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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Special New Year with a blue moon in the Americas and partial eclipse in Asia


right: full moon over the Prairie, from flicker.com
December 30, 2009

The blue moon has long been a subject of poetry and one of those phrases that are used without quite understanding the meaning, but its presence is a scientific marker for a rotating earth that runs by its own clock, ignoring man’s calendar...

Simply put, on Thursday, December 31, 2009, there will be second full moon in a calendar month of December, an occurrence called blue moon and on time for the New Year countdown.

Only once in every 20 years, the blue moon appears on New Year’s Eve, as it is going to do this year.

This New Year's Eve blue moon will be visible in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. In Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them...

Monday, December 28, 2009

Angry shopper uses Taser at Joliet store

December 28, 2009
Chicago Suntimes

SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE

...Juan Varges was asked to leave the Gonzales Supermarket in Joliet on Friday, then returned about 5 p.m. with a Taser gun and attacked the store's 33-year-old butcher.

Varges, 18, was arrested Friday and booked into Will County jail on charges of battery, criminal trespassing and unlawful use of a weapon, police said.

No injuries were reported. But it had to hurt. This is what all the taser abuse comes to. Pretty soon kids will be taking them to school.

I'm back...

The Prairie Chicken
December 28, 2009

I've been gone awhile. Thanks for staying with me and hope your having some swingin' holidays.
enjoy!

Friday, December 11, 2009

George Thomas in Nashville, ready to begin life sentence in torture-slayings


No big surprise here.

News Sentinel
knoxnews.com
By Jamie Satterfield
Posted December 10, 2009

KNOXVILLE - George Thomas arrived at a Nashville correctional center this afternoon, hours after a Knox County Criminal Court jury sentenced him to life in prison without parole for the January 2007 carjacking and torture-slayings of a West Knox County couple.
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Thomas is now at the Charles Bass Correctional Complex, an intake center for new inmates, where he will be evaluated before it's decided where he should serve out his sentence, said Dorinda Carter, Tennessee Department of Correction spokeswoman.
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That evaluation could take 30 to 60 days, she said...

Read entire article here.


Tuesday, December 08, 2009

George L. "G" Thomas: The murder of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom--Dec 8, 2009

The Prairie Chicken
December 8, 2009
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The jury returned a guilty verdict on the seventh day of the double-murder trial of George Thomas on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. Jurors shipped in from Hamilton County found Thomas guilty of multiple counts of first-degree murder and have convicted him on all 47 charges for the January 2007 torture/murder of Channon Christian and her boyfriend Christopher Newsom.
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Victim impact statements from members of the victims families were pre-approved by the judge and attorney's today, will be read to the jury tomorrow when George "G" Thomas is to be sentenced.

Read entire finding of the jury on all 47 convictions here, at News Sentinel, knoxnews.com

For other articles:
George Thomas guilty; Family: Thomas deserves death
Third of four Christian-Newsom suspects convicted of first degree murder
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Left: George showing all the emotion he could muster.
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I predict life without parole. Reading through his police statement (removing all the "you know what I mean" and the other stupid gangland Ebonics slang he uses) he obviously has the intelligence of a slug. Personally I think he was actively involved in every aspect of the crimes, but even if he WAS just a witness, what kind of mentality is it that can just dismiss such violence and cruelty by saying it was none of his business?
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Why is it more admirable in that culture to avoid being a snitch over any crime? It's ok to steal cars, kill someone, rape them, but not to snitch. It is sickening.

Monday, December 07, 2009

Curtis Lavell Vance Guilty of the rape, beating and murder of Anne Pressly, Little Rock TV Anchor


November 12, 2009

(CNN) -- After deliberating slightly more than two hours, a jury November 12, found a man guilty of capital murder and other charges in the October 2008 death of Arkansas television anchor Anne Pressly, according to CNN affiliate KARK-TV.

Curtis Lavelle Vance, 29, was convicted of capital murder, residential burglary, rape and theft of property, the station reported. A sentencing phase will determine whether he receives life in prison or the death penalty...

Vance had given several statements to police, including one saying he was at Pressly's home and another admitting to her murder...KARK reported that jurors heard recordings in which Vance apparently confessed to beating Pressly with a piece of wood...

Vance showed little reaction as the verdict was read...


also read:


Saturday, December 05, 2009

The Mohler family--'Summers were the worst,' says woman in Missouri sex abuse case


By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN
November 20, 2009
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Lafayette County, Missouri -- Graphic details of bestiality, child rape and sodomy emerged in court documents filed in the case of a Missouri family accused of horrific crimes against their relatives.
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One of the alleged victims was about 7 years old when she and her sisters attempted to run away in 1988, after enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of her male relatives, a complaint filed in Lafayette County Circuit Court states...
The girls made it to a neighbor's house before returning home, where, as punishment for running away, they were forced to watch a relative sodomize their brother, according to the complaint...
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The incident is just one of many...three men were each charged with use of a child in a sexual performance for allegedly forcing two girls to engage in bestiality in summer 1986.
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...The woman told police that "summers were the worst because the girls spent more time at their [relative's] farm," the complaint states...
Two other sons of Burrell Mohler Sr., David Mohler and Roland Mohler, are also in custody on various charges related to the abuse allegations...
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Dozens of family members attended a hearing for the suspects Tuesday, saying the allegations against the men have been fabricated, the station said...

The Murder of Meredith Kercher--The Conviction of Amanda Knox

The Prairie Chicken
December 5, 2009


The internet is full of news of the conviction in Italy of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito yesterday, Dec 4, for the murder of student Meredith Kercher on November 1, 2007. Check out these sites:
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Right: The real victim of this crime, Meredith Kercher
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guardian.co.uk / The Observer
True Justice for Meredith Kercher
Friends of Amanda
CNN--Knox sobs as verdict read


Right: Meredith's parents. Meredith also has a sister and two brothers.

Friday, December 04, 2009

George L. "G" Thomas: The murder of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom--December 4, 2009


The Prairie Chicken
December 4, 2009
The carjack/torture/rape/murder trial against George L "G" Thomas continued today and was dominated by two tape recordings; one of Thomas' phone call to Stacy Lawson with the now infamous "should've would've could've, but didn't" statement Thomas made to Lawson, and also the interview of George Thomas when he was arrested on January 11, 2009 in Lebanon, Kentucky.

Read excerpts from the transcript of the Lawson phone call here.

Read the long-awaited transcript of the statement of George Thomas here.

both reported by knoxnews.com.

Also read this older article from knoxnews.com:

Amanda Knox and ex-boyfried Raffaele Sollecito found Guilty in Death of Knox roommate Meredith Kerchner

The Prairie Chicken
December 4, 2009




Minutes ago, Amanda Knox of Seattle Washington and Raffaele Sollecito of Italy were found guilty in the death of 20 year old Meredith Kercher. The jury of eight, including three judges, sentenced Knox to 26 years in prison and her ex-boyfriend Sollecito will spend 25 years in an Italian prison for the brutal murder on November 2, 2007.

Above, Knox and Sollecito on the day Meredith's body was found.

Right: Meredith shortly before her death.

Read articles here:

From CNN
From the Guardian
Komonews in Seattle

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Again, Deputies Shock 'Out Of Control' Child With Taser

December 3, 2009
wftv.com

PUEBLO, Colo. -- Colorado sheriff's deputies shocked an "out of control" 10-year-old child with a Taser and arrested him.

Pueblo Sheriff's Capt. Jeff Teschner said Wednesday that the boy was not hurt when deputies took action Monday after arriving at his foster home, where he was reportedly destroying property.

Teschner says deputies were justified in their use of force. The deputies say the youth threatened them with a pipe and a stick, and threw a piece of wood at them. The boy was arrested on suspicion of menacing with a deadly weapon...

read entire article here

Trial of Amanda Knox in Perugia, Italy--verdict due possibly tonight (tomorrow in Italy)

The Prairie Chicken
December 3, 2009

After a trial lasting a year, the verdict in the case against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito could be announced at any time. Both have been accused of a gang murder of Meridith Kercher, Knox's roommate in early November, 2008. Rudolf Guede, an Italian citizen pleaded guilty to the crime in a fast-track trial and implicated both Knox and Sollecito in the crime.
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This week started with the Prosecution's closing statements followed by Sollecito and Knox's Attorney's closing statements and statements by the accused themselves, which is allowed in the Italian legal system.
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Meredith was a British student and Amanda a student from Seattle who shared space in the same four bedroom house whil attending college. Meredith was found in her locked bedroom on November 2; she had been raped, stabbed and her throat cut with a small knife (2 1/2 in). Amanda and Raffaele called the police later on that morning when they couldn't reach Meredith and there appeared to be blood in several parts of the house.
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For background information from both sides of the debate:
Amanda Knox Pleads With Jury: I'm No "Assassin"
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Leaning towards Amanda being guilty:
True Justice For Meredith Kercher
Meredith Kercher killed 'because sex game went too far' - Telegraph
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Leaning towards Amanda being innocent:
The real Amanda
CBS correspondent: 'Amanda Knox is innocent'

Anthony Sowell pleads not guilty by reason of insanity to killings


Right: Anthony Sowell. Don't know that I could say he is insane, but he sure is ugly.
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By Michael Sangiacomo
December 03, 2009
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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell entered a surprise plea of not guilty by reason of insanity Thursday morning to charges accusing him of killing 11 women and assaulting three others at his Imperial Avenue home.
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Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Eileen Gallagher ordered Sowell, 50, to be held in jail without bond. Prosecutors had asked for a bond of $14 million -- $1 million for each victim...
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Judge Timothy McGinty will preside over the death penalty case...
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"Quite frankly, he's a psychopath, a person void of any human empathy," said Assistant County Prosecutor Rick Bombik. "That does not mean he is mentally ill. A psychopath is not insane, he's just a lousy, evil person with a personality disorder."
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Lewis Katz, who has taught law for 40 years at Case Western Reserve University, described it this way: "A sociopath, or psychopath, lives his life unaffected by the moral code and other concepts that guide the rest of us," Katz said. "It does not mean they are insane."
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George L. "G" Thomas: The murder of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom--Dec 3, 2009

The Prairie Chicken
December 3, 2009

Covering the last two days in the courtroom, all testimony is from repeat witnesses from the Cobbins and Davidson trials. Several of the victims family members testified to the last time Channon and Chris were seen by them. Stacy Lawson began her testimony yesterday in the late hour of the day and was then first up this morning, claiming to be nauseous (sic) and complained that she had been required to stay in Knoxville overnight. Guess it was better when she was sleeping on a blanket on the floor of a shack with Thomas. Who knows...

Several minor witnesses, a man with a new cell phone who obtained Davidson's phone number after he lost service testified to getting a lot of wrong number calls. Experts from phone service companies reported on all cell phones involved, Davidson's, Lawson's, Daphine Sutton's friends. One interesting point was that Thomas called Lawson in Lebanon, Kentucky about an hour after Chris was murdered.

Daphine Sutton was back on the stand and said that she had gone to the Chipman St. house on Sunday between 6 and 7 pm, that it was dark outside and raining. She stayed 3-4 minutes and left with Davidson's gift of Channon's "good-will" used clothing and her ring, but not the make-up she had come after. She said that Davidson came to her friends house later at about 10:30 pm to pick up the clothing after Daphine confronted him about them being used. No one mentioned whether or not she gave the ring back, but she did say he drove over in Channon's 4runner. On a side note, it appeared in the live feed from wbir.com that Daphine is again pregnant. It can't be Davidson's--he's been in jail since January. I hope she picked a more human baby-daddy this time. Does she know that condoms are cheap?

Ethel Freeman reared her ugly head again today. She testified in the original Grand Jury and the trials of Eric Boyd, Letalvis Cobbins, Lemaricus Davidson, and now George Thomas with her story a bit different in every case. She attempted to exonerate Davidson, he being her main drug dealer, but that didn't turn out well. Her different stories were exposed by Prosecution after a heated argument with Defense and a Judge ruling. She testified to knowing Thomas by sight and placed him at the Chipman St. house during the time Channon was there. She repeated her claim that Chris and Channon had been begging for gas money between 9:30 and 10:00 at a nearby gas station, but was much more vague about it--claiming the couple had resembled the victims, and this time couldn't remember what type of vehicle they were in. Of course, she's not trying to save her buddy this time around.

Several members of law enforcement also took the stand, one showing videotape of the Chipman St. house, which has since been torn down, another was an expert on guns and last up for today was an Officer Resig, who gave dimensions of the tiny house (less than 1000 sq ft.) My opinion is that this was done to show that Thomas could not have been unaware of the woman being restrained and brutalized in that tiny house and not know about it.

My opinion is that Thomas shot Chris and probably participated in his sexual assault. I also believe he took a few turns with Channon as well.

And a nagging question I have regarding both George Thomas AND Eric Boyd is; have either of them been tested to see if they are secretors or non-secretors? Yes, I know their DNA was sampled and tested, but was it checked for Secretor/non-secretor status? If Thomas is a non-secretor, then his DNA would not be identifiable in a mixed sample, as has been found both on Chris and Channon. The mix with the victim's body fluids would, in itself, ID a non-secretors semen as a negative match, let alone the victims plus up to four assailants. Just a thought--I have no expertise--only Google.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

George L. "G" Thomas: The murder of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom


The Prairie Chicken
December 1, 2009

This morning the trial of George L Thomas, aka “G”, began; Thomas being charged with the murder of Channon Christian and her boyfriend Chris Newsom, in Knoxville Tennessee on January 6/7, 2007. Among the charges are carjacking, rape, murder.
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Click on the Channon Christian or Chris Newsom label under this post to read the background of this horrendous crime, if you haven't heard about it.

In October, Thomas’ pal Letalvis Cobbins was convicted and sentenced to live with no parole. In November, Cobbins half-brother Lemaricus Davidson was sentenced to death on the same charges.
Witnesses called were both Chris and Channon’s best friends and Gary Christian, Channon’s father. Xavier Jenkins also appeared to tell about Eric Boyd’s borrowed car there at the house on January 6 and having seen four black men in Channon’s 4runner looking back at him in an intimidating manner.

Various experts for the State testified about finding Chris Newsom’s body, the cloth strips from the Chipman house and dog collar found beside Chris, and the use of accelerant to burn his body.
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Takisha Fitzgerld, one of the prosecuting District Court Attorney’s told the courtroom this morning that they would be hearing the hour-long interview Thomas gave to police. Personally I have been waiting long time to hear what he had to say for himself. Hoping the transcript will be available.

The guy who heard three gun-shots at 1:45 am on January 7, 2007 testified again. He had been watching reruns of “The Outer Limits” at the time. If Jamie Satterfield ever reads this, The Outer Limits was a sci-fi from the 1960’s, comparable to the Twilight Zone but a little edgier, lots of aliens, mind blowing or deep and thought-provoking, more-or-less the X-files of the 60’s. Or the Matrix.
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May have missed covering a witness or two. It is interesting that the defense attorneys asked no questions of most of the witnesses, and then only for clarification. In fact more than once, one of the defense atty’s stated that Channon and Chris were innocent victims and did not deserve what happened to them. They are obviously not going to try to trash the victims, as happened in the Davidson trial, eventually putting him on death row.

Stacy Lawson will take the stand tomorrow. We learned in Davidson’ trial that after the arrests for murder, Stacy, George’s girlfriend, wrote to Davidson in jail and told him she wanted to sleep with him and was sorry for a ‘missed opportunity’. And I wonder if George has ever heard that little bit of trivia. I think I’ll watch the live feed tomorrow as well as following the twitters, to see his reaction.
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Check out:
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Or Live feed:

Monday, November 30, 2009

Haysville Girl Working Hard to Recover from Burns


Haysville Kansas
By Alana Rocha (WICHITA, Kan.)
August, 2009


Her stepfather pleaded guilty for setting her on fire. Now a Haysville girl, badly burned in a mobile home fire earlier this year, knows she'll never have to live with Chris Newberry again...
Caitlyn Johnson's paternal grandmother got sole custody.

Back in March, the mobile home Caitlyn lived in with her stepfather, mother and three siblings went up in flames...The fire started in Caitlyn's room...
And now Linda Johnson will be there to help Caitlyn for good. Linda has sole custody.
Linda says, "She was having trouble walking. She's not now. She's running."

Trial # 3 George Thomas, for the murders of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom


knoxnews.com
Posted November 30, 2009 at 1:56 p.m.

KNOXVILLE - A Knox County judge today ruled that jurors will be allowed to hear a racially charged comment attributed by authorities to torture-slaying suspect George Thomas...Knox County Sheriff's Office Detective Nevil has testified that after he concluded an interrogation of Thomas in the January 2007 slayings of Channon Christian, 21, and Christopher Newsom, 23, he asked Thomas if he now wished he had summoned help for the couple.
Norman said Thomas responded by saying Christian, whom he referred to as "that white girl," meant "nothing to me."
...Testimony is scheduled to begin Tuesday in the capital murder trial before a jury picked from Hamilton County...


The trial starts tomorrow:

Cameron Brown court proceeding postponed re: murder of Lauren Serene Keys



Cameron Brown court proceeding postponed
By Denise Nix Staff Writer
Posted: 10/29/2009

From Daily Breeze Oct.6: Another jury in child's cliff death deadlocks
A judge postponed a hearing Thursday morning for motions in the wake of the second mistrial in the Cameron Brown Rancho Palos Verdes cliff death case.

Brown's defense attorneys were expected to ask Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor to reduce Brown's bail and the charges; however, the written motions were not filed in time and the hearing was rescheduled for Dec. 17.
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Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum said he anticipates re-trying the case sometime next year.
Brown is charged with first-degree murder and the special circumstances of lying in wait and killing for financial gain for the Nov. 8, 2000, death of Lauren Sarene Key.
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Prosecutors believe Brown threw the girl over Inspiration Point to be rid of the responsibilities of parenthood - including child support...
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The last trial ended with a mistrial on Oct. 5. The first mistrial was in August 2006.
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Officer Fired After Using Taser On Girl, 10

GOOD. When are they going to take these tasers away from these police officers? Children, old people, disabled--they kill people regularly--if they don't have any common sense why are they even police? Read this from wftv.com, Orlando:

Camera Was Not Attached To Device (of course, just like the Malibu Sheriff's office had no camera's set up at the station when Mitrice Richardson disappeared)

JILL ZEMAN BLEED,
Associated Press Writer
via wftv.com
November 30, 2009

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The police officer in a small Arkansas town who used a stun gun on an unruly 10-year-old girl has been fired for violating department policy -- not for using the Taser itself but for failing to use the camera attached to it, according to the town's mayor.

Ozark Mayor Vernon McDaniel said he received notice of Officer Dustin Bradshaw's firing on Monday morning. Bradshaw previously was suspended for seven days with pay. His termination was effective Friday.

"The policy that Officer Bradshaw failed to obey is failure to have his camera placed on his Taser," police Chief Jim Noggle wrote in a memo to McDaniel. "It is the officer's duty to insure all of his equipment is present and in working order."

Complete cop-out. This way, old Bradshaw can still get a job in law enforcement. What a crock.

Read article here

...Police were called to the home Nov. 11 after the girl's mother couldn't get her to take a shower. "Her mother told me to tase her if I needed to," Bradshaw wrote.

Wha??? Talk about poor parenting skills...

Casey Anthony defense: Florida's death-penalty procedure is unconstitutional


By Amy L. Edwards

Orlando Sentinel
November 30, 2009

Casey Anthony's defense lawyers have filed a motion arguing that Florida's death penalty procedure is unconstitutional. And because the procedure is unconstitutional, the death penalty should be precluded as a potential sentence, their motion argues.

Defense lawyers Jose Baez and Andrea Lyon filed the motion last week, along with a slew of others totaling more than 250 pages.

In their motion, the lawyers argued, "Even if the death penalty procedure were constitutional, the State has failed to charge Miss Anthony with the aggravating circumstances necessary to impose the death penalty; thus, a death sentence in this case would violate due process."
gag, gag. I'm tired of hearing about these people...but they just keep going and going.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Roy Kronk: State's star witness or Casey Anthony defense's best shot?


November 25, 2009
By Sarah Lundy
November 21, 2009

For almost a year, Roy Kronk has been heralded as the man who did what others could not: He found missing toddler Caylee Anthony's remains in woods near her family home...Now, Anthony's defense team hopes Kronk will become reasonable doubt to a jury. Legal documents filed this week reveal interviews with Kronk's ex-wives, his son and a daughter of another ex-girlfriend. They paint a picture of a man with a shady past and a history of abusing and restraining women...
Kronk has never been charged, and the claims could not be independently verified. He denies the claims....Some legal experts say this is an attack on a witness and the defense will have a hard time showing how these prior acts are relevant to the case...Others say it's a smart move by Anthony's attorneys to create reasonable doubt....Kronk found Caylee's skull in a bag in woods Dec. 11.

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I'm really appalled by this--blaming Kronk. Baez has also requested ALL of Tim Miller's Equusearch records. How many times did we hear the Anthony's begging the public to search for her granddaughter, now the one who found her is under suspicion. Guess it just doesn't pay to be a good Samaritan these days, unless you can afford a good lawyer.
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I also totally discredit anything the ex's have to say about Roy Kronk. Mine could probably say something about my past to embarrass me. Of course they are all dead. Well, two are dead, the other--they haven't found the body. hehehe...

wftv.com:

More from Orlando Sentinel:

Casey Anthony to spend Thanksgiving with the girls

The Prairie Chicken
November 25, 2009

It's been reported that Casey Anthony's second Thanksgiving in the County Jail will be celebrated by just she and the girls...the other inmates.

The menu includes roast turkey, seasoned potatoes (I wonder what they mean by seasoned?), cranberry sauce, mixed veggies and pumpkins spice cake. Not exactly grama's dressing and pumpkin pie, she should slow down on the carbs anyway.

No friends or family members are scheduled to visit.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Shaniya Davis' Mom Trafficked Her to Settle Drug Debt



Antoinette Davis, Charged With Child Prostitution, Is Pregnant Again
By SARAH NETTER
Nov. 20, 2009

The father of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis told Oprah Winfrey today that the girl's mother trafficked the child to pay off a drug debt.

The allegation by Bradley Lockhart came a day after Mario Andrette O'Neill was charged with the rape and murder of Shaniya. O'Neill is the man police say is shown on a Sanford, N.C., hotel surveillance camera carrying Shaniya into a hotel room shortly after she was reported missing. He is being held without bond.
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The girl's mother, Antoinette Davis, has been arrested and charged with child prostitution. Raleigh's ABC affiliate WTVD confirmed this week that Davis is again pregnant. Davis' other child, a 7-year-old boy, was removed from her home last week, Fayetteville Police spokeswoman Theresa Chance told ABCNews.com, and is now in foster care...
Preliminary autopsy reports indicate Shaniya died from asphyxiation, according to the Fayetteville Police Department, though authorities are still waiting on a series of tests results before making a final conclusion...

Read more here:

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Mallory Parker Deposed about Caylee Anthony disappearance/murder

clickorlando.com
Daniel Dahm, Staff Writer
November 12, 2009

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Prosecutors in the Casey Anthony case on November 12 deposed the girlfriend of Anthony's brother.

Mallory Parker, the girlfriend of Lee Anthony, was deposed, but it's not known what questions she was specifically asked...

Parker, 25, has been dating Lee Anthony since before Caylee's disappearance, and she has been at the Anthony family home during several events that occurred there. Lee Anthony said he intentionally kept Parker away from the family's home during the first few hectic days after Caylee was reported missing, but Parker was the first person to arrive at the Anthony's home the morning Caylee's body was found. Parker was taking care of the family's dog while grandparents George and Cindy Anthony were in California for a "Larry King" taping. She was barred from entering the home because it had become a potential crime scene...

Detectives never formally interviewed Parker...

Read entire article here

Burrell E Mohler and sons--Kidnapping, murder, infant burial alleged--Lexington, Missouri

The Associated Press
via google.com.ap
November 17, 2009

LEXINGTON, Mo.--New rape and sodomy charges accuse Burrell E. Mohler Sr., 77, of Independence, Mo. of rape, sodomy and use of a child in a sexual performance. His four sons, Burrell Mohler Jr., Jared Leroy Mohler, 48, of Columbia; Roland Neil Mohler, 47, of Bates City; and David A. Mohler, 52, of Lamoni, Iowa, were charged with rape.

The original complaint, which has allegations that date from 1988 to 1995, includes charges of forcible sodomy, rape with a child younger than 12 and use of a child in a sexual performance...

No additional charges were filed against the sixth person accused in the case, Darrel W. Mohler, 72, who is being held in Marion County, Fla. on two counts of rape stemming from 1986...

The new charges, filed Monday, stemmed from accounts of a 29-year-old woman, who told investigators she and three other children were bound at the wrists and blindfolded while three men raped them...

According to the new warrant, a man abducted from his Independence, Mo., home was brought to Mohler Sr.'s property in Bates City where Mohler Jr., ordered children there to attack the abducted man and stab him...One of the children then jumped on the man's back and stabbed him, but it was a stab wound from the adult that actually killed the victim...the children were then forced to help dig a grave for the man and bury him...

Read entire article here

Kidnapping, murder, infant burial alleged
More charges, new accuser in Mohler sex-abuse case
5 Suspects Appear In Court, New Charges Filed
Mohlers Buried Baby On Farm, 6th Victim Says
Relatives of Mohler Men in Court to Defend Suspects
Friends Show Support For Mohler Family

This crime is just surreal. How could this go on for so long with no one knowing, or coming forward?

Raul Renato Castro arraignment delayed

Right: Raul Castro in court
Mendota, California
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009
By Pablo Lopez
The Fresno Bee

The arraignment of a 14-year-old Mendota boy on murder charges in connection with the slaying of his 4-year-old neighbor has been delayed until Tuesday.

Raul Renato Castro, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles, made two brief appearance Tuesday...


Castro learned in the morning that the Public Defender's Office could not defend him because of a conflict.
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During the afternoon session, Kapetan appointed veteran Fresno defense attorney Barbara O'Neill to represent Castro, who is being charged as an adult in the killing of Alex Christopher Mercado on Oct. 30.
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...attorneys from that office once defended Castro's father, Jose Antonio Castro, who pleaded guilty in 1996 to a felony charge of a lewd act with a minor. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was deported to Mexico, authorities said...
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Charla Nash Chimpanzee Attack Victim Might Soon Be Discharged


November 11, 2009

Charla Nash might soon leave the Cleveland Clinic...and will go to a rehabilitation center after she leaves the hospital...

Monaco told Cleveland.com that Nash still needs 24-hour care and will need reconstructive surgery to restore ability to breathe through her nose. She is also hoping for a face transplant, he said. The Cleveland Clinic was the first to perform a near-total face transplant in the country.
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Oprah Winfrey interviewed Nash on Tuesday for an episode of her talk show that aired Wednesday afternoon where Charla showed the remains of her face for the first time since she has been hospitalized due to a mauling from a friends pet 200 pound Chimpanzee...

Nash, who is just adjusting to primitive prosthetics, is currently suing Sandra Herold, the owner of the chimp, and the state of Connecticut in relation to the mauling...

FBI agents resume then end search at Anthony Sowell's home



November 14, 2009
By Michael Sangiacomo

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- FBI agents and Cleveland police searched the area around Anthony Sowell's home today but left after apparently finding nothing.

They searched for a few hours last night before resuming today at 9 a.m. The men and women packed up their heat image sensing equipment, rakes, pokers and other tools and instruments and left the scene around 1:30 p.m...


Not smiling...

So, I spent four days trying to give CPR to a dying laptop. It lived long enough to vomit out all my files which is about all you can ask anymore. The old Commadore I use as a hub runs XP, now with a 2004 Belkin wireless adapter and a new shiny spiffy laptop with Windows 7 installed.
The next three days were spent trying to make all of that work. I missed this more than you all know. I'm afraid I've crossed the line to computer addiction. But I'd fight intervention. Dr. Drew, stay away. Just glad to be back with somewhat limp hardware and semi-gelled software. Thanks for the comments.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Body of Shaniya Davis Found Alongside North Carolina Highway



Police Said They Are Waiting for FBI to Exhume a Child's Body

By SARAH NETTER
Nov. 16, 2009
The body of a child was found today buried close to the town where 5-year-old Shaniya Davis disappeared last week has been comfirmed to be that of little Shaniya Davis.

Shaniya had been missing for nearly a week, and was last seen in a hotel surveillance video being carried by a man who has been charged with kidnapping in the case.
Her "mother", Antoinette Davis, 25, appeared in court today on charges of human trafficking and child prostitution.
...Shaniya was last seen, according to police, on a surveillance camera video at a hotel in Sanford, N.C., in the arms of Mario McNeill, who was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree kidnapping. McNeill is being held on $100,000 bond.

Chance declined to comment on a possible connection between Davis and McNeill. A third man, Clarence Coe, has been arrested in the case, charged last week with kidnapping. The charges were later dropped, according to police, after interviews with McNeill...

Fayetteville Police Department spokewoman Theresa Chance said the child's body was discovered in a wooded area off of Interstate 87 near Sanford, N.C... "We have no positive identification yet," Chance told a news conference, pending FBI results...and positive identification.
Police found the body through "information from a credible source and that is what led us to Walker Road," where the child's remains were buried amid a thick tangle of brush, downed branches and trees.

Antoinette Davis showed no emotion during her appearance in Fayetteville District Court today.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

In Dire Straights...

Sorry for the lack of posts. I've had a severe computer crash and won't be up and running again until Monday. Had no idea I was so computer dependent. It's driving me nuts.
So, until Monday...

Friday, November 06, 2009

Casey Anthony Document Dump--November 6, 2009


Casey Anthony case: syringe in bottle contained traces of chloroform


FBI lab tests detected the dangerous chemical in evidence from the area where Caylee Marie's remains were found.

November 6, 2009
By Walter Pacheco,
Bianca Prieto,
Rene Stutzman and
Anika Myers Palm,
Orlando SENTINEL


Lab tests in the Casey Anthony case show trace amounts of chloroform, a potentially deadly chemical, on some of the evidence collected by investigators, records released Friday show...

Authorities ruled her death a homicide but they [said] could not determine how she died.

An FBI report released Friday shows investigators had found a plastic Gatorade Cool Blue sports drink bottle near the child's remains. A plastic bag labeled "Disposable Syringe Kit" with a syringe was found inside the bottle...

A report generated in June and labeled "Summary of results" by Dr. Michael Rickenbach of the FBI's labs indicates chloroform, testosterone, ethanol and water inside the syringe...

In other prosecution evidence released Friday, an insect expert found "coffin flies" in a bag of trash found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car...
That bitch. If I was 30 years younger and could get my hands on her I could save the state of Florida a lot of money. Now--who had access to steroids? Was Jesse? He would be likely, having lots of body training to enter the Police Force. Ricardo? He's a big guy, but looks a little bit flabby. No offense Rico, if you ever read this.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Raul Renato Castro, 14, admits to slaying Alex Christopher Mercado, 4


Suspect, 14, says he killed Mendota boy after molesting him.

November 5, 2009
The Fresno Bee
By Pablo Lopez
A Mendota 14-year-old confessed to killing a 4-year-old neighbor because the boy was going to tell his mother the teen had molested him, according to a court affidavit made public Wednesday.

The affidavit is in the criminal case file for Raul Renato Castro, who sat in shackles and showed no emotion in his first appearance in Fresno County Superior Court, where he is being tried as an adult...

On Halloween night, officials from the FBI and the Sheriff's Office searched the teen's home as part of a door-to-door operation and discovered Alex's body in the dryer. The 5-foot Castro is being held in the Juvenile Justice Campus south of Fresno. His bail is more than $2 million.

A criminal complaint charges Castro as an adult with first-degree murder and four special allegations associated with that charge -- that it was committed along with child molestation, sodomy, and kidnapping, and in order to silence a witness. Castro also faces separate felony charges of kidnapping, sodomy and child molestation...If convicted, the teen faces up to 47 years to life in prison...

Raul's mother Elsa Castro declined to comment. But Raul Castro's grandmother, Desidora Hernandez, said, "He's a nice kid. We don't know what happened." Elsa Castro has described herself as a single mother, and Riofrio has said the teen's father has been "out of the picture." According to a KFSN (Channel 30.1) report Wednesday evening, Raul Castro's father, Jose Antonio Castro, is a convicted sex offender who spent three years in prison...
Also read:

Anthony Sowell's house of horrors

The Prairie Chicken
November 5, 2009
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In the wake of discovery of 11 (and counting) women found murdered in the house of Anthony Sowell of Cleveland, Ohio, women who escaped his attacks have been coming forward to the Cleveland Police Department.

Tomorrow the CPD will begin looking behind walls and other areas of the house that may look benign, but may still hold evidence of his five year murder spree.

One has to wonder--when 14 women go missing in one neighborhood and there is a stench of death in that same neighborhood, what are police thinking about when they are eating their donuts? Their golf game, or 14 MISSING WOMEN? For God's sake.

Read articles here:

Anthony Sowell's Neighbor Says Police Knew About Cleveland ...

Ohio woman: I got away from serial killing suspect - Yahoo! News

Anthony Sowell Cruised Sex Fetish Site While Dead Bodies Rotted in ...

Ohio rapist Anthony Sowell lived in rotting bodies of women he ...

Baby Shannon Lea Dedrick Found Alive

The Inquisitr
November 5, 2009

The case of a missing 7-month-old baby girl took a strange twist yesterday when the child, Shannon Lea Dedrick was found unharmed beneath a sitter’s bed, and her mother was arrested along with the sitter and the sitter’s husband in the girl’s disappearance.
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Shannon Dedrick was reported missing by her parents Saturday, and the case quickly focused in on Shannon’s sitter, Susan Baker. (Baker is related to the child’s father.)
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The case is full of odd turns, as it was revealed that Baker not only wrote a letter to the Governor of Florida begging him to remove the child from her parents’ custody, but also that Baker was involved in a similar child abduction twenty years ago. The boy in that case, Paul Baker, has never been located...

Investigators found Shannon in a box (2'x3' coffin-like cedar box with a blanket, and nothing else but a box of baking soda to absorb any untowit odors) under a bed during a voluntary search on Wednesday night, deliberately concealed amongst household items. She was deemed healthy and placed into protective custody. Charges are pending for Mercer, Baker and Baker’s husband.

Left: Susan Elizabeth Baker


Also read:

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Melissa Huckaby's attorney asks to dismiss indictment, gets help with defense

November 4, 2009
By Sophia Kazmi
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 10/30/2009

STOCKTON — The defense of a Tracy woman accused of killing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu is getting some help, from Sanfrancisco attorney Michael Burt, experienced in defending high profile murder suspects joining the team...

The money to fund Burt will come from a special fund within the Public Defender's Office in death penalty cases, said Robert Himelblau, spokesman for the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office...

Also today, Behar filed a motion to suppress evidence and a motion to dismiss the indictment charging Huckaby, 28, with rape and murder in connection with Sandra's death. Judge Linda Lofthus ordered those files sealed from public access because they contain information from the grand jury transcripts, which she also ordered sealed.

Huckaby has pleaded not guilty to all counts. The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office will seek the death penalty if Huckaby is convicted...

Tracy police arrested Huckaby on April 10, four days after Sandra's body was found stuffed in a suitcase and submerged in a pond not far from the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park, where Huckaby and Cantu lived.

Before she was arrested, Huckaby told a Tracy newspaper that she owned a suitcase similar to the one Sandra was found in. Huckaby said her suitcase disappeared the same day Sandra did.
read entire article here

Melissa Huckaby Indictment

Mitrice Richardson's family presses Sheriff's Department to release videotape


By WIRE SERVICES
via laindependent.com
Nov 3, 2009
Los Angeles, CA--The sheriff's department Monday continued to withhold a station house videotape of a woman who went missing after being let go from the Malibu-Lost Hills sheriff's station, while public pressure to release the tape increased, and the missing woman's girlfriend and family sought public help to find her. What is there to hide? The longer they stall, the more po'd the rest of us get. well, me anyway.
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Sunday, about 70 people — many on motorcycles — rallied to have the videotape of Mitrice Richardson, 24, of South Los Angeles, made public.

Richardson was released on her own recognizance just after midnight Sept. 17 from the sheriff's Malibu-Lost Hills station after being booked on two misdemeanor counts for not paying her nearly $90 dinner tab at a Malibu restaurant...

...Her father, Michael Richardson, wants to see videotape from the sheriff's station, which he believes will show his daughter was too mentally ill to be released in the middle of the night in an isolated area 40 miles from her home...
...Sunday's rally and motorcade was held to make community members aware that Richardson may be on the streets of South Los Angeles, and to prompt the release of the videotape from the Lost Hills station, said family spokeswoman Jasmyne Cannick.

...The county Board of Supervisors is offering a $10,000 reward for finding Richardson, and the Malibu City Council was to vote on topping that with a $15,000 reward as well. Nevertheless, the girl's father blasted Malibu Police for refusing to waive fees to pay for sheriff's department presence at the rally.

Michael Richardson said he wanted to hold Sunday's rally in Malibu, but could not afford the city's fee to stage the rally, and could not get the mayor to waive the fee or reserve parking for the motorcade...Mayor Stern could not reached for comment, but state law does not allow him to waive fees or reserve parking without a city council vote. So vote. Do a group text message. That would take what, 10 minutes? It IS the 21st century. You don't have to go put your wigs and robes on.

...Richardson is black, about 5 feet 5 inches and 125 pounds, with tattoos on her lower abdomen and behind her neck. She was last seen wearing a brown Bob Marley T-shirt and blue jeans.

Her family asked anyone with information as to her whereabouts to call Los Angeles police at (213) 485-2531. Evidently the County Board of Supervisor's nor Malibu police or north LA County Sheriff's department want to hear from us, the unclean masses.
also read:
and a couple of links to sites with video:

Chimp Victim, Charla Nash, Wants To Sue State For $150M

Attorney: State Knew Chimp Was Dangerous
By LAUREN PETTY
NBC Connecticut
nbcconnecticut.com
Nov 4, 2009

Claiming the Department of Environmental Protection knew Travis the chimp was a serious threat but failed to act, attorney's for his victim, Charla Nash, filed a petition Wednesday with the state's Claims Commissioner asking to sue the state of Connecticut for $150 million.

"This is a tragedy that did not have to happen, should not have happened," Nash's attorney Charles Willinger said in March, when a lawsuit was filed against the chimp's owner, Sandra Herold, for $50 million.

Nash's attorney's now are taking aim at state officials who were aware of concerns about Travis for years...

For the next two years, Charla Nash will go through surgeries as she recovers from a vicious chimp attack in Stamford in February that left her disfigured, blind and near death. Her brothers are by her side through her recovery...

..."It is an accident waiting to happen," that's what a DEP biologist wrote in a letter obtained by the Associated Press dated October 2008, five months before Nash was mauled by Travis in Stamford in February.

55-year-old Nash lost her hands, nose, lips and sight after Travis attacked her when she came to help her employer, Sandra Herold, get the chimp back into the house...Nearly nine months later, Charla Nash remains at the Cleveland Clinic....

...They say she is walking around and using primitive prosthetics. "Charla has accepted her losses. She accepts that she can not change this."

...The Attorney General says hundreds of claims are filed against the state each year and it could take months for the Claims Commissioner to rule on Nash's claim...

read entire article here

Smell permeated Cleveland neighborhood where 11 bodies found, in Anthony Sowell's house

November 4, 2009
From Susan Candiotti,
CNN.com

Cleveland, Ohio (CNN) -- The smell permeated the neighborhood, turning the stomachs of residents and curtailing their outdoor activities..."We used to think that it was coming from out of Ray's Sausage," said one resident. "But you smell these smells, and I live right there and ... we used to come out here and oh, these smells would just be horrible."

Ray's Sausage Co. replaced a sewer line and grease traps, trying to rid the area of the stench. But Ray's wasn't to blame after all. Instead, police said, the foul odor had a much more sinister source.

Eleven bodies have been found inside and outside a home adjacent to Ray's -- six inside and five outside...

The first victim was identified Wednesday as Tonia Carmichael, who was 52 when she was last seen on November 10, 2008, police said. Carmichael was identified using DNA. She disappeared from Warrensville Heights, a Cleveland suburb near Sowell's home.

Seven of the victims died from strangulation by a ligature, said Frank Miller, Cuyahoga County coroner. A ligature can include a string, cord or wire. All seven still had something tied around their necks, Miller told reporters...

Some of the victims could have been missing for up to five years, Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath told reporters, and he doesn't believe authorities were able to discern any pattern relating to the disappearance of African-American women. Eleven women go "missing" in the same area and they have no pattern? b-s. I wonder if the eleven women were white, would there have been more of an effort to see what was happening? Just saying...

...Sowell showed no emotion during his hearing Wednesday before Municipal Judge Ronald Adrine. Asked whether he could afford a lawyer, Sowell responded quietly, "No sir."

read article here

Also read:
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Ohio rapist Anthony Sowell lived in rotting bodies of women he ...
Anthony Sowell Cruised Sex Fetish Site While Dead Bodies Rotted in ...
Suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell held without bond - WTOL ...

Raul Renato Castro confessed to putting 4 year old Alex Mercado in dryer

TRACIE CONE, Associated Press Writer
via The News-Herald
via hosted2.ap.org

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A 14-year-old with a baby face told investigators he drowned his 4-year-old neighbor in a bathtub then hid the body in a dryer because the child was going to reveal the teen molested him, according to an affidavit released when he appeared in court Wednesday.

Raul Renato Castro, dressed in a purple T-shirt issued at the juvenile jail, appeared emotionless while staring at his hands in Fresno County Superior Court for the in his first appearance for the murder of Alex Mercado...

...Castro eventually told police he had enticed the dimpled, brown-eyed boy into his house across the street and sodomized him, the affidavit states. He said he killed Mercado after the child fell and hit his head, started crying, then threatened to tell his mother, the document states. "Castro said he panicked and decided to kill the victim by drowning him in the bathtub," the affidavit says.

...Castro had been scheduled for arraignment as an adult on charges of first-degree murder, sodomy, child molestation, kidnapping and murder to silence a witness...


Earlier the teen had nodded without expression when Judge Jon Kapetan asked him if he understood the proceedings."He told me he was scared," said Marousek, who spoke with the teen as he sat in the jury box. "He could be in shock."

Marousek said after the hearing that she doubted the teenager understood the Miranda Rights read to him by investigators, which could put his confession in doubt. He understood well enough when he raped, murdered and hid little Alex's body.

...Bail was set at $2.1 million. Castro, who turned 14 on July 29, cannot face the death penalty but could be sentenced to as long as 47 years-to-life if convicted.


Read entire article here

Shannon Lea Dedrick, 'Please, please save that child'


Months before 7-month-old girl went missing, baby sitter
e-mailed Gov. Charlie Crist

November 4, 2009

CHIPLEY, FL — Months before a 7-month-old girl disappeared from her family’s home, her baby sitter, Susan Baker, pleaded with the governor to “please, please save that child” from her parents’ alleged pattern of drug use, abuse and “really strange things,” according to an e-mail obtained Tuesday by The News Herald.
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In response — on the third day in the search for little Shannon Dedrick — top officials with the state Department of Children and Families told The News Herald they were revisiting the case to see if they missed signs of danger...
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[From the parents] “The only things they can come up with is exactly what they’re saying: ‘I don’t know.’ ” (reminds me of Misty Croslin)
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...Susan Baker said she received a call from a Child Protective Services worker who said he would investigate...DCF, Digre said he received two reports on the family. The allegations included marijuana use around Shannon and a complaint that she had been shaken...
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Digre said...DCF would be poring over records for any signs they might have missed. Those records would become “totally open” if Shannon is found dead, Digre said.
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Baker identified the mother as Tina Mercer and her boyfriend as Rusty Dedrick. However, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office – which has released little information about the case – would not confirm those names...
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For days, investigators have feared Shannon is hidden in the woods or in one of many trash bins near her family’s trailer on a dirt drive off Brown Street. Dozens of searchers have labored there, hoping to find clues...
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More than 50 people and eight teams of dogs were looking through the woods. Helicopters were flying late into the evening.
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Baker said she had no clue where the girl could be, but she expressed a firm belief that Shannon often went ignored by her parents, who she said lived in the trailer among roaches.
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Baker told of an evening she tried to make Shannon’s parents notice her turning over in her playpen — a rare feat. But “Tina and Rusty couldn’t take their eyes off the TV long enough to see their child turn over,” she said...a night two weeks ago when Mercer sat on a bed and “said she wished that Shannon would disappear because Shannon’s not Rusty’s daughter, and she wished that Shannon was gone, so she could have a baby with Rusty.”
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It disturbed Baker to see Shannon’s parents so uncaring, she said. She claimed there were many times she was allowed to take Shannon away for “as long as I wanted.”
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But a stranger’s abduction was impossible, she said, as the family’s door remained latch-bolted shut every day, and “there was no way in this world that anybody could get in that trailer.”
...Call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 850-638-6111 with any information.
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Read entire article here
Also read: