Wichita, Kansas: Bridget Dietrich, mother of Caitlyn Johnson, arrested

kansas.com

WICHITA, Kansas – Bridget Dietrich, the mother of Caitlyn Johnson, the little girt set on fire by her stepfather is now behind bars herself.

The fire broke out in March and last week Chris Newberry admitted that he had doused the girl in lighter fluid and set her on fire. He also told the court that he had raped the girl.

Wichita police arrested the mother on charges of child endangerment Tuesday.

kake.com
Sept. 30, 2009

Bridget Dietrich is behind bars on charges of child endangerment in connection to a fire that burned her 10 year-old daughter. The fire happened in March in Southeast Wichita.

Investigators won't give specifics on the arrest of Dietrich. They say it is in connection with the fire. The arrest documents show Dietrich failed to protect the girl from abuse at the hands of the suspect.

Last week Dietrich's husband, Chris Newberry pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder and rape of the little girl. He admitted to pouring lighter fluid on the girl and then setting her on fire.

She did survive the fire, but has severe burns. Dietrich's five children are now with family. The little girl who was burned lives with her grandmother.

Convict Child rapist/murderer John Couey Dead

Right: John Evander Couey

(CNN) -- A Florida death-row inmate convicted of abducting and murdering 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford in 2005 has died, prison officials said Wednesday.

September 30, 2009
cnn.com

John Evander Couey, 51, died at 11:15 a.m. ET of natural causes, a Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman told CNN. He had been taken to a Jacksonville, Florida, hospital from Florida State Prison in Starke, Florida...A source close to the case told CNN that Couey's death was not unexpected and he had been ill for some time.

"I never dreamed it would happen like this," Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford, told CNN...He said he was sad when he heard the news of Couey's death. "To me, death is sad," he said. "But her death, Jessie's death, has been redeemed ... I'm relieved. I'm glad it's over with."

Couey was sentenced to die in August 2007 for abducting and raping Lunsford, then killing her by burying her alive. The girl was snatched from her bed in her family's Homosassa, Florida, home the evening of February 23, 2005, by Couey, a registered sex offender. Her body was found three weeks later, buried at the home of Couey's half-sister, who lived within sight of the Lunsford home...

"I am not shedding any tears," the girl's grandmother, Ruth Lunsford, said on Wednesday. "I don't feel sorry for him. I think God said, 'John Couey, it's time to go.' " "I don't feel sorry for him that he had to suffer," she said. "He didn't have any mercy on my granddaughter when he murdered her. I'm glad we didn't have to wait years and years for his appeals and execution, and the taxpayers no longer have to pay for him. I'm glad that God took a hand in it."

...In sentencing Couey, Judge Ric Howard noted Couey became fearful of police dogs being used in the area in the search for the girl. He told Lunsford he was planning to take her home, but did not want her to be seen, and so persuaded her to get into a trash bag. He then knotted another trash bag over her head, placed her in a hole and shoveled dirt on top of her. Jurors convicted Couey of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery on a child under 12 in March 2007.
...The judge also noted that Couey made "crude, vulgar and repulsive" comments to police after his arrest regarding his sexual assault of the girl, and the judge quoted Couey as saying the media was blowing the case out of proportion -- "This kind of thing happens every day."

Lunsford's slaying sparked national outrage and led to stricter Florida laws regarding registration and supervision of released sexual predators, following a push led largely by her father, Mark Lunsford.

Speaking after Couey's sentencing, Mark Lunsford referenced Couey's earlier comments in which he said that when he got to heaven, he would apologize to his victim. "I have bad news," Mark Lunsford said. "I don't think you're going to make it there."...

read article here

Nancy Grace denies mental abuse allegations in Melinda Duckett suicide case

Orlando Sentinel
Stephen Hudak Sentinel Staff Writer
September 29, 2009

OCALA - Cable TV talking head Nancy Grace denies that she subjected the mother of a missing Leesburg child to mental abuse during a testy taped interview that preceded the young mother's suicide.

In a routine motion filed last week in a wrongful-death civil suit in federal court in Ocala, lawyers for Melinda Duckett's estate attached Grace's responses to their interrogatories, a set of written queries that Grace and her lawyers were required to answer...

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"Ms. Duckett was amiable when on the telephone immediately prior to her appearance, then abruptly left the call during her appearance."
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...Grace describes her cable program in the interrogatories as "television's only (?) justice-themed/interview/debate show, designed for those interested in the breaking crime news of the day.

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Trenton Duckett was 2-years-old when his mother, Melinda, reported him missing Aug. 27, 2006, from the bedroom of their apartment in Leesburg. She then shot and killed herself at her grandparents' home in The Villages on Sept. 8, 2006, the day the interview with Grace was broadcast.

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The case is scheduled for trial in July.

Casey Anthony Document Dump--September 29, 2009

From wftv.com: Read Documents Released 9-29-2009 and a summation of the information. I'll still have to read for myself.

» Private Eye's "Characters of Interest" Chart
» DNA Paternity Test For Jesse Grund
» Hundreds Of Pages From Private Eye D. Casey
» FBI DNA Investigation, Other Reports
» Henkel Duck Brand Tape Product Specs
» Annie Downing 01/06/09 Interview Transcript
VIDEO REPORT: New Documents Released In Case

also read fromThe Orlando Sentinel at orlandosentinel.com They also give a short summary of each section.
Casey Anthony: WKMG gives thumbs-up to book on Casey Anthony case
FBI didn't photograph Caylee Anthony sticker residue
Report: FBI destroyed evidence in Casey Anthony case
Casey Anthony: WESH explores value of paid-for information and highlights that Cindy receives money
Prosecutors want to question witnesses in Casey Anthony case

Later, with my take...

Judge delays second torture-slaying Christian-Newsom trial

Right: Lemaricus Davidson, smug, arrogant criminal

knoxnews.com

By Jamie Satterfield
Posted September 29, 2009

KNOXVILLE - A Knox County judge this morning delayed the trial of torture-slaying alleged ringleader Lemaricus Davidson for a week to make way for new DNA testing.

Judge Richard Baumgartner set a new trial date of Oct. 12. The trial was originally scheduled to begin Oct. 5.

Davidson and three others are charged with carjacking, kidnapping, raping, torturing and killing University of Tennessee student Channon Christian, 21, and her boyfriend, Christopher Newsom, 23, in January 2007.

Jury selection, however, will continue.

The judge blocked the public from hearing arguments over funding for new DNA testing...

The law allows defendants to seek funding in private hearings in order not to reveal trial strategy to the prosecution. The News Sentinel objected to no avail.

...the cost of the DNA testing will become public when the defense files its bill with the state...At question is the mystery of whose sperm is on Christian's panties, how quickly the testing could occur and how much it will cost.

Pressed for a price tag on a sophisticated DNA test sought by Davidson's defense team, attorney David Eldridge hesitated Monday long enough for Baumgartner to make that conclusion.
"It's a shocking amount," he said, with a laugh.

Eldridge said he isn't sure of the figure yet. Prosecutor Takisha Fitzgerald said the lab would probably charge a fee for each suspect whose DNA is tested. And, there is what Eldridge called a "maximum rush fee" charged for speedy service.

It has been two years since police seized Christian's underwear from Davidson's Chipman Street house, where she and Newsom were held captive in January 2007 before they were killed.
But it was only last month that prosecutors sought DNA testing from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. That test showed the presence of sperm, but the TBI was unable to isolate a DNA profile. Because they couldn't separate the profiles, because she was raped by every man in the house...so pay the bill and get on with it.

Eldridge and co-counsel Doug Trant, who already were seeking a trial delay to have the new DNA testing examined by a defense expert, filed a motion Monday asking Baumgartner to approve funding for specialized testing that could isolate a profile, Eldridge said.

It appears only two labs in the United States can do that type of testing.

The judge, for the second time since the new DNA testing was disclosed, questioned why the state waited two years to test the panties.

"We can't send all evidence confiscated to the TBI and say 'test everything,' " prosecutor Leland Price said. "It's just overwhelming what we collected in this case."

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It seems irrelevant at this point whether his sperm was on her panties. He certainly ejaculated everywhere else on her body. This person is a piece of shit--his own family said as much during the trial of his half-brother Letalvis Cobbins last month.

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The simple fact that he wants to dispute the charges at all is ridiculous. There was no monetary gain for these attacks, no retaliation for past wrongs. He just wanted to do something mean and evil. And he wanted to involve Cobbins and Thomas so they would be under his control--so he would "have something on them."

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In my opinion, Davidson wanted to stay in Knox County for the trial because of all of the racial accusations that were thrown around after the deaths of Christian and Newsom. In his little world, a Knoxville slum, he became a misguided cause for many black people in the area, who tried to blame the victims for a barrage of stupid theories. Little did he know that those idiots would not be sitting on his jury. So far in jury selection, his peers appear to be mostly white, educated and gainfully employed Knoxvillians.

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DNA test in torture slayings may be costly

Wichita Kansas; Sedgwick County Sheriff's Deputy Brian S Etheridge dies following shooting

Right Sedgwick County Sheriff's Depty Brian S Etheridge

September 28, 2009 Last Update: 10:53 pm

ksn.com

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WICHITA, Kansas – Authorities say Sedgwick County Sheriff's Deputy Brian S. Etheridge died after he was shot in the chest near South Rock Road Monday afternoon.

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Officials are investigating the circumstances behind the shooting, but say the deputy was at a home in the area for a reported larceny when he was shot. Officials are now looking into the possibility that the deputy was set up and are interviewing witnesses.

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The deputy was shot twice (once in the chest and once in the lower leg area) and taken in critical condition to a local hospital. It was hoped that he would survive, but died after surgery from his injuries.

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Sheriff Bob Hinshaw says Etheridge was 26 years old, married and had been with the sheriff's department for just over a year.

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The suspect is reportedly 27 years old and officers say he had recently been released on parole... Late Monday afternoon, the suspect was shot by law enforcement and taken to a local hospital in very critical condition and later died at the hospital.

Sheriff's deputy, suspect dead of gunshot wounds

September 28, 2009

kansas.com BY TIM POTTER, STAN FINGER AND RON SYLVESTER/The Wichita Eagle

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Gallery: Police search for suspect in shooting of deputy
See the location of the shooting

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It started shortly before noon Monday with the report of a theft, a seemingly routine call.
It ended with a Sedgwick County sheriff's deputy dead from gunshot wounds and a suspect dead after exchanging gunfire with officers. It was too early Monday night to say how and why it occurred, Sheriff Bob Hinshaw said.

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The slain deputy, Brian S. Etheridge, was an "excellent deputy," Hinshaw said. He had spent a little more than a year with the Sheriff's Office. He was 26. He leaves a wife and a small child.
The 27-year-old suspect's name was not released.

Etheridge's wounding drew a massive response — by scores of officers from state, federal and local agencies around the Wichita area... They closed down part of South Rock Road near McConnell Air Force Base so emergency vehicles could fill the wide street...

Officers cordoned off an area between Rock and Webb roads and between 31st and 39th Street South — just east of the Air Force base — and asked people in that area to evacuate if possible.
Earlier in the day, Hinshaw sounded optimistic about Etheridge's chance of surviving, saying he was in critical but stable condition. Hinshaw asked for prayers.

But at a news conference outside the courthouse Monday evening, Hinshaw said the deputy's condition had worsened, that he had been taken back into surgery and that he died at 4:20 p.m. His family was with him...

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The suspect, whom Hinshaw declined to name, died at 6:10 p.m. after being taken to a hospital after he exchanged gunfire with officers, Hinshaw said...

Hinshaw gave this timeline of the day's events:

At about 11:42 a.m., Etheridge received a call of a larceny at a residence in the 3600 block of South Rock Road, outside the city limits.

He arrived at about 11:51 a.m. At 12:01 p.m., he reported to a dispatcher that he had been shot.
Hinshaw said Etheridge had been wounded in his torso and leg or foot.

Earlier in the day, Hinshaw said authorities were considering the possibility that the report of a larceny might have been "a set-up" to lure an officer to the house...

During one of several briefings Monday, Hinshaw had said, "We're trying to resolve this as peaceably as possible... trying to make sure nobody else gets hurt."

...Authorities thought the man had barricaded himself in a house at or next to where the shooting occurred, Hinshaw said.

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Shortly before 4 p.m., police fired tear gas into the house where they thought the man was located and deployed a robot in an attempt to confirm his presence. But the robot could not get into the house.

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At some point late in the day, officers spotted the suspect in a field about a quarter-mile from where the shooting occurred. He got to his feet and ran and was seriously wounded in an exchange of gunfire, Sedgwick County Undersheriff Michael Stover said.

Authorities established a location for nearby residents returning from school or work to remain until the situation was resolved. Hinshaw said investigators were interviewing relatives and neighbors of the suspect.

read entire article here

Search Fails to Find Mitrice Richardson

Mitrice missing in Malibu area for about 2 weeks.

myFOXla.com

Sunday, 27 Sep 2009

Scott Coppersmith

Text Story by: CNS
Video from: FOX 11 News
Reporter: Cristy Fajardo

Malibu - Searchers in the Santa Monica Mountains were unable to find Mitrice Richardson, the woman who disappeared after being released from a sheriff's station in the middle of the night after she was arrested in what witnesses said was a drunken condition.

Mitrice Richardson, 24, a substitute teacher from Los Angeles, was arrested at Geoffrey's restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu Sept. 17, when she was unable to pay an $89 bill, according to the Sheriff's Department. When Richardson's car was searched, two marijuana cigarettes were found in her purse, deputies told her parents.

The Search for Mitrice Richardson - Earlier coverage of this story.
Mitrice Richardson's family has a Web site -- findmitrice.info -- with additional photos and information.

Deputies took her to the Malibu-Lost Hills station in Calabasas, 15 miles across the Santa Monica Mountains from Malibu, where she was booked on suspicion of not paying for the meal and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. When her mother arrived at the sheriff's station an hour later, deputies said they had released her at 1:25 a.m. because they had no room to keep her.

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The restaurant's manager told her parents she was in no condition to drive due to drunkenness, but deputies said she did not appear to be intoxicated when she was released. Except for reports about a woman trying to sleep on porches at nearby houses, she has not been seen since.

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Her parents have criticized deputies for letting the woman go in the middle of the night when she was impaired and had no way to get home. But sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said the release was not a violation of department policy. "She exhibited no signs of mental illness or intoxication. She was fine. She's an adult," Whitmore said earlier.

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Whitmore said a jailer offered to let Richardson stay through the night, but she declined. He said Richardson was last seen trying to sleep on a porch on Cold Canyon Road near Piuma Road about 6:30 a.m. Sept. 18, about six miles from the sheriff's station. Which officer answered the call? Who called about her?

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Today, about 200 officers and volunteers searched the mountains from the Malibu-Lost Hills station to the coastline. Whitmore described the effort as "a massive search."

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...Whitmore said. "That would be like from the Lost Hills station to the ocean." But Richardson was not found. Whitmore said...authorities would continue daily searches on a smaller scale.

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..."They allowed her to walk out of that facility (had impounded her car for the marijuana in it)and down that road in the pitch black night," he told the Los Angeles Times. "That's not right. Now, I just want to find my child." Richardson is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton and recently moved to Los Angeles to live with her grandmother near the area where she planned on teaching.

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She last made contact with her family at her home in the Southeast area of Los Angeles on Sept. 16, police said. Richardson is black, 5 feet-5 inches and about 135 pounds. She has brown, curly hair and hazel eyes, and was last seen wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans, and has tattoos on her lower abdomen and behind her neck.

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more from myfoxla.com

Mitrice Richardson Still Missing After Being In Police Custody

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For some reason, I have a suspicion that at least one of the officers working that morning knows what happened to her.

Michele Anderson and Joseph McEnroe; Attorney for alleged Carnation killer argues against death penalty

theblotter.com

July 22, 2009

Carnation, Washington

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Michele Anderson, left, and Joseph McEnroe, right, murdered her mother, father, brother, sister-in-law, nephew and neice. Almost two years ago...

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Michele Anderson and Joseph McEnroe, who are charged with killing six members Anderson's family in Carnation on Christmas Eve 2007, was to have been back in court on Sept. 1 for a pre-trial hearing. Defense attorneys for the two, along with Senior Deputy Prosecutor James Konat, met with King County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ramsdell...

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Anderson and McEnroe face the death penalty for their alleged crimes. The two are accused of fatally shooting Anderson's parents, Wayne and Judy Anderson; Anderson's brother and sister-in-law, Scott and Erica Anderson, both 32; and the younger couple's children, 5-year-old Olivia and 3-year-old Nathan.

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A trial date in the case has not been set. Konat has believes that a jury won't hear the case until sometime next year.

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Article here

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It's very interesting that there is not more media attention, even at a local level on this case. Two years later? What a waste of taxpayers money. They have admitted what they've done. Get on with it.

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Pair charged with murder

Family Marks Sixth Birthday Of Hasanni Campbell

OAKLAND, CA

(CBS 5 / BCN) ―

September 28, 2009

Where is this little boy?

The family of Hasanni Campbell were privately commemorating his sixth birthday last Thursday, while volunteers were organizing another searched for the missing Fremont boy on Saturday. Hasanni's grandmother, Pamela Clark, said the family was "just in seclusion" Thursday.

Sherri-Lyn Miller, a San Leandro print shop owner who has been organizing regular searches for Hasanni, had originally planned to hold an event for the boy, but it was called off out of respect to the family. However, Miller said that organizers will be searching Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont starting at 8 a.m. Saturday.

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...Hasanni, who suffers from cerebral palsy, was reported missing from the parking lot of the Shuz of Rockridge shoe store in the 6000 block of College Ave. about 4:15 p.m. on Aug. 10 by his stepfather, Louis Ross.

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Oakland police have no new tips in the case, and police spokesman Jeff Thomason has said that police do not condone the private searches. However, Miller said Hasanni "deserves to come home and we won't stop looking for him."...

Read article here

Haleigh Cummings; Mystery Letter's Contents Revealed

September 28, 2009
firstcoastnews.com

PUTNAM COUNTY, FL -- ...The note was dropped off by an unknown woman Wednesday at the St. Augustine Record

...When she heard that through the media, the woman contacted detectives and they interviewed her. Her name has still not been released, and she said she was just dropping the note off for someone else.

Today, detectives say the note contained information about a possible burial site for Haleigh, the girl who disappeared from her Satsuma home in February.

Capt. Dick Schauland with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office says detectives followed up the tip, but found nothing, and they are still no closer to finding the girl...

Patricia Krenwinkle trains 'Prison Pups' for disabled

Former Family member trains 'Prison Pups' for disabled

CHINO,California

Nov. 5, 2007

- We all know about the great work done by service dogs assisting the disabled. You might be surprised to know that some of those dogs are trained by inmates in a California prison -- including a former member of the Manson family.

You can find unconditional love in the most unlikely of places -- the California Institution for Women. "I've seen a change in ev More..erybody," said Prison Pup program sponsor Carmen Mewes. "Everybody that comes into the prison and sees a dog. It's kind of like, 'Oh, these are people, too,'"

In August 2002, four puppies were sent to prison to be trained by inmates as service dogs for the disabled. "It gives you a reason to wake every morning, and keep moving on," said inmate trainer Pat Krenwinkel.

Pat has been with the Prison Pup program from the beginning. Since the initial four, over 100 dogs have been trained to do the simple tasks many people take for granted, like getting mail or turning on and off the lights. After training, the dogs leave the prison to be with their new family, never to be seen again by the inmates.

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But on the night Eyewitness News was there, a slideshow allowed Pat to see her dog, Allison, at a home in New Jersey with Liam, a young boy with cerebral palsy. The images moved her to tears. "I can't change my past. I can't change anything that happened yesterday," said Pat. "But doing what I do with this little dog, or with Allison -- that dog can carry, and maybe make somebody's future different and better and wonderful."

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Her past is how many people know Patricia Krenwinkel. As part of the Manson family, she was convicted of seven counts of murder and is serving a life sentence.

She's now training her seventh dog, and says the program allows her to know what she's doing in life has some worth.

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She also knows the impact these dogs can have on other inmates. "My god, they come up to you, and they just say, 'May I pet your dog?' And then what transpires from there immediately is a story of home," said Pat. "You're transported to a world where there's just a little bit of laughter.

Police have yet to find big break in missing Lindsey Baum case

Right: Lindsey Baum

The Daily World

dailyworld.com

Steven Friederich

September 27, 2009

McCLEARY — Investigators have yet to find...Lindsey Baum, who has been missing for three months as of Saturday.

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The Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office served search warrants on two residences outside the McCleary city limits Friday and began combing through junk cars and a number of buildings.

The search on the properties in question intensified Saturday, bumping up the civilian search and rescue experts and law enforcement personnel from 30 people on Friday to 50 people on Saturday. Search dogs were also brought.

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Chief Criminal Deputy Dave Pimentel said he conducted interviews with a number of people Friday, but said no suspects or persons of interests have been named and no arrests have been made. “So far, we have not found that smoking gun, we have not found anything that would jump out at us, but without forensic analysis done at the lab, we can’t really say whether what we’ve found will help our cause or not.”

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Three months ago Saturday, Baum disappeared just a few blocks away from her home near downtown McCleary. Despite two confirmed sightings within blocks of her house, no trace of her has been found.

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Pimentel said he couldn’t reveal what led detectives to two isolated locations along Foreman Road, just outside of McCleary. Deputies were restricting access to the road and checking licenses to make sure only local residents could get through a road block. The restrictions are in place through Sunday.

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Detectives combed an abandoned home and an adjoining shed or barn from morning until night on Friday. The property is on about 11 acres of land, Pimentel said. On Saturday, Pimentel said detectives brought in search dogs and search and rescue experts to help comb the surrounding brush, trees and grasslands.

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At a second site, detectives set up a mobile command unit from the King County Sheriff’s Office near dozens of junk cars and debris at a second residence along Foreman Road. The property owners were told to leave the area...

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“There are a lot of creeps out there,” [a neighbor] said. “A lot of parents have become more protective. She asked me once if she disappeared like Lindsey, would I ever stop looking for her?” Smith said. “I told her I would never give up. Never.

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...I can only imagine what’s happening to Lindsey’s mother. I just hope she gets an answer someday. This is a parent’s worst nightmare.”

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Read article here

Jury indicates impasse in SoCal 4-year-old Lauren Keys cliff death trial

The Associated Press

via mercurynews.com
09/25/2009

LOS ANGELES—A Los Angeles jury considering the fate of a man charged with killing his 4-year-old daughter by throwing her off a cliff has been told by a judge to return to court on Tuesday to resume deliberations after they indicated they were deadlocked.

The panel told Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor Friday that they were at an impasse, but Foster told them to return Tuesday to give it another try.

Cameron Brown is charged with killing Lauren Sarene Key in Rancho Palos Verdes in November 2000.

Prosecutors say Brown killed his daughter because he didn't want to pay about $1,000 in monthly child support and wanted revenge against the girl's mother.
This is Brown's second trial. Jurors deadlocked three years ago and a mistrial was declared.

Surely the jury is not going allow this to mistrial. MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION. What's the question? What is the legal definintion of 'malice'? Here you go:

Malice (legal term), a legal term describing the intent to harm...Wikipedia

Read more here

Chris Newberry, accused of setting child Caitlyn Johnson on fire, pleads not guilty

Posted on Tue, Sep. 15, 2009
BY RON SYLVESTER
The Wichita Eagle
kansas.com

WICHITA — Chris Newberry waived his right to a preliminary hearing this morning and pleaded not guilty to charges that include setting his stepdaughter on fire.

Sedgwick County District Judge Ben Burgess tentatively scheduled Newberry for trial in November. The case is likely to go to trial months later.

Newberry is charged with attempted murder and five counts of aggravated arson. Prosecutors say he doused his 10-year-old stepdaughter, Caitlyn Johnson, with lighter fluid and set her on fire as she slept in her bed last March. Several other family members were at home when the fire broke out.

Susan Atkin finally dies in U.S. prison

National Post

September 25, 2009

LOS ANGELES - Susan Atkins, one of the leading members of Charles Manson's notorious violent cult who carried out brutal murders at his behest in 1969, has died in a California prison, her husband said on Friday. She was 61.

Atkins, imprisoned since 1971 for her part in eight Manson-related murders, had been suffering from a brain tumor. Earlier this month, state corrections officials rejected her request [for compassionate release.]

"Susan passed away peacefully surrounded by friends and loved ones and the incredible staff at the Skilled Nursing Facility at the Central California Women's Facility," her husband, James Whitehouse, said by e-mail. A much better death than those afforded her victims.

"... Her last whispered word was 'Amen.' No one (on) the face of the Earth worked as hard as Susan did to right an unrightable wrong," Whitehouse said. In exactly what way? Did I miss some Susan Atkins Campaign for Victims?

...At a 1993 parole hearing, Atkins described her time with Manson by saying, "It is almost impossible to understand insanity and that's what I was living with - insanity."

Atkins was 21 years old when the career criminal Manson dispatched her and other followers to the Beverly Hills home of actress Sharon Tate and film director Roman Polanski on Aug. 9, 1969, with orders to kill. Polanski was out of town but the heavily pregnant Tate and four friends were brutally stabbed, beaten and shot to death. Atkins later said she personally stabbed Tate after ignoring her pleas for mercy...

MACABRE TRIAL

The brutality and seemingly random nature of the murders terrorized much of Southern California and stunned the nation.

Atkins was convicted in 1970...

...[Atkins] disrupted court proceedings with laughter, shaved her head, carved and X on her forehead and sang Manson-penned songs.

...In 1967, she fell under Manson's spell ...she became known within the cult by nicknames Manson gave her: Sadie Mae Glutz and Sexy Sadie.

Atkins' talkative nature implicated the Manson cult. She was being held as a suspect in another slaying and bragged about the Tate-LaBianca case to jailhouse acquaintances, even claiming she had tasted Tate's blood.

Atkins agreed to testify against Manson and confessed to a grand jury but recanted before going to trial. She later pleaded guilty in the torture-murder of a musician who Manson said had cheated him on a drug deal...

Read more here

Haleigh's Stepgrandmother Arrested

Lisa Croslin Called Fugitive From Justice
Friday, September 25, 2009
clickorlando.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Haleigh Cummings' step-grandmother was arrested Thursday on charges of being a fugitive from justice in a case unrelated to Haleigh's disappearance [involving forgery].
VIDEO: Haleigh's Relative Arrested

Lisa Croslin was arrested in Tennessee and was issued a $100,000 bond. She was supposed to participate in an upcoming trial in Florida, according to authorities...

read article here

Woman Drops Off Haleigh Cummings 'Tip' at Newspaper

Monica Landeros
Taren Reed
9/24/2009
Firstcoastnews.com

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL -- Putnam County authorities are looking for the woman who dropped off a letter at the St. Augustine Record Newspaper on Wednesday afternoon. The associate editor of the newspaper said it contained a tip regarding the disappearance of Haleigh Cummings.

Detectives want to talk to the woman, who did not identify herself in the letter. They are asking for the public's help. The surveillance video shows it took just a few seconds for the blonde woman in blue scrubs to give a newspaper receptionist the letter...

"It could go a long way to solving what happened," said Prior. Prior tells First Coast News Reporter Monica Landeros that he made a copy of the letter, and gave the original to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office...

He can't reveal what the letter says. However, Prior said it is one paragraph long, typed, and has three letters at the bottom that resemble initials. "If the information is accurate, it's going to be pretty volatile," said Prior.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office is not commenting...

Read article here

Hank Croslin Out of Jail; Lisa Croslin issued Arrest Warrant

September 24, 2009
Firstcoastnews.com

-- The brother of a missing north Florida girl's babysitter was released from Putnam County jail around 12:30 this afternoon.

Hank Croslin Jr., the brother of Misty Cummings, was arrested last week on a grand theft charge. His bond, which was $50,000, had been lowered, although it is unclear how much he had to pay to be released.

At the same time, there is a warrant out of Putnam County for the arrest of Lisa Croslin, the mother of Croslin and Cummings, on forgery charges. She may have moved to Tennessee.

Misty Cummings was baby-sitting Haleigh Cummings, then 5, when the girl vanished from her father's mobile home in February. Cummings is now the wife of Ronald Cummings, Haleigh's father.

Haleigh remains missing. Her father was arrested last month after an altercation with Croslin.

What a freaking mess of a family.

Potential juror in Lemaricus Davidson case draws reaction

Right: Channon Christian and Chris Newsom

Panelist's answers upset defendant in torture slayings trial
By Jamie Satterfield

Knoxnews.cox
Posted September 23, 2009

When his attorneys failed to challenge a law-and-order-minded potential juror Tuesday, the reaction of the alleged ringleader in a pair of torture slayings was immediate.

Lemaricus Davidson threw up his hands in a questioning gesture and whispered feverishly to defenders David Eldridge and Doug Trant.

His reaction might have seemed expected. Davidson is on trial for his life in the January 2007 slayings of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. But this particular jury candidate was black, one of only a few to turn up so far among this predominantly white pool of potential Knox County jurors...

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Davidson, who is black, seems more concerned about saving his own skin than the skin color of the people who will determine his fate...

On Tuesday, three black jurors made the cut to be included in that pool. A fourth nonwhite juror also was approved. Nineteen whites have passed muster.

The juror who appeared to upset Davidson Tuesday was a black woman who said she understood the ire over the rejection of the death penalty in Cobbins' case, believes some crimes deserve death as punishment and discounts a bad childhood as cause to spare a killer's life...

"If it was your child, you would want him to die," she said.

"Would it make any difference if the background was no father, a crack addict mother who abandoned her kids?" Eldridge asked.

"No," she answered. "It's (more about) the decision a person makes."

That attitude could have automatically excluded her from the pool, but prosecutor Takisha Fitzgerald quickly set out to rehabilitate her as a potential juror. Fitzgerald explained that the law would require her to consider Davidson's background when weighing his fate.

"I could consider it," the woman then said. "I'd have to hear all the facts."

That answer put her back on the path to potential juror, which drew Davidson's animated response. His defense team announced Tuesday evening that they would file a formal challenge to the woman's inclusion in the jury pool today. It would be up to the judge to decide. For now, she remains a jury candidate...

Once a pool of fair-minded potential jurors are chosen, lawyers on both sides can then kick out 18 each for reasons they don't have to reveal. Baumgartner has set an Oct. 2 hearing for that final round of jury selection.

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read article here

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Read more here:

'Joke' not so funny to judge in torture-slaying trial

Judge on alert for any liars during jury selection in Christian, Newsom torture slaying

Transcript of KPD's interrogation on Lemaricus "Slim" Davidson

Haleigh Cummings update

The Prairie Chicken
September 23, 2009

It is heavily rumored that Ronald Cummings lil' missus, Misty, has left town for places currently unknown. While a video of a "huggy-kissy" Ron and Misty was played on a couple of the mega-news shows on Saturday, by Monday evening the newlyweds apparently had yet another fight, ending with Ron throwing Misty's things in Grandma Sykes front yard, and Misty ultimately getting in a car with a friend and taking off. For being such a ladies man, he sure can't hang on to them.

Art Harris on The Bald Truth reports and posts a copy of a letter from Misty's friend Nay Nay to Donnie, Nay Nay's boyfriend, with whom Nay Nay had stayed the week after the wild weekend of February 7, including the night Haleigh disappeared. She relays to Donnie that a witness named Joe is now saying Misty, with both kids, were with Nay Nay at a party at Chad's and that Haleigh got a dose of Oxy and died. People ARE starting to come forward, but in this land of gators and snakes, who in the heck would we believe? TJ Hart has discussed this theory on Nancy Grace.

I doubt this version. Haleigh surely would have told on Misty if they went to a party--she had in the past when Nay Nay had come to visit while he was gone. Ron didn't want her around Misty. (Typical control freak behavior--disapprove of any personal friends, whatever their social status.) And Oxycontin's don't taste like Skittles, its a bitter pill. I don't believe Haleigh would take it on her own.

Right now I am a bit dumb-struck that Tommy has placed himself at the scene of the crime.

If Misty was gone 'in the 10pm hour' when Tommy came over to check on Misty for Ron, his banging could and probably would have awakened Haleigh. She would open the front door for "Uncle Tommy." He'd been there earlier in the day with his kids. He had the opportunity to stage a kidnapping scene and take Haleigh. Yes, he has children, but Haleigh was not blood relation to him. He'd known her for only four months, the time Ron & Misty had known each other.

And I have always thought the noisy back door looked staged, especially when it would be so much easier and more quiet to go in and out the front. Did Misty simply leave the house for awhile from the front, then left the front door unlocked so she could get back in? Or did she have a key?

Just where was she when Tommy came by? Gone out or passed out?

If she was gone, did she look in on the kids when she got back? Did Misty come back with someone who helped her make bouncy noises on the couch, as Junior reported?

Did Haleigh walk in on a booty-call--did she say she was going to tell?

Will we ever know what happened to her?

Additional Charges for Howard K. Stern in Anna Nicole Smith's Death

By Howard Breuer

Wednesday September 23, 2009

people.com

Howard K. Stern, the [blood-sucking, piss-poor attorney] companion of Anna Nicole Smith, was charged Wednesday with five more felonies stemming from the one-time Playboy Playmate's 2007 death.

The additional charges – which had already been filed against Smith's psychiatrist, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, and her internist, Dr.Sandeep Kapoor – are four counts of obtaining fraudulent prescriptions and one count of prescribing, administering or dispensing controlled substances to an addict.

PHOTOS: Anna Nicole's Life in Photos

Stern has pleaded not guilty...

In March 2007 – roughly four weeks after Smith died in a Florida hotel room, Broward County Chief Medical Examiner Joshua Perper had asked Smith's friend and personal psychiatrist, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, to help him tally all the drugs Smith had been taking.

Eroshevich, 61, brought with her Smith's pill bottles, and the two of them compiled a list of 44 medications – including Klonopin, Topomax, Valium, Soma and the dangerous sedative chloral hydrate. While all the drugs were for Smith, the prescriptions were made out to several different patient names, including Michelle Chase, Anne Marshall, Susie Wong, Jean Smith, Howard K. Stern, Ben Thompson, Ann Smith, and Ben Stern.

This detail is included in roughly 200 pages of search warrant affidavits released Tuesday in the case against Howard K. Stern and the two doctors...

Prosecutor Calls Howard Anna's 'Enabler'

It further alleges that Dr. Kapoor apparently had a romantic relationship with Smith...hahaha
The criminal complaint stops short of charging the three defendants with homicide...

Stern, Eroshevich and Kapoor – who have pleaded not guilty to all charges – are due in court Wednesday to set a date for a preliminary hearing...

Howard Pleads Not Guilty to Felony Charges

Sadow declined to comment on what kind of physical pain Smith may have had that would justify the high volume of addictive drugs.

Eroshevich attorney Adam Braun characterized the warrants as self-serving summaries of the prosecution's allegations. He says Eroshevich was simply trying to help "her friend and patient"... (This goes so much farther back in time than the pregnancy.)

read article here

Misty Croslin Not Home Night Haleigh Vanished?

Putnam County Investigators Release Details Hoping To Pressure Stepmom
Tuesday, September 22, 2009

news4jax.com

PALATKA, Fla. -- Its been more than seven months since Haleigh Cummings disappeared...

Putnam County investigators said Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, called home from work several times (20 according to news reports) trying to reach his 17-year-old girlfriend, Misty Croslin, who was babysitting Haleigh and her younger brother. No one answered, according to deputies...

According to deputies, Cummings then called Croslin's family looking for her and asked her brother -- Hank (Tommy) Croslin Jr. -- to go check on her and his kids.

"Ronald calls numerous times, Hank says that he answered that call from Ronald, which we know that was made ... It was Ronald saying, 'Go check on Misty,'" Putnam County Maj. Gary Bowling said. "He said he complied with that request and Misty did not answer the door. The house was dark and quiet."

Video from news4jax.com: Misty Not Home Night Haleigh Disappeared?

Putnam County investigators got that information last Thursday night during an interview with Hank Croslin Jr. while he was in custody on a grand-theft charge unrelated to the Haleigh Cummings case...

"He tells us that he made a good effort to see if someone was home," Bowling said.
The investigators said Croslin's statement casts more doubt on his sister's story that she was home watching movies that night with the two kids.

"What we need is for Misty to come down here and tell us the truth," Bowling said...

...Misty Croslin-Cummings and her attorney...said they question the credibility of her brother. They have not been getting along and she currently has a restraining order against him.

Field said if they want to talk to Misty Croslin, they should contact him, not try to pressure her by releasing information to the media.

Bowling said Hank Croslin's interview had nothing to do with the search of a pond south of Palatka that began the next afternoon. That search was generated by an unrelated tip and the timing was purely coincidental.

Authorities ask anyone with any information about Haleigh's disappearance to call the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 386-329-0800 or the FDLE's Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse at 888-FL-MISSING. A $35,000 reward remains in place for Haleigh's safe return or a tip that leads to the conviction of whoever was responsible for her disappearance.

read entire article here:

Hunter Finds Murderer Gary Hilton's Campground

Hunter Finds Murderer Gary Hilton's CampgroundSeptember 17, 2009

wsbtv.com

JACKSON, Ga. -- A hunter accidentally found camping supplies, clothes and books belonging to convicted killer Gary Michael Hilton in the Chattahoochee National Forest, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

It happened last Friday at a concealed campsite and the hunter thought the supplies were illegally dumped or stolen. Fannin County Sheriff's Sgt. Justin Turner said it's an area Hilton frequented.

Hilton is serving life in prison for the January 2008 murder of Buford hiker Meredith Emerson, 24. Emerson was reported missing on New Year's Day 2008 when she failed to return from a hiking trip. Her body was found a week later.

Hilton is also awaiting trial in the decapitation of hiker Cheryl Dunlap, of Tallahassee, Fla. Dunlap's body was found Dec. 19, 2007 in the Apalachicola National Forest, southwest of Tallahassee. He fought hard not to be extradicted to Florida. Little creep is afraid of the death penalty, and he's also expressed not wanting to serve time in a federal prison.

SLIDESHOW from wsbtv.com: Hilton's Suspected Victims

Hilton also is suspected in the slayings of an elderly North Carolina couple -- Irene Bryant, 84, and her husband, John Bryant, 80. Officials said the Bryants disappeared while hiking in the Pisgah National Forest near Asheville. Irene Bryant had been beaten to death. John Bryant's skeletal remains were found in Feb. 2008.

The GBI turned over the items to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Officials have contacted the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation and are investigating whether items can be tied to the Bryants' killings.

I'm adding Cheryl Strother to the list of his possible victims.

Previous Stories from wsbtv.com:
June 18, 2009: Dismembered Body Found; Police Looking At Gary Hilton
June 6, 2008: Gary Hilton Moved To Florida On Murder Charge
May 2, 2008: Killer Hilton Loses Extradition Fight
April 30, 2008: Police: Gary Hilton Not Involved In University Student's Disappearance
April 9, 2008: Gary Hilton: 'I'm A Sociopath'

More articles here:

Hunter finds Gary Hilton's supplies in Georgia forest ...

Hilton items found in concealed Ga. campsite ajc.com

See additional info on Hilton from Glenn Adams, Wolfscratch, here, in the comments section.

State: George Anthony's Testimony Inconsistent

State Files Motion For Transcript Of Anthony's Testimony
September 21, 2009

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wesh.com

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- The state has requested a copy of George Anthony's testimony before a grand jury last October because it says what Anthony said in a later deposition was inconsistent with those statements.

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George Anthony..."testified at deposition in a manner that, to the recollection of the undersigned, was materially inconsistent with his grand jury testimony on some points," the motion filed by Assistant State Attorney Jeffrey L. Ashton said. That's not much of a surprise. Liars have too much to remember.

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Ashton wants a judge to allow him to view that testimony and, if his suspicions are correct, unseal the information and provide it to Casey Anthony's defense...

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read entire article here

Man Upset How Police Drained Pond

Investigators Say Pond Yielded Nothing In Search For Haleigh Cummings
Monday, September 21, 2009
news4jax.com

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- Investigators worked all weekend draining a pond and hoping to find any clues in the case of missing 6-year-old Haleigh Cummings. But they said despite their efforts, they've found no more evidence involving the girl who vanished seven months ago.

One man said he supports what the sheriff's office did over the weekend in searching for Haleigh, but he said he's not happy with how they did it and how he said it left his property.

Investigators did not say what they were looking for or who gave them a tip. However, they said it has nothing to do with their recent interview with Hank Croslin Jr. His sister Misty Cummings was the last person to see Haleigh the night she went missing.

Video: Investigators Searched For Haleigh

Tim Pritchard said he's upset with how the search was handled. "The water's just like as if we had a hurricane," Pritchard said. He lives near the pond and said his yard is now full of water...

read article here

And this from Art Harris on The Bald Truth
Misty Cummings Brother Reveals He Was At Trailer! And Misty was not!

Haleigh Cummings Body Not Found; Lake Drained, to Be Searched This Weekend

September 19, 2009 by
Carol Bengle Gilbert
associatedcontent.com

...Putnam County Sheriff's Office told WAWS that a search would be conducted in the area of the drained lake during the weekend......Earlier reports by First Coast News Friday repeated the claims of several viewers that Haleigh Cummings' body had been recovered.

Haleigh's father Ronald Cummings denied any knowledge of his daughter's body being found when questioned by a First Coast News reporter. Cummings said he had spoken with Haleigh's mother Crystal Sheffield concerning the reports.

Saturday morning, Putnam County law enforcement addressed reports about a connection between the weekend search and the missing little girl, saying the search in the area called the Mondex is not related to the Haleigh Cummings investigation. Police say they drained the lake and are searching the area in an effort to find property reported stolen from a nearby home.

Contradicting the police statements Saturday, the Palatka Daily News, said earlier this morning that Bowling had stated the Mondex search was being conducted for the purpose of finding evidence in the Haleigh Cummings case and was based on tips and investigative interviews.

In Misty Croslin's recent voice stress test, Cummings spoke extensively about the necessity of washing Haleigh's blanket the night she disappeared. Cummings said the blanket "smelt like pee."

Questions about when and why the Cummings family washing machine was running, how Misty washed laundry when there was no detergent in the household at the time, and why the dryer was filled with dirty clothes hover around the periphery of Misty Croslin Cummings' claims about washing Haleigh's blanket.

On the figurative dirty laundry front; ...Haleigh's mother's family is alleging that Haleigh's father abused Haleigh and her younger brother, claiming drug and sex allegations against Misty Croslin Cummings include a weekend of sex with a man other than Ronald Cummings just prior to Haleigh's disappearance, then the disclosure that Misty's cousin (and brother) is a sex offender, revelations of Ronald Cummings' apparent penchant for underage girls and the arrest of both Ronald Cummings and Hank Croslin, Jr. in separate incidents.

Read article here

Prosecutors to question private investigator, Lee Anthony's girlfriend

Amy L. Edwards and Sarah Lundy Sentinel Staff Writers
September 15, 2009

Orlando Sentinel

Prosecutors handling the Casey Anthony first-degree murder case will question private investigator Dominic Casey in November, according to a deposition notice filed today. Dominic Casey will be questioned at 11 a.m. Nov. 12.

This comes as attorneys who represent Zenaida Gonzalez, the Kissimmee woman suing Casey Anthony for defamation, are trying to secure a deposition from the private investigator.

He had refused to be questioned by the civil attorneys, saying the information he has is considered privileged since he worked for Anthony, her defense attorney and her parents...

Prosecutors will also depose Mallory Parker on Nov. 12. Parker was Casey Anthony's brother's girlfriend at the time Caylee was reported missing. It's unclear what Parker and Lee Anthony's relationship status is today.

Prosecutors also filed another discovery notice today, outlining what items will be released to Casey Anthony's defense team. It includes a one-page document and a CD of Casey Anthony's tattoos.

OK. Here we go. One of Casey's 'friends' said early on in an interview that he/she knew Mallory HAD been interviewed by police, and I've wondered why her statements haven't been released. She has to know what's happened, or at least she knows whatever Lee did and dealt with.

Casey Anthony defense team files motion to dismiss case
Casey Anthony latest: Attorneys say private eye gave conflicting stories
State wants Casey Anthony defense team’s body claim documents

From other Orlando sources
Gonzales lawyers fire back at Casey Anthony private investigatorwdbo.com
Attorneys: Dominic Casey’s Story Not Adding Upcfnews13.com
BLOG: Live in the Casey Anthony courtroomwdbo.com

read entire article here

Big Break in Haleigh Cummings Case? Pond being drained...

news4jax.com

September 19, 2009

Video: Family told search related to Haleigh's case

Deputies Searching Putnam Woods, Pond
Family Told Search Is Connected To Missing Haleigh Cummings
September 18, 2009
UPDATED: 1:36 am EDT September 19, 2009

PALATKA, Fla. -- Putnam County authorities said there's nothing newsworthy going on, but Haleigh Cumming's family told Channel 4 that a search of woods and a pond south of Palatka that continued late Friday night is connected to the 6-year-old's disappearance.

It's a second night of police activity in Putnam County that had people speculating about a development in the search for the Satsuma girl missing since February...the search of a pond on Stokes Landing Road, off U.S. Highway 19 south of Palatka. Channel 4's Jennifer Bauer confirms that law enforcement has blocked roads leading to the pond.

A man tells Channel 4 the sheriff's office asked his pumping company to drain a pond off U.S Highway 19 south of Palatka....they would likely be on scene all night...the sheriff's office would not tell him what they were looking for. Bauer was also told by an area resident that she saw police divers in the water earlier on Friday.

Putnam County Sheriff's Office booking photo of Hank Croslin Jr.Sheriff's officials said Croslin's wife, Lindsey, and two others were to come in on Friday for questioning...

Putnam County Sheriff's Office issued a statement that they were [not necessarily] searching for or had found Haleigh...Lt. Johnny Greenwood said, "There have been no significant developments to report."

...the sheriff's official called it was a routine training exercise. Area residents said that while the pond is a 35-minute drive from the mobile home where Haleigh was last scene, it's not that far from water access across the river from Satsuma.

The video states that the area is just across St Johns river, a path that one of the scent dogs took was to the rivers edge. I stated in an earlier article that my theory is that the scent dogs leading them around the neighborhood was the bus route.

read article here. It appears news4jax is the on-the-scene source. Thanks Jennifer Bauer!

The Murder of Lauren Keys by her bio-father Cameron Brown

September 18, 2009
Above: Little Lauren Keys; right: Cameron Brown


The following is an excellent summation of the 2nd trial of Cameron Brown in the death of his daughter Lauren Keys in 2000. Thank you Denise Nix. All that's left is the prosecutions rebuttal summation, then it's up to the jury to decide whether this little girly-girl wandered too close to the edge of a 120 foot cliff, or if her 'father' chucked her over the edge head first, like tossing a suitcase into the cargo section of a jetliner, because child support payments chapped his ass. Hopefully, he'll be headed to state prison next week. The wheels of justice certainly move slowly.
Ms Nix' summation pretty well tells the story from beginning to end.

By Denise Nix
the Daily Breeze
Cameron Brown murder retrial closing arguments - Part I
Cameron Brown murder retrial closing arguments - Part II
Cameron Brown murder retrial closing arguments - Part III
Cameron Brown murder retrial closing arguments - Part IV
Cameron Brown murder retrial closing arguments - Part V

Another excellent source for information on this case is Trials & Tribulations by Sprocket.

Hank Croslin Jr's police report

Tommy's police report Marvin Martin reports stolen gun, .38 Colt Military Special revolver, dated 1905.

Now this is interesting. Not only have Timmy and Chelsea moved to Massachusetts (with Lindsy planning to move there too), but now Lisa and Hank Sr have up and moved to Tennessee. Apparently they can be reached at Lisa's mothers house. Why are they all running?

Maybe Tommy wanted a gun to protect himself from Ron. What better than to steal from and old man to get one? What a slimeball. I hope Putnam County sheriffs don't "lose" the gun. It's an antique.

Tommy Croslin arrested in Putnam County

By Art Harris
The Bald Truth
www.artharris.com

Hank “Tommy” Croslin, Jr., 23, the baby-faced brother of Misty Croslin Cummings who reported her then boyfriend, now husband’s five year old daughter missing last February, was booked into the Putnam County Jail Tuesday at 6:49 p.m. on felony theft charges for allegedly stealing a gun from a family friend, sources tell The Bald Truth...

Read the entire article at The Bald Truth. Thanks Art