Charlotte, NC: Police: Two found dead after man confesses to killing girlfriend

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) -

A 28 year old man charged with killing two people, including his ex-girlfriend, is being held without bond.

Police say Jacquece Forrest shot and killed Jennifer Smith and her friend, Luc Gonzalez.

Relatives of both victims met for the first time after Forrest's court appearance. They hugged each other, cried, and offered condolences. They say they went to court to see Forrest in person.

"I wanted him to see me - face to face - and my family as well, and see our pain and feel our pain", says LaToya McMiller.

McMiller says Smith, her 25 year old cousin, had a great personality and "her spirit was always uplifted".

She says she wanted to see if Forrest had any remorse. McMiller says "as I sat there in that courtroom, tears began to roll down my face. I got angry. And he seen me. He doesn't even know me but he seen me and he knows I'm here for Jennifer", McMiller says. 

During his court appearance, Forrest barely whispered when the Judge spoke to him. He held his head down.

"What I got from that is maybe now he's thinking he did a stupid thing - but see what's done is done - and can't be taken back. You can't bring her back, you can't bring her friend back. It's done. No reason now to drop your head and be in shame", says McMiller

Officers in the North Tryon Division first responded to the home on Malibu Drive in east Charlotte around 1 a.m. Tuesday when Smith said she believed her ex-boyfriend was in the wooded area behind her home. Officers searched, but did not find the man.

"She had a feeling that he was coming, that he was close," said Smith's friend Nekia Owens. "But unfortunately they left, and he came in the house."

Two hours later, officers in the Hickory Grove Division pulled over a speeding vehicle at Harris Boulevard and Keyway Boulevard. During the traffic stop, the driver took off running. Officers caught up with him at a nearby apartment and arrested him. It was Forrest. He was taken to CMC University for medical treatment. During the course of treatment, officers say he told hospital staff he had shot his girlfriend.

North Tryon Division officers returned to the home in the 4900 block of Malibu Drive. They found the bodies of Smith and Gonzalez.

Relatives say Gonzalez was at Smith's place because she told him about Forrest and he was there to protect her.

A WBTV crew at the scene learned a child was also in the home, but was not hurt.

Smith's friend Kisha Poage said Smith had broken up with Forrest, who is the father of her two-year-old boy. Neighbors told WBTV Forrest wouldn't leave Smith alone and had broken into the home before.

Smith's relatives say Forrest was "abusive to her, very mean - verbally and physically. And she was scared of him." They said she attempted to get a protective order but they don't know what happened with it. WBTV checked and couldn't find any protective orders regarding Smith and Forrest.

A background check shows Forrest was arrested in 2010 for drugs, communicating threats, assault on a female, and breaking & entering. He was arrested again in September of 2012 for nonsupport of a child and assault on a female.

Mill Creek, WA: 2 dead in Mill Creek: pregnant woman in apartment, husband in crashed car

A 27-year-old pregnant woman was found dead inside a Mill Creek apartment early Monday and her husband, who was driving a black car that sped from the scene, died after crashing the vehicle into the back of a parked semi truck, according to police.

On Tuesday, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office identified the slain man as Sean McIntyre, 29. An official at the medical examiner's office said they're completing his wife's autopsy and have not released her name.

However, according to court records, McIntyre was married to Sandra Perry McIntyre. The couple married in July 2011, according to King County records.

The medical examiner's office expects release cause and manner of their deaths later Tuesday.

Witnesses told detectives the couple had spent part of Sunday with friends watching a football game, then went to dinner and consumed alcohol, according to Mill Creek police spokesman Officer Ian Durkee. That night, the woman called friends to come to her apartment because her husband was acting strangely and had armed himself with a loaded shotgun, he said.

All but one of the friends left the apartment after the situation de-escalated; when the last friend briefly left to buy cigarettes, the husband is believed to have assaulted his wife, causing her death, Durkee said. She suffered a severe head wound, he said.

Neighbors called 911 shortly after midnight after hearing "yelling and sounds of a physical disturbance" coming from an apartment in the 14700 block of Main Street, according to Durkee. When no one answered the officers' knocks on the door, they peered through a window and could see a woman lying on the floor, he said.

They forced entry into the residence but locked down the crime scene after determining the woman was dead and no one else was inside, Durkee said.

Around the time that officers were responding to the apartment, a black car was seen speeding away, he said. A Snohomish County sheriff's deputy spotted the vehicle leaving the area and attempted to pursue it, but the deputy and a Mill Creek officer weren't able to catch up to the car. They found it crashed in the 18500 block of 35th Avenue Southeast in unincorporated Snohomish County, about three or four miles from the apartment building, Durkee said. The 30-year-old male driver was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

The husband owned several firearms, including handguns, Durkee said. A loaded shotgun was found inside the apartment, but detectives didn't know whether it was used in the assault on the woman, he said.

Durkee said it does not appear that officers had previously been dispatched to the apartment for domestic disturbances. Durkee said the crime is indicative of "how domestic situations can spiral out of control very quickly."

Mitchell, SD: T.J. Stuckey identified as man in suicide incident

A man is dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend during a domestic dispute Thursday morning at a trailer home in eastern Mitchell.

Mitchell Police Investigator Lt. Don Everson said officers arrived at the scene of a domestic dispute around 8 a.m. at a trailer home located at 1105 E. First Ave. No. 1. Soon after the officers arrived, a man police later identified as 26-year-old T.J. Stuckey, of Mitchell, retreated to a bedroom and shot and killed himself with his own shotgun.

Stuckey’s girlfriend, whose name was not released, was also living at the trailer home. She made a 911 call after she was allegedly assaulted by Stuckey, Everson said. She was already outside the home when the first officers arrived.

After the officers spoke with the woman, they went in search of Stuckey and it was then they heard the gunshot, Everson said.

Once the shot was fired, additional officers were called to the scene.

“There was no reason to go in at that point, so we decided to slow down and do it safely,” Everson said.

Authorities created a perimeter and evacuated some nearby trailer homes, Everson said, and then an emergency response team in helmets and body armor cautiously entered the home with weapons drawn. It was then that Stuckey’s lifeless body was found.

At the residence, several windows were smashed and a few baskets of clothes appeared to have been thrown around the front porch. Everson said it appears that was a result of the domestic dispute that happened before the shot was fired.

No shots were fired by any officers at the scene, Everson said, and it does not appear Stuckey fired any other shots except the one with which he took his own life.

The trailer home has been roped off with police tape for investigation, but Everson said it is obvious what happened.

“It is certainly quite clear that this person took his own life,” he said.

The woman involved in the incident has been interviewed and released, Everson said.

The 1100 block of East First Avenue was closed and nearby Longfellow Elementary was locked down for almost two hours as a result of the incident.

Barbara Rothacker lives directly east of the home where the suicide took place.

“It was terrifying,” she said. “I had one baby in the shower, two babies sleeping and one at the school. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

When Rothacker heard the shot around 8 a.m., she didn’t know immediately what it was.

“I asked my daughter ‘what was that?’” she said. “My grandson was in the shower and I thought he was tapping on the plastic.”

“She said ‘it isn’t from in here’ and then all at once the police came to the door and they said, ‘You’ve got to get out, there is a man with a gun. You have to go.’”

The South Dakota Highway Patrol, Division of Criminal Investigation and Sanborn County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the incident.

Galveston, TX: Woman killed in domestic dispute

Published October 30, 2012

GALVESTON — A woman stabbed to death during a domestic dispute became the city’s fourth homicide victim this year.

Jackie Bergara, 53, was found dead of a knife wound Sunday, and her boyfriend, Richard Beverly, 44, was charged with murder, authorities said Monday.

Bond for Beverly was set at $250,000, but he remained hospitalized Monday after overdosing on pills, Galveston police Lt. Michael Gray said.

A relative of Beverly’s called a police dispatcher about 4:20 a.m. Sunday. Police arrived at 3002 69th St. and saw Beverly through the apartment window, but he wouldn’t answer the door, Gray said.

“Officers on the scene were concerned about the welfare of Bergara and could see Beverly sitting in a chair through the window,” Gray said. ‘Therefore, the circumstances warranted forced entry to the residence.”

Officers found Bergara’s body inside and she was pronounced dead at the scene, Gray said.

The killing was the result of a domestic dispute, Gray said.

Beverly was taken to the University of Texas Medical Branch where he remained Monday under police guard. He is expected to recover and then will be taken to the Galveston County Jail, Gray said.

An autopsy was performed Monday, and Bergara’s death from a single knife wound was ruled a homicide, said John Florence, a spokesman with the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office.

A search of Galveston police records revealed no reports that Bergara had previously been a victim of domestic violence, Gray said.

Bergara’s homicide was the fourth reported in Galveston this year and the ninth countywide.

Bronx, NY: Boyfriend Is Questioned in Killing of Woman and Death of a Baby

Though she was a petite woman, Luisa Rodriguez usually carried her newborn daughter by herself, in a large stroller, up four flights of stairs to their apartment in the Kingsbridge neighborhood in the Bronx, neighbors said.

Her boyfriend had moved out several months earlier after repeated episodes of yelling and fighting that were loud enough to be heard on the floors above and below the apartment where Ms. Rodriguez lived for the past year, neighbors recounted. He continued to come around in recent weeks, they said, with more arguments erupting.

“Last weekend, he was screaming at her,” said one neighbor, Senobio Padilla, 53, whose kitchen window faces Ms. Rodriguez’s apartment. “I heard him, I couldn’t hear her.”

But on Friday, there was only silence. Outside the apartment, at 3034 Albany Crescent, which the police had cordoned off, there was a dried puddle of blood on the worn mosaic floor.

Ms. Rodriguez, 32, was stabbed to death inside on Thursday night; she and her baby, Angela, not yet 2 months old, were found under a smoldering mattress that had apparently been set on fire, according to the police. The infant was unconscious and was pronounced dead at Montefiore Medical Center, according to the police. The medical examiner is investigating the cause of death.

Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, said on Friday that Ms. Rodriquez’s boyfriend was being questioned. Mr. Browne did not release his name but said that he was 21, that he was the baby’s father and that he had a history of arrests for robbery and assault. He had not been charged with any crime as of Friday evening but was considered a person of interest, the police said.

Outside the tan-brick building on Friday, someone had placed a tall white candle inside a glass sleeve imprinted with the words “guardian angel.” Residents said they were trying to grasp the events, with some of them recalling that they had just seen Ms. Rodriguez carrying the stroller.

Johanny Veloz, who lives on the fifth floor, said she was too upset to sleep. “She was so pretty, she was so tiny,” Ms. Veloz said of the baby.

Mr. Padilla said he was haunted by his last glimpse of the baby, being carried out of the building by a firefighter who placed her on the hood of a car and began trying to revive her with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. “That really touched me,” he said.

Through a shattered window in Ms. Rodriguez’s apartment, there appeared to be remnants of a deadly struggle in the kitchen. Next to an overturned stool, blood had dripped down a refrigerator into a crimson pool on the floor. In another window, there was a mattress and a stack of brightly colored children’s books, including a Sesame Streettitle.

Wendy Ruderman contributed reporting.

Rockwall, TX: Police say suspect in Rockwall teen’s stabbing death confessed after a night in jail on traffic violations

Staff writer Ray Leszcynski reports:

Juan Enrique Torres had ample opportunity to think things out before confessing Thursday afternoon to stabbing Rockwall teen Surie Baeza two days earlier.

Turns out, he was in the Rockwall County Jail after a traffic arrest Wednesday night.

Torres, the estranged boyfriend of Surie’s mother and the father of Surie’s 7-year-old sibling, has now been formally charged with murder. His bail was set at $1 million.

The 41-year-old was pulled over by Rockwall police after driving onto a controlled access highway and was also charged with driving with a suspended license. He was booked into the jail just after 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Surie, a freshman and band member at Rockwall-Heath High School, was stabbed multiple times Tuesday afternoon in her home in the Lake Rockwall Estates subdivision.
Some of her wounds indicated she tried to defend herself.

Torres, who had access to the family’s home, was interviewed after the slaying but was not labeled a suspect or even a person of interest after cooperating fully. He had served probation on a 2008 domestic violence charge.

Surie and Torres lived in separate homes in Lake Rockwall Estates, a 50-year-old subdivision and home to 2,800 mostly low-income residents. It was surrounded by the growing city of Rockwall and annexed in 2009.

Columbus, OH: CPD: Woman Shoots, Kills Man In Apparent Murder-Suicide

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Columbus police detectives are investigating an apparent murder-suicide that occurred on the city’s northeast side Tuesday night.

Columbus police and medic personnel were called to a home in the 5500 block of Cranbrook Lane at about 9:12 p.m. Tuesday after receiving a call from a male stating that he could see his parents inside of their home and that his father was on the floor, bleeding. The caller stated he was unable to enter the home.

Detectives tell NBC4 an officer responded to the home to investigate. Upon arrival, the officer reported hearing a single gunshot from inside the home. The officer forced entry and discovered the bodies of a man and a woman inside of the home with gunshot wounds. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

The initial investigation indicates Erica L. Smith-Penick, 50, shot Anthony L. Penick, 51. Detectives believe Erica then shot herself as the first responding officer was attempting to make contact with her at the door.

Anyone with information regarding this homicide is asked to contact the Columbus police homicide squad at 614-645-4730 or Crime Stoppers at 614-645-TIPS.

For additional information, stay with NBC4 and refreshnbc4i.com.

Stockton, CA: Marriage counselor suspected in Calif. triple murder-suicide was in contentious divorce, attorney says

(CBS/AP) STOCKTON, Calif. - A California marriage counselor suspected of killing his estranged wife and two of her relatives before committing suicide had been in a contentious divorce that included a fight over property valued as high as $1 million, an attorney said Wednesday.

Divorce proceedings between 45-year-old suspect Colin McGrattan and Jackie Arata, his 57-year-old estranged wife, had been tense and focused on Arata's family ranch in nearby Linden, an attorney representing Arata told The Associated Press.

Dennis Duncan said Arata inherited orchards and a home from a family trust, and McGrattan thought he had a claim to the property, valued between $500,000 and $1 million. They had leased the orchards to farmers and lived in the home until their separation in October 2010.

McGrattan thought he was entitled to the property after the couple had taken care of Arata's mother prior to her death in 2010, Duncan said.

"Colin's position was that he had some right to the ranch," the lawyer said. "But Jackie didn't want him to have any part of it. She was entitled to a sole and separate ownership."

Police suspect McGrattan killed Arata, her sister, Kathleen Arata, 64, and their aunt, Chizuko Kanieshi, 88, before killing himself on Monday in Stockton, police said. McGrattan and Kanieshi died in a senior home.

Police say the motives for the killings remained under investigation.

In his work as a counselor, McGrattan mediated arguments between couples and helped parents and their children through behavioral issues. He and his wife have two teenage sons.

Geneva, IL: Residents Grieve For 2 Dead in Murder-Suicide

The residents and staff members of a Route 31 apartment complex struggled to come to terms with the death of two residents after a murder-suicide there this week.

Most of the Eden Supportive Living's 150-member community spoke with a counselor individually or in a group setting, said Barbara Lawrence, director of the apartment complex, on Wednesday.

"We’re hanging in there," Lawrence said. "It’s a horrible tragedy, it’s affected everyone in the building."

Police were called to the complex, 311 S. Lincolnway, Route 31 in North Aurora, on Monday night for a report of a suicidal resident. The resident, a 58-year-old man, jumped from his third-floor window. Inside his apartment police found Tomi Vandiver, 50, another resident of the complex. She had been stabbed and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man was transported to one hospital and then another before he died late Tuesday afternoon.

A letter was sent to residents that spoke about Vandiver's death and names the 58-year-old man involved, Lawrence said. Police have not released the man's name yet.  (UPDATE Jon Neel)

"We're going to allow the investigation a little more time to bear out the facts as we believe them to be before we attach this man's name," said Scott Buziecki, North Aurora deputy police chief, in a message to reporters.

"She Was Very Friendly, Very Sweet"

Lawrence describes Vandiver and the man as well-liked in the building. Vandiver moved to the Eden community in September 2008.

"She was very friendly, very sweet," Lawrence said. "Tomi liked to stay to herself and a group of friends that she had here."

Vandiver would also go out with her family. The man had a family of his own—he was very close with his two daughters, Lawrence said.

The man moved into the complex in June or July. Lawrence said a background check on the man didn't turn up any warning signs when he applied to move there.

"There was no history, no indicators at all, nothing, no," Lawrence said. "We do a very extensive screening of our residents and staff."

Lawrence said Vandiver and the man might have been dating for about a month.

Dealing With Loss

Those on hand to counsel residents included someone from AID (Association of Individual Development) Victims Services.

Victims Services provides 24-hour assistance to victims and survivors of violent crime or trauma to respond to their psychological, emotional and physical needs, according to its parent group website.

"We’re doing everything we can to make sure everyone’s getting the support that they need," Lawrence said.

A memorial service will be organized that the building's residents can attend at a nearby church, possibly sometime next week, Lawrence said.

Several pastors at area churches offered to come in and visit with the grieving residents and staff.

"We appreciate the community’s support," Lawrence said. "The whole community has been wonderful."

The Eden community will also remember the two at a pond behind its complex. The residents paint rocks and place them at the pond to remember those that have passed away.

Florence, SC: Two die in murder suicide

Florence Police Chief Anson Shells tells NewsChannel 15 officers responded to a murder suicide Friday night. It happened at a home on East Sam Harrell Road around 9:30 p.m.

Chief Shells says a man got upset with his girlfriend, beat her with a pistol, then shot her twice. The victim died at the scene.

Chief Shells adds the man went to a back room and shot himself.

The couple lived together.

The victims names will be released when their families are notified.

Sunset Hills, MO: Police Investigating Murder-Suicide In Sunset Hills

11/02/2012 - Sunset Hills police are investigating what appears to be a murder-suicide after an elderly man and woman were found dead in their home in the early hours of Sunday, Oct. 28.

Wayne Bales, 73, and Monique Martin, 72, were found dead in an upstairs bedroom of their two-story brick home on Maclane Court, Sunset Hills Police Chief William LaGrand said.

Both died from a single gunshot wound to the head, he said. Based on evidence at the scene, police believe Martin shot Bales before turning the gun on herself.

"The male victim was laying flat on his back in the bed and the female victim was laying on the floor face down on the other side of the bed," LaGrand said. "We believe it was a murder-suicide."

LaGrand said although police are treating the incident as a murder-suicide, the investigation is continuing.

The couple was supposed to be leaving for a vacation with friends that morning, LaGrand said. When they didn't show up at the airport and their friends could not reach them, they called Bales' brother, who then went to the house and found them dead, police said.

The bodies were found about 5:30 a.m. Sunday, LaGrand said, adding preliminary evidence indicates the shootings occurred at least a few hours before that.

Maclane Court is located off of Rott Road just west of Laumeier Sculpture Park. The entrance to the cul-de-sac is marked with a "Laumeier Park Estates" sign.

Nathan Mathes, Bales' grandson, confirmed the couple was set to go on a Caribbean cruise the morning they were found dead. He said Bales and Martin were not married, but had lived together for several years.

Authorities said they are unaware of any prior problems the couple may have had. LaGrand said there was no suicide note and police are searching for a possible motive in the case. The chief said police are investigating whether Martin was suffering from depression, but declined to elaborate.

Mathes said his grandfather owned and operated Bales Auto Sales at 503 Gravois Road in Fenton.

"This was his and he's been in the same location for about 50 years, give or take," said Mathes, who works at the shop.

Article: The obvious and hidden role of domestic violence in suicide

The clearest examples of the role domestic violence has in suicides are probably murder-suicides we hear about from time to time. In most cases, these deaths involve a husband or male domestic partner who murders his wife or girl friend and then kills himself.

In rare cases, a husband will not only murder his wife but his children, too, before turning a firearm on himself. More than 90 percent of the time, firearms are the method of choice. Nearly 95 percent of the time, the person pulling the trigger is a man.

While in York County the numbers of these kinds of deaths have rarely been more than two or three in recent years, they underscore the pain and suffering suicide imposes on families and communities. All too often family histories emerge after lives have been lost. What were rumors of trouble at home become cold, hard facts indicating a family was coming apart. Repeated physical injuries to a wife or a child are finally recognized as impending signs of the ultimate violence ending the lives of a depressed husband, his wife and their son, or a desperate man who could not accept losing control of a spouse or a girlfriend.

In the end, family members, classmates, members of the same church, and co-workers come together to ask how such a thing could have happened. Sadly, the answers to these questions contain striking similarities: a history of physical abuse, a real or imagined loss of control or dominance for a man who is succumbing to depression, and easy access to a pistol or rifle. Life goes on and the memory fades until the next incident is made public and the process repeats itself.

This is the obvious role of domestic violence in suicide, but it is not the only one. According to research studies appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, women who are the victims of repeated domestic abuse are 12 times more likely to take their own lives because they see death as the only release from their physical and mental agony. Children who have been exposed to domestic violence are two to five times more likely to kill themselves either as children or as adults because they have not been able to overcome a deep and subtle legacy of fear and abuse. For women and children in these circumstances death can come quickly, or it can take years to unfold, sometimes with a history of abuse repeating itself.

A few years ago there was a popular phrase: "It takes a village to raise a child." Presumably this saying meant we all have a responsibility to look out for our children and our neighbor's children. In cases of domestic violence and murder/suicide it can be said it takes a village to ignore or fail a child, too. If we are to reverse the numbers of deaths in our community we will all have to take part in being our brother's keeper.

In any situation involving the warning signs, risk factors, and domestic violence, the presence of firearms compounds the risk for murder and suicide. While it is people who kill people, 92 percent of the time it will be an unstable man with a rifle or a pistol in his hand who will be the most likely person to kill others and himself.

Binghamton, NY: Police: upstate NY couple died in murder-suicide

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Police are calling the deaths of a man and woman in Binghamton a murder-suicide.

Officers went to the home of 55-year-old Ramon Feliciano and 46-year-old Rosaura Soto-Lally Thursday after a relative received what appeared to be a suicide note from Feliciano. They found the couple dead.

Police say it's believed that Feliciano killed Soto-Lally with a sharp object. Feliciano's cause of death remained unclear Friday.

Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski tells the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin (http://press.sn/X8yBfv ) that there's no indication of what triggered the killing. But he says the couple had a long history of domestic violence.

Laguna Beach, CA: Murder-suicide suspected in deaths of couple

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. -- A Southern California couple and their dog have been found shot to death in what investigators believe is a murder-suicide. The 49-year-old man and his 47-year-old wife were found in the Laguna Beach home Wednesday night by a co-worker of the husband after the man didn't show up for work. Investigators told the Orange County Register (http://bit.ly/RxdUos) that the man apparently shot and killed his wife and the dog before committing suicide. Names haven't been released. There are no other details.

Calument City, IL: Gena Chiodo's Body Still Missing, Donal Clark Charged With First-Degree Murder

A 42-year-old Illinois man is in custody on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend after police went to the couple's home and found signs of foul play, police said. Donal E. Clark was charged Saturday with first-degree murder for the killing of his girlfriend, Gena Chiodo. At Clark’s first appearance in Cook County criminal court Sunday, Assistant State Attorney Angela Carlisle said that at the time of Clark's arrest, he was asleep inside the blood-splattered home he shared with Chiodo. "They said he was arrested because of the crime scene inside the house. There was a massive amount of blood everywhere," Chiodo's close friend, Michelle Mack, told The Huffington Post. Police did not find Chiodo's body at the couple's Calumet City home. Outside the home, authorities said they found garbage cans with bloodied lingerie, a blood-stained rug and bath mat, broken furniture, and a plastic shower curtain covered in blood. Blood spatter was also allegedly found on a pair of Clark's shoes. Chiodo, a 42-year-old hairdresser, was last seen on Oct. 13. Her employer contacted police and asked them to conduct a wellness check on her when she failed to show up for work. "[Her employer was concerned] because she was [allegedly] in an abusive relationship," Mack said. Chiodo's longtime friend, Patty Nasella, told United Press International that she believed Chiodo's relationship with Clark, whom she had been with for about 13 months, was dysfunctional. "He was mean, cruel and abusive," Nasella said. During police questioning, Clark allegedly told investigators that he had not seen Chiodo since Oct. 14, when they had a fight. However, following his arrest, Clark allegedly told his brother that he had woken up to find Chiodo in his arms covered in blood. He also allegedly said he would tell police where they could find her body if they cut him a deal, court documents state. Police have yet to say whether they have recovered a murder weapon. "We are disappointed with the judge's decision, but we respect the judge's decision," Clark's defense attorney, Michael O'Meara, told Chicago's WLS-TV. "We are in the early stages of these proceedings and at this point we just have to let the legal process take its course." Chiodo's family members appeared in court Sunday and released a statement afterward. "We also ask the Clark family to please help us find Gena. We beg your mercy to find Gena so we can put her to rest," the statement said. According to the Chicago Tribune, Clark has a previous criminal record that includes convictions for residential burglary and domestic battery. Clark is set to appear in court again Wednesday in Markham, Ill. Meanwhile, the search for Chiodo's remains continues. People interested in joining the search effort are asked to visit the "Find Gena Chiodo" Facebook group for details on how to help. "They are still searching. They've been out there all day. She's not been found," Mack told HuffPost. Police ask anyone with information about this case to contact the Suburban Major Crimes Task Force at 708-425-1612 or Calumet City police at 708-868-2500.

Seattle. WA: Man who threatened to kill girlfriend charged with murder

A repeat felon who made his former girlfriend live in fear that he would kill her has been charged in her murder. Scottye Leon Miller, 20, has more than 15 previous domestic violence convictions since 2002. Roughly two weeks before his former girlfriend, Tricia Particelli, was stabbed to death, Miller was released from prison. He had been serving time for assaulting and threatening to kill her in January of 2012. When Particelli called 911 in that case, she told the dispatcher, "please hurry, he is going to kill me." Miller was chasing her in a parking lot and warning he would kill her if she called police. When officers arrived that day, Particelli repeatedly told them, "you don't know who you are dealing with; he is going to kill me." About 8:30 a.m. Oct. 30, a neighbor heard a woman's screams from Particelli's Burien apartment in the 100 block of South 152nd Street. She was found dead in the bathroom, stabbed at least 22 times.

Article: Beverly acknowledges domestic violence; pays tribute to victims Read more: Beverly acknowledges domestic violence; pays tribute to victims

Beverly, Mass. — Beverly Police Department’s Domestic Violence Unit paid tribute to victims of domestic violence on Monday, Oct. 22 at Beverly Common at the “Silent Witness Display.” October is widely known as breast cancer awareness month, but the month is also shared with domestic violence awareness. The moving “Silent Witness Display” features free standing, life-size wooden figures painted in red. Each one bears the name of a Massachusetts victim who once lived, worked, had neighbors, friends, family and children and whose life ended violently at the hands of an intimate partner or acquaintance. “An extra figure was added to represent those uncounted victims whose murders went unsolved or were erroneously ruled accidental,” said Tina Nieves of the Domestic Violence Unit. Moyniham Lumber donated supplies for the display and Montserrat College professor James Durrett recruited students Buddy Quinn, Ivy fowler, Emily Fung, Mirek Kutnik, Michael Parrillo and Zoey Chapin to make the figures. The 12 names displayed were of those who were killed this year from domestic violence. Under each name is a brief description of how and why they died. During the event, Candice Waldron, director of HAWC, Healing Abuse Working for Change, said, “The figures that you see here today are an example of where we as HAWC have failed. The figures you do not see are the thousands of people that we have been able to get free of domestic violence.” HAWC, formerly known as Help for Abused Women and their Children, was founded in 1978 and provides free services to victims of domestic violence residing in 23 cities and towns on the North Shore. The purpose of HAWC is to create social change by taking action against personal and societal patterns of violence and oppression. Waldron said were it not for partnerships like HAWC and Beverly Police Department’s Domestic Violence Unit and community involvement there would be more casualties of domestic violence. “Being in an abusive relationship is very similar to being in a hostage situation,” Waldron said. “It takes someone on the outside to throw a lifeline into that situation so the victim can get a perspective on what is happening and talk to someone on the outside.” Waldron added isolation is the biggest weapon used by a perpetrator. Nieves said the display will make its way around the state to raise awareness and will be featured at Beverly High School in the upcoming weeks Here are some of their stories: On February 10, 2012 Lisa Stilkey, 44, of Douglas, jumped to her death from a second-story window of her home during a violent argument with her husband, Allen Stilkey, 40. It appeared she threw a pillow out the window first, in an attempt to cushion her landing. At the scene, there were signs of struggle, including wine splashed on the walls, broken glass and broken furniture. Minutes before Lisa jumped, she called her son on the phone (Allen’s stepson) to say that if she were ever found dead, Allen did it. Her son also reported overhearing Allen threatening to kill his mother while he was on the phone with her. Allen was charged with manslaughter, assault and battery and threatening to commit a crime. At the arraignment, prosecutors presented evidence that Allen had taken out a $250,000 life insurance policy on Lisa, as well as updating his passport photo just two weeks before Lisa fell to her death. On July 21, 2012, Christine Bolduc, 51, of Worcester, succumbed to brain injuries sustained 14 months prior when she was attacked by her boyfriend Robert Bell, 56. On May 3, 2011 at about 1:18 a.m. police discovered Christine’s body in an alley with apparent blunt trauma to the head. A surveillance video of the alley recorded Robert following Christine into the alley near their home and captured audio of the attack. Once discovered, Christine was taken to a city hospital where she remained in a coma on a feeding tube until her death over a year later. Robert was indicted on charges of assault with intent to murder and assault and battery causing bodily harm. The couple had been dating for six years. On August 10, 2012, Cecilia Yakubu, 58, of Malden was strangled to death by her live-in boyfriend of five years, William Bryant Moseley, 45, in their home. William called 911 to say that he had killed his wife; he was charged with murder and entered a not guilty plea. News reports stated that charges filed in August 2011 against William for punching Cecilia had been dropped in an accord and satisfaction agreement. From 1997-2007, William had served a sentence for non-fatally shooting his former wife. Beverly Police Sgt. Phil McCarthy said the display is a great way to broaden awareness of the community. “I hope next year when we come there will be none here or a lot less,” McCarthy said of the figure display.

Kissimmee, FL: Police say a Kissimmee man killed his girlfriend in a domestic violence-related stabbing

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Osceola County authorities say a Kissimmee man killed his girlfriend in a domestic violence-related stabbing early Sunday morning. According to WFTV.com , Kissimmee police responded to the Pinewood Park apartments around 4:00 a.m. Officers found 32-year-old Jeanette Paolillo dead in her apartment. Investigators say 26-year-old Marco Didonna called 911 and confessed to killing his girlfriend. Police say the pair were involved in a domestic violence situation and at some point Didonna stabbed Paolillo. Officers arrested Paolillo, charging him with one count of premeditated murder. He is being held without bond in the Osecola County Jail.

Chicago, IL: Experts: DCFS could have done more to prevent child's death

Five months after a South Side father was accused of beating and choking his girlfriend while she held their son, the baby was found dead, floating faceup near his 2-year-old brother in a bathtub. The father told police he left the boys unattended for about 10 minutes while he went for a smoke. As authorities investigate the Sept. 24 drowning death of Jayshaun Strong, a Tribune review of confidential case records raises questions about whether state and contractual child welfare workers did enough to ensure the boys' safety. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services monitored the family for several months after a hotline call reporting violence in the couple's relationship. The young mother repeatedly was warned that the state could take custody of her children if she and the father continued to resist services. The telltale signs of trouble included allegations of domestic violence, a sibling's broken leg, uncooperative parents and a father with a long criminal history. The newspaper also found that a DCFS investigator who was assigned the case the morning after the hotline call didn't do any follow-up work for a month. A Tribune investigation this year has examined a number of child deaths and showed how holes in the state's child safety net contributed to them, including slow and inadequate responses by front-line workers, violations of policies and management mistakes. DCFS has blamed budget challenges and worker error. State leaders have further slashed the agency's funding. Considering the litany of troubling facts in Jayshaun's case, experts say workers should have at least petitioned the Cook County child protection court to try to force the parents to cooperate with services or face losing custody of their children. "This is egregious," said Dr. Jill Glick, who established the child protective services team at the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital. "Domestic violence is a huge red flag," she said. "Family violence is progressive, and while maybe the first incident was minor, it is a signal for abuse and risk. This death could have been prevented." It wasn't until after Jayshaun died that DCFS took protective custody of his sibling and sought court intervention. DCFS officials said they are continuing to investigate how the case was handled but have declined to discuss specifics. The agency, meanwhile, has temporarily placed Jayshaun's brother in the care of Denise Mayberry, his maternal grandmother. Mayberry said she was never contacted during the DCFS investigation, argued that state officials should have done more to intervene. "I'm just upset because all anyone had to do was come to me and have me take my grand babies for a while until my daughter sorted some things out," Mayberry said.

Article: Domestic violence is public problem

Perhaps it's possible that one month ago you thought domestic violence didn't impact your life because you weren't naive enough to become — or stay — a victim. You would never hurt someone you are close to. Or maybe you thought that fights — even physical ones — between spouses or partners should be worked out behind closed doors and not in a courtroom. But those excuses for ignoring domestic violence in this community sound pretty flimsy today. It's been one month since Michelet Polynice hunted down and killed his estranged girlfriend Carlene Pierre and a co-worker inside the International Drive-area hotel where she worked. He opened fire as tourists were eating breakfast. Then he drove to another resort and shot Pierre's friend. If any of us had gotten in his way, we could be dead, too. That's what happened to the stylists and customers at the Casselberry hair salon where Bradford Baumet went Oct. 18 to murder estranged girlfriend Marcia Santiago. She is still fighting for her life, but he killed three others before shooting himself. In just one month, domestic violence has claimed at least 11 lives in Central Florida, and four were simply bystanders. The notion that domestic violence is a private family affair can be tossed along with the twisted idea that victims are somehow to blame for their abuse. Domestic violence is very much a public problem that deserves public attention. But it's also one that frequently slips through the cracks. In 2010 the State Attorney's Office received 12,577 domestic-violence cases in Orange and Osceola counties. But charges were filed in 2,044 — or just 16 percent — of the cases. About half of those resulted in some type of plea deal. Only 79 cases went to trial that year, and just 42 defendants were found guilty. Michelle Latham, the chief domestic-violence prosecutor, said her office's statistics have improved dramatically since a felony domestic-violence unit was formed a little more than a year ago. Now she says the number of cases reaching trial, plea agreements or a diversion program is nearing the office's goal of 80 percent. And she's helping to train law-enforcement officers on how to assist the state attorney in building better cases against batterers. But Polynice is a good example of how some cases get missed. About two weeks before Pierre was killed, Polynice showed up at her workplace and ran her over with a car, sending her to the hospital. An Orange County sheriff's deputy responded and began an investigation but hadn't completed it because authorities still hadn't interviewed Pierre, who took off before deputies arrived, said sheriff's Capt. Angelo Nieves. Because the report wasn't completed, it wasn't passed along to the State Attorney's Office. And Polynice, who had a long, violent history, wasn't arrested.

Alta Dena, CA: News: Domestic violence results in stabbing death

Saturday October 20, 2012 at approximately 1:27 p.m. police were called to a scene in Alta Dena California where a man had been stabbed by his wife, Breta Durham 55. The man, who has been identified as Robin Martin 47, was taken to the hospital but was pronounced dead at 5:12 p.m. On Monday evening, I spoke with a friend of Durham's family whom chooses to remain anonymous at this time and will further be referred to as Ms. Anon. Ms. Anon explained that Martin had been arrested that morning for domestic violence but then posted bail. She states that upon his return to the residence occupied by he and his wife Breta Durham, he kicked in the front door and she believes Durham may have feared for her life resulting in the stabbing. Police have confirmed that Martin had in fact been arrested for domestic violence earlier that day but posted bail. Durham was later arrested after investigations revealed she had stabbed the victim, though police have not released information as to the cause. Ms. Anon also stated, to her knowledge to her knowledge Martin was an attorney. The only related information to Martin being an attorney is his Linkedin profile. Martin claims in the experience section of his page: Robin S. Martin teaches the field of habeas corpus-appeal in his own law college that he owns and started himself. He teaches the "real" law on the field that the establishment does not want you to know and teaches the "tricks and tactics" to make it all work. I checked with the State Bar of California and found Martin is not a member, nor had he ever been. All lawyers practicing law in the state of California must be a member of the State Bar. Further research on Martin's professional experience reveals a scene reminiscent of an unsavory version of the hit movie "My Cousin Vinny." Martin claims he is able to make legal problems "disappear" and get people released from prison. Martin lists no credentials or qualifications for his "College of Post Conviction Remedy," other than the fact that his profile alludes to personal experience as an ex-convict for "real." Durham will be in court today. Please subscribe to this page to receive updates as new information is released. Durham's family requests prayers in this time of difficulty for both family's. Police are encougaging anyone with information about the events that led up to this incident to contact Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you may call "Crime Stoppers" by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.

Ogden, UT: 911 call released in alleged Ogden domestic violence homicide

OGDEN, Utah – Police in Ogden have released the 911 tape from an alleged domestic violence homicide. On Oct. 20, Jeffrey Dene White called 911 for help, saying his girlfriend 38-year-old Marnie Stark was dead. Police say the 43-year-old was at the home they shared on 1390 Douglas Ave. in Ogden. In the tape, the dispatcher tells White that even though he repeatedly says Stark was dead, he needed to continue to give chest compressions. “You’re doing good. Just keep going, okay,” the dispatcher said. “Keep going? but she’s dead,” White replied. “Just keep going, okay?” Paramedics later arrived and took Stark to McKay-Dee Hospital where she was pronounced dead. White is charged with murder and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child.

Article: Domestic abuse kills 62 in Indiana in a year

Sixty-two people died in Indiana from domestic violence between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. Tammy – her last name is not being published – said she knew the night her husband threatened to kill her, her two teenage children and then himself that it was time for him to leave. With support from her father, she persuaded her husband to pack a bag and go. For years, she blamed the cycle of abuse, tearful apology and slow buildup to another blowup on her husband's bipolar disorder. But this time she was truly frightened and believed he meant what he said. “For years I felt like I had been walking on eggshells,” Tammy said. He returned several days later, begging to be let in, to talk things over. Since she was home alone, however, she refused to let him in. She watched him walk back to his truck. He was carrying a hammer. Tammy called the police; the dispatcher told her she should get a protection order. All night she sat up by the door, afraid her husband would return. The next morning she went to the courthouse to get the protection order. As she filled out the paperwork, she was told the judge might not approve it. Two hours later, she had the signed protection order in hand. Her husband eventually divorced her, and six months later she was laid off from her teaching assistant's job. With few options, she sold the house – the only home her two children had known – and moved back home with her dad. She took a job as a waitress at a Pizza Hut, just to make some money, and eventually was hired to work in a library. “If someone told me in eight months all this would happen I wouldn't have believed it; I was divorced, unemployed and homeless,” Tammy said. She and her children got counseling through the YWCA, and Tammy later joined a program there called Steps to Success, which helps women recovering from abusive relationships to start over. She began putting her life back together. Now, several years later, both her kids are in college and she is engaged. “I was lucky to get out. So many people don't and end up dead,” Tammy said. According to Christine Neilson, deputy prosecutor for Allen County, the biggest hurdle to filing a domestic violence battery case is victim cooperation. “They love this person, they have children with this person, and they rely on them for support, housing and baby-sitting. They get pressured from the perpetrator's family. They are fooled into thinking they are sorry and it will never happen again,” Neilson said. Not having a victim in court can be problematic with a jury, as well. “You can tell by the look on the jurors' faces, if the witness doesn't care enough to be there, why should we? We have to make them care about the situation enough and impress upon them the importance,” Neilson said. Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards said prosecuting domestic violence cases is harder now, since the number of cases has increased and there are more felony charges. Neilson said the increase in felony charges for domestic violence shows the crime is being taken more seriously then it was in the past. However, Neilson said prosecution has been set back with the confrontation clause. The prosecution used to be able to get in more evidence without the victim being present. A change in the law restricted the amount of testimony the prosecution can have admitted that doesn't come directly from the victim, such as 911 call recordings or an officer's testimony about what the victim may have said at the scene. So now, if an uncooperative victim doesn't show up in court, prosecutors can be limited. Under the law, the alleged perpetrator has the right to confront his or her accuser. So anything the victim may have said during an alleged emergency situation cannot be used in court unless the victim is present, because the alleged perpetrator has the right to cross-examine him or her on those statements.

Brown Deer, WI: Lawmakers demand Brown Deer police audit

Twelve state legislators have sharply criticized Brown Deer Police Chief Steven Rinzel for his department's failure to hold Brookfield spa shooter Radcliffe Haughton accountable despite multiple domestic violence calls to the Haughton home. The legislators wrote a letter, released Wednesday, that says Rinzel's department appears to have violated the state's mandatory arrest law in cases of domestic violence. It also criticizes the chief's statements after the shooting, which the legislators characterized as blaming the victim, Zina Haughton, for not cooperating with police. The letter - signed by 10 Democrats and two Republicans - calls for an outside review of the department's interactions with the Haughtons. "Your department's duty to uphold the law should not, and does not, hinge on the actions of the victim. You must stop implying that the victim was to blame for the failure of your department to make an arrest, and for the sake of other victims in Brown Deer and throughout Wisconsin, you must correct your inaccurate and damaging statements," the letter states. "Given both the flagrant nature of the errors and your department's inaccurate and counterproductive public response, we believe you must open the department's actions, policies and practices for a thorough and independent evaluation." Rep. Andre Jacque (R-Bellevue) said he was troubled that the Brown Deer police had apparently disregarded state laws designed to protect victims of domestic violence. "It's disturbing to have violence stemming from what hopefully could have been preventable," he said. "This already has had tragic consequences. You can't just hope for the best when dealing with an emergency situation where the police have come." Wisconsin's mandatory arrest law requires officers to make an arrest in a domestic violence case if they believe the abuse is likely to continue or if there is evidence of an injury. An officer is not supposed to base the decision to arrest on the victim's cooperation. Officers are not even supposed to ask a victim whether she wants to press charges or file a complaint, according to a training guide used by the state's Office of Justice Assistance. The Brown Deer Police Department - which sent 14 members to state domestic violence training in 2006 - has been criticized for failing to arrest Radcliffe Haughton during two separate incidents. In January 2011, officers saw Radcliffe Haughton point what appeared to be a rifle at his wife, according to incident reports. Officers set up a tactical perimeter, told him he was under arrest and ordered him to surrender. He refused. A supervisor who had attended the statewide training ordered officers to leave 90 minutes into the standoff. Police experts told the Journal Sentinel that leaving without making an arrest was a breach of basic police protocol and created a risk to the public. In October, police responded to a 911 call from Zina Haughton, who was at a gas station barefoot with a bruised face and a torn shirt. Officers saw Radcliffe Haughton in the couple's house, but he didn't answer the door and they left. The two incidents were among nearly two dozen times Brown Deer police officers were called to the Haughtons' home in 11 years, never making an arrest. At least seven calls were to investigate domestic violence, records show. The one time Brown Deer arrested Haughton, they did so at the request of Brookfield police after he slashed his wife's tires there last month. Rinzel issued a statement last week saying the mandatory arrest law did not apply. He said Zina Haughton failed to assist police in both of those situations by denying she was afraid and saying her husband didn't have guns. He discounted his own department's reports, saying officers were not sure they saw a gun. "We understand that domestic violence victims are not always willing to cooperate with the police and are fearful of further retaliation. However, without key information, the police are limited in their ability to make a forced entry into a private residence or pursue appropriate charges," he said. Rinzel did not return a call for comment Wednesday - and has repeatedly refused Journal Sentinel interview requests since Haughton killed three women, including his estranged wife, and wounded four others before committing suicide at the Azana Salon & Spa on Oct. 21. District Attorney John Chisholm said in other domestic violence cases handled by his office, Brown Deer generally has investigated aggressively. "Our impression of their work is very good," he said Wednesday. "This is one that just presents some complicated questions." 'It's just bizarre' The lead writer of the letter from legislators, Rep. Terese Berceau (D-Madison),, said she was concerned by Rinzel's statements and by those of attorney Lisa Martin, who earlier this week released a video defending the department's handling of the case. Martin represented Zina Haughton at a hearing to get a restraining order just days before her death. "It's just bizarre that they are worrying more about their public image than about the fact that there are dead people as a result of possible misjudgments and the possibility that they were not educated on the mandatory arrest law," Berceau said. "It seems to be more about, 'How can we look less bad?'" On Tuesday, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said Rinzel had asked him to help provide domestic violence training for Brown Deer police and other departments and prosecutors in the area. Berceau said Rinzel's comments about the case show that is necessary. "I have been kind of stunned with regard to the understanding of domestic violence psychology here," Berceau said. "I really thought we were getting there in terms of educating the public and family members in terms of domestic violence. This certainly shows that we've got work to do in terms of educating law enforcement and maybe some attorneys." The legislators' demand for an independent investigation follows a call from the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence. It has been asking for such a review since last week. Brown Deer Village Manager Russell Van Gompel said Tuesday the village is considering an outside review but no decision has been made. He did not return a call Wednesday. If Rinzel does not agree to work with advocates and legislators, the next step would be a request for the state or federal Department of Justice to review the matter, according to Berceau and Patti Seger, executive director of the coalition. Legislative hearings also may be an option. Dana Brueck, Wisconsin DOJ spokeswoman, said the department always seriously considers requests from legislators. U.S. Attorney James Santelle did not return a call this week. In addition to Berceau and Jacque, the letter was signed by the following: Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) and Reps. Penny Bernard Schaber (D-Appleton), Tom Larson (R-Colfax), Chris Taylor (D-Madison), Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee), Sondy Pope-Roberts (D-Cross Plains), Kelda Roys (D-Madison), Sandy Pasch (D-Shorewood), Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) and Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee). Two state legislators who represent Brown Deer, Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) and Rep. Daniel Knodl (R-Germantown), did not sign the letter and did not return calls for comment.

Rockford, IL: UPDATED: Suspect shot and killed by Rockford police

ROCKFORD (WREX) - A man is dead after a domestic violence incident ended with Rockford police using deadly force against him. The incident began just before 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning when a woman went to the Winnebago County Justice Center and asked for help getting some personal items from 1811 Montague Street. Police went with the woman to the home, where they say Demetrius Bennett met them at the door with a knife. They say at one point Bennett used a small child to shield himself from officers as he pointed a knife at them. Officers used pepper spray to distract Bennett, but he allegedly wiped the spray from his face and went inside the home, where officers followed. "He picked up a plastic bag to shield his face from another round of pepper spray and at the same time he did that, he charged officers that were in the house with a knife and the officers that were in the house fired upon the individual," Police Chief Chet Epperson said. A neighbor who lives behind the home said she was surprised police intervention was needed. "I've just heard spats in that backyard, but nothing to where it was serious," she said. This shooting happened just blocks away from where 18-year-old Logan Bell was killed by Rockford officers. However, the NAACP Rockford Chapter President, Lloyd Johnston, said people should not rush to judgment. "It would be easy to think that there is an epidemic, that there is something suspicious going on, but to have an opportunity to come out, be on the scene, understand the circumstances, it is apparent that each situation is unique," Johnston said. The Winnebago County Integrity Task Force has taken over the investigation into the shooting. The three officers and sergeant involved are on leave pending the outcome.

Cottage Grove, MN: Police: Wife killed by husband filed for divorce

COTTAGE GROVE, Minn. (AP) — Police say the woman shot and killed by her husband in the parking lot of a Cottage Grove strip mall had previously expressed fear that he would harm her. Public safety director Craig Woolery said Friday Tensia Richard thought there might be a "snapping point" for her estranged husband. The mother of two sons, ages 3 and 5 months, had filed for divorce and was living with her children at her parents' house in Cottage Grove. Woolery says Chevel Richard chased Tensia into a Jimmy John's sandwich shop Thursday afternoon and fatally shot her, then shot himself in the head. He died at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. The Star Tribune (http://tinyurl.com/9rsdfaf ) says Tensia Richard filed for a protection order in June 2011, but it was dismissed two months later.

Volusia County, FL: Deputies: Wife shot multiple times by husband in murder-suicide near Ormond

he Sheriff's Office said a Volusia County woman was shot multiple times by her husband before he killed himself in a murder-suicide in their home near Ormond Beach. An autopsy on Wednesday showed that Joyce Ryals, 74, was shot several times by James Ryals, 73, whose body had one fatal gunshot wound, said sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson. The bodies of the couple were found late Tuesday when deputies went to 141 E. Woodhaven Circle near Ormond Beach to do a well-being check, Davidson said. The Ryals were found in a bathroom. Deputies also discovered a gun and note at the scene, Davidson said. "Two different handguns were used in the shootings. Both weapons were recovered in the bathroom where the bodies were found," Davidson said. Deputies went to the home at 11:48 p.m. after a family member of the couple called from New Jersey expressing concern they could not be reached, Davidson said. The last time family members spoke to them was Monday, so the deaths took place sometime between Monday and when the bodies were found Tuesday night, Davidson said. A neighbor who lives directly across the street from the Ryals' home said she saw the couple in their front yard on Tuesday and they seemed fine. Neighbor Stacy Stemmle, who lives next to the Ryals house, said she hadn't seen them in several weeks. "I used to see him gardening all the time," Stemmle said Wednesday. "He was always outside. He would talk to my husband and my dad." Stemmle said James Ryals told her father that he and Joyce Ryals had each been married four other times. Stemmle said they each had children, but not together. On Aug. 29, 2011, deputies went to the Ryals' home after being called to a disturbance. In that incident, James Ryals told deputies he and his wife were arguing and Joyce threw a slipper at him and he threw it back at her. James Ryals said his wife told him "he was worthless because he only has one leg" and "never lets her do what she wants," an incident report states. At the time, Joyce Ryals told deputies she gets very angry when her husband does not let her do certain things and that "she is tired of the abuse," deputies said. The Ryalses told deputies their marriage had been very hard, they always argued with each other, and never agreed on anything for the past eight years, the report states.

Shreveport, LA: Fund set up for victim killed by estranged husband

HREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A memorial fund is set up for the family of a Shreveport woman killed by her estranged husband in a domestic dispute. Donations can be made at Barksdale Federal Credit Union under the Cindy Johnson West Angels account. The Times reports (http://bit.ly/WVUq1w ) the 34-year-old woman was fatally shot last week after police received several calls that a man was threatening a woman at gunpoint in a car. Responding officers pursued a vehicle matching the description. During the chase, they heard gunshots coming from inside the car. The driver, 42-year-old Donnie Ray Plater, was shot and killed by police as he fired shots at the officers while exiting the car. They later found West in the car's front seat, dead from multiple gunshot wounds. The woman leaves behind two daughters.

Naperville, IL: Prosecutors: Illinois woman viciously stabbed 2 children to death to get back at her husband

APERVILLE, Ill. -- A suburban Chicago woman stabbed her 7-year-old son 100 times and then turned the knife on a 5-year-old girl who witnessed the attack, killing both children as they begged for their lives, a prosecutor said Thursday. Elzbieta Plackowska, 40, told investigators she stabbed the children and slashed their throats on Tuesday night at a Naperville home because she was angry that her truck driver husband was often away, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said. "She told the detectives that she thought by killing (her son) Justin she would make her husband hurt the way she hurt in their relationship," Berlin said. Plackowska told investigators she found Justin and Olivia Dworakowski -- whom she was babysitting that night -- jumping on the bed, Berlin said. "She had grabbed the knife and she made both victims kneel and begin praying. She began stabbing her son Justin and told him he was going to heaven tonight. He pleaded for his life and told her to stop. But she continued stabbing him until he was dead," he said at a news conference after the hearing. "She then turned her attention to 5-year-old Olivia and began stabbing her with the knife multiple times. She, as well, pleaded for her life, but the defendant continued to stab her until she was deceased." Plackowska killed Olivia because she had witnessed the attack on Justin, Berlin said. The slayings took place at the home of Olivia's mother who works nights as a nurse and had left her daughter in the woman's care before. Plackowska also stabbed the two family dogs. Walls in the home were spattered in blood. Olivia's body was found on the bed, and Justin's was found on the floor beside it. He was covered in stab wounds, including on his head, face, neck and back. "In all my years in law enforcement, this is the most gruesome and horrific crime scene that I have seen," Naperville Police Chief Bob Marshall said at the news conference. Naperville is 25 miles west of Chicago. Investigators found two blood-stained knives; a steak knife in the kitchen sink and another in Plackowska's car, Berlin said. After the killings, Plackowska tried to go to a Naperville church but found it closed, so she left a message on its answering machine saying she had done something bad and needed assistance, Berlin said. Still covered in blood and with scratches on her hands, she went to a friend's home where her other, adult son was staying and told them that she had been robbed, Berlin said. Around the same time, Olivia's mother, Marta Dworakowski, returned home to discover her door locked and the babysitter's car gone. She called police saying her daughter was missing. Police forced their way into the home and took Plackowska into custody. Prosecutors charged her with first-degree murder late Wednesday. Plackowska initially told investigators that a stalker had broken into the home where Olivia lived with her mother, and that it was the stalker who killed the children. She later said the children were evil and that she was fighting the devil in the house, Berlin said. When police confronted her about the inconsistencies during hours of questioning, Plackowska admitted that she lashed out because she was angry with her husband, because he often left her alone to care for Justin and work as a maid, which she felt was beneath her, Berlin said. In a brief telephone interview, Plackowska's husband, Artur, denied the two were having problems. "The day before (the killings) she told me that she loves me," he said in heavily accented and halting English. However, a neighbor said he frequently heard the couple shouting at each other over the last five years. "It happened once every other month," said Victor Tuckenberry. "It was nothing physical." Tuckenberry said he was shocked by the slayings and that Plackowska doted on her sons. He said she and Justin "were together all the time." Marshall, the police chief, said officers had never been called to the couple's house. He said several of his officers knew Olivia, having helped locate her in August when she went to the wrong kindergarten class on the first day of school. The officers told him "she was such a sweet and loving little girl," Marshall said. Plackowska arrived in the United States from her native Poland on a tourist visa 12 years ago, said Berlin. She is not a U.S. citizen and authorities were trying to verify her immigration status. Berlin said she has no prior history of violence, although she had a misdemeanor DUI from about 10 years ago. DuPage County Judge John Kinsella ordered Plackowska held without bond. Plackowska didn't speak during the hearing other than to indicate she could not afford an attorney. The judge appointed a public defender.

Article: Husband Of Seal Beach Massacre Victim Pushes Gun Control Reform

SEAL BEACH (CBSLA.com) — One year after the worst mass slaying ever in Orange County, one Seal Beach man hopes to prevent another tragedy like the one that claimed the life of his wife. KNX 1070′s Mike Landa reports 47-year-old Christy Lynn Wilson was among eight people killed when Scott Dekraai allegedly opened fire at Salon Meritage in October of last year. Dekraai, who was involved in a child custody dispute with his ex-wife Michelle Fournier, 48, has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder. Now Christy’s husband Paul has started an online petition proposing a new form of gun control which he calls “Christy’s Law”, which would prohibit anyone involved in a child custody dispute in California from buying a gun or accessing any firearm in their possession. “If you’re involved in a custody battle and you own a weapon, the other party should have the right to ask for that weapon to be taken away,” Wilson said. Investigators say Dekraai was in possession of three handguns at the time of the killings. But despite his proposal, Wilson insists his legislation is not intended to limit anyone’s Constitutional right to bear arms. “We’re not trying to take guns out of anybody’s hands; we’re trying to take guns out of the wrong people’s hands, the people that should not have those guns,” he said. Christy Wilson and Fournier were killed along with Randy Lee Fannin, 62; Victoria Ann Buzzo, 54; Lucia Bernice Kondas, 65; Laura Lee Elody, 46; Michele Daschbach Fast, 47; and David Caouette, 64. Hattie Stretz, 74, was wounded but survived. Paul Wilson also hopes to enact some reform of the legal process that would allow for civil lawsuits to run parallel to criminal cases. He filed suit against Dekraai last year, but he has cited his Fifth Amendment right to freeze the civil process while his criminal case is pending. On his Facebook page, Wilson said he hopes “these changes will prevent others from suffering as he and the family members of all the victims of the October 12 slayings have suffered and continue to suffer through a judicial system that is skewed towards the protection of killers, rather than victim.”

Casselberry, FL: Domestic dispute eyed in deadly Florida hair salon shooting

At least three people were killed and another injured Thursday at a Florida hair salon after a gunman entered the store and opened fire, MyFoxOrlando.com reported.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office said the shooting occurred at the Las Dominicanas M & M Hair Salon in Casselberry, which is north of Orlando.

The gunman entered Las Dominicanas shortly after 11 a.m., police spokeswoman Sara Brady said. Two women escaped the salon.

The gunman, identified by police as Bradford Baumet, was served with a domestic violence injunction Oct. 9 and scheduled to be in Orange County court Thursday for a hearing with the salon's manager, Marcia Santiago, who took out the restraining order. Their relationship was not immediately clear.

About two hours before the hearing was to start, Baumet, 36, entered Las Dominicanas M & M Salon in Casselberry and started shooting, police spokeswoman Sara Brady said. Two women hid inside a bathroom and one ran outside through a back door.

Police have not identified the victims, and it was not clear whether Santiago was at the salon.

The phone rang unanswered at the salon. A video posted on the site has a woman explaining in Spanish the services offered at the salon for men and women.

About two dozen mourners gathered near the salon, located in a strip mall, and police taped off the parking lot. Yellow paper covered the salon's windows. A Dominican Republic flag was hung in the storefront along with a neon sign that read: Hair Cut. Color. Perm.

After the shooting, the gunman went to a friend's home in nearby Winter Park, about seven miles from the salon, and shot himself, said Seminole County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Heather Smith. He did not threaten his friends, but said "he had some problems, problems he could not remedy."

Brady said the fourth victim was being treated at an Orlando hospital. Her condition was not immediately released.

Casselberry is about 15 miles northeast of Orlando.

In October 2011, police say an angry ex-husband donned a bulletproof vest before killing his ex-wife and six of her fellow stylists and patrons at a Southern California hair salon. He also is accused of killing a man in the parking lot. Scott Dekraai is awaiting trial on murder charges.

Brockport, NY: Alexandra Kogut: Murdered College Student Left Ominous Last Tweet

SOURCE: http://abcnews.go.com/US/alexandra-kogut-murdered-college-student-left-ominous-tweet/story?id=17366495#.UGnUzZg830k Even though murdered college freshman Alexandra Kogut was starting college in a different town from her older boyfriend, the two kept in touch with playful Twitter messages anticipating each others' visits. On Sept. 2, Clayton Whittemore, a 21-year-old student at Utica College, tweeted at his girlfriend: " Saturday can't come sooner enough." "So excited for @Whittemore21 to come to Brockport Saturday and bring me half moons," Kogut wrote in September, according to the Utica Observer Dispatch. Her account has since been taken down. But one ominous last Tweet suggests something went wrong during their reunion very early Saturday morning, just hours before Whittemore allegedly beat Kogut to death. "Should've known," she wrote at 12:13 a.m. Prosecutors believe the popular freshman at the State University of New York Brockport campus was murdered early Saturday morning by Clayton Whittemore, 21, who had apparently been visiting for the weekend. Whittemore allegedly admitted to killing his girlfriend, according to a criminal complaint, The Associated Press reported. On Saturday, he pleaded not guilty to second degree murder charges. Authorities said Kogut's mother became concerned when her daughter did not answer her phone and requested campus police perform a welfare check. During that check, campus police found the communication major dead in her room at McLean Hall early Saturday morning. She appeared to have suffered severe trauma to her upper body, said Robert Kehoe of the Brockport Campus Police Department. Authorities caught up with Whittemore, who attends Utica College, at a service station in the town of Dewitt, about 110 miles east of Brockport early Saturday morning. "It's tragic when anyone loses their life," Kehoe told ABC News affiliate WHAM-TV. "When a young lady who's a college student and apparently in a safe environment, is brutally murdered as this young lady was, it's certainly a tragedy for her family and friends and the entire Brockport college community." Students and staff were notified of the death via email, social media and a message posted on the school's website. Kogut's family released a statement thanking the community for their support and asking for privacy during their time of grief. "Alexandra Kogut was a bright, beautiful young woman who was thrilled to be beginning her college education," the statement said. "Her lovely and sweet demeanor was truly infectious and she will forever be missed." On a "Remembering Alex Kogut" Facebook page, friends pledged to wear purple, the color for domestic violence awareness, today in honor of the freshman. Whittemore remains in the custody of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing Thursday afternoon.

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

Once again, we are experiencing technical difficulties with the blog, and will be on short hiatus. We apologize for the inconvenience especially as October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Please visit http://www.vawnet.org/ for many types of well vetted information about domestic and sexual violence, DV Awareness month, and a new social media campaign "No More". JT and CM