Monday, August 31, 2009

Man Gets 95-Year Sentence In Son's Death, Abductions

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- A judge has given a 95-year prison sentence to a Terre Haute man for abducting his two young sons at knifepoint and killing one of them.

Prosecutors agreed to not seek the death penalty when Katron Walker, 36, pleaded guilty in June to charges of murder and attempted murder for fatally stabbing his 4-year-old son, Collin, and trying to kill his 2-year-old son, Monte.

The 2006 attack happened just days after Walker's wife told him she wanted a divorce.

Vigo County Judge David Bolk mostly dismissed defense arguments about Walker's mental health.

A psychologist testified that Walker believed he needed to protect his sons' spirits because they would be "corrupt" if his marriage were to end.

Walker pleaded guilty June 22 to murder and attempted murder in the case. He had marijuana and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his arrest, police said.

Previous Stories:
August 24, 2009: Judge Weighs Sentence For Man Who Killed Son
June 22, 2009: Man Pleads Guilty To Abducting Sons, Killing 1
August 23, 2007: Man Charged With Killing Son Plans Insanity Defense
June 26, 2006: Police: Careful Consideration Goes Into Amber Alert
June 26, 2006: Walker Makes Court Appearance
June 20, 2006: Friends, Family Remember Slain Boy
June 19, 2006: Man Police Say Killed Son Could Face Death Sentence
June 16, 2006: Man Charged In Son's Slaying Makes First Court Appearance
June 15, 2006: Death Penalty Could Be Sought For Suspect In Boy's Death
June 14, 2006: Alert Delay? Police Say Threat To Boys Wasn't Immediately Clear
June 14, 2006: Police: Man Killed Son, Injured Another After Divorce Threat
June 14, 2006: Police: Boys, Father 'Accounted For' After Amber Alert
June 14, 2006: Amber Alert Issued For Two Boys

Kidnap Suspect: Mind Control Helped Stop My Sexual Urges

(CNN) -- Phillip Garrido had a story to tell -- about how God helped him overcome the evil inside him.

The campus at the University of California at Berkeley was his pulpit and he hoped his neighbors and customers of his printing business would become his flock.

He wanted to share his story with anyone who would listen -- including law enforcement.

Just days before he was arrested and an 18-year-old kidnap mystery was solved, Garrido walked into an FBI office in San Francisco, California, with a stack of documents.

The purported writings were a two-part manifesto. First he discussed the "Origin of schizophrenia revealed." Some who know him say Garrido spoke of having schizophrenia and attention deficit disorder.

In the second part of the documents, Garrido detailed his struggle with sexual urges, in writings he titled "Stepping into the light."

In the documents, obtained by CNN, Garrido confessed his past aggressive sexual impulses, but said he is no longer that man.

Garrido, along with his wife, was charged last week with crimes relating to the abduction of 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard in 1991 and her captivity in a hidden shed-and-tent compound in the couple's backyard in Antioch, California. They pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, kidnapping and false imprisonment.

After his arrest, Garrido said documents he gave to the FBI would be key, that they would help people understand who he really was. He told a local television reporter the documents would show a "heartwarming story," one that helped him "completely" turn his life around.

The documents provide a glimpse into the mind of a man who said he thinks he has a God-given gift. The power to control minds with sound was his salvation, he said, and would help others before they committed a violent act.

He wrote that he wanted to share his story to provide "solid hope for everyone who suffers from the many forms of aggressive sexual behavior as well as other problematic behaviors."

Garrido had spoken of his sexual urges during his trial in 1977, when he was convicted of abducting and raping a 25-year-old casino worker in a mini-warehouse. He spent 11 years in jail for those crimes. He testified at his trial about his sexual fantasies, which included masturbating while reading magazines, watching movies and in restaurants or bathrooms.

In his writings, he detailed how hard it was for him to control himself. Garrido wrote that he realized he couldn't control his impulses and they were plaguing the ones he loved.

"Certain behaviors cause a great deal of pain in myself and those who are victimized by those behaviors, especially our family and my wife," he wrote.

That pain was what made him try to change from the predator he had become, he wrote.

He said he began forcing himself to look at attractive women, but would not allow himself to act.

"See how beautiful she is to look at," he would tell himself.

In time, Garrido wrote, he began to stop physically acting on his feelings.

As time went on, Garrido wrote, he kept those sexual compulsions at bay, beginning with controlling masturbation, which he said in the past had often taken place in public.

He wrote that he became free and able to experience sexual enjoyment for the first time with his wife, though it was unclear whether he was referring to Nancy, his legal wife, or to Dugard, the mother of two of his children.

He claimed he realized how wrong he had been in the past.

"I realized I never needed to act or do the things I used to believe was so great and stimulating," Garrido wrote, referring to what he called "one of the most powerful freedoms imaginable."

"I began to weep telling her 'I am so sorry for the things I did in the past,' " Garrido wrote about his wife, adding he experienced a feeling of remorse he never had before.

That feeling of salvation was something Garrido believed was a gift. He said he thought it meant it was up to him to help other sexual predators turn their lives around.

"It will begin to open a new pathway for us all. God willing, I will be teaching this and other skills Christ is providing for me in the prisons throughout the U.S. as well as overseas," he wrote.

Officers Who Cracked Missing Girl Case: Something Wasn't Right

(CNN) -- Call it mother's intuition. Call it a police officer's intuition. But Allison Jacobs knew something was wrong.

The University of California, Berkeley, police officer was sitting in on a meeting with a man named Phillip Garrido, who wanted to hold an event on campus, and Lisa Campbell, special events manager for the university police. Garrido brought along two young girls, introducing them as his daughters.

Jacobs' and Campbell's intuition, authorities said, led to the arrest of Garrido, a registered sex offender who along with his wife, Nancy, now faces 29 felony charges in connection with the 1991 kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard, who was then 11. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Police have said Garrido kept Dugard in a series of sheds in his backyard for 18 years, fathering two children with her -- the 11- and 15-year-old girls he brought with him to the meeting.

In a Friday interview with CNN's "AC360," Campbell said Garrido had approached her August 24 with the two girls in tow, asking about holding his event. She had another commitment, so she asked him to return the following day.

"He was clearly animated, he was very passionate, he was full of life about the things he wanted to talk about," Campbell said. "The girls sort of were recessed in the background. And they were young. It was one o'clock in the afternoon. They weren't in school. They were pretty much unresponsive emotionally, extremely pale ... there was just something about the girls that wasn't right."

She thought the encounter was strange enough to run a background check on Garrido, which revealed that he was on parole after a rape conviction and was a registered sex offender. Campbell asked Jacobs to sit in on the meeting the next day.

Jacobs said she began talking to the girls, trying to engage them in conversation. Checking for any abuse, she asked one girl about a bump on her eye, and the girl told her it was a birth defect, she said.

"They both said that they were home schooled," Jacobs said. "And when I asked about that, they said that the mom and the dad both home schooled them. And then they mentioned an older sister."

"The youngest girl was across from me," Jacobs said. "And she was very intently staring at me and smiling in a very eerie way. The older daughter was looking at Mr. Garrido, and not looking at us, not making eye contact with us. And her eyes were darting around at the ceiling, and [she] would give really quick, clipped one-word answers and would glance at us and back up at him."

She said, "My police intuition was kicking in, but I would say it's more of a mother's intuition. I was worried for these little girls. I knew something wasn't right. I could kind of see it in their eyes, although I really didn't know what it was. And just being the protective mom that I am, my reaction was to try and do what I could to help them."

Jacobs called Garrido's parole officer to tell him about the meeting. "And he stopped me dead in my tracks," she said. "And he said, 'He doesn't have daughters.' And that's when my heart kind of sunk down into my stomach. And I said, 'Well, he introduced them as his daughters. They had his blue eyes. They were calling him "Dad." They even mentioned an older sister at home. So I had no reason to believe that they were anything but his daughters.' "

The parole officer called Garrido in for a meeting Wednesday. He attended, along with his wife, the two girls and another woman named Allissa, police have said. "Allissa" was eventually identified as Dugard. Scott Kernan, undersecretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, told reporters Thursday that Garrido admitted abducting Dugard.

"The parole agent called me on my way home from work," Jacobs said Friday. "And he was all excited ... and he said that ... he was involved with a kidnapping case and ... because I called it in, it helped solve this FBI case that was 18 years old."

"We're never going to forget this day," she said. "And I'm glad that Jaycee is safe and working on her road to recovery."

Police acknowledged Friday that someone called 911 in 2006 to report that children appeared to be living in tents in a neighbor's backyard. Contra Costa County Sheriff Warren Rupf told reporters a deputy visited the Garrido home after the call, but did not go in the backyard. "This is not an acceptable outcome," Rupf said.

In a jailhouse interview Thursday with CNN affiliate KCRA, Garrido would not discuss the abduction, but said he had "completely turned" his life around in the past several years.

"You're going to find the most powerful story coming from the witness, from the victim," he promised. "If you take this a step at a time, you're going to fall over backward, and in the end you're going to find the most powerful, heartwarming story."

Garrido Victim: 'He Had Me for 8 Hours. He Had Her for 18 Years'

(CNN) -- Katie Callaway Hall trembled for four hours when she heard Phillip Garrido was arrested.

His name sent a flurry of emotion running through her mind.

"I screamed," she told CNN's Larry King on Monday night. "I started screaming 'Oh my god, Oh my god, it's him.' "

She has thought about him every day since November 22, 1976 when he asked her for a ride at a supermarket in California, before handcuffing her, binding her and taking her to a mini-warehouse in Reno, Nevada, where he raped her.

Garrido was convicted for kidnapping and raping Hall, but was released after serving just over 10 years of a 50-year sentence. He was labeled a sex offender and put on lifetime parole.

"In many ways, the capture of Phillip Garrido has closed a chapter in my life," Hall wrote for a Larry King blog. "I don't have to hide anymore. I don't have to live every day of my life wondering if he is looking for me. I am finally free from the fear I have lived with since the day I learned he was paroled."

Garrido and his wife Nancy were charged last week with crimes relating to the abduction of 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard in 1991 and her captivity in a hidden shed-and-tent compound in the couple's backyard in Antioch, California.

"With all the joy I should feel, I want to scream from the depths of my soul," she said. "Scream because my fears turned out to be justified -- he struck again."

While Hall has tried to suppress some of the memories of what happened to her that night, Garrido's arrest took her mind back to that night in November.

"A man tapped on my window and asked for a ride," she said. "I agreed."

When she stopped the car to drop him off, Garrido took the keys out of the ignition, according to court documents from Garrido's appeal in the case.

Garrido, then 25, "told [Hall] it wasn't intentional that he had taken her, but that it was her fault because she was attractive," according to the documents.

"Soon after, I was cuffed, bound, gagged, and taken to a warehouse," Hall told CNN.

She was kept in the 6 by 12-foot storage facility, which Hall remembers was stacked with half-opened boxes with China-type dishes inside.

Large, heavy carpets were hanging from the ceiling, spaced apart every few feet.

"It was like a maze," she said. "And in the back of the mini warehouse where he had me, he had it set up to keep someone for awhile."

"Most of the details about what happened to me after I entered that warehouse have been repressed."

She told Larry King that she feared for her life.

"I thought I was dead," she said.

Hall was held in the small storage facility for five hours before she heard a noise.

"My recollections begin around 3 a.m. Someone banged on the door. I remember thinking, 'Oh my God, his friends are coming,' " she said. "Garrido said, 'Do I have to tie you up or are you going to be good.' "

She told him she would be good, but she knew if it was the police banging outside, she was going to "have to try something."

"I barreled my way out of the warehouse completely naked. I could see the officer and Garrido standing there. They both looked at me like I was crazy," she said. "I couldn't see the officer's car. I thought 'Oh God, he's not a real cop.' My state of mind was such that I couldn't fully embrace what I was seeing. Finally, I saw his police car."

Garrido tried to tell the cop Hall was his girlfriend.

"I screamed, 'No I'm not -- help me, help me,' " she said.

"The officer told me to back in and put my clothes on. When I went inside, Garrido must have convinced the officer we were both on drugs, because he let Garrido go back into the building alone," Hall said. "I had already put some of my clothes on. Garrido came back in and begged me not to turn him in."

Half-dressed, Hall said she maneuvered passed him and asked the police to keep him away.

"They asked if I was brought there against my will," she said. "I told them I was, that he had handcuffed and bound me. An officer shined a light on my wrists, saw the sores from the handcuffs, and arrested Garrido."

Though Garrido was put behind bars for what he did, Hall said that night changed her life forever.

"For years, I walked around like a zombie," she said. "I had to tell everyone I met what had happened to me -- because I didn't feel like myself. It was as if I had to explain why I wasn't 'normal.' "

For her, that's the biggest pain Garrido put her though.

"I was a good person. I lived right, and treated others well," she said.

"He changed my life in an instant. I don't feel like I can ever be that person again. Being victimized is something that only a victim can understand. I hate that he did this to me, and I doubt I'll ever get over it."

Though the trauma of her kidnapping has stayed with her all of these years, Hall said she couldn't even begin to imagine the pain Garrido has caused Dugard and the two children she had with him.

"The only thing I can think of worse than what happened to me, is it happening to my child," she said. "I can't imagine what Jaycee is going through. He had me for 8 hours. He had her for 18 years.

"I was an adult, with instincts that helped me deal with the situation. She was a child. This is going to be with her for the rest of her life. I can only wish her the best."

Golf Pro Arrested On Child Sex Charges

ATLANTA -- Federal agents arrested a metro Atlanta golf pro on child exploitation charges on Sunday.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Greg Jones said that authorities arrested Barry Loman, 45, after he traveled from Peachtree City to meet with someone he thought was a minor child.

He is charged with attempted aggravated child molestation, computer pornography, child exploitation, attempted manufacture of child pornography and reckless driving.

Loman is the head pro at Lake Spivey Golf Club, according to the club's Web site. His bio on the site says Loman is married with three children and two grandchildren.

He is being held at the Catoosa County Jail.

Family: No Signs of Heavy Drinking in Driver in Fatal Crash

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The body of a woman who authorities say was impaired by marijuana and alcohol when she caused a deadly head-on collision shows no signs of long-term alcohol use, according to an investigator hired by her family.

"I have looked at the autopsy, and the pancreas, liver and esophagus were clear," Tom Ruskin, lead investigator and president of CMP Protective and Investigative Group, told CNN. "I've never seen a case like this. No one has seen this woman drunk and we have interviewed over 50 people -- relatives, friends, colleagues and former employees from her company."

The Westchester County medical examiner's office found that Diane Schuler, 36, had a blood alcohol level of .19 percent -- more than twice the legal limit -- and had marijuana in her system when she drove a minivan the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway and ran head-on into an SUV.

Three adults in the SUV were killed in the July 26 crash, along with Schuler and four children in her minivan -- her daughter and three nieces. A fifth child, Schuler's son, survived and is in stable condition.

Ruskin, a former officer in New York Police's narcotics division, said he is hesitant to fully accept the autopsy report.

"I'm not saying the autopsy is wrong or right. I don't know if she smoked pot weeks prior. Marijuana stays in your system for up to 30 days," he said.

The medical examiner's office released a statement on August 6, saying it stands by its autopsy results, and reiterated that Sunday.

Schuler's family expressed shock when the details were revealed, saying she had no history of substance use.

"There's no way she'd do this," Jay Schuler, Schuler's sister-in-law, said earlier this month. "She was responsible."

Tests revealed that Schuler had an additional six grams of alcohol in her stomach that had yet to be metabolized, according to Maj. William Carey of the New York State Police.

A vodka bottle was also found in the vehicle after the crash.

Ruskin is adamant that it is necessary to go back through the day of the crash.

"We are analyzing all of the data that we have to date. We have a staff that has consumed themselves with this case," he said. "We are trying to determine what happened here."

Schuler's husband, Daniel, "would like to remind people that no matter what happened here he lost his wife, his daughter, his nieces and he also grieves for the Bastardi and Luongo families," Ruskin said, referring to the other crash victims.

"He talks about that constantly in my daily conversations with him."

Georgia Slayings 911 Call: 'My Whole Family's Dead'

(CNN) -- In an anguished 911 call, a Georgia man told dispatchers he arrived home to find "my whole family's dead."

"I just got home," a man identified as Guy Heinze Jr. told the emergency dispatcher in the Saturday call, released Monday by authorities. "I was out last night. I got home just now, and everybody's dead. ... My whole family's dead. It looks like they've been beaten to death."

Seven people were found dead Saturday at a residence at the New Hope mobile home park in Brunswick, Georgia, authorities said. Two others were hospitalized in critical condition; one of them died Sunday.

A neighbor of Heinze, 22, placed the call and put him on the phone, as well as the mobile home park's maintenance man. The park manager also called 911, sobbing as she told dispatchers: "Please hurry."

Police said Sunday they have "no known suspects" in the case. "We are not looking for any known suspects," Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering said. "That doesn't say that there are no suspects. They're just not known to us."

Heinze was arrested Saturday night and faces charges of having a controlled substance and marijuana, as well as evidence tampering and making false statements to a police officer, Doering said.

He told reporters Heinze has been cooperative, and stopped short of naming him a suspect in the deaths. "We're still looking for anybody and everybody that may be related to this," he said. "That naturally includes [Heinze]. Of course we're looking at him."

"I don't know what to do, man," an emotional Heinze told the dispatcher. "My dad, my mom, my uncle, my cousin ... my dad, he's laying there dead. That was my dad."

"It's a house full of people that live there," the neighbor said during the call. "... I know there's a baby. I don't know if the baby was in there or not."

At one point, while the maintenance man, identified only as Mike, talked to dispatchers, Heinze went into the mobile home and reported that his cousin, identified as Michael, was still breathing. Asked to describe Michael, the maintenance man said that Michael is a "young man with Down's syndrome." Heinze reported the youth's "face is smashed in," he said.

Heinze got back on the phone to talk to a supervisor, repeating that Michael was breathing, although he appeared to be having trouble breathing, and needed an ambulance. The dispatcher assured him help was on the way, and tried to question him gently.

"People's beat," Heinze said. "Everybody is dead." Asked what the mobile home looked like, he yelled, "It looks like a [expletive] murder scene."

At the dispatcher's suggestion, Heinze tried to question Michael, asking him, "Where do you hurt?" There was no response.

Doering said Sunday police believe at least one person not in custody may have information in the case. Authorities have not released the victims' identities, waiting for them to be positively confirmed through autopsies, which began Sunday in Savannah, Georgia. However, Doering has said the victims range in age from children through mid-40s.

Police had been called to the home before, Doering said, but would not say why.

He was tight-lipped Sunday about many aspects of the case, refusing to say how the victims died or to give a breakdown of male and female victims. All nine victims lived in the mobile home, he said, and police do not believe any of them conducted the assault.

He said police are making progress and have narrowed down the timeline for when the deaths occurred.

Brunswick is about 300 miles southeast of Atlanta, on the Georgia coast.

This Day In History



Aug 31 1888
Jack the Ripper kills his first known victim, prostitute Mary Ann Nichols, slitting her throat from ear to ear.



Aug 31 1997
Lady Diana, and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, killed in car crash inside a Paris tunnel.



Aug 31 1999
A video game machine explodes at an underground Moscow arcade, injuring perhaps thirty people and killing several others.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Police: 'No Known Suspects' in 7 Georgia Deaths

Come On!!!

(CNN) -- Authorities believe at least one person not in custody may have information about the deaths of seven people in a Georgia mobile home, Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering said Sunday.

"I'm confident to say that there's somebody, at least an individual, that we would like to know about that's not at the scene," whether or not they were directly involved in the case, Doering said.

The seven were found dead Saturday at a residence in the New Hope mobile home park in Brunswick, Georgia. Two others also found in the mobile home remained in critical condition Sunday, the chief said.

Police have "no known suspects," Doering told reporters Sunday afternoon. "We are not looking for any known suspects. That doesn't say that there are no suspects. They're just not known to us."

One person, 22-year-old Guy Heinze Jr., was arrested Saturday night, Doering said. Heinze is related to one of the victims, he said, and was the one who called 911. He told police he discovered the bodies when he arrived home.

Heinze was being held on suspicion of having a controlled substance and marijuana, as well as evidence tampering and making false statements to a police officer, Doering said. He told reporters Heinze has been cooperative.

"We're still looking for anybody and everybody that may be related to this," he said. "That naturally includes [Heinze]. Of course we're looking at him." He stopped short, however, of calling Heinze a suspect in the deaths.

Autopsies on the victims were taking place Sunday in Savannah, Georgia, Doering said. Police have tentative identifications for the victims, he said. He told reporters later Sunday the victims ranged from children to adults in their mid-40s.

Police have been called to the home before, Doering said, but would not say why.

Doering remained tight-lipped Sunday about many aspects of the case, refusing to say how the victims died or to give a breakdown of male and female victims. All nine victims lived in the mobile home, he said, and police do not believe any of them conducted the assault.

He said police are making progress, and have narrowed down the timeline for when the deaths occurred.

Brunswick is about 300 miles southeast of Atlanta, on the Georgia coast.

Volunteers conducted an extended search of the area around the mobile home, but nothing was found, Doering said Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, police removed additional evidence from the mobile home. Authorities are examining surveillance video from nearby areas, but are not aware of any surveillance system in the mobile home park, he said.

"There is cause for concern," he said. "We just simply don't have a whole lot to go on, and I'm not going to sit there and tell everybody not to be cautious, because people need to be."

E-mails Show Kidnap Victim Worked at Suspect's Business

ANTIOCH, California (CNN) -- Customers of the printing company knew her as "Allissa."

They spoke to her about graphic design, business cards and fliers, and describe her as professional, polite and responsive.

"She was always good at getting us what we wanted," said Ben Daughdrill, who used to own a junk hauling business. "You got the feeling she was doing all the work."

But "Allissa," authorities say, was really Jaycee Dugard, kidnapped 18 years ago from her home in South Lake Tahoe, California.

Her identity was discovered earlier this week and her alleged kidnappers -- 58-year-old Phillip Garrido, a registered sex offender, and his 55-year-old wife Nancy -- were arrested.

They face 29 felony charges, including rape and kidnapping, and both have pleaded not guilty.

Authorities said the Garridos held Dugard -- and the two daughters she had by Phillip Garrido -- in sheds in their backyard.

Garrido's business, "Printing for Less," catered to small businesses. He ran it out of his home in Antioch, east of San Francisco. His customers say he did good work and had much lower prices than competition.

"i will take a look at the price sheet and send you over a copy of the revised brochure tomorrow," she wrote in an e-mail written on May 7, 2007. "as to the pictures sorry ... but we don't have a digital camera ... hopefully you can find a way to get me those pictures you want so i can add them to them brochure. i can get the brochures to you pretty fast within the week of final approval of the brochures. How many are you going to order and do you want them on glossy or matte paper, thick or thin?"

In another e-mail, this one from January 21, 2008, Dugard wrote, "heres the business cards in jpeg format let me know if you need anything else thank you."

While authorities say they are still trying to sort out the conditions in which Dugard was held captive, it's clear she was an integral part of Garrido's business.

Daughdrill told CNN he met Dugard in person on two occasions. "Nothing stood out," he said when "Allissa" emerged from the house and gave him his print orders.

"Obviously there was some brainwashing going on. That's all I can think," he said. " She had access to a phone and a computer, so obviously something went on that no one knows about."

Three northern California law enforcement agencies have joined the investigation of Phillip Garrido, saying he may be responsible for other crimes.

CNN obtained e-mails written by "Allissa" to Daughdrill. The e-mails came from a Yahoo account set up by Phillip Garrido and in his name, but Daughdrill said they came from "Allissa" because the two were either on the phone or had just finished a conversation when they arrived. In them, Dugard uses short, compact answers and lowercase letters. The e-mails also have a typo or two.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Police Say There Will Be No Charges for Helping Ryan Jenkins Across Border

VANCOUVER, B.C. — No charges will be laid against anyone who may have helped fugitive U.S. reality TV contestant Ryan Jenkins in his run home from California to Canada.

Jenkins is the only suspect in the bloody slaying of his swimsuit-model ex-wife in San Diego, but RCMP say there isn't enough evidence to charge anyone who may have helped the former Calgary resident cross illegally into Canada.

A California police officer says it would be up to U.S. federal prosecutors to look at laying charges against anyone involved in Canada and so far, he hasn't heard that's happening.

The RCMP said previously they were investigating whether someone could be charged as an accessory for Jenkins' failure to report his return to Canada.

A mystery woman checked Jenkins into a motel in Hope, B.C., east of Vancouver, last week while he waited in the car.

"There is no evidence to support criminal charges against anyone who came into contact with Mr. Jenkins including the woman who dropped him off at the motel on Thursday August 20, 2009," Cpl. Norm Massie of the RCMP's border integrity unit said Friday in a news release.

The motel manager said the woman was driving a Chrysler PT Cruiser with an Alberta licence plate.

Police have never identified the woman but said they have been in contact with her.

Speculation about who she is led to a media frenzy, with some journalists at first identifying a Calgary model who was Jenkins' girlfriend. When that claim didn't check out, they turned to a woman in Vancouver said to be Jenkins' half-sister.

Jasmine Fiore's nude, mutilated body was found stuffed in a suitcase in a suburban Los Angeles dumpster on Aug. 15.

Hours later, Jenkins reported her missing, telling a West Hollywood sheriff's deputy that his wife had disappeared after running errands and that he hadn't seen her since the night before.

U.S. authorities said that hours before she died, Fiore was chatting on her cell phone with an ex-boyfriend - a conversation that police say threw Jenkins into a jealous rage.

Witnesses said Ryan Jenkins argued with Fiore in the lobby of the San Diego Hilton after leaving a poker tournament, telling her "you're making a fool of me in front of my friends," said Buena Park police Sgt. Frank Nunes.

Nunes said family and friends told authorities Jenkins and Fiore - who were married in a quickie Las Vegas wedding in March - had a volatile relationship and had cheated on each other.

"It all boils down to a domestic violence situation that went way out of hand as a result of jealousy," Nunes said late Thursday.

Police believe Jenkins set out on a 1,600-kilometre odyssey to Canada, eventually taking his speed boat to Point Roberts, Wash., a finger of American territory jutting into the waters by the B.C. Ferry Terminal.

From Point Roberts, they believe he easily walked into Canada.

The boat was discovered Aug. 19, the day California authorities named Jenkins a person of interest in Fiore's murder.

Jenkins was next seen Aug. 20 by a hotel manager in Hope sitting in the PT Cruiser while the woman checked him into the hotel. She left shortly afterwards and was not seen again.

The next day, last Friday, the warrant was issued.

On Sunday, Jenkins' body was found hanging from a clothes rack in the hotel.

"Consultation with lawyers and Crown has determined that there are no applicable criminal charges surrounding the Canadian investigation of Ryan Jenkins," Massie said.

U.S. investigators have released some of the details of Jenkins' preparations to flee.

Buena Park police Sgt. Bill Kohanek said in an interview Friday that investigators are waiting for test results from the "many, many blood samples" taken from Fiore's white Mercedes, found earlier this week.

"There was a good amount of blood splatter and smearing around the vehicle, which indicated a pretty violent confrontation," he said.

Kohanek said investigators are "doing quite a successful job" of following Jenkins' movements after Fiore was killed.

"He took money out, he did vehicle repairs, he placed new tires on his SUV that was later driven to Washington. He picked up dry cleaning."

Jenkins also sent a courier package to a Las Vegas jeweller which included a man's wedding ring, a woman's wedding ring and several other rings believed to have belonged to Fiore. The rings were to be cleaned.

Phone records show Jenkins made many phone calls to people he knew before he left.

When asked if these were the actions of a suicidal man, Kohanek replied Jenkins was caught in a pressure cooker of media and police pursuit.

"I think he probably felt cornered," Kohanek said. "Some of the details of the gruesome murder were coming out, so I think there were a lot more people that were not willing to help him, when they were starting to see the significance of this crime."

"I think he just met the end of his rope."

Jenkins Power Dialed after Fiore's Death

TMZ.com- Here's the rundown: Buena Park police think Ryan Jenkins severely beat Jasmine after they left the San Diego Hilton hotel at 2:30 AM on the 14th.

Jenkins was seen entering the L'Auberge Del Mar hotel in San Diego at 4:30 AM alone. Cops believe Jasmine was taken into the hotel through a back patio entrance, which does not have a security camera.

A small amount of blood and hair was found on the patio. Cops say they never saw Jenkins leave the hotel with the suitcase Jasmine was found in. They think Ryan put her in the suitcase and took her out through the patio, because he was finally seen leaving the hotel without her or the suitcase at 9:20 AM. It's unclear if Jasmine died in the hotel or in the car.

Cops say Jenkins made around 30 phone calls and texts between the time he left San Diego at 9:20 AM and arrived in Los Angeles at 5 PM. During this time, cops believe Ryan drove to Corona, pulled off-road and removed her teeth and fingertips -- then dropped her body off in Buena Park before driving to Los Angeles. Cops won't say who he called and texted.

AND GET THIS: Cops say once Ryan arrived in L.A., he sent his and Jasmine's wedding rings to Las Vegas via Fed-Ex with instructions to be cleaned. Cops say he never picked up the rings, which are now in the possession of the Buena Park Police Department.

Accused Abductor of Jaycee Dugard Turned Increasingly Zealous, Customers Say

Mercury News- Phillip Garrido did printing work for a Pittsburg recycling center for more than a decade, and he did it well. Some of the receipts and envelopes came with lovely children's designs, said Maria Christenson, owner of Christenson Recycling Center. His daughter did them, Garrido proudly told her.

"There was nothing weird with him at the beginning. But I noticed a year ago he just went off the deep end," she said.

That's when Phillip and Nancy Garrido — charged Friday in the 1991 abduction and sexual assault of Jaycee Dugard — came into her office, shut the door and asked for a $2,000 advance. They needed a new bathroom and had plans to start a backyard church, they told her.

"He started preaching and doing all this stuff. He was telling me about his voices. And then he said, 'You know I've been to prison, and I don't masturbate anymore.' Out of the blue," she said. "Then he started crying, and she was crying. I was looking at them — what is this about? I got freaked out."

One longtime customer, Deepal Karunaratne, also recalled Garrido plunging into preachy fervor over the past few years. Garrido sang religious country-rock songs that he let Karunaratne hear from a CD. Garrido said he recorded the music in a soundproofed backyard studio. Authorities have said Dugard and her two children fathered by Garrido lived in a hidden backyard warren of tents, sheds and outbuildings — one of them soundproofed.

A local real estate agent, Karunaratne said he often picked up his orders at the Garridos' Antioch-area house. Garrido would often hop in Karunaratne's car, Bible in hand, trying to preach to him. A few times Karunaratne went inside the house, he said.

The printing business was a family affair, he said.

"I met all of them, even the girl, Jaycee. He introduced her to me as his daughter. She's the one who handled my printing. She's the graphic designer. She did all the layout, designing and everything," he said. "Sometimes when I go there, she comes out with the work, wearing gloves, with ink all over her clothes."

Details from authorities, Garrido's customers and others who came in contact with the 58-year-old convicted rapist paint a picture of a religious fanatic who grew more and more strange, and who lately was intent to spread his confounding beliefs widely, with the two shy blond girls in tow.

His wayward aspirations drew the suspicion of UC Berkeley police last week, leading to the couple's arrest. Garrido's readiness to cast himself in the light may have done what law enforcement never did: flush him out and reveal a horrifying 18-year-old mystery.

To some, he announced plans to give up the printing business and preach full time. Last year, he launched a company, God's Desire. His blog, called "Voices Revealed," describes a fascination with mind control and the ability to hear the voices in people's heads. "The Creator has given me the ability to speak in the tongue of angels in order to provide a wake-up call that will in time include the salvation of the entire world," he wrote.

On Monday, the same day he first sought an event permit at UC Berkeley, he delivered documents to the FBI in San Francisco. FBI spokesman Joseph Schadler described the documents as similar to the writings found on Garrido's blog. The next day, he returned with the two girls to campus in a meeting that prompted two UC officers to run a background check and alert his parole officer.

Then, Wednesday, Garrido brought his wife, the girls and Dugard — who went by "Allissa" — into a Concord parole office, where questions from police revealed Dugard's identity and led to the couple's arrest. The next day, in an interview from jail, he told a Sacramento TV station, "If you take this a step at a time, you're going to fall over backwards, and in the end, you're going to find the most powerful, heartwarming story."

Garrido told Christenson, too, that she would "fall backwards" when his plans took shape.

"He said, 'I'm going to Berkeley. This is really great.' They were going to listen to what he had to say about God and all these things," she said. "He was talking about the Berkeley thing since last year but went into high gear about three months ago."

Jim Molino, owner of JM Enterprise, a Pittsburg wrecking yard, said Garrido would give customers bottles of cold water and fuel religious discussions. "He has a vast knowledge of the Bible. He knows the book backwards and forwards," Molino said.

Garrido asked to do a sermon at the wrecking yard. "I told him, 'Hell no,'" Molino said.

A while back, Molino said he sold Garrido a reddish Volkswagen. Garrido would drive the wagon to People's Park in Berkeley, said homeless men who camp there.

"He seemed kind of hyper. He would rush around, passing out bottles of water and sometimes homemade sandwiches. He was always in a hurry," said one of the older, bearded campers, who identified himself only as "The Hate Man."

"He'd have the kids every now and then tagging along behind."

One of the men, William Clark, described a strange display on the dashboard of Garrido's car. He said religious symbols — including a pentagram — were glued onto the dashboard, along with an array of nude baby dolls. Law enforcement officials did not return calls to confirm the display.

Occasionally, Garrido would set up speakers on the park's stage, the men said. "But he never seemed to say anything or play music with them," said one man, who declined to give his name. "Nothing happened. No sound. I guess he wasn't quite wired in, either."

Garrido asked several people, including customers, to sign testimonials confirming they had witnessed his ability to "control sound with my mind" and a device he developed "for others to witness this phenomena." About three years ago, he asked Karunaratne to sign one, after insisting the real estate agent put on earphones attached to a box.

"I did sign it, but I did it just to get away from it. I did not have any intention of endorsing his crazy stuff," said Karunaratne, who said he saw no signs of the kind of trouble revealed in the past week.

"I told my wife, 'This guy seems to be like he's going crazy. He's getting into religious extremism,'" he said. "I was not worried about that because I've seen people like that. I met his family, and they didn't have any problem with it."

Christenson, however, said she felt guilty she didn't draw out Garrido. Once, she said, she and her daughter knocked on the front door to pick up some printing, heard nothing, then peered around back.

"My daughter stood on the fence and said, 'There's a clunker in the backyard.' He came out and said, 'You guys wait in the car. I have a really vicious dog and my mother's really sick,'" she said. "Now we're saying, 'My gosh, we should have snooped.'

"It's really freaky when I see him on TV. I think he wanted to get caught. I think he just didn't know what to do anymore."

Wrong-Way Taconic Mom Not an Alcoholic, Family Says Autopsy Shows

CNBC.com- 'She was drunk. But she wasn't an alcoholic. '

The family of the woman who was drunk and high when she drove her minivan the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway and slammed into an SUV, killing eight people, is capitalizing on the results of an autopsy that they say shows Diane Schuler wasn't an alcoholic.

An investigator hired by her husband, Daniel Schuler, says the medical examiner's report, which the family received last week, shows no sign of cirrhosis – a sure indication of a habitual drinker.

"The autopsy supports the claims of over 50 Diane Schuler's friends and family members who have never once seen this woman drunk," investigator Thomas Ruskin told the Daily News Saturday.

Schuler had a blood alcohol level of 0.19 – more than twice the legal limit – at the time of the crash and had smoked marijuana as early as 15 minutes before, officials say. Relatives of the mother of two have decried allegations she had substance abuse problems. The lack of cirrhosis revealed in the coroner's report is the first time the family has been able to respond with what they perceive as hard proof against those charges.

Ruskin said the coroner's report also showed no indication of esophagus erosion – another son of long-term alcohol abuse, reports the News.

"It shows that Diane's liver and pancreas have no signs of alcoholic disease," Ruskin said of the 20-page report.

Daniel Schuler has adamantly maintained his wife had no drinking or drug problem, and that some strange medical mystery was to blame for the crash. The autopsy indicated no "medical mystery" that could have been responsible; it showed Schuler had consumed the equivalent of 10 shots of vodka and had high levels of THC, the main chemical ingredient in marijuana, at the time of the deadly crash.

The Long Island mother was driving home from a camping trip when she got on the Taconic and drove nearly two miles in the wrong direction before plowing head-on into an SUV. Schuler, her daughter, three nieces and three men from Yonkers in the SUV were killed in the collision. Only Schuler's 5-year-old son, Bryan, survived.

Lawyers for the family of two of the Yonkers men killed in the crash dismiss Ruskin's interpretation of the autopsy results as a plus in the Schuler's column.

"The lengths these people are taking to deny reality are just astounding and painful to my clients," Irving Anolik, attorney for the Bastardis, told the News. "The fact remains that Diane Schuler was drunk and high when she killed all these people and the facts aren't going to change."

The Bastardis, who intend to sue Daniel Schuler in civil court, have their own concerns about the autopsy. They wanted officials to test hair follicle samples from Diane Schuler, which can reveal drug use dating back for two months. Weschester officials confirmed a hair follicle test hadn't been conducted, and one said that such tests typically weren't used in accident investigations.

7 Dead Inside Georgia Mobile Home

(CNN) — Seven people were found dead in a mobile home Saturday morning in southeast Georgia, said Capt. Jay Wiggins of the Glynn County police.

Two people were found alive with critical injuries, Chief Matt Doering said in a news release. Police provided no further information on what happened.

Police were alerted to the killings shortly after 8 a.m. when they received an emergency call to New Hope Mobile Home Park in Brunswick, Georgia, where the bodies were found in a residence, Doering said.

Defense Argues Innocence of Casey Anthony, George Anthony Takes the Stand

Examiner- On Friday, Casey Anthony’s defense team revealed a portion of their strategy before the court.

They claimed their client was in jail when her daughter’s body was placed in the wooded area not far from her family’s home.

Casey is charged with the first-degree murder of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony, who is believed to have disappeared sometime in June of 2008. Her remains were discovered six months later, in Dec.

Mark NeJame, the attorney for Texas EquuSearch, the volunteer group that helped search for Caylee last summer, argued that the area in which Caylee was eventually found was never searched. In a news conference on Thursday, NeJame claimed this portion of land was underwater at the time the search team was looking for her. However, by the time Caylee’s remains were discovered, the water had receded.

Todd Macaluso, with the defense, argued that EquuSearch did in fact search the wooded area and should be subpoenaed.

The defense also argued that testimony from bounty hunter Leonard Padilla’s team should not be allowed during Casey’s trial. Attorney Jose Baez argued that such testimony should be quashed under attorney-client privilege, however the prosecutors thoroughly rejected this notion.

According to Bob Kealing of WESH 2 News, “Jose Baez said Casey did not confess to anyone. But at the same time, he’s trying awfully hard to quash testimony from the woman, Padilla’s employee, who spent 10 days close by Casey’s side last summer.”

Casey’s defense team also questioned her father, George Anthony, in an effort to demonstrate Padilla’s group acted as security for the family. Cale Ramaker of WOFL noted “Casey Anthony started crying when her dad unexpectedly took the stand.”

“What I saw clearly in the courtroom [was] Casey Anthony shedding big tears, sobbing instantly the second her father started talking. Four minutes later, when the camera turns to Casey, she had calmed down,” said reporter, Holly Bristow.

Judge Stan Strickland granted the defense team’s request for the phone records of Casey’s ex-boyfriend, Tony Lazzaro, from June 1 through Dec. 18, 2008.

Taped Interviews To Be Released In Anthony Case

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The state attorney's office said it will release hours of audio taped police interviews with members of the team that bonded Casey Anthony out of jail.

A judge denied Casey Anthony's attorney Jose Baez's motion Thursday to seal those interviews.

In the coming days, the state attorney's office told WESH 2 they will release audio taped interviews with bail bondsmen Leonard Padilla and his team. That means the public will hear what they heard and saw from Casey Anthony long before the case goes to trial.

Of particular interest is the FBI interview with Tracy McLaughlin. After Casey Anthony's arrest, McLaughlin spent nine days with her in the Anthony home and sources said she developed a bond with her.

The spokeswoman for Lawson Lamar said they plan to release the tapes because they are part of the public record. She plans to do that late next week or the week after.

Also, some time after Labor Day, Andrea Lyon from Casey Anthony's legal team will make her first major statement in the case.

It will come in the form of a motion arguing there is insufficient evidence to support a murder charge against Casey Anthony.

Casey Anthony’s Defense Team Loses a Round!

Blogger News- Jose Baez has lost his motion to have Leonard Padilla and his team thrown off the witness list for the prosecution in the murder trial of little Caylee Anthony’s mother.

Casey Anthony is being held in the Orlando County jail until her trial while being charged with first degree murder of her 2 year old daughter and the death penalty on the table if she is found guilty.

When Leonard Padilla and his team, which included Tony Padilla, Tracy McLaughlin and Robert Dick, got Casey out of jail on bond they were around her a lot and apparently they heard conversations that Jose Baez would consider to be damaging to their case since he went through all this trouble to try and stop their testimonies from being heard.

Padilla denies he even worked for Baez. He said in fact Baez didn’t want him to work for him. “As far as signing any paperwork to be part of the defense team, I never signed anything like that,” said Padilla. “Jose was very adamant. He did not want any of us working for him.”

Padilla did say that Anthony never confessed anything to him but his employees Tracy was in close company with Anthony and had insight into her mindset. “When the time comes I’m sure Tracy’s going to shed a lot of light on what kind of person Casey is,” he said.

Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland didn’t go along with Baez’s argument that the group was an extension of the defense counsel and covered by the attorney-client privilege. I say finally the judge has made a fair decision in this case.

In another motion the defense had filed for though Judge Strickland ruled in favor for was to allow the defense team access to the records of 32 searchers that searched within a couple of hundred yards of where Caylee’s remains were found. It is expected that the defense will use this to try saying that Caylee’s remains were put in the woods where she was found after Casey was jailed. He is hoping to find volunteers that will say they searched the area and did not see anything.

Tim Miller the head of Texas Equusearch explained before that the area where Caylee was found was underwater in November when his team of volunteers were searching and they did not look in that particular area. Miller has in fact released photos of the area during that time showing the area under water. Also the prosecutions office has testimony from a botanist stating that based on the plant growth in and around the remains found they would have had to be there at least for four months.

Brittanee Drexel Still Missing 4 Months Later


MYRTLE BEACH,SC (WMBF) - The mother of a missing New York teenager is back in Myrtle Beach this week, hoping new developments will answer questions about her disappearance.

"I miss my daughter. I miss her so much," Dawn Drexel said Thursday. "I just want her to come back home."

Brittanee Drexel, 17, went missing in April while on vacation in Myrtle Beach for spring break, and Dawn Drexel got back into Myrtle Beach around 5 a.m. Thursday to continue the search for her daughter.

"You have to keep their name out there," she commented. "A lot of people don't do that."

However, the Community United Effort (CUE) Center for Missing Persons does, and that's part of the reason why Dawn Drexel is back. The CUE Center is profiling Brittanee this weekend, and hopes to get some attention from the Larry King Live show.

"It's hard, but you know if I can get coverage for Brittanee and keep her name out there and keep people looking, maybe something will come," said a spokesman for the teen's hotel.

It hasn't just been hard on Brittanee's mother. Her brother celebrated his 6th birthday without his sister.

"He actually got some balloons for his birthday and he ended up writing on them 'I love you Brit' and sent them up in the air thinking his sister may get them," Dawn Drexel said.

Though it has been tough for Dawn Drexel, she still has her hope, and that's what gets her through.

"We did have to come to the realization that she may not be alive," she said. "But we're still hoping that we'll be able to find her."

Jaycee Lee Dugard's Prison in the Back Yard: The Soundproof Shed That Hid the Secret Kidnap Girl

(click pictures to enlarge)







Kidnapping Suspect Being Investigated for Prostitute Murders

VOA News- California authorities probing the case of a registered sex offender accused of kidnapping an 11-year-old and forcing her to live in a tent in his backyard for 18 years are now searching for possible links to the unsolved murders of several prostitutes.

Phillip Garrido was arrested in Contra Costa County on Wednesday, accused of kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard, now 29 years old, and fathering her two children.

Now, police from the neighboring township of Pittsburg are investigating whether the 58-year-old Garrido, a convicted sex offender, was involved in the murders of several prostitutes whose bodies were found near where he worked in the 1990s.

Garrido and his 54-year-old wife, Nancy, have been charged with kidnapping and pleaded not guilty in court on Friday afternoon.

Dugard was reunited with her family on Friday.

Jaycee Lee Dugard was snatched from a bus stop near her parents home when she was 11-years-old. Her stepfather saw the abduction take place and got on a bike to chase her kidnappers, but was unable to keep up.

Reunited with her mother and sister, she was said to be doing well.

A spokesman for the sheriff's department that arrested Garrido on Friday expressed regret that the suspect was not arrested earlier. He said officers have been by the property where Dugard was held captive twice in the past three years, including once to investigate the tents where Dugard and the children lived. But they never went inside the structure.

Garrido's father says that his son has always suffered from psychiatric problems and in his youth began taking illegal drugs which worsened the problem.

Family Describes Jaycee Dugard's Condition After 18-Year Abduction

People Mag- Speaking of her step-granddaughter, Jaycee Lee Dugard, Wilma Probyn says, "We're real happy she's alive" – a breathtaking discovery that the family and the rest of the nation made only this week, 18 years after the now-29-year-old was abducted and allegedly imprisoned in a backyard by a sex offender.

"We're happy she's okay, but upset about all those years she spent in the shed," the 83-year-old, her voice cracking with emotion, tells PEOPLE. "I still am excited, but I don't like thinking about how she was kept in that stupid old shed out there with no doctors, no dentists, no schooling."

After the unimaginable ordeal – police say accused abductors Phillip Garrido, 58, and his wife Nancy Garrido, 54, enslaved Dugard in a cluster of sheds in a "hidden backyard within a backyard"; he raped and had two children with her before his arrest this week – Dugard and her mother, Terry Probyn, and her younger sister, Shana, were reunited Thursday morning in Concord, Calif.

"I talked to Terry last night," Wilma Probyn said Friday, "and she said Jaycee was doing good, that she's got a lot of guilt, that she bonded with this guy. But after I've heard all these things, I think that's the only reason she's alive, because she did bond with him."

The elder Probyn added, "I heard that that [Garrido] would take the two girls to Hometown Buffet once in a while, and to the aquarium in San Francisco, but Jaycee never got out. I think one neighbor saw her, but others say they never saw her."

Still, says her step-grandmother, "Terry says she looks good, she looks like she did when she was taken at 11, and she's 29. She looks healthy."

Probyn says that Jaycee's two daughters, ages 15 and 11, were never made aware that their mother had been abducted, and that Jaycee had only just now informed them. "But whether they know what that is, who knows," says Probyn. "They have no education."

As for the future, "Getting the family back together for the holidays will be amazing," she says. "It's been ages."

What's A Hoe?

The Best of Unnecessary Censorship

PHOENIX -- A grand jury has indicted a Phoenix woman accused of torturing, killing and dismembering a man whose body was found burning in a trash can earlier this month.

The body of Terry Neely, 46, was found on Aug. 5. Investigators arrested Angela Simpson in connection with the case less than two weeks later.

On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Simpson on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and abandonment or concealment of a dead body -- all felonies. In a jailhouse interview with 3TV's Marissa Wingate, Simpson, 33, admitted killing Neely, who was confined to a motorized wheelchair, because he was a "snitch."

"I beat him to death. ... I killed him and cut him up," Simpson said.

Since that interview, Simpson has refused to talk to the media again.

According to Phoenix police investigators, Neely had been stabbed 50 times and beaten. A nail had also be driven into his head.

Police also arrested Edward McFarland, believing he helped Simpson get rid of Neely's body. McFarland is charged with abandonment or concealment or dead body and hinder prosecution.

"The level of cruelty alleged in this case is severe, and we will aggressively prosecute this case," said Coutny Attorney Andrew Thomas in a news release. "Our office will determine in the near future whether to seek the death penalty for this defendant."

In a jailhouse interview with 3TV's Marissa Wingate, a Phoenix woman admitted killing a man confined to a motorized wheelchair after torturing him for days because he was a "snitch."

Angela Simpson, 33, told 3TV she promised Terry Neely sex and drugs in order to get him to come to her North Phoenix apartment.

Once there, Simpson said she beat Simpson with a tire iron, hammered a nail into his head, pulled his teeth and strangled him with a television cord.

"You made him watch it through a mirror?" Wingate asked.

"Yes, I did," Simpson replied calmly. "He needed to see what he deserved."

Wingate describe Simpson as articulate and straightforward. When Wingate asked her why she killed Neely, the answer, to Simpson, seemed simple.

"I don't want my children or the people I consider family to be in a place where there are snitches," she said.

Neely lived in an assisted-living home not far from Simpson's apartment and often rode around in his motorized wheelchair. Simpson admitted that she barely knew Neely, but she did consider him a snitch.

"He told on a righteous person years ago," she said. "He told me that."

"I beat him to death. ... I killed him and cut him up," she said.

Simpson told Wingate she dismembered Neely's body and stuffed it into a trash can, which she then torched. The burning trash bin was found outside a North Phoenix church on Aug. 5. Police arrested Simpson for the murder on Aug. 19.

Simpson, who was already in jail when police caught up with her, told Wingate this is not the first time she's killed.

"I believe informants and child molesters should be killed ... period," she said.

Simpson said she was "kind of relieved" that police arrested her. She also said she takes medication and might be considered mentally ill.

"I think something's wrong with the world that I live in, but, according to other people, yes, somethiing is wrong with me."

Wingate asked Simpson if she felt guilty about Neely's death.

"Guilty? For ridding the world of a snitch? No, I don't feel guilty," she answered.

Two Boys Arrested on "Sexting" Charges

Young generations are getting pervier and pervier!!

TUCSON (KOLD) - Two teenage boys face charges in a so-called "sexting" case. Police say a 13-year old girl sent a nude photo of herself from her cell phone to a friend's phone. They say the friend shared the picture with other boys at school.

Officers arrested the two boys, and police say they're trying to teach them a lesson about sending nude pictures.

"For one, it's stuck in cyberspace and it will never be eliminated," says Sgt. Diana Lopez of Tucson Police. "For two, for those who receive it and forward it to others, you're humiliating the person who sent the photo."

The boys face misdemeanor charges of intimidation and harassment through the use of a telephone.

Lopez says the boys could've faced harsher charges if the crime had happened in other states which are starting to crack down on sexting. Police are urging parents to check their children's cell phones and set limitations on how they're used.

Fort Worth Taser Death Ruled A Homicide

This pisses me off. If he's a diagnosed schizophrenic then I'm sure his mother would've specified that when the police got to the house, and 49 seconds is seeming like a VERY long time to pump those kind of volts into someone. It's nearly a full minute!!

FORT WORTH- The Tarrant County Medical Examiner said the in-custody death of a mentally disabled man was a homicide. The ruling came on the heels of a series of CBS 11 News reports highlighting the case of Michael Jacobs Jr.

It's another black eye for the Fort Worth Police Department.

But, the Jacobs family did not comment on the ruling. They said they would speak on Friday, at a press conference to be held at their house.

On Thursday night, the house was quiet, though Michael Sr. marked a birthday. It was his own. There was little to celebrate on the day that the Medical Examiner ruled Michael Jr.'s death a homicide. The family only recently spoke of their pain. "We're in living Hell. I mean, I have a lot of good days and a lot of bad days," Charlotte Jacobs said.

"We just keep expecting him to walk through the door but," Michael Sr. said, his voice trailing off.

On April 18, Michael Jr., who suffers from schizophrenia, was off his medication. Charlotte Jacobs called 911.

Charlotte: "He's out there cursing and carrying on, jamming on stuff."
Dispatcher: "He's outside the house?"
Charlotte: "Yeah, we had to put him outside of the house."
Dispatcher: "Is he violent?"
Mother: "Hmm! Y'all better bring enforcement."

According to the Medical Examiner's report, police used a Taser on Jacobs twice. The first Taser deployment lasted 49 seconds. Then, there was a one second pause. The second taser deployment lasted five seconds.

Police Chief Jeff Halstead held a press conference soon after the Medical Examiner's ruling. "First and foremost, we wanted to extend our condolences to the family of Michael Jacobs," Halstead said.

Halstead added that, since 2001, the department has used Tasers 1,360 times. Four people died. Jacobs was the only one ruled a homicide.

Halstead would not take any questions or make any comments about the police officers involved because the case is going to a grand jury. "I can't make any comments about specifics of our investigation and I can't comment on the past behaviors of any employees," Halstead said.

City officials made statements of their own.

Mayor Mike Moncrief said, "We will continue to watch this case closely."

City council member Kathleen Hicks said, "I believe the grand jury will be able to make a final and unbiased decision."

City council member Frank Moss said, "If the chief's investigation finds that adjustments are needed, the community will count on him to make the necessary changes."

Any changes will be too late for the Jacobs family, who only wanted police to take their son to the hospital.

Billings 911 Call Is Released

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Chilling 911 calls have been released in the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings. The court put a reproduction ban on all surveillance video and scene photographs, except for those two calls.

In crime scene photos taken from the Billings' home, it appeared to be like any other. A watermelon slice is seen on the counter, and a kid's cartoon was playing on TV.

The only thing out of place, were the fact Byrd and Melanie Billings had just been killed in cold blood.

Here's part of the 911 call placed by Ashley Markham, the Billings' daughter:

Daughter: "Hi, I need someone to go out to my parent's house. I was on the phone with my sister trying to get in touch with them, and she said they are on the bathroom floor and there is nobody there. She said they were dead and I don't know what she is talking about."

Dispatcher: "What's their names?"

Daughter: "Melanie and Byrd Billings."

To prevent reporters from taking pictures with cell phones, the state attorney's office required the media to put all devices in a brown envelope, but they allowed reporters to take notes.

In the couple's bedroom, we saw that Byrd Billings' body was found face-down with his hands under him, bound with a single zip tie. Melanie Billings' body was found face up, with her right shoulder slumped against the bedroom wall.

The most heart-grabbing message was in a painting on the couple's bedroom wall that read, "Just one lifetime won't be enough for us."

The gruesome nature of the crime is not keeping away members of the public who want to see the material.

"Because of situation with family, number of children involved in the home, has garnered great amount of interest, more so than other cases in the past," said Greg Marcille, Florida State Attorney.

Many of the children the Billings' had adopted had special needs. Several toys were laying on the home's floors. One was splattered with blood.

Seven people have been arrested and charged with the Billings' murders. Leonard Gonzalez, Jr., Leonard Gonzalez, Sr., Wayne Coldiron, Donnie Stallworth, Gary Sumner, Frederick Thornton, and Rakeem Florence have all been charged with two counts each of first degree murder, and one count each of home invasion robbery.

The six men could face the death penalty if convicted. Florence, 16, could face life in prison if convicted.

Pamela Long Wiggins has been arrested and charged with being an accessory after the fact, first degree. She remains in the Escambia County Jail under $500,000 bond. Her husband, Hugh Wiggins, has been a person of interest since the beginning, but hasn't been arrested.

Henry "Cab" Tice is a former business partner of Byrd Billings. Officials say he allegedly stole thousands from Billings. He's charged with theft.

Sheriff David Morgan also said Tice admitted to being connected to the Mexican Mafia.

Wife Arrested In Connection With Husband's Slaying

Not trying to be TOO funny, but maybe she had him killed for giving her that last name.. Come on, boob??! lol.

TUSSEYVILLE, Pa. -- Police said a Centre County woman conspired with another man to kill her husband.

Mirinda Boob was arrested Friday in connection with the shooting death of her husband Samuel, who was killed last Sunday outside of the couple's Tusseyville home.

Police said Boob planned the shooting with Ronald Heichel, of Bellefonte, who is accused of pulling the trigger.

Police linked Mirinda Boob and Heichel through text messages they sent to each other the morning of the shooting.

Boob admitted to police she responded to the accused gunman's text messages and admitted Heichel wanted to have a confrontation with the victim the morning he was shot.

Heichel remains in jail without bond and Boob's bail was set at $2 million.

Stay with WJACTV.com and WJAC-TV News for continuing coverage.

(LOL, "Boob's bail"..)

Those Animals...

(CNN) -- A 61-year-old Oklahoma pastor likely died from "multiple sharp force injuries," according to an autopsy report CNN obtained Friday.

Carol Daniels, a pastor from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, had injuries to her back, breasts, hands and neck, the report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said.

The report called the death a homicide.

Investigators in Oklahoma have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the responsible person. A local prosecutor has described the crime scene as "horrific."

Daniels traveled many Sundays to Anadarko, Oklahoma, about 50 miles southwest of her home, to Christ Holy Sanctified Church "in case people came in to worship," her son, Alvin Daniels, told CNN.

Investigators found her body inside the church around noon on Sunday.

District Attorney Bret Burns called the crime scene the worst he'd seen in 17 years as a prosecutor, but he would not say why. He also declined to comment about a possible motive.

Jessica Brown, a spokeswoman for Oklahoma's State Bureau of Investigation, said the body was "staged" after the killing, but she declined to say more. She said investigators have some "promising" leads, but a bureau statement says police have no suspects.

The pastor's son described her as a loving mother.

"She was always joking with us and always taking care of us, even giving her last dollar even if she didn't have it," Alvin Daniels said on HLN's "Nancy Grace."

He said she took precautions at the church.

"She was very cautious for the most part and she would usually leave the door open in case people came to worship," he said.

The death has unnerved religious leaders in Anadarko, said Ted Mercer, pastor of Grace Christian Fellowship, which is about three blocks from the church were Daniel's body was found.

Burns met with several religious leaders this week. He urged them to be observant and have a security plan in place at their churches, Mercer said.

Alleged Kidnapper Couple Met While Man Was in Prison

(CNN) -- Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy, met while he was in a federal prison serving time for abducting a different woman from South Lake Tahoe, California, and holding her captive in a storage unit, Nevada probation and parole officials said Friday.

Details of Phillip Garrido's past began to emerge after he and his wife were charged with crimes relating to the abduction of 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard in 1991 and her captivity in a hidden shed-and-tent compound in the couple's backyard in Antioch, California. Phillip Garrido, 58, and Nancy Garrido, 54, face 29 felony charges relating to Dugard's kidnapping. They both pleaded not guilty.

Garrido's record as a registered sex offender began with a 1977 conviction on charges of kidnapping and rape of a South Lake Tahoe woman, the Nevada Department of Public Safety's Division of Parole and Probation said in a press release.

The victim was found with Garrido inside a mini warehouse, a type of small storage facility, in Reno. Nevada, according to court documents from Garrido's appeal. She was raped inside the storage unit, according to the documents.

The woman, a 25-year-old casino worker, picked up Garrido at a supermarket near Lake Tahoe on Nov. 22, 1976, after he asked her for a ride. The documents state that when she stopped the car to drop him off, Garrido handcuffed her, bound her legs and neck with a leather strap, and drove off with her to Reno.

Garrido, then 25, "told the victim it wasn't intentional that he had taken her, but that it was her fault because she was attractive," according to the documents.

Garrido served 11 years of a 50-year sentence in Levenworth, Kansas.

Parole officials said he met his wife, Nancy, while he was in prison, but they didn't give details.

Garrido's life began to spiral downward in high school, his father, Manuel Garrido, told CNN.

"He had a motorcycle accident and got on LSD and he's not in his right mind," Manuel Garrido said. "He was in a bad accident and hit his head and then got on LSD in high school. That was the end. He went to selling dope. He went crazy."

Though he hasn't spoken to his son for 20 years because they "didn't get along" and has never been to the home where his son is accused of holding Dugard, Manuel Garrido said he wasn't surprised to hear about accusations.

"I wasn't surprised because I know he's out of his head for God's sakes," he said. "He was an angel when he was young and it's a damn shame."

Phillip Garrido's father also said his son believes "he talks to God and he can do things."

And Garrido apparently maintained a blog where he discussed talking to God and also claimed he could control sound with his mind.

The blog now has profanity-laced responses from people outraged over Phillip Garrido's alleged actions.
Garrido's blog entries are posted by "THEMANWHOSPOKEWITHHISMIND." He refers to "God's Desire," which is a church based out of his home in Antioch, according to CNN affiliate KCRA of Sacramento.

In a post on August 14, he writes that during a "powerful demonstration" in July in Pittsburg, California, "the Creator has given me the ability to speak in the tongue of angels in order to provide a wake-up call that will in time include the salvation of the entire world."

"You too can witness what the world believe's [sic] is impossible to produce!" he writes, providing an e-mail address. "DON'T MISS OUT!"

Several news outlets, including The New York Times, have reported on the blog since the case started making international headlines Thursday.

In another blog posting last year, Garrido claims to have a "new insight that has the potential of helping people who hear voices to possibly stop and re-examine their thinking before committing a violent act on themselves and/or others."

DJ AM, Star Disc Jockey, Found Dead

NY Times- DJ AM, a high-profile disc jockey who was as famous for his much-chronicled relationships as he was for his creative scratching and mixing on the celebrity club circuit, was found dead on Friday evening in his apartment in Manhattan, the police said.

The police said his body was found in his seventh-floor apartment in SoHo about 5:30 p.m. after friends had tried unsuccessfully to reach him for days. The chief police spokesman, Paul J. Browne, said the police did not suspect foul play.

DJ AM, 36, whose real name was Adam Goldstein, was discovered face-down in his bed wearing only sweatpants, with a crack pipe and unspecified prescription drugs nearby, an official said.

Emergency workers had to break down the door to get in after one of the friends who had been trying to reach Mr. Goldstein called 911 on Friday.

In an interview with The New York Times in 2007, Mr. Goldstein said he drank heavily, used cocaine and smoked crack in his early 20s, reaching his lowest point when he attempted suicide in 1997. But he also said he had cleaned up his life — including having gastric bypass surgery after his weight ballooned to 324 pounds — and had managed to stay sober for nine years.

“At my core I am a glutton, so I’ve had to learn everything in moderation,” he said at the time.

In October, The Associated Press reported, MTV was to begin his new reality show, “Gone Too Far,” in which he and concerned families staged interventions for drug abusers.

He also survived a plane crash a year ago that nearly killed him.

A native of Philadelphia, Mr. Goldstein was known for his “mash up” style of spinning, in which he jumped across various genres and eras to combine songs from artists as different as Jay-Z and Journey.

He had been a familiar figure on the Los Angeles club circuit since the 1990s, but it was his highly publicized relationships with Nicole Richie and other starlets in recent years that earned him B-list stardom. He was featured in an episode of “Entourage” on HBO, and he commanded fees in the tens of thousands of dollars to spin at nightclubs in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York.

In 2006, he presided at a party during Super Bowl XL in Detroit that was attended by three generations of the Henry Ford family.

Mr. Goldstein was seriously injured Sept. 19, in the crash of a Learjet 60 plane in Columbia, S.C. The crash killed four people and injured Travis Barker, a musician and former drummer of the group Blink-182, with whom Mr. Goldstein frequently appeared. On Friday night, throngs of friends and fans gathered outside Mr. Goldstein’s apartment building at 210 Lafayette Street. Many described him as a friendly and approachable man who was serious about his music and who always stopped to talk to fans who recognized him. Mr. Goldstein regularly posted messages on Twitter, including one final, poetic note — lyrics from a Grandmaster Flash song — that he posted on Tuesday.

“New York, New York. Big city of dreams, but everything in New York ain’t always what it seems.”

Friday, August 28, 2009

Michael King- GUILTY!!

(CNN) -- A Florida plumber was found guilty Friday of kidnapping and murdering a police detective's daughter at a trial in which his victim's voice filled the courtroom as her desperate 911 call was played to the jury.

Jurors deliberated just two hours before finding Michael L. King, 38, guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery in the January 17, 2008 abduction and slaying of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old mother of two.

Lee's family, including her father, Charlotte County Sheriff's Det. Rick Goff, cried as the verdict was announced; King showed no reaction.

The jury must next decide whether King, who was a stranger to Lee, should be executed for his crimes.

According to testimony during the weeklong trial, Lee was taken from her home sometime after 2 p.m., driven to King's home, sexually assaulted, then shot in the head and buried in a shallow grave in a marshy vacant lot.

King's attorney, Jerry Meisner, did not present any witnesses. But prosecutors told the jury that Lee's ring was found in King's car, and hair matching hers was found on duct tape found at King's house.

According to testimony and court records, Lee fought frantically for her life, banging on the windows of King's green Camaro, screaming for help and begging one witness, "Call the cops."

Several people reported seeing something suspicious and called 911. But authorities didn't find Lee in time, and allegations that dispatchers mishandled the calls have led to criticism of the local 911 system.

Lee's body was found on January 19 near where police stopped King's car some six hours after the abduction.

The jury heard two 911 calls -- Lee's and one from a concerned witness.

Lee used one of King's cell phones to call 911 as she was driven across three counties. As the six-minute tape was played for the jury, her voice sounded tremulous at times, and frantic at others.

The call came in at 6:14 p.m. on January 17. A 911 operator repeatedly said "Hello," and Lee was heard pleading with her captor: "I'm sorry. I just want to see my family. ... I just want to see my family again. Please. ... Oh please, I just want to see my family again. Let me go."

The man, whose voice was identified in court as King's, curses at her for trying to attract attention. A radio plays loudly in the background. The 911 operator asks her address. Eventually, she says, "My name is Denise. I'm married to a beautiful husband and I just want to see my kids again. ... Please, God, please protect me."

The 911 operator asked where she was, and then whether she knew the man. The operator asked if she knows her location. "Please just take me to my house. Can you take me home?" Lee said. The connection was then lost.

Sixteen minutes later, driver Jane Kowalski called 911 to report what she thought was a child abduction. She said she was stopped at a light and could hear screaming from another car "and not a happy scream, a get-me-out-of-here scream."

She testified that she saw someone banging on the car window, slapping her hand hard to demonstrate. "It was very loud," she told the jury. "It was completely horrific, terrified, panicky. I can't think of enough words, it was terrible."

She followed the car for a while, but lost it.

Police quickly traced Lee's call to King's cell phone, and were looking for him. But Kowalski's call was never passed on to officers.

The breakdown was blamed on a shift change and two dispatchers were suspended, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Other witnesses also helped establish the timeline for the terrifying final hours of Lee's life.

Lee's former neighbor, Jennifer Eckert, 24, testified that she saw the green Camaro circle the block three or four times between 1 and 2 p.m. and pull into the Lees' driveway. She said she was certain of the time, because she was watching her favorite TV soap.

King's cousin, Harold Muxlow, testified that King stopped by his house between 5:30 and 6 p.m., and asked to borrow a flashlight, a gas can, and a shovel.

He testified that a "girl's voice" from the car asked him to "call the cops" but Muxlow said King told him, "Don't worry. It's nothing."

Lee's husband, Nathan, has launched a foundation bearing her name that works toward 911 reform. He plans to file a lawsuit next month, a family spokesman said.