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Click for scenes from California dipicted some of it's beauty. After please continue below to see Californians who desperately
needed help. Please help end child abuse.
Father killed children and self
Julie Mulvaney found the brutally stabbed bodies of her children
in their bedrooms at her ex-husband’s apartment in Thousand Oaks on Wednesday evening, his body was in the next room.
In the aftermath of the killings, which investigators described as horrific, more details have emerged of the painful
disintegration of the Mulvaneys’ marriage amid fights over a Thousand Oaks home and spousal support. The Mulvaneys were nearly two years into divorce proceedings, which court documents show to have been acrimonious.
While a Ventura County Superior Court judge had granted a divorce decree in November, the couple were still working through
a number of issues, including custody, child support and spousal support. In court documents,
despite accusations by the couple of coercion, verbal abuse and revenge, there was no signal of the tragedy that unfolded. “We have people who behave so badly they have to come to the sheriff’s station to do their custody
exchanges under our supervision because things have deteriorated,” said Ventura County Sheriff’s Detective Eric
Buschow. “These people were not on our radar. There is no indication there is a history of domestic violence. There
was nothing to suggest this was coming.” ‘It was just horrible’ The house on Oak Valley Lane in Thousand
Oaks, purchased in 2007 to buoy the Mulvaneys’ sinking marriage, according to court documents, became a source of bitter
contention in their divorce. Julie Mulvaney repeatedly asked him to move out after their separation
in January 2008 to maintain a healthy environment for their children, according to a declaration she filed in July 2009. She
claimed he stayed in the house to coerce her into accepting his settlement demands. Fights
erupted between them, at one point becoming physical. Both children showed signs of emotional distress, living amid the acrimony.
Jennifer, then 6 1/2, refused to attend school at times and appeared agitated, while Jason, then 11, developed an “overly
active physical and verbal behavior,” according to Julie Mulvaney’s declaration. “We
have resorted to use of profanities,” she also wrote in the declaration. “He has provoked me to push him on one
occasion. He, and only he, is the sole cause of the emotional and physical distress that our minor children and I have been
suffering on an increasing level since January 2008.” Contentious debates James Mulvaney countered that there was no reason to leave, and he accused Julie Mulvaney of making up accusations
to force him out “because she is angry I won’t merely leave without a settlement that affords me the opportunity
to move/relocate,” according to his declaration. He claimed she was angry because he requested spousal support, and
he suggested her efforts to have him move out were for revenge. Along with a settlement,
he had wanted his ex-wife to serve as co-signer for a new home for him. In the end, James Mulvaney moved out on Dec. 31, 2008,
after receiving $100,000 from Julie Mulvaney, who remained in the house. As contentious
debates continued over custody, spousal and child support and the future of the house, Julie Mulvaney’s request was
granted for divorce before the other issues were settled. In court documents, she accused her ex-husband of stymieing settlement
negotiations. Needed medical benefits He had fought
against her request, arguing in part that a divorce decree would likely result in the loss of his medical benefits, which
he received through her. If that happened, he said, he would likely be determined uninsurable. Mulvaney
had epilepsy, according to court records. In December 2007, after he had a seizure in a Department of Motor Vehicles office
while renewing his driver’s license, his license was revoked. Julie Mulvaney successfully
sought a court order barring him from driving their children, stating he’d had car accidents. Later, he had his license
reinstated and said he needed the vehicle to exercise his custody rights. After he provided his medical records, the court
reversed its order. He also received temporary spousal support of $5,000 a month. The issue
was still a source of contention when, according to investigators, Mulvaney killed his children and himself. The Mulvaneys were expected to appear in court again in January.
Please
note this man claimed to be a victim of false accusations. We leave it to your common sense==was he a victim or an abuser
- San Diego News Network - http://www.sdnn.com - Prosecutor: Man killed son and baby’s mom to avoid child support Posted By joseph.pena On August 20, 2009 A Bonita
man strangled the mother of his son and the 10-month-old baby to avoid paying child support, a prosecutor
said today, but a defense attorney said the real killer was a hopeful suitor the woman rejected. Dennis Potts, 25, surprised 22-year-old Tori Vienneau the night of July 26, 2006, knocking her unconscious
between 6 and 6:45 p.m., then killed her after they had made plans to go out to dinner, prosecutor Per Hellstrom said in his
opening statement. A roommate found Vienneau strangled with the cord of a hair-flattening
iron and her son, Dean Springstube, hanging in his crib with the cord of a cell phone charger wrapped around the baby’s
neck, the prosecutor said. A week before the murders, Vienneau had decided to take Potts
to court after she became convinced that he had faked a paternity test, Hellstrom told the jury. “He
came over that evening, all right,” the prosecutor said of Potts. “He didn’t come over to go to dinner.
He came over to kill them both.” The crime scene was made to look like a sexual assault because Vienneau’s blouse
and underwear were ripped and her pants were off, Hellstrom said. There were no signs of
forced entry into the third-story apartment in south San Diego, which told investigators Vienneau knew her killer, he said. “This was not a stranger-type killing,” the prosecutor said. “This was somebody who knew
Tori. It’s clear she was taken by surprise.” Potts’ fingerprint was found
in a door jam about 3 feet away from the baby’s crib, according to Hellstrom, who said a text message was planted by
the killer on Vienneau’s phone at 6:59 p.m. so he could cover his tracks. Hellstrom
said Potts lied to detectives when he said the paternity tests he took were legitimate, when in fact he had used his friend
Max Corn’s DNA to submit for the test. “He is distancing himself from his connection
with her,” the prosecutor told the jury. Thirteen text message exchanges between
Potts and Vienneau the day of the murders were deleted from her phone, and Potts told police he deleted all of his text messages
from that day, Hellstrom said. A “ping” from a cell phone tower near the victim’s
apartment puts Potts in the vicinity at 6:44 p.m., around the time Vienneau was killed, the prosecutor said. On Potts’ computer, authorities found Google searches for “committing murder; how to cheat a swab
paternity test; best way to kill someone; getting away with murder; getting out of child support; performing (a) chokehold;
knocking someone unconscious; knocking someone in the head; and how did you get away with murder,” the prosecutor said. Hellstrom alleged Potts and Corn had an agreement to defraud Vienneau, but also to cover up Potts’ actions
and throw off police so an obvious motive wouldn’t be apparent. Defense attorney
Kerry Armstrong, in his opening statement, said police focused on Potts from the beginning and ignored the real killer, a
man named Daniel Moen. Armstrong said once Vienneau’s boyfriend Neil Springstube
was out of the picture, Moen became more attracted to Vienneau, but she didn’t see it the same way. “Daniel Moen wanted to be Tori’s boyfriend,” Armstrong told the jury. Four days before the murders, Moen and Vienneau had sex, but later Vienneau rejected him, Armstrong told the
jury. Potts will admit lying to police about the paternity test and will admit he faked
it, his attorney said. Armstrong said Potts was scared and had a longtime girlfriend —
who is now his fiancee — and needed time to figure out how to tell her and his parents about the child he would now
be responsible for. “He knew he was going to be deemed the father,” Armstrong
said of Potts. Armstrong said Potts searched the Internet about death and murder because
his father had suffered a couple of strokes in the past. Potts also had an interest in mixed martial arts, his attorney said. Furthermore, Potts wrote a school paper on euthanasia that included those searches, according to his attorney. “He will tell you that he had no plans to kill Tori Vienneau and Baby Dean,” Armstrong told the
jury. Potts’ fingerprints were in the victim’s apartment because he had been
there at least three times in the past and remembered leaning against the door, Armstrong said. Potts
was at Corn’s South Bay home working on a project for his father when Vienneau was killed, Armstrong said. An expert will testify that the “ping” off the cell tower near Vienneau’s apartment could
have come from a call that Potts’ mother placed to him while he was at Corn’s house at 6:44 the night of the murders,
Armstrong said. Potts is charged with two counts of murder and a special circumstance of
multiple murders, along with a charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice. He faces life in prison without the possibility of
parole if convicted. The trial is expected to last about a month in courtroom of Judge
Bernard Revak. Suspect in San Jose murder-suicide lost custody of daughter three months agoPosted: 07/08/2009 06:16:24 PM PDT Updated: 07/08/2009 06:16:24 PM PDT
Three months ago Jian Ming Liang was convicted of child endangerment and had his 9-year-old daughter
legally handed over to her mother in San Jose, according to San Jose police. This week Liang came from Southern California
on an unexpected and tragic family visit — armed with a semi-automatic pistol. Liang shot and killed his ex-girlfriend
Ying He — and then himself — because he was upset over losing custody of their child, San Jose police said their
preliminary investigation showed. The child and He's husband escaped the carnage. Local police have released
little else about the murder-suicide or Jiang, 39. "We don't know what his intentions were,'' said
Lt. Rikki Goede, commander of the SJPD homicide unit. "We are still investigating." But Arcadia police released
a troubling story of how Liang had contacted school officials earlier this year to say that he "could no longer afford
or wanted to care" for the girl. The department launched a child neglect and abandonment investigation in March. The
girl was turned over to the Department of Children and Family Services and was later released to her mother. Liang was
arrested by Arcadia Police Department officers on March 23, 2009 when he attended a child custody hearing at Family Court
in East Los Angeles. He was booked for felony child endangerment and abandonment. Liang later plead no contest to a misdemeanor
count of child abandonment and was sentenced to three years probation, police said. Liang's only criminal
case in Santa Clara County shows a 2003 stalking charge that was dismissed. Online records show Liang had filed for bankruptcy
in 2005. San Jose police say they are not sure what Liang did before the Monday morning shooting. Liang showed
up at the Montecito Vista townhouse and confronted Shane Coffman, He's husband, in the garage area, police said. He fired
a shot which grazed Coffman's earlobe. Then, he went into the home and shot the girl's mother multiple times. "It
appears she was mortally wounded before the first officer arrived on the scene,'' Goede said. Police later found
Jiang's body. He had killed himself. The dead mother's domestic problems with her old flame were dark shadows
that rarely appeared on her sunny, public face. Colleagues at the tight-knit respiratory therapy department at El Camino
Hospital where Ying He worked, remembered her as "the sweetest person ever." The 35-year-old San Jose woman
went by her Chinese name "Ying" at work, and was known as "Brandi'' to others, including her husband's
family. Shane Coffman, who survived the apparent murder-suicide, has declined to speak through relatives because the tragedy
is simply too raw. "It's such a horrible tragedy,'' said Ritu Joshi, who used to work with He, a night-shift
therapist who regulated the breathing of patients in the intensive care unit. "She was awesome. She was kind to all her
patients. She had sincere eyes and you just knew that she really cared. You would have never thought anything like this was
going on in her life.'' Joshi and others didn't pry too much, but there were snippets of He's life that
had dribbled out. Something about an ex-husband taking her daughter away from her. Then, her winning custody of her child
a few months ago. She recently brought her daughter to work for the first time, colleagues said. She seemed so excited and
proud to show her off .
The Orange County Register reports that an Anaheim couple was sentenced to 12 years and eight months in prison Friday
for abusing their two children. The mother and father would abuse their children by binding ant tying the kids’ wrists
and ankles, leaving them tied up for hours. Anaheim Hills couple Kimberly Joy Quebe, 49,
and John Herman Quebe, 48, have been married for 21 years and have two children, ages 15 and 11, that they liked to physically
and verbally abuse by tying the kids’ wrists and ankles, locking then in their rooms for hours at a time, screaming
obscenities at them and calling them degrading names. Yesterday, the Quebe’s plead guilty to two felony counts of false
imprisonment, two counts of child abuse, and two counts of corporal injury on a child with great bodily injury and sentenced
to 12 years and eight months in prison for their heinous acts of child abuse. The Quebe’s
often tried to cover up their child abuse by telling people their children were being home schooled. Fortunately
for those kids, a citizen noticed the restraint marks on their wrists and ankles while the kids were at a community pool in
2008 and called the police.
Ojai man to stand trial on child-abuse chargesIn a preliminary hearing in the case against the boy’s father, Ernesto Flores,
23, of Ojai, Ventura County Superior Court Judge James Cloninger also ruled that there was sufficient evidence to hold Flores
to answer to child abuse charges involving the boy and his baby sister. The baby girl is Flores’ biological daughter,
according to attorneys. Flores is charged with felony corporal injury to a child and misdemeanor cruelty to a child by inflicting
injury, according to court documents. Flores’ lawyer, Monique S. Hill, told the judge that there wasn’t
any evidence of abuse of the children by Flores. In an interview after the hearing, Hill said her client will go to
trial to prove his innocence. “There are some elements missing” in the prosecutors’ case, Hill said.
She declined to elaborate. In court, Sheriff’s Detective Albert Mesa testified that in January he talked to the boy, who had bruises around his eyes and on his nose, and very small
bruises on his ears. When asked about other bruises, the boy pulled up his shirt and showed the detective more bruises on
his chest area, according to Mesa. “He stated that his papa had hit him. He was told that he was acting real bad,”
said Mesa, adding that the boy repeated a similar comment when asked about the chest bruises. “He stated, once again,
that his papa told him he was acting bad.” Flores’ wife told Mesa that her husband played too rough with
the children, the detective testified. Mesa also testified that she said the boy injured himself playing with a truck and hitting his face. Authorities allege the baby girl had bite marks on her body. Flores’ wife told Mesa that
her husband had kissed the baby too hard, the detective testified. Also testifying was Sheriff’s Deputy James
Popp, who told the court that in January he interviewed the victims’ uncle, who told him that he was visiting his sister
and Flores in Ojai on Dec. 23 and saw Flores kick the boy in the buttocks. The uncle said he immediately confronted
Flores but didn’t get an answer from Flores about why he kicked the boy, according to Popp. “He could not
see any reason why the child was kicked,” Popp testified. The uncle reported the abuse to authorities after seeing
the boy with a number of bruises in January and after noticing, every few weeks, that the boy had new bruising and marks on
the ears and side of the head, Popp testified. During her cross-examination, Hill zeroed in on how the investigation was conducted, questioning Mesa on whether he asked the boy who “papa” was and whether the boy knew the difference
between a lie and telling the truth. Mesa said he didn’t do either, but was certain the boy told the truth, adding
that qualifying the boy as a truthful witness isn’t something detectives do in such a case. “If you ask
me for my opinion, I would say, ‘Yes,’ the boy is telling the truth,” said Mesa. Mesa said that later
in his investigation he became aware that the maternal grandparents were unhappy about their visitation rights with the children. Under
cross-examination, Popp said the kick by Flores is the only injury described to him by relatives.
From the Los Angelas
Times By Hector Becerra and Garrett Therolf
July 25, 2009 South L.A. boy died after previous
reports of abuse Dae’von Bailey had injuries that suggested blows
or other trauma over an extended period of time, a police lieutenant said. A
6-year-old boy whose battered body was found on the floor of a South Los Angeles home was the subject of roughly a dozen calls
to Los Angeles County’s child abuse hotline alleging abuse or neglect, a county official briefed on the case told The
Times on Friday. Dae’von Bailey had injuries that suggested blows
or other trauma over an extended period of time, said Lt. Vincent Neglia of the LAPD’s Abused Child Section. Police
are searching for the boy’s stepfather, Marcas Fisher, 36, as a “person of interest” in the case. Dae’von’s death appears to fit a pattern in which children have been killed after their
cases already had come to the attention of county child welfare officials. The Times previously reported that last year, 14
children died after being evaluated by the county Department of Children and Family Services. Some of those deaths involved
breakdowns in the system in which some agencies knew about potential abuse but had failed to share the information with other
agencies. In other cases, investigators found that poor decisions by social workers had contributed to the deaths. The county Board of Supervisors has repeatedly been warned by auditors and other experts that the
child welfare system lacks efficient ways to share information about risks faced by children. After the reports in The Times,
the board last month voted to approve a new effort to ensure that agencies share information. Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose district includes South Los Angeles, called on the board Friday
to appoint an independent investigator to thoroughly review Dae’von’s case. Thomas said the probe should include
looking at the boy’s contact with Family Services and any other government agencies to identify any breakdowns that
might have contributed to his death. The inquiry, if approved, would be the first of its kind since 2006. “We need to get to the bottom of this,” Ridley-Thomas said. “To have a county that
has a stain on its image, to have children dying under these circumstances, is very, very difficult to bear. . . . The public
has a right to have confidence that we are taking care of these matters competently.” Family
Services Director Trish Ploehn, who since taking office two years ago has made better accountability of social workers a top
priority, said she’s already launched “a full and comprehensive internal investigation.” “This was a tragic and senseless death,” Ploehn said. “I’ve had a full team
of people looking at it all day.” On Friday, neighbors on South
87th Place tried to make sense of what had happened to Dae’von, whom they described as a sweet, well-behaved child.
Relatives found him dead on the floor after being alerted by a frantic call from an unidentified person in his home. Fisher
was not in the house when officers arrived. Neglia said Fisher had “no history of violent crime” but that he did
have a history of property crimes. The coroner’s office had not determined the cause of death. The county official, who was not authorized to comment on the case and therefore spoke on condition
of anonymity, said the dozen calls reporting abuse or neglect occurred at various times in Dae’von’s life. The
source said county officials had opened an investigation after each call. But it remained unclear Friday whether social workers
had concluded that abuse had occurred or whether the county had an active case file on Dae’von at the time of his death. The boy’s mother, Tylette Davis, 28, said Fisher had been with her when she was pregnant with
Dae’von, but he wasn’t the boy’s biological father. She separated from him some time ago. Davis said she never witnessed Fisher abuse Dae’von, but she said that about three years ago,
Fisher “whipped” one of her older sons until “his butt was all red.” Davis
said that none of her six children, including Dae’von, were living with her because she was “going through things,
and I thought he could take care of the kids while I got my stuff together.” Dae’von
and Davis’ 5-year-old daughter — who is now in protective custody — were staying with Fisher; a 14-year-old
daughter was staying with a cousin in Compton; and her other three children were staying with her mother, also in Compton… He and other neighbors say they heard the movie “Medea Goes to Jail” playing loudly in
the house. Davis said the film seemed to be playing in a loop, along with a taped performance by comedian Katt Williams. Later,
he wondered whether the sounds were intended to cover up tumult inside the house. hector.becerra@latimes.com garrett.therolf@latimes.com Times staff writer
Richard Winton contributed to this report
Mother held as suspect in toddler deathThree-year-old found badly burned, bore signs of
long-term physical abuseA La Quinta woman suspected in the
death of her 3-year-old daughter, who was found dead after suffering burns that went untreated, is expected to be arraigned
next week. While investigating the death of Delilah Urrutia, who turned 3 on May 14,
authorities noted that the little girl had suffered other injuries “caused by continuous physical abuse,” according
to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Arrested on Tuesday,
Yolanda Guadalupe Peña, 39, is expected to be arraigned Monday on charges of murder and cruelty to a child causing
death, jail records stated. She is detained in the Riverside County
Jail in Indio in lieu of $1 million bail. The incident, which officials
are calling a “heinous” crime, marks the first homicide in La Quinta this year, said Lt. Raymond Gregory, the
city's assistant police chief, Wednesday. On June 25, shortly after
10 p.m., Peña called emergency personnel to her home in the 44-000 block of Vista Dunes Lane, after finding that her
daughter had stopped breathing, officials said. When officers arrived,
they found Delilah dead, covered in first- and second-degree burns to her face, neck, chest, back and arms. “It was obvious that the burns were from an extremely hot liquid — and you can just imagine
how awful that was,” Gregory said. Peña told emergency
personnel Delilah “had accidentally tipped a pot of hot water on herself,” officials said. She also said that instead of seeking treatment for her daughter, she put the girl in a room for punishment,
Gregory said, adding that the girl may have been in the room since midday. A
cause of death has yet to be determined, but authorities said a Monday autopsy showed Delilah had additional injuries “which
appeared to have been received over a period of time ” Investigators,
however, believe it is too early to discuss why Peña did not seek medical treatment for her daughter's burns. “It's a shame,” Gregory said. “Although we've come
a long way, things like this remind us that we need to be vigilant and continue to raise awareness about child abuse.”
Calif. man pleads not guilty to stepdaughter
abuseThe Associated Press
Monday, June 22, 2009; 7:21 PM VICTORVILLE, Calif. -- A long-haul truck driver pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he sexually abused
his teenage stepdaughters and fathered one girl's baby. Tony Slone, 43, entered
the plea in Superior Court in Victorville, said Susan Mickey, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County district attorney's
office. Slone was charged with sexually abusing his now 13- and 16-year old stepdaughters over the last four years.
His wife was charged with child abuse for allegedly letting her elder daughter continue to have contact with Slone after he
fathered her 13-month-old child. Tony Slone was arrested June 4 in Chester, N.Y., where he had traveled for work, and
was extradited to California on Sunday. He is a registered sex offender and previously served an eight year-prison sentence
for lewd acts with a child. Prosecutors say they learned of the abuse when a high school student reported reading sexual
text messages on her friend's cell phone from her friend's stepfather. Mickey said an attorney from the conflict panel was appointed for Slone. No
one at the panel's offices was immediately available to comment. Slone's next court date is June 30. Anita
Slone, 47, reached a plea deal with prosecutors last week. She pleaded guilty in exchange for no more than 180 days in county
jail and five years probation, said Kathleen DiDonato, a deputy district attorney. DiDonato said the probation would
help protect the daughters until they are adults. Anita Slone is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
Whittier toddler dies shortly after county closes abuse case
By Ruby Gonzales, Staff Writer Posted: 06/13/2009 07:06:33 AM PDT
 Ruben Ramirez, 18 months, of Whittier died of blunt force trauma
Nov. 3, 2008. (Courtesy Photo) WHITTIER - The Los Angeles County Department
of Children and Family Services investigated a report last year that 18-month-old Ruben Ramirez was being abused and neglected.
It later ruled the allegations as inconclusive and closed the case Oct. 28, 2008. Six days later, the Whittier toddler
was dead. Coroner's officials said someone hit and kicked Ruben, resulting in multiple blunt-force trauma. His
Nov. 3 death was ruled a homicide. The Sheriff's Homicide Bureau, which is investigating the killing, has not yet made
any arrests. Detectives are waiting for the District Attorney's Office to make a decision on the case. "We've
talked to the principal parties we believe were involved. We've documented and conferred with the DA," said Lt. Dan
Rosenberg. He said the District Attorney's Office will decide what to do or have them go in another direction.
The Department of Children and Family Services served 56,241 children in 2008. Ruben was among the 14 children who
died last year who were either in the care of DCFS or had prior contact with the department. DCFS Director Trish Ploehn
said the majority of the the 14 didn't have an open case with the department. One was a boy who died from injuries he
sustained from being shaken as a baby by his parents in 2001. Some of Ruben's relatives believe the DCFS failed
him. Ploehn doesn't think so. "The fact this child died is a tragedy. (But) at the time we closed the case
there was no imminent danger to the child," Ploehn said. Reports on the Ruben Ramirez case released at the request
of this newspaper showed the department didn't consider the toddler in danger once he and his mother, Vanessa Villalobos,
moved out of the Whittier apartment where she stayed with her then-boyfriend and his relatives. She started taking parenting
classes, stayed with her family then later moved in with a friend. Villalobos denies ever spanking or hurting her son.
Her former boyfriend, Robert Gutierrez, who she asked to watch Ruben on Nov. 3, couldn't be reached for comment for this
story. But he has told detectives he wasn't responsible for the toddler's death. Because a child who
had a history with them died, DCFS launched an internal affairs investigation. The probe concluded recently and reports were
sent to the performance management section which will determine if there's any culpability and what discipline, if any,
will be given. Ploehn said she cannot name the four employees involved in the case, what positions they hold in the
department or discuss the internal affairs investigation until the final outcome. Vanessa Villalobos thinks DCFS could
have done a better job. "I don't know exactly how their system worked. But keeping the case open a bit longer,
making sure I finished class. I barely started (parenting) classes two weeks when they closed the case," she said. She
would have wanted the department to visit her and her son once a month to see how they were doing - to be more proactive.
Villalobos said she would call the social worker who would return calls only after she called the supervisor. "It
was bad. I used to get frustrated," Villalobos said. DCFS got involved after a doctor noticed bruises on Ruben's
ear, cheek and buttocks during a Sept. 3, 2008 appointment to get lab results from an earlier visit, according to a Suspected
Child Abuse report. The report said the doctor noted some of the bruises are consistent with pinch marks and that Villalobos
admitted to having an issue with alcohol. "The mother said ... when she drinks alcoholic beverages it would make
her sleepy and she would fall asleep. Mother ... believes while she was sleeping, someone was abusing infant at her boyfriend's
home," according to the report. However, Villalobos disputed parts of the report. She said there were no bruises
on Ruben's face. She saw suspicious bruising on his buttocks, got worried and took him to the doctor. "I had
told them I drink once in awhile but whenever I did, I wouldn't pass out to the point where I would pass out and not hear
anything," she said. She said if she drinks, it's "a rare, rare occasion." And when she did, she
always had someone watching Ruben. A Safety Assessment report by the department noted that the boy's caregiver
(mother) fails to protect him from serious harm or threatened harm. It said that one or more safety threats were present but
didn't explain what these were. "Safety interventions have been initiated and the child will remain in the
home as long as the safety interventions mitigate the danger. A SAFETY PLAN IS REQUIRED FOR THE CHILD TO REMAIN IN THE HOME,"
the report said. Ploehn said Villalobos moved in with her mother and grandmother who could assist with the child. The
department deemed this home safe. When Villalobos later went to stay with a friend, DCFS also considered this home safe. "The
September case was closed because the child was now in a safe environment," she said. A social worker either finds
an allegation of abuse substantiated, unsubstantiated or inconclusive. Ploehn said an inconclusive finding is a big
area. If there is a belief something occurred but there's no way to determine when it occurred or who did it, she said
that would fall under inconclusive. "At the time that's determined, you look at a way to ensure the child's
safety," she said. Once that's done, Ploehn said the options include closing the case. "We can't
keep the case open and keep interfering in the family's life if they're cooperative, if the child was placed in a
safe situation," she said. By Nov. 3, 2008, Villalobos and her son were living with a friend in Whittier. The
two women went to do errands and picked up Villalobos' boyfriend on the way home. Villalobos asked Gutierrez to
watch over Ruben while she took a shower. She later helped him move the playpen to a room and put a sippy cup with milk for
her son. Her friend left to pick up her children. While Villalobos was in the kitchen, she heard Gutierrez shout
that Ruben wasn't breathing. She said he came into the kitchen with a worried look on his face. "I run there
and I see him. And he looked lifeless. I start freaking out. What's the matter with him? Bobby told me, `I don't know.
I saw him like that."' She called 9-1-1 and they tried to perform CPR on Ruben. She said he started breathing.
Ruben was being taken by an ambulance to a helicopter when he went into cardiac arrest. Paramedics rushed him to Presbyterian
Intercommunity Hospital where he died. The doctor suspected abuse when he saw bruising to the back of the toddler's head,
according to the Nov. 3 Suspected Child Abuse Report. Ploehn said it wasn't because of this case or any other case
but the department has revamped its initial response by retraining staff and shifting more experienced employees to the front
end. "Any child or baby death is the worst possible outcome," she said. "We have a big operation. We
have many children served. No child death is acceptable."
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Man Convicted of Beating, Torturing &
Murdering Girlfriend's Toddler
Last Update: 6/30 5:07 pm |
VISTA - A man who fatally beat and tortured his girlfriend's
2-year-old son, causing bruises from head to toe, was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder and other charges that could
lead to the death penalty.
After deliberating for parts of three days, jurors found true a special circumstance
allegation that Jose Maurice Castenada tortured Cesar Razo, using hangers, cable wire, belts and a yellow cord.
Castenada, 24, was also convicted of assault on a child with force likely to produce great bodily injury or death, torture
and felony child abuse.
After a monthlong trial, jurors also found the defendant guilty of misdemeanor child abuse
for beating the victim's then-5-year-old sister.
Castenada was acquitted of charges that he tortured the girl.
The penalty phase of trial is scheduled to begin tomorrow, after which jurors will recommend the death penalty
or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Cesar was rushed to a hospital where he died June 25, 2005.
Castenada and the child's mother, Maria Razo, told emergency room doctors that the victim had fallen from
a swing set.
An emergency room doctor who treated the victim said his injuries were so severe she thought he had
been run over by a car.
Prosecutors said Castenada tortured the 23-pound victim for up to 10 months before his
death and that the toddler was forced to live in a small, dark closet.
Cesar had 304 injuries on his 34-inch-long
body and lacerations to his liver and penis when he died.
Defense attorney Allen Bloom alleged the victim's
real killer was his mother.
The mother pleaded guilty two years ago to voluntary manslaughter and child abuse
and testified against Castenada. Judge Joan Weber is expected to sentence her to 16 years and eight months in state prison
on Aug. 21. |
Red Bluff man faces 14 years in child abuse caseBy Jim Schultz (Contact)
Saturday, June 13, 2009 RED BLUFF - A Red Bluff man is facing up to 14 years in prison next month after a Tehama County jury
convicted him of physically abusing a 14-month-old baby. Victor Matthew Conner, 33, was convicted Thursday of felony
child abuse and causing great bodily injury to a child under the age of 5, said Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Skillman,
who prosecuted the case. Conner is due to be sentenced on July 13 in Tehama County Superior Court. Skillman said
the baby girl was admitted on Aug. 13, 2007, to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff and then flown to the University
of California at Davis Medical Center in Sacramento suffering two broken legs, a broken arm, a severely swollen eye and a
concussion. The girl, who is now 3, has fully recovered from her injuries, Skillman said. Authorities learned
during their investigation into the case that the little girl had been staying with her mother, 24-year-old Samantha Elliot,
and her boyfriend, Conner, Skillman said. Elliot had left the child alone with him to attend a welfare appointment and
noticed when she returned that the baby had a swollen eye and could not stand, he said. The baby, however, was not taken
to the hospital until seven hours later, Skillman said. Elliot, who was charged with felony child endangerment, pleaded
guilty to the criminal count in March and is due to be sentenced on Monday, Skillman said.
LOS ANGELES -- Nearly half of the Los Angeles County children who died last year from abuse and
neglect were from families under the watch of child welfare officials, records show. The heavily redacted records, released Monday after a California Public Records Act request by the
Los Angeles Times, include previously confidential medical records, family services documents and police reports. They show that the families of 14 of the 32 children who died in the county in 2008 from abuse and
neglect, including physical assault and malnourishment, were under the scrutiny of Children and Family Services and should
have been known to social workers. Ten of those cases are under investigation
and could result in disciplinary action.
Father
Accused of torturing son
Tue May 19, 12:00 am ET BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – A 4-year-old
California boy may be permanently blinded after police say his father bit out one of his eyes and mutilated the other. Bakersfield police say 34-year-old Angel Vidal Mendoza appeared to be under the influence
of PCP when he attacked the boy April 28. Afterwards police say Mendoza rolled his wheelchair outside and began hacking at
his own legs with an ax. Four-year-old Angelo Mendoza
Jr. told police, "my daddy ate my eyes." Doctors
at Mercy Hospital say it's unclear whether Angelo will regain vision in his right eye. The boy's mother wasn't home at the time. Mendoza is due in court Wednesday. Charges include mayhem, torture and child cruelty
Thursday, April 30, 2009 Reported
by: Sarah Spotten The Atascadero Police Department says a baby who was severely injured in an alleged child
abuse case has died at the hospital. Atascadero police arrested 25-year-old Kelly
Lavigne on March 26 after they say he shook his 6-week-old baby, causing the child to stop breathing. The
infant was taken to the Children's Hospital in Madera, where Atascadero police say the child died Thursday. The
cause of death has not been determined, and an autopsy is scheduled for Friday, May 1.
Court records detail extent of toddler's injuriesPosted: 03/25/2009 06:40:30 PM PDT
LIVERMORE
— The 23-month-old victim of physical abuse, which police suspect was at the hands of her caretaker, died Wednesday. The girl, identified in court documents as Heaven Hernandez, was taken off life support at Children's
Hospital Oakland, said Livermore police Lt. Matt Sarsfield. According the court records,
the toddler arrived at the hospital Saturday morning with more than one skull fracture, multiple bruises, bleeding on the
brain, internal bleeding, chest injuries and two untreated bone fractures. She was declared
brain-dead Monday at the hospital. Mary Katherine Downing, 54, the child's
caretaker, was arrested Saturday, suspected of doling out the abuse. Officials suspect that the abuse was ongoing. Downing has been charged with attempted murder in the girl's case. She did not enter a plea at her arraignment
Tuesday, but she was referred to the public defender's office. Now that the child
has died, investigators say they will amend their complaint to a murder charge against Downing, as well as a charge of assault
to a child younger than 8 that causes death. She is being held without bail at Santa Rita
Jail in Dublin and is scheduled to return to court April 1. Downing's case has been referred to the public defender's
office, but an attorney has not yet been assigned. According to court records, police and
fire crews arrived at Downing's home in the 2100 block of Percheron Road about 12:30 a.m.
Saturday for a medical emergency after Downing called, saying the child was unresponsive. Downing was caring for the child,
who police said is her fiance's granddaughter. Livermore police officers noticed
the girl had injuries that indicated she may be a victim of child abuse. The toddler and
Downing were the only people home at the time the injuries occurred, according to a Livermore police arrest declaration. Downing told police the girl hurt herself after she had fallen two or three days before, but officers did
not believe that account because the injuries were not consistent with a fall. She later
told police that she accidentally dropped the girl once, and then violently shook and dropped the child at least three more
times after that. A 5-year-old boy who also lived at the home has been placed in the custody
of Child Protective Services. There are no signs that the boy had been abused.
TSaturday, Mar. 14, 2009
By Brad Branan / The Fresno Bee
In the final beating of her
life, 3-year-old Erianna Beltran was hit with an extension cord, bitten on the arm and left with so
many bruises that doctors couldn't count them all.
Although her case has received little public attention,
Erianna's death in January 2008 is part of a disturbing pattern in Fresno County -- the third time in about two years
that a parent or guardian has been charged with killing a child after county social workers had already been warned about
abuse or neglect.
In each case, relatives or lawyers have accused the county of failing to protect the children
by not taking more decisive action before they were killed.
PDF: Comparing Fresno County CPS to other California counties
Statistics raise further concerns: Among California's 20 biggest counties, Fresno County is one of the
worst when it comes to meeting standards for child protection, The Bee found in an analysis of state data. The county's
Child Protective Services office is less likely to conduct timely investigations, and less likely to make required social
work visits to children in the system. Fresno County is also far less likely to confirm allegations of mistreatment.
The statistics show the agency isn't protecting all children in the system, experts say.
Catherine Huerta,
director of the department that includes Child Protective Services, says she lacks the social workers needed to meet every
state requirement. By shifting workers to stay on top of the most pressing cases, other children may fall through the cracks,
she concedes.
"I understand the risk," she said. "I can only work with what we have, and sometimes
that has not been enough."
Huerta said Fresno County social workers have larger caseloads than do those in
other big counties -- in part because Fresno County does not use much of its own money to supplement state funding. Neither
she nor state officials were able to provide caseload statistics to confirm this.
The death of 10-year-old Seth
Ireland in January led the county to create a task force to examine Child Protective Services.
Several reports
of alleged abuse and neglect of Seth were made to the agency before his death.
County Supervisor Henry Perea, who
led the call for reform after Seth's death, questions whether staffing levels are the sole reason for the agency's
problems. The agency isn't going to receive additional employees anyway, considering the county's financial problems,
he said.
Perea made the same plea following the alleged beating death of 3-month-old Roman Quiroz in November 2006.
Roman's father, Robert, a U.S. Marine who served in the Middle East just before the death, is accused of killing Roman
in a pending Fresno County Superior Court case.
Those aren't the only deaths involving Fresno County Child
Protective Services. Since July 21, 2006, when such information became publicly available, three other children have been
killed from suspected abuse or neglect when the agency had a prior case involving another family member.
The county's
top administrator, John Navarrette, recently appointed a three-person task force to look at Child Protective Services. He
expects the task force to return with recommendations within three months.
Perea is eager for answers. "The
longer we wait, the more likely it becomes that someone else will die," he said.
A dysfunctional family
:
Slain Boy Had Just Celebrated 2nd Birthdayupdated 11:45 p.m. ET,
Sun., March. 1, 2009
Bennie Harris Jr. appeared in court Thursday, pleading not guilty to charges that
he killed his two-year old son, Benny Harris III last week.
Harris, Jr. explained the death to family members as an accident that happened during horseplay. He told relatives
he was swinging his son around by his arms when he got dizzy and let the child go - slamming the toddler into a door accidentally.
According to Ned Caswell, the child's great-grandfather, the family is not buying Harris, Jr.’s story.
"I'm shocked, I'm shocked. I didn't expect anything like this to happen to a two-year old kid,"
he said. "There's no reason in the world for someone to harm him, they could not harm him."
An aunt
said they were told by a social worker they may never know the real story.
Police received a 911 call around 7:20
p.m. February 19 from a man saying his son was "unconscious and not breathing" at 10210 San Diego Mission Road.
The father was the only one home at the time, according to investigators.
Bennie Harris III suffered severe head
trauma and was pronounced dead Friday, February 20 at 5 p.m.
Harris, Jr. was arrested in El Cajon three days after
the child died when a medical examiner’s report stated the death didn’t look like an accident.
He was
living at the Mission Valley apartment with the child and the child’s mother, but the couple was not married.
The mother was not emotional during Harris’s arraignment. She didn’t speak about her son to reporters outside
the courtroom but did provide information about a memorial fund. Donations can be given at any Bank of America, designated
to go to the Bennie Lee Harris III Memorial fund.
Family members said Harris, Jr. had been abusive to the child's
mother in the past as well as past girlfriends. Harris, Jr. does have one felony robbery conviction for which he had served
time, according to Deputy District Attorney Harrison Kennedy.
Outside court, Caswell talked his great-grandchild.
"He was an active little boy," he said. "We had just recently celebrated his second birthday with a party in
January, a month later he is dead." Caswell said the toddler’s father did not attend the child's party.
Harris, Jr. is being held on $1 million bail. He faces one count of murder and one count of assault on a child under
8 years of age causing death.
WOODLAND,
CA - An 18-year-old Woodland mother and her boyfriend have been booked into Yolo County Jail on suspicion of sexual and physical
abuse of a child. Sgt. Dan Letamendi with the Woodland Police Department said Jessica
Brook Carpenter, the mother of the 10 month old girl and her boyfriend, Richard Schirnhofer III were arrested Thursday night,
accused of of willful and corporal injury to a child inflicting great bodily injury and sexual acts with a child under 10
years old. Schirnhofer is not the victim's father. Woodland detectives began their
investigation last October when Carpenter was admitted to Woodland Memorial Hospital. Letamendi said Caprenter's daughter,
then 7-months-old, was placed in temporary custody with Child Protective Services because her hospitalized mother couldn't
care for her. It was then a caregiver noticed and reported bruises on the baby's jaw, cheek, ears, inner thighs and genital
area. Doctors with UC Davis Child and Adolescent Abuse, Resource, Evaluation Center
were called in to exam the girl. Letamendi said they determined she had numerous healing rib fractures, a leg fracture and
pelvic bruising. Detectives conducted interviews with the suspects and others and collected
additional evidence to obtain arrest warrants for Carpenter and Schirnhofer, Letamendi said. Bail was set at $1,225,000 each. Carpenter and Schinhofer were scheduled to be formally charged Friday afternoon. Carpenter's daughter remains in protective custody and is doing better, according to Letamendi.
CPS
Releases Report After Child Dies from Alleged Abuse
Posted: Jan 21, 2009 02:08 AM EST |  |  | |
By: Norma Yuriar and Kyra J. Neyland The
father of 10-year old Seth Ireland says he is suing Child Protective Services for his son's death and he's hired a
well-known Fresno Attorney. Warren Paboojian says he will file a lawsuit against CPS
in the next thirty to sixty days. Seth died on January 6th, after investigators say the
5th grader was severely beaten by his mother's boyfriend, Lebaron Vaughn. Rena Ireland is also in police custody on child
abuse charges. Paboojian says CPS received plenty of warnings but failed to remove
Seth from an abusive home. "He also wants to make sure this never happens again and
to find out what happened and why the system failed Seth and Joe Hudson, and this terrible tragedy occurred. Obviously,
one of the ways you do that is to file a civil suit and seek monetary damages," said Paboojian. Seth's
father, Joe Hudson, says he was fighting for legal custody of his son before he died earlier this month. A new reports states Seth and his brothers were allowed to use alcohol or other drugs while in his mother's
care. The Fresno County Department of Children and Family Services released its complete
investigative file in the 10 year-old's case. In the months leading to the child abuse
death of Seth Ireland, a half a dozen calls were made to Fresno County Child Protective Services on behalf of the 10-year
old, according to the 200 hundred-page report released on Tuesday. "This report
is everything we have on file about his case, our own person files. It is police records, it is everything we have,"
said Cathi Huerta. But Huerta, Director of the Fresno County Children and Family Services
Department, says she can't release certain information. Names and details of abuse where blacked out, pending criminal
proceedings. "The District Attorney's office believes that it could impede their
investigation, it's a criminal investigation. It could have biased the public toward where it might be a change
of venue," said Huerta. According to the report, from August 27th until December
29th, CPS received 6 different referrals including this one. An anonymous caller
told the CPS screener he/she could hear arguing and fighting coming from Seth's home and banging on the wall. The caller says," The kids are often heard screaming, stop!" The
caller tells the screener there is concern the kids are being abused. According to CPS,
Seth and his brothers were never removed because they were not at eminent risk. "Do
I believe my social worker's judgment? That she made a sound decision? Yes, I believe she did," said Huerta. Huerta says a quality assurance board compiled the report. It also says
the county paid up to $5,000 for burial expenses because the 10-year old died while under the care of Child Protective Services.
Father pleads not guilty
to charges of child abuseBy Layla BohmNews-Sentinel Staff Writer Updated: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 5:50 AM PST
A Lodi father pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he used
a clothes iron to burn his 6-year-old daughter, as well as beating her with a stick.
Javier Velazquez, 29, shook his head as a San Joaquin County judge read the charges and later set bail at
$250,000.
His wife, Maria Lupian, pleaded not guilty to one count of child endangerment. She remains free on $50,000
bail she posted this weekend, with the help of her in-laws.
The two were arrested Friday after an employee at the
girl's school saw the burns and called police.
The
burns were severe enough that the girl will have scars for life, Detective Steve Maynard said. He had not released details,
but a prosecutor said in court Tuesday that the weapon used was an iron.
Police had arrested the father on suspicion
of torture, which carries a possible life sentence in prison, but prosecutors did not file that charge.
Instead,
they charged Velazquez with two counts of inflicting corporal injury to a child — one count each for December and January,
when the acts allegedly occurred. He also faced two enhancements of causing great bodily injury, which can add three years
to a prison term, as well as a charge of child abuse.
Lupian did not abuse the girl, police and prosecutors said,
but she was charged with one count of child abuse for allegedly knowing of the crime and not stopping or reporting it.
Her public defender, Matthew Kowalski, said in court Tuesday that Lupian works nights and goes to school, so she was
not home to even know about the crimes.
Velazquez's private attorney, Michael Small, sought to have his client
released from custody, noting that Velazquez has lived in San Joaquin County for nearly 20 years and has never previously
been in trouble. Velazquez was laid off from a previous job and is now a self-employed landscaper.
Deputy District
Attorney Frank Kooger argued against release, saying that a clothes iron was used multiple times, and that the girl was beaten
with a stick when she disobeyed.
Warner ultimately set Velazquez's bail at $250,000 and ordered both parents
to stay away from the girl.
Three other children were removed from the home Friday when the parents were arrested,
though neither parent is accused of abusing them.
Lupian, who spent time after court talking with her husband's
attorney, declined to comment, as did the attorney. Both will return to court Feb. 17.
Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.
Family Members Angry
After Deadly SWAT ShootingKTLA News
August 12, 2008, 5:57 AM PDT
LYNWOOD --- Authorities
are on the offensive after a sheriff's SWAT team member fatally shot a man who allegedly shot and wounded his common-law
wife and then held the couple's 2-year-old daughter hostage inside his Lynwood home for more than two hours, officials
said today.
The barricade situation in the 3100 block of Los Flores Boulevard, near Long Beach Boulevard, began
at about 8:45 p.m. Sunday, said Deputy Jim Jobling of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Century Station.
When deputies arrived, they found a wounded woman, identified as Laura Sibrian, 29, "who had been shot in the
abdomen by her common-law husband, Gerrardo Arvallo, 32," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Byron Ward said in
a statement.
The SWAT team entered the house around 11:30 p.m. after talks with Arvallo failed, officials said.
The suspect had been talking to the SWAT team and refused to release his daughter while making threats to kill himself,
Ward said. "Believing that the child was in imminent danger, a sheriff's Special Weapons Team implemented a hostage
rescue plan, which resulted in a deputy-involved shooting and the rescue of the child", he said.
A deputy
fired a single shot and killed Arvallo when he was not near the child, authorities said. It was not immediately known whether
Arvallo was shot before or after the SWAT team entered the home, authorities said.
Family members are upset and
say they should have been given a chance to talk Arvallo out of the situation. Police say their first concern was for the
safety of the child, who was not hurt in the ordeal and was placed in protective custody.
Sibrian was shot once
in the abdomen and was in stable condition at a local hospital Monday, authorities said. She was expected to survive.
A woman, who identified herself as Sibrian's sister, told KTLA that she is caring for the toddler at this time. She
also said that Monday marked the birthday of the child and Sibrian. Copyright © 2008,
KTLA  
| Written by Tracy Press staff
| | Sunday, 29 June 2008 | Five-month-old baby found with cracks in skull, possibly caused by shaking.
 Leobardo Reyes Leobardo Reyes, 23, was charged with felony child endangerment after doctors found cracks in the 5-month-old
baby’s skull. “Police found out that he shook the baby,”
city spokesman Matt Robinson said. The baby was in serious condition
as of Saturday afternoon. She was sent to the Children’s Hospital in Oakland. Parents of the shaken baby took her to Sutter Tracy Community Hospital around 10:30 p.m. Friday. Doctors noticed
the baby’s three cranial fractures and called police. Police questioned
the parents and elicited enough information to arrest the father. No
charges were leveled against the child’s mother as of Saturday. The mother and the infant placed in custody of the San
Joaquin County Child Protective Services. Reyes is being held on a $500,000
bail. He is set to appear in court on Tuesday at the Manteca branch of the San Joaquin County Superior Court. • To reach a Tracy Press reporter or editor, call 835-3030 or e-mail tpnews@tracypress.com This e-mail address is being protected from
spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . |
| Resting in Peace |
|
| Never to be hurt again |
child
in roadside beatingDemian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, June 16, 2008 (06-15) 16:56 PDT -- Sergio Casian Aguiar, who
worked at a supermarket in Turlock, was fatally shot by police Saturday night after he refused to stop attacking his 2-year-old
son, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.
His estranged wife, Frances Liliana Casian,
is a kindergarten teacher. She was out of towm and the baby was staying with his father and the father's roommate
for the weekend.
He parked his truck on a country road outside Turlock on Saturday night, removed the baby
boy from a car seat and then beat the child to death in the street, fighting off passers-by who tried to stop him, until he
was gunned down by a police officer whose helicopter landed in a nearby pasture, police said Sunday. The 27-year-old suspect, who lived in Turlock (Stanislaus County), died almost immediately where
he fell. The child, who according to police appeared to be 12 to 24 months old, was taken to a hospital but died before arrival. Police officials declined to identify the man and said they were not yet certain who the child was
- or in what way, if any, he was related to his attacker. The Stanislaus County coroner's office told police that the
agency may have to identify the boy through a DNA test because he was beaten beyond recognition. No information was immediately available about the child's mother. The
suspect "had tunnel vision," said Stanislaus County sheriff's Deputy Royjindar Singh, a department spokesman.
"As people tried to intervene, to tackle him, he just went back to what he was doing. Anything and everything he could
do to the baby, that's what he was doing." Singh said investigators were
working hard to answer a series of questions about the shocking case, including why the suspect stopped in the roadway, where
he was coming from and where he was going. Singh said he did not know whether the suspect was under the influence of alcohol
or drugs. The beating and subsequent shooting by police happened near a dairy
ranch along two-lane West Bradbury Road, between South Blaker Road and South Central Avenue, in an unincorporated area about
10 miles west of downtown Turlock and 20 miles south of Modesto. The rural road, which extends straight west from Highway
99, has no streetlights. Singh said an elderly couple driving along West Bradbury
Road just after 10 p.m. made the first 911 call to police, reporting that the suspect's four-door Toyota pickup truck
was parked facing west in the eastbound lane. According to the caller, the suspect was behind the truck, where he was brutally
beating the boy. The couple had poor cell phone reception and did not give authorities
a precise address, delaying the response by a few minutes, Singh said. But soon, he said, others called as well, and some
witnesses stopped and tried to halt the attack on the child, who was shaken, punched, kicked and stomped on the pavement. "One (person) tried to intervene, and the suspect pushed him off and continued assaulting the
baby," Singh said. By 10:13 p.m., a county dispatcher had confirmed the correct
location and broadcast it, Singh said, but it was so remote that the first officers to arrive were aboard a Sheriff's
Department helicopter that had been patrolling over Turlock. The pilot, a sheriff's deputy, and the tactical flight officer,
a Modesto city police officer, landed in a cow pasture just off the roadway at about 10:19 p.m., Singh said. The flight officer then ran about 20 yards toward the suspect and, while standing behind the pasture's
fence, ordered him to stop beating the child, who was on the ground, Singh said. "He
refuses to comply with the orders, and the officer fires," he said, "resulting in the death of the suspect." Firefighters from a nearby station arrived a few minutes later and tried desperately to resuscitate
the child. The boy was then rushed to Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock. Despite this effort, Singh said that the child died
before arrival at the hospital. By the time the ambulance had left the scene,
Singh said, almost a dozen people had witnessed some part of the incident, with at least two trying to physically stop the
suspect. "The two officers on the helicopter, they were pretty shook up about
it," Singh said. "We have to kind of expect this in our line of work. But for people who were just driving home,
they weren't prepared for this. They're watching a helpless baby die in front of them and they're trying to intervene,
but all their efforts aren't doing anything." E-mail Demian Bulwa at dbulwa@sfchronicle.com. This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Coach Accused Of Molestation To Stand TrialPOSTED: 4:18 pm PDT June 4, 2008 UPDATED:
5:45 pm PDT June 4, 2008 EL CAJON, Calif. -- An East County youth coach was ordered to stand trial Wednesday on allegations he molested five girls, including
two of his own daughters.
Former softball coach,
James Russell Phillips, 41, is charged with seven counts of committing a lewd act on a child. Deputy District Attorney Claudia Grasso said he also faces a multiple-victim allegation. Four of the alleged victims, ages 11 to 14, testified in an El Cajon courtroom against him. Also on the stand was Lisa Brennan with the San Diego Police Department. She testified that she interviewed
a 12-year-old who claimed she was molested by Phillips when she was about 8 years old. Brennan said Phillips was the girl's
softball coach, and the child said he touched her inappropriately. The child told Brennan
that one time, while she was with Phillips' daughter, she was on the master bedroom bed. Brennan said that the girl said
Phillips asked his daughter to leave and sat on the bed with her, allegedly rubbing the girl between her legs, over her pants.
The same girl told Brennan that Phillips would ask her to play a "game" where
he would hide the softball in his pants and ask the child search his pants. The child did not do so, according to the detective,
and told her parents about the incident. Brannan described another alleged incident involving
a different girl. "She said Coach Phillips offered her private lessons because she
wasn't very good at softball. She would go to the house and Mr. Phillips would walk by her and touch her bottom and he
would touch her breasts," she testified. Brennan also testified that one of his daughters
told police that her father kissed her on her mouth and would allegedly touch her breasts and buttocks. Phillips, who coached in the Julian and Ramona areas, has denied the allegations. He's due back in court for
a rearraignment on June 18. If convicted of the charges, he could spend 25 years to life in prison. Phillips
is being held on $900,000 bail.
Father
Arrested for Scalding Baby David Begnaud SACRAMENTO
(CBS13) ― A baby burned with scalding hot water.
Police
nabbed the father in Nevada, the same state where family members say he served 12 years for attempted murder. Now,
he's accused of scalding his own son.
Karen Hoffman is Xavier's grandmother. At the time, back in August,
her daughter, the baby, and the baby's father Alaric Simmons were living with her.
"When ever he was
alone with the baby, little things would happen, he would have a split lip," says Karen.
One weekend, while
out of town, she got a phone call she'll never forget.
"He told me you need to get the hospital,"
explains Karen.
Xavier had second and third degree burns on his face.
"He said that he put him
on the bathroom sink, and that he was washing up and the baby had fell into the water. But he had no burns on his hands, and
he had no burns anywhere else on his body, just one on the side of his face, and that part was covered," Karen says.
The injuries took a toll on Karen and the family.
"And to hear him cry, when we brought him home
we gave him medicine and we had to scrap it and he's scream and I couldn't do it, and my boyfriend did it," Karen
said.
Now, the injuries aren't even noticeable. Today, Simmons, appeared almost disinterested as a judge told
him he's charged with corporal punishment and child endangerment.
"I wish he would burn in hell, and
I'm not that kind of person," Karen says sadly. (© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Needless Victims of Child Abuse
Infant
in critical condition, father arrested on suspicion of attempted murderThe Bakersfield Californian | Thursday, May 1 2008 10:15
PM Last Updated: Friday, May 2 2008 7:06 AM Police arrested a father Thursday accused of hitting his 6-week-old baby boy
several times in the back of the head and causing a traumatic injury.Police went to a home in the 300 block of Monterey Street
at about 3:30 p.m. to help a baby who was having breathing problems, according to the Bakersfield Police Department. Officers performed CPR on the child until medical help arrived. The baby was taken to Kern Medical Center
and was in critical condition Thursday afternoon, police said. Police arrested the child’s
father, Timothy Webb, 21, of Bakersfield on suspicion of attempted murder.
| Rest in Peace |
|
| Andrew |
Body of missing child found in Dumpster, father arrested
Associated Press - March 15, 2008 11:44 PM ET
MARTELL, Calif. (AP) - Officials found the body of a missing 2-year-old boy in a trash can hours after
arresting his father on suspicion of kidnapping and assault.
The El Dorado County Sheriff's Department says the body of Andrew Bailey was found Saturday in Martell,
a town in Amador County.
The boy's father, Charles Bailey, was arrested earlier Saturday in Sonora after officials say he assaulted
his girlfriend with an axe and nabbed the boy, Andew Bailey.
Scores of people volunteered in the sheriff's search effort once the boy disappeared.
Sheriff's Sgt. Bryan Golmitz says the investigation by local agencies is being aided by the FBI.
Information from: The Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
| Rest in Peace |
|
| Little Girl |
3-year-old found dead; father arrested for murder
Story Published: Feb 26, 2008 at 2:28 PM EST
Story Updated: Feb 26, 2008 at 8:11 PM EST
By KSEE 24 News
A Dos Palos man has been arrested on murder charges in connection with the death of his 3-year-old daughter.
Police
said Liadan Wright was found dead at a home in the 1300 block of Dos Palos avenue Monday afternoon around 5 p.m.
Initially
Jericho Wright,26, was questioned and arrested on a neglect charge, after he told investigators that he returned from work
at 5:30 a.m. Monday to find the girl unresponsive.
When pressed further he admitted that around 3:00 p.m. on Sunday,
his daughter had wet her clothes for the second time. Frustrated, Jericho threw her into the shower, causing Liadan to hit
her head.
Later that evening she said she was sleepy and went to bed.
At 3:30 a.m., Jericho said he checked
on her and found her sleeping and decided to leave her there while he went to work delivering newspapers.
When he
came home two hours later, he found her dead. At that point he went back to work to finish his paper route and didn't come
home until 9:00 a.m. Monday morning.
Jericho told investigators he tried to commit suicide by drinking a bottle of
wine and a bottle of champagne and taking some pills, but when he awoke around 5:30 p.m. Monday night he called 911.
He
is being held in Merced Jail without bail.
Police said Jericho and the girl's mother,who lives in the Los Banos area,
were seperated and shared custody of the girl.
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The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Eureka man yesterday while investigating a report of possible child
abuse.
At about 1 p.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies and personnel from Humboldt County Social Services Child Welfare Services
and the Humboldt County Department of Public Health responded to a residence in the 5200 block of Vance Avenue in Eureka.
They met with a child who had what appeared to be third-degree burns on the his ankle and other, less severe burns on his
face.
The child’s father, David William Bollig, 28, indicated that the child was burned while Bollig was holding him, a
news release from the HCSO stated. Bollig had ignited black powder near the child in an effort to discipline him, according
to the release. The injuries were approximately five days old and the child had not received medical care from a medical professional.
Sheriff’s deputies arrested Bollig on suspicion of inflicting unjustifiable pain/mental suffering on a child and
failure to provide, the release stated. His bail was set at $50,000 and he was released from custody after posting bail. He
is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 23.
The victim and a younger sibling were removed from the home and placed in protective custody pending further investigation,
according to the release.
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A hot tipper sent along a story about two parents who make 
