Search intensifies for college student's killer
by OWEN LEI / KING 5 News
KTVB.COM / Posted on October 29, 2010 at 10:53 AM
DES MOINES, Wash. -- The family of a murdered Highline Community College student, who was trying to leave behind a life of drugs and prostitution, is ramping up the search for her killer.
Jennifer Walstrand, 28, was found dead in her apartment in August.
Her mother, Lori Batinik, said friends and family will be posting Crime Stoppers posters around her neighborhood. They plan to talk to neighbors and nearby businesses, trying to generate leads on a case that is still a mystery, almost two months after Walstrand's death.
"You know, this was a really violent thing, and I understand her lifestyle, but regardless, there was just no sense to this," Batinik said. "There was no reason for it, and it scares me because there is somebody out there who did this and that person is still out there."
"And I'm convinced they'll do it again," she added.
The family has raised $5,000 to add to a $1,000 reward offered by Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound for any information leading to an arrest.
(snip)
Police spokesman Bob Collins said lab results on evidence recovered at the scene is still pending, though they have been following leads from computer and cell phone records.
Walstrand also went by the names “Roxie” and “Face.”
In a statement, Des Moines Police said they "understand individuals may be reluctant to come forward. We want to emphasize our focus is on this violent crime and not on any alleged prostitution activity. We are determined to identify and bring to justice the person or persons responsible."
Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to call "Crime Stoppers" at 1-800-222-TIPS or 206-343-2020.
Anonymous information can also be sent online to Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound web site or by texting "TIP486" to 274637 (Crimes).”
READ MORE ABOUT JENNIFER WALSTRAND...
http://www.ktvb.com/news/regional/Search-intensifies-for-college-students-killer-106314408.html
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
MISTY CROSLIN: IT'S OVER! 25 YEARS IN PRISON
Judge sentences Misty Croslin to 25 years
It was the mandatory minimum sentence in the drug trafficking case.
By Cindy Swirko, Staff writer
Published: Friday, October 8, 2010
ST. AUGUSTINE — Misty Croslin, the Putnam County woman who was with 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings in February 2009 when the girl was reported missing, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison for trafficking oxycodone.
Circuit Judge Wendy Berger handed down the sentence following testimony from Croslin and her mother, Lisa Croslin, that included details of Misty Croslin's rape, her elementary-level education, and of her growing up with drug abusing parents who often left their kids to fend for themselves.
Croslin and her attorney, Robert Fields, said the reason Croslin was investigated for drug trafficking was because of her involvement in the Haleigh case.
But Berger was not swayed.
"It is clear that you had a hard life, but lots of people have hard lives and don't always end up committing crimes," Berger said in delivering the sentence. "You may not have a lot of book smarts — you have a lot of street smarts. You did it for the money. This case is not about Haleigh Cummings, Misty. This case is about you and your co-defendants in trafficking drugs. You are here because you sold drugs."
The sentence was the mandatory minimum for the amount of drugs involved in the St. Johns County case, which stemmed from a police investigation in January. Her sentencing on seven additional counts in Putnam County is scheduled for Oct. 19.
READ MORE: MISTY CROSLIN SENTENCED IN FLORIDA...WHAT'S NEXT?
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20101008/articles/101009491
It was the mandatory minimum sentence in the drug trafficking case.
By Cindy Swirko, Staff writer
Published: Friday, October 8, 2010
ST. AUGUSTINE — Misty Croslin, the Putnam County woman who was with 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings in February 2009 when the girl was reported missing, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison for trafficking oxycodone.
Circuit Judge Wendy Berger handed down the sentence following testimony from Croslin and her mother, Lisa Croslin, that included details of Misty Croslin's rape, her elementary-level education, and of her growing up with drug abusing parents who often left their kids to fend for themselves.
Croslin and her attorney, Robert Fields, said the reason Croslin was investigated for drug trafficking was because of her involvement in the Haleigh case.
But Berger was not swayed.
"It is clear that you had a hard life, but lots of people have hard lives and don't always end up committing crimes," Berger said in delivering the sentence. "You may not have a lot of book smarts — you have a lot of street smarts. You did it for the money. This case is not about Haleigh Cummings, Misty. This case is about you and your co-defendants in trafficking drugs. You are here because you sold drugs."
The sentence was the mandatory minimum for the amount of drugs involved in the St. Johns County case, which stemmed from a police investigation in January. Her sentencing on seven additional counts in Putnam County is scheduled for Oct. 19.
READ MORE: MISTY CROSLIN SENTENCED IN FLORIDA...WHAT'S NEXT?
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20101008/articles/101009491
Monday, September 13, 2010
GEORGIA: ANTHONY TERRELL SENTENCED FOR KILLING MOM, JOY DELESTON, AND HIS SISTERS
Teen enters guilty plea in family killing
Posted: 9:33 PM Sep 10, 2010
Gwinnett Daily Post Reporter: By Josh Green
Email: josh.green@gwinnettdailypost.com
LAWRENCEVILLE — Anthony Terrell Jr.’s motivation to kill his immediate family boiled down to a mother-son dispute over trivial teenage matters: a girl who’d visited their home and his forbidden use of his mother’s cell phone, a prosecutor said.
The Lawrenceville teen pleaded guilty Friday to fatally shooting his mother — a Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department deputy — and two young sisters in March 2008.
“He never explained any basis for it,” District Attorney Danny Porter said Friday. “He had an argument with his mother and basically spun out of control.”
Gwinnett Superior Court Judge Debra Turner sentenced Terrell, 19, to two consecutive life sentences after he pleaded guilty to killing Joy Deleston, 39, and her daughters, Micaiah, 11, and Jelani, 4.
Porter said Terrell won’t be eligible for parole for at least 30 years.
Terrell admitted to all nine counts in his indictment, which included murder, felony murder and aggravated assault charges. He avoided a third consecutive life sentence by pleading guilty, the worst-case scenario in terms of sentencing, Porter said.
The threshold for the death penalty is age 18 in Georgia. Terrell was 17 when he killed his family.
Terrell’s grandmother pleaded with the court to impose a reduced sentence, which is the only time Terrell cried, Porter said.
“It was a very emotional hearing on the part of everybody but the defendant,” he said.
READ MORE ABOUT THE CRIME AND THE SENTENCE OF ANTHONY TERRELL...
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/home/headlines/102677014.html
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
JENNIFER WALSTRAND: KIRO7 NEWS VIDEO -MOM ASKS FOR HELP
Mother Asks For Public’s Help To Find Daughter’s Killer
Posted: 6:14 pm PDT September 6, 2010
KIRO7 Eyewitness News
DES MOINES, Wash. -- The mother of a Des Moines woman is asking for the public’s help to find whoever is responsible for killing her daughter a week ago at her apartment.
Jennifer Walstrand was found stabbed to death a few feet from the door of her apartment on 25th Avenue South.
The mother of the 29-year-old victim said she is devastated.
“I want justice because this is senseless,” said the victim’s mother, Lori Batinik.
Batinik said her daughter was her best friend. When they spent last Sunday together there was no hint of the horror that would come the next day.
“The last time I saw her she dropped me off right out here, we said goodbye, there was no sense that she was in danger or that something would happen to her,” said Batinik.
Batinik concedes her daughter may have let the killer inside. Walstrand was a recovering drug addict and prostitute. Batinik didn't approve and they talked about the dangers but she said, “You always think it’s going to happen to somebody else.”
Walstrand's landlord said she heard a thumping sound coming from the victim’s apartment next door last Monday night. But the landlord said it was the unceasing barking from Walstrand's dogs that made her think something was wrong and she called police.
WATCH KIRO NEWS VIDEO AND JENNIFER WALSTRAND'S MOTHER'S INTERVIEW
http://www.kirotv.com/news/24902519/detail.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss
Posted: 6:14 pm PDT September 6, 2010
KIRO7 Eyewitness News
DES MOINES, Wash. -- The mother of a Des Moines woman is asking for the public’s help to find whoever is responsible for killing her daughter a week ago at her apartment.
Jennifer Walstrand was found stabbed to death a few feet from the door of her apartment on 25th Avenue South.
The mother of the 29-year-old victim said she is devastated.
“I want justice because this is senseless,” said the victim’s mother, Lori Batinik.
Batinik said her daughter was her best friend. When they spent last Sunday together there was no hint of the horror that would come the next day.
“The last time I saw her she dropped me off right out here, we said goodbye, there was no sense that she was in danger or that something would happen to her,” said Batinik.
Batinik concedes her daughter may have let the killer inside. Walstrand was a recovering drug addict and prostitute. Batinik didn't approve and they talked about the dangers but she said, “You always think it’s going to happen to somebody else.”
Walstrand's landlord said she heard a thumping sound coming from the victim’s apartment next door last Monday night. But the landlord said it was the unceasing barking from Walstrand's dogs that made her think something was wrong and she called police.
WATCH KIRO NEWS VIDEO AND JENNIFER WALSTRAND'S MOTHER'S INTERVIEW
http://www.kirotv.com/news/24902519/detail.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss
Sunday, September 5, 2010
JENNIFER WALSTRAND: WHO CAN CATCH THE KILLER?
Jennifer Walstrand, 28, is someone known by a mututal friend of mine. This story hurt to read, and made me cry.
Beautiful Jennifer Walstrand was murdered! She died from multiple stab wounds and blunt- force injury to the head.
Des Moines police found Walstrand’s body in an apartment in the 24000 block of 25th Avenue South after a 911 call from the landlord, who lives next door.
Finding information about this horrific murder has been difficult.
The murder occured Tuesday, August 31, in the city of Des Moines, Washington. Des Moines is located on the east shore of Puget Sound, approximately halfway between the major cities of Seattle and Tacoma.
The Des Moines police have released very few details, no clues, no person of interest, no tip line to report information. They did state that all detectives were working to solve this case.
Bob Collins, a spokesman for the Des Moines Police Department, said police are following up on several leads. He said the case is a priority, and every detective has been assigned to it.
I did locate a phone number to report crimes. The Police Department is asking the public to provide the Department with any information that would assist the Des Moines Police Department to solve crimes.
Follow-up information should be directed to the Police Department by calling (206) 878-3301.
CHOMP doesn't write many articles on this blog, but this case was too close to my heart. I will report any news that I can find.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
DES MOINES: JENNIFER WALSTRAND, 28, HOMICIDE. PLEASE HELP
UPDATE: Murdered 28-Year Old Des Moines Woman Identified
Posted by Scott Schaefer on Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 11:06 pm
According to The Seattle Times, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the woman who was found murdered in her Des Moines apartment Tuesday as Jennifer L. Walstrand, 28.
Walstrand apparently died from multiple stab wounds and blunt-force injury to the head.
As we reported Tuesday (Aug. 31st), police found her body in a triplex apartment in the 24000 block of 25th Ave South, near Highline Community College.
Police say that the landlord of the complex, who lives in an adjacent unit, called 911 just after midnight, after hearing “thumping” sounds a short time earlier. The landlord also stated the dogs inside the unit were barking excessively, which was unusual.
READ MORE: JENNIFER WALSTRAND MURDERED. HELP FAMILY FIND THE KILLER.
http://www.waterlandblog.com/2010/09/02/update-murdered-28-year-old-des-moines-woman-identified/
Sunday, August 15, 2010
MITRICE RICHARDSON: REMAINS FOUND IN REMOTE MALIBU CANYON
Remains found in Malibu Canyon identified as Mitrice Richardson
By Alan Duke, CNN
August 13, 2010 10:55 a.m.
Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Skeletal remains found in a remote area of Malibu Canyon on Monday are those of Mitrice Richardson, a California woman who disappeared last year, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said Thursday.
Richardson, 24, was last seen leaving a sheriff's station in Malibu after being detained by sheriff's deputies on a citizen's arrest complaint made by a restaurant manager in September.
"We have no indication of a homicide at this point," Baca said. "I don't believe that the remains are capable of telling us a story."
The remains, which included a human skull, were found Monday by park rangers searching the area for marijuana groves, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.
"It's incredibly treacherous terrain," Whitmore said of the remote site. "There is no road, no trail even if you know exactly where you are going."
Whitmore describes the terrain while families wait for word
The woman's father reacted angrily after watching the sheriff's news conference from the rear of the room.
"Now you guys are going to see the real Michael Richardson come out," Michael Richardson said.
Richardson said he was holding sheriff's deputies responsible for his daughter's death, either because of negligence or criminal intent.
READ MYSTERIOUS DETAILS: HOW DID MITRICE RICHARDSON DISAPPEAR FROM JAIL?
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/12/california.remains.found/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_mostpopular+%28RSS%3A+Most+Popular%29
By Alan Duke, CNN
August 13, 2010 10:55 a.m.
Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Skeletal remains found in a remote area of Malibu Canyon on Monday are those of Mitrice Richardson, a California woman who disappeared last year, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said Thursday.
Richardson, 24, was last seen leaving a sheriff's station in Malibu after being detained by sheriff's deputies on a citizen's arrest complaint made by a restaurant manager in September.
"We have no indication of a homicide at this point," Baca said. "I don't believe that the remains are capable of telling us a story."
The remains, which included a human skull, were found Monday by park rangers searching the area for marijuana groves, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.
"It's incredibly treacherous terrain," Whitmore said of the remote site. "There is no road, no trail even if you know exactly where you are going."
Whitmore describes the terrain while families wait for word
The woman's father reacted angrily after watching the sheriff's news conference from the rear of the room.
"Now you guys are going to see the real Michael Richardson come out," Michael Richardson said.
Richardson said he was holding sheriff's deputies responsible for his daughter's death, either because of negligence or criminal intent.
READ MYSTERIOUS DETAILS: HOW DID MITRICE RICHARDSON DISAPPEAR FROM JAIL?
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/12/california.remains.found/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_mostpopular+%28RSS%3A+Most+Popular%29
PHILIP MARKOFF: CRAIGSLIST KILLER COMMITS SUICIDE IN JAIL
Alleged 'Craigslist Killer' Philip Markoff found dead in jail: police
BY Beverly Ford In Boston AND Helen Kennedy In New York
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Originally Published:Sunday, August 15th 2010, 1:32 PM
The Boston medical student who preyed on Craigslist escorts and murdered a Manhattan model last year was found dead in prison Sunday - an apparent suicide on what would have been his first wedding anniversary.
Philip Markoff, 24, was found dead Sunday morning in his Nashua St. Jail cell in Boston, where he was awaiting his March murder trial.
He may have died Saturday, the exact anniversary of his canceled wedding.
A prison source told the Daily News that Markoff was found with a plastic bag over his head, stabbed in the neck and legs. There was a lot of blood.
Prison officials would not confirm that report.
A separate source, a guard at the prison, told the News that Markoff's training in anatomy might have helped him beat anti-suicide measures.
"He's one step beyond other inmates and can do things other inmates can't, because he knows about the human body," the guard told the News. "He's a medical student so if he gets a sharp instrument, he might be able to bleed himself out."
Markoff was arrested in April 2009 for the murder of Julissa Brisman, 26, a model and aspiring actress from the Upper West Side.
Brisman, who moonlighted as an erotic masseuse, was shot dead when she fought Markoff's attempts to tie her up and rob her in the plush Marriott Copley Place hotel in downtown Boston.
Police said Markoff had answered her ad on Craiglist.
When Markoff, a native of upstate New York, was arrested, he was about to start medical school and marry Megan McAllister, his college sweetheart at the University of Albany.
They had a ritzy Jersey Shore wedding planned for Aug. 14, 2009.
READ MORE: PHILIP MARKOFF, JULISSA BRISMAN KILLER, DEAD
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/08/15/2010-08-15_alleged_craigslist_killer_philip_markoff_found_dead_in_jail_police.html
BY Beverly Ford In Boston AND Helen Kennedy In New York
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Originally Published:Sunday, August 15th 2010, 1:32 PM
The Boston medical student who preyed on Craigslist escorts and murdered a Manhattan model last year was found dead in prison Sunday - an apparent suicide on what would have been his first wedding anniversary.
Philip Markoff, 24, was found dead Sunday morning in his Nashua St. Jail cell in Boston, where he was awaiting his March murder trial.
He may have died Saturday, the exact anniversary of his canceled wedding.
A prison source told the Daily News that Markoff was found with a plastic bag over his head, stabbed in the neck and legs. There was a lot of blood.
Prison officials would not confirm that report.
A separate source, a guard at the prison, told the News that Markoff's training in anatomy might have helped him beat anti-suicide measures.
"He's one step beyond other inmates and can do things other inmates can't, because he knows about the human body," the guard told the News. "He's a medical student so if he gets a sharp instrument, he might be able to bleed himself out."
Markoff was arrested in April 2009 for the murder of Julissa Brisman, 26, a model and aspiring actress from the Upper West Side.
Brisman, who moonlighted as an erotic masseuse, was shot dead when she fought Markoff's attempts to tie her up and rob her in the plush Marriott Copley Place hotel in downtown Boston.
Police said Markoff had answered her ad on Craiglist.
When Markoff, a native of upstate New York, was arrested, he was about to start medical school and marry Megan McAllister, his college sweetheart at the University of Albany.
They had a ritzy Jersey Shore wedding planned for Aug. 14, 2009.
READ MORE: PHILIP MARKOFF, JULISSA BRISMAN KILLER, DEAD
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/08/15/2010-08-15_alleged_craigslist_killer_philip_markoff_found_dead_in_jail_police.html
Monday, July 5, 2010
3 KILLERS CONFESS: BEAT, THREW WALTER HULL OFF BRIDGE 20 YRS AGO
Janet Jensen Staff photographerThe Yaquina Bay Bridge stands at the edge of the Pacific Ocean in Newport, Ore. Three people recently admitted playing a part in tossing 16-year-old Walter Thomas Ackerson Jr. of Puyallup off the bridge in 1990. His body was never found.
Killer's confession caps 20 years of lies
SEAN ROBINSON; Staff writer /thenewstribune.com
Published: 07/04/10
For a long time, Karen Hull stopped saying she was the mother of a missing child. It was easier not to tell the story. The dreams came less.
For a long time, she didn’t know what happened to Walter in 1990. She knows now.
Walter Thomas Ackerson Jr., an undergrown Puyallup boy of 16, was beaten to death, or close to it. He was 200 miles from home, a student at a federal Job Corps center on the Oregon Coast.
His assailants: three older boys, fellow Job Corps students. After the beating, they carried Walter, perhaps still alive, to the second southbound pillar of Newport’s Yaquina Bay Bridge, a crescent of cable and steel looming 10 stories above the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
They shoved Walter over the rail and watched him fall.
They lied for 20 years.
THE FACTS
Confessions came in August 2009. Charges of first-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter were filed Wednesday in Lincoln County, Ore., Circuit Court: trial to follow, date to be determined.
The defendant: Troy Culver, 40, of Prineville, Ore., a one-time classmate of Walter’s at Job Corps. In multiple statements to police, he admitted killing the teen and throwing him off the bridge. Bail: $1.25 million.
Read facts about the senseless murder of Walter Hull in Oregon...
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/07/04/1251726/killers-confession-caps-20-years.html#ixzz0ssNgsBdy
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
OREGON: KYRON HORMAN, MORE MYSTERIES, MORE QUESTIONS
Mystery 911 Call to Kyron Horman's Home Adds to Police Case
Step-mother Terri Horman Pleaded Guilty of 'Reckless Endangerment' of Her Son
By NEAL KARLINKSY, SARAH NETTER and DEAN SCHABNER
June 30, 2010 / ABCNews.com
A call to 911 from the home of Kyron Horman's father and stepmother has been added to the police investigation of the 7-year-old boy's disappearance.
Sheriff's officials would confirm only that someone had called 911 from Kaine and Terri Horman's home late Saturday, the same day that Kaine Horman reportedly moved out, taking the couple's young daughter with him.
The reason for the call has not been released, and police said the call is now part of their case into Kyron's disappearance. Two days later, Kaine Horman filed for divorce and a restraining order against Terri Horman, the last person known to have seen Kyron alive nearly a month ago.
A records search of Terri Horman under her current, maiden and previous married names turned up a DUI conviction in 2005 in which she pleaded guilty not only to driving under the influence, but also to "reckless endangerment of another."
(snip)
The divorce papers cite "irreconcilable differences."
But to file the type of emergency restraining order that he did, Kaine Horman would have had to made the case that his wife posed an immediate threat to him or their 18-month old daughter, according to former FBI special agent Brad Garrett.
The restraining order prohibits Terri Horman from having contact with her other children, an older son and the toddler daughter. Kaine Horman is asking Oregon courts for sole custody of the little girl.
READ: WHERE IS KYRON HORMAN?
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/kyron-horman-family-crumbles-amid-explosive-court-documents/story?id=11050953
Step-mother Terri Horman Pleaded Guilty of 'Reckless Endangerment' of Her Son
By NEAL KARLINKSY, SARAH NETTER and DEAN SCHABNER
June 30, 2010 / ABCNews.com
A call to 911 from the home of Kyron Horman's father and stepmother has been added to the police investigation of the 7-year-old boy's disappearance.
Sheriff's officials would confirm only that someone had called 911 from Kaine and Terri Horman's home late Saturday, the same day that Kaine Horman reportedly moved out, taking the couple's young daughter with him.
The reason for the call has not been released, and police said the call is now part of their case into Kyron's disappearance. Two days later, Kaine Horman filed for divorce and a restraining order against Terri Horman, the last person known to have seen Kyron alive nearly a month ago.
A records search of Terri Horman under her current, maiden and previous married names turned up a DUI conviction in 2005 in which she pleaded guilty not only to driving under the influence, but also to "reckless endangerment of another."
(snip)
The divorce papers cite "irreconcilable differences."
But to file the type of emergency restraining order that he did, Kaine Horman would have had to made the case that his wife posed an immediate threat to him or their 18-month old daughter, according to former FBI special agent Brad Garrett.
The restraining order prohibits Terri Horman from having contact with her other children, an older son and the toddler daughter. Kaine Horman is asking Oregon courts for sole custody of the little girl.
READ: WHERE IS KYRON HORMAN?
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/kyron-horman-family-crumbles-amid-explosive-court-documents/story?id=11050953
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
JORAN van der SLOOT CONFESSES: "I DID NOT WANT TO DO IT..."
Police: Van der Sloot Confesses to Peru Killing
Published June 08, 2010 / FOXNews.com
Dutchman Joran van der Sloot, long the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of a U.S. teen in Aruba, has confessed to killing a young Peruvian woman in his Lima hotel room last week, a police spokesman said.
Peru's chief police spokesman, Col. Abel Gamarra, told The Associated Press that Van der Sloot admitted under police questioning Monday that he killed 21-year-old Stephany Flores on May 30.
According to La Republica newspaper, Van der Sloot told officials he broke Flores' neck in a rage after he discovered she had used his notebook computer without permission and learned he was involved in the disappearance of Holloway.
"I did not want to do it," La Republica quoted him as saying. "The girl intruded into my private life."
Asked about the Van der Sloot confession, a brother of the victim, Enrique Flores, told the AP "we are not going to make any comment. This is in the hands of the police, of the justice system."
(snip)
Gamarra said the case would now be turned over to prosecutors to present formal charges and Van der Sloot will be assigned to a prison while he awaits trial. Murder convictions carry a maximum of 35 years in prison in Peru and it was not immediately clear if a confession could lead to a reduced sentence.
READ: JORAN van der SLOOT CONFESSES TO KILLING STEPHANY FLORES...
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/06/08/report-van-der-sloot-confesses-peru-murder/
Published June 08, 2010 / FOXNews.com
Dutchman Joran van der Sloot, long the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of a U.S. teen in Aruba, has confessed to killing a young Peruvian woman in his Lima hotel room last week, a police spokesman said.
Peru's chief police spokesman, Col. Abel Gamarra, told The Associated Press that Van der Sloot admitted under police questioning Monday that he killed 21-year-old Stephany Flores on May 30.
According to La Republica newspaper, Van der Sloot told officials he broke Flores' neck in a rage after he discovered she had used his notebook computer without permission and learned he was involved in the disappearance of Holloway.
"I did not want to do it," La Republica quoted him as saying. "The girl intruded into my private life."
Asked about the Van der Sloot confession, a brother of the victim, Enrique Flores, told the AP "we are not going to make any comment. This is in the hands of the police, of the justice system."
(snip)
Gamarra said the case would now be turned over to prosecutors to present formal charges and Van der Sloot will be assigned to a prison while he awaits trial. Murder convictions carry a maximum of 35 years in prison in Peru and it was not immediately clear if a confession could lead to a reduced sentence.
READ: JORAN van der SLOOT CONFESSES TO KILLING STEPHANY FLORES...
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/06/08/report-van-der-sloot-confesses-peru-murder/
Sunday, June 6, 2010
WA: MICHELE ANDERSON, JOE McENROE ELGIBLE FOR DEATH PENALTY
Judge OKs death penalty option in Carnation killings
By Matt Markovich & KOMO Staff
Story Published: Jun 4, 2010
SEATTLE -- Prosecutors can seek the death penalty against Michele Anderson, the woman accused of killing six members of her family in Carnation on Christmas Eve 2007, following a judge's decision Friday.
Anderson and her former boyfriend, Joe McEnroe, are both of killing Anderson's parents, her brother, her brother's wife and her nephew and niece.
The two defendants' attorneys argued the prosecutor over-stepped the law by seeking the death penalty in their cases. They'd hoped the judge would find the state's death penalty laws too broad, making the two defendants ineligible for the punishment.
But in a lengthy decision that took Superior Court Judge Jeffery Ramsdell 40 minutes to read, he disagreed with their argument.
"Given the magnitude of these alleged crimes - the slaying of three generations of a family and particularly the slaying of two young children, I find that there are not sufficient reasons to keep the death penalty from being considered by the juries that will ultimately hear these matters," said the judge.
The judge's ruling validates a decision made by King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg to seek the death penalty against both defendants.
"I think the judge affirmed what Mr. Satterberg has been saying all along, and this doesn't change the nature of the case for the last two and half years," said Deputy Prosecutor James Konat.
Throughout the whole hearing, McEnroe rarely took his eyes off the judge. Anderson, on the other hand, stared away and rarely looked up.
READ: MICHELE ANDERSON AND JOE McENROE ELGIBLE FOR DEATH PENALTY FOR SLAUGHTER OF FAMILY...
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/95663319.html
By Matt Markovich & KOMO Staff
Story Published: Jun 4, 2010
SEATTLE -- Prosecutors can seek the death penalty against Michele Anderson, the woman accused of killing six members of her family in Carnation on Christmas Eve 2007, following a judge's decision Friday.
Anderson and her former boyfriend, Joe McEnroe, are both of killing Anderson's parents, her brother, her brother's wife and her nephew and niece.
The two defendants' attorneys argued the prosecutor over-stepped the law by seeking the death penalty in their cases. They'd hoped the judge would find the state's death penalty laws too broad, making the two defendants ineligible for the punishment.
But in a lengthy decision that took Superior Court Judge Jeffery Ramsdell 40 minutes to read, he disagreed with their argument.
"Given the magnitude of these alleged crimes - the slaying of three generations of a family and particularly the slaying of two young children, I find that there are not sufficient reasons to keep the death penalty from being considered by the juries that will ultimately hear these matters," said the judge.
The judge's ruling validates a decision made by King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg to seek the death penalty against both defendants.
"I think the judge affirmed what Mr. Satterberg has been saying all along, and this doesn't change the nature of the case for the last two and half years," said Deputy Prosecutor James Konat.
Throughout the whole hearing, McEnroe rarely took his eyes off the judge. Anderson, on the other hand, stared away and rarely looked up.
READ: MICHELE ANDERSON AND JOE McENROE ELGIBLE FOR DEATH PENALTY FOR SLAUGHTER OF FAMILY...
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/95663319.html
WA: LINDSEY BAUM GONE ONE YR, PEOPLE AND DOGS SEARCH FOREST
New search in disappearance of Lindsey Baum
by TRICIA MANNING-SMITH / KING 5 News
KING5.com / Posted on June 5, 2010
MCCLEARY, Wash. - The first anniversary of Lindsey Baum's disappearance is nearing. Crews are meticulously picking through different forested areas around McCleary this weekend, using new tactics to find evidence of her or her captor. Shoulder to shoulder, volunteers wield rakes, picks, even machetes. They're looking for anything that shouldn't naturally be there.
"This is probably the hardest part of the searching part for evidence, especially when you have to go through all the brush as these folks," said volunteer crew boss Doyle Wenzel. "Its amazing what you can find out in the forest that people have discarded. We found a safe earlier this morning, clothing, blankets, gloves.... "
Wenzel marks and categorizes every bit of potential evidence. This weekend's hunt through the brush around the Grays Harbor town of McCleary is a combination of old and new: Volunteers use old-fashioned hand tools to search out areas defined by new technology. Analysts sitting in offices have cross referenced computerized tips, GPS images and reports to narrow down the search field.
The lack off any solid evidence surrounding Baum's disappearance last June at least leaves hope that she might still be living. Yet, cadaver trained dogs also join the hunt for clues.
READ: NEW SEARCH FOR LINDSEY BAUM IN MCCLEARY, WASHINGTON...
http://www.king5.com/news/local/New-Search-in-Lindsey-Baum-Disappearance-Case-95697559.html
CHOMP: I live in Washington state, so this missing little girl is close to my heart. The searchers had a good day to search on Saturday, but today, Sunday, it is raining. One thing I learned about Seattle people, the rain doesn't make any difference; they keep on going and doing like it's a normal, summer day. So the rain won't delay the search for Lindsey Baum.
by TRICIA MANNING-SMITH / KING 5 News
KING5.com / Posted on June 5, 2010
MCCLEARY, Wash. - The first anniversary of Lindsey Baum's disappearance is nearing. Crews are meticulously picking through different forested areas around McCleary this weekend, using new tactics to find evidence of her or her captor. Shoulder to shoulder, volunteers wield rakes, picks, even machetes. They're looking for anything that shouldn't naturally be there.
"This is probably the hardest part of the searching part for evidence, especially when you have to go through all the brush as these folks," said volunteer crew boss Doyle Wenzel. "Its amazing what you can find out in the forest that people have discarded. We found a safe earlier this morning, clothing, blankets, gloves.... "
Wenzel marks and categorizes every bit of potential evidence. This weekend's hunt through the brush around the Grays Harbor town of McCleary is a combination of old and new: Volunteers use old-fashioned hand tools to search out areas defined by new technology. Analysts sitting in offices have cross referenced computerized tips, GPS images and reports to narrow down the search field.
The lack off any solid evidence surrounding Baum's disappearance last June at least leaves hope that she might still be living. Yet, cadaver trained dogs also join the hunt for clues.
READ: NEW SEARCH FOR LINDSEY BAUM IN MCCLEARY, WASHINGTON...
http://www.king5.com/news/local/New-Search-in-Lindsey-Baum-Disappearance-Case-95697559.html
CHOMP: I live in Washington state, so this missing little girl is close to my heart. The searchers had a good day to search on Saturday, but today, Sunday, it is raining. One thing I learned about Seattle people, the rain doesn't make any difference; they keep on going and doing like it's a normal, summer day. So the rain won't delay the search for Lindsey Baum.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
ILLINOIS: SEARCH FOR STACY PETERSON AT HUNTING GROUND
Following New Lead, Illinois Authorities Dig for Body of Stacy Peterson
Published June 05, 2010 / FOXNews.com
DEVELOPING: Authorities in rural Illinois began digging Saturday for the remains of missing woman Stacy Peterson, Fox News has confirmed.
Following a new lead in the woman's disappearance, authorities are searching for "human remains" in an area east of Peoria, Ill., the Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday.
Sources reportedly told the newspaper that investigators, using dogs, searched a hunting ground east of Peoria on Friday and then returned Saturday to dig in a specific area.
Peterson disappeared in October 2007. Her case drew national attention after her husband Drew Peterson, a 56-year-old ex-cop, was named a suspect in both her disappearance and the death of a previous wife.
"There is a search underway for human remains, however no human remains have been located at this point," Peoria County Coroner Johanna Ingersoll told the newspaper.
As state police scoured the rural area on Saturday, Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, called the situation "patently ridiculous."
Brodsky said Peterson's position is that Stacy ran off with another man.
"The current report about Stacy Peterson is just another in a long line of baseless allegations against Drew Peterson," Brodsky said in a statement Saturday.
"Ever since Stacy disappeared there have been numerous rumors, gossip and reports about Drew Peterson. The one thing all of these stories have in common is that they always prove to be false and there are never any facts or evidence to back them up," he said
Peterson is scheduled to go on trial next month on charges of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio. No one has been charged in Stacy Peterson's case.
READ: WILL STACY PETERSON EVER BE FOUND?
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/05/following-new-lead-illinois-authorities-dig-body-stacy-peterson/
Published June 05, 2010 / FOXNews.com
DEVELOPING: Authorities in rural Illinois began digging Saturday for the remains of missing woman Stacy Peterson, Fox News has confirmed.
Following a new lead in the woman's disappearance, authorities are searching for "human remains" in an area east of Peoria, Ill., the Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday.
Sources reportedly told the newspaper that investigators, using dogs, searched a hunting ground east of Peoria on Friday and then returned Saturday to dig in a specific area.
Peterson disappeared in October 2007. Her case drew national attention after her husband Drew Peterson, a 56-year-old ex-cop, was named a suspect in both her disappearance and the death of a previous wife.
"There is a search underway for human remains, however no human remains have been located at this point," Peoria County Coroner Johanna Ingersoll told the newspaper.
As state police scoured the rural area on Saturday, Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, called the situation "patently ridiculous."
Brodsky said Peterson's position is that Stacy ran off with another man.
"The current report about Stacy Peterson is just another in a long line of baseless allegations against Drew Peterson," Brodsky said in a statement Saturday.
"Ever since Stacy disappeared there have been numerous rumors, gossip and reports about Drew Peterson. The one thing all of these stories have in common is that they always prove to be false and there are never any facts or evidence to back them up," he said
Peterson is scheduled to go on trial next month on charges of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio. No one has been charged in Stacy Peterson's case.
READ: WILL STACY PETERSON EVER BE FOUND?
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/05/following-new-lead-illinois-authorities-dig-body-stacy-peterson/
Thursday, June 3, 2010
RENO: JAMES BIELA, DEATH FOR KILLING BRIANNA DENISON; I APPROVE!
Death penalty for James Biela
posted on: June 3, 2010
Death for James Biela. Justice for Bri.
The blue-ribbon-lined buttons bearing Brianna Denison's smiling face that appeared on the lapels of dozens of people in the courtroom after the verdict summed it up."It's what we wanted," said Lauren Denison, Brianna's aunt.
"It turned out right," said Barbara Zunino, Brianna's grandmother.
"Justice was served," said retired Reno police Detective Adam Wygnanski, one of the lead investigators on the case. "The jury had a tough job and they did it."
After three-and-a-half weeks of trial, testimony from 60 witnesses and nine hours of deliberations, the seven-woman, five-man jury rejected his lawyers' calls for life without parole and sentenced Biela to death for the 2008 rape and murder of 19-year-old Denison.
On the verdict form, the jurors acknowledged that Biela experienced a cruel and painful childhood but still agreed that he should die by lethal injection.
After the decision was announced, Judge Robert Perry told everyone in the courtroom: "My heart goes out to all of the innocent people who have been touched by this tragedy." He set July 30 for sentencing Beila on the kidnapping and two counts of sexual assault on other women.
READ: THIS SITE IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF BRIANNA DENISON...
The Bring Bri Justice Foundation will use all available resources to help our community and their families by raising awareness about violent crimes, personal safety, and ensuring justice is served.
http://www.briannadenison.org/
posted on: June 3, 2010
Death for James Biela. Justice for Bri.
The blue-ribbon-lined buttons bearing Brianna Denison's smiling face that appeared on the lapels of dozens of people in the courtroom after the verdict summed it up."It's what we wanted," said Lauren Denison, Brianna's aunt.
"It turned out right," said Barbara Zunino, Brianna's grandmother.
"Justice was served," said retired Reno police Detective Adam Wygnanski, one of the lead investigators on the case. "The jury had a tough job and they did it."
After three-and-a-half weeks of trial, testimony from 60 witnesses and nine hours of deliberations, the seven-woman, five-man jury rejected his lawyers' calls for life without parole and sentenced Biela to death for the 2008 rape and murder of 19-year-old Denison.
On the verdict form, the jurors acknowledged that Biela experienced a cruel and painful childhood but still agreed that he should die by lethal injection.
After the decision was announced, Judge Robert Perry told everyone in the courtroom: "My heart goes out to all of the innocent people who have been touched by this tragedy." He set July 30 for sentencing Beila on the kidnapping and two counts of sexual assault on other women.
READ: THIS SITE IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF BRIANNA DENISON...
The Bring Bri Justice Foundation will use all available resources to help our community and their families by raising awareness about violent crimes, personal safety, and ensuring justice is served.
http://www.briannadenison.org/
JORAN van der SLOOT: CAPTURED FOR DEATH OF STEPHANY FLORES IN HIS ROOM
Joran Van Der Sloot ARRESTED In Peru Murder Case
FRANK BAJAK and FRANKLIN BRICENO
06/ 3/10 09
Associated Press writers Eva Vergara in Santiago, Chile, Carla Salazar in Lima, Kendall Weaver in Montgomery, Alabama, Mike Warren in Buenos Aires and Michael Melia in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report.
LIMA, Peru — He was the last person to see two young women alive – one in Aruba, one in Peru exactly five years later, police say. Joran van der Sloot was caught in a taxi Thursday, several days drive and a country away from the Lima hotel room where the second woman was found face down with a broken neck.
A fixture on TV true-crime shows after Natalee Holloway's disappearance in Aruba, the 22-year-old Dutchman did not speak or even turn his head when photographers shouted his name as Chilean police escorted him, without handcuffs, into a Santiago office for questioning.
Aruban authorities didn't prosecute van der Sloot even after he was caught on video saying he had asked a friend to dump Holloway's body. The Alabama woman's family was outraged by how Aruban authorities handled the case, and now the family of another young woman wants justice.
Van der Sloot was arrested the same day he was charged in Alabama with trying to extort $250,000 in return for giving the location of Holloway's body and describing the circumstances of Holloway's death. Federal prosecutors did not say who was allegedly extorted but filed a sworn statement saying that van der Sloot got a partial payment of $15,000 wired to a Netherlands bank.
"This isn't a coincidence, this murder," Stephany Flores' anguished father, Lima entertainment impresario Ricardo Flores, told reporters after van der Sloot's arrest.
READ: JORAN van der SLOOT AND THE MURDER OF STEPHANY FLORES...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/03/joran-van-der-sloot-prime_n_598881.html
FRANK BAJAK and FRANKLIN BRICENO
06/ 3/10 09
Associated Press writers Eva Vergara in Santiago, Chile, Carla Salazar in Lima, Kendall Weaver in Montgomery, Alabama, Mike Warren in Buenos Aires and Michael Melia in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report.
LIMA, Peru — He was the last person to see two young women alive – one in Aruba, one in Peru exactly five years later, police say. Joran van der Sloot was caught in a taxi Thursday, several days drive and a country away from the Lima hotel room where the second woman was found face down with a broken neck.
A fixture on TV true-crime shows after Natalee Holloway's disappearance in Aruba, the 22-year-old Dutchman did not speak or even turn his head when photographers shouted his name as Chilean police escorted him, without handcuffs, into a Santiago office for questioning.
Aruban authorities didn't prosecute van der Sloot even after he was caught on video saying he had asked a friend to dump Holloway's body. The Alabama woman's family was outraged by how Aruban authorities handled the case, and now the family of another young woman wants justice.
Van der Sloot was arrested the same day he was charged in Alabama with trying to extort $250,000 in return for giving the location of Holloway's body and describing the circumstances of Holloway's death. Federal prosecutors did not say who was allegedly extorted but filed a sworn statement saying that van der Sloot got a partial payment of $15,000 wired to a Netherlands bank.
"This isn't a coincidence, this murder," Stephany Flores' anguished father, Lima entertainment impresario Ricardo Flores, told reporters after van der Sloot's arrest.
READ: JORAN van der SLOOT AND THE MURDER OF STEPHANY FLORES...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/03/joran-van-der-sloot-prime_n_598881.html
Monday, May 31, 2010
BERESFORD-REDMAN: MEMORIAL FOR MONICA, BRUCE LEAVES MEXICO
Memorial for Monica Beresford-Redman
Husband, Bruce Beresford-Redman, questioned.
Reporter: Christina Gonzalez / Text Story by: City News
MyFOXla.com / Monday, 31 May 2010
Culver City - A private memorial service was held Sunday afternoon to honor Monica Beresford-Redman, whose husband is considered a person of interest in her death in Cancun.
Dozens of Beresford-Redman's friends streamed into the service at the Agape International Spiritual Center, which was closed to the media. But outside Agape, her sister and friends remembered her as a wonderful person a vowed to see that "justice is done."
Beresford-Redman's body was found beaten and strangled in a sewer April 8, on what would have been her 42nd birthday. Her husband, former "Survivor" producer and "Pimp My Ride" co-creator Bruce Beresford-Redman, has been questioned in the killing, but no charges have been filed.
Despite reports Bruce Beresford-Redman had been ordered to remain in Mexico pending the outcome of the investigation, he returned to Los Angeles last week and was spending time with his two children at the family's home in Rancho Palos Verdes.
READ UPDATE: SURVIVOR PRODUCER LEFT MEXICO, WHO KILLED MONICA BERESFORD-REDMAN?
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/monica-beresford-redman-memorial-service-20100530
Husband, Bruce Beresford-Redman, questioned.
Reporter: Christina Gonzalez / Text Story by: City News
MyFOXla.com / Monday, 31 May 2010
Culver City - A private memorial service was held Sunday afternoon to honor Monica Beresford-Redman, whose husband is considered a person of interest in her death in Cancun.
Dozens of Beresford-Redman's friends streamed into the service at the Agape International Spiritual Center, which was closed to the media. But outside Agape, her sister and friends remembered her as a wonderful person a vowed to see that "justice is done."
Beresford-Redman's body was found beaten and strangled in a sewer April 8, on what would have been her 42nd birthday. Her husband, former "Survivor" producer and "Pimp My Ride" co-creator Bruce Beresford-Redman, has been questioned in the killing, but no charges have been filed.
Despite reports Bruce Beresford-Redman had been ordered to remain in Mexico pending the outcome of the investigation, he returned to Los Angeles last week and was spending time with his two children at the family's home in Rancho Palos Verdes.
READ UPDATE: SURVIVOR PRODUCER LEFT MEXICO, WHO KILLED MONICA BERESFORD-REDMAN?
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/monica-beresford-redman-memorial-service-20100530
Thursday, May 27, 2010
BRIANNA DENISON: JAMES BIELA GUILTY ON COUNTS 1-2-3-4-5
Serial Rapist Found Guilty of Rape and Murder of Nevada Coed
Published May 27, 2010 / Associated Press
RENO, Nev. -- A Nevada man was convicted Thursday of raping and strangling a 19-year-old college coed during a string of attacks that had the city of Reno on edge two years ago.
A Washoe County District Court jury found James Biela guilty of all five counts tied to the murder of Brianna Denison and sexual assault of two other young women.
Biela showed little emotion, standing with his hands crossed in front of his waist as the verdict was read.
"It's a good verdict, well deserved," District Attorney Dick Gammick said. "Cases like this always strengthen my faith and belief in the jury system."
The same jury that took about six hours to reach a verdict now must decide whether the 28-year-old pipe fitter from Sparks should be sentenced to death.
The sexual assaults began in the fall of 2007 around the University of Nevada, Reno campus just north of the downtown casino district and culminated in Denison's strangulation in January 2008.Detectives said it was the work of a serial rapist who stalked petite women and had a fetish for thong underwear.
Fueled by thousands of tips and calls to an anonymous hot line, a nine-month-long manhunt led them to Biela, who was arrested in November 2008 after his ex-girlfriend let police take DNA from their son.
Biela's public defenders called only one witness during the trial.
READ MORE: JAMES BIELA, SERIAL KILLER, MURDERED BRIANNA DENISON...
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/27/man-guilty-rape-murder-nevada-coed/?test=latestnews
Published May 27, 2010 / Associated Press
RENO, Nev. -- A Nevada man was convicted Thursday of raping and strangling a 19-year-old college coed during a string of attacks that had the city of Reno on edge two years ago.
A Washoe County District Court jury found James Biela guilty of all five counts tied to the murder of Brianna Denison and sexual assault of two other young women.
Biela showed little emotion, standing with his hands crossed in front of his waist as the verdict was read.
"It's a good verdict, well deserved," District Attorney Dick Gammick said. "Cases like this always strengthen my faith and belief in the jury system."
The same jury that took about six hours to reach a verdict now must decide whether the 28-year-old pipe fitter from Sparks should be sentenced to death.
The sexual assaults began in the fall of 2007 around the University of Nevada, Reno campus just north of the downtown casino district and culminated in Denison's strangulation in January 2008.Detectives said it was the work of a serial rapist who stalked petite women and had a fetish for thong underwear.
Fueled by thousands of tips and calls to an anonymous hot line, a nine-month-long manhunt led them to Biela, who was arrested in November 2008 after his ex-girlfriend let police take DNA from their son.
Biela's public defenders called only one witness during the trial.
READ MORE: JAMES BIELA, SERIAL KILLER, MURDERED BRIANNA DENISON...
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/27/man-guilty-rape-murder-nevada-coed/?test=latestnews
Friday, May 21, 2010
MICHELLE LEE: GARY McGURK PLEADS GUILTY TO BRUTAL KILLING
Gary McGurk pleads guilty to brutally killing NYPD criminologist and ex-girlfriend Michelle Lee
BY Lisa L. Colangelo, Staff Writer
NY DAILY NEWS / Friday, May, 2010
A 24-year-old Queens man pleaded guilty Thursday to the brutal 2009 slaying of his ex-girlfriend, an NYPD criminologist.
Gary McGurk admitted to slamming Michelle Lee in the head with an hammer, stabbing her in the neck with a knife and burning her body with an iron.
He then posed her battered, naked body in an effort to throw off investigators.
"I positioned her on the bed," McGurk told Queens Supreme Court Judge Gregory Lasak. "I positioned a knife in her neck."
Investigators said McGurk, who bilked the 24-year-old Lee out of thousands of dollars by pretending he had cancer, may have become enraged when she decided to cut him off.
McGurk told cops he had an on-again, off-again sexual relationship with Lee since meeting her at the CUNY John Jay College gym in 2004, where he played soccer.
"Sweet girl. Friends first, herself last," McGurk said in a statement. "She told me that she made bad decisions. I told her that I was a bad decision, joking."
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/05/21/2010-05-21_guilty_plea_in_horror_slay_of_nypd_criminologist.html
BY Lisa L. Colangelo, Staff Writer
NY DAILY NEWS / Friday, May, 2010
A 24-year-old Queens man pleaded guilty Thursday to the brutal 2009 slaying of his ex-girlfriend, an NYPD criminologist.
Gary McGurk admitted to slamming Michelle Lee in the head with an hammer, stabbing her in the neck with a knife and burning her body with an iron.
He then posed her battered, naked body in an effort to throw off investigators.
"I positioned her on the bed," McGurk told Queens Supreme Court Judge Gregory Lasak. "I positioned a knife in her neck."
Investigators said McGurk, who bilked the 24-year-old Lee out of thousands of dollars by pretending he had cancer, may have become enraged when she decided to cut him off.
McGurk told cops he had an on-again, off-again sexual relationship with Lee since meeting her at the CUNY John Jay College gym in 2004, where he played soccer.
"Sweet girl. Friends first, herself last," McGurk said in a statement. "She told me that she made bad decisions. I told her that I was a bad decision, joking."
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/05/21/2010-05-21_guilty_plea_in_horror_slay_of_nypd_criminologist.html
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
GREELEY, CO: KAYLEAH WILSON FOUND IN DITCH
Autopsy of body found near where Kayleah Wilson was last seen complete; ID to come soon
By Howard Pankratz and Monte Whaley
The Denver Post / Posted: 05/19/2010
Weld County medical investigators have completed the autopsy of a badly decomposed body found in an irrigation ditch this morning near where Kayleah Wilson was last seen on March 28.
Chief deputy coroner Mark Ward said his office is working with local experts using fingerprint, DNA and dental analysis to made a final determination on the identity of the body found by a ditch rider at about 6 a.m.
He hopes to make an identification soon.
"People are waiting," Ward said. "They are holding their collective breath over the identification of this body."
Greeley Police Sgt. Joe Tymkowych said investigators also are looking at evidence collected today in and near a ditch south of Sunset Memorial Cemetery.
"At this point, its a matter of putting together information we got from the body," Tymkowych said.
He said it is unlikely that identification will come tonight.
The body was found about a mile west of the Greeley Mall, where 12-year-old Kayleah was last seen as she walked from her home to a friend's birthday party a few blocks away.
About 10 a.m., the body was removed from the ditch and taken to McKee Medical Center for identification.
This afternoon, Kayleah's mother, April Wilson returned to her home evidently distraught. Her grandmother, Brenda Jamison, said the family had been contacted by the Weld County Coroner, but would not say whether they had been told the body was Kayleah.
READ UPDATE ON KAYLEAH WILSON...
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_15117338
By Howard Pankratz and Monte Whaley
The Denver Post / Posted: 05/19/2010
Weld County medical investigators have completed the autopsy of a badly decomposed body found in an irrigation ditch this morning near where Kayleah Wilson was last seen on March 28.
Chief deputy coroner Mark Ward said his office is working with local experts using fingerprint, DNA and dental analysis to made a final determination on the identity of the body found by a ditch rider at about 6 a.m.
He hopes to make an identification soon.
"People are waiting," Ward said. "They are holding their collective breath over the identification of this body."
Greeley Police Sgt. Joe Tymkowych said investigators also are looking at evidence collected today in and near a ditch south of Sunset Memorial Cemetery.
"At this point, its a matter of putting together information we got from the body," Tymkowych said.
He said it is unlikely that identification will come tonight.
The body was found about a mile west of the Greeley Mall, where 12-year-old Kayleah was last seen as she walked from her home to a friend's birthday party a few blocks away.
About 10 a.m., the body was removed from the ditch and taken to McKee Medical Center for identification.
This afternoon, Kayleah's mother, April Wilson returned to her home evidently distraught. Her grandmother, Brenda Jamison, said the family had been contacted by the Weld County Coroner, but would not say whether they had been told the body was Kayleah.
READ UPDATE ON KAYLEAH WILSON...
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_15117338
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
MELISSA HUCKABY PLEADS GUILTY TO KILLING SANDRA CANTU, AGE 8
Calif. woman pleads guilty in Sandra Cantu murder
By TERRY COLLINS and MARCUS WOHLSEN (AP)
May 11, 2010
TRACY, Calif. — A local Sunday school teacher's guilty plea in the killing of an 8-year-old girl has brought relief to residents of this small California city, even as disturbing questions remained — including how, where and why the girl was murdered.
Hours after 29-year-old Melissa Huckaby admitted on Monday to killing Sandra Cantu, police stood guard at the entrance to the mobile home park where both the victim and the defendant lived.
Evelyn McClelland, 61, a neighborhood resident for 26 years, believed the plea in last year's killing will bring some measure of peace to the victim's family and to a Northern California community striving to overcome the mistrust that descended after the girl's disappearance.
"The children are back outside playing again. This all closes a very painful chapter in Tracy," McClelland said.
A 10-day search after Sandra — a playmate of Huckaby's daughter — went missing in March 2009 ended when her body was found stuffed in a black suitcase pulled from an irrigation pond a few miles from the mobile home park.
Huckaby was arrested less than a week later after telling a reporter that the suitcase that contained Sandra's body was hers, but it had been stolen out of her driveway the day Sandra disappeared.
Her guilty plea in San Joaquin County Superior Court to first-degree murder with a special circumstance of kidnapping came in a deal with prosecutors.
All other charges — including two involving rape and lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14 — were dropped under the agreement, according to court spokeswoman Sharon Morris. Huckaby would have been eligible for the death penalty if convicted in a jury trial.
Morris said Huckaby now faces 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole when she is sentenced next month.
READ MORE ABOUT MELISSA HUCKABY'S GUILTY PLEA ...
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hTgIBQMy%20R5y2qNQNgf0qhvaroXQQD9FKGDS00
By TERRY COLLINS and MARCUS WOHLSEN (AP)
May 11, 2010
TRACY, Calif. — A local Sunday school teacher's guilty plea in the killing of an 8-year-old girl has brought relief to residents of this small California city, even as disturbing questions remained — including how, where and why the girl was murdered.
Hours after 29-year-old Melissa Huckaby admitted on Monday to killing Sandra Cantu, police stood guard at the entrance to the mobile home park where both the victim and the defendant lived.
Evelyn McClelland, 61, a neighborhood resident for 26 years, believed the plea in last year's killing will bring some measure of peace to the victim's family and to a Northern California community striving to overcome the mistrust that descended after the girl's disappearance.
"The children are back outside playing again. This all closes a very painful chapter in Tracy," McClelland said.
A 10-day search after Sandra — a playmate of Huckaby's daughter — went missing in March 2009 ended when her body was found stuffed in a black suitcase pulled from an irrigation pond a few miles from the mobile home park.
Huckaby was arrested less than a week later after telling a reporter that the suitcase that contained Sandra's body was hers, but it had been stolen out of her driveway the day Sandra disappeared.
Her guilty plea in San Joaquin County Superior Court to first-degree murder with a special circumstance of kidnapping came in a deal with prosecutors.
All other charges — including two involving rape and lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14 — were dropped under the agreement, according to court spokeswoman Sharon Morris. Huckaby would have been eligible for the death penalty if convicted in a jury trial.
Morris said Huckaby now faces 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole when she is sentenced next month.
READ MORE ABOUT MELISSA HUCKABY'S GUILTY PLEA ...
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hTgIBQMy%20R5y2qNQNgf0qhvaroXQQD9FKGDS00
Friday, May 7, 2010
SEATTLE: JIM SANDER'S WIDOW FORGIVES CRAIGSLIST KILLERS
Widow of murder victim forgives his killers
by LORI MATSUKAWA
KING 5 News / KING5.com
Posted on May 6, 2010
PUYALLUP, Wash. - Charlene Sanders is a woman of great faith who says she will carry on the mission of her late husband, Jim Sanders.
"That is my mission now," she says from Bethany Baptist Church where she worships. "To finish what my husband started with witnessing (for Christ). He wanted to see people come to Christ, even murderers."
Jim Sanders was shot and killed April 28 in front of Charlene and their two sons during a robbery in their home. Four people are in custody in what's being called the Craigslist robbery because the suspects pretended to be interested in buying a diamond ring Sanders advertised on Craigslist.
When Charlene saw the female suspect, Amanda Knight, during her arraignment Wednesday, she said it was "chilling."
"I remember thinking, 'Your phone call to my husband, the female voice, is what probably made him let his guard down,'" said Sanders.
She says she'll never forget the look on her husband's face.
READ AND WATCH VIDEO: JIM SANDER'S WIFE CHARLENE SANDERS...
http://www.king5.com/video/featured-videos/1-on-1-with-Charlene-Sanders-93033134.html
by LORI MATSUKAWA
KING 5 News / KING5.com
Posted on May 6, 2010
PUYALLUP, Wash. - Charlene Sanders is a woman of great faith who says she will carry on the mission of her late husband, Jim Sanders.
"That is my mission now," she says from Bethany Baptist Church where she worships. "To finish what my husband started with witnessing (for Christ). He wanted to see people come to Christ, even murderers."
Jim Sanders was shot and killed April 28 in front of Charlene and their two sons during a robbery in their home. Four people are in custody in what's being called the Craigslist robbery because the suspects pretended to be interested in buying a diamond ring Sanders advertised on Craigslist.
When Charlene saw the female suspect, Amanda Knight, during her arraignment Wednesday, she said it was "chilling."
"I remember thinking, 'Your phone call to my husband, the female voice, is what probably made him let his guard down,'" said Sanders.
She says she'll never forget the look on her husband's face.
READ AND WATCH VIDEO: JIM SANDER'S WIFE CHARLENE SANDERS...
http://www.king5.com/video/featured-videos/1-on-1-with-Charlene-Sanders-93033134.html
SEATTLE: CRAIGSLIST SUSPECT AMANDA KNIGHT SOBS IN COURT
Female suspect in Craigslist murder cries in court
by DREW MIKKELSEN
KING 5 News and KING5.com / Posted on May 5, 2010
TACOMA, Wash. - Twenty-one-year-old Amanda Knight cried as she made her first court appearance Wednesday, pleading not guilty to murder, assault and robbery charges in a deadly Craigslist home invasion robbery.
Bail was set at $2 million.
Knight is charged along with 22-year-old Kiyoshi A. Higashi, 20-year-old Joshua N. Reese and 23-year-old Clabon T. Berniard in the killing of Jim Sanders, who had offered a ring for sale on Craigslist.
Members of the Sanders family were in court for Knight's arraignment.
"I'm thinking, 'she's crying,' what do you think you put my family through," said Jim Sanders' wife, Charlene. "I mean, really, you guys made that choice to come to my house."
"There's consequences to every sin. You took my husband, you think I don’t cry?"
"I was supposed to be in the Dominican Republic on a beautiful vacation with some of my family and instead my vacation time turned into bereavement time," she said.
According to amended charging documents on Knight, Reese told Pierce County detectives that "he was involved in the events at the Sanders residence."
Knight also "confirmed that she was involved in the events at the Sanders residence."
Investigators also say they have linked Knight to a similar home invasion in Lake Stevens.
READ ABOUT AMANDA KNIGHT...
http://www.king5.com/news/local/Police-Edgewood-suspect-pawned-ring-taken-from-Lake-Stevens-home-92891024.html
by DREW MIKKELSEN
KING 5 News and KING5.com / Posted on May 5, 2010
TACOMA, Wash. - Twenty-one-year-old Amanda Knight cried as she made her first court appearance Wednesday, pleading not guilty to murder, assault and robbery charges in a deadly Craigslist home invasion robbery.
Bail was set at $2 million.
Knight is charged along with 22-year-old Kiyoshi A. Higashi, 20-year-old Joshua N. Reese and 23-year-old Clabon T. Berniard in the killing of Jim Sanders, who had offered a ring for sale on Craigslist.
Members of the Sanders family were in court for Knight's arraignment.
"I'm thinking, 'she's crying,' what do you think you put my family through," said Jim Sanders' wife, Charlene. "I mean, really, you guys made that choice to come to my house."
"There's consequences to every sin. You took my husband, you think I don’t cry?"
"I was supposed to be in the Dominican Republic on a beautiful vacation with some of my family and instead my vacation time turned into bereavement time," she said.
According to amended charging documents on Knight, Reese told Pierce County detectives that "he was involved in the events at the Sanders residence."
Knight also "confirmed that she was involved in the events at the Sanders residence."
Investigators also say they have linked Knight to a similar home invasion in Lake Stevens.
READ ABOUT AMANDA KNIGHT...
http://www.king5.com/news/local/Police-Edgewood-suspect-pawned-ring-taken-from-Lake-Stevens-home-92891024.html
Saturday, May 1, 2010
CRAIGSLIST MURDER AGAIN: 4 INVADE EDGEWOOD, WA HOME, $1000 REWARD
Reward offered in Edgewood home invasion murder
by DREW MIKKELSEN / KING 5 News
NWCN.com / Posted on April 30, 2010
EDGEWOOD, Wash. - A $1,000 reward is now being offered in the murder of an Edgewood man who was shot while protecting his family during a home invasion robbery Wednesday.
Pierce County detectives say the robbery that ended in the death of Jim Sanders has genterated a lot of tips from the public, but none of the tips have helped them find the killers. Detectives say a tip from the public will be the only way to catch those responsible.
Sanders, 43, was selling a diamond ring on Craigslist. A woman contacted the family, saying she wanted to buy it for a Mother's Day gift. The woman came to the home with three armed men wearing bandannas. The house was ransacked. The family was tied up and beaten up. Sanders was killed after he tried to defend his family, said police.
Investigators believe the same group of robbers hit a home in Lake Stevens last weekend. In that case, the homeowner was tied up and robbed after posting an ad on Craigslist for a big screen TV.
Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and charges filed in the case. All callers can remain anonymous. Call (253) 591-5959.
EDGEWOOD, WA: SEE SKETCHES OF CRAIGSLIST KILLERS...
http://www.nwcn.com/news/washington/911-tapes-released-in-Craigslist-home-homicide-92506054.html
by DREW MIKKELSEN / KING 5 News
NWCN.com / Posted on April 30, 2010
EDGEWOOD, Wash. - A $1,000 reward is now being offered in the murder of an Edgewood man who was shot while protecting his family during a home invasion robbery Wednesday.
Pierce County detectives say the robbery that ended in the death of Jim Sanders has genterated a lot of tips from the public, but none of the tips have helped them find the killers. Detectives say a tip from the public will be the only way to catch those responsible.
Sanders, 43, was selling a diamond ring on Craigslist. A woman contacted the family, saying she wanted to buy it for a Mother's Day gift. The woman came to the home with three armed men wearing bandannas. The house was ransacked. The family was tied up and beaten up. Sanders was killed after he tried to defend his family, said police.
Investigators believe the same group of robbers hit a home in Lake Stevens last weekend. In that case, the homeowner was tied up and robbed after posting an ad on Craigslist for a big screen TV.
Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and charges filed in the case. All callers can remain anonymous. Call (253) 591-5959.
EDGEWOOD, WA: SEE SKETCHES OF CRAIGSLIST KILLERS...
http://www.nwcn.com/news/washington/911-tapes-released-in-Craigslist-home-homicide-92506054.html
LAURA GARZA REMAINS ID'd: SEX OFFENDER MICHAEL MELE IN JAIL
Laura Garza's Remains Found: Michael Mele Seen Leaving Club Marquee With Aspiring Dancer Night Of Disappearance
JIM FITZGERALD / 04/26/10 / HUFFINGTONPOST.COM
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — Remains found two weeks ago in Pennsylvania have been identified as those of an aspiring dancer from Texas who disappeared after leaving a New York City night club in 2008 with a registered sex offender, state police said Monday.
A DNA analysis confirmed the identity of 25-year-old Laura Garza of Brooklyn. She had moved to New York from McAllen, Texas, five months before she disappeared.
A group of ATV riders found the remains April 11 in Mount Cobb, Pa., several miles outside of Scranton, said Capt. Wayne Olson.
A watch described as one Garza was wearing when she disappeared was found on the remains, Olson said. Forensic experts will be brought in to examine the skeleton and determine how Garza died, he said.
"We've been in mourning since Friday, when the police told us," said a cousin, Isela Villalobos of McAllen, Texas. "It has been very difficult for the family. Laura's mother was expecting for her daughter to come in the door until that dream was shattered Friday afternoon.
"All we do is think of Laura. We have moments when we cry. We have moments when we laugh," Villalobos said in a phone interview from her restaurant in Mission, Texas. "Nothing has changed in her home in McAllen."
Garza left the bar on Dec. 3, 2008, with registered sex offender Michael Mele. He has been investigated but not charged in the case.
Mele is being held at Midstate state prison in Marcy, N.Y., for an unrelated offense. A board denied him parole in March, citing his "history of sexually deviant behavior."
READ MORE: LAURA GARZA FOUND, WILL MICHAEL MELE BE CHARGED?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/27/laura-garzas-remains-foun_n_552626.html
JIM FITZGERALD / 04/26/10 / HUFFINGTONPOST.COM
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — Remains found two weeks ago in Pennsylvania have been identified as those of an aspiring dancer from Texas who disappeared after leaving a New York City night club in 2008 with a registered sex offender, state police said Monday.
A DNA analysis confirmed the identity of 25-year-old Laura Garza of Brooklyn. She had moved to New York from McAllen, Texas, five months before she disappeared.
A group of ATV riders found the remains April 11 in Mount Cobb, Pa., several miles outside of Scranton, said Capt. Wayne Olson.
A watch described as one Garza was wearing when she disappeared was found on the remains, Olson said. Forensic experts will be brought in to examine the skeleton and determine how Garza died, he said.
"We've been in mourning since Friday, when the police told us," said a cousin, Isela Villalobos of McAllen, Texas. "It has been very difficult for the family. Laura's mother was expecting for her daughter to come in the door until that dream was shattered Friday afternoon.
"All we do is think of Laura. We have moments when we cry. We have moments when we laugh," Villalobos said in a phone interview from her restaurant in Mission, Texas. "Nothing has changed in her home in McAllen."
Garza left the bar on Dec. 3, 2008, with registered sex offender Michael Mele. He has been investigated but not charged in the case.
Mele is being held at Midstate state prison in Marcy, N.Y., for an unrelated offense. A board denied him parole in March, citing his "history of sexually deviant behavior."
READ MORE: LAURA GARZA FOUND, WILL MICHAEL MELE BE CHARGED?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/27/laura-garzas-remains-foun_n_552626.html
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
LAURA GARZA: BODY IDENTIFIED, MICHAEL MELE STILL SUSPECT
Body of a Brooklyn Woman Who Vanished in 2008 Is Found
By RAY RIVERA
New York Times / Published: April 26, 2010
The authorities have identified skeletal remains found this month in a remote area of Pennsylvania as those of a 25-year-old Brooklyn woman who vanished in December 2008 after leaving a nightclub in Manhattan.
A man riding an all-terrain vehicle spotted the remains on April 11 in a wooded area near Mount Cobb, outside of Scranton.
The New York State crime lab in Albany positively identified the remains as those of Laura Garza and notified her family late last week.
The discovery has renewed focus on the police’s main suspect in the case, a convicted sex offender, Michael Mele, 24. Mr. Mele is serving a sentence of one to three years at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Oneida County for violating parole in an unrelated case.
Investigators are searching for anyone who may have seen Mr. Mele in the Scranton area around the time of the disappearance.
A forensic pathologist is expected to examine the remains to try to determine the cause of death, said Capt. Wayne Olson of the New York State Police.
Ms. Garza, an aspiring dancer who was the youngest of three children, was last seen leaving a Chelsea nightclub with Mr. Mele about 4 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2008. They were spotted later that morning in Mr. Mele’s silver Infiniti S.U.V. in Newburgh, N.Y., about 60 miles north of Manhattan, the authorities said.
WHAT'S THE CONNECTION? LAURA GARZA, MICHAEL MELE...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/nyregion/27laura.html
By RAY RIVERA
New York Times / Published: April 26, 2010
The authorities have identified skeletal remains found this month in a remote area of Pennsylvania as those of a 25-year-old Brooklyn woman who vanished in December 2008 after leaving a nightclub in Manhattan.
A man riding an all-terrain vehicle spotted the remains on April 11 in a wooded area near Mount Cobb, outside of Scranton.
The New York State crime lab in Albany positively identified the remains as those of Laura Garza and notified her family late last week.
The discovery has renewed focus on the police’s main suspect in the case, a convicted sex offender, Michael Mele, 24. Mr. Mele is serving a sentence of one to three years at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Oneida County for violating parole in an unrelated case.
Investigators are searching for anyone who may have seen Mr. Mele in the Scranton area around the time of the disappearance.
A forensic pathologist is expected to examine the remains to try to determine the cause of death, said Capt. Wayne Olson of the New York State Police.
Ms. Garza, an aspiring dancer who was the youngest of three children, was last seen leaving a Chelsea nightclub with Mr. Mele about 4 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2008. They were spotted later that morning in Mr. Mele’s silver Infiniti S.U.V. in Newburgh, N.Y., about 60 miles north of Manhattan, the authorities said.
WHAT'S THE CONNECTION? LAURA GARZA, MICHAEL MELE...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/nyregion/27laura.html
Monday, April 26, 2010
LAURA GARZA BODY FOUND: DNA POSITIVE!
Garza family gets grim confirmation of Laura's fate
By Oliver Mackson
Times Herald-Record - 04/26/10
TOWN OF WALLKILL — Nicolas Garza got the call about two weeks ago. A state police investigator from New York asked if Garza's sister, Laura, was wearing a Michael Kors watch when she disappeared in December 2008.
“I told him I didn't know if that watch was hers,” Nicolas Garza said Monday from his home in McAllen, Texas. “We looked started looking in Laura's things, and we found the case for the watch, and the watch wasn't there.”
At that point, Garza thought the chances were about “5 0-50” that the remains found in outside Scranton, Pa., were those of his sister, the youngest of Elizabeth Esquivel's three children.
By Monday, DNA test results made him 100 percent sure.
Now, said Nicolas Garza, ““We just have to gather enough strength for everybody that is with us. We know it's going to be a long time before we get what we want. I don't know how we're going to hold up. We've just got to be together.”
READ ABOUT THE FAMILY SEARCH FOR LAURA GARZA...
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100426/NEWS/100429707
By Oliver Mackson
Times Herald-Record - 04/26/10
TOWN OF WALLKILL — Nicolas Garza got the call about two weeks ago. A state police investigator from New York asked if Garza's sister, Laura, was wearing a Michael Kors watch when she disappeared in December 2008.
“I told him I didn't know if that watch was hers,” Nicolas Garza said Monday from his home in McAllen, Texas. “We looked started looking in Laura's things, and we found the case for the watch, and the watch wasn't there.”
At that point, Garza thought the chances were about “5 0-50” that the remains found in outside Scranton, Pa., were those of his sister, the youngest of Elizabeth Esquivel's three children.
By Monday, DNA test results made him 100 percent sure.
Now, said Nicolas Garza, ““We just have to gather enough strength for everybody that is with us. We know it's going to be a long time before we get what we want. I don't know how we're going to hold up. We've just got to be together.”
READ ABOUT THE FAMILY SEARCH FOR LAURA GARZA...
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100426/NEWS/100429707
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
OHIO: TIFFANY TEHAN, TRE HUTCHERSON, DEAD OR RUNAWAYS
Cops Seek Missing Man in Missing Mom Case
Ohio Mother Tiffany Tehan Seen in Store Surveillance Video with Tre Hutcherson, Who's Unknown to Tehan's Family
CBSnews.com / April 21,2010
(CBS) Police in Ohio are searching for a man spotted in convenience store video with a mother who vanished Saturday.
Tiffany Tehan, 31, of Xenia, the mother of a year-old daughter, was seen several times in the convenience store this month and last with Tre B. Hutcherson, 42, of Dayton, according to the Dayton Daily News.
Authorities have dubbed him a person of interest in her disappearance.
The video is two-weeks old.
"They're in the same place and it is on more than one occasion," Xenia Police Lt. Scott Anger told reporters. " And, it appears that they know each other. This individual may have information that may be helpful to us."
On "The Early Show" Wednesday, Anger told co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, "We've been able to make a connection (between Tehan and Hutcherson). "It's not certain that they're together, but we believe there's a likelihood they're together."
Tehan was last seen withdrawing cash from n ATM, at the start of what family members say was to be a day of shopping.
When she didn't return home, her husband, David Tehan, called police.
Her family members say they don't know Hutcherson or why Tiffany she would be with him.
Police say her SUV was found Sunday at a park in the Dayton suburb of Kettering, with a flat tire and the keys locked inside.
A woman who answered the door at Hutcherson's residence and identified herself as his wife said he took $2,000 from their bank account. "Obviously they are together," she told the Dayton Daily News. "(Hutcherson) wouldn't hurt Tiffany."
READ TIFFANY TEHAN AND TRE HUTCHERSON MYSTERIOUS MISSING...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/21/earlyshow/main6417389.shtml
Ohio Mother Tiffany Tehan Seen in Store Surveillance Video with Tre Hutcherson, Who's Unknown to Tehan's Family
CBSnews.com / April 21,2010
(CBS) Police in Ohio are searching for a man spotted in convenience store video with a mother who vanished Saturday.
Tiffany Tehan, 31, of Xenia, the mother of a year-old daughter, was seen several times in the convenience store this month and last with Tre B. Hutcherson, 42, of Dayton, according to the Dayton Daily News.
Authorities have dubbed him a person of interest in her disappearance.
The video is two-weeks old.
"They're in the same place and it is on more than one occasion," Xenia Police Lt. Scott Anger told reporters. " And, it appears that they know each other. This individual may have information that may be helpful to us."
On "The Early Show" Wednesday, Anger told co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, "We've been able to make a connection (between Tehan and Hutcherson). "It's not certain that they're together, but we believe there's a likelihood they're together."
Tehan was last seen withdrawing cash from n ATM, at the start of what family members say was to be a day of shopping.
When she didn't return home, her husband, David Tehan, called police.
Her family members say they don't know Hutcherson or why Tiffany she would be with him.
Police say her SUV was found Sunday at a park in the Dayton suburb of Kettering, with a flat tire and the keys locked inside.
A woman who answered the door at Hutcherson's residence and identified herself as his wife said he took $2,000 from their bank account. "Obviously they are together," she told the Dayton Daily News. "(Hutcherson) wouldn't hurt Tiffany."
READ TIFFANY TEHAN AND TRE HUTCHERSON MYSTERIOUS MISSING...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/21/earlyshow/main6417389.shtml
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
CASEY ANTHONY: JUDGE STAN STRICKLAND BIASED, LEAVES CASE
Judge takes himself off Anthony case
By Mayra Cuevas-Nazario and Beth Karas, In Session
CNN Justice / April 19, 2010
(CNN) -- The judge in Casey Anthony's murder trial took himself off the case Monday after the defense contended he was biased against her.
"Over the past 20-plus months, in between media interviews, guest appearances on television shows and press conferences, defense counsel has filed a litany of motions," Ninth Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland observed in an order recusing himself from the high-profile murder trial.
"At its core," the judge continued, "defense counsel's motion accuses the undersigned of being a 'self-aggrandizing media hound.' Indeed. The irony is rich."
The case has been reassigned to Judge Belvin Perry Jr.
Read Judge Strickland's order
"Judge Perry is a good judge; he knows the law," Cindy and George Anthony's attorney, Brad Conway, told CNN. "Stan Strickland is just as good and knowledgeable. He's also extremely patient. He lets you say what you have to say, then he rules."
Anthony is awaiting trial in Orange County, Florida, on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee, who was 2 when she disappeared in June 2008. The little girl's remains were found near the Anthony home in December 2008.
Casey Anthony has pleaded not guilty, and her murder trial has been set for May 2011.
In a motion filed 12 minutes before the court closed on Friday, Baez accused Strickland of forming a "personal relationship" with blogger Dave Knechel, who writes under the pseudonym "Marinade Dave."
Knechel's blog includes made-up legal motions with titles such as "Casey Anthony must die!" "Caylee's murder: Premeditated and pretty stupid too" and "Guilty as charged."
READ CASEY ANTHONY /CAYLEE ANTHONY UPDATE...
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/19/casey.anthony.judge.quits/
By Mayra Cuevas-Nazario and Beth Karas, In Session
CNN Justice / April 19, 2010
(CNN) -- The judge in Casey Anthony's murder trial took himself off the case Monday after the defense contended he was biased against her.
"Over the past 20-plus months, in between media interviews, guest appearances on television shows and press conferences, defense counsel has filed a litany of motions," Ninth Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland observed in an order recusing himself from the high-profile murder trial.
"At its core," the judge continued, "defense counsel's motion accuses the undersigned of being a 'self-aggrandizing media hound.' Indeed. The irony is rich."
The case has been reassigned to Judge Belvin Perry Jr.
Read Judge Strickland's order
"Judge Perry is a good judge; he knows the law," Cindy and George Anthony's attorney, Brad Conway, told CNN. "Stan Strickland is just as good and knowledgeable. He's also extremely patient. He lets you say what you have to say, then he rules."
Anthony is awaiting trial in Orange County, Florida, on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee, who was 2 when she disappeared in June 2008. The little girl's remains were found near the Anthony home in December 2008.
Casey Anthony has pleaded not guilty, and her murder trial has been set for May 2011.
In a motion filed 12 minutes before the court closed on Friday, Baez accused Strickland of forming a "personal relationship" with blogger Dave Knechel, who writes under the pseudonym "Marinade Dave."
Knechel's blog includes made-up legal motions with titles such as "Casey Anthony must die!" "Caylee's murder: Premeditated and pretty stupid too" and "Guilty as charged."
READ CASEY ANTHONY /CAYLEE ANTHONY UPDATE...
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/19/casey.anthony.judge.quits/
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
SATSUMA: COPS SEARCH RIVER FOR HALEIGH CUMMINGS, FIND BOX
Tip In Haleigh Case Prompts River Search
Girl Missing 14 Months Would Now Be 6-Years-Old
UPDATED: 3:18 pm EDT April 13, 2010
NEWS4JAX.COM
SATSUMA, Fla. -- Deputies from four counties and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were searching the St. Johns River south of Satsuma Tuesday, and authorities confirmed the search is connected to the Haleigh Cummings investigation.
Putnam County Sheriff's Office Lt. Johnny Greenwood said the search was prompted by one of over 5,000 leads received by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office since the then-5-year-old girl disappeared from her bed in her father's mobile home 14 months ago.
Video: New Search For Haleigh
The sheriff's office was not releasing the exact location of the search effort in an attempt to prevent congestion from onlookers. Channel 4's Tarik Minor said the search of an area less than 5 miles south of where Haleigh disappeared in February 2008 was prompted by a "credible tip."
"Although various resources are being utilized to conduct this search, it is just one of many operations conducted during this investigation," Greenwood said in a media release Tuesday morning. "Due to the sensitivity of this investigation, the name of the person providing the tip and the physical evidence alleged to be in this area, will not be released."
WILL HALEIGH CUMMINGS BE FOUND IN THE RIVER?
http://www.news4jax.com/news/23135405/detail.html
Girl Missing 14 Months Would Now Be 6-Years-Old
UPDATED: 3:18 pm EDT April 13, 2010
NEWS4JAX.COM
SATSUMA, Fla. -- Deputies from four counties and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were searching the St. Johns River south of Satsuma Tuesday, and authorities confirmed the search is connected to the Haleigh Cummings investigation.
Putnam County Sheriff's Office Lt. Johnny Greenwood said the search was prompted by one of over 5,000 leads received by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office since the then-5-year-old girl disappeared from her bed in her father's mobile home 14 months ago.
Video: New Search For Haleigh
The sheriff's office was not releasing the exact location of the search effort in an attempt to prevent congestion from onlookers. Channel 4's Tarik Minor said the search of an area less than 5 miles south of where Haleigh disappeared in February 2008 was prompted by a "credible tip."
"Although various resources are being utilized to conduct this search, it is just one of many operations conducted during this investigation," Greenwood said in a media release Tuesday morning. "Due to the sensitivity of this investigation, the name of the person providing the tip and the physical evidence alleged to be in this area, will not be released."
WILL HALEIGH CUMMINGS BE FOUND IN THE RIVER?
http://www.news4jax.com/news/23135405/detail.html
BRITTANEE DREXEL: CELL SIGNAL STOPS NEAR S. SANTEE RIVER
GPS tracking aids investigators in Drexel case
Apr 12, 2010
By Kyle Grainger / WMBF News.com
GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - Investigators in Georgetown County say that for months, they've been interviewing persons of interest regarding the disappearance of a missing teen from New York.
Lt. Neil Johnson, spokesman for the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, says a cell phone signal is what originally led the search for 18-year-old Brittanee Drexel out of Myrtle Beach and into the Santee area of Georgetown County.
Myrtle Beach Police say the Rochester, NY, teen disappeared after she was last seen in the area of 11th Avenue South and 20th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach. Drexel, who was 17 at the time of her disappearance, was in the area against the will of her mother.
Contact was lost between Drexel and her family in New York on April 25, 2009, the same night authorities say she disappeared. The last signal from her cell phone came the next night near the South Santee River.
Johnson says because Drexel was a heavy user of her cell phone, and in the hours after her disappearance, her cell phone signal stopped in Georgetown County. That's the exact reason why investigators believe whatever happened to Drexel occurred within Georgetown County.
READ INVESTIGATION LEADS FOR BRITTANEE DREXEL...
http://www.wmbfnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=12298443
Apr 12, 2010
By Kyle Grainger / WMBF News.com
GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - Investigators in Georgetown County say that for months, they've been interviewing persons of interest regarding the disappearance of a missing teen from New York.
Lt. Neil Johnson, spokesman for the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, says a cell phone signal is what originally led the search for 18-year-old Brittanee Drexel out of Myrtle Beach and into the Santee area of Georgetown County.
Myrtle Beach Police say the Rochester, NY, teen disappeared after she was last seen in the area of 11th Avenue South and 20th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach. Drexel, who was 17 at the time of her disappearance, was in the area against the will of her mother.
Contact was lost between Drexel and her family in New York on April 25, 2009, the same night authorities say she disappeared. The last signal from her cell phone came the next night near the South Santee River.
Johnson says because Drexel was a heavy user of her cell phone, and in the hours after her disappearance, her cell phone signal stopped in Georgetown County. That's the exact reason why investigators believe whatever happened to Drexel occurred within Georgetown County.
READ INVESTIGATION LEADS FOR BRITTANEE DREXEL...
http://www.wmbfnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=12298443
Sunday, April 11, 2010
RODNEY ALCALA: HELP POLICE IDENTIFY ALCALA'S MURDER VICTIMS
Detectives identify some who posed for Alcala
By LARRY WELBORN / The Orange County Register
Published: April 9,2010 Updated: April 10, 2010
The photos show long-haired girls with flowers in their hair. Some are posing seductively in bikinis, bellbottoms or with bare midriffs. Others are dancing, drinking, smoking or listening to music.
The young women have one thing in common: they had their pictures taken in the 1970s by a photographer who dealt death.
The photos were recovered by Huntington Beach homicide detectives in July of 1979 from a storage locker in Seattle rented by Rodney James Alcala, a freelance cameraman who turned out to be a serial killer.
He was sentenced to death last month after he was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder for the sexual torture and strangulation murders of four women in Los Angeles County, and the kidnap and murder of a 12-year-old girl from Huntington Beach, during a 20-month killing spree in the late 1970s.
Huntington Beach Police released the photos to The Orange County Register one month ago after a jury voted to give Alcala the death penalty.
Detectives wanted to know: are the mostly smiling models in Alcala's photo gallery still alive? Or did they become murder victims?
They have been able to identify 21 young women in the photo catalogue after they were inundated with phone calls, e-mails and other contacts, but none matched up to a missing persons case or an unsolved homicide from the 1970s.
By LARRY WELBORN / The Orange County Register
Published: April 9,2010 Updated: April 10, 2010
The photos show long-haired girls with flowers in their hair. Some are posing seductively in bikinis, bellbottoms or with bare midriffs. Others are dancing, drinking, smoking or listening to music.
The young women have one thing in common: they had their pictures taken in the 1970s by a photographer who dealt death.
The photos were recovered by Huntington Beach homicide detectives in July of 1979 from a storage locker in Seattle rented by Rodney James Alcala, a freelance cameraman who turned out to be a serial killer.
He was sentenced to death last month after he was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder for the sexual torture and strangulation murders of four women in Los Angeles County, and the kidnap and murder of a 12-year-old girl from Huntington Beach, during a 20-month killing spree in the late 1970s.
Huntington Beach Police released the photos to The Orange County Register one month ago after a jury voted to give Alcala the death penalty.
Detectives wanted to know: are the mostly smiling models in Alcala's photo gallery still alive? Or did they become murder victims?
They have been able to identify 21 young women in the photo catalogue after they were inundated with phone calls, e-mails and other contacts, but none matched up to a missing persons case or an unsolved homicide from the 1970s.
If you know any of the people in Alcala's photos,
contact Huntington Beach Police Detective Patrick Ellis,
at 714-375-5066, or email him at pellis@hbpd.org
BRITTANEE DREXEL: POLICE SUSPECT KILLERS, NO ARRESTS...YET!
NEW LEADS IN MISSING TEEN CASE
Detectives have leads, persons of interest in Drexel disappearance
Detectives have leads, persons of interest in Drexel disappearance
WCSC TV/DT CHARLESTON, SC / Apr 10, 2010
MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WCSC) - Myrtle Beach Detective Vincent Dorio said Friday investigators have developed multiple persons of interest in the case of missing teen Brittanee Drexel.
MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WCSC) - Myrtle Beach Detective Vincent Dorio said Friday investigators have developed multiple persons of interest in the case of missing teen Brittanee Drexel.
He said this information developed from a tip and is confident this tip is leading them in a direction of finding who might be responsible. The search team is not releasing any information on the tips they received because they fear it might jeopardize the recently revitalized investigation.
According to Lt. Neil Johnson with the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, the break in the case is the result of months of lead-tracking.
"At this time, there is no reason to believe these people, [the persons of interest], knew Drexel directly," said Johnson.
No arrest warrants have been served yet, he said, but lie detector tests have been conducted on two of the persons of interest.
While the new leads are positive news for the search for the missing Drexel, Johnson said the information they have compiled in recent months indicate she is no longer alive.
According to Lt. Neil Johnson with the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, the break in the case is the result of months of lead-tracking.
"At this time, there is no reason to believe these people, [the persons of interest], knew Drexel directly," said Johnson.
No arrest warrants have been served yet, he said, but lie detector tests have been conducted on two of the persons of interest.
While the new leads are positive news for the search for the missing Drexel, Johnson said the information they have compiled in recent months indicate she is no longer alive.
"The police seem really confident, so there's a lot going through my head right now," said Brittanee's mother, Dawn Drexel. "You go through a lot of emotions. Where is she? Is she OK? Is she not OK?"
(snip)
(snip)
CrimeStoppers of the Lowcountry
continues to offer a reward for any information on Drexel's whereabouts.
Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Drexel is urged to contact the agency at 1-888-CRIME-SC.
WHAT CLUES DO POLICE HAVE ABOUT BRITTANEE DREXEL...
Saturday, April 3, 2010
MISSING IN GREELEY: KAYLEAH WILSON 2010, JONELLE MATTHEWS 1984
Kayleah Wilson case: Search evokes 25-year-old dashed hopes
Mike Peters / The GreeleyTibune / April 2, 2010
As days go by and the disappearance of 12-year-old Kayleah Wilson continues to be a mystery, it brings back haunting memories for the police officers involved in another child disappearance in Greeley 25 years ago.
On Dec. 20, 1984, Jonelle Matthews, a 12-year-old middle school student, disappeared from her west Greeley home. She has never been found.
The search for Jonelle became a national story. Numerous ground searches were organized to look for her, and her parents, Jim and Gloria Matthews, appeared on national television to plead for Jonelle's return. President Reagan mentioned Jonelle in his State of the Union speech.
While there is no connection to Wilson's disappearance, the ages of the girls and the mysterious circumstances remind police of what happened 25 years ago.
“There, of course, are similarities between the cases, primarily because of the ages of the girls,” said police spokesman Sgt. Joe Tymkowych. “Because of that, the case has crossed our minds in the past few days.”
In the early days of the Matthews investigation, police learned that Jonelle was brought home that night by family friends. She sang in the Franklin Middle School choir, which had performed Christmas carols at a nursing home.
Because of all family activities that night, Jonelle knew the house would be empty. Her father, an elementary school principal, was at Jonelle's older sister's basketball game, and her mother was visiting relatives out of the state.
Police determined Jonelle arrived home and went to the family room in the basement, where she set up a space heater to keep warm and sat on the floor to watch TV.
When her father came home about an hour later, he found the space heater and her shoes on the floor, but Jonelle was gone. Police were called and a search was launched, but she was never found. Police found scuffmarks and footprints in the snow outside the house.
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20100402/ NEWS/100409918/1002&parentprofile=1001
HELP FIND THE MISSING. HELP FIND JONELLE MATTHEWS
http://www.helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?p=704751
Mike Peters / The GreeleyTibune / April 2, 2010
As days go by and the disappearance of 12-year-old Kayleah Wilson continues to be a mystery, it brings back haunting memories for the police officers involved in another child disappearance in Greeley 25 years ago.
On Dec. 20, 1984, Jonelle Matthews, a 12-year-old middle school student, disappeared from her west Greeley home. She has never been found.
The search for Jonelle became a national story. Numerous ground searches were organized to look for her, and her parents, Jim and Gloria Matthews, appeared on national television to plead for Jonelle's return. President Reagan mentioned Jonelle in his State of the Union speech.
While there is no connection to Wilson's disappearance, the ages of the girls and the mysterious circumstances remind police of what happened 25 years ago.
“There, of course, are similarities between the cases, primarily because of the ages of the girls,” said police spokesman Sgt. Joe Tymkowych. “Because of that, the case has crossed our minds in the past few days.”
In the early days of the Matthews investigation, police learned that Jonelle was brought home that night by family friends. She sang in the Franklin Middle School choir, which had performed Christmas carols at a nursing home.
Because of all family activities that night, Jonelle knew the house would be empty. Her father, an elementary school principal, was at Jonelle's older sister's basketball game, and her mother was visiting relatives out of the state.
Police determined Jonelle arrived home and went to the family room in the basement, where she set up a space heater to keep warm and sat on the floor to watch TV.
When her father came home about an hour later, he found the space heater and her shoes on the floor, but Jonelle was gone. Police were called and a search was launched, but she was never found. Police found scuffmarks and footprints in the snow outside the house.
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20100402/ NEWS/100409918/1002&parentprofile=1001
HELP FIND THE MISSING. HELP FIND JONELLE MATTHEWS
http://www.helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?p=704751
GREELEY: KAYLEAH WILSON, 12, "WE HAVE TO ASSUME THE WORST."
Investigators question drivers in case of missing 12-year-old
Matt Clough written by: Jeffrey Wolf
COLORADO 9NEWS.COM / KUSATV / April 2,2010
GREELEY - While making a plea to the public for help on Friday afternoon, the FBI and Greeley Police Department say they do have some leads in the disappearance of a missing 12-year-old girl.
"We have to assume the worst. That's our job. We assume the worst and hope for the best. And that's the way we're proceeding with this investigation," FBI Special Agent in Charge Jim Davis said during a news conference.
Kayleah Wilson has not been since Sunday around 3:40 p.m. when she left her house to walk to a birthday party. The walk was supposed to only be eight to 10 blocks, but Kayleah never arrived at the party. Friday night, 9NEWS spoke with April Wilson, Kayleah's mother, who says several of her friends were out posting fliers, although she would not say where.
Investigators say they do not believe this is a runaway situation, but have also found no signs of foul play.
Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner says they are going through "foot-slogging police work" to try and find the girl.
"We've been working this case pretty much around the clock since Sunday night," Garner said. "We have a huge amount of leads in this case. Every single one of them has to be tracked down."
(snip)
Kayleah is described as 5-foot, 1-inch tall, 145 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing a white and pink shirt over a white tank top, blue jeans and white and red shoes. She is a student at Brentwood Middle School.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact
READ DETAILS OF KAYLEAH WILSON'S DISAPPEARANCE...
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=135843&catid=339
Matt Clough written by: Jeffrey Wolf
COLORADO 9NEWS.COM / KUSATV / April 2,2010
GREELEY - While making a plea to the public for help on Friday afternoon, the FBI and Greeley Police Department say they do have some leads in the disappearance of a missing 12-year-old girl.
"We have to assume the worst. That's our job. We assume the worst and hope for the best. And that's the way we're proceeding with this investigation," FBI Special Agent in Charge Jim Davis said during a news conference.
Kayleah Wilson has not been since Sunday around 3:40 p.m. when she left her house to walk to a birthday party. The walk was supposed to only be eight to 10 blocks, but Kayleah never arrived at the party. Friday night, 9NEWS spoke with April Wilson, Kayleah's mother, who says several of her friends were out posting fliers, although she would not say where.
Investigators say they do not believe this is a runaway situation, but have also found no signs of foul play.
Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner says they are going through "foot-slogging police work" to try and find the girl.
"We've been working this case pretty much around the clock since Sunday night," Garner said. "We have a huge amount of leads in this case. Every single one of them has to be tracked down."
(snip)
Kayleah is described as 5-foot, 1-inch tall, 145 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing a white and pink shirt over a white tank top, blue jeans and white and red shoes. She is a student at Brentwood Middle School.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact
the Greeley Police Department at 970-350-9600.
Or you can call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
READ DETAILS OF KAYLEAH WILSON'S DISAPPEARANCE...
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=135843&catid=339
SF TECHNICIAN STEALS DRUGS FROM EVIDENCE LAB
SF crime lab scandal strains justice system
AP / FOXNEWS / April 2, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO — The first hint of scandal at the San Francisco crime lab came in December when officials received a tip that a technician might be stealing cocaine used as evidence.
An investigation soon revealed that small amounts of cocaine were missing, and the scandal has just snowballed from there.
Hundreds of narcotics cases may have to be thrown out, the drug-testing lab has been closed indefinitely, and outside reviews have unmasked even deeper concerns with how evidence is handled at the facility. The scandal has served as an embarrassment to the police department and raised questions about why officials weren't more proactive in dealing with the problems.
"Anybody who doesn't see the magnitude of this problem is either blind or stupid," San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon said after a review cited bad management at the lab has led to poor practices.
The district attorney's office has already thrown out or not charged 550 cases because of possible evidence tampering, and is reviewing about 1,400 more for possible dismissal.
A final decision hasn't been made on how many ultimately will be tossed, but may come Friday. Authorities are trying to salvage some cases by having drugs retested at other labs; they also may refile some of the dropped cases.
The woman accused of skimming drugs from the lab for her own use, Deborah Madden, has not been charged. Madden took a leave of absence from the lab in December following an audit that found cocaine was missing from the lab, then retired last month. She was a criminalist for 29 years.
LOST EVIDENCE, LOST CONVICTIONS, GUILTY GO FREE...
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/02/sf-crime-lab-scandal-strains-justice/
AP / FOXNEWS / April 2, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO — The first hint of scandal at the San Francisco crime lab came in December when officials received a tip that a technician might be stealing cocaine used as evidence.
An investigation soon revealed that small amounts of cocaine were missing, and the scandal has just snowballed from there.
Hundreds of narcotics cases may have to be thrown out, the drug-testing lab has been closed indefinitely, and outside reviews have unmasked even deeper concerns with how evidence is handled at the facility. The scandal has served as an embarrassment to the police department and raised questions about why officials weren't more proactive in dealing with the problems.
"Anybody who doesn't see the magnitude of this problem is either blind or stupid," San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon said after a review cited bad management at the lab has led to poor practices.
The district attorney's office has already thrown out or not charged 550 cases because of possible evidence tampering, and is reviewing about 1,400 more for possible dismissal.
A final decision hasn't been made on how many ultimately will be tossed, but may come Friday. Authorities are trying to salvage some cases by having drugs retested at other labs; they also may refile some of the dropped cases.
The woman accused of skimming drugs from the lab for her own use, Deborah Madden, has not been charged. Madden took a leave of absence from the lab in December following an audit that found cocaine was missing from the lab, then retired last month. She was a criminalist for 29 years.
LOST EVIDENCE, LOST CONVICTIONS, GUILTY GO FREE...
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/02/sf-crime-lab-scandal-strains-justice/
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
SEATTLE: SHANTINA SMILEY, WHERE ARE YOU?
Autopsy Confirms Body is Azriel Carver; Cause of Death, Drowning
by Susan Marie Kovalinsky March 19, 2010
Update: Autopsy confirms body is Azriel Carver; cause of death was drowning
Police believe a body that washed to shore is that of missing 8 year old boy Azriel Carver. Carver had been missing since Saturday night, when he and his mother, Shantina “Kat” Smiley, 29, last were seen north of Olympia.
The body was found yesterday afternoon on the southern tip of Fox Island of Puget Sound. Sheriff’s officials received a call just before 2 p.m. that a body was found by a woman walking along Pebble Beach, below a steep bluff off Paiute Trail road.
County officials had to comfort the boy's father, who had come from New York state to help in the search.
"I know there’s a lot of crazy questions that are going to be coming, from why it happened, how it happened and what had happened,” Carver said. 'They ended up in the water, and the tidal pattern was really high and really fast, and it just ended very tragic. It’s a crazy series of events that unfolded and ended so tragically,' he said."
MORE ABOUT SHANTINA AND AZRIEL...
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/autopsy-confirms-body-azriel-carver-cause-death-drowning
by Susan Marie Kovalinsky March 19, 2010
Update: Autopsy confirms body is Azriel Carver; cause of death was drowning
Police believe a body that washed to shore is that of missing 8 year old boy Azriel Carver. Carver had been missing since Saturday night, when he and his mother, Shantina “Kat” Smiley, 29, last were seen north of Olympia.
The body was found yesterday afternoon on the southern tip of Fox Island of Puget Sound. Sheriff’s officials received a call just before 2 p.m. that a body was found by a woman walking along Pebble Beach, below a steep bluff off Paiute Trail road.
County officials had to comfort the boy's father, who had come from New York state to help in the search.
"I know there’s a lot of crazy questions that are going to be coming, from why it happened, how it happened and what had happened,” Carver said. 'They ended up in the water, and the tidal pattern was really high and really fast, and it just ended very tragic. It’s a crazy series of events that unfolded and ended so tragically,' he said."
MORE ABOUT SHANTINA AND AZRIEL...
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/autopsy-confirms-body-azriel-carver-cause-death-drowning
RODNEY ALCALA, DEATH SENTENCE: "I'M WAITING FOR THE DAY HE DIES."
'Dating Game' Killer, Rodney Alcala, Sentenced to Death
This is the third time Alcala has been sentenced to death row for killing Robin Samsoe.
Watch Brandon Rudat's Report
KTLA News / 5:11 PM PDT, March 30, 2010
SANTA ANA -- Convicted serial killer Rodney Alcala has been sentenced to death for killing a 12-year-old Huntington Beach girl and four Los Angeles County women in the 1970s.
Tuesday's sentencing marked the third time Rodney Alcala has been sent to death row for killing 12-year-old Robin Samsoe.
His two previous convictions for the killing were overturned on appeal.
Marianne Connelly, the mother of Robin Samsoe read this statement to the court before Alcala's sentence was announced:
"He is a cold blooded evil mass murdering monster that should have died years ago. Losing my precious Robin was the worst tragedy of my life and knowing the defendant tortured his victims makes it even harder to accept. I'm waiting for the day he dies. I only wish I could be the one to administer the (lethal) injection."
(snip)
Alcala was also convicted of killing four other women: Jill Barcomb, an 18-year-old runaway who was killed in the Hollywood Hills on Nov. 10, 1977; Georgia Wixted, a 27-year-old registered nurse killed on Dec. 16, 1978; Charlotte Lamb, 32, slain on June 24, 1978; and Jill Parenteau, 21, who was killed June 14, 1979.
READ...RODNEY ALCALA SENTENCED TO DEATH...AGAIN
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-alcala-trial,0,2151331.story
This is the third time Alcala has been sentenced to death row for killing Robin Samsoe.
Watch Brandon Rudat's Report
KTLA News / 5:11 PM PDT, March 30, 2010
SANTA ANA -- Convicted serial killer Rodney Alcala has been sentenced to death for killing a 12-year-old Huntington Beach girl and four Los Angeles County women in the 1970s.
Tuesday's sentencing marked the third time Rodney Alcala has been sent to death row for killing 12-year-old Robin Samsoe.
His two previous convictions for the killing were overturned on appeal.
Marianne Connelly, the mother of Robin Samsoe read this statement to the court before Alcala's sentence was announced:
"He is a cold blooded evil mass murdering monster that should have died years ago. Losing my precious Robin was the worst tragedy of my life and knowing the defendant tortured his victims makes it even harder to accept. I'm waiting for the day he dies. I only wish I could be the one to administer the (lethal) injection."
(snip)
Alcala was also convicted of killing four other women: Jill Barcomb, an 18-year-old runaway who was killed in the Hollywood Hills on Nov. 10, 1977; Georgia Wixted, a 27-year-old registered nurse killed on Dec. 16, 1978; Charlotte Lamb, 32, slain on June 24, 1978; and Jill Parenteau, 21, who was killed June 14, 1979.
READ...RODNEY ALCALA SENTENCED TO DEATH...AGAIN
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-alcala-trial,0,2151331.story
Saturday, March 27, 2010
SOMER THOMPSON: WHY WAS JARRED HARRELL ARRESTED FOR MURDER
Somer Thompson's Mom's Message to Accused Murderer: 'We Got You'
Cops: Jarred Harrell's Brutal Killing of Somer Thompson Was Likely 'Crime of Opportunity'
By LEE FERRAN / ABC NEWS
March 26, 2010
Praising the murder charges against the suspect in the death of 7-year-old daughter Somer, Diena Thompson today addressed the accused killer to say, "We got you."
"I stood here ... and said, 'We're coming to get you, we will get you,'" an emotional Thompson told a Florida news conference of her previous statements. "And I'd like to take this opportunity to say to you, Jarred Harrell, we got you."
Clay County police chief Rick Beseler was applauded earlier today when he announced the first-degree murder charge against Harrell from under a banner that read "Justice for Somer." He was also charged with sexual battery and lewd or lascivious molestation of a child younger than 12.
Calling Harrell a monster, Thompson said she was glad "some one is finally going to pay for this horrific crime."
Police said they believe Harrell, 24, encountered Somer as she walked by his house on her way home from school. Beseler said police have evidence that Harrell then assaulted Somer, killed her and disposed of her body. Two days after her death, Somer's body was found in a landfill in Georgia. She died, police said, by asphyxiation.
(snip)
Neighbors described Harrell as antisocial and withdrawn, and said they saw Thompson occasionally stop to pet a little white dog near his former home.
READ ABOUT SOMER THOMPSON CASE...
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/sources-suspect-jarred-harrell-charged-connection-somer-thompson/story?id=10208882
Cops: Jarred Harrell's Brutal Killing of Somer Thompson Was Likely 'Crime of Opportunity'
By LEE FERRAN / ABC NEWS
March 26, 2010
Praising the murder charges against the suspect in the death of 7-year-old daughter Somer, Diena Thompson today addressed the accused killer to say, "We got you."
"I stood here ... and said, 'We're coming to get you, we will get you,'" an emotional Thompson told a Florida news conference of her previous statements. "And I'd like to take this opportunity to say to you, Jarred Harrell, we got you."
Clay County police chief Rick Beseler was applauded earlier today when he announced the first-degree murder charge against Harrell from under a banner that read "Justice for Somer." He was also charged with sexual battery and lewd or lascivious molestation of a child younger than 12.
Calling Harrell a monster, Thompson said she was glad "some one is finally going to pay for this horrific crime."
Police said they believe Harrell, 24, encountered Somer as she walked by his house on her way home from school. Beseler said police have evidence that Harrell then assaulted Somer, killed her and disposed of her body. Two days after her death, Somer's body was found in a landfill in Georgia. She died, police said, by asphyxiation.
(snip)
Neighbors described Harrell as antisocial and withdrawn, and said they saw Thompson occasionally stop to pet a little white dog near his former home.
READ ABOUT SOMER THOMPSON CASE...
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/sources-suspect-jarred-harrell-charged-connection-somer-thompson/story?id=10208882
SOMER THOMPSON: HOW THEY CAUGHT JARRED HARRELL
Ex-Roommate of Jarred Harrell Left Town Before Somer Thompson Announcement
Taren Reed / FIRSTCOASTNEWS.COM
3/26/2010
ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- The stepfather of one of Jarred Harrell's ex-roommates who turned Harrell's computer over to police after finding child pornography on it said the ex-roommates left town when they heard about the charges.
Harrell was arrested and charged with premeditated murder in the death of Somer Thompson today.
MORE ABOUT HARRELL'S ARREST, CHARGES
Rod Buchanan's stepdaughter lived with her fiance and Harrell in an apartment on Wells Road in Orange Park. In August 2009, Buchanan said Harrell's computer was turned over to police.
According to the State Attorney General's office, Harrell's computer arrived at its cyber crime unit on Sept. 25, 2009. The unit wasn't able to start taking the computer apart to do forensic testing until Oct. 9, when an official search warrant was received. The testing was completed Nov. 10, nearly a month after Somer was killed.
JARRED HARRELL'S COMPUTER PROCESSING TIMELINE
Buchanan didn't give his stepdaughter's name, but said she knew an arrest and announcement would be made today so she packed up and left Orange Park. Buchanan said the roommates won't be speaking with the media.
When Somer Thompson disappeared in October 2009, he and his wife saw how close Harrell lived to Somer and reminded police about his computer that was turned over in August. Buchanan said they pointed detectives in the right direction.
READ ABOUT SOMER THOMPSON AND KILLER JARRED HARRELL...
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=153882&catid=3
Taren Reed / FIRSTCOASTNEWS.COM
3/26/2010
ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- The stepfather of one of Jarred Harrell's ex-roommates who turned Harrell's computer over to police after finding child pornography on it said the ex-roommates left town when they heard about the charges.
Harrell was arrested and charged with premeditated murder in the death of Somer Thompson today.
MORE ABOUT HARRELL'S ARREST, CHARGES
Rod Buchanan's stepdaughter lived with her fiance and Harrell in an apartment on Wells Road in Orange Park. In August 2009, Buchanan said Harrell's computer was turned over to police.
According to the State Attorney General's office, Harrell's computer arrived at its cyber crime unit on Sept. 25, 2009. The unit wasn't able to start taking the computer apart to do forensic testing until Oct. 9, when an official search warrant was received. The testing was completed Nov. 10, nearly a month after Somer was killed.
JARRED HARRELL'S COMPUTER PROCESSING TIMELINE
Buchanan didn't give his stepdaughter's name, but said she knew an arrest and announcement would be made today so she packed up and left Orange Park. Buchanan said the roommates won't be speaking with the media.
When Somer Thompson disappeared in October 2009, he and his wife saw how close Harrell lived to Somer and reminded police about his computer that was turned over in August. Buchanan said they pointed detectives in the right direction.
READ ABOUT SOMER THOMPSON AND KILLER JARRED HARRELL...
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=153882&catid=3
Saturday, March 20, 2010
CHICAGO: GUNS, DRUGS, RAPE KITS ROTTING IN CLOSED POLICE HQ
Evidence Found Rotting in Closed Ill. Police HQ
AP / March 20, 2010
Nearly 200 guns, narcotics and rape kits rotting in an unplugged refrigerator were left behind by a police department that shut down two years ago.
CHICAGO - A sheriff's department in suburban Chicago has been shocked to find a roomful of evidence left behind by a village police department that shut down two years ago -- including a moldy sexual assault kit that authorities said linked a man to the 2006 rape of a 13-year-old girl, nearly 200 guns and hundreds of bags of narcotics, officials said Friday.
In all, seven rape kits had been left rotting in an unplugged refrigerator in the former Ford Heights Police Department, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said. The guns had not been registered with the state as having been seized by police, and Dart's spokesman Steve Patterson said none of the DNA evidence found matches anyone in the state's database.
"You're not talking about ineptness, neglect, you're talking about outrageous conduct of a police department that didn't care about the residents out there," Dart said.
(snip)
That was when deputies opened the door to the evidence room.
Detectives were stunned by what they learned about the sexual assault of the girl -- and the apparent lack of any meaningful investigation of a case in which there was a great deal of evidence against one man.
"What happened to this girl is unconscionable," said Dart, whose office
arrested 27-year-old Marquis Deering this week. "She thought nothing was going to happen to him."
READ ABOUT NEGLECTED DNA EVIDENCE AGAINST MARQUIS DEERING...
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/20/evidence-rotting-closed-ill-police-hq/?test=latestnews
AP / March 20, 2010
Nearly 200 guns, narcotics and rape kits rotting in an unplugged refrigerator were left behind by a police department that shut down two years ago.
CHICAGO - A sheriff's department in suburban Chicago has been shocked to find a roomful of evidence left behind by a village police department that shut down two years ago -- including a moldy sexual assault kit that authorities said linked a man to the 2006 rape of a 13-year-old girl, nearly 200 guns and hundreds of bags of narcotics, officials said Friday.
In all, seven rape kits had been left rotting in an unplugged refrigerator in the former Ford Heights Police Department, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said. The guns had not been registered with the state as having been seized by police, and Dart's spokesman Steve Patterson said none of the DNA evidence found matches anyone in the state's database.
"You're not talking about ineptness, neglect, you're talking about outrageous conduct of a police department that didn't care about the residents out there," Dart said.
(snip)
That was when deputies opened the door to the evidence room.
Detectives were stunned by what they learned about the sexual assault of the girl -- and the apparent lack of any meaningful investigation of a case in which there was a great deal of evidence against one man.
"What happened to this girl is unconscionable," said Dart, whose office
arrested 27-year-old Marquis Deering this week. "She thought nothing was going to happen to him."
READ ABOUT NEGLECTED DNA EVIDENCE AGAINST MARQUIS DEERING...
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/20/evidence-rotting-closed-ill-police-hq/?test=latestnews