May 29, 2013
Dad Charged With Putting Baby in Freezer
A 25-year-old Washington state man is charged child assault after he put his 6-week-old daughter in the freezer to shut her up then fell asleep until the mother came home. Tyler James Deutsch is facing multiple charges related to the incident, authorities said. The baby remained in the freezer long enough for her body temperature to drop to 84 degrees. Read more...
April 30, 2013
Woman Finds Baby on Oahu Beach
Police believe a baby found on an Oahu beach was abandoned. Police spokeswoman Michelle Yu says a woman parked at a beach late Sunday heard several people screaming. A few minutes later the screaming stopped, and the woman heard a baby crying. She walked toward the ocean and saw an infant on the sand. Read more...
April 11, 2013
Kidnap Couple Returned From Cuba
The couple accused of kidnapping their two young sons and fleeing by boat to Cuba has been booked into a Florida jail after being handed over to U.S. authorities. According to a website for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Joshua Michael Hakken and his wife Sharyn are being held at the jail early Wednesday on a number of charges including kidnapping, child neglect and interference with custody. Read more...
April 04, 2013
Father Kidnaps Two Young Sons
Authorities are searching for two young boys they believe were kidnapped by their father from their maternal grandparents' Florida home after their grandmother was tied up. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office asked for the public's help in locating the boys, 4-year-old Cole Hakken and 2-year-old Chase Hakken. Authorities allege that their father, 35-year-old Joshua Michael Hakken, entered his mother-in-law's house north of Tampa, tied her up and fled with the children. They said the children could be in a black 2006 GMC pickup owned by their father. Read more...
March 23, 2013
Teacher Charged in Alleged Sippy Cup Spiking
Santa Clara County prosecutors filed 10 misdemeanor charges against a Morgan Hill preschool teacher who allegedly spiked sippy cups with sleeping pills. Deborah Gratz, 59, of Hollister was charged with five counts each of attempted child endangerment and assault. Gratz, an employee of the Kiddie Academy on Monterey Road in Morgan Hill since 2007, supervised the naps for 10 children between 1 and 2 years old. Read more...
February 08, 2013
Handcuffed Teen to Remain in Foster Home
A Kansas City teenager who was found handcuffed to a steel pole in his basement will continue to stay with a foster family and plans to start attending classes again next week, a court officer said. At a probable cause hearing in Clay County, juvenile court officer Alan Gremli urged a judge to allow the 17-year-old to stay with foster parents because the living conditions at his home were dangerous. Circuit Judge K. Elizabeth Davis agreed and set a March 7 hearing to revisit the custody issue. Read more...
January 22, 2013
Nanny Charged With Injuring Baby That Died
A Quincy nanny has been charged with injuring a baby girl in her care who has since died, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T.Gerry Leone announced. Aisling McCarthy Brady, 34, of Quincy, was arrested today in Quincy on a charge of assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury. Brady is due to be arraigned in Cambridge District Court tomorrow. "This is an extremely troubling case, where we allege the defendant violently assaulted a 1-year-old child, causing a devastating head injury and broken bones," Leone said. Read more...
January 19, 2013
Woman Guilty in Stepson's Dehydration Death
A Dallas woman was convicted in the dehydration death of her 10-year-old stepson who was denied water for days during record-high temperatures in North Texas. Jurors deliberated more than two hours before finding Tina Marie Alberson, 44, guilty of second-degree felony injury to a child in the July 2011 death of Jonathan James. Alberson faces up to life in prison because of a previous felony conviction. Read more...
January 18, 2013
Suspect Arrested in Case of Utah Teen
A 55-year-old Utah man has been arrested in the disappearance of a teenage girl last week that set off a massive search involving 1,000 volunteers in freezing temperatures. The teenager — 13-year-old Brooklyn Gittins — was without her shoes or a coat when she crawled out of her bedroom window at her suburban Herriman home on Jan. 8. She called her grandmother two days later and officers later found her uninjured at a Wal-Mart store. Read more...
January 09, 2013
Officer Shoots Driver With 5-Year-Old in Front Seat
Phoenix authorities say a 5-year-old boy was found in a car's front passenger seat after police fired at the vehicle and fatally shot the driver. Sgt. Trent Crump says the motorist evaded a traffic stop late Monday night after he appeared to be impaired. Crump says officers later shot at the car and killed the driver after the vehicle struck a brick wall at a home and the man tried drive off -- first in one direction toward officers and then in another direction toward a different officer. Read more...
January 02, 2013
Man Tries to Kill 7-Year-Old
A western New York man was arrested in the alleged attempted murder of a 7-year-old girl. Lockport, N.Y., police arrested David Alfonso, 28, after responding to a 911 call and finding Alfonso at an intersection covered in blood, the News reports. Alfonso allegedly tried to kill the little girl, the child's mother, Cassandra Castro, 27, told police. In her call to emergency responders, the mother allegedly said, "He is killing my baby." Read more...
December 31, 2012
Katt Williams Arrested for Stolen Gun
Katt Williams, the comedian who has repeatedly found himself on the wrong side of the law, is out on bail after being arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of child endangerment and possession of a stolen gun. Police Officer Norma Eisenman says Williams was taken into custody after the LA County Department of Children and Family Services did a welfare check at his home. Authorities found more than one firearm, one of which had been reported stolen. Read more...
December 27, 2012
Police Chase Ends in Deadly Crash
A police chase turned deadly on Christmas night in Pasadena, Calif., when an SUV being pursued collided with a minivan, killing a woman and an 11-year-old boy. Police were attempting to stop the sport utility vehicle after it drove through a stop sign at a location that had been cordoned off by police investigating a fatal shooting that occurred. Police had been looking out for a suspicious SUV leaving the murder scene. Read more...
December 21, 2012
Feds Seek Female Child Pornographer
Federal officials are seeking help from the public to find a woman suspected of producing a child porn video - as well as a young victim who appears in it. Immigration and Customs Enforcement described the effort as not only one to arrest the woman, who is believed to be in her mid- to late 20s, but also to "rescue the victim," whose identity has not been determined. At the center of the case is a video that officials say shows the woman engaged in explicit sexual conduct with the victim, who appears to be aged 4 or 5. Read more...
December 20, 2012
Armed Mom Confronts Teen Bullies
A Colorado mom was charged after she allegedly threatened a juvenile at a middle school with a gun last week, KDVR.com reported. Police said Monica Avila, 34, confronted four female students in the parking lot of Lake Middle School in Denver. The girls were between the ages of 14 and 15. Avila reportedly confronted them about bullying her daughter. Read more...
December 10, 2012
Man Stole Car With Toddler Inside
A Bristol man has been accused of stealing a car in Hartford with a 2-year-old boy in the back seat. Devon Mills was held on $750,000 bond following his arraignment on charges of kidnapping, risk of injury and larceny. The 24-year-old Mills is accused of stealing the car as it idled outside a fast food store. He was caught when bystanders called in his location. Hartford police issued an Amber Alert notifying other agencies, the media and public. Read more...
December 06, 2012
Toddler Fatally Shot by 4-Year-Old Brother
Minneapolis police say a 2-year-old boy died after he was shot by his 4-year-old brother. Police responded to reports of a shooting in Minneapolis' Riverside neighborhood. Responding officers found the 2-year-old with a critical gunshot wound. The boy was loaded into an ambulance by emergency responders but died at the scene. Read more...
November 27, 2012
Man Charged in Shooting of 5-Year-Old Girl
Police charged an 18-year-old Bronx man with firing the stray bullet that struck a 5-year-old girl in the stomach as she was returning home from a baby shower, police said. Angel Morales was charged with attempted murder and criminal weapons possession after he allegedly opened fire in the Tremont neighborhood, seriously wounding Hailie Dominguez, police said. Hailie, who is expected to survive, was listed in stable condition. Read more...
November 23, 2012
Georgia Kidnapping Victim Found in Colorado
Authorities on Wednesday in Park County arrested a man accused of kidnapping a girl in Georgia. Following information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, deputies arrested 35-year-old Michael Dempsey on suspicion of kidnapping. Dempsey is being held in the Park County Jail without bond. Read more...
November 09, 2012
Parents Locked Teens in Basement for Months
A suburban Des Moines couple is under arrest after their adopted teenage children reported being locked in the basement and fed under a locked door as punishment. The 45-year-old father and 44-year-old mother are charged with false imprisonment and neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. The Iowa Human Services Department says it removed the 13-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy from the home in Ankeny after one of them told a school employee about their confinement. Read more...
November 06, 2012
Grandmother Arrested After Toddler Shooting
The grandmother of a Modesto toddler who was shot in what family members claimed was a drive-by shooting has been arrested. Modesto police say 54-year-old Maria Elena Hernandez was booked on suspicion of child endangerment hours after she brought her granddaughter to a hospital with a gunshot wound to her upper body. Family members told police that the 18-month-old girl was in the front yard when she was hit by gunfire. But neighbors didn't hear any gunshots and detectives found no evidence of a drive-by shooting. Read more...
September 17, 2012
Juvenile Father Arrested in Baby Kidnapping
A 16-year-old father was arrested today for investigation of kidnapping his 5-week-old baby from the child's mother, police said. Witnesses told police that the suspect argued with the 16-year-old mother of the baby before forcibly taking the child and leaving in a vehicle. After about 45 minutes, the suspect returned the child to the mother and fled again before police arrived, authorities said. Read more...
September 12, 2012
Mom Jailed for Baseball Attack on Sleeping Son
A South Florida woman is being held in jail after police say she struck her teenage son about 30 times with a baseball bat. A judge set a $50,000 bond for 50-year-old Sheronda Hall Reselva. She's accused of hitting her 17-year-old son with the bat while he was sleeping Sunday morning. According to Lauderhill police, Reselva left the teen's bedroom after hitting him, returned with a knife and told him she was going to kill him. Read more...
September 11, 2012
Parents Jailed for Shackling 17-Year-Old Boy
Investigators say a Southern California couple has been jailed for shackling their teenage son to a chair in the living room each night for about six months. San Bernardino County sheriff's investigators say the 17-year-old boy is in good health and he's in the custody of a family member. Sgt. Jason Radeleff said the boy told a family member that his parents had handcuffed him and pinned him with padlocked chains to a chair in the living room of the family home in desert Twentynine Palms. Read more...
September 05, 2012
Stranger Tries to Throw Kids in Front of Train
A mother and grandmother tackled an apparent stranger who tried to throw their two children in front of a moving train as they waited at an NJ Transit station in New Jersey Monday afternoon, police said. The family was waiting for the train at the Main Street Station in Ramsey, N.J., according to police. As the train approached, the children moved closer to the tracks to get a better look. Read more...
Toddler Falls From Roof While Baby-Sitter Sleeps
Police in Hartford, Conn., have charged a 25-year-old babysitter with risk of injury after the 2-year-old boy in her care fell off a roof, according to police. When Chantelle Turner was arraigned on Tuesday, she was ordered to have no contact with children. Police said it appears that the boy opened a window at Turner's residence, crawled onto a second-floor roof and fell off. Read more...
August 15, 2012
Pastor Convicted in Custody Case
An Amish-Mennonite pastor who helped a mother and her 7-year-old daughter flee the U.S. to Nicaragua so that she wouldn't have to share custody with her former lesbian partner was found guilty Tuesday of aiding in international parental kidnapping of a minor. Prosecutors say that Kenneth Miller, 46, who worked in his family's garden supply business, coordinated with Mennonites to drive Lisa Miller and her daughter, Isabella, to an airport in Canada and to then pick them up in Nicaragua, where the group runs a mission. Read more...
August 13, 2012
Bond Denied for Mom Charged in Child's Death
A Spartanburg woman faces upgraded charges in the death of her 7-year-old daughter, who was thrown from a sport utility vehicle following a high-speed chase on Interstate 85. Judge James Ashmore denied bond Saturday for 26-year-old Errika Shelton. Her daughter died from injuries stemming from the high-speed chase that ended with her SUV rolling over into the median. Read more...
August 08, 2012
Woman Fakes Pregnancy, Steals Baby
Police say a woman caught trying to steal a newborn girl from a Southern California hospital had faked a pregnancy with her estranged husband. Garden Grove police Lt. Jeff Nightengale tells The Orange County Register the motive of 48-year-old Grisel Ramirez may have been that she needed to pose as a new mom, and attempted to abduct the baby from Garden Grove Medical Center, after her due date passed. Read more...
August 07, 2012
Stepmom in Bahamas Abduction Gets 4 Years
A Montana judge has rejected a more lenient plea deal and given a four-year prison sentence to the stepmother of three children taken to the Bahamas on a sailboat against custody orders. Angela Bryant, 45, had pleaded guilty in May under a deal with prosecutors that called for her to get only six months prison. But the Gallatin County Clerk of District Court said that Judge Michael Salvagni instead imposed a four-year term. That matches the sentence given to the children's father, James Bryant, in July. Read more...
August 06, 2012
Parents Forced Kids Into Plastic Boxes
A couple from eastern Ohio has been charged with forcing their children into plastic storage boxes as a form of punishment. A prosecutor told local media outlets that the couple used duct tape to seal their three children, ages 5, 7, and 8, inside the plastic storage containers, which had a hole cut in the top for air. Read more...
Man Sentenced for Strapping Kids to Car
An Indiana man has been sentenced to 18 months on home detention for driving drunk with his three young children and another girl strapped to the hood of his car. Aaron Stefanski told a judge he regretted putting his three children, ages 4 to 6 and a neighbor's 7-year-old daughter on the hood of the car. Police arrested Stefanski and the neighbor after a liquor store manager called 911 when he saw Stefanski use a tow strap to secure the four children to the hood and drive away. Read more...
August 02, 2012
Ravens Jamal Lewis Charged With Child Abandonment
Former Ravens running back Jamal Lewis, who is due to be inducted in the team's Ring of Honor late next month, was arrested and charged with child abandonment. Lewis, 32, was booked in the Clayton County (Ga.) jail. Lewis, who retired in 2009 after playing nine seasons in the NFL, including six in Baltimore, has had no contact with his son for more than a year, the paper reported citing the arrest warrant. Read more...
July 26, 2012
9-Year-Old Caught Beating Toddlers on Video
Disturbing video from a Mississippi day care center shows a 9-year-old boy beating several much younger children, including an 11-month-old, whom he punches and bites. The frightening footage, taken at the Kiddie City Child Care Center in Vicksburg, shows the bully attacking the baby and then patting the boy on the back as it cries and adults come in to check on them. Throughout the video, the child can be seen waiting until day care workers aren’t looking to launch another attack. Read more...
July 12, 2012
Boyfriend Sought in Closet Case
The boyfriend of Kansas City woman whose 10-year-old daughter weighed just 32 pounds when she was rescued from a closet remained at large one day after he was charged with child endangerment. Neighbors had long suspected Marcus R. Benson played more of a role than he initially claimed after a call to a 24-hour child abuse hotline led authorities to the family's apartment June 22. Inside a locked closet that reeked of urine was the girl, weighing less than half of what a typical child her age weighs. Read more...
July 06, 2012
2-Year-Old Beaten for Mispronouncing Sister's Name
A Florida man beat a 2-year-old boy who suffers from a speech impediment with a hanger because the toddler was unable to pronounce his sister's name. David Lee Sinnett, 32, beat the boy so severely he suffered a fractured orbital bone and a black eye, said Karrie Eleazer, the public information officer for the sheriff's office. The toddler's mom and sister witnessed the alleged attack and told authorities that the beating was the result of the mispronunciation. Read more...
July 04, 2012
19 Kids Found Alone in Filthy, Hot Home
Authorities plan to file charges against a man and a woman accused of leaving 19 children ranging from 8 months to 14 years old unattended for a week in a sweltering, filthy home near Bowling Green. The children were found in a small three-bedroom rental home near Interstate 65 by officers who were responding to a complaint from a neighbor. It was littered with dog feces and had no air conditioning, Warren County Sheriff's Detective Tim Robinson said. Read more...
June 27, 2012
Mom Accused of Video Recording Abuse
A Connecticut mother is accused of abusing her 10-month-old baby and videorecording the incidents. Police in West Haven, Conn., arrested Kellie Park, 20, last week after the baby's father contacted authorities saying she texted him videos of her tormenting, berating and assaulting the infant, according to a police report. In one video, Park is heard telling the baby to "eat stuff off the floor, this is what your dad wants me to do," police said. Read more...
June 20, 2012
Naked Mom Leaves Kids in Wrecked Car
A mom was found naked and eating ice cream in a Houston drug store after leaving her three children alone in a car when she crashed it. Stephanie Dillard, 34, was charged with endangering a child after her vehicle collided with a METRO bus. Her three children -- aged five, 12 and 16 -- suffered minor injuries and were shaken up after the crash. Read more...
June 19, 2012
Father Indicted for Tossing Toddler Into Creek
A New Jersey man was indicted on charges that he murdered his two-year-old daughter by tossing her into a creek while she was strapped in her car seat. Arthur Morgan III of Eatontown has been in jail on $10 million bail since his arrest in San Diego in November. Authorities say that after failing to return Tierra Morgan-Glover to her mother, from whom he was estranged, he tossed the child into a creek at a park in Wall Township, then fled the state. Read more...
Police: Mother Forced Daughter Into Prostitution
Authorities have charged an Ohio woman with forcing her young daughter into prostitution. Police say Jacqueline Toro-Williams, 37, forced the girl, who was between 11 and 12 years old at the time, to engage in sexual favors for money for more than a year before she ran away to Mexico. Capt. Daniel Zampelli of the Akron Police Department told msnbc.com that Toro-Williams began forcing the girl into prostitution near their neighborhood in 2007. Read more...
Nanny Arrested After Two Girls Drown
Marta Sonia Corvi, a live-in nanny in Dallas, Georgia, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor reckless conduct after two girls drowned in a pool while she was caring for them. Corvi was watching her employer's daughter, Sophia Juaraz, as well as Corvi's own granddaughter, Mia Penoyer, both age five. The rest of the family went grocery shopping and the girls wandered outside. Corvi was on the phone and didn't notice they were missing until the family returned and found them drowned in the pool. Read more...
June 18, 2012
Man Charged With Child Abuse After Near Drowning
Authorities have charged a Florida man with aggravated child abuse after a 14-month-old boy nearly drowned. The Pasco County Sheriff's Office reports 39-year-old Kevin Geddes was swinging the child in the yard of his New Port Richey home. Investigators say Geddes appeared to be inebriated and fell into a canal adjacent to the yard with the toddler. Geddes reportedly refused help from witnesses. The child began taking in water and appeared to be drowning. Read more...
June 15, 2012
Blindfolded, Bound Children Found at Walmart
A man and woman from suburban Chicago face felony child abuse and child endangerment charges after police said two of their five children were found blindfolded with their arms and legs bound in a Kansas Walmart parking lot. The jailed couple from Northlake, Ill., appeared in court by video in Lawrence, in eastern Kansas. Bonds for both were set at $50,000. They were appointed public defenders, and preliminary hearings were scheduled for June 21. Read more...
May 15, 2012
Mom Helped Daugther, 13, 'Sext' Her Boyfriend
Would you want your mom to help you sext? Probably not. And even if you did, it's doubtful that your mom would even give you sexting help, right? Right. Which is why this story is so disturbing. A 35-year-old Utah woman has been arrested for helping her 13-year-old daughter take nude photos with her cell phone. She allegedly did this knowing that the photos were to be sent to her daughter's older boyfriend. That boyfriend is 30-years-old and lives in Oregon. Read more...
May 11, 2012
Student Tries to Kill Baby With Rat Poison
A California high school student has been charged with attempted murder after admitting to trying to feed rat poison to her two-week-old baby, police said. Cashel Phin, 18, was questioned by police after they were tipped off by one of her friends who allegedly heard her talking about dumping her baby in the trash, KTLA-TV reported. "The suspect admitted to trying to give the baby rat poison, also hitting it with a purse," Modesto Police Department Lt. Jeremy Young said. Read more...
May 04, 2012
Grandmother, Daughter Arrested for Prostitution
A 43-year-old grandmother and her 25-year-old daughter are accused of selling sex inside their Greeley apartment with a 2-year-old toddler present. The investigation began on April 22 when Greeley Police received a tip. Investigators, according to police, found the women were advertising their services on backpage.com, so an undercover agent arranged an "appointment." "The investigator arrived and saw the child in the living room of the apartment as the investigator was escorted to the bedroom," said Greeley Police Sgt. Susan West. "Additional officers and investigators entered the home at this time and arrested a 43-year-old female and a 25-year-old female, the mother and grandmother of the child in the apartment." Read more...
April 25, 2012
Baby Found in Ohio Freezer, 2 Charged
An Ohio couple accused of putting a newborn in a freezer have been charged with murder. Authorities on Tuesday upgraded the charges against the pair, who have been in jail for about a week on child-endangering charges. Kenisha Pruitt and Antonio Cervantes, of Toledo, both appeared in court where a judge set bond at $1 million for each. Both have asked for court-appointed attorneys. Read more...
April 06, 2012
Mom Arrested in Death of 2-Year-Old Daughter
A 37-year-old Roseville woman remained jailed, charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter. Police arrested Denise Wilder after they found her intoxicated and her daughter McKinley Wilder dead. Wilder's 5-year-old daughter, who also was in the home, was first sent to Child Protective Services, but was reunited Thursday with her father, Mark Wilder. Read more...
March 27, 2012
Missing 4-Year-Old Found Dead After Dog Attack
The search for a missing four-year-old Texas boy ended when his body was found near his home, his family confirmed. Kylar Johnson was found dead in Victoria -- about 130 miles southwest of Houston -- from injuries he sustained in a dog attack. He was reported missing Sunday night after he wandered away from his front yard as his father cleaned his car. Read more...
March 24, 2012
Dog Saves Florida Girl From Attack
A shelter dog is being hailed a hero for saving a Florida girl from an alleged attack by a sex offender. The 17-year-old girl was volunteering for the Friends of Strays animal shelter in St. Petersburg a few weeks ago when she was assaulted. The girl was walking with Mabeline, a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, down a path behind the building when the attacker allegedly grabbed her by her hair and pinned her to the ground, according to the station. The teen was able to break loose from her assailant when the 38-pound dog reportedly scared him away. Read more...
March 20, 2012
Parents Sought After 3-Year-Old Boy Found Wandering
Police in Florida were searching for the parents of a 3-year-old boy found wandering the streets alone. The boy, who gave his name as Josaya, was found alone and barefoot in Princeton, Miami-Dade County. "Once a child is involved, I've got to do something, I can't turn my eye," said Christopher Smith, who said he saw the boy and called police. Read more...
March 19, 2012
Mom Slahsed Son's Throat to Release 'Demons'
A Texas woman was arrested after allegedly slashing her five-year-old son's throat because she believed there were demons inside his body. Daphne Spurlock, 45, now faces a charge of attempted capital murder, the Magnolia Police Department said. Officers made the discovery shortly after 12:00am while conducting a welfare check on the boy at Spurlock's mobile home in Magnolia, about 45 miles northwest of Houston. Read more...
March 17, 2012
Daycare Owner Locks baby in Crawlspace
A Connecticut daycare center owner was arrested after police said she locked a 6-month-old girl in a crawl space so a health inspector would not see the center was over capacity. Police in Waterbury arrested 54-year-old Catalina Reyes after an inspector found the baby, crying, inside the crawl space, according to the newspaper. Authorities claim the baby was confined in the space for up to four hours, with no supervision, food or drink. Read more...
Couple Kept 12-Year-Old Boy Locked in Closet
A Florida couple locked up an extremely malnourished boy inside a closet as punishment for stealing food they were keeping from him, according to a police report. The 12-year-old boy also had been strapped to a bed or locked in a bathroom for days or weeks at a time over the past year, the police report said. He was treated at a hospital for malnutrition and dehydration. Read more...
March 15, 2012
Police Say Sibling Shooting Was Not Accidental
Police said that a 9-year-old girl pulled the trigger in the fatal shooting of her 7-year-old brother while their parents were briefly away from their Arkansas apartment. The shooting on Monday afternoon was not an accident, Little Rock Police spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings said, but he declined to comment any further. Hastings' remarks come a day after a police spokeswoman said the girl shot her brother and then backtracked to say only that the girl was responsible for the shooting. Read more...
March 09, 2012
Florida Passes 'Caylee's Law'
The Florida legislature has passed a bill aimed at protecting missing children that was inspired by the Caylee Anthony case. 'Caylee's Law' is awaiting the signature of Gov. Rick Scott. Basically, it increases the penalty for not reporting a missing child. Caylee Anthony was missing for 31 days before law enforcement was notified. Read more...
March 06, 2012
Mother Charged in Case of Third-Grade Shooting
The mother of the third-grade boy who brought a gun to school that went off, injuring a classmate, has been charged, as has her boyfriend. Prosecutors say Jamie Lee Chaffin, 34, and Douglas L. Bauer, 50, of Bremerton, Wash., are responsible for Chaffin's son obtaining the .45-caliber handgun. The boy, 9, had told his friends he planned to run away from his uncle's house, where he lives, and that he planned to bring a gun with him for protection. Read more...
February 24, 2012
Stabbed Bus Driver Suspended
A bus driver who was stabbed in the face with a pen while trying to resolve a dispute with a passenger has been suspended, a county spokesperson said. Cobb County spokeswoman AikWah Leow said the driver, Damian Haney, 39, was suspended with pay for not following protocol during the altercation that led to his stabbing. Leow says that instead of getting involved when suspect Taniesha Nicole Twyne allegedly got into an argument over a cell phone with another passenger, the driver should have stayed in his seat and called dispatch, which would have called 911. Read more...
February 23, 2012
2 Charged in Girl's Running Death
At the end of a dirt road leading to a double-wide trailer in rural Alabama, authorities say 9-year-old Savannah Hardin was being forced to run for three hours as punishment for having lied to her grandmother about eating candy bars. The severely dehydrated girl had a seizure and died days later, her death ruled a homicide. Her grandmother and stepmother who police say meted out the punishment are in jail, facing murder charges. Read more...
February 21, 2012
Parents Arrested After Teen Dies of Malnutrition
The parents of a 13-year-old Summerville boy were arrested Sunday after the coroner determined the boy died of malnutrition and neglect. Police were called to 1925 Bacons Bridge Road Feb. 10, according to Summerville Police Capt. Jon Rogers. The boy, whom officials have not publicly identified, was dead. An autopsy showed that he died of malnourishment and neglect, Rogers said. Read more...
February 17, 2012
Couple Gets 8 Years in Son's Cancer Death
The parents of an 8-year-old boy who died from Hodgkin lymphoma after suffering for months from undiagnosed swollen glands were sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to denying him medical treatment. Attorneys for Monica Hussing, 37, and William Robinson Sr., 40, had said the parents had financial problems and tried to get checkups for their son but could not afford it. Read more...
February 16, 2012
Couple Accused of Starving Daughter, 15
A Madison man and his wife have been arrested for allegedly torturing and starving the man's 15-year-old daughter, who told authorities she was forced to live in the basement of their home on the city's Southeast Side for years. The girl, who weighs about 70 pounds, told authorities she was forced to drink her urine and eat her feces, according to a police affidavit. Chad G. Chritton, 40, and Melinda J. Drabek-Chritton, 42, were being held Tuesday in Dane County Jail. Read more...
February 10, 2012
Pregnant Teen Held 9 Days, Beaten by Boyfriend
Police say a pregnant teenager was held captive nine days in a California home, where she was bound with tape and beaten by a jealous boyfriend. Investigators say the 18-year-old victim was allowed to leave the San Joaquin Valley home and she called police. She says 21-year-old Richard Garibay became enraged when he found a text message from another man on her cellphone. Read more...
February 08, 2012
FBI Arrests Teacher on Child Porn Charges
The FBI arrested a teacher's aide in Brooklyn, New York, after they say he made child pornography videos in an elementary school classroom. Parents of the school where Taleek Brooks worked say they rarely saw him without a camera. Officials say Brooks admits to having more than 1,000 images of young children on his computer. He worked at the elementary school for 10 years. Read more...
February 03, 2012
Babysitter Sexually Assaults Young Girl
A Norristown man arrested last year for child porn is now facing new charges of sexual assault. Last year, Gary Romano, 56, was arrested for allegedly possessing child pornography. After further investigation, police found a picture on his computer of him touching a child, according to investigators. Police say Romano took the picture himself and was advertising himself online for Sitter City, a babysitting website. After being hired by a family, police say he molested the 2-year-old girl that he babysat. Read more...
February 02, 2012
Woman Accused of Killing Baby Says She Lied
A Springfield woman accused of killing her newborn son has taken the stand to testify that her pregnancy was a charade and she confessed to the crime to avoid exposing the lie. Angelica Swartout testified that she wore baggy fleece all summer long in 2010. She demonstrated from the witness stand how she pushed out her belly to fake a pregnancy that was bringing her attention from her family. Read more...
February 01, 2012
No Lower Bond for Missing Boy's Mom
A judge has denied a request to lower the bond for the mother of a South Carolina boy missing since Thanksgiving. Circuit Judge Casey Manning on Tuesday ordered that 22-year-old Zinah Jennings continue to be held in the Richland County jail on $150,000 bond. Jennings has been in jail since late December, when police say they arrested her for lying about the whereabouts of her son, Amir. Read more...
Man Charged With Death of Baby Sitter
Prosecutors charged a man with child abuse homicide in the overdose death of his teenage baby sitter in Utah. Weber County Attorney Dee Smith said Eric Millerberg also faces additional charges of having sex with a minor, obstructing justice, unlawful sex with a minor and desecration of a body. Millerberg's wife, Dea, has been charged with desecration of a body. Read more...
January 31, 2012
Somer Thompson Suspect's Trial Delayed
The man charged with the kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Somer Thompson was supposed to go on trial this week for an unrelated child molestation charge, but that trial has been delayed. Attorneys for Jarred Harrell were granted a request for more time to prepare their case. The trial for molesting a 3-year-old girl is now scheduled to begin May 7. Read more...
January 30, 2012
Blood of Missing Maine Toddler Found
Some of the blood found in a Maine home where a missing toddler was last seen six weeks ago belonged to the little girl, an official said. State Police spokesman Steve McCausland would not say how much of Ayla Reynolds' blood was found in her father's home in Waterville, where exactly it was found or how long it might have been there. But investigators told Ayla's mother's family that the amount of blood was "more blood than a small cut would produce," according to family-run website. Read more...
January 28, 2012
Day Care Worker Tapes Toddler to Mat
A northern Kentucky day care worker has been arrested and fired from her job for allegedly taping a toddler to a mat during nap time. Police arrested 20-year-old Alicia Lyons on Wednesday and charged her with first-degree criminal abuse. She was released from the Kenton County jail. Read more...
January 27, 2012
Trial Delayed for Jarred Harrell
The trial in the child molestation case against Jarred Harrell has been delayed. Harrell is accused of kidnapping, assaulting and killing 7-year-old Somer Thompson in October 2009. He hasn't been in court since he was arraigned in 2010. Harrell is also charged with child molestation of a 3-year-old and possession of child pornography in cases unrelated to Somer's killing. His trial on the child molestation charges was schedule to start in two weeks, but on Tuesday, a Clay County judge granted a defense request for more time to prepare for that trial. It was pushed back to May 7. Read more...
Officials Call Off Search for Missing SC Toddler
The mother of a South Carolina toddler missing since Thanksgiving is pregnant and mentally ill and should be released from jail because she needs medical care, the woman's attorney argued in court papers filed this week. Hemphill Pride II says Zinah Jennings has been ordered to have treatment for her mental illness for a year and has been told to take Risperdal, which is used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia. He also said she needs prenatal care. Read more...
January 26, 2012
Mom Missing After Abandoning Her Young Kids
New Hampshire authorities issued an arrest warrant for a 25-year-old mom accused of abandoning her three young children earlier this month. On Jan. 14, Miranda Rifenburgh reportedly alerted her fiancé in a text message that she was going to leave him and their three children. When the fiancé returned home, it appeared she made good on her promise. She was gone, and her children, all under 2 years old, were home alone. Read more...
January 23, 2012
Day Care Provider Charged in Child's Drowning
A 37-year-old Illinois woman is facing a felony charge in the August drowning death of a 2-year-old girl. The Will County state's attorney's office charged Tracy Kennedy with felony endangering the life of a child and misdemeanor operating a child care facility without a license. Prosecutors said Kennedy left 2-year-old Abigail Holland in an unsafe environment, which caused the girl's death around 10:40 a.m. Aug. 2. Abigail drowned in the backyard pool at Kennedy's home. Read more...
