Man accused of stealing guns from parked cop car

Saturday, February 28, 2009
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP)

Corpus Christi police didn't have to go far to examine the scene of one crime _ the theft of guns from a police car.

Authorities said a semiautomatic rifle, handgun, Taser and ammunition were stolen Feb. 8 from the trunk of a car parked at the home of a SWAT team officer.

Then they discovered that fingerprints from the car matched a man who was already in custody.
Police said 27-year-old Jaime Jalomo had appeared in court the day after the car theft and pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance.

Jalomo was indicted Thursday on two counts of theft of a firearm.

A Nueces County jailer who wouldn't give her name said Jalomo was still in custody there Saturday. Jail records did not identify an attorney to speak for him.

You'd think the police would use alarms on their vehicles if they are going to use them as gun cabinets. dumbass... Can you imagine Jalomo's face when he popped the trunk on that one? Probably thought he'd found the mother lode.

Octomom Natalie Doud, aka Nadya Suleman

Friday, February 27, 2009
Nadya Suleman opened up to Dr. Phil and said that implanting more embryos was a "mistake." At last!

On the Dr. Phil show, octomom Nadya Suleman finally admitted that having eight more children when she could barely take care of the six she already had may not have been the best idea. "In hindsight, I don't know what I was thinking," she says.

But Nadya tried to convince Dr. Phil and America that she has a plan for her babies once they come home. "The plan is definitely underway," she says, adding that she intends to live on her student loans. "I'm just not there yet."

She also says she will rely on volunteers to help her take care of the babies. Right...see below.

Octomom: I Don't Need Your Stinkin' Help!!
Friday, February 27, 2009

Octomom Nadya Suleman has said no thanks to attorney Gloria Allred's offer to help her take care of all 14 of her children.

Allred and the charity Angels in Waiting announced last week they wanted to provide 24/7 medical care, physical therapy, occupational therapy and a home for the octomom and her brood of 14.

Allred said volunteers and medical personnel would care for the babies morning, noon and night in eight-hour shifts ... but gave Suleman a deadline of midnight yesterday to accept the deal. Obviously -- she has not.



Allred and Linda Conforti, the nurse who the founded Angels in Waiting, had several a long conversations with Nadya on the phone and arranged a meeting to discuss the offer -- and Nadya never showed.
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They say Nadya was more interested in "capitalizing on her family" and getting a reality show than she was with getting care for the newborns and her other children. When Allred and Angels in Waiting refused to help get her a TV deal, they say Suleman stopped communicating with them.
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Allred says she's already filed a complaint with the Department of Child and Family Services and she plans on following up. Wow--I guess you don't tell Gloria no!

The Fascination with Moms Gone Haywire
Friday, February 27, 2009



Casey Anthony, charged with the first degree murder of her toddler, and Nadya Suleman, mother of octuplets plus six, share a few key similarities.
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On the face of it, Casey Anthony, charged with first degree murder, and Nadya Suleman, mother of octuplets plus six, don't seem to have much in common.

One had trouble parenting one child and the other has an almost obsessive desire to have multiple children -- despite having no means to support them.
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They are both, in their own ways, examples of motherhood gone haywire, and people...can't seem to get enough of their bizarre stories.
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"The public's fascination with aberrant behavior," says public relations expert Michael Levin, "makes us feel better about ourselves." Does it take the worst possible examples of motherhood to give us confidence in our own parenting capabilities?
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A rep from the National Organization for Women says the enormous pressures of motherhood could be a factor in our interest: "Society and the media put the burden of parenting on the mother, whether you're talking about crime stories or who's getting marketed to in commercials. .
"Whatever the reason, following the plight of women in peril makes for a strange guilty pleasure. Could it be their common denominators that make Nadya and Casey's stories so compelling?
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Irregular views of motherhood
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Casey, it seems, never wanted to be a mother. Her mother Cindy reportedly wouldn't let Casey have an abortion or even put Caylee up for adoption. The result was tragic. Nadya Suleman says her desire to have many children stemmed from her being a lonely only child.
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Dysfunctional relationships with their mothers
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Nadya's mother has repeatedly voiced her dismay over the fact that her daughter insisted on having the octupets via IVF treatments when she already had six children at home. They've even been filmed arguing about Nadya's refusal to implement "selective reduction" of her implanted embryos.

Cindy Anthony, Casey's mom, has been accused of treating Caylee as if she were her own daughter. Rumor has it the rift between Casey and Cindy began when Cindy was the first to hold her new granddaughter in the delivery room, not Casey.
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Going it alone
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With the extraordinary challenge single mothers face, Nadya Suleman has upped the ante to ridiculous proportions. With no man in her life, the "father" of her children is a sperm donor / former boyfriend. Casey also raised Caylee alone -- albeit with much family support. No one knows for sure who Caylee's father was -- the family has always maintained he was killed in a car accident.
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Freeloading and lying
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One sponges off her family and one off of the government. And both lie about how they supported themselves. Casey claimed to be employed at Universal Studios as an event coordinator -- to explain away her late nights out partying. Nadya told Ann Curry on "Today" that she is "not on welfare," although it was later revealed she receives both food stamps and state disability payments.
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Obsessed with their looks
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Nadya Suleman, even before giving birth to octopulets, had six mouths to feed. But somehow she still managed to spend money on what appears to be plastic surgery. Casey, when she was supposed to be searching for her missing daughter, entered herself in a "Hot Body Contest" at a local bar.
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I have to wonder where is Angelina Jolie in all this mess? Nadya is known to have written letters to the star who is obsessed with the baby business as well. Nadya's alledged plastic surgery appears to have been an attempt to look like her. Angie wants racially diverse children, one Cambodian, one Vietnamese, one African, one single bio and then bio twins.
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Angie could adopt four of these, who are half Iraqi (from Nadya's heritage) and half Isreali (from the babies-daddy Denis Beaudoin). Not only would that be a interesting combination in the current state of the world, but that would add four latitude/longitude tattoo's of the same numbers on her left arm. No need to ask Brad--he doesn't have the nads to get a vote.
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But she is equally disfunctional. She went from Goth, sex addict/bisexual who publicly announced she was in love with her brother, to baby collector, so the kids might adjust well.
At least she has the money to hire others to raise them.

HIV positive woman arrested after sex with men

Attempted murder with deadly twat.

Amy L. Edwards Sentinel Staff Writer
February 27, 2009

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An HIV positive woman who had sex with multiple men without telling them about her disease has been arrested, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office said.

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Eneydi Elsie Torres, 42, of Country Circle in Kissimmee, faces four counts of unlawful acts, one charge for every sexual encounter.

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The Sheriff's Office began investigating Torres earlier this month when a man told detectives he had sex with her, but did not know she was HIV positive.

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Investigators spoke with another alleged victim who also had sex with Torres but also did not know about her disease.

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Torres told detectives she has been HIV positive for more than 15 years.She was booked into the Osceola County Jail on $20,000 bond.

Anyone with additional information, or who thinks they may also be a victim, is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 407-348-2222 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.

Brother of Casey Anthony testifies Zenaida Gonzalez of Kissimmee is not "Nanny"

Watch the video:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/caylee-anthony/orl-casey-anthony-brother-deposition-022809,0,2474188.story


Casey Anthony's nanny remarks have 'never been in regards to this Zenaida,' Lee Anthony said under oath during a deposition Friday.

By Sarah Lundy Sentinel Staff Writer
February 28, 2009

Casey Anthony's brother, Lee, said under oath Friday that Zenaida Gonzalez -- a Kissimmee woman suing his sister for defamation -- is not the Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez his sister claims vanished with her child.
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He said that Friday during more than three hours of questioning by Gonzalez's attorney John Morgan, who conducted the deposition in his firm's mock courtroom in downtown Orlando."This has never been in regards to this Zenaida," Lee Anthony said, talking to Gonzalez, who attended the deposition.
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His sister described a different woman: someone in her 20s who has no children. She is 5 feet 6 to 5 feet 7 and 120 pounds. Gonzalez -- the woman suing his sister -- is a 38-year-old mother of six.
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Gonzalez's attorneys said they took a big step Friday in clearing their client's name."We now have a family member say under oath that it ain't this Zenaida Gonzalez and that's a good day for her," said her other attorney Keith Mitnik. Gonzalez is suing Casey Anthony in civil court for more than $15,000 in damages. She claims she lost her job and suffered public humiliation and emotional stress after Casey Anthony identified a nanny who took her child as Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez.
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Anthony told investigators that she left 2-year-old Caylee with a woman named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez at Sawgrass Apartments and that the two later vanished. Zenaida Gonzalez, the one suing Casey Anthony, once visited Sawgrass but did not know Anthony or Caylee.
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On Friday, Lee Anthony and his attorney, Thomas Luka, were prepared to leave if the media were allowed to attend the deposition. Before they arrived at the Morgan & Morgan law firm, attorneys told more than a dozen reporters and photographers that they would have to stay out of the room. A copy of the video deposition and a transcript became public later Friday when they were filed in court. (Thomas Luka and Lee were so sure he wouldn't be testifying that Luka had set a court date on a different case for 10:30. Guess he didn't know that whether the media was there or not, the deposition would be released to the public afterward anyway.)
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No major revelations emerged from Anthony's questioning, but some details were clarified. Lee Anthony told the attorneys that his sister admitted lying to the investigators about what happened when Caylee disappeared.
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Shortly after she was released from jail in August, Casey Anthony told Lee Anthony that Caylee was taken from Jay Blanchard Park by Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez to teach Casey Anthony a lesson. The nanny sent messages to Casey Anthony via the Internet. His sister claimed that if she alerted the police, Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez would harm Anthony's family. He doesn't know what lesson the nanny wanted to teach his sister.
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Lee Anthony related the story to his mother, Cindy Anthony, but not to investigators. He also said he never found any communication between his sister and the nanny on any computer. (And...why does he need imunity to testify in the criminal case? I forget...hmm)
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Morgan asked Lee Anthony if he considered whether his sister was responsible for Caylee's disappearance. But Luka stopped Anthony from answering the question.
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Near the end of the interview, Morgan brought up Caylee's memorial service held this month. He asked Lee Anthony what he meant by the "CMA" he referred to during the ceremony. Anthony, during the service, mentioned a promise he made to "CMA.""Speaking to Caylee ... I made a promise to her early, early on in July that no matter what it took, I was going to find out the truth," Anthony explained to Morgan.
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And even though he admits that she lied to him, her parents and the police, he believes everything his sister tells him.

Lawyer: Casey Anthony's brother won't talk if media show up at deposition

Sarah Lundy Sentinel Staff Writer
February 27, 2009

Lee Anthony isn't going to answer questions under oath if the media show up for his deposition this morning, his attorney Thomas Luka said.

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The pair will leave if Keith Mitnik with the Morgan & Morgan law firm lets reporters attend the questioning, he said. Luka said he would file a motion asking a judge to keep his client from answering questions in front of media and would challenge Mitnik to explain to the court why he allowed the media to be there.

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This is part of an ongoing defamation case involving Zenaida Gonzalez, a 38-year-old Kissimmee mother, and Lee Anthony's sister, Casey Anthony.

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In July, Anthony told investigators that she left 2-year-old Caylee with a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez at Sawgrass Apartments and the two later vanished. Zenaida Gonzalez, the one suing Casey Anthony, once visited Sawgrass but did not know Anthony and Caylee. In her lawsuit, Gonzalez says she has lost her job and suffered humiliation and public embarrassment since Casey Anthony said a woman with her name was Caylee's baby sitter. She is seeking more than $15,000 in punitive damages.

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Mitnik said he's tired of people avoiding scheduled depositions.

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Anthony's parents, George and Cindy Anthony, were supposed to be questioned Thursday, but the depositions were postponed after an emergency hearing Wednesday. Orange Circuit Court Judge Jose R. Rodriguez will rule under what conditions the couple will be interviewed.

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"It's getting out of hand," Mitnik said of Lee Anthony's plans. "We have a lawsuit ... Everyone doesn't get to keep putting things off. Enough is enough."Some media attorneys say reporters don't have much say about whether they can be present or not.

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Attorney Alison Steele, who has represented a number of outlets, including the St. Petersburg Times, and is not involved in this case, said both sides have to agree for reporters to sit in on depositions."In general in Florida, there is no First Amendment right for members of the news media to attend if one or more parties don't want them there," she said.

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But a judge could rule in the media's favor and allow their entry, she added.

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What is it with these people? Do they think because Casey murdered her child and her parents flew the country to appear on every news program possible, that they are above the law now? Judge Rodriguez should slap a contempt of court charge on all their asses. See how they like sitting the the jail themselves. I'll bet they would testify soon enough. It just gets worse the farther it goes. If you go by the interviews the Casey fan club gave shortly after Caylee's "disappearance", they have all the answers right there.

Casey Anthony photos, videos should not be released, her lawyer tells judge

Sarah Lundy Sentinel Staff Writer
February 27, 2009

Casey Anthony's defense lawyer asked a judge Thursday to block release of personal photos he says could embarrass the 22-year-old murder suspect.

Attorney José Baez filed the request to keep the pictures from being released with other evidence to reporters.

Calling the images irrelevant to the case, he proposed that prosecutors release only photos they intend to use at trial and keep the remainder under wraps...

The request comes after the defense team received two computer discs from the state that contained hundreds of pictures from Anthony's account on Photo bucket.com, an online photo-sharing Web site.

Under Florida's public-record laws, the media are entitled to the information unless a judge intervenes.

Baez did not describe the photos, but images that could be viewed on Photobucket .com last fall included dozens of pictures of Anthony partying with friends."The images on the Photobucket Website were created over a year before her daughter Caylee Anthony went missing in June 2008," Baez's spokeswoman, Marti Mackenzie, wrote in an e-mail. "These images are irrelevant to her case. If they were to be disseminated, they will only sensationalize the life of a young woman and may be used to attempt to paint her in a negative light."

Orange Circuit Judge Stan Strickland set a hearing for Monday to discuss the issue.

Baez sent the judge an example of what he said can happen if such pictures are distributed to the public: an online story about a Barbie-type "Casey Anthony" doll offered on eBay.

The doll was dressed in an American flag, similar to a photo showing Casey Anthony wearing a flag at a party. Baez wrote that the example was "proof that the release of photographs which are unrelated to this case, are forming a biased opinion of the defendant, and her persona, as evidenced by the creation of said doll."

Still photos aren't the only Anthony pictures that Baez wants to stay private. In a second motion the lawyer released Thursday, Baez asked the judge to withhold a Dec.11 video of Anthony's reaction to hearing that a then-unknown child's remains had been found in woods.

According to Baez, corrections officers took her to the jail clinic so she could watch media reports. She didn't know security cameras were recording her reaction, he wrote. Releasing the video would taint a potential jury pool before he had the chance to file motions to seal or suppress it.

Police said natural causes; funeral home said gunshots

February 27, 2009
Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A man's death that police and a medical examiner had said was the result of natural causes has been ruled a homicide after a funeral home found three bullet holes in his body.

The Kansas City Star reported Thursday that the wounds -- two of them in Anthony Crockett's head -- were noticed by funeral home workers after the man's body was embalmed. The funeral home returned the 49-year-old Kansas City man's body to the Jackson County medical examiner's office, and police counted the death as a homicide.

It was the second time in 17 months that a Kansas City funeral home had to return a homicide victim's body mistakenly ruled a natural death by the medical examiner's office.

The other case was in September 2007 and involved Lorraine Grayson, 77, who had been beaten and sexually assaulted in her home. Police later found out that Grayson's purse was missing, and her 46-year-old neighbor was charged with her death.

"This kind of mistake is a pretty bad mistake," said Thomas Young, the former Jackson County medical examiner who now runs a private forensic pathology practice.

In Crockett's case, a homicide detective and an investigator from the medical examiner's office never visited his home to inspect his body. A paramedic told police he believed the death was natural after finding prescription containers for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

Crockett's girlfriend, who had called police after finding his body, told authorities that he had heart problems for years.

Jeph BurroughsScanlon, a Jackson County spokesman, said standard protocol was followed in Crockett's case, but he added that the county is concerned and looking into its practices.
Police also plan to study their practices.

"We're going to be reviewing how we handle these kinds of cases, to see if anything needs to be changed," said Capt. Rich Lockhart, a Kansas City police spokesman.

Police responding to the call from Crockett's girlfriend noted blood on his face, but victims can bleed from natural causes or have blood on them from a fall.

A paramedic showed a police officer Crockett's medications and said he thought the death was natural.

The officer called a homicide detective and medical examiner investigator. The investigator called Crockett's doctor, who said she would sign the death certificate.

But physician Ghazal Shaikh told the Star that she never did sign the certificate and agreed to only after she was told the death was natural.

Anthonys Have 20 Days To Prove Emotional Distress

February 26, 2009
wftv.com

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Cindy and George Anthony were supposed to give depositions Thursday morning, but a judge is giving them more time. The Anthonys have 20 days to turn over medical records to prove they're emotionally unable to answer questions in the suit.

The civil case against Casey Anthony was fought in court Wednesday afternoon. Casey's parents, George and Cindy Anthony, tried to get out of answering questions under oath in a defamation lawsuit filed against their daughter Casey and they were successful, at least for a now.

The day before the Anthonys were supposed to be questioned about their public comments naming Zenaida Gonzalez as the woman who took Caylee, the Anthonys' attorney told the judge it wouldn't be fair to force them to face depositions with cameras rolling.

VIDEO REPORT: Judge Puts Off Questioning

George Anthony testified against his daughter Casey on October 14 of last year before a grand jury for first-degree murder. He and Cindy testified at Casey's bond hearing in July when they wanted to get her out of jail, only days after George said he believed that Caylee's body had been in Casey's car trunk

But Wednesday, their attorney went to court telling a judge that they are not emotionally able to handle testifying in the defamation lawsuit against their daughter Casey.

"They believed that they had a murder case, but they didn't have a body. Now they do and you can see what it's done to this family," attorney Brad Conway said Wednesday.

The Anthonys' attorney said both are under a doctor's care as they grieve for their granddaughter Caylee, who disappeared eight months ago and whose remains were found more than two months ago, but he did not bring any evidence to court Wednesday to show that would legally prevent them from testifying.

"To spend three hours and answer questions for my client, who kind of gets lost in all of this and her rights, is probably the least painful thing they're gonna have to do in the next month," attorney Keith Mitnik said.

Mitnik, Zenaida Gonzalez's attorney, says she has a right to clear her name, she was sucked into the case through no actions of her own and the Anthonys have actually perpetuated the accusations that have ruined her reputation, such as a statement Cindy made in July about Casey forgiving Zenaida for taking off with Caylee.

"She forgives her and wants her to bring Caylee back to us safely," Cindy said in July.
"It is frustrating. She needs to move forward. We're gonna get 'em under oath. I wish tomorrow, but it's coming," Mitnik said.

It could boil down to whether the defense wants to use Zenaida Gonzalez as an option for creating "reasonable doubt" in the case, which is exactly what Zenaida is worried about.

Nothing Found In K-9 Search For Haleigh Cummings

Putnam Co. Sheriff's Office Sent Several K-9 Search Teams--Update.
February 26, 2009

PALATKA, Fla. -- The Putnam County Sheriff's Office sent out several K-9 search teams Thursday to look for Haleigh Cummings, but found no new evidence.

According to a news release issued by Capt. Dick Schauland, the search was conducted "to insure that no possibility is overlooked in the search for Haleigh."

The search, which Schauland described as routine, consisted of several K-9 search teams from a non-law-enforcement organization, Canine South. The dogs are trained specifically to seek human remains.

"We don't have any joyful outcomes at the end. We have to take satisfaction in that we enjoy working with our dogs and it helps bring peace to the family, at least, knowing what has happened," volunteer searcher Pat Totillo said.

Volunteers took the dogs throughout a wooded area near Haleigh's home, as well as around the neighborhood.

"Again, this search is not in response to information received, but rather as a proven protocol from other missing person cases," Schauland said in the news release.

The last person to see Haleigh alive, Haleigh's father's girlfriend, Misty Croslin, was picked up for questioning Thursday morning.

Haleigh's paternal grandmother, Teresa Neves, said the whole family stands by Croslin, 17, and they welcome as much questioning as detectives need.

"I don't care who they take, and I don't care how many times they take them, as long as they bring my grandbaby home," Neves said.

Media Cameras Welcome At Lee Anthony Deposition

Gonzalez Looks Into Legally Changing Her Name
February 26, 2009

Right: Lee Anthony with his usual surly expression. I wish someone would tell him the only people who still shave their heads are old guys and skinheads. But that's me...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A lawyer for Casey Anthony's brother Lee said his client will give sworn testimony Friday morning in connection with the defamation suit brought by Zenaida Gonzalez.

Gonzalez has the same name as the person Casey Anthony named as her daughter Caylee's nanny. Casey Anthony said Caylee's nanny kidnapped the toddler last summer.

Casey Anthony is currently being held on murder charges at the Orange County Jail.
Gonzalez said she is looking to have her name legally changed.

Television cameras will be invited into the downtown courtroom Friday, according to attorney John Morgan.

Morgan said Gonzalez's name was taken in a public forum, so it should not be cleared behind closed doors.

Lee Anthony's attorney said Anthony wants to get the deposition over with. He said he knows nothing about Gonzalez.

Gonzalez's lawyer said his client may claim not to know much, but they still have plenty of questions to ask.

The deposition is slated for 9 a.m.

Haleigh's Father's Girlfriend Taken In For Questioning again today

Thursday, February 26, 2009 –

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- Eyewitness News has learned that Misty Croslin, Haleigh's father's girlfriend was the last one to see the 5-year- old. Croslin was taken away for questioning again Thursday morning, Feb 26.

It's been nearly three weeks since the 5-year-old was taken out of her bed in the middle of the night. Deputies said Haleigh was home asleep with her little brother and father's girlfriend when the crime happened.

Meanwhile, seven cadaver dogs and nine officers were sent to search an area surrounding the home of missing five-year-old Haleigh Cummings Thursday. Deputies said the search was being conducted to make sure that nothing is overlooked.

The cadaver dogs and officers searched for human remains. Eyewitness News saw dogs sniffing along the panels underneath mobile homes in case a body was placed underneath.

Investigators believe Haleigh Cummings was taken from her home on Green Lane in Satsuma on February 9. Sheriff Jeff Hardy, as well as everyone involved in the investigation said they continue to hope that Haleigh is found alive and in good health.

Investigators said Thursday's search was not in response to leads received from the family or the public, but as a routine procedure that has proven itself in other missing child cases.

The canine teams are a part of Canine South, a non-law enforcement organization out of South Georgia that specializes in canine searches. The teams consist of cadaver dogs that specifically seek out human remains.

Investigators said more dogs will search the area again Friday.

Car Taken Into Custody In Haleigh Case http://www.wftv.com/news/18748531/detail.html
February 19, 2009

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- The search for missing 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings is in its tenth day. Eyewitness News has learned that a car was taken into custody by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, but they are not revealing where or when it was taken.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office will follow up on more tips Thursday. Each day more tips and leads come into the sheriff's office.

"There was a tip earlier on which we had processed for evidence. But we do not want to get into any of the details on that, but it was processed by FDLE," said Dominick Pape of the FDLE. "At this point in time, we don't want to give out any more information in reference to that vehicle."

Detectives were tight-lipped when it came to giving detailed information on clues and tips that they're getting. They said releasing specifics could jeopardize the investigation.

The sheriff's office continues to question Ronald Cumming's live-in girlfriend, Misty Croslin. There were questions about whether or not she was home when Haliegh was abducted early last week.

Haliegh's mother, Crystal Sheffield spoke with WFTV reporter Mark Boyle about the possibility that no one was caring for her daughter.

"For her to leave them there unattended by themselves, that's just irresponsible," she said.
Annette Sykes is Haleigh's great grandmother. She said people should be searching for the little girl and not shifting the focus to Misty.

"I know everybody makes a big deal, she's only 17 and that's true, but she's a lot more mature than a lot of people that I have seen and that I know that are 25 and 30," Sykes said.
Sykes remembers seeing Haleigh hours before she was abducted.

"She was sitting on the front porch when we drove up and junior was just sitting up there with a plate in the lap eating," she said.

The sheriff's office also continues to talk to Haleigh's father. Eyewitness News was there when Ronald Cummings got into the front seat of a detective's car Wednesday.

"Are we frustrated? Absolutely. We wish we had this resolved on day one within three hours," said Pape.

The case against Casey Anthony: Do the pieces add up?

ORLANDO SENTINEL EXCLUSIVE

Sarah Lundy and Amy L. Edwards Sentinel Staff Writers
February 26, 2009

A hair, a laundry bag, some duct tape and a strange odor in the car. Throw in a mother who lied to investigators and showed little concern for weeks that her 2-year-old daughter had disappeared.
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Since Casey Anthony became the prime suspect in the disappearance — and eventual death — of her daughter Caylee Marie, prosecutors have released thousands of pages of evidence in their case against her.
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But does the case, with its countless morsels of evidence, truly link the 22-year-old Orange County mother to Caylee's remains?The Orlando Sentinel asked a handful of legal experts about some of the evidence released so far. They predict a difficult case for both sides.
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"At this point ... this is a dogfight. This is not a slam-dunk for the state," said Charles Rose, a professor at Stetson University College of Law near St. Petersburg.
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Skeletal remains
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Anthony was charged with first-degree murder in Caylee's death before the toddler's remains were uncovered. Prosecutors faced the challenge of proving a murder without a body.
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That changed when Caylee's remains turned up Dec.11 a few blocks from her home. Prosecutors can show that Caylee was the victim of a homicide. But the medical examiner ruled Caylee's death as homicide by "undetermined means."For prosecutors trying to prove murder, "that's a huge factor," Orlando attorney Diana Tennis said.
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Did Caylee die by accident, or was she intentionally killed?Anthony contends that Caylee was kidnapped by a nanny and says that she had nothing to do with her disappearance.
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Orlando attorney Bill Sheaffer, a legal analyst for WFTV-Channel9, said if the defense were to argue that Caylee died by accident, it would have to admit Anthony was involved in her daughter's death."The defense is far away even from making that decision," Sheaffer said.

Crime-scene items
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When investigators uncovered Caylee's tiny bones scattered across a patch of woods, they also found a collection of items: a canvas laundry bag that held some of the remains, a piece of duct tape stuck to the child's skull, a Winnie the Pooh blanket and a heart sticker, among others.
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At the Anthony home nearby, detectives seized a gasoline can with a piece of duct tape stuck to it — the same brand of tape found on Caylee's skull. They found the same type of laundry bag and a variety of heart stickers. Caylee's grandmother said a Pooh blanket was missing.
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The lawyers who spoke to the Sentinel predicted that Anthony's defense team will try to explain away some of the similarities. The Henkel duct tape is a common brand. Whitney Design laundry bags are all over the place — Tennis said she has one at home.
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Prosecutors are likely to argue that one or two items might be dismissed as coincidence, but that so many similarities point straight to Casey Anthony. "They're really going to have to paint a mosaic one piece at a time and hope that the jury can see the complete picture when they're done," Stetson's Rose said. "It's the most challenging type of a case for a prosecutor to try."

Forensic evidence
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The results of certain forensic tests — DNA, fingerprints and blood splatter, for example — are accepted as evidence in U.S. courts every day.But analysis of whether a hair strand came from a dead or live person, or whether components of an air sample prove the presence of something dead — two issues in the Anthony case — are fairly new to the criminal-justice system.That could be a problem for prosecutors.
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Anthony's defense team can use this cutting-edge science to its advantage by asking the judge to disallow it in trial.Bob Jarvis, who teaches legal ethics and law and popular culture at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, said judges are supposed to keep what some call "junk science" out of the courtroom.
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Still, the hair strand and air samples, which came from the trunk of Anthony's car, might not play such a prominent role now that Caylee's remains have been found.This discovery made Caylee's death more like a typical murder case. Prosecutors can focus on the body and evidence from the scene.
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Results of several forensic tests on items taken in December have not been released yet. But one analysis released last week — that the FBI found no fingerprints on duct tape from the crime scene — was not good news for prosecutors."I believe this case is going to be won or lost on forensic testimony and whether the jury believes the state expert or defense's — if the defense can find someone that contradicts the state's forensic evidence," lawyer Sheaffer said.

Lies and misbehavior
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Anthony has lied to investigators, her family and friends. Detectives say she made up her story about having a nanny and led them on a wild goose chase to Universal Studios before admitting she didn't work there.
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Then there's Anthony's behavior: After Caylee supposedly went missing, Anthony waited a month to tell her family. The young mother claimed she was doing her own investigation during that time, but text messages and interviews with friends paint Anthony as a party girl, not as a frantic mother missing her daughter.
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"The No.1 piece of circumstantial evidence that is going to bury the defense is [Anthony's] behavior when the daughter goes missing. It's not the kind of behavior we have come to expect of a parent who is frantically looking for their child," Jarvis said.
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Prosecutors also have charged her with stealing checks from a friend — an arrest that led to the release of store video showing Anthony shopping for herself and her boyfriend — but not for missing Caylee.
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Although such information might help prosecutors turn a jury against Anthony, prosecutors may not get to present much of it unless they can convince the judge that Anthony's demeanor is relevant in proving that she killed Caylee, Stetson's Rose said.
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Defense lawyers could counter by bringing in an expert to explain that everyone reacts differently to stressful situations, Nova's Jarvis said. But jurors tend to have an idea of how people should behave in certain situations.
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Even if the judge reminds jurors that a suspect is considered innocent until proven guilty, "'odd' behavior tends to have a big impact for the prosecution," Jarvis said. Upcoming legal fights over the accumulated evidence will set the tone for what jurors will see and hear.

Cadaver Dogs Return to Haleigh's Neighborhood

Feb 26, 2009

SATSUMA, FL -- Cadaver dogs and their handlers are back in the woods and fields around the home of Haleigh Cummings, looking for any signs of the little girl.

The five-year-old has been missing since she went to bed on the night of February 9th.

The cadaver dogs are searching the panels under homes in the neighborhood.

"They've been in my home," said neighbor James Batchelor. "They've torn it apart. All the buildings out there they've been in them twice."

The dogs are trained to specifically seek out human remains and are part of Canine South, a non-law enforcement group specializing in canine searches.

"Today's search is not in response to leads received from the family or the public, but as a routine procedure that has proven itself in other missing child cases," said Captain Dick Schauland with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. "This search is being conducted to insure that no possibility is overlooked in the search for Haleigh."

Thursday's ground search is the first major organized effort in some time.

Investigators have been chasing false leads across the First Coast and in Tennessee since shifting the search for Haleigh to more of an investigative approach in the case last week.

The reward for information leading to Haleigh is up to $26,500. Call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS if you have any information. You will remain anonymous and could recieve a cash reward if your information leads to an arrest.

Octuplets mother fears not getting her infants

By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California's octuplets mom has told television therapist Dr. Phil McGraw that she fears not being allowed to take her newborns home from the hospital until she proves that she has the means to care for them.
McGraw, host of a nationally syndicated self-help show, told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published on Wednesday that Nadya Suleman shared her concerns with him in a telephone conversation a day earlier.
Suleman has become a lightning rod for public ridicule since it was learned that she already was a jobless, divorced mother of six living in her own mother's three-bedroom house when she gave birth January 26 to octuplets conceived through in vitro fertilization.
Suleman, 33, also has acknowledged that she was collecting food stamps and disability benefits for three of her older kids, one of whom is autistic, and that a single "friend" was the sperm donor for all her children.
The public backlash grew so intense at one point that Suleman and her six older children, ranging in age from 2 to 7, went into seclusion because of death threats, according to a publicity firm previously hired by the family.
McGraw said Suleman called him on Tuesday afternoon, upset after she had spoken with officials at the suburban Los Angeles Kaiser Permanente Medical Center where the octuplets, born 9-1/2 weeks premature, remain in a neonatal care unit.
"What she is telling me is that unless and until she has a better living arrangement, that they are not likely to release the children to her," the Times quoted McGraw as saying.
He added that according to Suleman, hospital authorities had some concerns about her "ability to care for the children," but he did not have details about those concerns or what standards she might not be meeting, the Times reported.
McGraw already had interviewed Suleman last week for two segments scheduled to air on his show this Wednesday and Thursday. A show spokeswoman said those interviews did not address the issue Suleman discussed with McGraw this week.
Kaiser Permanente officials declined to comment on Suleman's case, citing privacy rules.

Judge delays questioning of parents in defamation case against Casey Anthony

Sarah Lundy Sentinel Staff Writer
6:16 PM EST, February 25, 2009

The lawyers representing Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez -- the woman suing Casey Anthony in a defamation case -- will have to wait to question George and Cindy Anthony under oath.

Orange Circuit Court Judge Jose R. Rodriguez postponed the depositions, which were scheduled for Thursday, until media outlets could submit documents on why they should be allowed to attend the interviews.

The media have 20 days to respond.

The Anthonys' attorney, Brad Conway, argued that the Anthonys are seeing counselors to help cope with their granddaughter's death and their daughter's arrest. The stress of taking depositions in front of the media may prove too much for them, he said.

Rodriguez asked to see psychological reports from the Anthonys' doctors about the issue. He will review them under seal, which means the documents are not public record...

In July, Casey Anthony told investigators she left Caylee with a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez at Sawgrass Apartments and the two later disappeared.

Fernandez-Gonzalez, who is suing Anthony, once visited Sawgrass but says she did not know Casey Anthony and Caylee.

In her lawsuit, Fernandez-Gonzalez says she has lost her job, and suffered humiliation and public embarrassment since Casey Anthony used her name as Caylee's baby sitter.

Jordan Anthony Brown, 11, Kills Dad's Pregnant Girlfriend--Wampum, PA

Kenzie Houk Was 8 Months Pregnant With Son
February 24, 2009

WAMPUM, Pa. -- An 11-year-old boy was arrested early Saturday morning and charged in connection with the shotgun slaying of his father's pregnant girlfriend in Wampum, Lawrence County.

Video: Watch Tara Edwards' Report

State police took Jordan Anthony Brown into custody shortly before 3 a.m. He was being held in the county jail, charged as an adult with the homicides of Kenzie Marie Houk and her unborn child. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

"This is something you wouldn't even think of in your worst nightmare," said Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo, adding that "the whole situation is heinous."

Houk, 26, was found dead Friday morning by her 4-year-old daughter at their farmhouse on Wampum New Galilee Road.

State Trooper Michael Markey said the girl ran outside and told employees of a tree-cutting service that her mother was dead. The workers then called 911.

"Something like this, this close to home, it affects all us mothers," said neighbor Tina Potter.
As residents recovered from the shock of what happened inside the farmhouse, the suspect's father was pushing to have his son released on bail.

His attorney met with Brown this weekend and doesn't believe the child is responsible for killing Houk and her unborn baby. But the Lawrence County district attorney said there is more than enough evidence.

Police said that when Brown was questioned he provided false leads. They said it was Houk's 7-year-old daughter who gave investigators major clues.

"She saw him with what she believed was a shotgun and heard a loud bang," Bongivengo said.
Houk's father, Jack, said he hurried to the house after getting a phone call from her boyfriend.

"I said, 'Will you please tell me what's going on?' and he says, 'I can't, you got to get down here immediately,' so I raced down here and police told me that my daughter's passed away and the baby also," Jack Houk said.

Video: Father: 'Who Would Be Crazy Enough To Do That?'

Bongivengo said that Houk was shot in the back of the head as she lay in bed Friday morning.
Police said the weapon was a .20-gauge "youth model" shotgun, which investigators found in the boy's bedroom.

Bongivengo said that the boy and Houk's 7-year-old daughter -- who was also home at the time of the shooting and heard the shot -- both went to school afterward.

Brown's father -- the live-in boyfriend of Houk and the father of her unborn son -- was at work when the shot was fired, police said. At this time, police don't have a motive.

"Usually you hear of murders happening in California or some where like that, not in little towns," said neighbor Donna Simmons.

No charges have been filed against the father. The district attorney said the type of shotgun used doesn't require registration.

Houk's two daughters are staying with their maternal grandparents.

Brown is in the Lawrence County Jail. He could face life in prison if he's charged as an adult and found guilty.

Houk was 8 months pregnant. She was expected to deliver a boy in early March.
"It hasn't really set in yet. It's going to be tough," Jack Houk said.

Geraldo faces his nightmare

February 25, 2009

It's hard to pick a single favorite Geraldo moment.
I'm sure some of you will point to Al Capone's empty vault or the diagram in the Iraq sand. And it's always tempting to go with the show on plastic surgery where Geraldo had fat sucked from his butt implanted in his forehead.

But if forced to choose one defining Geraldo Rivera moment, I think I'll go back to the 1990s and a confrontation at a rally with a neo-Nazi named John R. McLaughlin.

I dug up a New York Times story about it. In theory, the goal of the show was to illustrate the absurdity of the rallying skinheads and KKK members. Geraldo accomplishes this by wandering through the crowd, delivering quips like, "Neat outfits you have on." There is (surprise) a confrontation (huge surprise) in which Geraldo punches McLaughlin and ends up getting arrested.

When Geraldo tells viewers about this later - describing blood and sweat dripping down his face - he looks into the camera and deadpans a line that, if delivered by Stephen Colbert today, would be comedy. Only in this case, the guy delivering it was serious.

"A professional nightmare had come true. I had become a part of the story."
Geraldo becoming a part of the story? That's like Madonna making an album that turns controversial. (Actually, that's not fair to Madonna. She likely would admit controversy was part of the plan from the start.)

In his long career, Geraldo has done good stories, important stories. But whatever the story, from war to hurricanes, The Story inevitably seems to be Geraldo.

So was anyone surprised that when Geraldo came to Putnam County, the focus of the Haleigh Cummings story shifted from a missing 5-year-old girl to an omnipresent 65-year-old TV journalist?

You've probably seen the video of Geraldo interviewing Haleigh's father outside the family's trailer. I purposefully describe it that way - Geraldo interviewing Ronald Cummings - because, of course, the video isn't just of Cummings. It is as much about Geraldo asking the questions as it is about Cummings responding to them. And it illustrates that Geraldo came to Florida and accomplished something as difficult as making skinheads look absurd.

He went to a divided, dysfunctional family, two weeks into its own nightmare, and got people to point fingers, hurl accusations and eventually call the police.

Bravo.

Beyond the questions about interview style, there are more significant ones. Like whether some of the allegations tossed out to a national television audience are even true. And whether any of this was relevant to Haleigh's disappearance. Or if it just made for good TV and further fueled message board judges and juries.

Some have defended Geraldo, saying he was getting to the bottom of the story. I'd put it a little differently.

I'd say he got in the middle of the story.

Yes, somehow it happened again. Geraldo's professional nightmare came true.

Haleigh's Mom Holds Special Church Service

February 25, 2009

WELAKA, FL -- A few miles south of the family campsite in Satsuma, Haleigh Cumming's mother attended a church service where people prayed for the the girl's safe return.

A few dozen people gathered in the small church, encouraging the family not to give up hope young Haleigh will be found alive.

Haleigh's mom, Crystal Sheffield, told First Coast News' Erich Spivey she will stay in Satsuma for months, if that's how long it takes to find Haleigh.

Ronald Cummings made another plea for Haleigh's safe return Tuesday, but didn't take any questions from reporters.

Anthonys' lawyer asks to cancel depositions in defamation suit

Sarah Lundy Sentinel Staff Writer
February 25, 2009

An attorney for George and Cindy Anthony wants a judge to stop the couple's depositions that are scheduled Thursday in the defamation case involving their daughter, Casey Anthony, papers filed Tuesday show.

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Brad Conway wrote in the request that the attorneys for Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez — the woman suing Casey Anthony — intend to "annoy, embarrass and oppress" the Anthonys. The depositions are open to the public, therefore reporters can attend.

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Casey Anthony, 22, told investigators that a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez at Sawgrass Apartments disappeared with her daughter, Caylee Marie, in June.

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Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Caylee, whose remains were found blocks from her family home Dec.11.

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Conway said George and Cindy Anthony have been under emotional stress since Caylee's death and their daughter's arrest, and have sought counseling."They should not be subjected to additional publication of personal information while they are still grieving deeply," he wrote.

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Conway pointed out that the information sought by Fernandez-Gonzalez's attorneys from the Morgan & Morgan law firm can be obtained through written questions. Another option is to delay the interview until after a May hearing on whether the case will be dismissed.

This request was filed the same day Fernandez-Gonzalez asked the court to allow her more than $15,000 in punitive damages.

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According to a motion filed by her attorney, Keith Mitnik, she deserves the money for damage to her reputation, loss of her job, public humiliation and severe emotional distress since Anthony talked about a nanny with her name kidnapping her child...

Who's Who in Haleigh Cummings case--UPDATED

February 24, 2009 Thanks to Gingee for info on Chad Griffis

Who’s who:

Cummings, Haleigh Ann-Marie, age 5, missing since February 10, 2009, Satsuma, FL

Cummings, Ronald LeMyles Sr.—Haleigh’s bio dad, age 25, dob 10-29-1983, 202 Green Ln, Satsuma, FL 32189

Cummings, Ronald LeMyles Jr—Haleigh’s younger brother, age 4, dob February 15, 2005. Satsuma

Cummings, Jack—Haleigh’s paternal grandfather, Ron’s dad

Neves, Teresa—Haleigh Cumming paternal grandmother, Ron’s mom, Satsuma

Sheffield, Crystal Diane—Haleigh’s bio mom, age 23, dob 8-30-1985 , 12222 Mud Lake Rd, Glen St Mary, Baker County
Has 3 siblings: Sarah Lavon, Marcus, Savannah

Griffis, Nancy (Marie)—Crystal Sheffield’s mother, Haleigh’s maternal grandmother, age 43, Glen St Mary, Baker County, married Bruce 2002

Griffis, Bruce A—Crystal Sheffield’s stepfather, age 46

Griffis, Chad—Crystal Sheffield’s fiancé, stepbrother, son of Bruce who is married to N Marie Sheffield

Sheffield, Johnny—Crystal Sheffield’s father, Haleigh’s maternal grandfather, Satsuma

Sheffield, Connie--Johnny's wife, step-mother of Crystal Sheffield, age 29

Croslin, Misty Jeanette—Ron Cummings live-in girlfriend/babysitter, age 17 dob 12-9-1991, Satsuma

Croslin Cummings, Misty--Ron Cummings married Misty Croslin in March, 2009.

Croslin, Timmy—brother of Misty, DOB June 21, 1987, drywall finisher, & wife Chelsea-2 kids lives in Palatka, FL

Croslin, Chelsea—wife of Timmy, Misty’s sister-in-law, 2 kids lives in Palatka, FL

Croslin, Tommy, brother of Misty, DOB Sept 26, 1986, drywall laborer, & wife Lindsey-3 sons, lives at 116 Tyler Rd, Satsuma (one block over from Cummings home.)

Croslin, Lindsey—wife of Tommy, Misty’s sister-in-law, 3 kids, Tyler Rd, Satsuma,

Croslin, Hank Thomas—Misty Croslin’s father, age 40, Satsuma

Croslin, Lisa—Misty Croslin’s mother, age 39, Satsuma

Brooks, Amber--Ron Cummings 3rd baby-mama, Palatka, 'friend' of Misty.

Brooks, Jordon--child of Amber Brooks and Ron Cummings, b August 2007

Prevatt, Kristina Renee, 18, aka Nay Nay, friend of Misty, mother of a child.

Page, Greg--aka White Boy Greg, friend of Prevatt and Brooks, had weekend of drink, drugs and sex with Misty for 3 days prior to the Monday night when Haleigh disappeared.

Staubs, William aka 'Cobra', private investigator hired by Crystal Sheffields attorney Kim Picazio

Kim Picazio, lawyer for Crystal Sheffield, pro bono from Miami --?

Nettles, Jason, Sgt—Putnam County Sheriff's Dept

Rose, Steve, Capt—Putnam County Sheriff’s Dept

Ryan, Rick—Chief Deputy Putnam County Sheriff’s Dept

Hardy, Jeff—Putnam County Sheriff

Schauland, Dick, Capt--Putnam County Sheriff's Dept

Greenwood, Johnny, Lt--Putnam County Sheriff's Dept
Please let me know if you spot any more errors.

Denis Beaudoin, ex-boyfriend of octuplets mother Nadya Suleman, believes he could be kids' father

February 23, 2009

Could he be the octo-dad?

An ex-boyfriend of octuplet mom Nadya Suleman says he could be the father of her 14 kids - and wants a DNA test to prove it.

Denis Beaudoin told ABC's "Good Morning America" he dated Suleman from 1997 to 1999 and made at least three sperm donations to help her get pregnant.

"She really wanted to have kids," he said. "She asked me to donate sperm. I thought it was kind of out of the ordinary, but I cared about her so much, and we were in love."

Beaudoin said Suleman told him she had ovarian cancer and wanted to get pregnant right away. "She came out and told me if she wants to have kids, she has to have them now," he said.

He thought the donations would be part of "starting a family" together. But after they broke up, he had no idea whether Suleman, now 33, had gone through with in vitro fertilization until he called her three or four years ago.

"I heard kids crying in the background," he said. "And I go, 'Who's that?' She said, 'Those are my babies.'"

Suleman ended the conversation before Beaudoin could ask if he was the father, and he said she hasn't responded to his calls since she gave birth to octuplets Jan. 23.

She denied to ABC that he was the dad, saying all 14 kids were fathered by a platonic friend she has already notified.

But Beaudoin doesn't buy it.

"I can't take everything she says for granted," he told GMA. "I would like a DNA test."
Beaudoin, a married business owner in his 30s with two sons of his own, said he had no inkling Suleman was planning such a large family, and reacted with "shock, disbelief" when he heard about the octuplets' birth.

"This is something that's all new," he said. "It never came up to have such a huge family. It was just an urge to have a child because of not being able to."

Beaudoin said he barely recognizes the ex-girlfriend his pals nicknamed Giggles for her "infectious laugh." He showed snapshots and notes from their time together, calling her "a really great girl."

"She looks different, sounds different," he said. "She's just not the Nadya I remember."

Beaudoin said he would accept paternal responsibility if tests show he's the dad - and even if not, he said he's ready to help raise the kids because he doesn't think she can do it on her own.

"Whether or not it is or it isn't, I still extend my hand in help," he said. "She needs help. I mean it's hard. It's hard nowadays to raise two kids, let alone 14 kids."

Jose Baez Faces Florida Bar Inquiry Over Ex-Spokesman

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Additional Information
The Florida Bar
Related Story: Confirmed -- Casey's First Reactions To Remains Were Recorded

TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida Bar has another inquiry open into Casey Anthony's defense attorney.

A Bar spokeswoman would only tell the Orlando Sentinel it pertains to Jose Baez's relationship with his now-former media relations company.

Since last fall, Baez's law firm referred news reporters to a spokesman named Todd Black with Press Corps Media.

Black never agreed to in-person interviews with reporters, would not provide his photograph, and did not reveal his true identity.

The company later confirmed three people used the name of Todd Black, and confirmed one of those was actually Gil Cabot, who was convicted of extortion.

The Bar closed a similar investigation last fall, and Baez' new spokeswoman, Marti Mackenzie, said she expects them to close this one as well.

Meter reader who found Caylee's remains wants bounty hunter to back off

Sarah Lundy Sentinel Staff Writer
February 24, 2009

Orange County's most-famous meter reader, Roy Kronk, wants bounty hunter Leonard Padilla to hush up.
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Kronk is tired of hearing the California cowboy-hat-wearin' and toothpick-chewin' Padilla drag his name into conspiracy theories about Caylee Marie Anthony --the 2-year-old whose remains were discovered in the woods near Suburban Drive by Kronk on Dec. 11.
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Kronk's attorney, David Evans, sent Padilla a letter last week to put the bounty hunter on notice: Be quiet or prepare for a potential legal fight.
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"We are cataloging each and every false and defamatory statement you have made concerning Mr. Kronk and will be thoroughly reviewing your public statements," Evans wrote in the Feb. 20 letter. "Even though your public statements are pure speculation, with absolutely no factual basis . . . they are taken by many who do not know better as being true," the lawyer wrote.
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Orange County hired Evans to represent Kronk. Evans is earning $225 hourly -- about $100 less than his normal rate, according to the terms of his agreement with the county. The fee is capped at $10,000. Padilla doesn't understand why his talk of Kronk is such a big deal.
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It's no secret what he is doing, Padilla said. He's simply looking into the circumstances of how Caylee's remains were found. He has spoken to some of Kronk's co-workers and relatives.
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"Things just don't add up," he said about how Kronk discovered the remains.Padilla is convinced the former meter reader was somehow tipped off. It's possible, Padilla said, that Kronk may not know why the tip came to him."I'm continuing to get the bottom of it," Padilla said.
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Orange County sheriff's officials have said Kronk was never a suspect and is not linked to the Anthony family. Kronk, who came cross the remains while on the job, has transferred to an inventory-control job in a county warehouse.
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I used to think Padilla was just a colorful guy who liked to see his ugly mug on TV and that, hey, at least he is drawing more attention to the case. But now it's time for Padilla to go home, where ever that is.
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To accuse Roy Kronk, who found her little body and had trouble actually getting police to act on it, is setting a dangerous precident. Anyone could have found her--this just gives people pause to go out and help in searches--will anyone who finds a body be suspect?
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From the beginning Padilla has portrayed his theories as fact, misleading many of us who thought he actually knew something. He really needs to shut up now.

Former inmate says Casey Anthony had no reaction to Caylee’s remains being found

February 22, 2009

Right: my favorite photo: Casey in chains.

Although reports indicate that Casey Anthony had a dramatic reaction when she learned a small child’s remains had been found in the wooded area near her parent’s home, a former inmate has a different perception of Anthony’s behavior.

The National Enquirer is reporting that Anthony demonstrated almost no reaction when told about the discovery.

Michelle Salamone, a former jail inmate told the Enquirer, “Her body-language reaction wasn’t grief, but more like, ‘Oh shoot, I’m screwed.” Salamone continued, “The prison officer who witnessed it told me, ‘It was as far as you can imagine from the reaction of a mother who’s just learned her child is dead.’”

“…when I saw her the next morning, she greeted me with her usual cheerful smile, and proceeded to eat a hearty breakfast. There wasn’t a sign that she’d been grieving,” said Salamone.

Despite Anthony’s reaction, Salamone says there was a near riot among the female inmates within the Orange County Jail when Caylee’s remains were found. “They’d have torn Casey apart if they’d been able to get near her. A lot of women there would love to hurt her if they got a chance,” said Salamone.

Anthony, 22, is charged with the first-degree murder of her daughter Caylee Anthony, 2. Anthony is expected to stand trial in the fall of 2009 for the crime.

Adam Herrman case moving 'behind closed doors,' sheriff says

February 22, 2009
BY TIM POTTER
The Wichita Eagle

View photos from and read previous coverage of the Adam Herrman case

As Butler County investigators conducted two searches Saturday for a boy who disappeared in 1999, Sheriff Craig Murphy said detectives are preparing to present their case to a prosecutor in the next few weeks.

Murphy said the investigation -- marked by several visible searches that he announced in advance -- now moves "behind closed doors." Detectives will be readying their findings for Butler County Attorney Jan Satterfield.

Neither of Saturday's searches uncovered remains of Adam Herrman, Murphy said. One of the searches Saturday came in response to a tip and took place along the Whitewater River near Santa Fe Lake and Parallel roads, about three miles northwest of Towanda.

The second search occurred later Saturday at a manufactured home in rural northwest Sedgwick County -- the same home where investigators spent hours searching last month. Much of the previous search focused on a bathroom where relatives alleged that Adam was kept for long periods. The manufactured home had been moved to its current location from a Towanda mobile home park where authorities say Adam disappeared a decade ago, at age 11, while living with his adoptive parents.

Authorities have been treating his disappearance -- discovered only late last year -- as a possible homicide.

Murphy had previously announced the location for Saturday's first search -- along the Whitewater -- and held a briefing for reporters on nearby Parallel Road on Saturday morning. But he declined to say much about Saturday's second search -- in northwest Sedgwick County -- and did not announce it in advance.

An Eagle reporter arrived as the second search was ending at the Sedgwick County home shortly after noon. That search team included at least one search dog.

The earlier search Saturday, along a northern segment of the Whitewater, marks the last planned search near Towanda unless tips prompt more searches, Murphy said.

He said the number of tips about the case has dwindled, possibly because the case is drawing less interest.

Satterfield, Butler County's chief prosecutor, will decide what charges, if any, could be filed, Murphy said.

Satterfield has told The Eagle that Adam's adoptive parents, Valerie and Doug Herrman, who now live in Derby, are suspects in an investigation that could lead to murder charges, based on an underlying crime of child abuse. Neither of the Herrmans has been arrested.

Several of Valerie Herrman's close relatives have said they saw her abuse Adam. She left a message at The Eagle last week saying her relatives are lying. The Herrmans and their attorneys say they are innocent.

Some of the investigation has occurred in public: Murphy gave news media advance notice of several searches, four along the Whitewater near Towanda and one in the Towanda mobile home park. Near each search site, he gave briefings to reporters and let news crews take photographs of search teams at a distance.

Now, Murphy said, "we'll go behind closed doors" to complete the investigation. The work will involve continued brainstorming by detectives, follow-up interviews of tipsters and paperwork to help Satterfield review the investigation, he said.

Murphy, who has been an investigator for decades, said that the Herrman case is "unique to my career."

Much of the challenge to solving the mystery is that "we started 10 years behind," he said.
"It's not even a cold case. We've literally had to start a case with no information," he said.
One of the difficulties investigators have encountered is that many of the people who lived at the mobile home park when Adam disappeared have moved since then, and detectives haven't been able to interview some of them, Murphy said.

Valerie Herrman has told The Eagle that Adam, who was being home-schooled by her, ran away after she spanked him with a belt in early May 1999 and didn't return.

She said that she and her husband searched for Adam but didn't report him missing because they feared it would cause authorities to take Adam and two younger adopted siblings from their custody.

Relatives said Valerie Herrman had told them that Adam was no longer with her because he had been returned to the state's custody. Authorities discovered his disappearance late last year after his older, adoptive sister -- who had been trying to locate him -- voiced concerns about his welfare to authorities.

Geraldo Rivera banned from camp of Haleigh's father

Fox News figure was issued a trespass warning
By Deirdre Conner
Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009

No new information about Haleigh Cummings’ whereabouts materialized on Sunday.

But as the search for the missing Putnam County girl closed out its 13th day, the case took a surreal turn as her family’s conflict became fodder for national television.

It all started Saturday afternoon, when police responded to a disturbance at the trailer park where Haleigh’s mother’s family and father’s family are camped out at opposite ends of the road.

The disturbance began after Geraldo Rivera, anchor of the Fox News Channel’s “Geraldo at Large,” accosted Ronald Cummings, Haleigh’s father, at the camper where he has been living. It ended with a trespass warning for Rivera, and shortly thereafter, the broadcast of his contentious interview. Read the transcript here.

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Geraldo asked him about allegations that he used illegal drugs, was physically and verbally abusive of Sheffield — most of them detailed in a Thursday story in the Times-Union — which he denied.

Cummings got even more upset when Rivera said he’d been told by members of Haleigh’s mother’s family that Cummings hit the child and has said he is 75 percent sure he knows who has her. Shortly thereafter, family members ran Rivera and his crew off the property.

Putnam County Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene later, and issued Rivera the trespass warning at the request of the two property owners on whose land the Cummings family is camping while their trailer remains closed off as a crime scene. A trespass warning means Rivera would be arrested if he came back onto the property. Rivera told deputies he understood and stated he would not come back to the address, but declined to sign the trespass warning, according to a sheriff’s office report.

A Fox News spokeswoman provided partial transcripts of the interviews, but said she was unable to make anyone from the show available for comment on the run-in.

In Rivera’s later interview with Sheffield and her mother, she repeated those allegations, but said she still believes that Cummings loves Haleigh.

On Sunday, neither parent was speaking to the media. Haleigh’s paternal grandmother, Teresa Neves, issued yet another plea for people nationwide to keep an eye out for her granddaughter.
Official police searches of that area have stilled, but detectives from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office are still tracking down leads, said Capt. Dick Schauland.

This was a low-class interview imo. I've been with Geraldo forever--through the broken nose incident to the empty vault. He's like a lovable but slightly goofy little brother. But here he goaded Ron into getting angry and probably wheedled the abuse allegations out of Crystal. I think he stirred up trouble where there wasn't any.

Last search for evidence in Adam Herrman case concludes

February 22, 2009

KSN

BUTLER COUNTY, Kansas – Butler County authorities conducted their last planned search for clues in the disappearance of Adam Herrman, a Towanda boy who went missing nearly 10 years ago.

Authorities began searching the area around the Towanda mobile home park where Adam lived when he went missing for the third time Saturday at 10 a.m. The search only lasted a short time on Saturday. It was the fourth search of the area in the last couple months.

"We've done everything we can do out here," said Butler County Sheriff Craig Murphy.
Adam was 11 when he disappeared in 1999, but his adoptive parents never reported him missing. It was only after a family member came forward after Thanksgiving last year when officials became aware of the missing boy.

Authorities continue to slowly build a criminal case against the boy’s adoptive parents, Doug and Valerie Herrman. They're the only two suspects police have named in the investigation.
The County Attorney told KSN news last month her office would not need a body to file murder charges in the case. Sheriff Murphy said he continues to meet with prosecutors regularly about the case, including a two meeting on Monday.

Murphy said it will be up to her to decide if they have gathered enough evidence to bring the case to court. "It becomes legal maneuvering so to speak from her stand point," said Murphy. "What do I need to prove my case to a jury?"

The Herrmans maintain they are innocent, claiming Adam ran away in 1999 and they didn't report him missing out of fear they would lose their other foster children.

"Prosecutors and judges need to be very careful not to mistake a disappearance with a homicide case", said Doug Herrman's attorney Dan Monnat. "Prosecuting a homicide case without a body poses a grave risk of conviction of an innocent person." (Or conviction for the brutal murder of an 11 year-old boy.)

Doug and Valerie Herrman are now represented by separate attorneys.
Anyone with any information is still asked to call Butler County Authorities.

News video, Haleigh's brother Junior makes statement to his mom.

http://www.news4jax.com/video/18763765/index.html

Junior said "a man in black took Sissy"

Chimp Attack First Responders Describe Horrific Scene

February 22, 2009

- Her hands looked like they were wrecked by a machine. Her hair was yanked out and her eyes were severely damaged. In fact, her face and scalp injuries were so extensive that all the blood obscured whatever parts were left.

Two of the first medical workers to treat the woman mauled by a chimpanzee in Connecticut this week described her nightmarish injuries Thursday as she was transferred to the Cleveland hospital that performed the nation's first face transplant.

One of the workers, Bill Ackley, told The Associated Press it was a "miracle" that three days after the attack Charla Nash would be taken to the Cleveland Clinic, which specializes in reconstructive surgery.

"It was amazing to us she had these type of injuries and they were survivable," Ackley said.
Medical workers found Nash, completely unrecognizable, face down Monday in friend Sandra Herold's driveway. The first police officers on the scene couldn't tell if the body was male or female, and warned dispatchers that the victim's face was ripped away.

Nash's attacker, a 14-year-old, 200-pound chimpanzee named Travis, had already been shot by police but was still roaming nearby, temporarily out of sight.

"This was a beast taken out of his element and put into our world," Ackley said. "What he did was essentially what they do in the jungle."

Ackley, a captain with Stamford's emergency medical services, and medic Matt Groves were among the first to tend to Nash. Police formed a perimeter around them with their guns drawn in case the chimp came back.

Blood was everywhere. Groves confirmed she was alive by checking her breathing.
"You ready?" Groves said. "One, two three." The medics rolled Nash onto a stretcher and strapped her in. They stanched the bleeding with gauze.

Nash's hands were horribly disfigured, but still attached to her wrists.

"I would liken it to a machine-type accident," Ackley said. "She had some crushing injuries to her hands and some tearing injuries to her hands."

Her head injuries "involved her entire face and scalp," Ackley said. Nash's eyes were injured, but Ackley would not say how extensively. Her hair had been ripped out.

"She just had disfiguring injuries," he said. "Her nose was still there. There was some disfigurement. She did have injuries to her mouth that caused quite a bit of bleeding. It was very difficult to determine where everything was because of the blood."

Nash did not talk, but was conscious. She was able to respond to requests to move her foot.
No one talked, but Ackley couldn't help wondering as he worked if Travis would return. He had seen the chimp around town and knew how big he was.

Travis didn't come back. Fatally shot by a police officer, he retreated to Herold's home and died. Why he attacked remains a mystery.

Medics rushed Nash to Stamford Hospital, where four teams of surgeons operated for more than seven hours to stabilize the 55-year-old Stamford resident. She was transferred Thursday to the Cleveland Clinic, which two months ago performed the first face transplant in the U.S.

Eileen Sheil, spokeswoman for the Cleveland facility, said Nash is being seen by a head and neck surgeon and likely will be treated through a team approach involving many specialists.

Sheil said she didn't know if a transplant will be considered. "Priority one is to stabilize her."
Nash's transfer to Cleveland likely is because of the clinic's expertise in facial reconstruction—not because doctors are considering a transplant right away, a leading surgeon said.

"This is a difficult time for the patient and she will need to adjust to it first. All the other options should be discussed first" before something as radical and risky as a transplant is considered, said Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, a reconstructive surgeon at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Brigham also has approved plans to offer face transplants, and Pomahac said he has tried to contact doctors involved in Nash's care but has not reached any yet.

"Often things sort of sound worse than they really are," he said. If any of Nash's face was salvaged, "a lot of the tissues can be returned to where they came from," or repaired with traditional skin grafts or flaps.

In December, surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic completed the nation's first facial transplant, of an unidentified woman who suffered a traumatic injury several years ago. The injury left her with no nose, palate, or way to eat or breathe normally.

In a 22-hour procedure, 80 percent of her face was replaced with bone, muscles, nerves, skin and blood vessels from another woman who had just died.

It was the fourth partial face transplant in the world, though the others were not as extensive. Nor were any done as emergency operations, said Dr. W. P. Andrew Lee, chief of plastic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh.

"It would be unusual" to perform one so soon for Nash, he said. To consider it, doctors must make sure she is medically stable, that alternatives have been carefully considered, and
that she truly had given informed consent, because a transplant requires taking anti-rejection drugs lifelong, Lee said.

That could conceivably be done in a matter of weeks, but "to find a suitable donor with matching skin color and size and other features, that's a practical limitation," he said.

Cleveland doctors have said it took several months to find a suitable donor for the face transplant Dr. Maria Siemionow performed in December. Siemionow is out of the country at a conference.