy: Bill Would Help Cut Domestic Violence Killings

2012-02-14T07:04:00.000-05:00

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Vermont lawyer and Burlington College professor Sandy Baird has only memories and photos of her daughter, Caroline Crichfield. "Of course, I think about her daily," Baird said. "She was very generous, open minded, and fun."
Crichfield, 30, was killed in 1998. Her boyfriend, Mark King, beat her so badly she died of head wounds. King is currently imprisoned. "And she felt she wanted the love of this man and that he would change," Baird remembered.
Crichfield's was one of 103 Vermont homicides between 1994 and 2010 that were domestic violence-related. That's just over half of all the killings in that time period, according to a new report from Vermont's Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission. "We, sadly, are on par with other New England states," said Assistant Vt. Attorney General Amy FitzGerald. "The bottom line is domestic violence oftentimes results in fatalities, tragically."
Now, Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., hopes help will come through a reauthorization of the federal Violence Against Women Act. It funds sexual and domestic violence response and education programs, as well as training for police and prosecutors.
Leahy says he is struggling in the Senate to find backers for renewal of the 1994 legislation. The new bill, introduced with Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, includes provisions that grant protections to victims regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Leahy calls the lack of support from many Republicans baffling. "When I was state's attorney and went at 3 o'clock in the morning into blood-spattered rooms where somebody has suffered and probably died from domestic violence, no police officer said, 'Well, was this a Democrat or Republican?'" Leahy said at a news conference Monday.

Montpelier, VA: Virginia mother Sarajane Hakopian killed last month

2012-02-14T06:58:00.000-05:00

Shoppers and checkout staff stood bemused as a flash mob of 40 people gathered in a store to pay tribute to a murder victim on her birthday.
Sarajane Hakopian, of Beaverdam, Virginia, would have turned 45 last Friday, but was allegedly killed by boyfriend Brian Mallory, 42, last month.
The flash mob celebrated the mother of two’s life at a Food Lion store in Montpelier, Virginia, by acting out a song she wrote about bananas.

‘It was really, really great,’ her daughter Molly Hakopian, who led practices, told CBS affiliate WTVR. ‘That’s all the energy mom loved in real life.’
Mallory allegedly stabbed Hakopian, who died of neck and chest injuries, on January 30. He was arrested the next day in Jacksonville, Florida.

He was convicted of robbery and abduction in 1991, jailed for 124 years but released in 2009 because much of his sentence was suspended.
Mallory left Virginia in her van hours after he killed her and her body was found by a neighbour, police told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Murder victim's birthday marked by friends with hilarious flash mob in supermarket as bemused shoppers and staff watch on
Virginia mother Sarajane Hakopian killed last month
Brian Mallory charged with murder over stabbing
Forty friends gathered for flash mob on Friday
By MARK DUELL
Last updated at 6:44 PM on 13th February 2012
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Shoppers and checkout staff stood bemused as a flash mob of 40 people gathered in a store to pay tribute to a murder victim on her birthday.
Sarajane Hakopian, of Beaverdam, Virginia, would have turned 45 last Friday, but was allegedly killed by boyfriend Brian Mallory, 42, last month.
The flash mob celebrated the mother of two’s life at a Food Lion store in Montpelier, Virginia, by acting out a song she wrote about bananas.
Scroll down for video

Killed: Sarajane Hakopian, left, of Beaverdam, Virginia, would have turned 45 last Friday, but was allegedly killed by boyfriend Brian Mallory, 42, right, last month

Group effort: The flash mob celebrated the mother of two's life at a Food Lion store in Montpelier, Virginia, by acting out a song she wrote about bananas
‘It was really, really great,’ her daughter Molly Hakopian, who led practices, told CBS affiliate WTVR. ‘That’s all the energy mom loved in real life.’
Mallory allegedly stabbed Hakopian, who died of neck and chest injuries, on January 30. He was arrested the next day in Jacksonville, Florida.

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He was convicted of robbery and abduction in 1991, jailed for 124 years but released in 2009 because much of his sentence was suspended.
Mallory left Virginia in her van hours after he killed her and her body was found by a neighbour, police told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Taking part: The song included lyrics such as: 'Bananas stand up straight'; 'peel bananas, peel, peel bananas'; 'shake bananas, shake, shake bananas'

Bemused onlookers: Participants said the flash mob was what Hakopian would have wanted on her birthday - something cheerful to remember her by
‘I'll never get over this one,’ her mother Betty Savage told WTVR two weeks ago. ‘You can't get over losing a child.’

Friends said Hakopian trusted Mallory and he eventually moved in with her in the rural home she shared with her two children.
‘She will always be an inspiration to us all about how to live and enjoy life,’ her friend Allen Murray, who hosted flash mob practices, told WTVR.
Participants said the flash mob was what Hakopian would have wanted on her birthday - something cheerful to remember her by.

The song included lyrics such as: ‘Bananas stand up straight’; ‘peel bananas, peel, peel bananas’; ‘shake bananas, shake, shake bananas’.
‘This is exactly what she would have wanted us to be doing,’ friend Patricia Mayhew told WTVR. ‘Celebrating her life, and not be so sad.’
A preliminary court hearing for unemployed Mallory has been scheduled for April 20 at Hanover County Court. He is being held without bond.

Tucson, AZ: Police: Ex-boyfriend killed Tucson woman, then attempted suicide

2012-02-14T06:51:00.000-05:00

TUCSON - Tucson Police believe the ex-boyfriend of a Tucson woman allegedly shot and killed her, then turned the gun on himself - but survived, police say.

The woman who lived in the southeast-side home where the shooting occurred was in her 30's, and was a mother of two young children. She had recently posted a security sign at her home, neighbors say.

"She was very gentle, very sweet, very sincere, and honest," one neighbor told News 4 Tucson.

Police say the woman called a friend to say her ex-boyfriend was at the door. The friend then called police, but it was too late; they broke through the window to get inside when no one answered.

"The initial indications are that the male is the suspect in this case, he came to residence, forced entry into the residence, and then shot the female victim prior to turning the gun on himself," says Tucson Police spokesperson Sgt. Matt Ronstadt.

Police say the victim had a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend.

One the neighbors, who asked not to be identified, says police had come to the residence before.

"Anytime a working mother honest, dutiful human being is hurt it's very tragic, she was definitely a good person and a very good mommy because I always saw that her kids were very happy," the neighbor says.

Investigators say the children weren't in the house when the shooting took place.

News 4 Tucson contacted the victim's employer, who told us they were grieving the loss of their co-worker and they needed time to grasp what was happening.

Investigators aren't releasing the names until relatives have been notified.

As for the ex-boyfriend, we understand he is in the hospital and has life threatening injuries.

News 4 Tucson talked to the Emerge! Center Against Domestic Violence for their take on this tragedy.

"We do see many times where an ex-partner will try to come back to the person they have been abusing and basically say they've changed and they've been working on themselves, when in reality that patterns tends to repeat itself over and over," says Anna Stevens-Denae with Emerge.

This leads to a "pattern of physically or the emotional abuse turning physical which is where they tend to believe everything is okay - the cycle just repeats itself again," she says.

If you would like more inforamtion on domestic abuse situations, contact Emerge at:

http://www.emergecenter.org/ or call 1-888-428-0101

Mount Pleasant, SC: Woman missing, fiance found dead in home

2012-02-14T06:45:00.000-05:00

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Authorities in South Carolina said they were investigating the disappearance of a woman whose fiance was found dead in the couple's home near Charleston.

Dara Lee Watson, 30, was last seen in Boone, N.C., where her parents live, last Monday, her mother told police, and Watson's burned sport utility vehicle was found abandoned Wednesday in Francis Marion Forest north of Charleston, Fox News reported.

Police responding to a report of a possible suicide said they found Watson's fiance, David Hedrick, 34, dead near a 9 mm handgun at the couple's Mount Pleasant home Friday, The (Charleston) Post and Courier reported.

Hedrick, who was president and chief executive officer of a bail bond company, Palmetto Surety on Daniel Island, told police when contacted by phone Friday that he had had a fight with Watson Monday night and that she had left Tuesday, The Post and Courier said. He told police he had not heard from her since.

Watson's cellphone was last used about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and her boss reported receiving a text message that day "stating she was fine," police said.

Authorities suspended the search Sunday for Watson, an accountant, in the wooded area around where her burned 2006 GMC Envoy was found.

Her disappearance is being treated as a missing-persons case, Mount Pleasant police Capt. Stan Gragg told Fox News.

But he said, "We have not ruled out foul play." He did not elaborate.

Watson was reported missing early Friday by her boss when she did not show up for work at Verge Solutions in Mount Pleasant.

The couple's online registry said they were to be married in the South Pacific in 273 days, WCBD-TV, Charleston, reported.

Houston, TX: Suspect arrested in murder of woman, her niece

2012-02-14T06:36:00.000-05:00

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Authorities are on the scene of a double murder in northwest Harris County. Police say an aunt and her niece were ambushed inside a garage early Monday morning.
It happened at a home on Mosewood and Hollister at around 1:20am as the two women were returning home.

Late in the afternoon, Harris County deputies arrested a suspect in this case. His name is Ricky Prado, and he is the estranged husband of one of the victims. Sources tell us he was still being questioned by homicide detectives late Monday night. The arrest comes no surprise to the victim's family.

Well after dark, family of the victims were still being comforted by relatives and friends. There has been a steady flow of support, in fact, since early Monday morning, when word first spread that 29-year-old Rachel Prado and her 19-year-old niece Jasmine Rhodes had been ambushed in the garage and shot to death.

"Before I was a wreck, I was a wreck," Ronda Madison said.

Madison lost both her daughter and her sister.

Investigators say the two women had just parked the car in the garage at Prado's mother's house when they were killed. She and her two children had been living there since leaving her husband last fall. He was spotted running away from the scene.

Madison says he had threatened Prado before.

"He'd come over here and do a lot of damage to the cars, houses," she said.

But Rhodes, a college student studying criminal justice, and Prado, an aspiring nurse, were unsuspecting. Their family now is left to grieve.

"He couldn't take the fact that she wanted a divorce and move on, and he started going crazy," Madison said.

The couple had been married for 11 years. Their two children, ages 12 and eight, were inside the home with their grandmother at the shooting. We're told they didn't hear anything but they're now trying to understand what happened.

Hale Center, TX: Man is dead in Hale Center after reported domestic dispute

2012-02-14T06:33:00.002-05:00

One man is dead, another is jailed after a reported domestic dispute in Hale Center. 49-year-old Ronald Lynn Trisler is arraigned on a murder charge.

Police said he fatally shot his daughter's boyfriend, 30-year-old Ray Fernando Rodriguez Jr., at a home in the 500 block of West Sixth Street.

"Hale Center is normally a quiet little community,” Dennis Burton, Hale Center Police Chief, said. “There has been domestic problems in this situation before."

The victim was transported to a Plainview hospital where he later died. Trisler has been jailed in Plainview on a $20,000 bond.

Racine, WI: Like a horror movie — Boyfriend charged in stabbing death

2012-02-14T06:28:00.000-05:00

RACINE — The man accused of killing 27-year-old Gwynevere L. Wright made his initial appearance in court on Monday and was ordered held on a $750,000 cash bond.
Iryin Keth Vaughn, 25, was charged with first-degree intentional homicide by use of a dangerous weapon, with causing mental harm to a child, and with two counts of felony bail jumping. In each count he was also charged as a repeat offender. If convicted on all charges he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison plus 49 years and six months, or a $45,000 fine, or both.
“This is the most serious crime that can be committed in the state of Wisconsin,” said Deputy District Attorney Rich Chiapete as he argued for a high cash bail during Vaughn’s court appearance. The scene inside the home at 900 Racine St. looked like something out of a slasher horror movie, he said.
According to the criminal complaint, blood had soaked through Wright’s clothing as well as the sheets, mattress, comforter and pillows on her bed. Blood spattered the walls, floor, windows, and door of the bedroom.
A police investigator saw Wright had been stabbed more than 25 times, and her hands showed the small cuts of someone trying to defend herself.
Wright’s 12-year-old son told police Wright and Vaughn were drinking beer about 7 p.m. on Feb. 7 with Wright consuming two beers and Vaughn three, the complaint said. Just before 10 p.m. the boy heard them arguing in Wright’s bedroom.
He heard Vaughn say, “I hate you. I don’t want to be with you anymore,” the complaint said. Wright said to Iryana, the 2-year-old daughter she had with Vaughn and who slept in the room with them, “Don’t ever date a man like this,” the complaint said.
Later the boy heard his mother yell, “Do it! Do it! Go ahead and kill me!” the complaint said.
Then the boy heard the sounds of fighting, and his mother screamed in pain, the complaint said.
After about five minutes Vaughn opened the door to the boy’s room and asked if he was asleep. Shortly thereafter the boy heard Vaughn leaving in his SUV, and when the boy opened the bedroom door he found his mother dead, the complaint said.
Vaughn took his daughter to Chicago, and an Amber Alert issued for him and the child led police to him there.
A foster parent with whom the 12-year-old was placed told a case worker from the Human Services Department that for almost two hours the boy chanted “I just wanted my mom to die a peaceful death,” and, “My mom will not see me grow up to be a teenager,” the complaint said.
Outside the hearing room Wright’s brother, Zachary Strother, said he had not heard the crime details which Chiapete told the court.
“It was just very heart-wrenching, very sad. No one don’t deserve that, not even my worst enemy,” he said. “She was treated like a animal.”
“It was hard to look at him, but I just know somehow some good is going to come out of this … I don’t know how, I don’t see it now, but I think some good will come out of this,” he said.
As he did at a vigil for his sister on Sunday, Strother said any woman in an abusive relationship should get help and leave it.
“Our hope and our prayer as a family was for her to just get a new start in life,” he said. “We didn’t know the perpetrator was going to come following here. We didn’t know. If we would have known that, we probably would have intervened a little bit more.”
Vaughn’s preliminary hearing, at which the state must show cause to hold him for trial, was scheduled for Feb. 23.

Vineland, NJ: Vineland murder victim’s mother says she was not engaged to man accused of killing her

2012-02-14T06:16:00.000-05:00

VINELAND — Britton Loyden and the man accused of killing her last week had no relationship for the past 16 months, Loyden’s mother, Tracy Freese, said.
Ismael Pierce, 24, of the 900 block of South Spring Road, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on a charge of murder, Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said.
Pierce is the father of Loyden’s 1-year-old son, and on social media sites MySpace and Twitter, the two talked about their relationship before her murder.
But Freese, in an email sent to The Press of Atlantic City, said Pierce was not her daughter’s fiance.
Freese reported Loyden missing late Thursday night, and she also reported Loyden’s son as missing, authorities said.
An investigation by Detectives Antonio Ramos and Ron DeMarchi of the local Police Department revealed Loyden’s son was in Pierce’s custody Friday. Authorities also said they found Loyden’s body in a bedroom in her home.
Members of Loyden’s family did not respond to requests from The Press of Atlantic City for further comment about Loyden and Pierce.
Previously, Loyden wrote on MySpace about a year ago that she was “engaged to my best friend and the love of my life. He made me a mommy and I’m loving every second of it.”
But Pierce told his friends on Twitter on Thursday that “nothing is how we planned it to be, one big insanity plea.” Pierce posted his last tweet on Friday, writing, “Tryin’ to remain relaxed.”
Authorities on Monday would not provide additional details regarding Loyden’s death. Webb-McRae declined comment on how Loyden, 23, was killed.
Pierce is charged with murder. The charge was upgraded from aggravated manslaughter following an autopsy performed on Loyden on Saturday. He is being held in the Cumberland County jail on $500,000 cash bail.
This is the second homicide to occur in Cumberland County in two weeks.

Clackamas County, OR: Lawsuit filed in murder-suicide

2012-02-12T19:59:00.001-05:00

The $8 million claim was filed Thursday, Feb. 9, on behalf of the families of Kathleen Hoffmeister and Victoria Schulmerich.

The claim is against Clackamas County, but also specifies Sheriff Craig Roberts, Undersheriff David Kirby and Lt. Graham Phalen, who all had some level of oversight of deputy Sgt. Jeffrey Grahn.

On Feb. 12, 2010, Grahn, 46, a Clackamas County Sheriff’s deputy, went to the M&M Lounge, 137 N. Main St., Gresham, and argued with his wife, Charlotte, 47, who was sitting with Hoffmeister and Schulmerich, both 53.

Grahn, later proven legally intoxicated, then grabbed his wife by her hair and pulled her outside the bar, where he shot her in the head at close range.

He then re-entered the bar and shot the other two women in the head. Returning to his wife’s body, he turned the gun on himself. Hoffmeister and the two Grahns died at the scene, while Schulmerich died at a local hospital two weeks later.

The court filing asks $3.5 million for each of the women’s families for loss of companionship and pain and suffering, as well as nearly $1 million for the two families for lost earnings and expenses.

The claim states Sgt. Grahn “was of violent disposition, emotionally unstable and suicidal.” It also states he had substance abuse problems with alcohol and drugs and had threatened his wife and abused her physically and verbally.

In May 2009, the Portland Police Bureau conducted a month-long investigation, and reported that extended family members confirmed Grahn’s drug and alcohol use, domestic abuse and suicidal actions.

But since his wife would not confirm the abuse or say anything against her husband, the police bureau concluded “there is not sufficient evidence to support criminal charges.”

In answer to Thursday’s lawsuit, a spokesperson for the department said county counsel will not allow a statement to be given until this legal action is concluded.

Instead, Thursday’s press release detailed three actions the department initiated in 1999, 2001 and 2002 to prevent domestic violence.

The family of Charlotte Grahn had until 5 p.m. (two hours past press time) Friday, Feb. 10, to file a similar suit.

Honolulu, HI: Elderly victims in murder-suicide identified

2012-02-12T19:54:00.001-05:00

PUPDATE: The city medical examiner has identified the victims as Julia Yasuhara, 79, and Leighton Yasuhara, 81, of Honolulu.

According to police, the couple's son went to check on his parents after his father unexpectedly cancelled an appointment scheduled for that day.

Police say the son went to his parent's home to check on them and heard three gunshots coming from the bedroom.

Police say the son tried to open the bedroom door but it was locked and called 911.

Officers arrived at the scene, opened the door, and discovered the bodies. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

Climax, NC: Wife Charged With Killing Husband During Argument

2012-02-12T19:33:00.002-05:00

CLIMAX, N.C. -- Randolph County deputies say a 66-year-old woman has been charged with murder in the shooting death of her husband.
Investigators say an argument Thursday between Margaret Cox and her 67-year-old husband, Larry, ended with him being shot and killed.
Authorities say Cox put her husband's body in a shed outside the home, which was where deputies found him Friday.
Deputies did not say what the couple was arguing about.
Cox was not injured. She remains in the Randolph County jail without bond. It wasn't clear if she had an attorney.

East Palo Alto, CA: Man killed by girlfriend arrested for domestic violence in 2007, records show

2012-02-12T19:10:00.000-05:00

A 34-year-old East Palo Alto man fatally stabbed by his girlfriend this week was arrested for committing domestic violence against her in 2007, according to court records and the woman's sister.
Charles Perry III died Tuesday morning after Natisha Anderson, 33, plunged a steak knife into his leg during a fight, East Palo Alto police said.
Perry died from a single stab wound to his femoral artery, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, which has charged Anderson with murder.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti told The Daily News on Thursday there was no evidence that Perry attacked Anderson, but Anderson's defense attorney and her family dispute that assertion.
Nicole Anderson said in an interview that Perry emotionally and physically abused her sister throughout the couple's seven-year relationship, although there were good times too. Anderson said the couple have a 4-year-old son.
Her sister is not the violent perpetrator portrayed by police and prosecutors, Anderson said.
"As if she was a monster, that's not true at all," Anderson said.
According to San Mateo County Superior Court records, a Charles Perry III with the same birth year as the murder victim was arrested by Pacifica police on Nov. 26, 2007 and charged with misdemeanor domestic violence and assault. On March 10, 2008, Perry pleaded no contest to the lesser assault charge and prosecutors dropped the domestic violence count.

He was sentenced to one day in jail and 36 months of probation and ordered to undergo 104 hours of domestic violence counseling.
Nicole Anderson said she remembers the arrest. Perry was "beating her up," she said, referring to her sister. She said the couple had been living in Pacifica, close to San Francisco where the sisters grew up and family members remain.
Anderson said that the night before Tuesday's stabbing, her sister called their uncle after she had gotten into a fight with Perry in which he had punched her in the face.
"He told her to walk away," she said. "Obviously she didn't."
Guidotti declined to discuss Perry's prior conviction, saying it would be inappropriate.

Covington, GA: Murder suspect McMullen surrenders

2012-02-12T18:54:00.000-05:00

Ketitra Techelle Jones was shot and killed late Friday morning, and police are charging Jones' former boyfriend Hannibal Wayne McMullen, a man she had a temporary protection order against, with murder.

McMullen surrendered to officials at the Newton County Sheriff's Office around 5 p.m. Saturday, ending a two-day manhunt

It's been less then two months since Jones was granted a temporary protection order against McCullen for allegedly stalking and threatening her. But that TPO didn't stop him from reportedly chasing her down Washington Street in his vehicle and shooting her while she drove hers.

According to witnesses, McCullen, 47, was driving his blue Toyota Corolla north on Washington Street near Carroll Street, with his arm extended out the open window, firing into a silver Dodge Ram truck driven by 26-year-old Jones. She crashed into a support pole at the Pure Station and died of the gunshot wounds she sustained. One witness said he had thought the crash was an accident but when he opened the door to the truck to help, he saw Jones was covered in blood.

Authorities had been in contact with McCullen through a cell phone Friday and Saturday, and Cpt. Ken Malcom of the Covington Police Department said the suspect, who made the initial contact with them, was "scared."

McMullen originally told police he was going to turn himself in before lunch Saturday, and once lunch passed he said he would turn himself in shortly, before finally surrendering around 5 p.m., said Malcom.

McMullen is known by many throughout the community, having owned a car detailing shop for a number of years at the corner of Brown and Clark streets in Covington.
Though records show McCullen does have previous charges against him (including battery against a different woman in the late 80s), none were more recent then 2000 until Jones reported he was stalking her.

Records show that Jones applied for a TPO on Dec. 7, 2011. In the request she wrote that beginning in early September until that date "I have asked Wayne McMullen to stop calling and harassing me and stop coming to my job looking for me. I received a call from the respondent (McMullen) and he said if he can't have me he would kill me."

Newton County Superior Court Judge Ken Wynne granted Jones a protective order on Dec. 20, 2011, ordering McCullen to stay at least 500 yards away from Jones and to have no contact with her or her family. He was served with the paperwork that day. Just 52 days later, Jones was killed.

Malcom said Saturday that police believed McMullen was traveling back and forth between several locations in Covington and Atlanta while on the run.

"We had info that for a good portion of the time he was mobile," Malcom said.

Police officials along with McMullen's family and friends had been calling and texting McMullen on his cell phone requesting his surrender.

McMullen is being held and interviewed in the Newton County Detention Center.

"We're going to continue our investigation, conduct interviews and communicate with district attorney's office," Malcom said.

McMullen is charged with one count of murder.

Reporter Gabriel Khouli contributed to this report.

El Paso, TX: Update: Wife of man found dead in Lower Valley apartment arrested on suspicion of murder

2012-02-12T18:47:00.000-05:00

The El Paso Police Department's Crimes Against Persons unit has arrested a woman on suspicion of murder in connection with the early morning death of her husband.
Fire Medical Services and El Paso police responded at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday to an apartment at 7840 Knights Drive in the Lower Valley where they found 34-year-old Salvador Juarez dead.
Authorities investigating the incident said that Juarez and his wife, Laura Patricia Juarez, 31, were fighting and Salvador Juarez left the apartment on foot.
Laura Juarez drove the couple's vehicle and found her husband near to the entrance of the apartment complex, police said.
Police have accused the woman of striking Salvador Juarez with the vehicle, then taking him back to their apartment where he died.
Laura Juarez was booked into the El Paso County Jail and bond was set at $100,000.
Salvador Juarez's death marked the fifth homicide of 2012, police said.
Hayley Kappes may be reached at hkappes@elpasotimes.com; 546-6168.

Tamarac, FL: Financial woes a clue to murder-suicide?

2012-02-12T18:41:00.001-05:00

Tamarac —
The man suspected of killing his wife before driving to a Lauderdale Lakes gun range and taking his own life was complaining of financial pressure in the days before the couple died, a friend and neighbor said Sunday.

"He was mad because he was trying to open a new restaurant and she wouldn't go to work," said Eleanor DeMarti.Tamarac —
The man suspected of killing his wife before driving to a Lauderdale Lakes gun range and taking his own life was complaining of financial pressure in the days before the couple died, a friend and neighbor said Sunday.

"He was mad because he was trying to open a new restaurant and she wouldn't go to work," said Eleanor DeMarti.

Broward sheriff's deputies have yet to name the 52-year-old man and his wife, 45, but DeMarti and public records identified the occupants of the trim white house in the 2600 block of Northwest 55th street as Sutthisak and Chuthamas Suwan.

They are believed to be natives of Thailand.

The deaths are being investigated as a murder-suicide, said Dani Moschella, a sheriff's spokeswoman. She said Sunday that the couple apparently had no children, and detectives have been unable to locate any kin in the U.S.

DeMarti described the couple as "very hard working, very nice and neat." Next-door neighbors for about 10 years, they chatted often. "They just brought me some papayas from their backyard," said DeMarti, 81.

DeMarti said she saw Suwan leave home at about 10 a.m. Saturday as usual, but heading in a direction opposite from the way he normally went.

At 10:20 a.m. Saturday, police said a man entered the Arizona Shooting Range, 4317 N. State Road 7, and rented a gun.

After shooting himself, he was rushed to General Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Deputies went to his home at about 1 p.m., and discovered his wife's body in a bedroom, said Moschella said.

DeMarti said that Suwan worked two jobs, as a cook and waiter, but may have quit both recently to concentrate on a restaurant he and a partner were planning to open in West Palm Beach.

Moschella said it's unclear how long the woman had been dead and the Sheriff's Office was not ready to release details about how she was killed.

The couple had been married since 1997. The Broward Sheriff's Office reported receiving no recent phone calls from their home.

Anyone with information about the couple or any relatives is asked to call Det. John Curcio at 954-321-4212 or Broward CrimeStoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

Kingsport, TN: Kingsport man accused of stabbing girlfriend to death

2012-02-12T18:28:00.000-05:00

KINGSPORT — A Kingsport man accused of stabbing his live-in girlfriend sometime overnight Saturday was arrested Sunday morning in Johnson City.

Mark W. Breeding, 46, 1037 Bloomingdale Pike Apt. 323, Kingsport, has been charged with first-degree murder by Kingsport police in connection to the stabbing death of his girlfriend, Beverly “Birdie” Hartsock.

Shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday Kingsport officers responded to the apartment shared by Breeding and Hartsock in reference to a welfare check on Beverly “Birdie” Hartsock.

Police reportedly received information that “her live in boyfriend had killed her.”

“KPD Officers responded to the scene and located Mrs. Hartsock inside the apartment with a fatal Knife wound,” Detective Frank Light stated in a written report. “There were no signs of forced entry into the apartment and all the doors and windows were secured prior to KPD entering the scene. It was determined that her live in boyfriend, Mark Breeding, would be responsible for her death.”

Breeding was not home when police discovered Hartsock’s body, and an arrest warrant was issued for him.
It was determined that Breeding was driving a 1994 Red Ford Ranger “Splash” belonging to Hartsock which had Army stickers in the rear window and bumper stickers on the rear bumper.

At approximately 8:15 a.m. Sunday Breeding was located at the VA Center in Johnson City and he was arrested on a single count of first-degree murder.

Breeding was being held in the Kingsport City Jail pending arraignment Monday morning.

Douglas, MA: Police Charge Husband Of Douglas Woman Who Died After Fall

2012-02-11T10:02:00.000-05:00

DOUGLAS (CBS) – A 40-year-old Douglas man is under arrest, charged with manslaughter in the death of his wife Lisa, who fell out a window at the couple’s Gilboa Street home just after midnight Friday.

Investigators have not released details of how the 44-year-old woman fell to her death from a second floor bedroom window, but Allen Stilkey is also charged with assault and battery and threatening to commit a crime. Neighbors say they woke to the sound of police at the home, and were stunned to learn of the horrific fall.

Lisa Bombara who lives across the street and went to school with the victim, says she didn’t know of any trouble in the home. “Everybody who knew her loved her. She was very energetic, outgoing, I can’t possibly see how this could have happened,” she said.

Vanderwagen, NM: Man Faces Federal Charges in Tribal Ax Murder

2012-02-10T23:10:00.000-05:00

MacArthur Cooke, 36, a Navajo man from Pinedale, N.M., is in jail after being charged in federal court Thursday with murdering his girlfriend with an ax.

Cooke, who has been in tribal custody on Navajo Nation charges for the last month, was arrested by the FBI and charged with killing Vivian Watson, a 29-year-old Navajo woman, on Jan. 13 in Vanderwagen, N.M.

He is scheduled for a detention and preliminary hearing today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Scott.

According to the criminal complaint, Cooke allegedly killed his girlfriend of two years with an axe in her home.

The New Mexico Office of Medical Investigator gives the cause of death as multiple, heavy, sharp force/chop wounds to the head.

The criminal complaint states the defendant’s father, who discovered the body, went to Watson’s home after his son drove her van to Pinedale intoxicated and crying earlier that evening and allegedly told his father he thought he’d hit his girlfriend with an ax.

Cooke told the FBI agent who interviewed him the following day that he didn’t remember hitting Watson, but that they must have fought because of what happened.

Cooke faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
— This article appeared on page C2 of the Albuquerque Journal

Indiana, PA: Boyfriend Charged In Woman's Methadone Death

2012-02-10T23:02:00.000-05:00

INDIANA, Pa. -- Authorities allege a western Pennsylvania woman was killed by a lethal dose of methadone just hours before she was to be released from a hospital for an undisclosed illness.
State police say 36-year-old Aaron Sandak was taken into custody Thursday in Ocean City, Md., on charges including involuntary manslaughter in the death of 29-year-old Megan Prugh.
Prugh died at Indiana Regional Medical Center on Aug. 26. Authorities say she was awaiting discharge at the time of her death.
Investigators say tests show Prugh received an unexpected dose of methadone before she died. The synthetic opioid was not among the medications she was receiving at the hospital.
Sandak is awaiting transfer to Pennsylvania. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.

Article: After Siobhan Russell Of Herndon Was Killed By Boyfriend, Mother Fights Teen Dating Violence

2012-02-10T22:58:00.000-05:00

HERNDON, Va. (WUSA) - "I miss my daughter, I miss her so badly," said Lynne Russell. Her 19 year old daughter Siobhan Russell of Herndon was strangled and stabbed to death by her boyfriend on Easter Sunday, 2009.

Her mother has found a way to put her grief into action to help teens and their parents know the signs of dating abuse. She and friend created the website DASH, Dating Abuse Stops Here.

Lynn Russell knew her daughter Siobhan was in an unhealthy relationship. But she didn't realize it was dangerous it was until after she was gone and they read numerous emails and texts from the boyfriend.

"We found out how much of a torment she'd endured with threats and manipulation and just general fear. That she lived in," said Russell.

He gradually isolated her from her friends and family, a classic sign of an abusive relationship.

"It's designed to undermine your confidence, for the girl to become dependent on the guy, as he takes away her own self esteem," said Russell.
In the dark days after Siobhan's death, Russell says she realized she wasn't alone when another mother called and told her about her own daughter who'd also been killed by a violent, jealous boyfriend. That's when Russell vowed to do something to help and DASH was born.

"We would've realized more that she was in danger that these steps of abuse were progressing to become lethal," said Russell.

She hopes to save lives by giving teens and parents the signs to look for and where to turn and what to do if they find themselves, their friend of child in an abusive relationship.
Russell says it's what her daughter would've wanted. "I feel I'm doing her work. Everyday I wake up and tell Siobhan it's time to go to work. I feel guided by her," said Russell.

Bellwood, IL: Bellwood man guilty of killing girlfriend in 2009

2012-02-10T22:52:00.002-05:00

Fertamina Smith’s daughter grew frantic after her mother didn’t come home one Sunday night, and called and texted her father to see if he knew anything.

After all, it was her father, Charles Randle, who’d picked Smith up the morning of April 5, 2009, after she asked her longtime boyfriend for a ride to church.

Only Smith, 35, already was dead by the time her daughter called Randle, Cook County prosecutors told jurors Friday, her body stuffed into the plastic-lined trunk of Randle’s car, which he later abandoned on Chicago’s South Side.

He’d killed her, prosecutors said, after picking her up from her Bellwood home.

A jury agreed, finding Randle guilty Friday evening of first-degree murder after less than two hours of deliberations. Randle, who didn’t testify during the trial, listened to the verdict in the same pose he’d heard arguments: hands folded out in front, his face emotionless.

Smith’s family also sat on crowded benches quietly, as the judge had instructed them. Then her daughter began to cry.

Randle kept telling his daughter he didn’t know where her mom was, Assistant State’s Attorney Jamie Santini said in closing arguments at the Cook County courthouse in Maywood.

The next morning, he bought a new truck, got its oil changed and hit the road for Georgia until turning himself in to Chicago Police two days later.

He even used Smith’s cell phone to text their daughter to calm her down, writing, “I just need a break,” Santini said.

“That’s what you do when you commit murder,” Santini said.

Assistant Public Defender K. S. Galhotra asked jurors to consider what they didn’t see that proves the shooting — a single bullet through Smith’s chest that severed her aorta — wasn’t intentional.

She had no defensive wounds, she’d been shot only once, she hadn’t been bound or mutilated and the abandoned car still had its license plates.

And Randle wrote a letter to Smith’s sister four months after Smith was killed, apologizing for shooting her but insisting it was an accident.

Marion, OH: Ex-Boyfriend Denies Involvement in Murder

2012-02-10T22:49:00.000-05:00

MARION -- The ex-boyfriend of murdered Amy Adrich, who was held as a "person of interest," today denied involvement in the woman's death. Bo Cook, 25, said he did not have anything to do with the death of the Aldrich, who was found shot to death on Wednesday.

"Why would I do this, it's my kid's mother," Cook said today.

Cook was charged with one count of possession of heroin and two counts of assaulting corrections officers at the Multi-County Corrections Center where he was held overnight Wednesday. He posted $25,000 bond and was released on Thursday.

Marion Police continue to investigate the murder and have not charged anyone at this point.

Pictures from Aldrich's myspace.com account show her and Cook in happier poses. But Aldrich's mother said Amy was fearful of Cook and ultimately moved to Paulding County with her mother to escape Cook.

"Life came back into her face," Margaret Reed said of the time Aldrich lived with her. "She wasn't afraid anymore."

Aldrich returned to Marion Wednesday for a child support hearing with Cook, who did not show u for the proceeding. She was visiting her cousin when she was shot and killed.

Eudora, MS: Boyfriend pleads guilty to murder in death of missing DeSoto County woman

2012-02-10T22:39:00.000-05:00

The boyfriend of Sherri Smith, the DeSoto County woman whose body was found recently in a remote wooded area off Miss. 301, has confessed to killing her and been sentenced to life in prison.

Michael Dean Owens, 47, of Eudora, Miss., pleaded guilty to her murder today, DeSoto County Sheriff Bill Rasco said at an afternoon press conference.

Rasco said the case went quickly before DeSoto County Circuit Court Judge Gerald Chatham after Owens waived his right to have the case presented to the grand jury.

“He pleaded guilty and was sentenced, all in one day,” Rasco said.

This is Owens’ second conviction for murder. In 1994, he was convicted of manslaughter in the shooting death of a man in Marion County, Texas.

In Smith’s murder, Rasco said drugs and alcohol fueled an ongoing argument the couple were involved in throughout the Memorial Day weekend last year.

He said the argument escalated when the two left the Handshake Lounge in Eudora.

“They were arguing in their vehicle and then stopped and got out,” Rasco said. “He admitted that in the heat of the moment, he picked up a stick and hit her in the head.”

He then left her body in the wooded area off Pratt Road, about two miles south of the bar.

Smith’s family reported her missing to the sheriff’s department on Sept. 10.

Five days later, authorities arrested Owens for contempt of court on a DUI charge in Horn Lake. While in custody, authorities also charged him with fraudulent use of a food stamp card.

They said Owens had been using his girlfriend’s EBT card after he had killed her and dumped her body in the woods.

He did not confess to killing her until after authorities found her body Jan. 31.

Owens remained in the DeSoto County Jail Friday but will soon be transferred to a state prison.

Arlington, TX: Arlington man convicted in stabbing death of ex-girlfriend's boyfriend

2012-02-10T19:05:00.000-05:00

An Arlington man was convicted of murder Thursday in the fatal stabbing of his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend.
A Tarrant County jury deliberated two days before convicting Henry Hernandez, 27, in Criminal District Court #1.
Hernandez was charged with killing Said Mohamad, 38, during a fight in February 2011 at the girlfriend's apartment in the 6000 block of Altersgate Lane in Arlington.
-Dianna Hunt

Newton, NJ: Nutley man sentenced to 30 years in girlfriend's stabbing death

2012-02-10T19:00:00.002-05:00

NEWTON — To hear Alexander Antoniades tell it, he stabbed his to girlfriend to death in 2009 because he loved her and wanted to rescue her from her longtime struggle with drug addiction.

The 51-year-old Nutley man also claimed Angela Bellifemini wanted to be killed and he carried out her wishes in an effort to save her soul; if she had killed herself, as she had been contemplating, it would have prevented her from gaining entry into heaven, he said.

Although he tried to take his own life after killing Bellifemini by drinking a drug-laced apple juice drink, allegedly prepared by the woman, the drink wasn’t potent enough.

“First of all I want to apologize, but I did it out of love for Angela … I was scared for her salvation,” said Antoniades, reading today from a three-page handwritten letter during his two-hour sentencing hearing in Newton before Superior Court Judge N. Peter Conforti.

“I couldn’t stand to see Angela suffer anymore. I hope this clarifies why I did what I did,” said Antoniades, who claimed he and his victim were both “using hard drugs a lot” in the months leading to the killing on March 13, 2009.

Antoniades admitted killing Bellifemini by stabbing her twice in the neck with a kitchen knife in her apartment on Spring Street in Newton. He pleaded guilty in September to first-degree aggravated manslaughter, a crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Antoniades was arrested two days later after he called police to report that he had found her body when he stopped by her apartment for a visit. Traces of crack cocaine and a pipe used to smoke the drug were found in his car during a subsequent search by police.

Conforti, who sentenced Antoniades to the maximum allowable prison term, rejected the defendant’s assertions, saying Antoniades’ “perverted” logic may in part be attributable to his longtime addiction to heroin and cocaine.

Fairfax, VA: 30 Years in Prison for Wife’s Murder

2012-02-10T18:52:00.000-05:00

Consumed by his own irrational fears and demons, Chantilly’s Tony Tong had threatened to kill his wife for years. In October 2010, he did so; and last week in Fairfax County Circuit Court, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

#"In his petition for leniency, the defendant said he ‘was not able to control [himself] in a moment of anger,’" said Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney John Murphy. "But there’s an abundance of evidence that the exact opposite was the situation. This defendant engaged in behavior over a long period of time to terrorize this victim and her family."

#The crime occurred Oct. 22, 2010 in the Chantilly Green Estates community. Mistakenly believing his wife, Kathleen Tran, 44, was having an affair, Tong, 43, shot and killed her in a bedroom of their house. Both their sons, John, 18, and James, 16, were home at the time.

#Following a preliminary hearing, Tong was indicted by the grand jury and, on July 18, 2011, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He returned to court last Friday, Feb. 3, for sentencing before Judge Lorraine Nordlund.

#At the outset, in lieu of having the medical examiner testify, the defense stipulated that any one of the three shots Tong fired into his wife would have been enough to kill her. And ballistics expert Julian Mason Jr. testified that, although it could be done quickly, each shot fired from Tong’s .45-caliber pistol "requires a separate pull of the trigger."

#No one else testified, but Murphy noted that Tran’s mother told him that, every night, she talks to her daughter’s picture and tells her how much she misses her. He also said Tran "speaks" to the court through the record of her life with Tong.

#"In 2006, she discussed that, since 2003, she’d been verbally abused by him, three times a week," said the prosecutor. "He threatened her, saying, ‘If you tell anyone, I’ll kill you and your family.’ In January 2006, he told her to get a coffin because he was going to kill her."

#Tran then fled — and even sought a restraining order against Tong — but she later withdrew it when he promised to seek treatment for his anger issues. However, Murphy said it’s unclear whether Tong ever did so.

#"She’s a truly blameless victim and, on the night of the crime, she’d done nothing wrong," said Murphy. "She lived a life of quiet desperation. But she was also brave because she couldn’t leave Tong because of her two sons. And her aged mother and family lived locally, so she knew he could get to them."

#The night Tran died, said the prosecutor, "The defendant waited for her in the dark. He stalks her in her own house, confronts her with a loaded firearm in his pocket, follows her and berates her." Afterward, said Murphy, she urged her sons not to upset him.

#Then Tran overheard the phone call Tong made to Vietnam, telling his sister he wouldn’t be seeing her ever again. "[Tran] knows what that means," said Murphy. "She tries to leave the house, he forces her back inside. He blocks off her way to leave the bedroom and she is trapped; she can’t get past him."

#Eventually, said Murphy, she somehow summoned her courage and told her husband, "I don’t have to do what you tell me."

#"He dared her to repeat her words, she does and he starts to fire," said Murphy. "He shoots her the first time, and she screams and calls for her sons — and he pulls the trigger again. Then he says, ‘We’re both going to die, anyway,’ and he shoots her again."

#"There couldn’t be anything more deliberate in the way he executed her for standing up to him," Murphy told the judge. "There’s nothing sympathetic about this defendant; this was totally unjustified."

#He then asked Nordlund to sentence Tong to 50 years behind bars, suspend 20 years – leaving 30 to serve – and place him on 20 years probation. Murphy said Tong needed someone watching his actions, once he’s released, because Tran’s relatives are "very concerned about [Tong] because of his threats to their family."

#Public defender Todd Petit, however, wanted his client to serve no more than 20 years in prison for the murder. He noted that Tong entered an Alford plea of guilt — not admitting he’d committed the crime, but acknowledging the existence of enough evidence to convict him of it. Petit said Tong also did so because "he meant to take his own life."

#"[He] at no time wanted to put his family through a trial," said Petit. "His boys are here in the courtroom and he doesn’t want them to have to relive [what happened]."

#Petit explained that, as a young boy in Vietnam, Tong lived through the war, and his father — who was in the military — was "ripped away from his family for years of internment and torture. As a young teen, [Tong] left his family to live on his own and support himself so his family wouldn’t have to worry about him. He later became a U.S. citizen, but his depression and difficulties started when he was a child and had a profound effect on the rest of his life."

#The night of the tragedy, said Petit, Tong "was angry because he truly believed [his wife] was having an affair. He’d already lost his father in Vietnam and didn’t want that for his sons. It doesn’t justify what he did; he wanted so much for the family to stay together that [he and Tran] lived in separate bedrooms."

#"He thought she’d disrespected him, he was somewhat intoxicated and he did a horrible thing," added Petit. "The only reason we’re here in court today is because his son tackled him, stopping him from pulling the trigger and taking his own life."

#Then, crying, Tong stood and addressed the judge via a Vietnamese-language interpreter. Hearing his words, his sons also cried.

#The slight-built, bespectacled man began by apologizing to his mother-in-law, his sister-in-law and his children. "I took away a child from my mother-in-law and a sister from my sister-in-law," he said. "And I caused my two sons to lose their mother."

#"If there would be a miracle that would change things, I wish it was I who’d died, and not my wife, because she’s the one who took care of my children," continued Tong. "All I can do now is express my apologies to them. I deeply regret what I did to my sons — who not only witnessed the death of their mother — but now see me being sent away. I implore Your Honor to give me a chance so that, later on, I’d still be alive to see my children."

#But Nordlund had the last word. She said that, in her 30 years on the bench, she’s seen spouses believe they’re justified in hurting each other because of a misplaced sense of jealousy, anger or pain. But, she said, it doesn’t give them the right to do harm. Said Nordlund: "A sense of craziness overtakes them and they fail to see the pain they inflict on everyone else around them."

#"It’s only now that you have murdered your wife that you feel regret," she told Tong. "And it’s not because you’ve killed her, but because you won’t get to see your kids. But she won’t get to see them and they won’t get to see her — you took that away."

#Although Tran was the one who suffered years of "psychological and physical terror and bullying," said Nordlund, "All you could see was yourself and all you could hear was yourself. If you wanted to kill yourself, it makes no sense that you’d kill your wife first."

#She told Tong, "There’s nothing to defend this crime. There’s terrible pain on both sides. I see your [sister and other relatives in the front row] crying because of what will become of you. And I see your sons and your wife’s family crying, as well, sobbing over their loss."

#"You were blinded by your own jealousy," the judge continued. "You committed the unspeakable crime of murder because you failed to listen to anyone but yourself or to reach out for help."

#Nordlund then sentenced Tong to 50 years in prison, suspending 23, for 27 years to serve. She also ran the mandatory, three-year sentence on the firearm charge consecutively to that amount, for 30 years total. Furthermore, she told Tong, "You are not to initiate contact with your sons; only they can initiate contact with you."

Deerfield Beach, FL: 3 killed in bizarre standoff at RV park

2012-02-10T18:46:00.003-05:00

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. -- A Port Orange man's trip took a bizarre turn when he drove his family to a recreational vehicle in Deerfield Beach, killed someone unknown to him there and then stabbed himself, his wife and two sons, the Broward Sheriff's Office said Friday.

The incident led to an hours-long standoff with SWAT team members, and it ended with three people found dead: The alleged attacker, William De Jesus, 41, his 9-year-old son, Jeshiah De Jesus, and one of the RV's occupants, Ovila Plante, 76, a snowbird from La Tuque, Quebec, the Sheriff's Office said.

Meanwhile, De Jesus' wife, Deanna De Jesus, 37, and his 7-year-old son remained hospitalized in serious condition on Friday, officials said.

During part of the ordeal, Plante's girlfriend also was held captive inside her RV at Highland Woods, a community of recreational vehicles. Pierrette Beauchemin managed to escape, run to safety, and was unhurt.

"This was initially just a bizarre and senseless crime," sheriff's spokeswoman Dani Moschella said of how the standoff unfolded. "And over the course of the evening, it became more horrific."

About 6:20 p.m. Thursday, De Jesus drove his red Mustang into the RV park, accompanied by his wife and sons.

De Jesus approached the RV at Lot 61, occupied by Plante and Beauchemin, even though De Jesus and his family didn't know the couple, officials said. "We do know that they were strangers to them," Moschella said.

According to the Sheriff's Office:

De Jesus started yelling at Plante, and Plante pushed him away. De Jesus pulled out a revolver and shot Plante in the chest. Plante fell to the pavement outside his home, and De Jesus approached him and shot him again in the head.

De Jesus led his family into the RV, still occupied by Beauchemin.

Later, Beauchemin fled from the vehicle and ran to deputies outside. De Jesus spoke to law enforcement by telephone early during an hours-long standoff, but later stopped talking to them.

About 12:30 a.m., the SWAT team entered the RV and found De Jesus and Jeshiah dead. De Jesus' wife and other son were found seriously wounded.

"There was a sense of elation when everyone realized there might be survivors inside: SWAT team members rescued the woman and the 7- year-old," Moschella said.

According to the Sheriff's Office, detectives determined that De Jesus stabbed his sons with a knife from the RV's kitchen before stabbing his wife and himself.

A motive hasn't been identified, and it was unknown where the Port Orange family had been before showing up at the Deerfield Beach trailer park.

"It's just so tragic and horrific when you think about the loss of life for seemingly no reason," Moschella said. "These two little boys must have been so frightened. It must have been a nightmare for them."

Houston, TX: Police: Husband kills wife, her boyfriend

2012-02-10T18:41:00.002-05:00

HOUSTON - A man shot and killed his wife and and her boyfriend in northwest Houston Friday, police said.

The shooting happened in the 7300 block of Yellow Pine Drive shortly before 7 a.m.

Houston police said Diego Martinez, 42, got up and went to work Friday morning. He returned home and found his wife, Alicia, with another man, investigators said.

Martinez used a semiautomatic pistol to shoot his wife and the man, investigators said.

"It appears that he may be jealous that she had this friend, and that's what caused the shooting," Sgt. Colin Howard said.

Martha Nava De Martinez, 40, was shot in the face, police said. She died at the scene.

Investigators said the man, Omar Salazar, 31, was shot in the head and died Friday afternoon at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Police said the couple's three children, ages 13 to 20, were home at the time of the shooting. None of them were shot, but two of them suffered cuts and bruises in a scuffle.

"She was a good mother for the kids," said Tibo Aguilar, Martha Nava De Martinez's sister. "I don't know why he did this."

Detectives said Diego Martinez, who works as a welder, left the scene in a black Ford F-150 pickup truck with Texas license plate No. AX67304

Diego Martinez recently spent time in jail on an assault charge.

Anyone with information regarding Martinez's whereabouts is asked to call the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

New Bern, NC: FIRST ON WITN: Autopsy Says New Bern Deaths Murder-Suicide

2012-02-10T17:42:00.002-05:00

Preliminary autopsy results show a deadly double shooting last week in New Bern was a murder-suicide.

Brittany Jones and Johnnie Neely were found dead inside a home on Julia Clay Street Friday afternoon. Police say both people had been shot.

While New Bern police say it could be three months to a year before the cause of deaths are know, the Onslow County Medical Examiner's Office tells WITN News that the 20-year-old Jones died from multiple gunshot wounds, while Neely, who was 25-years-old, died from a single gun shot wound to the head.

The Medical Examiner's Office lists Jones' death as a homicide and Neely's death as suicide.

Ottawa County, OK: Teen dies in murder-suicide in Northeast Oklahoma

2012-02-10T17:37:00.002-05:00

Authorities say two teens involved in a double shooting yesterday had just broken up from a relationship.

The shooting occurred about 4 p.m. just south of the Delaware and Ottawa County line in Oklahoma.

According to Sheriff Rick Littlefield, Jazmine Flynn, 18, shot her former 16-year-old boyfriend several times and then killed herself with a single shot.

Officials say the boy's mother found the former couple lying on the roadway.

The boy was flown to Tulsa where he passed away this morning. Authorities say he attended high school in Afton.

Investigators say the couple were the parents of an eight month old child.

Eight Mile, AL: Children Witness Murder-Suicide

2012-02-10T17:34:00.002-05:00

EIGHT MILE, Alabama --
Prichard police are investigating a murder-suicide involving a father of two young children. What's worse, the children saw it happen.

Ronald Coleman, Jr. and Charmeall Powe, 39 years of age, were found dead about 8:00 this morning at 304 Sasser Drive in Eight Mile. The disocvery was made after the 6 and 7 year old went to a neighbor's house because they did not want to miss school.

Police have not said who killed who, but we know both Coleman and Powe were stabbed to death.

Chief Jimmie Gardner says the children witnessed the murder-suicide sometime overnight, went to bed and got up this morning to go to school.

The children are now with their mother.

Coleman was a member of the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association. His dad, Ronald Coleman Sr. is a former MAMGA president.

Fresno, CA: Murder-suicide suspect taped self doing meth

2012-02-09T06:29:00.000-05:00

(AP) FRESNO, Calif. - A woman who shot her two children, their father and a cousin in California's Central Valley before committing suicide took video of herself on her iPad as she smoked methamphetamine prior to the killings, police said Monday.
The apparent murder-suicide by 23-year-old Aide Mendez began Sunday morning when she argued with the father of her two children, 33-year-old Eduardo Lopez.

Police arrived to find Lopez outside the Silver Lakes Apartment with knife and gunshot wounds, said Lt. Mark Salazar, homicide commander for the Fresno Police Department.

They heard a muffled shot from inside the first-floor apartment and discovered Mendez had killed herself, her boyfriend's cousin, Paul Medina, 27, as well as her two children, 17-month-old Aliyah Echeverria and Isaiah Echeverria, 3.

The boy was found dead on the scene, Salazar said. Police tried to resuscitate the girl but she later died at the hospital.

"We do know that drugs played a key role, but we don't know to what extent," Salazar said. "She was seen prior to the shooting smoking methamphetamine. She recorded herself on an iPad showing her and Paul Medina smoking meth. We know the power of meth."

Salazar said the time stamp on the iPad video would have to be tested but preliminary information indicated it was recorded within a few hours of the murder.

"Her actions just seemed bizarre; her mannerism, the way she was moving her hands and her facial expressions," Salazar said, noting other drugs may have been involved but that it would take weeks before the toxicology reports were complete.

Lopez remains in critical condition at Community Regional Medical Center with stab wounds and a gunshot wound to the neck, Salazar said.

A 7-year-old girl who was a family friend was staying overnight in the apartment, but escaped unharmed.

Authorities said Monday they had yet to piece together a motive, but said family members reported that Mendez had lost a baby several years ago, and was still grieving over the loss. Police recovered three firearms in the apartment; two of them used.

"There's some things we just don't know because most of the people in that house are dead and the one person who is alive can't speak right now," Salazar said.

Jesus Gonzalez told KFSN-TV, an ABC affiliate in Fresno, that shortly before 7 a.m. on Sunday he heard gunshots and then a pounding on his door. He opened the door to find Lopez bleeding profusely.

"I opened the door and he fell in front of me, and I take him and I pull him inside," Gonzalez said. He said that before he could drag Lopez inside, Mendez tried to pull him back outside again.

Gonzalez said he shouted at her, "Hey, what happened, what happened?" and she ran off.

The family lived in the back of the gated apartment complex, which has neat lawns, trees and a children's playground.

Neighbors said there was no indication of violence between the couple before Sunday's shootings.

"They would come out with the baby carriage, and the man was taking care of his children," neighbor Eric Gonzalez said.

Another neighbor said Monday residents were shaken by the shooting, and still struggling to comprehend what had happened.

"It just really gets you thinking about how a mother could just grab her kids and kill them," Lizeth Gonzalez, a mother of three small children who lives in the complex. "I never thought it would happen here. Whatever she did, I hope God can somehow forgive her."

In this undated photo provided by Fresno Police Department via The Fresno Bee, Aide Mendez is shown. Mendez, who shot her two children, their father and a cousin in California's Central Valley before committing suicide took video of herself on her iPad as she smoked methamphetamine prior to the killings, police said Monday. (AP Photo/Fresno Police Department via The Fresno Bee)

Miami, FL: Arrest made in Overtown shooting of mom in front of kids

2012-02-08T20:17:00.000-05:00

Miami police have arrested the man accused of shooting to death his ex-girlfriend early Monday in front of her two young children and several adults.

He was found near Northwest 14th Place and 212th Street in Miami Gardens after a family plea was held Wednesday morning. Police say it is unclear what he was doing in the area.

Shanquendra Quenishea Williams, 25, was killed by Bertram Frederick Clark, in her two-bedroom apartment in Overtown, 1232 NW First Pl., police said.

The couple’s son, Bertram, 3, and William’s daughter, Janya, 7, were in the apartment at the time along with two family friends.

The violence was sparked because Williams had called police earlier in the evening when Clark stormed into her apartment, grabbed her by the hair and poured liquor on her face.

She had decided not to file a police report.

Clark left, but neighbors said 20 minutes later he returned wearing gloves, burst into the apartment and “pistol whipped her and shot her,” according to the police report.

“He killed her for calling the police on him,” said her sister Shandina Williams, 26. “ But above everything he is a jealous, jealous man. “

Williams died inside her apartment.

On Tuesday, William’s young daughter was struggling with what she had witnessed.

“I was playing asleep. He came in and put my momma’s head between his legs and went ‘boom boom,’ ” Janya said. “Momma kept saying ‘no, no.’ When I saw my momma on the floor I ran outside.”

Shandina said Williams and Clark were not romantically involved anymore.

“He would only came around because of the kids,” she said. “They had nothing together.”

Miami-Dade records show Clark has a violent past. Clark was charged with third-degree murder with a deadly weapon in 1994 and convicted in 1995. He also was charged with first-degree attempted murder in 1990 and was acquitted in 1991. He also has been charged with more than a dozen charges of burglary, battery and cocaine possession.

“The police has come to the house more than four times in the past, but my sister never follows through with a report, she lets it slide,” she said.

Samuel Wilson, a close family friend, was visiting the home when Williams was killed.

“We were watching TV when he came in shot her on the floor,” Wilson said. “He said he loved his kids but he did what he did. He hurt them, took away their mom. How can he love them?”

Williams’ heartbroken mother, Judditte Williams, 53, said her daughter worked at a nearby Burger King.

“She was a tall, pretty and hardworking woman,” she said. “A great daughter and mother.”

The two children will now live with their aunt.

“I don’t even want them living here,” Shandina Williams said of the apartment. “It’s too much. Janya doesn’t even want to come home. She wants her mom back.”

Phoenix, AZ: Phoenix police: Officers shoot, kill gunman

2012-02-08T20:00:00.000-05:00

Phoenix police shot and killed a 54-year-old man after authorities said he pointing his handgun at Phoenix officers Tuesday night near Thunderbird Road and 35th Avenue.

The man, whose identity was not released, was suspected of holding his estranged wife and her boyfriend hostage Tuesday afternoon and evening, according to Sgt. Tommy Thompson, spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department.

Police suspect the man entered a residence where the woman and her boyfriend had been living with the boyfriend's mother around 1:30 p.m., according to police.

The man, according to police, was armed with a handgun and threatened to kill both his estranged wife and her boyfriend.

The man complained of back pain and the estranged wife and boyfriend gave the man prescription drugs and some wine, which eventually caused him to fall asleep, Thompson said.

The woman's boyfriend then slipped out of the house to call the police, according to Thompson. The man woke up shortly after that and left the residence to pursue the boyfriend. The woman locked the door after the man left.

Two police officers contacted the boyfriend on the street who pointed to the armed man and told the officers that the man was armed, according to police.

When the officers began yelling commands to the man, he did not comply and ran back to the residence, police said. The officers ran after him.

The man reached the front door to find it locked. The man turned toward the officers and pointed the handgun at them, according to police.

The officer nearest to the man fired his gun numerous times, hitting the man, Thompson said.

The man was taken to a local hospital by the Phoenix Fire Department where he died from his injuries, according to Thompson.

Officials are still investigating.

Wagoner, OK: Murder-suicide ruled in Wagoner couple's death

2012-02-08T19:53:00.002-05:00

WAGONER, Okla. (AP) - Authorities in Wagoner County say the deaths of a husband and wife last week appear to be a murder-suicide.

Kelly Kay Owens and Curtis Dwayne Owens were found dead last Thursday by Kelly Owens' father. Sheriff Bob Colbert tells the Muskogee Phoenix (http://is.gd/KYHoZd ) that it appears the couple died the night before.

Colbert says investigators determined that Curtis Owens shot his wife before killing himself with a self-inflicted gunshot.

The sheriff's office says it had no prior reports of domestic violence between the couple.

The deaths remain under investigation.

Information from: Muskogee Phoenix, http://www.muskogeephoenix.com

St. Martinville, LA: Teen and unborn child dead after domestic dispute

2012-02-08T19:46:00.000-05:00

A St. Martinville teen and her unborn child are dead after a domestic dispute led to a shooting Wednesday.

According to the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office, Hannah Parker, 19, who was seven-months pregnant, suffered a fatal gunshot wound after she was involved in an argument with her fiancé.

Police said around 4 p.m. Wednesday deputies responded to a call off of Our Lady of the Lake Road regarding a domestic dispute. Upon arrival, deputies said discovered Parker had been fatally shot.

The suspect, and fiancé of the victim, was identified as Joshua McKeel, 21, also of St. Martinville. He was immediately taken into custody at the scene without incident, and he stands charged of second-degree murder and first-degree feticide.

He was booked into the St. Martin Parish Correctional Center. The incident remains under investigation, and deputies said there is no further information available at this time.

Carnegie, PA: Boyfriend charged in Carnegie stabbing death

2012-02-08T19:39:00.000-05:00

The boyfriend of a woman who was fatally stabbed early today in Carnegie has been charged in her death.

Jeffery Allen Maloy, 26, is awaiting arraignment on a homicide charge in the death of 36-year-old Melissa Bowers.

Carnegie police Chief Jeffrey Harbin said police were called to an apartment at 103 Railroad Ave. for a report of a stabbing at 4:30 a.m.

Mr. Maloy was standing outside the apartment. Inside, they found Ms. Bowers dead.

This morning, Chief Harbin would not elaborate on why he was a suspect, but said "when the police got there, there was a conversation that led to police taking him into custody."

Police later learned the attack was preceded by a fight.

Greenwood County, SC: Woman Found Strangled Under Home; Man Charged

2012-02-07T23:25:00.000-05:00

GREENWOOD COUNTY, S.C. -- Greenwood police have made an arrest in the death of a woman whose body was found in a crawlspace under a home.
Police said they were called to the home on Chappel Street on Friday. Officers said they found Jermel Tompkins in the crawlspace. Erica Wideman was also found in the crawlspace, officers said. They said she was unresponsive.
Officers said Tompkins fled while being questioned by officers. He was caught after a short foot-pursuit, police said.
Wideman was transported to Self Regional for treatment. Wideman died on Monday from the injuries had she suffered.
An autopsy Tuesday determined her death was caused by manual strangulation.
Wideman is charged with murder.
Police have not yet said why Wideman and Tompkins were in the crawlspace or what type of call they responded to.

Macon County, NC: Macon couple discovered deceased in home

2012-02-07T22:56:00.000-05:00

A Macon County couple was discovered dead by their family when they returned home last Thursday evening in a case that investigators are referring to as an alleged murder-suicide.

Emergency 911 dispatch received an emergency phone call last Thursday evening, Feb. 2, from the address of 909 Little Hogback Mountain Lane. The caller stated that he had discovered his in-laws, Kenneth and Fran Simmons, along with the family dog, dead in their home from apparent gunshot wounds. The caller believed his mother-in-law had shot Mr. Kenneth Williams and the dog, and later killed herself.

On Monday, Feb 6, Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland confirmed that the Sheriff’s Office investigation into an apparent murder/suicide which occurred at the listed residence is still ongoing. The incident still appears to be a murder/suicide, according to Sheriff Holland.

Investigators arrived at the scene after receiving an emergency phone call from Keith Harper, who told the 911 dispatcher that he and his wife had just arrived home from work and found the residence unusually quiet and discovered his deceased in-laws after searching the home, according to the CAD Incident Detail report released following the incident.

Harper called 911 at 6:07 p.m. to report the discovery. Harper told the dispatcher that it appeared that his mother-in-law, Francis Harriet Simmons, age 71, had killed his father-in-law, Kenneth Simmons, age 71. The family dog was also killed by gunshot wounds and was found dead in its cage. Harper told the dispatcher that he felt something was wrong when he got home and the dog was not barking. He stated the dog usually barks like crazy when someone arrives at the residence.

A bullet and a five-page note were left in the home, according to the 911 dispatch report and Sheriff Holland. The dispatcher told Harper and his wife not to touch anything, and to stay outside of the house until law enforcement officials arrived at the scene.

An autopsy on the two victims was conducted on Friday, Feb. 3. The home was secured by the Sheriff’s Office and items of evidence were seized from the residence during and after the autopsy. The autopsy report indicates that Mrs. Simmons shot her husband multiple times and then shot the dog, before turning the gun on herself. According to Holland, the family gave him permission to release information regarding the shootings, which report that Mr. Kenneth Simmons was terminally ill and was receiving hospice care.

The preliminary results of Mr. Simmons’ autopsy report indicates that his cause of death was from multiple gunshot wounds. Mrs. Simmons’ autopsy report indicated that she died from a single gunshot wound to the head.

Mrs. Simmons’s autopsy revealed a single gunshot wound. Investigators believe she shot her husband and the family dog, before killing herself. Investigators also believe the five-page note left at the scene was written by Mrs. Simmons. The note was an apology to their family, according to Sheriff Holland.

No criminal charges are expected to be filed and the investigation will remain ongoing pending the final autopsy report, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office.

Article: Incidents of killings in child custody disputes

2012-02-07T22:39:00.000-05:00

Incidents of a parent killing his or her child or children in a custody dispute include:

_ December 2011: In Gargatha, Va., five people, including two children, were found dead in a mobile home. Police believe the father of the children was involved in a custody hearing with the mother and shot the others and then himself.

_ December 2009: A woman who died with her two young daughters and her mother from gunshot wounds in a murder-suicide had just learned she'd temporarily lost custody of her children. The home was in an upscale neighborhood in San Clemente, Calif.

_ May 2009: In Bardstown, Ky., a father fatally shot his 21-month-old son and then himself. He had been involved in a custody dispute with the child's mother for months, a relative said.

_ March 30, 2008: In Baltimore, Md., a father drowned his three young children, ages 2, 4 and 6, at a hotel room, then called the front desk to report their deaths. An online search of state court records showed he and his wife were involved in a child custody dispute.

_ March 18, 2008: Employees of Fort Stevens State Park in Warrenton, Ore., found a 10-year-old boy with his father in a murder-suicide from carbon monoxide poisoning in the father's van. Police said the father had been in a custody battle with his wife.

_ Thanksgiving 2007: A Frederick, Md., man fatally shot his ex-wife, their three children, ages 6, 10 and 12, and then himself during a custody hand-off in a small town park.

_ September 2007: A Wausau, Wis., mother fatally shot her 11-year-old son, then took her own life. The police were present, trying to resolve a custody dispute with her husband.

___

Compiled by Associated Press news researcher Rhonda Shafner.

Meriden, CT: Slain Meriden man's girlfriend has history of domestic violence

2012-02-07T22:24:00.000-05:00

MERIDEN - The girlfriend of a man shot to death in his Olive Street apartment Friday has a long history of arrests, including charges in five domestic violence incidents that resulted in convictions.
Police said Tuesday that they had interviewed the girlfriend as part of the investigation and that she was present in the apartment at the time Richard West Jr. died. Police did not identify her and they have not named any suspects.
West, 49, was found shot in the chest in his first-floor apartment at 76 Olive St. early Friday morning. The death has been ruled a homicide, and police have confirmed that the weapon used in the killing was West's own handgun.
According to friends of the couple, West had been living with Melissa Ziemba for several months and they were seen together in the neighborhood and at American Legion Post 45 on Hanover Road.
Ziemba's name appears on the mailbox of the apartment where West lived. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Ziemba, 41, has been arrested 15 times in 14 years in Colorado and Connecticut on charges of assault, domestic violence, threatening and harassment, according to records in the Colorado Court Database and Connecticut Judicial Branch websites.
From 1998 to 2007, she was charged in five domestic violence incidents and convicted on charges of harassment-strike/shove, kick. She was also charged with assault in 2004, but was convicted of harassment-strike/shove, kick. In July 2007, Ziemba was charged with felony assault, but was convicted of felony menacing with a real or simulated weapon and disorderly conduct. She was sentenced to 14 months in prison and a three-year intensive supervision program.
In New Haven, she was convicted of assaulting a public safety or medical technician officer in 2002 and was sentenced to serve 90 days in Niantic Correctional Institution and two years probation. She violated probation by going to Colorado and was later convicted of the probation violation.
West had an on-again, off-again relationship with Ziemba, said Sharon Jarvis, his former girlfriend, and he moved in with her in early fall.
Police would not confirm Ziemba's identity, but two friends said she has been interviewed twice about West's killing.
One friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Ziemba is distraught over West's death.
Friends and acquaintances described West as a nice guy who looked out for others. West was a veteran and a member of American Legion Post 45 for two years, according to Tony Gianakos, a member of Post 45.
"He seemed like a regular guy, always clean-cut," Gianakos said. "He was also a sociable guy and never caused any trouble."
West worked as a truck driver for JP Express in Northford for about 13 months.
"This is terrible," said company manager Jeff Passanter. "He was a reliable, hard-working good guy."
Police are continuing their investigation and have asked anyone with information to contact Detective John Wagner at (203) 630-6318.
mgodin@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2255

Midwest City, OK: Estranged husband, girlfriend accused of hiring man to kill Midwest City woman, police say

2012-02-07T22:13:00.000-05:00

MIDWEST CITY — The estranged husband of a pregnant woman found dead last month is accused of hiring a man to kill her, police said Tuesday.

Police Chief Brandon Clabes said officers arrested Fabion Brown, 24, and his girlfriend, Emily Matheson, 23, in connection with the killing of Jessica Lynn Brown. Both were booked into the Midwest City jail on complaints of conspiracy to commit murder and are scheduled Wednesday to be taken to the Oklahoma County jail.
Clabes said Matheson gave investigators details about how the couple hired Brodric Glover, 19, to kill Jessica Brown. An arrest warrant has been issued for Glover on two complaints of murder.
Clabes said two juveniles likely were with Glover at the time of Jessica Brown's death. The juveniles have been arrested on unrelated complaints, police said.

Worcester, MA: Man kills ex, himself

2012-02-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

WORCESTER — A 48-year-old Worcester man shot and killed his ex-girlfriend in front of a Main South grocery store last night and then went to his nearby apartment and killed himself, police said.

Investigators were told by witnesses that a man fitting the description of Jose Soto of 1 Sycamore St. waited for Belinda Torres, 40, of Worcester to leave the Compare Foods grocery at 664 Main St. and then shot her twice in the head.

Court records show that Ms. Torres had an active restraining order against Mr. Soto. The order was issued in December and was to expire in a year. She filed the report after her boyfriend assaulted her and chastised her for dating other men, court records show.

He threatened to kill her if he saw her with another man, according to court records. She told authorities that Mr. Soto had mental health problems.

When seeking the restraining order, she told authorities that Mr. Soto did not have access to a gun.

Police, responding to a report of a shooting, found Ms. Torres lying on the sidewalk about 6:45 p.m. The victim, after initial treatment by paramedics, was taken by ambulance to UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus, where she was pronounced dead about a half an hour later.

Witnesses told police that the man involved in the shooting entered the apartment building at 1 Sycamore St.

Police, including members of the Special Weapons and Tactical Team, went to the house and surrounded it.

Detectives, meanwhile, learned that Ms. Torres' ex-boyfriend, Mr. Soto, lived in the building.

After obtaining a search warrant, they found Mr. Soto dead about 10:45 p.m., with what they determined was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A gun was found nearby.

Police are continuing to investigate the shootings.

San Diego, CA: Boyfriend Of Woman Found Dead Turns Self In

2012-02-07T21:39:00.000-05:00

SAN DIEGO -- A Bay Park man was arrested on suspicion of murder and arson Monday after emergency crews found his live-in girlfriend dead from an apparent knife wound while extinguishing several intentionally set fires in the couple's home.

Firefighters responding to a 911 call in the 4800 block of Huron Avenue just after 5 a.m. arrived to find two blazes inside the home, one in the living room and one in a rear bedroom, according to San Diego police.

While escorting three residents out of the home, one of them commented that a woman was still inside," SDPD Lt. Kevin Rooney said. "Firefighters found a woman in a rear bedroom, the same bedroom where a fire was extinguished. The woman had suffered an apparent stab wound, and she was pronounced dead at the scene."
The identity of the woman, who was in her 40s, was withheld pending family notification.

The only resident of the house who was not present when emergency personnel arrived was the dead woman's boyfriend, 41-year-old Anthony Elias Estrada, according to police.
Shortly before 7:30 a.m., while patrol officers were briefing homicide investigators about the case, Estrada surrendered to workers at Clairemont High School, the lieutenant said. The employees notified police, who responded and took Estrada into custody.

The suspect was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Bellevue, ID: Former Bellevue mayor, ex-wife found dead in their home

2012-02-07T21:27:00.000-05:00

BELLEVUE, Idaho -- The Hailey Police Department has confirmed that the former mayor of Bellevue and his ex-wife are dead in what appears to be a murder-suicide.
Police were called to a home at 320 Walnut Street in Bellevue around 9 a.m. Tuesday. Once inside the home police found the body of 58-year-old Linda Vaughn of Bellevue. She was the apparent victim of a homicide.
Lying next to her body was her ex-husband, 55-year-old Jon Anderson of Bellevue. It appears the former mayor died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A caretaker found the bodies and called police. It appears the couple died in the early morning hours. There was a note left, but those details have not been released.
Police say although the couple was divorced they lived at the home amicably.
The incident remains under investigation by the Bellevue Marshals Office and the Hailey Police Department. The Idaho State Police crime scene unit is assisting.
NewsChannel 7 has a crew on the way to Bellevue. Check back later tonight for an update.

Richmond, CA: Street stabbing leaves Oakland woman dead in Richmond

2012-02-07T21:17:00.000-05:00

RICHMOND -- A street fight over a man ended with a stabbing death Tuesday night in central Richmond, police said.
A tussle between two women broke out about 9:45 p.m. on the 300 block of Sixth Street. It escalated, Lt. Bias French said, and when officers arrived they found 24-year-old Oakland resident Tiye Rebecca Freeman on the ground with several stab wounds.
Freeman later died at a hospital. Police arrested 32-year-old Richmond resident Crystal Birden, who remained at the crime scene, on suspicion of murder and booked her into County Jail in Martinez.
Richmond's fourth homicide of 2012 remains under investigation.

Shawnee, OK: Love triangle ends in woman's stabbing death

2012-02-07T21:11:00.000-05:00

SHAWNEE, Okla. -- One woman is dead and another is behind bars in Shawnee after police say a love triangle was motive for murder. An argument over property inside an apartment led to one woman stabbing another woman in a parking lot.

"(She was) holding her chest somewhere about right here," neighbor Chase Stewart recalled, holding his hand over his upper left chest. "Blood, bleeding and crying."

Stewart remembers feeling helpless as he watched 29-year-old Gina Swain suffer, Sunday afternoon.

She was sitting in a patio chair after being stabbed at the Chapel Ridge Apartments in Shawnee.

Swain was eventually flown to OU Medical Center and died less than 24 hours later, Monday morning.

"It's just sad and I'm sorry for her and her family that there's really nothing you can do in that situation," Stewart said. "It's just awful."

"We had a witness come forward and give us a name of our suspect who had already fled on foot," Detective Charles Swantek said.

He says police called 23-year-old Heather Checotah and convinced her to surrender at a friend's house.

A police affidavit states, "Checotah admitted to stabbing Gina Swain once with a kitchen knife" after chasing her in a parking lot.

Police say it was a domestic issue, involving an argument over property.

A female witness told police Checotah was her ex-girlfriend and said she was also acquainted with Swain.

The affidavit states, "Checotah stated that she grabbed the knife from inside (her ex-girlfriend's) apartment" and "admitted that she was angry at Swain."

"We have one (person) that will no longer be with us and the other, her life is going to be changed from now on," Swantek said. "There's no words to say how tragic it would be."

Checotah is being held without bail as the investigation continues.

After Swain died, police say the initial complaint of assault and battery with a deadly weapon against Checotah was modified to a first-degree murder complaint.

Checotah won't be arraigned on that murder charge until Feb. 21 at the Pottawatomie County courthouse.

Cleveland, OH: Cleveland youth, 16, turns self in to police following dragging death

2012-02-06T18:58:00.000-05:00

CLEVELAND, Ohio - A 16-year-old surrendered to police Monday following the death of a 16-year-old Cleveland girl who police said was fatally injured when she was dragged by a maroon Jeep Sunday night after an argument with her boyfriend.

Rosaura Oquendo, who would have celebrated her 17th birthday on Thursday, fell to the pavement near her West 81st Street home. Cleveland police said it is unclear whether a piece of her clothing got caught in the car or she was intentionally dragged down the street.
The suspect, 16, with his father surrendered to Homicide Detectives, police said He is being interviewed. His name has not been released.
February is designated as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness month, said Linda Dooley Johanek, head of the Domestic Violence Center of Greater Cleveland. National statistics show between 25 and 33 percent of teens have been involved in violent situations.
"Teen dating violence is so common it's scary, but the general public is unaware that this type of violence exists," she said. "That's why we talk to teens at schools so they can look for the red flags and warning signs."
Khalid Samad, president of Peace in the 'Hood, said many neighbors witnessed the incident but were afraid to talk because they fear reprisals.
Police were called at 10:33 p.m. and found Rosaura unconscious on her porch in the 2000 block. She was pronounced dead at MetroHealth Medical Center.
Blood remained on the street and the porch Monday afternoon, as police searched for the boyfriend.
"The victim and the suspect were involved in an argument," Sgt. Sammy Morris said.
Rosaura was standing outside the maroon jeep on the driver's side, he said.
As they argued, the 16-year-old suspect drove away, dragging Rosaura a short distance, he said. She fell from the vehicle and struck the pavement.
The Jeep, with vanity plate TPASLY, was found about 7:25 a.m. Monday parked in the 1400 block of West 77th Street. It was towed to a police lot.
Neighbor Evelyn Paradiso said she heard screaming and arguing and looked outside. She saw Rosaura by the Jeep, then saw her fall and hit her head as the Jeep kept going.
Rosaura's father rushed outside and carried his daughter to their porch, then the mother came out and started screaming, Paradiso said.
Rosaura's family displayed a memorial on their front porch Monday afternoon - a white cloth that contained a colorful display of bears, monkeys, balloons and a bouquet of flowers.
The family declined to be interviewed.
Samad said his organization and the Oquendo family are arranging a public vigil 7 p.m. Thursday.
Anyone with information is asked to call First District detectives at 216-623-5100.

Tucson, AZ: Tucson man given 22 years in death of wife's son, 6

2012-02-06T18:46:00.000-05:00

A political asylee from Togo was sentenced to 22 years in prison Monday for causing the death of his ex wife’s 6-year-old son.
Koffi Dogbevi, 25, admitted he was spanking Michael Ibarra for not cleaning his room when the boy fell down some stairs, suffering a massive head injury that proved fatal.
“I regret my actions,” Dogbevi told a presentence report writer. “I am not a bad person or a criminal. I made a huge mistake.”
In Togo, corporal punishment is considered incumbent upon responsible parents, Assistant Pima County Public Defender Brian Metcalf told Pima County Superior Court Judge Clark Munger.
His client did not act with a “malicious heart,” Metcalf said in asking for a 16-year prison sentence to be imposed.
On Aug. 3, 2010, paramedics went to Dogbevi’s home after receiving a call about an unconscious child and found Michael suffering from a head injury. Tests showed the boy suffered epidural and subdural hematomas because of a skull fracture that extended from the back of his head to the right side.
The child underwent two emergency surgeries and was on life support for eight days before it was removed and he died. At the time of his death, Michael was covered in bruises in various stages of healing, and an autopsy revealed he had two spinal fractures that occurred at different times. He also had a healed hand fracture.
Dogbevi was indicted on first-degree murder and child abuse charges. Michael’s mother, Monica Ibarra, was also indicted on child abuse charges. She admitted she didn’t protect her son or seek medical attention for him and was sentenced to two years in prison and 15 years’ probation last week.
Dogbevi pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a plea agreement that set the sentencing range at 16 to 22 years in prison instead of the normal 10 to 22-year range.
Michael’s aunt, Cathy Romero, presented a PowerPoint presentation prior to the sentencing Monday. She described Michael as a sweet child and a “true gentleman” who cared more for others than he did for himself. He loved Spiderman, chocolate and pizza.
Because of Dogbevi’s “declaration of abject monstrosity” Michael’s family will never be the same again, Romero said. Her daughter and surviving nephew suffer from nightmares, family and friends have abandoned them, her mother’s health has suffered and her sister is being sent to prison.
Monica Ibarra was permitted to attend the hearing, but was not permitted to speak because of her status as a co-defendant.
Prior to his sentencing, Dogbevi told a probation officer he didn’t think Ibarra, who divorced him following their arrest, should have to go to prison for something he did. He said he wanted her to remain free to raise their now 2-year-old son.
However, Dogbevi also disputed Ibarra’s contention that she was a victim of severe domestic violence. She has long maintained she could not seek help for herself and Michael for fear of being beaten or killed. She also said Dogbevi threatened to take the children to Africa.
Dogbevi recalled a lone incident in which they shouted and pushed each other and he threw a remote control.
Dogbevi moved to Ghana at 18 to avoid arrest and came to the United States the following year. He was granted political asylum in August 2006.
U.S. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement has placed a hold on Dogbevi.
However, Deputy Pima County Attorney Ryan Schmidt told Munger he would prefer Dogbevi serve 100 percent of his time prior to ICE taking custody of him.
While the U.S. often deports immigrants convicted of crimes prior to their sentences being completed, Togo and the U.S. do not have an extradition agreement so it’s unclear what will happen to Dogbevi, said his other attorney, Margo Cowan.

Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com

Astoria, NY: Sources: Queens Man In Custody Following Wife's Death

2012-02-06T18:40:00.000-05:00

A Queens man whose wife was found dead last week is now in police custody.
Sources tell NY1 Jordan Hawes, 32, was picked up by police in Connecticut for driving a stolen car.

Sources say he is being held in a psychiatric ward in a Connecticut hospital and has not yet been charged with any crime.

His wife, Tara Hawes, 33, was found dead in the couple's Astoria apartment Thursday night.

Investigators say she died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Garrison, MN: Minnesota woman, accused of running over husband with van, faces premeditated murder for his death 18 months ago

2012-02-06T18:34:00.000-05:00

A 61-year-old Garrison, Minn., woman faces first-degree premeditated murder and two other charges after her husband was run over by a vehicle nearly 18 months ago.

A Cass County grand jury indicted Helene Teresa Mitchell-Abraham last week. She made her first appearance Monday on charges of first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree intentional murder and interference with a dead body, according to the county’s Attorney’s Office.

Cass County Attorney Christopher Strandlie said the additional charge of premeditated murder came after investigators uncovered more evidence in the Sept. 23, 2010 death of 64-year-old Wendall Wayne Abraham.

Court papers claim she intentionally struck and killed her husband with a motor vehicle.

The original criminal report said Mitchell-Abraham saw her husband walk behind her van, so she put the van into reverse and floored it, striking and killing him. Mitchell-Abraham then allegedly used a rope to drag her husband’s body into the woods and fled. His body was found more than two weeks later.

In Minnesota, only a grand jury can indict someone on first-degree murder. In Mitchell-Abraham’s case, a grand jury considered two days of testimony before returning the first-degree indictment, according to a news release from Strandlie.

If convicted, the charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. A conviction for second-degree intentional murder carries a maximum of 40 years in prison while a conviction for interfering with a dead body carries up to a year in jail.

At a Monday court hearing, a district judge set bail for Mitchell-Abraham at $500,000 if she meets certain conditions set by the court. Her next court appearance is scheduled for March 19 and a trial has been set for May 7.

Police officers from Storm Lake, Iowa, and Mankato, Minn., assisted investigators from the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on the case.

Christian County, KY: Woman Charged In Soldier Husband's Death In Court

2012-02-06T18:29:00.000-05:00

CHRISTIAN COUNTY, Ky. - The woman charged in the shooting death of her Fort Campbell soldier husband was in court Monday.

Police discovered the body of Vincent Goslyn Junior in Christian County Friday night. Goslyn, a Fort Campbell soldier, had suffered several gunshot wounds.

His 25-year-old wife, Jessie, was arrested and charged with his death after allegedly implicating herself during an interview with police on Saturday morning.

24-year-old Jarred Long, a discharged Ft. Campbell soldier, has also been arrested in Colorado in connection with Goslyn's murder.

"The circumstances of their relationship is something we are not releasing right now, I can tell you they were acquaintances," said Captain Chris Miller with the Christian County Sheriff's Department.

Long will be extradited back to Kentucky.

Goslyn's father spoke with NewsChannel5 by phone from his home in Oklahoma.

"We are mourning. He was a good kid. 28-years-old. He didn't have to lose his life that way. It's not easy right now. It's not easy, this should have never happened," said Vincent Goslyn Senior.

Investigators said they believe that Goslyn's violent death on the side of Fidelio Road Friday night wasn't a crime of passion or a random act of violence like his wife told 911 operators.

"We are leaning towards pre meditated murder at this point," said Officer Chris Miller with the Christian County Sheriffs Office.

Jessie Goslyn's arrest citation states she admitted to willingly driving her husband to the place he was killed knowing that he was going to be harmed when he got there.

Goslyn was being held in the Christian County jail on $1-million bond.

Jessie and Vincent Goslyn had three very young children, who are staying with neighbors on post.

Daytona Breach, FL: Purple Heart war hero kills himself and his wife after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder

2012-02-06T18:21:00.000-05:00

A highly decorated veteran of the Iraq war shot and killed his wife before fatally shooting himself at their home yesterday.
Jason Pemberton, who had won three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star, was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder following his service in the Middle East.
The 28-year-old soldier was described as a 'hero' by the local police chief, who said that Tiffany Pemberton, 25, was 'a casualty of war' despite never having fought.

Authorities found the bodies of Mr and Mrs Pemberton on Sunday morning after a neighbour in Daytona Beach, Florida called the police about a dog on the couple's balcony.
The neighbours had knocked on their door, and contacted authorities when they received no reply.

Police said the shootings most likely occurred on Saturday, as a neighbour told them he had heard two gunshots that evening, though he did not report it at the time.
Mrs Pemberton appeared to have been shot in the chest with a rifle, and her husband had apparently shot himself in the head.

Neighbours told police that they had frequently heard the couple, who had been married for about a year, arguing in their apartment.
In July, Mr Pemberton called the police and said that his wife was causing a disturbance, but sent officers away as soon as they arrived.
'This kid was a hero,' Dayton Beach police chief Mike Chitwood said. 'It's a horrific tragedy.
'You have a 25-year-old woman who never set foot in Iraq, yet she is a casualty of the war. Clearly, the staff sergeant had issues as a lot of returning veterans do.'
Mr Pemberton grew up in a military family in Alabama, his uncle told the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
He served three tours in Iraq as a staff sergeant with the 82nd Airborne Division - winning 'ribbons like you wouldn't believe', according to a neighbour.
After his distinguished service in Iraq, he was discharged from the army with a back injury when his parachute opened incorrectly.

'He did what he was supposed to do and came out injured for life,' his uncle said.
Mr Pemberton had also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and had moved to Dayton Beach in order to study motorcycle mechanics.
'He was a man that had a big heart and he just snapped,' a neighbour told My Fox Orlando.
'He was highly decorated, three Purple Hearts, was really not happy about the way he was being treated by the VA.'

Auburn, WA: Auburn man stands trial for murder of wife

2012-02-06T18:16:00.002-05:00

Jury selection began Monday for the trial of an Auburn man charged with the 2009 murder of his wife.

Paramjit Singh Basra, 53, will stand trial for the second-degree murder of Harjinder Basra, 39, with prosecutors reserving the alternative of premeditated first-degree murder if intent can be shown at trial.

According to charging papers filed in King County Superior Court, Auburn police arrested Basra on July 27, 2009, after his hysterical daughter called 911 to report that her father had attacked her mother and was trying to kill her.

According to charging papers, the girl called 911 again and told the operator that her father, a truck driver, had just returned to the family home in the 29500 block of 125th Avenue Southeast, pushed his hands up against his wife's throat and killed her. The girl said that one point he had used a rope to kill her, his daughter, too, but that she had locked herself in the master bathroom.

When police arrived at the home, charging papers say, they found the door slightly ajar and Basra looking out at them. He closed and locked the door. An officer knocked and told him to come out, which he eventually did, according to charging papers.

As the officer placed handcuffs on Basra, according to the report, he said in broken English, "Ahh ... ahh ... the problem is, I killed my wife. She's in the room to the right." According to the report, Basra appeared "very calm" as he made this admission.

According to the report, police found Harjinder Basra lying on the floor by the foot of the bed in the upstairs master bedroom, warm, but unconscious and without a pulse. Medics restored a pulse and rushed her to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

When police tried to question Mr. Basra, he asked for an attorney and the interrogation stopped. On the way to the patrol car, he allegedly said that he had "family problems," "I killed my wife," and "she has problems with men, so I killed her."

Police later searched the Basra home and found no signs of a struggle but turned up a car charger cord lying on the bed.

Mrs. Basra was declared brain dead on July 30. The King County Medical Examiner's Office determined her death was "homicide due to asphyxiation caused by ligature strangulation."

Prosecutors at first charged Basra with second-degree attempted murder but amended the charge to second-degree murder up his wife's death.

The trial is expected to last eight to 10 court days.

Deer Park, WA: Ex-husband arrested for Deer Park woman’s murder

2012-02-06T18:12:00.000-05:00

The ex-husband of a woman found strangled in her Deer Park home has been arrested for murder.

Clay Duane Starbuck was booked into jail today for the murder of Chanin Denice Starbuck, 42, who was found dead in her home at 509 N. Repier St. Dec. 3. Deputies arrested him without incident during a traffic stop this morning in Deer Park.

“He’s speaking with investigators right now,” Deputy Craig Chamberlin, spokesman for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, said this afternoon.

The Starbucks, who have five children together, were in the midst of a contentious divorce when Chanin was killed.

The couple had divorced in March 2000 in Benton County but reconciled within four months and remarried in Alaska in 2006, where Clay Starbuck worked in the oil pipelines. Chanin Starbuck had been a stay-at-home mom but enrolled in a dental assistance program after filing for divorce in July 2010.

Court documents detail the contempt of court claims and other ongoing disputes over money.

In an Oct. 14 letter, Chanin Starbuck urged a judge, unsuccessfully, to jail her ex-husband on contempt of court charges for failing to pay child support. Clay Starbuck disputed her claims and said he’d paid her more than $43,000 and continued to pay her rent and utilities.

In a letter in April 2011, Clay Starbuck said he and Chanin were trying to work through problems with the children together.

“Chanin remains jealous of the kids and my relationship,” Starbuck wrote.

Family from out of town had contacted police Dec. 2 to request a welfare check on Chanin Starbuck, but deputies responded to the home and found no signs of a forced entry or other suspicious circumstances. They left feeling they had no justification to enter the home without a warrant. They returned the next day after a friend said he hadn’t heard from Chanin Starbuck in several days and that it was “very out of character for her.”

Deputies found Starbuck dead on a bed in the master bedroom.

Clay Starbuck told deputies that his ex-wife sent him a text message on Dec. 1 about 3:30 p.m. asking him to pick up their children from school. Starbuck told deputies “that Chanin had been online dating and been on numerous dates,” according to a search warrant used to obtain information from computers in the Reiper Street home.

That warrant was filed Dec. 7. Detectives also sought information from a video camera that Chanin had set up in her kitchen four to five months ago because she thought Clay was entering the home and stealing jewelry and firearms that belonged to him, according to the search warrant.

Detectives sealed other search warrants as the investigation continued and evidence continued to point toward the victim’s ex-husband.

Detectives obtained DNA samples from Clay Starbuck and other people who knew Chanin Starbuck. The state crime lab recently notified them of the results, Chamberlin said.

“A lot of people wanted this to happen a lot faster,” Chamberlin said of Starbuck’s arrest. “But we can’t arrest people on gut feelings. We need something to get us probable cause.”

Clay Starbuck faces charges of first-degree murder and second-degree burglary. In a phone call just after Chanin’s body was discovered, Starbuck called the case “just terrible” and declined further comment.

Chamberlin said the investigation is ongoing.

Article: Vigil remembers El Toro student killed by boyfriend

2012-02-06T18:02:00.000-05:00

LAKE FOREST – A candlelight vigil held Friday in memory of an El Toro High graduate killed by her boyfriend and other victims of teen dating violence drew nearly 200 teens and parents to a parking lot in front of the Laura's House Resale Boutique.
The vigil in conjunction with Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month nationally was sponsored by the Ladera Ranch-based Laura's House, a nonprofit group focused on stopping domestic violence.
Recent studies have found that one in four high school students, boys and girls, are in physically abusive relationships and that nearly 80 percent of girls who have been physically abused continue to date their abuser.
"Teen dating doesn't begin with a slap, punch or kick," Marissa Presley, a bilingual prevention and education specialist told the crowd. The abuse spiral "starts with 'Shut up,'" she said.
"Teens are brutally beaten, put-down, degraded and hurt by boys or girls who are supposed to love them," she said.
Presley talked about the cycle of violence. The first component is the initial tension, when the abuser is moody and short-tempered and the victim "walks on eggshells." Second is the explosion, which can include breaking or throwing things or physical abuse. Third is the "honeymoon" stage of reconciliation, which doesn't last.
"The first 72 hours (after) a break-up is when homicide happens," Presley said. "In Orange County, 80 percent of parents don't think teen dating violence is a problem."
Among those remembered Friday was former El Toro High student Jacqwelyn Joanne Villagomez, a 19-year-old aspiring model who met John Needham, a 25-year-old Iraq War veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Villagomez, in accounts on a memorial Facebook page, said she thought she could save him.
On Sept. 2, 2008, police reported that Needham beat Villagomez to death in his father's condominium. Needham later died of unknown causes while awaiting trial. In Villagomez's memory, her friends donated money to Laura's House and have remained involved with the organization. Her family attended Friday's vigil.
Survivor advocates such as Morgan Berschauer, current Miss Laguna Hills Teen USA, spoke about enduring abuse in a nine-month relationship. She said she felt unsure about dating him at first, but listened to friends and family who said she should give him a chance.
Later into the relationship she was called names and was controlled, she said. She said she was also financially abused.
"I always had to pay for things, like eating and movies," Berschauer told the crowd. "One time I forgot my wallet and he said, 'Why did you do that?' and got upset."
The event, the second annual, also promoted Laura's House's H.E.A.R.T. – Healthy Emotions and Attitudes in Relationships for Teens. Each year the group provides its H.E.A.R.T. program to more than 3,000 Orange County teens at local high schools, junior colleges and other youth facilities.
The program helps teens become educated on healthy relationships and appropriate conflict resolution skills. Laura's House also has a website designed to assist teens who are seeking information on healthy relationships.
Berschauer has started a H.E.A.R.T. Club at Laguna Hills High.
"Anyone can be a victim," Berschauer said. "It happened to me. I want people to know it's OK to ask for help. You should not be afraid of your boyfriend or girlfriend."
Teens can visit laurashouse.org/lhteen. They can also become a fan of Laura's House on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter and learn more about its programs through videos posted on YouTube and podcasts on Podomatic.com.

Mishawaka, IN: Man accused of killing dog

2012-02-06T18:00:00.000-05:00

MISHAWAKA — Mishawaka police are investigating a 33-year-old Mishawaka man for allegedly killing a dog by beating it to death.

The suspect’s ex-girlfriend reportedly told police last week that the man killed the dog and put it in the garage. Officers discovered the dog Saturday inside the garage of the home in the 300 block of Milburn Court, partially wrapped in a mattress cover.

The woman told police that her ex-boyfriend had beaten the dog daily over a three-year time frame they owned the animal and that her children had seen the suspect beat the dog, according to a police report.

She said the suspect would hit the dog with brooms so hard the handles would break.

The suspect said the dog had gotten sick around the end of November, and he could not afford to take it to the vet because he didn’t have the money.

The suspect told police he found the dog dead in the backyard on Dec. 5 and had put it in the garage until the ground thawed and he could bury it.
The St. Joseph County Humane Society took possession of the dog’s body.

Monterey Park, CA: Pregnant Monterey Park woman's death probed as husband arrested

2012-02-06T17:51:00.002-05:00

The Los Angeles County coroner's office is investigating the death of a pregnant Monterey Park woman after marks found on her body led to the arrest of her husband.

Monterey Park police and fire officials responding to a report of a death at about 7 a.m. Sunday found 39-year-old Chenan Bao's body in the couple's home in the 1000 block of Ynez Avenue.

Police reported she died from injuries sustained in an incident of domestic violence, said L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Aura Lidman.

Bao was pronounced dead at the scene. The exact cause of her death hasn't been determined.

Hongxin Liu, 41, was arrested after a coroner's investigator found suspicious marks on Bao and alerted sheriff's homicide detectives.

Liu was being held at the Monterey Park police station in lieu of $1-million bail, Lidman said.

The couple's 2-year-old daughter was put in the custody of child-welfare authorities.

Toledo, OH: Toledo man stabbed to death in domestic dispute

2012-02-06T17:35:00.002-05:00

TOLEDO, Ohio -
A man was found dead inside his east Toledo home around 8:00 Saturday evening.

Toledo police say Jeffrey Fitzpatrick, 50, was found with one stab wound to the chest on the 1300 block of Greenwood, near White Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

His partner, 45-year-old Jane Campos, is being charged for murder and is being held in the Lucas County Corrections Center.

Fitzpatrick's family members say he called his mom just hours before the stabbing.
"He could hardly talk," says the victim's sister, Selena Owens. "He was out of breath. He told my mom that his ribs were broken."

Police believe a domestic altercation led up to the stabbing. Family members say domestic violence has been going on for years between the two.

"He'd come to my old house that I used to live at with black eyes," says Owens. "I mean, he was beat up, he's been cut, he shaved his head because she's dragged him by his hair."

One of Campos' family members claims the whole thing was an accident.

Mary Costilla says, "She said that before she left the house that he fell on a sharp object, and she just left him there, because she said she doesn't care anymore, because she's tired of him hitting her."

Campos will face a judge Monday morning at Toledo Municipal Court.

Kansas City, KS: Woman charged in stabbing death of partner

2012-02-06T17:30:00.002-05:00

Prosecutors on Saturday charged a Kansas City woman in the death of her longtime partner, who was found fatally stabbed in their apartment on Christmas Day.

Lacresha A.V. Barnett, 36, was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of 30-year-old Onge’le Marie Barnett, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said. Police said the couple wed in a civil ceremony out of state a few years ago.

Court documents show that Onge’le Barnett’s relatives told police that they went to her apartment in the 8800 block of Crystal Lane to check on her and talked to Lacresha Barnett, who also went by the name Lacresha Saulsberry.

The relatives said Lacresha Barnett told them that Onge’le Barnett had gone to a nearby store. They left and returned a short time later, finding the house locked. One relative pried open a window, entered the apartment and found Onge’le Barnett dead in the living room.

Police arrested Lacresha Barnett on Friday at Ridge Pointe Apartments in Kansas City.

According to court documents, she told police that Onge’le Barnett had become angry with her and displayed a knife, then began choking her. She said she picked up the knife and stabbed Onge’le Barnett multiple times. She told police she did not call for help after the stabbing.

After Onge’le Barnett’s relatives stopped by the apartment looking for her, court documents say, Lacresha Barnett left and watched for police to arrive, then went to a nearby liquor store and bought a bottle of gin.

Lacresha Barnett is being held on $250,000 bond.

Graham, WA: Josh Powell Tragedy: Son Said Mom Was In Trunk of Car, Lawyer Claims

2012-02-06T17:21:00.001-05:00

GRAHAM, Wash. The young sons of Susan and Josh Powell, who died with their father when he ignited an explosion in their Washington home, were beginning to verbalize that their mother was in the trunk of their father's car on the night that she disappeared in 2009, a lawyer for the missing woman's parents said.
Attorney Steve Downing told the Associated Press that Braden and Charles Powell, who were 2 and 4 at the time of Susan Powell's disappearance, were beginning to tell their grandparents details about the night that their father took them on a late-night camping trip during a blizzard, including the fact that their mother disappeared after leaving in the car with their father.
"They were beginning to verbalize more," Downing said. "The oldest boy talked about that they went camping and that mommy was in the trunk. Mom and dad got out of the car and mom disappeared."
Sgt. Mike Powell of the West Valley City Police Department in Utah did not return phone calls inquiring about the children's assertions about their mother's presence on the December 2009 camping trip, AP reported.
"Quite frankly, this has obviously quickly unfolded up in Washington and we're obviously just working through the details ourselves here," Powell, who is not related to the family, said earlier on Sunday.
Josh Powell set off an explosion at his home Sunday that killed himself and his two sons, who were there for a supervised visit.
"We believe that he killed his kids and himself," Pierce County, Wash., Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Ed Troyer said Sunday.
Josh Powell's lawyer, Jeffrey Bassett, said he received an email from his client minutes before the explosion that said "I'm sorry, goodbye," but he didn't see it until two hours later, when he was informed of the blast.

Bassett told AP he knew his client was upset about being denied custody of his sons at a court hearing last week, when he was ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and polygraph test in order to get them back.
Click here for a look at the history of the disappearance of Susan Powell.
Graham, Wash., Deputy Chief Gary Franz told ABC News that a Child Protective Services (CPS) worker had just dropped off Powell's two sons at the house for a supervised visit. Powell took his two sons inside the house and then locked the CPS worker out.
"The children were just right in front of her as she was walking up to the door," Child Protective Services spokeswoman Sherry Hill said. "They went into the house and Josh shut the door right in front of her and locked it."
The CPS worker smelled gas, stepped away and the house exploded. The case worker was not physically harmed.
"He grabbed the kids, locked her out of the house, and immediately the house went up in flames, very quickly, very big, so we believe that Josh Powell intentionally set this fire," Troyer said.
Firefighters arrived at the scene and found the three bodies. Police are awaiting verification from the Medical Examiner's Office, but said they believe the bodies are those of Josh Powell and his two sons.

Troyer told ABC News affiliate KOMO-TV in Seattle that emails Powell sent to authorities seemed to confirm that Powell planned the explosion. Troyer did not elaborate on the contents of the emails.
The house, which was on a dead end in a quiet residential neighborhood, has burned down to a charred frame.
Josh Powell is the only named person-of-interest in Susan Powell's 2009 disappearance, but he had not been charged. The couple's two sons were placed in custody of Susan Powell's parents in 2011 after Josh Powell's father, Steve Powell, was arrested on charges of voyeurism and child pornography.
At a hearing Wednesday, a statement from the West Valley City, Utah, police noted that information and images were found on Josh Powell's computer that "specifically related to their children's welfare," according to ABC affiliate KTVX in Salt Lake City.
The police did not specify what the information was, but Judge Kathryn J. Nelson ruled that because of that information, Josh Powell would not be allowed to have his children back until he submitted to a psychosexual evaluation and a polygraph test, the report said.

Bassett, Josh Powell's attorney, said the ruling was unfair to his client, who has not been charged with any crimes.
"Utah was dangling the alleged content of this disk. If this disk contains what they're saying it contains why haven't they arrested my client?" he said at the hearing.
The children were to remain with Chuck and Judy Cox until Josh Powell's next hearing, which was scheduled for July. Josh Powell was allowed twice-weekly supervised visitations with his sons during that time, KTVX reported.

De Pere, WI: Four die in murder-suicide in De Pere

2012-02-04T13:11:00.000-05:00

DE PERE — A man shot and killed his wife and two children before fatally shooting himself Friday, police say.

Neighbors say and land records show Denis and Michelle Bay own the home at 1245 S. Erie St. in east De Pere, and the couple has two children, Andrea and Daniel, but police would not say whether these were the individuals at home during the shooting.

Police Chief Derek Beiderwieden said a man called police from inside the house about 3 p.m. to report that he had just killed three people and was about to kill himself. The phone line went silent, and others at the police station then heard a loud “pop,” the chief told the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Officers arriving at the home a short time later found four victims — two adults and two children — shot to death in a bedroom of the single-story home. Authorities recovered a firearm they think is the weapon used in the apparent murder-suicide, he said.

It appears that the first three victims were fatally shot a short time before the shooter called the police department, Beiderwieden said. Investigators had not identified a motive but were gathering evidence Friday.

It’s a “very, very tragic day for De Pere,” the chief said. It is De Pere’s first homicide in several years and possibly its first homicide with multiple victims.

“I believe the community is safe,” he said. “I believe this was an isolated incident.”

The Bays are going through a contested divorce, court records say, and Michelle, along with the children, had moved out about six months ago but returned home in the fall before the new school year, said Jane Nohr, who lives in the home behind the Bays.

“Why she went back with him I don’t know,” Nohr said.

The Bay family moved into the neighborhood about five years ago, said Nohr, who has lived at nearby 1244 O’Keefe Court for more than 30 years.

“I didn’t know the man very much,” Nohr said. “He was the kind of guy, if she was out talking to me, he’d send the kids to get her. He was very demanding.”

When Michelle, 44, and the children moved out, they lived in an apartment on East River Drive, and she bought the kids a dog, a lhasa apso named Maddy, Nohr said. When they moved back in with Denis Bay, they took the dog with them, but Denis, 46, “never liked the dog,” Andrea Bay had told her. The dog was led out of the residence by authorities Friday evening.

Nohr last saw Andrea Bay on Thursday morning when the girl was playing with the dog outside before school and brought it over to the fence to visit with Nohr’s two lhasa apsos.

Denis Bay was laid off about a year ago, Nohr said, but she didn’t know what his occupation had been. Michelle was on disability.

“She kept having one operation after another,” Nohr said, adding that she didn’t know why.

A number of neighbors noted that they didn’t know the family’s name, but saw the couple’s children — one in middle school and the other in elementary — get off the school bus after school Friday afternoon.

Nicole Born, who lives across the street from the house where the incident took place, said her husband talked to Bay and noted that he was “nice, very, very respectful.”

A police truck was outside the ranch-style home with an attached garage Friday evening. The garage door was open, showing a room nearly filled with materials. Beiderwieden said he does not think police had been called to the house for any previous trouble.

Bridgeport, CT: Man gets 28 years for killing wife

2012-02-04T12:52:00.000-05:00

BRIDGEPORT -- For two years Frank Dore, a psychiatric social worker, showed little remorse for blasting his wife to death with a shotgun after she began divorce proceedings against him. At his plea hearing he instead recited a laundry list of his own accomplishments.
So it was not without some skepticism that members of his late wife's family, wiping away their own tears, listened as the 59-year-old Dore, his voice cracking with emotion, apologized Friday to the "community of women," for his actions.
"We are not into forgiveness here, we are into justice," Superior Court Judge Robert Devlin Jr. retorted, sentencing Dore to 28 years in prison for the charge of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm. "Don't go walking out of this courtroom thinking it was a justified act, because it wasn't."
Dore is accused of fatally shooting his 48-year-old wife, Patti Joy Dore, in their Forestview Road home on Jan. 12, 2010, one day after she began divorce proceedings against him. Patti Dore, an outgoing woman with bright red hair, had worked in the clerk's offices in the Main Street and the Stamford courthouses.
Helped by family to a desk before the judge, the victim's mother, Veronica Rothermel, told Devlin that the name "Frank Dore," makes her ill because of the heartbreak he caused their family.
"The cardinal sin was when Patti decided she wanted to get out of this unhealthy lifestyle by means of divorce, but you settled this action by shooting her four times with a shotgun," she said.
While Dore's lawyer, Eugene Riccio, lamented that the couple's troubled marriage ended this way, he added: "I think to place all the turbulence on my client's shoulders is not fair."
According to police, shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 12, they received a 911 call from a neighbor of the Dores on Forestview Road that Patti Dore was screaming out a second-floor window that her husband was trying to kill her.
"Jack call the police Frank is trying to kill me," the neighbor related Dore screamed to him. Police said the neighbor then heard four gunshots.
When officers got to the Dore's front door they said they heard some shouting and a little girl crying. They rang the door bell several times before Frank Dore answered it dressed in a T-shirt and pajama bottom pants. "I'm done, I did it, I'm going to prison," police said Dore blurted.
Nearby police said was the couple's 11-year-old daughter sobbing.
Police said they went to the couple's second-floor bedroom where they found Patti Dore lying face up on the floor in a large pool of blood. A shotgun was lying nearby on a bed, police said. They said they later recovered five spent shotgun shells at the scene.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Devlin sentenced Dore to five-years probation.
Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney C. Robert Satti Jr. acknowledged that the victim's family was not completely happy with the plea bargain but he told the judge that there was a danger that if the case had gone to trial Dore would have used a defense of extreme emotional disturbance that could have resulted in a conviction for a lesser charge.
Contact Daniel Tepfer at 203-330-6308 or dtepfer@ctpost.com. Follow him on twitter.com/dantepfer

Article: Bill defines strangulation as an assault

2012-02-04T12:41:00.000-05:00

Strangulation should be an explicit felony offense, a Senate committee decided Thursday.
Lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to approve Senate Bill 156, which revises the state's aggravated assault law to include strangulation.
Proponents said that strangulation is a common component of domestic violence, and that it is often hard to make a felony assault conviction stick under current law.
"This is an attempt to improve the ability to prosecute what I hope we all agree is the serious crime of strangulation," said Sen. Craig Tieszen, R-Rapid City.
Pointing to the current components of the aggravated assault law, Tieszen said the different types of aggravated assault are often enough.
"You might ask yourself: ‘Can't strangulation be prosecuted under one of those subsections,'" Tieszen told the committee. "The answer in many, perhaps most cases, is that yes, it can be."
But sometimes, Tieszen said, it is "like putting a square peg through a round hole."
Someone who attempts to cause "serious bodily injury to another" while "manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life" can be guilty of felony assault. So can someone who "attempts by physical menace with a deadly weapon to put another in fear of imminent bodily harm."
If SB156 passes, trying to "induce a fear of death or imminent bodily harm" by blocking someone's breathing with hands on the mouth or throat could also be convicted of aggravated assault.
Supporters of the bill said something needs to be done to target the problem.
Sgt. Matt Sargent of the Pennington County Sheriff's Office testified that between Pennington County and the Rapid City Police Department strangulation took place in 41 of 562 domestic violence arrests last year - a number Sargent believes to be low due to incorrect reporting.
Other Rapid City witnesses also urged the committee to pass the bill.
Dr. Anne Fisher, who heads the sexual assault response team at Rapid City Regional Hospital, described the medical aspects of strangulation, calling it "an extremely lethal form of assault" and "homicide on the installment plan" for its lasting effects.
Fred Magnavito, a psychologist who works with numerous local law enforcement agencies, described how the mind reacts to a strangulation attempt by one's partner - a psychological and physiological response that often leaves victims unable to escape.
If a woman has been strangled, Magnavito said, "her body will never get back to normal."
Magnavito said he didn't know if specifying strangulation as a felony assault would deter the crime, but he said he views it as necessary "justice."
Jacqi Galles of Rapid City, a survivor of strangulation, said perpetrators often escape serious punishment for their crimes.
"They need to be held accountable," Galles said. "Our certain laws we have now do not do that. I ask you and I beg you to go through with this. It is extremely important."
Before passing SB156, lawmakers approved an amendment offered by Paul Bachand of the South Dakota State's Attorneys Association, which made the language describing strangulation much more specific.
Bachand said he wanted to help prosecute true abusers without slapping "two guys wrestling" at a bar with a felony instead of a misdemeanor.
Both the amendment and SB156 as amended passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously and now move to the full Senate.
Contact David Montgomery at 394-8329 or david.montgomery@rapidcityjournal.com.

St. Louis, MO: St. Louis man gets 6 life terms for double-murder

2012-02-04T12:28:00.000-05:00

ST. LOUIS • A St. Louis man who killed his former girlfriend in front of their 4-year-old son was sentenced Friday to multiple life terms in prison.
Melvin R. Patton also shot his ex-girlfriend's brother and one of her friends. The friend survived but her brother died.
St. Louis Circuit Judge David Dowd sentenced Patton to two consecutive terms of life without parole, one for each of the first-degree murders, as well as four more concurrent life terms for assault and armed criminal action charges and 15 years on a burglary charge.
At Patton's trial in December, jurors heard his son's version of the shooting.
"I said, 'Daddy, please don't kill my Mommy.' He went, 'Pow, pow, pow,'" the boy said in a taped interview.
Prosecutors said at around 3:45 a.m. on April 21, 2010, Patton entered the home of Keneka Elliott, 24, in the 3800 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, and then to her bedroom, where she, their son and a 28-year-old female friend were sleeping. Patton shot Elliott three times.
He also shot her friend, who still has a bullet lodged in her head from the incident.
On Patton's way out of the house, he shot Elliott's brother, Julius Elliott, 29, at least four times, including one execution-style shot to the back of the head, prosecutors say. Julius Elliott had been sleeping in the living room.
Both Patton's son and Keneka Elliott's friend identified him as the shooter in court.
Keneka Elliott's 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son from another relationship were also home. Her 8-month-old son was with family that night. Assistant Circuit Attorney Christine Krug said last year that they are now spread among separate family members.
In closing arguments, Patton's lawyer, Daniel Rousseau, tried to cast doubt on the eyewitness identification. The shooter was wearing all black and his face was concealed. The murder weapon was never found.
But an accused drug user who shared a holding cell with Patton told police he heard Patton's confession.
Patton, of the 3000 block of Texas Avenue, had clashed with Keneka Elliott for years over Patton's access to the boy. During the trial, relatives said that Patton sent a text at one point that said, "I'll kill anyone to get my son."
Keneka Elliott had also cooperated with prosecutors in a trial against Patton on charges of kidnapping, burglary, domestic assault and a weapon charge, but he was acquitted.

Fairbanks, AK: 2 dogs dead after domestic dispute in Two Rivers Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - 2 dogs dead after domestic dispute in Two Rivers

2012-02-04T12:01:00.000-05:00

FAIRBANKS — A Pleasant Valley man who was allegedly drunk when he shot two of his dogs was charged with weapons misconduct after his wife became upset and called Alaska State Troopers.

Harry Douglas, 48, was charged with fourth-degree misconduct involving weapons for possessing a firearm while intoxicated, a Class A misdemeanor.

According to a criminal complaint, troopers received a report Tuesday evening that Douglas was intoxicated and had shot two dogs at his home at 22 Mile Chena Hot Springs Road.

Troopers determined Douglas was under the influence of alcohol when he decided he no longer needed two of his dogs. Douglas then allegedly walked over to a neighbor’s house, borrowed a pistol, returned to his home and fatally shot two dogs.

Douglas then reportedly called his wife and told her what he had done. His wife was upset and called 911, according to charging documents.

Douglas admitted to being intoxicated when he shot the dogs, troopers said. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the greatest, Douglas rated himself a 4 when asked to assess his level of intoxication. He reportedly had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and had a difficult time keeping his balance and displayed poor manual dexterity when talking to troopers.

The criminal complaint did not say what kind of dogs were killed, how many dogs Douglas has or whether he is a dog musher.

San Antonio, TX: Witnesses: Victim noted ex's odd behavior before slaying

2012-02-02T22:07:00.002-05:00

One week before Dana Clair Edwards' battered body was found strangled inside her townhome near Alamo Heights, she confided to a friend that ex-boyfriend Jon Thomas Ford had recently spent five hours with her, possibly drunk and at times crying.
“She turned to me and looked me directly in the face and said, ‘I'm concerned how Thomas is doing,'” Melissa Federspill recalled at the second day of testimony in Ford's murder trial. “She told me ... she planned to spend a little time together (to exchange Christmas gifts). It ended up being a lot of time because he was so emotional.”
It wouldn't be the last odd encounter involving Ford in days before and after Edwards' death, the witness said.
Ford, 43, was charged in February 2010 with the slaying, which is believed to have occurred early on New Years Day 2009 after Edwards got home from a party both had attended. The body of her dog, Grit, was found thrown over Olmos Dam a week later.
He acted strange at the New Years Eve party, Federspill said. As the group played a board game, she made a joke about him and her boyfriend, Alan Tarver, not having much interest in marriage.
“There was a lot of laughter. I think it rubbed Thomas the wrong way towards the end of the game,” she said, explaining that Ford motioned her over from the other side of the room. “He said he didn't think it was funny at all.”
Shortly thereafter, she said, Ford left. It was not yet midnight.
Federspill and Tarver both told jurors Thursday that after the party they drove to Ford's nearby Alamo Heights home to drop off a cooler of beer, but saw his Tahoe wasn't there. In separate conversations with Ford in the month that followed, each recalled him stating he had gone straight home from the party and to bed.
“I didn't press on it, but I just thought, ‘Well, that's not what I saw,'” Tarver said, adding that he broke off contact with Ford after that.
Referring to Alamo Heights and surrounding neighborhoods as a “very insular” community where “folks ... think they know about each other,” Houston-based defense attorney Dick DeGuerin accused Tarver of dropping a lifelong friend over a rumor.
Tarver at one point conceded that Ford's Tahoe could have been parked in the dark and he didn't see it. He later said his headlights would have shone on the only areas he knew his friend to park.
Federspill said in her last talk with Ford she mentioned reading in the newspaper that Edwards had been strangled. Ford had earlier told her he heard she died of blunt force trauma, she told jurors.
“He just looked at me,” she said, adding that Ford didn't seemed disturbed or distraught by the news. “He said he'd check the paper. I was kind of reaching out, I felt. We didn't have any connection.”
Testimony resumes Friday in the 186th District Court.

Kalamazoo, MI: As trial for murder suspect Besham Sugrim draws near, family of Linda Gibson hopeful for justice

2012-02-02T21:58:00.000-05:00

KALAMAZOO — For years, one question had haunted the siblings of Linda Kay Gibson: Who killed their sister?
In the end, they say it was neither a tip nor the work of police that led to an arrest — but the pleas for help of an 11-year-old girl.
“She's the true hero in all of this,” said Brenda Alsup, one of Gibson's four sisters.
The answers Gibson's family had sought since 2003 began to come forth in May the moment the girl, badly beaten, ran from her Oshtemo Township home to escape her father, Besham Brian Sugrim, and ask a neighbor to call police.
At the scene on May 16, the girl told a Kalamazoo County sheriff's deputy her father had struck her at least 50 times with a martial-arts stick and let the family's dog drag her around the yard because she could not get the pet to submit to her.
“The whole time I was speaking with (her), she was shaking, crying with lips quivering and in total fear of her father and for the safety of her mother and brother,” Deputy Mark Caley wrote of the girl in a report about the incident.
Sugrim's arrest that day prompted his wife, Bernadette, to tell Kalamazoo Public Safety investigators how Sugrim had told her in 2003 that he had killed Gibson in the couple's van, dumped her body near the end of Alcott Street in Kalamazoo's Edison neighborhood and then had a friend destroy the van.
His reason for killing Gibson? Bernadette Sugrim told police her husband had killed her because Gibson resembled his wife.
By July, prosecutors charged Sugrim with first-degree murder in connection with Gibson's slaying.
“I am so sad for her that I wish that after all this is done to get word to her to thank her,” Tina Slattery, one of Gibson's sisters, said recently of the Sugrims' daughter. “I thank her.
"If that child hadn't run away that day, none of this would have ever come up.”
Family frustrations

While they are thankful to Sugrim's daughter for her actions last year, Gibson's sisters are less than forgiving of Bernadette Sugrim, and even police.
They say they are angry that Bernadette Sugrim waited eight years to come forward with key information about the case and they they got “a big runaround” from police “for years” and feel that the case would have gotten more attention if not for Gibson's checkered past of drug use and prostitution.
“It messes with my mind to know that a woman could have gone at anytime and told someone about this,” said Donna Alsup, Gibson's sister. “I give (Bernadette Sugrim) a little bit of credit but I don't give her a lot of credit … I want to have sympathy for her but when I think about what I would do, this woman had too many outs.”
At an evidentiary hearing in July, Bernadette Sugrim testified that she never came forward to police in 2003 because she was afraid of her husband and he had threatened to kill her, their children and her family if she ever told of his involvement in Gibson's killing.
Bernadette Sugrim also told prosecutors that her husband had killed before, shooting a 60-year-old man to death in the basement of his parents' home in New York state. Investigators in Sullivan County, N.Y., confirmed last year that Besham Sugrim is the prime suspect in the 1995 slaying of Demetrius Carter.
Besham Sugrim, for now, is serving a sentence of 56 months to 10 years at the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia for the May assault on his daughter. He pleaded no contest to assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder in the case.
In an interview with a Kalamazoo Gazette reporter in November at the prison, Sugrim confirmed that he saw Gibson the day of her death and that she had been in his van. However, he denied killing Gibson and said he never told his wife that he had anything to do with the slaying.
'We love you Linda Kay'

Gibson's family is hopeful for more answers and possibly a bit of closure next week when Sugrim's trial begins in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.
Jury selection in the case is scheduled to begin Tuesday.
“I'm dreading the trial but I want to know what happened to my sister,” Donna Alsup said. “That courtroom's going to be packed with our family.”
In the end, Alsup and Gibson's other sisters say they want justice for Gibson but are also hopeful that those in attendance at the trial — both in the gallery and in the jury box — will get a true picture of who their sister was.
Donna Alsup said her sister was a loving mother and sister whose life was derailed by drugs.
Alsup said Gibson's family fought futilely for years to get Gibson's off drugs and to leave life on the streets out of fear that she would someday end up dead.

No one in Gibson's family had seen her since 2000 before they got word of her death in 2003.
Several of Gibson's family members, including three of her sisters, went to Lane Boulevard near where Gibson was found on Jan. 23 on what would have been Gibson's 48th birthday.
They hung balloons and brought with them a photo of Gibson when she was about 14 years old.
The field where Gibson's body was found eight years ago is blocked now by a fence.
As Donna Alsup stared through the chain links at the field that day, tears filled her eyes.
“It kills me to know she laid back there like that,” Donna Alsup said.
Later, as family members began to leave Lane Boulevard, Donna Alsup held the picture of her sister in her hands, eyeing the photo before kissing it.
“We love you Linda Kay,” she said.

Queens, NY: Richmond Hill man killed wife in front of kids: DA She had order of protection against him

2012-02-02T21:46:00.000-05:00

A South Richmond Hill man was arraigned on murder and other charges on Jan. 25 after he allegedly killed his wife in front of their three children. He has been ordered held without bail and must return to court on Feb. 2, the Queens District Attorney’s Office said last week.
Oscar Novakovsky, 37, is accused of fatally stabbing his estranged wife, Diane Sharma, 32, in the neck, according to the DA. The killing allegedly took place between midnight and 1 a.m. on Jan. 15 inside the victim’s apartment on 117th Street in South Richmond Hill.
The murder occurred in front of Sharma’s children — ages three, five and nine — who saw her with lacerations to her hands and arms and the knife protruding out of her neck.
In statements made to the police at the time of his arrest, Novakovsky allegedly said, in part, “... The kids were screaming. The kids were trying to pull me off and were crying.” He was taken to an area hospital for treatment of cuts to his hands and arms, according to the DA.
Sharma had obtained an order of protection against Novakovsky after he allegedly tried to strangle her in September. It was still in effect at the time of the murder, according to the DA.
“He’s a brutal monster,” Sharma’s father, Mazuras Ali, 56, told the Chronicle the day after the incident.
A trail of blood from the house and along the sidewalk led police to the accused killer, Ali said. The NYPD asked him to identify the suspect at the scene and he did, stating that it was his son-in-law.
“I was totally shocked,” Ali said. “I never thought he could do something like this to her.”
Novakovsky, of 121st Street, is being charged with one count of second-degree murder, one count of aggravated criminal contempt, three counts of second-degree criminal contempt, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

Houston, TX: Woman charged in husband's death said he threatened her

2012-02-02T21:41:00.000-05:00

A woman told Houston police she shot her common-law husband because he had been cheating and was disrespecting her, according to court documents.

Debra Ann Norton is charged with murder in the death of Charles Brown.

She said that on Jan. 13, they began to argue at their north Houston home in the 6300 block of Micollet. She shot him after he threatened to "knock her out," according a criminal complaint filed by the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Officers reported that the 47-year-old man had been shot twice, once in the head and once in the back. He died on Friday at Ben Taub General Hospital.

Norton, 45, is in the Harris County Jail on $50,000 bail.

Fort Scott, KS: SE Kansas man charged in wife's house fire death

2012-02-02T21:34:00.000-05:00

FORT SCOTT —
A Fort Scott man who was seriously injured in a fire that killed his wife is jailed on $1 million bond after being charged with murder.
Prosecutors say 25-year-old Brent Bollinger is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated arson, and aggravated child endangerment.
His wife, Brenna Nicole Bollinger, was found dead after a fire at the couple's home last Oct. 13. Their 2-year-old son, Bryson Bollinger, was hospitalized for treatment of burns for about a month after the fire.
Bollinger's attorney, Paul Morrison, said during a court appearance Monday that Bollinger suffered burns over 69 percent of this body and has undergone several surgeries. He also said prosecutors have only a circumstantial case against his client.
The Fort Scott Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/xjumno) the next court date will be Feb. 9.

Boston, MA: Eldrick D. Broom arraigned in rape, murder of Dominican woman who had moved to Boston to get her son medical care

2012-02-02T21:19:00.000-05:00

A Roxbury man pleaded not guilty today to charges that he raped and murdered a Dominican woman who had moved to Boston so her son could get medical care, prosecutors said.

Eldrick D. Broom, 27, was free on personal recognizance at the time of the slaying after being charged with a different crime: beating up his pregnant girlfriend.

Broom was arraigned today in Suffolk Superior Court on charges of aggravated rape and first-degree murder for the Nov. 21 killing of Rosanna Camilo inside her Fairlawn Avenue apartment, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office said. Clerk Magistrate Gary D. Wilson ordered Broom held without bail.

DNA evidence left underneath Camilo’s fingernails linked Broom to the crime, prosecutors said today. His attorney, Norman Zalkind, said at Broom’s Dorchester Municipal Court arraignment in December that Broom was “strongly not guilty.’’

Broom was later indicted by a grand jury, which moved his case to Superior Court.

Camilo was a mother of three. She had come to the United States from the Dominican Republic last year to get better medical care for her toddler son.

The 17-month-old child was in his crib when his mother was attacked, raped, and strangled with such force that her larynx was crushed, prosecutors said.

Camilo’s 16-year-old daughter found her mother lifeless and partially naked in a rear bedroom of the apartment, according to prosecutors.

Broom was arrested in August on assault and battery charges, accused of beating up his pregnant girlfriend who lived in an apartment near Camilo’s, officials have said. He pleaded not guilty and was free on personal recognizance at the time of Camilo’s slaying.

Broom was also arrested in Brookline about a week after Camilo was killed, on charges of open and gross lewdness and disorderly behavior after allegedly urinating on a wall, according to court records.

Camilo’s family, including her husband of 18 years, Richard Nunez, have described Camilo as a devoted mother who was focused on caring for her child

“Her world was our family and the baby,’’ Nunez told the Globe last year.

Pottstown, PA: Police identify homicide victim; warrant names boyfriend as suspect

2012-02-02T21:02:00.000-05:00

POTTSTOWN, Pa. -
Investigators have identified a woman who was killed inside her home, and a search warrant identifies her boyfriend as a suspect.

Police found the body of Alicia Schmidt, 31, inside her home at 424 Cherry Street in Pottstown, Montgomery Co., Thursday morning.

According to a search warrant, police were dispatched to the home where Schmidt lived with her two children at 6:56 a.m. to check on Schmidt's welfare after a reported domestic incident.

Police found Schmidt's body lying on the bottom of the basement stairway.

"I think it's unbelievable. I cannot believe this would even happen in our area," said Mark Plavik, who lives just up the block.

According to the warrant, police interviewed the ex-wife of Edwin Carrero, who said Carrero has been in a relationship with Schmidt, and the two have been living together.

According to the warrant, Carrero's ex-wife told police she received a phone call from Carrero at 6:35 a.m. Thursday, and he told her that he may have killed Schmidt.

According to the warrant, Carrero told his ex-wife that he choked Schmidt and pushed her down the steps of the basement. He also asked his ex-wife to give him a half-hour to an hour before calling police.

"It's sad," said Jasmine Brinkley, who lives on Cherry street. "No one deserves that, nobody, especially if her kids were there. Nobody deserves to go through that."

"We're helping each other out," said Plavik. "It's just odd to hear something like this so close to home. It's frightening."

At this point, no arrests have been made.

The Pottstown Police Department and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau have initiated a joint homicide investigation.

An autopsy on Schmidt is scheduled for Friday morning.

Mesa, CO: Two Found Dead In Mesa Home

2012-02-02T20:58:00.002-05:00

MESA, Colo -- Thursday morning Mesa County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched on a report of a deceased person found with a gun shot wound.
During their response, deputies got another call.
"A second body had been discovered up there,” Sgt. Matt Lewis with Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said. “They got on scene and confirmed that there were two bodies found up in the town of Mesa."
In a small communities like Mesa word spreads quickly.
"A couple people came in the store earlier and they were saying a lady got shot and killed over here, and then the guy ended up killing himself,” Mesa resident Roy Worby said.
"I was called by a friend who heard it on a scanner and I all knew was that a 50-year-old woman was shot,” local store owner, Joanne Tayler said. “Immediately I knew it was LaVon."
Joanne Taylor was close with the LaVon and had a growing concern about her boyfriend "Buck."
She say's he had a history of criminal charges.
"He punched her in the face and threatened her daughter and her. She called the police; they arrested him with drugs on him and all these other charges," Taylor said.
She says LaVon was worried when "Buck" was released on bail.
"I saw her last night. She came in my store and she said she was going home for the first time since he got out of jail,” Taylor said. “I asked her if she felt safe going home and she said no."
The news of the deaths Thursday morning shocked those who live and work in Mesa.
"It’s a beautiful area, beautiful people; you just don’t expect something like that to happen in a little town like this,” Roy Worby said.
"It makes you wonder whose all up here that doesn't belong here,” Joanne Taylor said.
Mesa County's Sheriff’s Office couldn't confirm the identities of those involved or if this is a murder suicide case.
Authorities say there is not a public safety concern or a suspect at large.

Farmington, NH: Deadly Farmington stabbing may have been over woman: At suspects' probable cause hearing, police say victim had three significant wounds

2012-02-02T20:48:00.000-05:00

FARMINGTON— A lead investigator in the recent stabbing death of a 22-year-old local man testified in court Wednesday, saying the victim and one of the defendants may have had bad blood between them over a girl.

Christopher Gay, 26, and Cory Bennett, 21, both of Farmington, appeared in Rochester Circuit Court for probable cause hearings Wednesday afternoon.

Both men were arrested the night of Jan. 22 and charged with second-degree murder after a daylong investigation into the death of Ryan Stewart, 22, of 11 Worster St..

In court Wednesday, State Police Sgt. Jeffrey Ladieu, the lead investigator in the homicide, was questioned for nearly two hours by the state and defense teams of both defendants, sharing many details about the night of the murder, the investigation that led police to arrest Gay and Bennett, and what may have lead up to Stewart's death.

The crime was first reported by another tenant of 11 Worster St., Ladieu said, who told police she heard what sounded like an argument between three men in the apartment above hers around midnight on Jan. 22.

The witness told police she heard a number of voices yelling, including a male's voice that she described as "distinct" and sounding like an African-American male, Ladieu said.

According to Ladieu, the neighbor also told police that after hearing yelling coming from the upstairs apartment, she heard what sounded like a fight, and a short time later heard what she believed were two separate people running down the stairs of the apartment building.

Police department surveillance cameras show two individual entered and exited the apartment building around the time the witness told police she heard a fight, Ladieu said, although the video is poor quality and the individuals cannot be identified.

Shortly after hearing the individuals leave, Ladieu said, the woman heard a voice at her door and opened it to find Stewart, covered in blood. The woman ran to her telephone to call police and when she returned to the doorway Stewart had made his way down the stairs of the apartment building and to the main entrance.

It was outside the building, which sits across the street from the police station, where police found Stewart and the woman after the incident was reported.

Ladieu said officers responding to the scene found Stewart, shirtless, unresponsive and suffering from what appeared to be three significant stab wounds to the left side of his abdomen and chest and numerous lacerations and abrasions on his hands and arms, some of which the state medical examiner later determined to be defensive wounds.

Blood was found in the hallways and stairwells leading up to Stewart's apartment, Ladieu said, while large amounts of what appeared to be blood were found in Stewart's apartment on the floors, walls, and on his bed. Some of the areas of blood, he said, featured visible shoe prints.

An open safe, with a small amount of money next to it, was also found in Stewart's bedroom, Ladieu said, covered with what appeared to be blood and bloody fingerprints.

Soon after Stewart was taken from the scene to Frisbie Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead, Farmington and Rochester Police conducted a K-9 track beginning at the crime scene, Ladieu said. It was this track that initially led police to Gay, after the K-9 unit followed a scent from 11 Worster St. about a quarter-mile to 29 Bunker St., a multiunit apartment building where Gay lives.

Along the track, Ladieu said police found cans of Budweiser beer with red tabs that appeared to be recently left on the ground.

Upon arriving at 29 Bunker St., Ladieu said, an officer made contact with Gay, asking him about his whereabouts during the several hours surrounding Stewart's murder.

Gay, whom the officer noted had cuts on his hands and was consuming a beer featuring the same red tab as those found on the ground, told police he had been at home all night with his girlfriend and mother.

Police spoke with Gay's girlfriend while at his residence, who told them that she had been upstairs sleeping but that as far as she knew Gay had been downstairs all night.

The girlfriend later told police, Ladieu said, that Gay instructed her to tell police he had been home all night. She did not deny, however, that, to her knowledge, he had been.

After the initial contact with Gay, police kept an officer posted outside his residence the remainder of the day. It was this officer, Ladieu said, who saw Gay leave his house later in the day and place an object into a pile of snow near the woods at the back of the residence.

This same officer reportedly saw Gay leaving his home with Bennett a while later, carrying bags to a black Honda Civic driven by Gay's girlfriend.

Search warrants for Gay's residence, where it was later determined Bennett had been staying, the vehicle, and the two defendants themselves, were issued later on Jan. 22, he said.

During the search of 29 Bunker St., Ladieu said, police found blood on handrails leading up to the second floor of the building and "substantial" amounts of what appeared to be blood in a bathroom sink. Officers also discovered that the object Gay had placed in the snow was a bloody T-shirt for the band Dropkick Murpheys. Ladieu said friends told police Stewart owned such a shirt and was seen wearing it on the evening of Jan. 21.

During the search of the vehicle, Ladieu said police found a trash bag full of bloodied clothes, a knife stained with what appeared to be blood, sneakers, and brass knuckles, which he said were later determined to be made of a bicycle chain.

Another bag of clean clothes and toiletries, along with about $700 in cash were also found in the vehicle, he said. An object with Stewart's name on it was also found in the car, although Assistant Attorney General James Vara, the prosecutor in the case, declined to comment on what that object was.

According to Ladieu, it was during this investigation into the two men that police heard about what could have caused a disagreement between Bennett and Stewart — a girlfriend.

A friend of Stewart's told police he was with Bennett's former girlfriend, and that she was nervous and scared of Bennett after a recent breakup. The friend also told police the girlfriend had had a sexual relationship with Stewart in the week before his death, a story later corroborated by the girlfriend when talking with police, Ladieu said.

The girlfriend provided police with her cell phone, which she said Bennett sometimes used. Ladieu said he examined the phone himself, and found a text message between the phone and Gay's phone that discussed a safe, saying the safe "shouldn't be hard to break."

Ladieu could not tell the court Wednesday, however, when the message was sent.

During cross-examination of Ladieu by attorneys for both defendants, these text messages, along with the evidence police believe link the two men to the crime, were questioned.

Gay's attorney, Andrew Cotrupi, and Bennett's defense attorney, Emma Sisti, questioned whether there was any physical evidence linking the two men to Stewart's apartment.

Ladieu responded that while he believes the K-9 unit tracking from Stewart's apartment to Gay's residence is significant, any physical evidence such as blood or fingerprints found at the scene is still being analyzed by the state forensic lab.

Sisti questioned the items found in the vehicle in which Gay and Bennett were riding when they were stopped, asking whether police had found anyone during their investigation who could say whether the knife, brass knuckles, or clothing belonged to either defendant.

Ladieu said police have not been able to confirm the items belonged to the men, but said that it was the defendants who placed the items into the vehicle.

Cotrupi also questioned the neighbor's description of the male's voice she heard from Stewart's apartment, asking if Ladieu thought his client, who is not black, sounded like an African-American man.

Ladieu, who at first hesitated to answer the question, said Gay has a distinct voice and that he uses a lot of street slang, adding that while he may not describe his voice as "African-American," he could understand why the neighbor would describe it that way.

Still, Cotrupi told Judge Daniel Cappiello that he did not believe the state had been able to support its allegation that Gay was an active participant in the alleged crime.

After the hearing, Cotrupi said his client denies any involvement in Stewart's death.

"We don't know who the other person is, but it's certainly not him," he said.

Capiello took the case under advisement, and said he would make a decision on whether the state had provided probable cause for the charges issued by this morning.