Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David S. Wesley sentenced a former attorney to 40 years to life for the shooting death of his "girlfriend" yesterday.
David Mahler, 45, fatally shot Kristin Baldwin, 38, on May 27, 2007. He was convicted Sept. 15 of second-degree murder, with jurors finding true an allegation that he personally discharged a firearm.
During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace told jurors that Mahler was "in a rage'' when he shot Baldwin during an argument.The two had argued several days earlier, the prosecutor said. The woman's badly decomposed body was discovered on June 17, 2007, in the desert near Barstow by some people who had stopped to help a stranded motorist.
Jurors also convicted Mahler of assault with a firearm on a man who was his then-roommate, and the judge tacked on an additional three-year prison term on the assault charge.
Mahler stated to the victim's relatives, "I want to say to the family that I'm sorry this happened,'' Mahler told Baldwin's relatives. "I am extraordinarily regretful ... It doesn't bring her back."
The victim's sister, Robin Henson, who believed that Mahler's show of remorse was insincere, said, pointing to an urn containing her sister's ashes, stating,
"This is my sister, Kristin. My family's life has been completely turned around to a point of pain and suffering because my sister is gone,'' Henson said. "A person that can do this needs to go to prison for a very long time ... I love my sister and I miss her and I want her back."
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Proposed 7 year sentence may not be enough - Canadian judge
By: Mike McIntyre (Winnipeg Free Press) 8/10/2009 1:00 AM
A Manitoba judge says seven years in prison for a high-risk rapist who randomly attacked a woman outside a Winnipeg shopping mall may not be severe enough.
Queen's Bench Justice Chris Martin said Wednesday he has serious concerns about the proposed sentence agreed to by prosecution and defence lawyers.
"I'm normally very respectful of joint recommendations, especially from senior counsel. But my overriding concerns are protection of the public and rehabilitation," said Martin. He has reserved his decision until Oct. 16.
Garron Scott, 22, has pleaded guilty to sexual assault for the February 2007 incident outside Portage Place. Crown attorney John Barr told court Scott attacked an 18-year-old woman as she was walking to her parked car. Scott forced the woman inside the vehicle, choked her with a seatbelt strap and violently raped her while threatening to kill her.
The victim managed to escape and ran half-naked into the downtown mall for help, court was told. Police linked Scott to the attack by matching his DNA to hair samples they found on a hat he left behind. Scott's DNA was already in the national database because of a previous crime in Ontario where he attacked a 73-year-old man, choked him with a seatbelt strap and stole his car.
Scott told justice officials he attacked the woman because he wanted sex and didn't think he'd get caught.
He has spent the past 30 months in custody, which Crown and defence lawyers say should be given double-time credit of 60 months, followed by two more years behind bars. Scott would then be placed on three years of supervised probation. Defence lawyer Darren Sawchuk told court Wednesday his client has made positive strides since his arrest, including completion of a sex offender treatment program at Headingley Correctional Centre. He said Scott recently admitted to officials he was sexually abused as a child, which contributed to his offending behaviour.
Scott would be a candidate for acceptance into Manitoba's high-risk offender unit upon his release from jail. The group works closely with convicted sex offenders to re-integrate them into society.
"I think he's made a good first step at Headingley, but it's just a first step. He's just scratched the surface," Linda Lafontaine, the program's area director, told court.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Husband of beauty stylist, former Miss Kauai pleads guilty to stabbing murder in front of kids
(Original Post 9-6-09)
A former beauty pageant winner and local hairdresser's murderer was brought to justice when he pled guilty to stabbing her 50 times in their Brownsburg, IN house. Angela Warnock, 38, and former Miss Kauai 1990, was planning to divorce her husband, Joseph Warnock, 41 and a former tanning bed salesman, and take their two daughters, now ages 12 and 8, back to Kauai due to drug and alcohol abuse.
At a hearing June 17 where Angela received a protective order against her husband, barring him from the family home, she described him as addicted to drugs and alcohol, while Joe stated that he would never hurt his wife. However, according to police, he had already bought the knife he would use to stab Angie more than 50 times.
The night of June 21, he was at an Eagle Creek Reservoir restaurant until 11:30 p.m., police said. He drove the few miles to a church parking lot about a quarter-mile from the family home, where he parked and crossed a farm field in the dark and broke in the patio door.
Police said he found Angela and the girls asleep. Reports from the coroner and evidence experts said Angela was stabbed 28 times and cut 23 times.
The girls ran, as their mother had taught them. They hid in a closet and called 911.
Hendricks Superior Court Judge Robert Freese accepted a plea agreement which states that Warnock will receive 55 years for 1st degree murder, in the midrange of the 45 to 65 years for 1st degree murder. Formal sentencing is set for October 9. A charge of home invasion was dropped.
County Prosecutor Patricia Baldwin defended the plea agreement, stating that the children would be retraumatized if they were forced to relive their mother's murder, and that the agreement was made with the consultation of the victim's family. The sentence, according to Baldwin, "sends a message about the damage that drugs and alcohol and domestic violence can do to destroy a family."
Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council Executive Director Stephan Johnson stated that 55 years is close to the standard murder sentence and that while there are 16 aggravating factors in murder cases, domestic violence or killings in front of children are not among those factors.
"Judges can have some discretion . . . depending on the circumstances," Johnson said. "But committing a murder in front of children is not one of approximately 16 aggravating circumstances that we have now."
Defense attorney Robert Hammerle agreed, saying the actions of the 41-year-old Warnock -- a former tanning-bed salesman who had no criminal record -- stemmed from his abuse of "alcohol and drugs during the days leading up to these events."
"This is one of those instances when he (Warnock) became a person he really isn't, because of (drug abuse) and lack of sleep.
"It was a momentary collision of emotions, which later are horrifying. But that is not a defense," Hammerle said. "The hope is that by admitting what happened, everyone in this family can move to some healing, some sense of balance, in the future."
He acknowledged that under Indiana's good-behavior provisions, Warnock could be released from prison in 20 years.
Bills have been introduced in the Indiana General Assembly making DV a statutory aggravating factor in a murder case, but none has passed yet.
(Update 10-9-09) The promised sentence, 55 years in prison, was handed down to Joseph Warnock in a Hendricks County courtroom today. Joe waived any right of appeal due to his plea agreement. Even so, Angela's stepfather and mother were present to give victim impact statements.
Gordon McGrath's statement is below:
I don't believe it [the 55 year sentence] is long enough. Anybody that can think about murdering their wife in front of their children and be able to get out in anyway, it's just not right...They're [the victims' daughters, ages 9 and 12] very scared. They won't go to bed at night by themselves. They won't go into a room by themselves. I can understand why, when this horrendous tragedy happened right in front of them. It just scarred their life forever.
Warnock himself spoke afterwards.
"Words cannot express the heartache I feel every day, the grieving and loss I feel...I am unbelievably sorry. I am devastated. I miss you. You were a great mom. I struggle each day to make it through the day. I don't expect forgiveness. I can't forgive myself. I hope and pray that one day they will be able to call me 'Dad' again."
A former beauty pageant winner and local hairdresser's murderer was brought to justice when he pled guilty to stabbing her 50 times in their Brownsburg, IN house. Angela Warnock, 38, and former Miss Kauai 1990, was planning to divorce her husband, Joseph Warnock, 41 and a former tanning bed salesman, and take their two daughters, now ages 12 and 8, back to Kauai due to drug and alcohol abuse.
At a hearing June 17 where Angela received a protective order against her husband, barring him from the family home, she described him as addicted to drugs and alcohol, while Joe stated that he would never hurt his wife. However, according to police, he had already bought the knife he would use to stab Angie more than 50 times.
The night of June 21, he was at an Eagle Creek Reservoir restaurant until 11:30 p.m., police said. He drove the few miles to a church parking lot about a quarter-mile from the family home, where he parked and crossed a farm field in the dark and broke in the patio door.
Police said he found Angela and the girls asleep. Reports from the coroner and evidence experts said Angela was stabbed 28 times and cut 23 times.
The girls ran, as their mother had taught them. They hid in a closet and called 911.
Hendricks Superior Court Judge Robert Freese accepted a plea agreement which states that Warnock will receive 55 years for 1st degree murder, in the midrange of the 45 to 65 years for 1st degree murder. Formal sentencing is set for October 9. A charge of home invasion was dropped.
County Prosecutor Patricia Baldwin defended the plea agreement, stating that the children would be retraumatized if they were forced to relive their mother's murder, and that the agreement was made with the consultation of the victim's family. The sentence, according to Baldwin, "sends a message about the damage that drugs and alcohol and domestic violence can do to destroy a family."
Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council Executive Director Stephan Johnson stated that 55 years is close to the standard murder sentence and that while there are 16 aggravating factors in murder cases, domestic violence or killings in front of children are not among those factors.
"Judges can have some discretion . . . depending on the circumstances," Johnson said. "But committing a murder in front of children is not one of approximately 16 aggravating circumstances that we have now."
Defense attorney Robert Hammerle agreed, saying the actions of the 41-year-old Warnock -- a former tanning-bed salesman who had no criminal record -- stemmed from his abuse of "alcohol and drugs during the days leading up to these events."
"This is one of those instances when he (Warnock) became a person he really isn't, because of (drug abuse) and lack of sleep.
"It was a momentary collision of emotions, which later are horrifying. But that is not a defense," Hammerle said. "The hope is that by admitting what happened, everyone in this family can move to some healing, some sense of balance, in the future."
He acknowledged that under Indiana's good-behavior provisions, Warnock could be released from prison in 20 years.
Bills have been introduced in the Indiana General Assembly making DV a statutory aggravating factor in a murder case, but none has passed yet.
(Update 10-9-09) The promised sentence, 55 years in prison, was handed down to Joseph Warnock in a Hendricks County courtroom today. Joe waived any right of appeal due to his plea agreement. Even so, Angela's stepfather and mother were present to give victim impact statements.
Gordon McGrath's statement is below:
I don't believe it [the 55 year sentence] is long enough. Anybody that can think about murdering their wife in front of their children and be able to get out in anyway, it's just not right...They're [the victims' daughters, ages 9 and 12] very scared. They won't go to bed at night by themselves. They won't go into a room by themselves. I can understand why, when this horrendous tragedy happened right in front of them. It just scarred their life forever.
Warnock himself spoke afterwards.
"Words cannot express the heartache I feel every day, the grieving and loss I feel...I am unbelievably sorry. I am devastated. I miss you. You were a great mom. I struggle each day to make it through the day. I don't expect forgiveness. I can't forgive myself. I hope and pray that one day they will be able to call me 'Dad' again."
Marci Theobald stated that Angela Warnock "lived for her girls and died for her girls. You are their father, and you were supposed to be their protector, not their destroyer. This tragedy was felt throughout the community and the state."
Presiding Judge Hendricks Superior Court Judge Robert W. Freese stated that Angie's family and friends should channel their anger at her murder into a desire to protect her daughters.
FBI - Rape reports at lowest level in 20 years
Reported rapes have fallen to the lowest level in 20 years as DNA evidence helps send more rapists to prison and victims are more willing to work with police and prosecutors, victims advocates and crime researchers say.
The FBI estimates 89,000 women reported being raped in 2008 — 29 women for every 100,000 people. That's down from a high of 109,062 reported rapes in 1992 — 43 women for every 100,000 people. Data for 2009 are not yet available.
"We have seen reform in how police work with victims, gather evidence and investigate rape; we've seen increased awareness of the crime, and we've seen better prosecution," says Michael Males, senior researcher for the Center on Juvenile & Criminal Justice in San Francisco. "Hospitals now have rape kits that they didn't have 40 years ago" which make it easier to collect an attacker's DNA and other evidence of a crime.
Rape prosecutions have improved dramatically over the past two decades because of advances in DNA testing to pinpoint a rapist rather than forcing prosecutors to rely solely on a victim's identification of her attacker, says Kim Gandy, past president of the National Organization for Women and a former prosecutor.
Gandy recalls prosecutors' reluctance in the 1970s and early 1980s to take rape cases to trial because "no district attorney wants to have a low conviction rate on rape."
In 1994, the federal Violence Against Women Act provided $1.6 billion to bolster rape prosecutions.
"The level of interest and professionalism dealing with sexual assault cases increased as a result," says Scott Berkowitz, president of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, a victims' advocacy group. Yearly statistics on rape prosecutions are not available, Berkowitz says, but prosecutors have told him they have learned to pursue such cases.
Use of DNA evidence has expanded gradually over the past 15 years and can put a rapist in prison the first time he's caught, preventing him from harming other women, Berkowitz says. Many rapists are repeat offenders.
Attitudes about rape also have shifted since high schools and colleges adopted public awareness campaigns in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Berkowitz says.
"There is a much greater understanding that this is a crime," he says. Surveys by his group show women are more willing to report rape now than two decades ago because they expect police will believe them.
"You don't see the nightmarish trials of the 1960s where a woman's reputation would be brought into question and people would conclude she deserved it," Males says.
Criminologists say an overall decline in violent crime in the last decade doesn't fully explain the decreases in rape.
Some factors that pushed crime down, such as the decline in crack cocaine markets, are unlikely to affect rape, says Richard Rosenfeld, criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Catching more violent criminals with better policing probably does contribute to the decline, he says.
Berkowitz says he is encouraged by the trends, but "we've still got a long way to go. We need to encourage more victims to report to police and guarantee that when they do report, the case is properly investigated."
The FBI estimates 89,000 women reported being raped in 2008 — 29 women for every 100,000 people. That's down from a high of 109,062 reported rapes in 1992 — 43 women for every 100,000 people. Data for 2009 are not yet available.
"We have seen reform in how police work with victims, gather evidence and investigate rape; we've seen increased awareness of the crime, and we've seen better prosecution," says Michael Males, senior researcher for the Center on Juvenile & Criminal Justice in San Francisco. "Hospitals now have rape kits that they didn't have 40 years ago" which make it easier to collect an attacker's DNA and other evidence of a crime.
Rape prosecutions have improved dramatically over the past two decades because of advances in DNA testing to pinpoint a rapist rather than forcing prosecutors to rely solely on a victim's identification of her attacker, says Kim Gandy, past president of the National Organization for Women and a former prosecutor.
Gandy recalls prosecutors' reluctance in the 1970s and early 1980s to take rape cases to trial because "no district attorney wants to have a low conviction rate on rape."
In 1994, the federal Violence Against Women Act provided $1.6 billion to bolster rape prosecutions.
"The level of interest and professionalism dealing with sexual assault cases increased as a result," says Scott Berkowitz, president of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, a victims' advocacy group. Yearly statistics on rape prosecutions are not available, Berkowitz says, but prosecutors have told him they have learned to pursue such cases.
Use of DNA evidence has expanded gradually over the past 15 years and can put a rapist in prison the first time he's caught, preventing him from harming other women, Berkowitz says. Many rapists are repeat offenders.
Attitudes about rape also have shifted since high schools and colleges adopted public awareness campaigns in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Berkowitz says.
"There is a much greater understanding that this is a crime," he says. Surveys by his group show women are more willing to report rape now than two decades ago because they expect police will believe them.
"You don't see the nightmarish trials of the 1960s where a woman's reputation would be brought into question and people would conclude she deserved it," Males says.
Criminologists say an overall decline in violent crime in the last decade doesn't fully explain the decreases in rape.
Some factors that pushed crime down, such as the decline in crack cocaine markets, are unlikely to affect rape, says Richard Rosenfeld, criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Catching more violent criminals with better policing probably does contribute to the decline, he says.
Berkowitz says he is encouraged by the trends, but "we've still got a long way to go. We need to encourage more victims to report to police and guarantee that when they do report, the case is properly investigated."
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Serial rape-strangler pleads no contest to second rape murder
A serial rapist already serving life without parole for the rape slaying of one woman has plead guilty to a similar crime involving another woman. 26 year old Jerry Lee Williams Jr. of Sanford, FL was sentenced to life without parole, to be served consecutively to a previous life without parole sentence. The LWOP sentence came after a plea of no contest in the rape-strangling of 40 year old Patricia Kimmons of Orlando, a crime which occurred back in 2004. Williams is suspected of attacking at least six Central Florida women between 2003 and 2007.
Williams was on GPS satellite monitoring for rape when he raped and suffocated Lisa Marie French, 39. French's body was found behind a warehouse. Williams plead guilty to that crime back in November 2008 and was sentenced to life. Life without parole is the only life sentence handed down in Florida.
Williams was on GPS satellite monitoring for rape when he raped and suffocated Lisa Marie French, 39. French's body was found behind a warehouse. Williams plead guilty to that crime back in November 2008 and was sentenced to life. Life without parole is the only life sentence handed down in Florida.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
"Boyfriend" gets 31 years in rape of woman
A 23 year old Covington, VA man was sentenced to 31 years in prison by Alleghany County Circuit Court Judge Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo Tuesday, October 6. Jonathan Travis Switzer was sentenced on charges of rape, carjacking, abduction with the intent to defile, violation of a protective order and assault and battery of a law enforcement officer.
Switzer's sentencing came after a preliminary hearing in which while his victim was testifying, Switzer halted the courtroom proceedings by saying "Stop it! It's all true! I did it! I did it!" This admission was followed in May by a formal guilty plea to the charges above.
Switzer's brush with the law began June 14, 2008, when he beat his 38-year-old ex-girlfriend, a crime for which he was convicted last year. An emergency protective order was issued telling Switzer to stay away from her, but he began calling her persistently. She went to the magistrate's office to obtain a warrant for his arrest, but Switzer intercepted her on Main Street in Covington, forced her into the back seat of her van and drove to a wooded area, Gardner said.
There, Switzer raped and sodomized his ex-girlfriend and threatened to kill her. She complained of a head injury and asked him to take her to the hospital, which he did, but only on the condition that she not leave his sight or say anything about the rape, Gardner said.
Once at Alleghany Regional Hospital, though, the woman tried to tip off an intake nurse by writing at the bottom of a sign-in sheet, "He raped me. Please help." No one noticed the note, so when the woman went to the restroom to provide a urine sample, she again wrote, this time on a wrapper, "He raped me. Please help." She placed the note with the urine sample but again it was overlooked.
The woman's boyfriend summoned deputies to the hospital after he called the woman on her cellphone and Switzer answered.
The battery of a law enforcement officer charge came after Switzer began throwing food trays at the Alleghany Regional Jail. He fought jailers who tried to stop him.
Ann Gardner, prosecutor, stated that "The judge lowered the boom on him," and the 31 year sentence given to Switzer is the executed part. Judge Trumbo suspended 46 more years in prison.
Switzer's sentencing came after a preliminary hearing in which while his victim was testifying, Switzer halted the courtroom proceedings by saying "Stop it! It's all true! I did it! I did it!" This admission was followed in May by a formal guilty plea to the charges above.
Switzer's brush with the law began June 14, 2008, when he beat his 38-year-old ex-girlfriend, a crime for which he was convicted last year. An emergency protective order was issued telling Switzer to stay away from her, but he began calling her persistently. She went to the magistrate's office to obtain a warrant for his arrest, but Switzer intercepted her on Main Street in Covington, forced her into the back seat of her van and drove to a wooded area, Gardner said.
There, Switzer raped and sodomized his ex-girlfriend and threatened to kill her. She complained of a head injury and asked him to take her to the hospital, which he did, but only on the condition that she not leave his sight or say anything about the rape, Gardner said.
Once at Alleghany Regional Hospital, though, the woman tried to tip off an intake nurse by writing at the bottom of a sign-in sheet, "He raped me. Please help." No one noticed the note, so when the woman went to the restroom to provide a urine sample, she again wrote, this time on a wrapper, "He raped me. Please help." She placed the note with the urine sample but again it was overlooked.
The woman's boyfriend summoned deputies to the hospital after he called the woman on her cellphone and Switzer answered.
The battery of a law enforcement officer charge came after Switzer began throwing food trays at the Alleghany Regional Jail. He fought jailers who tried to stop him.
Ann Gardner, prosecutor, stated that "The judge lowered the boom on him," and the 31 year sentence given to Switzer is the executed part. Judge Trumbo suspended 46 more years in prison.
Man sentenced to life for crucifix beating of "girlfriend"
A man who beat his then girlfriend with a crucifix on her birthday just before Christmas last year was sentenced to life yesterday, October 6. Guatamalan immigrant Carlos Ovalle, 33, beat his "girlfriend" and mother of their two daughters Ana Valdez on December 23 of last year, using a crucifix which weighed at least five pounds and sat two feet high. It took a Takoma Park, MD police officer's shot to stop the attack. According to doctors, it took doctors almost an hour to pick out ceramic shards of the crucifix from Valdez's wound. Ovalle was convicted after a jury trial in July.
Ovalle and Valdez met in their native Guatemala. After moving to the United States, he started hitting her, Valdez and prosecutors said. At times, she avoided telling police because Ovalle threatened her, Valdez wrote. She did report him to police at other times, and he was locked up at least twice, according to court records.
On Dec. 21, Valdez's 23rd birthday, Ovalle slipped into her Takoma Park apartment. She arrived home with her girls, smelled cigarette smoke, thought it unusual and began looking around. Ovalle jumped out of a closet, a knife in his right hand.
"Happy birthday. I have your present," Ovalle said, according to Valdez's testimony. "Tonight you're going to die."
After Ovalle choked then pulled the crucifix from a wall and started to beat her, Valdez stalled by asking her attacker (and father of her daughters, now 4 and 5) to put a Barbie DVD in a DVD player to distract the children from watching the assault.
Takoma Park police Officer Angela Donovan answered the call of a woman crying. Ovalle tried to order his victim to say everything was alright, but Officer Donovan, sensing something wasn't right, forced her way inside to see Ovalle holding a knife to Valdez' throat. After Ovalle refused to drop the knife, Donovan shot him twice. One of the bullets hit Valdez after passing through Ovalle.
The victim impact letter Valdez submitted to Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Durke G. Thompson stated in part:
"He believed that by committing this act against me he was going to end me. Hopefully, what he did and has done was to put me on the right track to reinforce my strength to keep going with my life."
Against the advice of his attorney, Ovalle stated that Valdez lured him to the United States using a false pretence about pregnancy. "I do accept that I did make a mistake, but she provoked me. And I was drunk when I assaulted her."
Judge Thompson set the perpetrator straight. "There is no doubt in this court's mind that you intended to kill Ms. Valdez...It's not Ms. Valdez's doing that brought you to this court. It is your own."
Ovalle and Valdez met in their native Guatemala. After moving to the United States, he started hitting her, Valdez and prosecutors said. At times, she avoided telling police because Ovalle threatened her, Valdez wrote. She did report him to police at other times, and he was locked up at least twice, according to court records.
On Dec. 21, Valdez's 23rd birthday, Ovalle slipped into her Takoma Park apartment. She arrived home with her girls, smelled cigarette smoke, thought it unusual and began looking around. Ovalle jumped out of a closet, a knife in his right hand.
"Happy birthday. I have your present," Ovalle said, according to Valdez's testimony. "Tonight you're going to die."
After Ovalle choked then pulled the crucifix from a wall and started to beat her, Valdez stalled by asking her attacker (and father of her daughters, now 4 and 5) to put a Barbie DVD in a DVD player to distract the children from watching the assault.
Takoma Park police Officer Angela Donovan answered the call of a woman crying. Ovalle tried to order his victim to say everything was alright, but Officer Donovan, sensing something wasn't right, forced her way inside to see Ovalle holding a knife to Valdez' throat. After Ovalle refused to drop the knife, Donovan shot him twice. One of the bullets hit Valdez after passing through Ovalle.
The victim impact letter Valdez submitted to Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Durke G. Thompson stated in part:
"He believed that by committing this act against me he was going to end me. Hopefully, what he did and has done was to put me on the right track to reinforce my strength to keep going with my life."
Against the advice of his attorney, Ovalle stated that Valdez lured him to the United States using a false pretence about pregnancy. "I do accept that I did make a mistake, but she provoked me. And I was drunk when I assaulted her."
Judge Thompson set the perpetrator straight. "There is no doubt in this court's mind that you intended to kill Ms. Valdez...It's not Ms. Valdez's doing that brought you to this court. It is your own."
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Husband sentenced to 20 years in bleach attack
A Highland, IN man was sentenced to 20 years in an Indiana prison Monday for attacking his wife with bleach. The incident, which occurred on March 11, 2008, resulted in chemical burns to the face, neck, and upper body to the victim. 38 year old Ronald J. Kownacki was originally charged with attempted murder, but plead guilty to aggravated battery and neglect of a dependant.
The attack occurred with Kownacki using bleach to wake her up. He then tried to make his victim drink the bleach, and when she didn't, punched her in the face. The perpetrator called 911, saying that his wife was unconscious.
The woman, described by deputy prosecutor Judith Massa as a "walking miracle who is lucky to be alive," suffered chemical burns over her face, neck and upper body and bruising and swelling on her face. The woman fought off Kownacki's attempts to make her drink the bleach and bit his finger.
The woman was diagnosed with acute respiratory syndrome and her family was told there was little hope. She was diagnosed with a stroke and numerous blood clots as a result of the attack.
Her need to be there for her daughter is what helped bring her through that ordeal, according to her victim impact statement, read in court. "All I wanted was my daughter. I remember her screaming while I crawled towards her calling out."
The attack occurred with Kownacki using bleach to wake her up. He then tried to make his victim drink the bleach, and when she didn't, punched her in the face. The perpetrator called 911, saying that his wife was unconscious.
The woman, described by deputy prosecutor Judith Massa as a "walking miracle who is lucky to be alive," suffered chemical burns over her face, neck and upper body and bruising and swelling on her face. The woman fought off Kownacki's attempts to make her drink the bleach and bit his finger.
The woman was diagnosed with acute respiratory syndrome and her family was told there was little hope. She was diagnosed with a stroke and numerous blood clots as a result of the attack.
Her need to be there for her daughter is what helped bring her through that ordeal, according to her victim impact statement, read in court. "All I wanted was my daughter. I remember her screaming while I crawled towards her calling out."
Monday, October 5, 2009
"Caretaker" sentenced to life for torture death of mentally disabled woman
By TRACY MCLAUGHLIN, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA
Last Updated: 3rd October 2009, 3:34am
BARRIE, Ont. -- In calm voice, a brave mother whose daughter was brutally murdered with a blowtorch stood at the front of the courtroom yesterday and said she is afraid that she will be eaten alive by her pain.
"My daughter would have forgiven with her great big heart, but I am not Katlin and forgiveness is not here with me today," said Deborah Laramay. Then turning to face the man in the prisoner's box, she told him how she lives each day with the haunting memories.
"Not only is my daughter gone, but she was taken in such a cruel, horrible way by those she thought were her friends."
She was speaking to Paul Bradey, 45, who sat without emotion as he looked back at her. Yesterday he was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 25 years for torturing Katlin Cousineau to death with a blowtorch in the basement of his home on Nov. 13, 2007.
Throughout the trial the jury, who showed up for the sentencing yesterday, never heard any explanation as to why the 23-year-old mentally handicapped woman was routinely beaten and abused when she lived at Bradey's Midland, Ont., home with three other adults.
One witness who admitted to participating in handcuffing and beating Katlin testified it was a "possessed" house and told how he poured gasoline over her dead and tortured body in the form of a pentacle before he set her and the entire house on fire to destroy the evidence.
Last Updated: 3rd October 2009, 3:34am
BARRIE, Ont. -- In calm voice, a brave mother whose daughter was brutally murdered with a blowtorch stood at the front of the courtroom yesterday and said she is afraid that she will be eaten alive by her pain.
"My daughter would have forgiven with her great big heart, but I am not Katlin and forgiveness is not here with me today," said Deborah Laramay. Then turning to face the man in the prisoner's box, she told him how she lives each day with the haunting memories.
"Not only is my daughter gone, but she was taken in such a cruel, horrible way by those she thought were her friends."
She was speaking to Paul Bradey, 45, who sat without emotion as he looked back at her. Yesterday he was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 25 years for torturing Katlin Cousineau to death with a blowtorch in the basement of his home on Nov. 13, 2007.
Throughout the trial the jury, who showed up for the sentencing yesterday, never heard any explanation as to why the 23-year-old mentally handicapped woman was routinely beaten and abused when she lived at Bradey's Midland, Ont., home with three other adults.
One witness who admitted to participating in handcuffing and beating Katlin testified it was a "possessed" house and told how he poured gasoline over her dead and tortured body in the form of a pentacle before he set her and the entire house on fire to destroy the evidence.
Attorney gets off lightly for sleeping with drug dealing client
An attorney who slept with a client facing years behind bars for drug charges got off (pun intended) easy for her relationship with a drug dealer. Thirty-one year old Anna Scmaltz was given a public reprimand for the sexual relationship with Alfred Julian, who she represented as a public defendant in two 2006 drug cases.
Julian ratted his "lover" out because he was offered a plea deal which would have sent him to prison for 2 years. Julian, against Schmalz' advice, refused to take the deal, and was sentenced to 5 years, later reduced to 3 years on appeal. He then told officials he had a sexual relationship with his client.
Investigators asked Schmalz about Julian's assertions and she denied them, saying she only had a friendship with him.
Those denials continued - until investigators told her they had more than 50 hours of recorded telephone conversation between Schmalz and Julian when he was behind bars.
According to the Ohio Supreme Court statement, "The calls had been monitored by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department with the knowledge of the participants...Among the approximately 110 half-hour recorded conversations between (Schmalz) and her client were explicit descriptions of sexual acts and professions of love between the two. In at least three calls, (Schmalz) requested and/or engaged in telephone sexual activity with her client."
The decision was reached to reprimant and not issue more severe sanctions because in that drug case in which Julian was sentenced to 5 years, Schmalz' defense enabled the jury to acquit Julian of two other charges. Julian was found not guilty of all charges against him in the second case.
Julian ratted his "lover" out because he was offered a plea deal which would have sent him to prison for 2 years. Julian, against Schmalz' advice, refused to take the deal, and was sentenced to 5 years, later reduced to 3 years on appeal. He then told officials he had a sexual relationship with his client.
Investigators asked Schmalz about Julian's assertions and she denied them, saying she only had a friendship with him.
Those denials continued - until investigators told her they had more than 50 hours of recorded telephone conversation between Schmalz and Julian when he was behind bars.
According to the Ohio Supreme Court statement, "The calls had been monitored by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department with the knowledge of the participants...Among the approximately 110 half-hour recorded conversations between (Schmalz) and her client were explicit descriptions of sexual acts and professions of love between the two. In at least three calls, (Schmalz) requested and/or engaged in telephone sexual activity with her client."
The decision was reached to reprimant and not issue more severe sanctions because in that drug case in which Julian was sentenced to 5 years, Schmalz' defense enabled the jury to acquit Julian of two other charges. Julian was found not guilty of all charges against him in the second case.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Monterey County doctor sentenced to 6 years for sodomizing acquaintence
A doctor who groomed and then raped women he went on dates with was sentenced to 6 years in prison Friday September 25. Carl Bergstrom, a remorseless "sexual predator," as referred to in his sentencing by Judge Russell Scott, was sentenced on the strength of the testimony by "Jane Doe #1," and the abuse of his position of trust by that assault on April 14, 2007. Bergstrom was convicted of sodomy on July 27.
"It does appear, from all of the evidence at trial ... the jury's verdict and your inability to stop, that you are a sexual predator," and his harsh words did not stop with the convicted, disgraced doctor.
Judge Scott excoriated defenders of Bergstrom, since they rolled their eyes in disbelief during the victim impact statement by Jane Doe #1.
"That's wrong. There's something wrong with that," the judge said, asking them if they would feel the same way if it were their daughter or granddaughter who had been assaulted by Bergstrom.
During the trial, Scott said, he heard and watched the victim, who "literally curled up on the witness stand" as she described the assault and her resulting injuries.
"I am not in disbelief," he said. "There is very little doubt ... this jury reached the correct verdict."
During the closing arguments, defense attorney Tom Worthington stated that Jane Doe 1 needed to take some responsibility. "What were you expecting when you drank in a bar with the doctor, went to his home with no ride home, allowed him to kiss you and put his hand under your shirt?"
Prosecutor Johnson responded by pointing out the victim's injuries and her one week hospital stay, stating that as a remorseless predator of women, Bergstrom "deserves no mercy."
"That question is best answered by asking, what weren't you expecting," Judge Scott said.
"Jane Doe 1" testified that Bergstrom, 53, attacked her in his home after the two spent an evening drinking and socializing in Carmel. She said they were on his couch and she remembers kissing him, then "fading out." She was jarred awake when Bergstrom began sodomizing her as she was on her knees in front of the couch.
She said she repeatedly screamed for him to stop but he continued by physically restraining her. When he eventually left the room, she fled and called 911 from outside his home.
A 12-hour rape examination that followed detailed severe injuries from the assault as well as a fall as she tried to flee.
In her statement to the court, the woman said she still suffers from the physical and emotional injuries of the night. She said she is ashamed and feels the small community she works in knows who she is.
Two other women testified at his trial that they were sexually assaulted by him, though Bergstrom was not charged in their cases.
Jane Doe 3
Scott said he was particularly convinced by the testimony of Jane Doe 3, a young widow who testified that Bergstrom had similarly raped and sodomized her on a blind date that her daughters convinced her to go on.
Chastising Bergstrom's supporters, he read from a transcript of her first statement to an investigator, delivered after Bergstrom's trial had already begun in July. She had never reported the assault because she didn't want her daughters to know and feel responsible.
In the end the woman testified as Jane Doe 3. Like Jane Doe 1, the woman said Bergstrom forced himself on her after a night of drinking and socializing. Like Jane Doe 2, who described a similar assault, she said she felt she had been drugged.
Bergstrom's defense attorney's motion for a new trial, based of a detailed definition of consent and the belief that the prosecutor was inviting the jury to convict Bergstrom of an uncharged crime of sexual assault of an intoxicated person, was denied.
Bergstrom's license to practice medicine is also in jeopardy. On the day of the conviction, Bergstrom was charged by the Medical Board Of California with the use and solicitation for sale of cocaine, and for practising medicine from jail.
During his sentencing hearing, prosecutor Cristina Johnson said jailhouse recordings captured Bergstrom giving medical advice to his patients over the phone, then soliciting money from them to pay for his criminal defense.
The board's accusation cites another tape recording as well. In 2007, according to court records, Bergstrom inadvertently left his dictation recorder running in his office for 5½ hours. It recorded him trading cocaine for cash and prescription drugs, using cocaine and offering to sell it or trade it for sex.
According to the accusation, the medical board subpoenaed a copy of the tape from Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in July.
According to California law, sex offenders must have their medical licenses revoked for a period of 5 years minimum, and remain revoked until 3 years after successful parole completion. Bergstrom's license was suspended upon conviction. Bergstrom may petition the Monterey County Superior Court for a finding of rehabilitation, at which point the California Medical Board may decide to reinstate his license, a process that according to Deputy Attorney General Lawrence Mercer, won't happen.
"He's not coming back. What, he's coming back as a 66-year-old ex-con? I don't think he's going to make much of an impression."
"It does appear, from all of the evidence at trial ... the jury's verdict and your inability to stop, that you are a sexual predator," and his harsh words did not stop with the convicted, disgraced doctor.
Judge Scott excoriated defenders of Bergstrom, since they rolled their eyes in disbelief during the victim impact statement by Jane Doe #1.
"That's wrong. There's something wrong with that," the judge said, asking them if they would feel the same way if it were their daughter or granddaughter who had been assaulted by Bergstrom.
During the trial, Scott said, he heard and watched the victim, who "literally curled up on the witness stand" as she described the assault and her resulting injuries.
"I am not in disbelief," he said. "There is very little doubt ... this jury reached the correct verdict."
During the closing arguments, defense attorney Tom Worthington stated that Jane Doe 1 needed to take some responsibility. "What were you expecting when you drank in a bar with the doctor, went to his home with no ride home, allowed him to kiss you and put his hand under your shirt?"
Prosecutor Johnson responded by pointing out the victim's injuries and her one week hospital stay, stating that as a remorseless predator of women, Bergstrom "deserves no mercy."
"That question is best answered by asking, what weren't you expecting," Judge Scott said.
"Jane Doe 1" testified that Bergstrom, 53, attacked her in his home after the two spent an evening drinking and socializing in Carmel. She said they were on his couch and she remembers kissing him, then "fading out." She was jarred awake when Bergstrom began sodomizing her as she was on her knees in front of the couch.
She said she repeatedly screamed for him to stop but he continued by physically restraining her. When he eventually left the room, she fled and called 911 from outside his home.
A 12-hour rape examination that followed detailed severe injuries from the assault as well as a fall as she tried to flee.
In her statement to the court, the woman said she still suffers from the physical and emotional injuries of the night. She said she is ashamed and feels the small community she works in knows who she is.
Two other women testified at his trial that they were sexually assaulted by him, though Bergstrom was not charged in their cases.
Jane Doe 3
Scott said he was particularly convinced by the testimony of Jane Doe 3, a young widow who testified that Bergstrom had similarly raped and sodomized her on a blind date that her daughters convinced her to go on.
Chastising Bergstrom's supporters, he read from a transcript of her first statement to an investigator, delivered after Bergstrom's trial had already begun in July. She had never reported the assault because she didn't want her daughters to know and feel responsible.
In the end the woman testified as Jane Doe 3. Like Jane Doe 1, the woman said Bergstrom forced himself on her after a night of drinking and socializing. Like Jane Doe 2, who described a similar assault, she said she felt she had been drugged.
Bergstrom's defense attorney's motion for a new trial, based of a detailed definition of consent and the belief that the prosecutor was inviting the jury to convict Bergstrom of an uncharged crime of sexual assault of an intoxicated person, was denied.
Bergstrom's license to practice medicine is also in jeopardy. On the day of the conviction, Bergstrom was charged by the Medical Board Of California with the use and solicitation for sale of cocaine, and for practising medicine from jail.
During his sentencing hearing, prosecutor Cristina Johnson said jailhouse recordings captured Bergstrom giving medical advice to his patients over the phone, then soliciting money from them to pay for his criminal defense.
The board's accusation cites another tape recording as well. In 2007, according to court records, Bergstrom inadvertently left his dictation recorder running in his office for 5½ hours. It recorded him trading cocaine for cash and prescription drugs, using cocaine and offering to sell it or trade it for sex.
According to the accusation, the medical board subpoenaed a copy of the tape from Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in July.
According to California law, sex offenders must have their medical licenses revoked for a period of 5 years minimum, and remain revoked until 3 years after successful parole completion. Bergstrom's license was suspended upon conviction. Bergstrom may petition the Monterey County Superior Court for a finding of rehabilitation, at which point the California Medical Board may decide to reinstate his license, a process that according to Deputy Attorney General Lawrence Mercer, won't happen.
"He's not coming back. What, he's coming back as a 66-year-old ex-con? I don't think he's going to make much of an impression."
Saturday, October 3, 2009
If Polanski's assault of a 13 year old girl isn't "rape-rape," then what is?
A week ago today, celebrated director Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss authorities for fleeing the United States after his conviction on the rape of a 13 year old girl after drugging and luring her to his friend Jack Nicholson's house for a photo shoot. Many opinions have been given in the week since his capture. Some of these opinions are found here, here, here, and here.
I write about this here because when drugging and forcing oneself on another is not seen as true rape, then other rapes, those which don't involve drugs, force, or minors, are more easily dismissed and minimized. By minimizing Roman Polanski's crime, people also minimize date and partner rapes against adult victims, because those rapes involve less coercion and older victims then the Polanski rape.
What is noticeable that only a few celebrities have publicly came out and said that what Polanski did to Samatha Geimer is rape. Not statutory rape, but, in Whoopi Goldberg's term, "rape-rape." These few celebrities include Chris Rock and Kirstie Alley. Most Hollywood celebrities are firmly standing behind their man.
One thing overlooked by most commentators who get that what Polanski did was a crime is that drugging and sodomizing anyone is what Whoopi Goldberg would call "real rape." Being 13 aggravates the crime, but adult status does not mitigate it. Even if Samantha Geimer was the same age as Polanski, and the director drugged then had sex with her, it would still be rape. The elements of the rape were the drugging, then forcing himself on the victim, not the victim's age. Age comes into play when drugs, force, or formal fiduciary positions are not used to trap and violate the victim.
If people can "debate" whether a drugged 13 year old girl in a powerful Hollywood personality's sexual lair was really raped, then they would have no problem at all dismissing a grown woman's claims that a director forced herself on her. If people aren't willing to see that status influences sexual coercion (whether non violent or violent), then they are certainly willing to ignore the rapes which occur between people in the same "peer" groups, whether date rape on campus, partner rape, or spousal rape.
If one person is willing to manipulate, coerce, or force sex from another, you have a victim and a perpetrator, not "lovers." The rapist (or sexual coercer) creates power difference in addition to whatever power differentials existed when he rapes his victim. All sexual or other advances before the rape in cases of date rape or "partner" rape are grooming, designed to let the victim's guard down before the attack.
When rape in such a clear case as Polanski's is minimized, then efforts into sexual assault prevention in other areas are also compromized. After all, say the rape apologists, if a 43 year old man with a drugged 13 year old girl isn't really rape, then the 25 year old man who had sex with his sleeping 25 year old "partner" definitely did not violate her.
Society has a long way to go to change these attitudes. The events of last week certaingly nailed that.
I write about this here because when drugging and forcing oneself on another is not seen as true rape, then other rapes, those which don't involve drugs, force, or minors, are more easily dismissed and minimized. By minimizing Roman Polanski's crime, people also minimize date and partner rapes against adult victims, because those rapes involve less coercion and older victims then the Polanski rape.
What is noticeable that only a few celebrities have publicly came out and said that what Polanski did to Samatha Geimer is rape. Not statutory rape, but, in Whoopi Goldberg's term, "rape-rape." These few celebrities include Chris Rock and Kirstie Alley. Most Hollywood celebrities are firmly standing behind their man.
One thing overlooked by most commentators who get that what Polanski did was a crime is that drugging and sodomizing anyone is what Whoopi Goldberg would call "real rape." Being 13 aggravates the crime, but adult status does not mitigate it. Even if Samantha Geimer was the same age as Polanski, and the director drugged then had sex with her, it would still be rape. The elements of the rape were the drugging, then forcing himself on the victim, not the victim's age. Age comes into play when drugs, force, or formal fiduciary positions are not used to trap and violate the victim.
If people can "debate" whether a drugged 13 year old girl in a powerful Hollywood personality's sexual lair was really raped, then they would have no problem at all dismissing a grown woman's claims that a director forced herself on her. If people aren't willing to see that status influences sexual coercion (whether non violent or violent), then they are certainly willing to ignore the rapes which occur between people in the same "peer" groups, whether date rape on campus, partner rape, or spousal rape.
If one person is willing to manipulate, coerce, or force sex from another, you have a victim and a perpetrator, not "lovers." The rapist (or sexual coercer) creates power difference in addition to whatever power differentials existed when he rapes his victim. All sexual or other advances before the rape in cases of date rape or "partner" rape are grooming, designed to let the victim's guard down before the attack.
When rape in such a clear case as Polanski's is minimized, then efforts into sexual assault prevention in other areas are also compromized. After all, say the rape apologists, if a 43 year old man with a drugged 13 year old girl isn't really rape, then the 25 year old man who had sex with his sleeping 25 year old "partner" definitely did not violate her.
Society has a long way to go to change these attitudes. The events of last week certaingly nailed that.
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