Defend The Children.Org

NORTON SHORES -- The man who ran over his sleeping son at a Muskegon-area campground is wanted in Georgia on charges related to a felony child abuse conviction, according to local law enforcement officials.

Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague said his office is working with state Child Protective Services to investigate Daniel Nichols, 27, who early Wednesday morning ran over a tent at P.J. Hoffmaster State Park in which his two young children and wife were sleeping.

His 5-year-old son was seriously injured. The boy's condition has been upgraded from serious to fair, according to a spokeswoman with DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids.

"We're focusing on the history of Nichols, and we understand there's an outstanding warrant out of Georgia," Tague said.

That arrest warrant is for a probation violation related to a felony conviction for child abuse, Tague said. He said his office is contacting Georgia officials to learn more about Nichols' background.

He said his investigators have learned Nichols was absent without leave from the U.S. Army at the time of the child abuse conviction, though he since has been discharged from the service.

Nichols served during the Iraq war and has been receiving assistance from the Muskegon County Department of Veterans Affairs.

"His record has not been without incident in the service," Tague said.

Nichols told police that he had gotten into the family's sport utility vehicle to warm it up because of the chilly morning air and apparently fell asleep. The vehicle, which has an automatic transmission, then somehow slipped into gear and rolled over the tent, causing head injuries to the boy who was airlifted to the Grand Rapids hospital.

Tague said investigators have ordered a full drug and alcohol blood screening of Nichols, results of which are expected next week, he said.

In addition, the vehicle will be inspected for any malfunctions, he said.

Nichols and his family have a history of homelessness, and spent about six months over two years at a local shelter for homeless veterans. They had been staying at Hoffmaster for about a week and a half.

Friday, September 05, 2008 in Local

PTC father charged in shaken baby case

By News Staff

The Times-Herald

Peachtree City authorities have charged a father in what is being called a shaken baby incident.

On Aug. 30 about 5 p.m., the Peachtree City Fire Department and the Peachtree City Police Department were dispatched to a private residence on Beaver Dam Road in reference to a 2-month-old child having difficulty breathing. At the home, the child was found to be in need of immediate care, according to a police spokesperson.

The child was flown by helicopter to Children's Healthcare at Egleston Hospital, where the infant was still listed in critical care Thursday afternoon.

 

Further investigation revealed that the father, identified as George A. Bowen, 24, of Peachtree City, had shaken the child in an effort to keep the child from crying, according to authorities. Bowen was arrested for aggravated battery and Thursday afternoon was being held at the Fayette County Jail awaiting a bond hearing.
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Navideh Forghani nforghani@nbcaugusta.com

Family Kept Captive In Trailer

Wife Led Police To 'Disgusting' Trailer, 4 Children Held Captive Inside

LAVONIA, Ga. -- A man in Lavonia, Ga., was arrested on Tuesday after police said he held his wife and four children captive in their mobile home for three years.
Officer Missy Collins with the Lavonia Police Department said Raymond Thurmond forced his wife and four children ages 14,13, 12, and 9, to stay inside their trailer, reported TV station WYFF.

The trailor was covered with roaches so thick that when the door was open some feel to the ground.  The police reported terrible stench from human waste and garbage which caused police to wear gas masks.  The garbage was piled to the ceiling

 It has been reported that he wife and four kids who were confined within its walls and were not permitted to go outside,"  and  the windows of the trailer were covered with paper and plastic.
Only the oldest child had ever gone to school and that was only the first 2 grades. The children were underweight with bones showing. 

The police  were led to the home by the man's wife, who one day finally went for help.



Thurmond was arrested Tuesday when he showed up for work. He has been charged with rape, child abuse and false imprisonment.  He is awaiting a bond hearing and does not yet have an attorney.

Rest in Peace

Bodies of toddlers, father found in Georgia

  

(CNN) -- Investigators have found the bodies of three small children and the father who allegedly abducted them from their home in Columbus, Georgia, two weeks ago, the FBI said Wednesday.

 

The mother of Cedric Harrington, 3, begged Eddie Harrington not to harm him or the twins.

"It is my sad duty to report that deceased bodies of these children and Eddie Harrington were located this afternoon," said FBI Special Agent Gerald Green.

A coroner would confirm the identities, he added.

The remains were discovered in a wooded area of Columbus by a person walking nearby, Green said. 

Eddie Harrington, 28, whom police described as depressed, took the children March 5, police said.

Before he left, Harrington sent a letter indicating his intent to kill his twin 23-month-old girls, Aliyah and Agana Battle, and his son, Cedric Harrington, 3, officials said.

The day before Wednesday's grisly discovery, the children's mother told CNN's Nancy Grace that Harrington had threatened them before.

"He's just told me he'll do anything to keep me at that time, and he said that he was going to take them and ... kill himself and the kids," Agena Battle said.

"But then later on, he told me that it was just to prove to me that, you know, what he'll do for me."

Battle also described the moment earlier this month when she knew something was wrong.

"I got home and I realized that the kids weren't there, and Eddie wasn't there either, and when I looked on the dresser and read the note, that's when I realized that my kids are in trouble," she said.

A week ago, a tearful Battle publicly begged her boyfriend not to harm the children.

"I am asking the public to please help me. I want my children home where they belong, with me," she said at an FBI news conference.

"Please, if you see Eddie, the car or the children, please call 911. Please help me and keep them in your prayers."

A child abduction alert was issued in Georgia after the children disappeared.

"We have great concern for the safety of these children," Green said at the time.

It was unclear what sparked Harrington's decision to take the children, authorities said.

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