Babysitter Says Split Second Decision Cost Toddler's Life


An Omaha mother of seven children is going to prison for at least 11 years after being convicted in the death of 17-month-old Rosalyn Clarke.
"This was a blink of an eye, split second reaction to her pulling my hair, something minor," said Chantal Randall at the Omaha Correctional Center Tuesday afternoon.
The 31-year-old woman who pleaded no contest to child abuse resulting in death was sentenced Tuesday to between 25 and 35 years in prison. She could be eligible for parole in 11 to 16 years.

Randall told police she hit 17-month-old Rosalyn Clarke in the abdomen, then spent hours holding the child.
The child suffered blunt-force trauma to the liver and died from her injuries, investigators said.
"I wrapped her in the blanket and I cradled her in my arms and I rocked her on my bed. I did not call 911 and it wasn't even a thought, for some reason at the time. All I could think of to do was to comfort this child and hold on to this child," Randall said.
She said she dressed the girl and put her in her family van to pick up another child at school. It was at that time Randall said she put a quarter in the girl's throat to make it look as if the girl had choked.
"If she snapped, call 911. She was able to put her in the car seat, able to drive her. I could see a light sentence if she called 911 quickly," said Kevin Clarke, Rosalyn's father.
Clarke said the way Randall tried to hide the toddler's death is unforgiveable. He said he wanted Randall to receive the death penalty. He said he was disappointed with the 25 to 35 year prison sentence.
Randall said she is deeply sorry for her actions.
"I get to go home. I get to go home. Rosie doesn't go home," she said.
Randall was in tears as she spoke to the judge on Tuesday. She said there are no words that can express how deeply sorry she is.
Judge Joseph Troia said he took into account several letters written in Randall's support. He also said there's nothing that can bring Rosie back.
Randall later said in prison she wouldn't make excuses for her actions. She said she was pregnant with twins and caring for 5 of her own children and she was overwhelmed.
The prosecution said the sentence is fair.
Randall's fiancé, Ray Miller, who is the father to five of her seven children, said he's standing by her.
"The picture most people have of her is a monster, and she's not," he said. "She's a very caring, loving mother. Loved people. Loved kids -- mainly kids. She just loved kids."
Miller said he can't imagine being in the Clarke family's position.
"Knowing that they lost their daughter, I mean, I can't fathom not having one of my children. I can't imagine what the Clarkes have gone through," Miller said. "My heart goes out to the Clarkes. I pray for them and hope they can find forgiveness someday in their heart."
Randall received credit for the 517 days she has already served.

Husband Arrested After Wife's Body Found In Freezer


A 27-year-old man is in jail in southwest Georgia charged with murder after his wife's body was found in a freezer.

Deputies with the Worth County Sheriff's Department were called to the home about 6 p.m. Friday. Georgia Bureau of Investigation assistant special agent in charge Mark Pro says family members contacted authorities after going to the home to work on the freezer and finding the body of 55-year-old Linda White.

Investigators say Jacob White was inside the home when deputies arrived. He was taken to the Worth County Jail for questioning.

Pro says authorities charged him with murder on Saturday morning.

Investigators believe Linda White was killed between Tuesday and Friday. Her body has been taken to the GBI Crime Lab in DeKalb County for an autopsy.

Jacob White remains in jail.

Mom goes on trial in baby's microwave death


Investigators believe China Arnold killed her infant daughter by putting her in a microwave oven. Arnold's attorneys argue she had nothing to do with the baby's death in 2005.

Jury selection for Arnold was scheduled to begin Monday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. Arnold, 27, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder. If convicted, she could face the death penalty.

Police investigators believe Arnold killed 1-month-old Paris Talley by putting her in a microwave at her home.

Coroner's officials have said the baby suffered high-heat internal injuries and had no external burns. They have ruled out scalding water, open flame or other possible causes of death that could have damaged the skin.

Defense attorney Jon Paul Rion has said Arnold had nothing to do with her daughter's death and was stunned when investigators told her that a microwave might have been involved. Arnold took the baby to the hospital after finding her unconscious and does not know how she died, Rion said.

During a pretrial hearing in July, police Detective Michael Galbraith said Arnold told him she arrived home in the early morning hours after drinking, fell asleep and was awakened at 2:30 a.m. by the baby's crying.

She said she warmed a bottle in the microwave oven, tried to give it to the baby, changed the child's diaper and then fell asleep on the couch with the baby on her chest.

Arnold said she and her children were the only ones in the apartment until her boyfriend arrived several hours later and noticed something was wrong with the baby.

Galbraith said Arnold told him: "If I hadn't gotten so drunk, I guess my baby wouldn't have died."

When cross-examined by Rion, Galbraith acknowledged that Arnold told him she did not know how the baby suffered the burns and that she had nothing to do with it that she could recall.

Earlier this month, defense witness Robert Belloto, a staff pharmacist at Good Samaritan Hospital, testified he does not believe it would have been possible for Arnold to place the baby in the microwave because the woman was so intoxicated.

Belloto said Arnold told him she had consumed about 40 percent of a pint of high-proof rum in 90 minutes. But he acknowledged that he had no other corroboration for her claim.

Police: Dad Fatally Slammed Girl's Head


Police said a 17-month-old child, allegedly injured by her father when she wouldn't quit crying, died today.

The little girl had undergone surgery for severe head injuries on Friday and had been listed in critical condition since then.

Bossier City police said her father Lance David Thamm, 34, is accused of pushing the child's head into a doorjamb with violent force after he became frustrated with her because she wouldn't quit crying.

Thamm had been jailed on attempted murder charges. Those charges could be upgraded to first-degree murder charges now that the child has died.

Fire Department paramedics were called to a Bossier City apartment Friday in response to a call that the little girl was unresponsive. The mother came home after talking to Thamm on the phone and then called 911.

Police say Thamm had told the mother that the toddler was hurt and he didn't know what happened.

Police began investigating after medical personnel at Christus Schumpert Hospital alerted them.

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That poor little girl. How could he harm his daughter? That's rediculous! I don't like people like this. I've said that before and I'm sticking to my word. What do think about this?

Affidavit: Man Threw 4-Year-Old Against Door, Bed, Floor


For the past three months, a 4-year-old girl was the victim of continuous, violent abuse in the hands of her mother and her mother's boyfriend, according to court documents released Thursday.

Madyson Bogard died Wednesday night after she was rushed to the hospital earlier this week, unconscious and with a serious head injury.

Autopsy results released Friday indicated that Bogard died from a head injury resulting from blunt force trauma. The El Paso County Coroner ruled her death a homicide.

The girl's mother, Chrystie Marie Hardy, and her mother's boyfriend, Mark Alton Friend, had initially claimed that the girl slipped and fell on ice.

However, after being interviewed by detectives, Hardy and Friend admitted to hitting Madyson several times since October 2007.

"Friend said he threw Madyson against a door and that she hit her head on the door knob," the affidavit said.

Hardy told detectives she warned Friend to be careful because Madyson could get brain damage but then after that, she struck Madyson on the head hard enough that it made her own hand tingle.

"Friend also said he threw Madyson against a metal bed where she her hit her head with so much force that it caused her to bounce back and hit her head again on the floor," the affidavit said.

Madyson's mother said she saw "him hold Madyson's face under water in the bathtub, not allowing her to breathe," the affidavit said.

Friend also admitted to "flicking" Madyson in her private parts. Both adults witnessed Madyson have seizures but they never sought medical care for her, they said.

The girl had bruising in several places on her body including her forehead, arms and knees, doctors said. There was also evidence of sex assault, said Dr. Marla Moore, with the pediatric intensive care unit at Memorial Hospital.

Madyson had a serious head injury (subdural hematoma) that was less than 72 hours old, and most likely only a few hours old, when she was rushed to hospital Tuesday at 2 a.m.

A neurosurgeon told police that Madyson was "essentially dead" when she had arrived.

Hardy and Friend are being held in the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center for investigation of first-degree murder.

Man Admits Raping Girl, Killing Her With Sink In 1987


A man accused of raping and killing a girl in 1987 after DNA evidence tied him to the crime has admitted his guilt.

Christopher Ballard told a three-judge panel on Thursday that he raped Tina Dukes, 11, in October 1987 at a house on John Street.

Ballard said that he also killed Dukes by smashing her face with a sink.

Police found her body on Oct. 18, nine days after she was reported missing by her mother.

Ballard was identified as a suspect based on a DNA sample he provided when he was released from the Pickaway Correctional Institution in Orient in 2005, authorities said.

“I just thank God for DNA, because (if it) hadn't been for DNA, they never would have found him,” said Thomas Dukes, the victim’s uncle. “He had no intention of turning himself in.”

The judges will decide on Feb. 1 whether to accept Ballard's plea, and he could also be sentenced in the same hearing.

Ballard could get the death penalty, prosecutors said.

“He needs to rot in hell for what he did, the way he did it, burnt that baby's body like that,” said Anthony Dukes, the victim’s uncle and pastor. “He needs to rot in hell.”

Woman Admits To Leaving Newborn To Die In Restroom


DENVER -- A woman accused of giving birth in the bathroom of a North Cherry Creek sports bar in 2004 and leaving the baby to die pleaded guilty Wednesday in connection with the case. Erin Pendleton, 31, pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death.

She will face up to 40 years in prison when she is sentenced on Feb. 28.

The body of the full-term newborn boy was found in the women's restroom of Legends Bar and Grill by a janitor on June 26, 2004. The newborn was stuffed in a plastic bag, at the bottom of the trash bin, covered in a layer of trash, according to the arrest affidavit.

Pendleton had been at the bar the previous night and had given birth in a bathroom stall.

According to the arrest affidavit, Pendleton continued bar-hopping with her friends after she had delivered.

Two friends who were with Pendleton told police that she left their table for about 90 minutes and was later found in the women's restroom clutching a vest around her waist. She told her friends that she had passed a kidney stone and was bleeding.

The women then left the bar and went to the home of one of the friends, where Pendleton borrowed some clothes to replace her bloody outfit. After changing, she left with her friends for another bar, where they continued drinking, the affidavit said.

Detectives were able to locate Pendleton by tracing a credit card receipt used in the bar after a waiter described a woman "layered in clothing and acting ill."

The Denver coroner said the infant was born alive but died of asphyxiation.


This is dumb... what kind of person would do this to their child?
What do you think about this???

Teens accused of pimping girls


FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Several teenage gang members have been arrested on suspicion of forcing girls as young as 12 into a prostitution ring, police said Tuesday.

After befriending the girls and getting them high, Varrio Central gang members took them to some regular customers and then sought other men by trolling apartment complexes, offering the girls' services for $50, Fort Worth police Lt. Ken Dean said.

The gang apparently targeted runaways and other girls with unstable homes, and if the girls refused to have sex for money the members beat and sexually assaulted them and threatened their families, Dean said.

"The age of the victims and suspects is the surprising part of it," Dean said. "To have such young individuals in a somewhat organized business, a forced prostitution ring, is somewhat alarming and such a horrendous crime against the 12- to 16-year-old girls."

Fort Worth detectives found five victims, ages 12 to 16, but believe there may be more. Those girls are back with relatives or in other safe places, he said, declining to elaborate.

A 15-year-old girl who may be a gang member helped the suspects by going to the victims' houses to pick them up under the pretense of going shopping or to a movie, which fooled the parents, said Lt. Dan Draper. Watch mom react to teen prostitution arrests »

Four alleged gang members were arrested January 3 after they took a 14-year-old to a convenience store to have sex with the owner, a regular customer of the prostitution ring, police said.

Diego Rodriguez, 19, and Martin Reyes, 17, were charged with counts including engaging in organized criminal activity, aggravated kidnapping and trafficking of a person. Rodriguez, held on $170,000 bond, did not have an attorney, and a lawyer for Reyes, held on $150,000 bond, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The cases of two boys, ages 15 and 16, and the 15-year-old girl accused of helping the gang are being handled in the juvenile system. Police expect more arrests as the investigation continues, Dean said.

The convenience store owner, Chang Hyeong Lee, 56, was charged with aggravated kidnapping, engaging in organized criminal activity and prostitution. He remained jailed Tuesday with bail set at $300,000. His attorney could not immediately be reached.

Police discovered the prostitution ring after a woman was arrested in August in a neighborhood allegedly offering men sex with a 14-year-old girl for $50. Police have declined to reveal the relationship between Debra Flores Castillo, 33, who was charged with compelling prostitution, and the teen gang members.

She was released on a $20,000 bond. Her attorney, Mark Scott, declined to comment.

Jorge Martinez, accused of paying for sex with the teen in August, remained jailed on $10,000 bond Tuesday on a sexual assault of a child charge. His attorney did not immediately return a call.

7-Year-Old Says Mother Burned Him In Oven


AIRMONT, N.Y. -- A 26-year-old woman was arrested Friday and accused of burning her 7-year-old son in an oven, and a day-care worker was arrested for not reporting his burns, police said.

Authorities began investigating the family in November after the boy was spotted alone at a shopping center and told police he had run away because "his mother had put him in an oven and burned him as a punishment," the police account said.

The mother, Tiffany Fraser, of Tallman, was charged with assault and endangering a child. The day-care worker, Joelle Lherisson, 37, of Airmont, was charged with failure to report child abuse. They were arraigned in Airmont Village Court and released until their next court dates.

Fraser's lawyer, Edward Cigna, said he could not comment. There was no phone listing for either woman.

Lt. Brad Weidel of the Town of Ramapo police force, which covers Airmont, said the boy's burns - on his nose, arm, hand and left leg - were noticed at the daycare center in July, but the owner did not report them. In November, a customer at a shopping center in Tallman called police about the same boy because he was unaccompanied.

When the boy reported the oven incident, he and a sibling were removed from their home by the Rockland County children's agency and police began an investigation that led to both arrests, Weidel said.

Johnstown Man Accused Of Beating 3 Children He Was Trying To Adopt



A Johnstown man is accused of beating three young children he was trying to adopt.

Christopher Ellis, 31, of Sell Street, faces charges of assault and endangering children, a felony.

The three children, who were all younger than the age of 10, are back in foster care.

Investigators said the three children were beaten with a paddle with several air holes drilled in it. Police said Ellis' beatings caused bleeding and soreness so intense the children couldn't sit in their chairs at school.

After the school nurse examined the children, all three were taken to the hospital for treatment.

"How many people paddle their children to the extent where they have blood coming from their rear end, or they can't sit down for a long period of time afterward? We believe that to be excessive, as well as the DA's office did, and with them we filed the charges," said Johnstown police Capt. Andy Frear.

Ellis, who had not been arrested as of 2 p.m. Wednesday, is expected to make his first court appearance on Jan. 31. Stay with Channel 6 News and WJACTV.com for continuing coverage.


I hate these kind of people...

'Most Wanted' Fugitive Nabbed in Brevard'


CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Florida authorities said a Michigan fugitive featured on a crime television show was arrested at a bar in Cape Canaveral.

Brevard County sheriff's officials said David Allen Andrews was arrested Monday after deputies received an anonymous tip.

The 40-year-old Flint man was featured on the television show "America's Most Wanted" in March.

Andrews has been on the run since 2004 on criminal sexual conduct charges. Authorities said he molested a 7-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl.

Andrews is being held without bond while he awaits extradition to Michigan.

Police: Toddler's Skin Burned Off During Hot Oil-Hair Dryer Torture


APOPKA, Fla. -- A Central Florida man is accused of pouring hot cooking oil on a 17-month-old and using a hair dryer to burn his skin off because the toddler apparently would not stop crying and whining.

Police said Darlanne Toussaint was charged with felony attempted murder on suspicion he abused his girlfriend's son in an Apopka apartment building Thursday.

The mother of the child, Marlita S. Stokes, 23, was arrested on Friday and faces charges of child neglect and providing false information to police.

According to a charging affidavit, Toussaint poured the hot cooking oil on the boy, shook him hard for 10 minutes and then burned him with a blow dryer to the point that his skin fell off, Local 6 reported.

"It is alarming to think that an individual can cause this type of harm to a human being, let along an infant of 17 months old," Apopka police Officer Steven Popp said.

Investigators said Toussaint abused the infant "because he was tired of his crying and whining."

"The majority of us officers have children, and it is hard for a case like this not to affect you emotionally," Popp said.

The child is in stable condition at Florida Hospital.
Toussaint is being held without bond at the Orange County Jail, Local 6 reported.

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Oh my god. All I can say is wow. This hurts me to see someone do this kind of thing to a little child. Children are supposed to be a parents blessing. Not something that you can harm....I can't stand people like this. I almost cried when I saw this, it's very terrifing if you ask me. This guy should get up to at least 40 years in prison. He deserves it... what do you think???

~*~Please comment~*~

A guard who was named in a cheeky thank-you note left by two jail inmates when they chiseled their way out of their cells has committed suicide, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Rudolph Zurick, 40, was found dead at his home in Middlesex County, said attorney Michael J. Mitzner.

Zurick had not been charged in the December 15 break from the Union County Jail and had been cooperating with the investigation, Mitzner said.

"Everything I understand, he did nothing wrong," said Mitzner, who spoke to Zurick on Monday. "It's hard to know what goes through someone's head."

Mitzner did not have Zurick's cause of death.

In a statement, Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said the death is being investigated by Middlesex County authorities.

"This is not a time for speculation, but a time for mourning," Romankow said. He declined further comment.

Officials in Middlesex County did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Zurick had been scheduled to be interviewed Wednesday about the daring break by inmates Otis Blunt, 32, and Jose Espinosa, 20. Both remained at large Wednesday.
The two used photos of bikini-clad women to hide holes they dug through the cinderblock walls of their adjoining cells in a high-security unit, authorities said. They jumped onto a lower roof, then made it over a 25-foot-high fence topped with razor wire.

The inmates left behind a thank-you note, signed with a smiley face, that named Zurick, thanking him for the tools they used -- a thick piece of wire and a 10-pound steel water shut-off wheel.

"You're a real pal! Happy Holidays," said the note, which also included a drawing of a hand with an upraised middle finger.

The note, Mitzner said, was "definitely sarcastic."

"There was no way he gave them any help. He was the one who had noticed they were missing."

Blunt was awaiting trial for robbery and weapons offenses. Espinosa was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to manslaughter in a 2005 drive-by shooting.

Authorities are reviewing security measures and have barred inmates from putting pictures cut from magazines on their cell walls.