Jerry Sandusky, ex-Penn State Coach, Guilty on 45 of 48 Sex Abuse Counts

He may not last long in jail...

ABC- Former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky has been found guilty of nearly all of the allegations of child sex abuse leveled against him.




After 20 hours of sequestered deliberations, the jury of seven women and five men read 45 "guilty" verdicts late Friday as Sandusky stood and looked at the jury with his left hand in a pocket of his brown sport coat. There were three not-guilty verdicts.



One of the victims -- identified as Victim 6 during the proceedings -- was surrounded by his family and they cried as the verdict was read.



After court was adjourned, the former Penn State defensive coordinator was led in handcuffs to a waiting police car to be taken to the local county jail.



"The legal process has spoken and we have tremendous respect for the men who came forward to tell their stories publicly. No verdict can undo the pain and suffering caused by Mr. Sandusky, but we do hope this judgment helps the victims and their families along their path to healing," Penn State president Rodney Erickson said in a statement.



Sandusky likely will be sentenced to life in prison. He faces a maximum sentence of 442 years and will be sentenced in approximately 90 days.



Sandusky's wife, Dottie, looked forward stoically as the counts were read off and her husband repeatedly was found guilty. At one point, dozens of counts in, she started shaking her head.



Sandusky's daughter, Kara, broke down as her dad was handcuffed, and held her hand over her heart as her father walked out of court.


The jury found Sandusky not guilty of three sex abuse crimes, including the alleged rape of Victim 2, the boy assistant coach Mike McQueary said he saw being raped by Sandusky in a Penn State locker room shower in 2001. He was also acquitted of indecent assault on Victim 5, who testified in court, and Victim 8, who was the subject of an eyewitness account from a Penn State janitor.




Sandusky and his lawyers, along with prosecutors, had been summoned to court to hear the verdict. Assembled spectators shouted jeers such as "pervert" as Sandusky and his wife walked into the courthouse lit up by flashbulb bursts.



The crowd of hundreds outside the courthouse let out a cheer as word emerged that Sandusky was guilty.



After the verdict, Attorney General Linda Kelly said the jury believed that Sandusky "calculatingly and with meticulous planning mercilessly preyed" upon his victims.



"The jury here in Bellefonte, Pa., would and did believe a kid," she said, referring to testimony by Sandusky's victims. "I hope this outcome allows the victims to heal and encourages other victims to come forward."



Sandusky's attorney, Joe Amendola, said the defense plans to appeal the guilty verdicts, arguing it was not prepared to go to trial as soon as the judge ordered.



"The Sandusky family is very disappointed, obviously, by the verdict of the jury but we respect their verdict," he said. "We had a tidal wave of public opinion against Jerry Sandusky."



He added that Sandusky fully planned to testify in his own defense, but the plan to have him do so was scuttled when the prosecution threatened to have Matt Sandusky, his adopted son, testify as a rebuttal witness that he was molested by his father.



After the verdict, the family of the late Joe Paterno, the legendary Penn State head coach who was Sandusky's boss, released a statement.



"Although we understand the task of healing is just beginning, today's verdict is an important milestone," it read. "The community owes a measure of gratitude to the jurors for their diligent service. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the victims and their families."

The two-week trial was remarkable for the graphic tales of abuse that ranged from Sandusky playing tickle monster in the shower to aggressive sex including oral and anal sex on boys as young as 8. At one point, jurors were brought to tears by the testimony of the alleged victims who are now grown men.




The defense scored some points back during week two of the trial by putting Sandusky's wife on the stand and hearing her testify that she never saw anything inappropriate between her husband and children and knew some of the accusers to have behavioral issues. They also poked holes in the stories of two lead investigators on the case by showing that the men told potential victims that others had already come forward claiming Sandusky raped them.



During 30 hours of testimony over two weeks, the jury heard from eight accusers, one eyewitness, a string of character witnesses testifying to Sandusky's character, and members of the police who investigated the case.




Two people the jury did not hear from include Sandusky himself, who waived his right to testify, and Sandusky's adopted son Matt. Matt Sandusky was one of his father's most ardent supporters following Sandusky's November arrest, but contacted prosecutors at the end of last week saying he was, in fact, a victim of his father's abuse and would be willing to testify, sources told ABC News. The prosecution did not put him on the stand, and the revelations about Matt Sandusky's willingness to testify are not known by the jury and will not factor into deliberations.

Cops: Parents Track Down Daughter's Pimp, Kill Him

Kind of reminds me of this story I just posted about...And this similar  f*cker got what he deserved too.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KTLA) -- A San Francisco couple is accused of allegedly tracking an alleged pimp across California before finally hunting him down and killing him.




Police say the couple, whose teenage daughter was allegedly being pimped by a 22-year old Compton man, shot him to death near Candlestick Park.

Attorneys for Barry Gilton and his longtime girlfriend, Lupe Mercado admit the couple tried to rescue their 17-year old daughter from Calvin Sneed, but say they didn't kill him.




On June 4, Sneed was in San Francisco, driving his Toyota Camry at 2 a.m., when someone shot him with a .40-caliber handgun.



Sneed, an alleged member of the Nutty Block Crips, crashed into a parked car and died a short time later at San Francisco General Hospital.



Authorities believe the pair were also responsible for a shooting last month when someone fired into Sneed's car in North Hollywood.



Gilton and Mercado face charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and one count of discharging a firearm at an occupied vehicle.



Gilton was also charged with possession of a firearm as a felon.



Both are being held on $2 million bail.

____________________________

LET THEM GO HOME!

Heroic Father Kills Man Who Molested His Daughter, Gets Away With It

ROOT ROOT ROOT!

Gossip- Deputies in Texas say that they are NOT going to pursue charges against a father who used his bare hands to kill another man after he caught him sexually assaulting his 4-year-old daughter.


According to CNN, during a social gathering last Saturday (Jun 9) at his home in Lavaca County, Texas … the father caught a 47-year-old man — whom he was reportedly “casually acquainted” with — attempting to molest his daughter, who had earlier disappeared inside the home, while other family members were outside tending to horses.

Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon says that when the homeowner caught the acquaintance in the act of molesting his young daughter (after hearing her scream), he reacted by repeatedly punching him in the head and face.



The father claims he heard screaming from the barn and arrived to find the man molesting his daughter.



The father struck the would-be abuser so hard, that he was instantly killed … and he was pronounced dead at the scene by responding paramedics.



The names of the father and daughter haven’t been released in an effort to protect the identity of the 4-year-old victim, who was described by Sheriff Harmon as “okay, besides the obvious mental trauma” of the incident.



Pending the announcement of his death to his family, the name of the pedophile wasn’t released either … but officials say he was a ranch hand from the nearby town of Gonzales.



The Lavaca County Sheriff’s Office says that they will defer the case to a grand jury to decide whether or not charges will be brought against the father, who is being hailed as a hero.



“You have a right to defend your daughter,” Harmon told CNN. “[The girl's father] acted in defense of his third person. Once the investigation is completed we will submit it to the district attorney who then submits it to the grand jury, who will decide if they will indict him.”



Harmon said that the dad was “very remorseful,” and he had no intentions of killing the man.



He was just a father trying to protect his daughter, and he definitely succeeded. (Just in time for Father’s Day, too!)

A preliminary autopsy report indicated that the victim — who definitely got what he deserved — died as the result of “blunt-force head and neck injuries.”

Casey Anthony Trial Conclusion

I realized in all my anger and frustration over the verdict in the Caylee Anthony murder trial that I failed to update this blog.

I must remain faithful and conclude my reporting of this fiasco since I've been so vigilant since the dawn of it's creation; but I'm posting this so long after when the verdict first came out because I simply want to refuse it's reality... I can't believe that she was found not guilty (July 5th, 2011).

Yes, we all felt that way when O.J. raped the court system those seemingly few years ago, but somehow for me this hit me as way worse of a defilement of justice.

So I suppose no one is responsible for Caylee's untimely and probably torturous death? No one will be held accountable? No justice for the most innocent of victims... No justice for Caylee.

She can run, but she can't hide. Karma's a bitch, and there are many, many people looking to take an active role in the future of hers...

All that time of my being consumed by this case (mostly before the hopeless trial even began) and I have to conclude it like this. Tis a shame.


That's all I would like to say.

This Day In History

May 22 1957
A B-36 bomber accidentally drops a 10 megaton hydrogen bomb over an uninhabited area near Albuquerque, New Mexico. The conventional charges detonate on impact, leaving a radioactive crater 12 feet deep and 25 feet wide.

May 22 1968
The nuclear submarine U.S.S. Scorpion sinks to the bottom with all 99 aboard perishing, after it is reassigned to a spy mission and begins to head towards the Canary Islands. Navy Warrant Officer John Walker (a mole) had certainly reported enough to the KGB to allow them to read the Scorpion's encrypted transmissions. For reasons yet unknown, Navy officials of the U.S. and Soviet Union agree not to discuss the circumstances of this incident or the sinking of a Soviet sub the same year.

May 22 1981
Peter Sutcliffe is convicted of murdering 13 women in the Yorkshire Ripper trial. In the words of the presiding judge: "It is difficult to find words that are adequate in my judgment to describe the brutality and gravity of these offences and I say at once I am not going to pause to seek those words. I am prepared to let the catalogue of crimes speak for itself."

Boyfriend's Arrest Cracks Cold Case, Police Say

Back in April I posted about a cold case: Teen was Snatched from Street, Killed
Well, guess what!
New York (CNN) -- More than a decade after high school sophomore Leah Freeman vanished from the street near her home in Coquille, Oregon, police say they have found her killer.

A grand jury concluded it was her boyfriend, after police looked into the cold case a second time. More than 100 people testified before the grand jury, including the boyfriend's best friend, said Coquille Police Chief Mark Dannels.

Acting on the grand jury's indictment, police arrested the boyfriend, Nick McGuffin, on August 24 and charged him with murder.

Police have not disclosed details of what evidence led to his arrest, and McGuffin is being held on $2 million bail. McGuffin, who is now 28, is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

McGuffin's attorney, Bob McCrea, has not commented. His office is still reviewing all the evidence presented to the grand jury.

In January, a cold case team of more than 20 members from several police jurisdictions was appointed to look into the case.

"We re-examined the evidence with newer technologies now available to us, and certain witnesses, due to maturity and time, have been able to come forward and provide more information about that night," Dannels said.

Leah, who was 15, was walking home from her best friend's house just as it was getting dark on June 28, 2000. She vanished, leaving one tennis shoe behind on the sidewalk, according to police and news accounts at the time.

A week after she disappeared, Leah's missing shoe was found along a dirt road on the outskirts of Fairview, a neighboring town just a few miles away. A month after that, Leah's body was found in the woods beyond the dirt road.

Leah had been living with her grandparents, older sister Denise and her mother, Cory Courtright, who was struggling to raise two daughters on her own.

"Words cannot express how relieved I am that they finally arrested Nick," Courtright said.

She recalled the last time she saw her daughter alive. Leah and McGuffin were washing his car and horsing around with a wet sponge. It was about 4 p.m., Courtright recalled, and her daughter seemed happy and carefree.

Leah and McGuffin left, and he dropped her off at the home of her best friend, Sherrie Mitchell. He was to return and pick her up at 9 p.m., Courtright said.

She said she later learned from the Mitchells and from police that the two friends had a spat because Sherrie's mother wouldn't let her go jogging with Leah after dark. Leah overheard the argument and then the two girls argued. Leah angrily left the Mitchell home before her boyfriend arrived to pick her up.

The Mitchells told Courtright that McGuffin came by at 9 p.m. to pick up Leah but left when she wasn't there. Courtright said McGuffin returned to the Mitchell home an hour later and called her, asking if Leah had come home.

Courtright reported her daughter missing the next morning. When police tracked McGuffin down, he was at the home of a friend, where they'd been partying the night before, Dannels said. The front porch was covered with empty beer cans and litter, Dannels said.

McGuffin told police he'd searched for his girlfriend the previous night but couldn't find her.

Police executed search warrants on the home of McGuffin's family and their vehicles. They discovered that the trunk of the car he drove had been recently gutted. His father told police there had been a fuel leak so the trunk liner, the spare tire, jack and tire iron had to be removed, Dannels told CNN in March.

Police also learned from neighbors that the family held a bonfire in their yard the day after Leah disappeared.

Forensic testing showed blood spatter on the bottom of the shoe found in Fairview. The sample matched Leah's blood, and experts determined a pattern consistent with medium- to high-velocity blood spatter, which can happen when an object -- a bullet or a car, for example -- hits a person while traveling at high speed.

Burn Mother F*cker, Burn! - Hayes Convicted in Deadly Cheshire Home Invasion

NEW HAVEN (AP) - A paroled burglar was convicted Tuesday of killing a mother and her two daughters in a 2007 home invasion in an affluent Connecticut town and now could be sentenced to death.

Steven Hayes was convicted of capital felony and three counts of murder by a jury that heard eight days of gruesome testimony about the July 2007 attacks on Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela.

The verdict triggers a second phase of the trial, in which the same jurors will decide if Hayes should be executed or face life in prison. Hayes was convicted of 16 counts and acquitted of a single count - arson.

Hayes' defense admitted to his involvement in the fatal home invasion but blamed his co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, for being the aggressor. Komisarjevsky faces trial next year.

Komisarjevsky spotted the mother and her two daughters at a supermarket, followed them to their Cheshire home, then returned later with Hayes, authorities say.

The men broke into the Petit house in the New Haven suburb of Cheshire, beat the girl's father with a baseball bat and forced Hawke-Petit to withdraw money from a bank before raping and strangling her, according to testimony. The men, both paroled burglars who met at a halfway house, tied the girls to their beds, put pillow cases over their heads and poured gas on or around them before setting the house on fire, authorities say.

The girls died of smoke inhalation. Authorities say the men were caught fleeing the scene.

Hayes' attorneys conceded most of the evidence on the first day and spent much of the trial focusing on Komisarjevsky's role. They pointed to graphic photos of Michaela found on Komisarjevsky's cell phone, and Hayes' attorney, Tom Ullmann, said Komisarjevsky escalated the violence at every critical point, starting with Dr. Petit's beating.

Prosecutors rejected that argument, saying the two men were equally responsible for the crime.

Hearsay Hearing for Drew Peterson Comes to an End

JOLIET, Ill. -- A hearing for Drew Peterson ended Friday night with the same question it began with a month ago: Is there enough evidence to convince a judge that the former police officer may have killed his third and fourth wives to keep them from testifying before a jury?

In dramatic closing statements after the last of more than 70 witnesses testified, prosecutors portrayed Peterson as a cold-blooded killer who took the lives of Kathleen Savio in 2004 and Stacy Peterson three years later to keep them from getting his money.

"They are killed so they can't take the witness stand in a divorce proceeding," said Will County Assistant State's Attorney John Connor.

But defense attorneys said the case against Peterson is built on lies.

Savio's death was a tragic accident, they said, and Stacy Peterson may have vanished in 2007, but she's not dead.

"For someone to say five, six, seven, eight, nine times that she's dead doesn't mean she's dead," defense attorney George Lenard said. "The reason she is not here with Mr. Peterson is that she left, and she left with another man."

The former Bolingbrook police sergeant is charged with Savio's death, but no charges have been filed in Stacy Peterson's disappearance. Friday's closing statements marked the first time they said outright they believe he killed Stacy Peterson.

The unprecedented hearing is easily the most extensive use of a state law allowing a judge to admit hearsay evidence in first-degree murder cases if prosecutors can prove a defendant may have killed a witness to prevent him or her from testifying. The law was passed after authorities named Peterson a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy, then exhumed Savio's body and reopened her death investigation.

The statements that prosecutors want Judge Stephen White to admit as testimony are those in which the women allegedly expressed to friends and family that they were afraid Peterson would kill them.

Prosecutors want friends and relatives of Savio to be allowed to testify about a threat she described, in which Peterson reportedly held a knife to her throat and allegedly told her he could kill her and make it look like an accident. They also want the judge to allow a friend of Stacy Peterson to testify Peterson had told her he killed Savio.

Defense attorneys argued that many of the statements shouldn't be admitted. For example, they pointed to statements Savio gave police after the alleged knife incident in which Savio never said Peterson had a knife.

"She describes things the way she wants in order to make people feel sorry for her," said Andrew Abood, saying Savio wasn't a credible witness.

White also must consider testimony from three pathologists. They all agreed Savio drowned, but two - including Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City chief medical examiner who testified Friday - contended Savio's death was a homicide. The other pathologist backed the original finding that her death was an accident.

Throughout the hearing, it became clear the hearsay evidence is critical for prosecutors. They presented no physical evidence linking Drew Peterson to Savio's death, and Stacy Peterson remains missing.

Abood characterized the weakness of the case against Peterson this way: "They (prosecutors) want to come in here and say it's a staged crime scene because they have no evidence."

But prosecutors said the only explanation for the deaths of both women is that Peterson killed them. Both, they said, posed a threat to Drew Peterson. They said he was worried his property settlement with Savio would wipe him out financially, and that Stacy Peterson's planned divorce from him would do the same.

What happened, Connor said, is exactly what Savio and Stacy Peterson feared would happen, as friends and family described.

"Mr. Peterson's wives are two-for-two in predicting their own murders," he said.

White did not say when he would rule on the hearsay, but he did say he would order the ruling sealed until a jury is selected. He explained that he didn't want his decision to influence potential jurors.

Merry Christmas Caylee.. R.I.P.

Remember Caylee Anthony this Christmas...

Court Orders Ritual Disfigurement

Sick, sick world...
"A Pakistani court has ordered that two men have their ears and noses cut off, as punishment for doing the same to a woman who refused to marry one of them...


Sentence was passed on Monday under a rarely invoked Islamic law dating from the 1980s. In the past similar sentences have been revoked on appeal."
Read article...

Monroeville High School Girl's Ex Found Guilty Of Her Murder

PITTSBURGH -- A young Monroeville man who repeatedly stabbed ex-girlfriend Demi Cuccia after a desperate, daylong exchange of text messages about the status of their relationship was found guilty of first-degree murder Monday.

"My daughter was brutally murdered and nobody deserves to die like that," Gary Cuccia said outside Judge Jeffrey Manning's courtroom, after the verdict was announced.

An Allegheny County jury took about two hours to reach its decision in the case against 20-year-old John Mullarkey, who attacked the 16-year-old Cuccia in her Elliott Road home in August 2007.

Mullarkey chose not to speak before Manning sentenced him to life in prison with no parole.

"Everybody has to be held accountable for what we do in this life, and I believe he's still got a lot in store for him," Gary Cuccia said.

Deputy District Attorney Mark Tranquilli said the victim, a student at Gateway High School, was stabbed 16 times on the day after her birthday by the man who claimed to love her.

An autopsy showed that, while the Gateway cheerleader was stabbed many times, the wound that killed her was one that was made to her left shoulder and severed an artery.

Cuccia's grandmother, Carole Roberts, told reporters that Mullarkey is a "despicable, evil monster," and the girl's mother, Jodi, said, "I've been critically wounded -- as have my family -- from this horrific tragedy, and the painful scars run long and deep."

Last week, jurors were shown text messages -- including one that said, "You no you love me and can't live without me" -- from the day of Cuccia's slaying and the days leading up to it that revealed the couple's tumultuous relationship.

Clemency Denied For Thrill Killer, Marvallous Keene

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The State Parole Board has denied clemency for Marvallous Keene, one of the so-called "Thrill Killers" in Dayton.

Keene, now 36, was among four people convicted of going on a killing spree during the Christmas holidays of 1992 that left five people dead. The victims were: Joseph Wilkerson, 34, Danita Gullette, 18, Sarah Abraham, 38, Wendy Cottrill, 16, and Marvin Washington, 18.

Keene was convicted of multiple charges including five counts of aggravated murder and sentenced to death by a three-judge panel.

At a clemency hearing June 17, Keene asked his lawyers not to ask for clemency because he did not want to cause the victim's families any more pain. Keene also refused to be interviewed by the Parole Board.

Keene is scheduled to be executed at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility at Lucasville on July 21.

Prosecutor May Pursue Death Penalty in Kansas Killings

(CNN) -- A district attorney Friday considered seeking the death penalty for a man charged with killing a toddler and three others at a Kansas City, Kansas-area home.

Adrian Burks, 37, has been charged with four counts of first-degree premeditated murder, but prosecutors are now considering capital murder charges that could result in the death penalty if Burks is convicted, Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman said.

Gorman said it could be a week before prosecutors decide whether to file new charges.

Among the victims Burks is accused of killing is a mother and her 3-year-old daughter, police said.

Peggy Castleberry, 41, and her daughter, Juanita Castleberry-Bess, were found shot Monday in a rural Kansas City-area home along with homeowner James Warren, 66, and Amanda Remmers, 21, police said in a statement.

Burks is being held in the Wyandotte County, Kansas, jail with bail set at $2 million.

Police apprehended Burks on Tuesday after a two-state car chase that began in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and ended in a crash in Kansas City, Kansas, Gorman said.

Along with the premeditated murder charges, Burks also has been charged with felony fleeing and eluding.

Police first suspected Burks after they discovered he had a relationship with one of the victims, Gorman said. Authorities didn't elaborate on what the relationship entailed and who it involved.

Earlier Monday, before the slayings, one of the slaying victims saw Burks attack a man, Gorman said. Burks eventually was charged with aggravated battery in connection with the attack.

Hours after the initial crime, prosecutors allege that Burks then went to the home of the four victims and killed them after he had a domestic dispute with one of them.

"As far as a motive, obviously, domestic violence is the driving factor in this case," Gorman said Thursday.

He said he was at a loss for a motive for the child's slaying.

"Why a 3-year-old? ... One, we haven't got that far in that case, and two, I suppose when we get to that point, I still don't think we're going to have a satisfactory answer to why a 3-year-old was killed."

At the time of the killings, Burks was out of jail on pretrial release in a separate case, Gorman said. Prosecutors in Johnson County, Kansas, had charged him with criminal threat and battery over an April incident.

Got the Sucker

4th St. Tammany escapee caught; massive manhunt ends-
NEW ORLEANS – A massive, two-day manhunt is over after deputies find a man who escaped from the St. Tammany Parish jail.

Early Sunday morning law enforcement officers found 30-year-old Timothy Murray in a rural area three miles west of Highway 25 in Folsom.

Murray eluded law enforcement officers for more than 48 hours. But the hunt for him ended around 1 a.m. with his capture.

Officers discovered Murray in a wooded area off of Bennett Bridge Road near Folsom, no more than five miles from the St. Tammany Parish jail.

Murray was one of three men who broke out of the jail Thursday night. All of them were in jail on charges of murder or attempted murder. Murray himself faced a murder charge for the death of a Slidell man back in 2006.

Deputies caught three of the escapees Friday morning, but Murray eluded them until now.

People who live near where Murray was caught say there were several dozen law enforcement vehicles and a helicopter hovering in that vicinity over night. They say deputies shut down Highway 1078, not letting anyone in or out of the area in their final push to find Murray.

'It's upsetting that they wouldn't let us back in. So, as time went on, we sat on the side of the road. It was hot, we didn't want to leave the car on and we stayed there for about an hour, and hour and 10, 15 minutes,” said resident Wayne Charrier. “They had like a family out there, they had like four or five people coming home and of course they wouldn't let none of them-- one group, one couple was so close, they could almost see their house, but they still would not let them through.

“But they got a job to do," Charrier said.

St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain has scheduled a news conference for Monday afternoon, where he is expected to discuss what led deputies to Murray's location. Strain said hundreds of law enforcement officers helped in the search.

He said he would not comment further on the situation so that those officers could celebrate Father's Day.

"You do kind of get in the habit of thinking like the Northshore is kind of its own little island, and separate from everything-- but every so often something happens that rocks the whole area,” said resident Amanda Ladreyt. “It's just one of those things, I guess. I think it does remind you that you're not on your little island and no place is Pleasantville.”

Suspect Caught on Tape With Rape Victim

(WPVI) -- Police released surveillance tape that, they say, shows rape suspect Jose Carrasquillo walking with the 11-year-old girl who was attacked earlier this week.

Surveillance video shows the girl escorting her little sister to daycare. As the girls cross Kensington Avenue, a man in a white shirt can be seen walking next to them. Police identify that man as Carrasquillo.

He follows them across the street and down the sidewalk. Ten minutes later, police say Carrasquillo was dragging that 11-year-old girl down an alley and into a secluded backyard.

That's where, police say, he raped the girl so brutally that she had to undergo surgery at the hospital.

A passerby found her bleeding and crying on the sidewalk.
In that yard, police found glasses they believe belong to Carrasquillo. They also say they found more evidence that links him to the crime.

Carrasquillo was jumped by an angry mob when they spotted him near Front and Clearfield on Tuesday afternoon. People in the neighborhood recognized him from a photo released by police.

RELATED VIDEO: Carrasquillo's beating caught on video

Philadelphia's police commissioner said Thursday he will not pursue criminal charges against a group of angry neighbors who beat Carrasquillo.

Commissioner Charles Ramsey said he made the decision based on the severity of Carrasquillo's head and face lacerations, his determination that the neighbors' intent was to bring the man to police and the high level of emotion in the community after the girl's brutal attack.

About a dozen residents of the city's West Kensington neighborhood pummeled Carrasquillo for several minutes on Tuesday. Officers arrived and took him into custody on an outstanding warrant.

"From what I've seen so far, we have one victim and that's an 11-year-old girl," Ramsey said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Before making his decision, Ramsey said, he monitored Carrasquillo's condition and reviewed surveillance video of the assault. As soon as officers arrived at the scene, he said, the group stopped the beating.

"These people saw him, he attempted to run and they caught up with him," Ramsey said. "If the injuries had been severe, maybe we'd have to rethink it."

Carrasquillo has been released from the hospital, and was being interviewed by detectives Thursday afternoon.

Deliberations Begin In Trooper Trial

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, New Jersey–Jurors have begun deliberations in the trial of a New Jersey state trooper accused of vehicular homicide.

Prosecutors say Robert Higbee driving recklessly when he drove through a stop sign and struck a minivan.

The occupants of the minivan, 17-year-old Jacquelyn Becker and her sister, Christina, 19, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Higbee was attempting to catch up to a speeding motorist at the time of the crash. He says he does not recall seeing the stop sign or the van before the collision.

The trooper was travelling 65 mph at the time of impact. The speed limit on the road Higbee was driving was 35 mph.

Higbee faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The jury consists of five women and seven men.

Stay tuned to In Session for the latest developments in this case with correspondent Jean Casarez.

Police: Man Found Shot to Death Had Sexual Past with Young Girl

More details are being released about the man found dead in Palmer Park Monday. Police say Jon Hazard was facing sexual assault charges and was set to go to trial next week. 11 News has obtained the court affidavit, which details Hazard's alleged sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl.

According to the arrest affidavit, a warrant was issued for 43-year-old Hazard after the girl claimed in the summer of 2008 that she had sexual contact with him several times since 2006.

Investigators say the young girl met Hazard back in 2006 when she was friends with his 13 and 10-year-old sons. The affidavit states Hazard made some tapes of the girl and used them to blackmail her into doing other sexual acts.

The girl also claims she met up with Hazard at a hotel in Colorado Springs a few times. After an investigation, Hazard admitted to taking and receiving nude pictures of the girl. When Hazard moved to Grand Junction, she also allegedly visited him there for extended periods of time.

Police have not said whether Hazard's murder had anything to do with the sex assault case.

Hazard's body was found by a park maintenance worker on a trail, near the Marvin J. Urban picnic pavilion in Palmer Park Monday. An autopsy by the El Paso County Coroners Office says Hazard died from multiple gunshot wounds. The manner of death has been ruled a homicide.

Family tells 11 News, Hazard had retired from the U.S. Air Force last year as a Master Sergeant. Hazard had dedicated 24 years to the Air Force. Hazard was divorced from the mother of his two sons.

Police say Hazard was last seen by relatives around 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 31.

Detectives are seeking the assistance of the public in locating a Hazard's missing car. It's a 2009 Hyundai Sonata 4-door sedan, white in color, bearing Colorado License plate 124-RRU. A photo of a similar vehicle can be seen here. Police say they hope releasing this photo may help the public come forward with information.

Anyone with information about the vehicle or this homicide is urged to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at 444-7000, or if they wish to remain anonymous and possibly earn cash reward, they may call Pikes Peak Area Crime Stoppers at (719) 635-STOP.

Stay with 11 News and KKTV.com for the latest.

Another case of justice in their own hands!

Slain Woman's Family Sues Alleged Killer

(CNN) -- The mother and brother of a 31-year-old woman found strangled with her two young sons in the bedrooms of their home filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against the alleged killer -- the husband and father of the victims.

Christopher Coleman has pleaded not guilty in the triple homicide police say took place early in the morning on May 5 in the family home in the small southwestern Illinois city of Columbia.

"To strip the culpable party of all financial holdings -- all that he has now and all that he may ever have," is the aim of the suit, said a statement accompanying the suit filed in Monroe County circuit court by Angela DeCicco and Mario Weiss, the mother and brother of Sheri Coleman.

"To allow one penny of ill-gotten gain to be derived at the expense of Sheri, Garett and Gavin is not acceptable to those who dearly love them."

The money would go to a memorial fund set up for Coleman and her sons, Garett, 11, and Gavin, 9 and "these funds will be used to erect a lasting tribute in the city of Columbia," according to the complaint.

"Our goal is to extract something positive from such a horrific and senseless tragedy and to honor the lives of my sister and her two young sons," Weiss said.

The wrongful death suit also names Coleman's father, Ronald, and the Joyce Meyer Ministries, where Coleman worked until shortly after his family was killed, as "respondents in discovery," which means they may be forced to hand over financial documents and information such as Coleman's personnel file, his work schedule and travel itineraries and the Ministries' employment policies.

In addition, the suit tries to establish a timeline of events before and after the killings, saying the Colemans took the deed to their home in 2005, but six months ago, ownership was transferred to Christoper Coleman alone.

"Sheri did not voluntarily sign the deed transferring title to the residence to Christopher," the document says.

Lawyers in the civil suit also allege that in the period between the killings and his arrest, Coleman removed personal property from the home.

The suit asks that Coleman and anyone "acting at his direction" be forbidden from entering the home again and that he provide a list of items already removed.

Coleman remains in jail after a judge denied bond.

Phil Spector Gets 19 Years to Life for Murder of Actress

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Music producer Phil Spector was sentenced Friday to the maximum sentence of 19 years to life for the murder six years ago of actress Lana Clarkson.

That means Spector, 69, would be 88 before he would be eligible for parole.

Slumped, stone-faced and wearing a dark suit and bright red tie, he sat silently throughout his sentencing by Judge Larry Paul Fidler.

Spector's lawyer gave a $17,000 check to Donna Clarkson, the victim's mother, to pay for her funeral expenses -- part of the court-ordered sentence.

"All of our plans together are destroyed," the mother said, reading a statement on behalf of her family. "Now, I can only visit her at the cemetery."

Fidler denied a motion for a new trial by defense attorney Doron Weinberg, who said he would file an appeal.

"The evidence did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty for the simple reason [that] he did not kill Lana Clarkson," Weinberg said.

"Obviously, he's not very happy," Spector's wife, Rachelle, told reporters about her husband. "I'm going to stand by him and get him out of that awful place so he can come home where he belongs."

Clarkson, 40, was found dead -- slumped in a chair in the foyer of Spector's Alhambra, California, mansion with a gunshot wound through the roof of her mouth -- in February 2003.

Spector's trial, which began in October, ended last month when jurors deliberated for 30 hours and then announced a guilty verdict on the second-degree murder charge. Fidler had ruled jurors also could consider the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Spector's first murder trial in 2007 ended in a mistrial as jurors said they couldn't reach a verdict after 15 days of deliberations. Jurors then were deadlocked 10-2 in favor of conviction.

Fidler declined to allow Spector to remain free on bail pending sentencing, citing Spector's years-long "pattern of violence" involving firearms.

"This was not an isolated incident," Fidler said, noting Spector's two firearms-related convictions from the 1970s. "The taking of an innocent human life, it doesn't get any more serious than that."

In closing arguments at the retrial, prosecutor Truc Do called Spector "a very dangerous man" who "has a history of playing Russian roulette with women -- six women. Lana just happened to be the sixth."

Weinberg argued that the prosecution's case hinged on circumstantial evidence. He said the possibility that Clarkson committed suicide could not be ruled out.

Do pointed out to jurors, however, that Clarkson had bought new shoes on the day of her death -- something he said a suicidal woman would not have done.

A female juror who declined to be identified told reporters the jurors considered all the evidence and testimony to reach their verdict.

"This entire jury took this so seriously," she said with tears in her eyes, before adding that "it's tough to be in a jury," because another person's life is in the jury's hands.

Clarkson starred in the 1985 B-movie "Barbarian Queen" and appeared in many other films, including "Deathstalker," "Blind Date," "Scarface," "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and the spoof "Amazon Women on the Moon." She was working as a VIP hostess at Hollywood's House of Blues at the time of her death.

In the 2007 trial, Spector's attorneys argued that Clarkson was depressed over a recent breakup and grabbed a .38-caliber pistol to kill herself while at Spector's home.

But prosecution witnesses painted Spector as a gun-toting menace. Five women took the stand and testified that he had threatened them with firearms. His driver testified that he heard a loud noise and saw the producer leave the home, pistol in hand, saying, "I think I killed somebody."

Spector's professional trademark was the "Wall of Sound," the layering of instrumental tracks and percussion that underpinned a string of hits on his Philles label -- named for Spector and his business partner, Lester Sill -- in the early 1960s.

The roaring arrangements were the heart of what he called "little symphonies for the kids" -- among them No. 1 hits like the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'."

Spector co-produced the Beatles' final album, "Let It Be," and worked with ex-Beatles George Harrison and John Lennon on solo projects after the group broke up. His recording of Harrison's 1971 benefit concert for war relief in Bangladesh won the 1972 Grammy award for album of the year.

That was one of two Grammy Awards won by Spector, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. He stayed out of the public eye for two decades before his 2003 arrest in Clarkson's death.
Watch Spector receive his sentence »

Armored Truck Drops More Than $300,000

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Two good Samaritans returned more than $275,000 that tumbled out of an improperly secured armored truck in Syracuse, New York, last week.

But some not-so-good Samaritans seem to have walked away with another $60,000 that fell onto the street.

A Brinks armored truck inadvertently strewed more than a dozen bags of money on the ground in front of the Syracuse Antiques Exchange on Friday, according to Sgt. Tom Connellan of the Syracuse police department.

The bags slipped out of an open door on the side of the truck. Apparently oblivious, the driver proceeded to his intended destination, a Brinks facility a few blocks away.

David Jenks, the owner of the antiques shop, and Hanson Herring, who had just gotten a haircut at a nearby barbershop, Cuttin Up, were the first to approach the bags.

Herring said at first he thought the bags merely contained garbage. Only when he began to inspect one did he realize, "Oh man, this is money."

The money was in all different denominations, from coins to $100 bills.

The two men then began to round up the bags and load them into plastic postal bins. Tim Taylor, an off-duty Syracuse police officer who happened to be browsing in Jenks' antiques shop, assisted them.

As word spread that hundreds of thousands of dollars lay in the street, people streamed out of passing cars and adjacent businesses. For the most part the gatherers cooperated in the recovery effort.

Herring attributed the crowd's willingness to turn over the money -- rather than run away with it -- to his imposing stature. "Had I not been the size I was, it might have went a different way."

One man did display some reluctance to part with the bag he found. But Herring said that with a few words, he was able to persuade the man to release his grip on it.

All told, the men recovered $276,160 divided among 14 bags.

But two bags containing some $60,000 are still missing.

Police said it remains unclear whether the missing bags fell from the truck at an earlier point along its route, or whether someone at the scene of the main spill managed to discreetly slip away with them.

Connellan noted that it is grand larceny, a felony, to keep a sack of money one chances upon. "We tip our hats to the people who did the right thing," he said.

As for the Brinks Co., Herring said it rewarded him with a T-shirt and a gold coin commemorating the company's 150th anniversary.

Brinks did not return calls for comment.