Rapist sentenced to 50 more years for week-long assault on wife - appeal denied

(Original Post 9-29-09)
A man who was convicted of raping his wife in a second trial was sentenced to 50 years in prison in addition to 22 years handed down in a previous aggravated rape conviction. The 50 years sentence stems from two consecutive 25 year sentences for aggravated rape and especially aggravated kidnapping. 6 year sentences for aggravated burglary and aggravated assault were imposed, but they'll run concurrently with the other charges.

Sullivan County Criminal Court Judge Robert Montgomery said that he “I shudder to think what might have happened” if Bristol TN resident Doug Young, 49, hadn't been apprehended in Georgia a week after he kidnapped and raped his wife, Heather Moore.

The rapes and kidnapping occurred over the week of January 4 to 11, 2008 after they ate breakfast at Moore's home. Young's presence was a violation of the protective order Moore filed against him on December 3, 2007, citing that “[Young] possesses many firearms and has threatened to shoot me and I am in fear for my life.” Moore's father, fred Moore began staying with his daughter, trying to protect her.

The two traveled in Moore’s vehicle to Asheville, N.C., where they spent the night at a rest stop; to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where they circled the scenic loop over and over again; and to Cherokee, N.C., where they holed up at the Drama Inn for most of the next week, according to testimony presented Monday and Tuesday.

From Cherokee, Young and Moore took shopping and dining excursions to Spartanburg, S.C., and Clayton, Ga. From Jan. 4 to Jan. 11, Moore testified, Young kept a gun trained on her at almost all times, and forced her to have sex with him on at least seven separate occasions. Prosecutors are focusing only on the incidents that occurred in Sullivan County.

Everywhere they went, Moore testified, Young kept the pistol in his right-hand pants pocket. One day, while drinking vodka and driving, Young menaced her with the gun, running it up and down her head, saying, “I could kill you right now,” she recalled.

Friday’s sentencing concluded the most serious charges that Young racked up in just over a month between Dec. 1, 2007, and Jan. 10, 2008. Before then, he had been a superintendent at BurWil Construction, whose worst offense was an incident of joyriding as a juvenile.

But with his marriage to Moore unraveling, Young turned violent, sexually assaulting Moore in December 2007 at her home, after she refused to give him a hug, a jury concluded.

Then, on the eve of finalizing their divorce and days ahead of a hearing on Young’s aggravated rape charge, he violated the court’s no-contact order and stole in to Moore’s house to wait for her.

Prosecutors in Young’s second trial in August built their case by focusing on his offenses from the time he entered Moore’s residence, to when he left, abducting her at gunpoint, and commandeering her car.

According to Moore's previous victim impact statement, she fears coming home at dark, her rapist escaping and putting a gun to her head, and has to face the door when eating at restaurants. "All of this make it very difficult to report a crime like this and have the most horrible thing that has ever happened to you be exposed in the media for all to see.”

Moore's mother, Margaret Schaffer, said that “We’re going forward now. We’re not looking back.” Young's 2008 rape conviction is currently being appealed.

(Update 5-27-11) Doug Young's appeal of his 2009 rape conviction has been denied by the Tennessee Court Of Criminal Appeals in a unanimous decision dated Monday, May 23, 2011. The appeal is based on the introduction of Young's 1st rape conviction in the second trial as evidence. The court said that while testimony regarding the first rape conviction was a bit excessive, it allowed prosecutors to privide evidence of a criminal plan or motive. The appellate court also ruled that other evidence against Young outweightd the error of allowing the testimony relating to the first conviction. The entire decision can be found here in this pdf file. The case number is E2010-00027-CCA-R3-CD.

Missing mother abducted from parents' house by estranged husband - husband sentenced to life without parole

By Rex Hall Jr.

Kalamazoo Gazette

April 26, 2010, 5:03PM

COLON TOWNSHIP — Police are searching for a missing St. Joseph County woman who is believed to have been abducted Monday morning by her estranged husband, authorities said.

 

Venus Rose Stewart, 32, was taken some time between 7:10 and 8:30 a.m. from her parents’ home in the 55000 block of Driftwood Drive in Colon Township, according to Michigan State Police. Police said Stewart, who was last seen wearing pajamas, may be with her estranged husband, Douglas Harrie Stewart, 29.

“We have information to believe she did not leave voluntarily,” said Lt. Mike Risko of the State Police Post in White Pigeon.

Police said the Stewarts may be traveling in a 1998 silver Mercury sedan with Virginia license plate XNP1453 or a silver full-size Dodge Ram with four doors and Virginia plate XNP1301. Douglas Stewart lives in Newport News, Va., and police believe the two may be headed there.

Risko said Venus Stewart formerly lived in Newport News but had moved back to Michigan where she was living with her parents and children. He said Venus Stewart’s father and children were asleep at the house in Colon Township at the time that she is believed to have been abducted. The lieutenant declined to say Monday what information police have that leads them to believe that Venus Stewart did not leave her parents’ home willingly.

Police described Venus Stewart as a white female, 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing approximately 130 pounds with brown eyes and dark hair. Douglas Stewart is described as a white male, 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing approximately 250 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Police ask that anyone with information about the Stewarts’ whereabouts to call the White Pigeon post at 269-483-7611 or the State Police Regional Dispatch Center in Rockford.

(Update 5-2-11)

Two weeks ago, Doug Stewart was sentenced to life without parole after being convicted of kidnapping and killing his wife. Stewart was sentenced to life without parole on counts of 1st degree intential murder, and conspiracy to commit first degree inentional murder. A St. Joseph jury convicted Douglas of these charges on March 11 after a three week trial.

During the sentencing, which took place on April 18, Venus' brother Dustin Jasper read a statement by their mother, Therese McComb. Jasper was angry at his former brother-in-law for not telling his family where Venus' McComb's body was.

“Don’t you miss her? Don’t you realize how much Brook and Rachel need their mother? This just shows how much you didn’t love them and saw them as pawns to hunt Venus. You’re hurting Mom by not telling where she is at to have a proper burial.”

Jasper then called his sister's murder a sociopath who lied and seduced his sister into the marriage. "He never served in Afghanistan or was a sniper...A pathological liar lies to get sympathy, to look better, to save his butt...A sociopath will quickly proclaim that you are their true love and soulmate,” Jasper said. “They want to move in together or get married quickly.”

St. Joseph County Circuit Judge Paul Stutesman presided over the trial and sentencing.

A week ago, on April 26, 2011,  a vigil was held for Venus McComb in Centreville, MI. It was led by Pastor Don Smith of Firm Foundation Ministries and attended by about 100 people. Pastor Smith said “It was a special day for me. My mother had also dedicated her life to the Lord and was going to be baptized that day...You could see the joy in her face in the midst of the struggles she was going through. Today, the biggest question is, ‘what are we supposed to do without Venus?’ How can something good come out of something so tragic?...We see the life in her legacy just by looking at her daughters. There’s nothing wrong with crying over Venus tonight. We need to mourn.”

Theresa McComb, the victim's mother said, “She made my life complete...She was a free spirit. She loved her little girls more than anything in the world.”

Sterling Heights man who kidnapped, raped mother of his children gets 26 3/4 to 75 years

A Sterling Heights, MI man was sentenced to 26 3/4 to 75 years in prison in a suburban Detroit courtroom Friday, April 15, 2011 for raping and kidnapping his "girlfriend," the mother of his two children, on New Years Day 2010.  Brandon Jay Smith kidnapped the woman be forcing her into his grandmother's car when she arrived to work at a Green Oak Township restaurant.

The woman testified at a June preliminary examination that Smith was waiting for her when she arrived to work. She said he told her not to resist and not to scream for help. She resisted and she screamed, and Smith grew angrier, the woman said. The woman sat on the ground in an effort to be dead weight, but her 5-foot, 96-pound frame was no match for Smith, at 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds.

She said Smith fled on U.S. 23, where he cut off his electronic tether, he had to wear one as a condition of his sentencing less than a month earlier on charges of aggravated domestic violence against the same woman, and threw it out the window. He put zip ties on her wrists and took the batteries out of both of their cell phones.

Smith told the woman that he was taking her somewhere no one would find her and during that trip north, he told her that he was going to asphyxiate himself and she was going to watch. He also told her that he was going to kill her and if police stopped them, he threatened to kill her in front of them.

The woman said Smith raped her while en route to his family’s camper trailer in Antrim County and again once they reached the site. She was rescued by Antrim County sheriff’s deputies in the early morning hours of Jan. 2, 2010.

Defense attorney Mark Gatesman said that he was proud of his client's taking responsibility. He also said that a factor in his client's favor was that instead of killing his victim should police raid the trailer, he simply surrendered to police.

This view contrasts with some of the statements Smith made to the Center for Forensic Psychiatry.  "My intent was never to hurt her, but she got hurt. We were supposed to go up to the camper, up north. She kept asking why we were going there. I told her that's where I'm going to commit suicide. ... The reason she was with me was she could watch. Never got around to doing it, though. The cops came before I had a chance to."

However, according to presiding Judge Livingston County Circuit Judge Michael P. Hatty, it was Smith's mother who took on her reasonably to the mother of her grandkids to lead them to the camper. Judge Hatty, citing the "horrendous" nature of the case, said "This case came up very short of being a murder case, if the police didn't get there quick enough." According to Prosecutor David Moses, the victim was 45 minutes from death. "She thought she was going to die. She thought she would not see her family again, would not see her children," Moses said about the victim.

Beside the kidnapping and 1st degree criminal sexual conduct counts, Smith was also sentenced for assault with intent to commit great bodily harm, aggravated domestic violence and assault with a dangerous weapon for threatening and cutting the woman with a knife as well as interfering with electronic communications.

The victim's father, who attended the sentencing, said that he thanked the officials who helped find his daughter. "We owe a lot to the police agencies that were involved in this. Those guys did a great job."

Serial criminal sentenced to 88 years for rape, confinement of 78 year old woman

Friday, March 4, 2011

By Anna Rochelle, Staff Writer [Greene County [IN] Daily World]

The wheels of justice turned tough Friday [March 4, 2011]on Alex C. Callison, a Bloomfield man who entered several pleas of guilty in a case involving the rape and confinement of a 78-year-old woman in October. He's headed to the Indiana Department of Corrections for 88 years in prison. Even if he racks up good time credit, it would still be 44 years before his release. Callison was 28 years old when he was arrested on Oct. 31.

When Greene Superior Court Judge Dena Martin pronounced the sentence on each of four criminal counts, she ruled that the sentences will be served consecutively, or one after the other.

During a change of plea and sentencing hearing early Monday, Callison entered a plea of guilty to, and was sentenced to:

* Burglary, a class A felony, 47.5 years (the maximum allowed by law is 50 years)

* Rape, a class B felony, 19 years (maximum of 20 years)

* Criminal deviate conduct, a class B felony, 19 years (maximum of 20 years)

* Intimidation, a class D felony, 2.5 years (maximum of 3 years)

Callison was represented in court by Attorney James Riester, serving as a public defender. The State's case was argued by Greene County Deputy Prosecutor Keven McIntosh.

The case initially filed against Callison included five other criminal counts which were dismissed under the terms of a negotiated plea agreement. The agreement left sentencing up to the discretion of the judge.

After the hearing, McIntosh said the Prosecutor's Office was pleased with the sentences. "He got roughly what he would have gotten had this case gone to trial and if he had been found guilty by a jury," said McIntosh noting that under Indiana's sentencing guidelines, some of the charges would have been merged for sentencing purposes.

"I'm happy with the outcome and I think the victim's family is happy with the outcome," said McIntosh.

The defense did not share that satisfaction and requested that a state public defender be appointed to represent Callison in an appeal of the sentence. Since Callison plead guilty, by law he cannot appeal the conviction, but he can appeal the sentence.

McIntosh said the victim did not ever want to see the defendant again and she didn't want to have to go through a trial. But she told him if it became necessary, she would testify. The victim did not attend the sentencing hearing, but was represented by four members of her family who all took the stand: Three daughters and one granddaughter.

 "They did a tremendous job conveying to the judge how this has affected their mother and grandmother and their entire family," said McIntosh. "They should be commended for their heartfelt testimony."

Callison was accused of breaking into a home where the elderly victim lived alone. She thought she heard a knock on her door at 3:30 a.m. but chose not to answer it due to the time of night. Moments later Callison broke in and made his way into her bedroom.

Callison stayed in the home until the next afternoon. During that time, the victim was attacked again and again, forced to make breakfast for the man and she was threatened with knives out of her own kitchen.

She was able to give police a description and later identified Callison in a photo lineup. Crime scene technicians seized numerous items of evidence including the knives, Coke cans he drank from and other materials with DNA evidence and/or fingerprints.

When the victim was first interviewed, a detective said she was "visibly shaken" and became physically ill. During the hearing, two interviews were replayed, one with the victim and one with Callison.

Callison's criminal history was also brought out -- he had one previous conviction on his record, a class C felony burglary involving a break-in at a barber shop in Daviess County. Callison was on parole for that conviction when the current crime was committed.

McIntosh said he thought the defendant did seem sorry for what had happened but that didn't make up for what he did to the victim.

"I do not think that Callison is just a predator. I think this incident was fueled by drugs and alcohol," said McIntosh. "Appearances can be deceiving, but in court, he seemed remorseful. And by admitting guilt, he did save us going through a trial."

When asked about the victim's recovery, McIntosh said this had been a very difficult experience for her. "Since this happened, she's no longer able to stay by herself -- this changed her life greatly," said McIntosh. "She's tough, but this has affected her deeply. I hope she will overcome this, I think she will overcome this. I know she's a resilient lady."

© Copyright 2011 Greene County Daily World. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Former beauty queen pleads guilty to soliciting kidnapping of "boyfriend," sentenced to 2 years in prison, 6 years probation

(Original Post 12-10-09)

A former beauty queen has plead guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and aggravated assault Tuesday, December 8. Twenty-seven year old Kumari Fulbright's guilty plea was heard and accepted by Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Nichols, who will formally sentence her to two years in prison for aggravated assault and seven years probation for kidnapping.

Fulbright and three other defendants, Larry Hammond, Robert Ergonis, and David Wayne Radde planned and carried out the attack, according to law enforcement. The motive for the attack, according to prosecutors, was Fulbright's anger at her jewelry being pawned off to settle a $16,000 drug debt.

Defense attorney Steve Weiss told Judge Richard Nichols that Fulbright conspired with others to restrain her former boyfriend in December 2007 and brandished a knife near his ear, threatening to cut it. Although she signed a plea agreement, Fulbright was reluctant to verbally acknowledge her actions and accept the terms in court, as required, saying she did not agree with her attorney's description of the crime.

Each time Nichols asked Fulbright if she committed a particular act, she refused to answer directly. Instead answering yes or no, Fulbright told the judge such things as "I agree I'm pleading guilty" or "I am guilty" or "The evidence shows that."

At one point, Fulbright also snapped that she reads, writes and understands English and she signed the plea agreement. Eventually, Fulbright said, "OK, yes" when asked if she conspired to have the man restrained, she brandished the knife and she threatened him with it.

Fulbright was a law clerk for a federal court and a law student at the University of Arizona. She won the Miss Pima County pageant in 2005 and the Miss Desert Sun pageant in 2006. Hammond plead guilty to aggravated assault, and faces a sentence of as much as 8 3/4 years in prison. Radde also plead guilty to kidnapping conspiracy charges and faces 3 to 12 1/2 years in this case as well as another 3 to 12 1/2 years for unrelated drugs and weapons charges. All sentences will be handed down after the trial of Ergonis.

(Update 12-13-10) The former law clerk was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment and 6 years probation for her role in the kidnapping of her "boyfriend." Pima County Superior Court Judge Michael Miller handed down the sentence after Fulbright pled guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and aggravated assault in a Tuscon, AZ courtroom Thursday, December 9.

Defense attorney Steve Sherick asked for 18 months of probation. Prosecutor Michael Jette didn’t specify how long he thought she should be placed on probation, but told Miller she didn’t live up to the terms of her plea agreement and almost had it revoked.Jette told Miller Fulbright has done “anything and everything” to protect Ergonis, thus violating her promise to tell the truth on the stand. She also told Radde what he should testify, Jette said.

[The victim]’s desire to move on with his life is the only reason Fulbright was extended a plea agreement in the first place and it’s the only reason it hasn’t been revoked, Jette said. Fulbright still hasn’t accepted responsibility for her actions or shown remorse, Jette said.

Sherick told Miller his client’s testimony was truthful and consistent with police statements and defense interviews she’s given. The defense attorney cited Fulbright’s remorse and behavior while on pretrial release and while in jail as reasons for a short term of probation.

Besides the prison sentence, Fulbright was also ordered to pay $15,000 restitution to her victim. Ergonis will be sentenced later this week.

(Update 1-12-11) Ergonis was sentenced to 22 1/2 years imprisonment on December 16, 2010. He was convicted in November 2010 by a Pima County jury of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, armed robbery and aggravated robbery. It was revealed that Fulbright had been "dating" Ergonis for months, writing him while he was on tril to tell him that the prosecution had no case and that she did not want to testify against him.

DNA database hit leads to Minneapolis rape suspect, two trials, acquittal

(Original Post 5-9-08)
A Brooklyn Park man was arrested after a DNA hit linked him to the kidnapping and rape of a woman from a Minneapolis nightclub last summer. Duncan Nyanaro Osoro, 24, has been charged with 1st degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

The woman told police she was at the Karma nightclub on August 26, 2007 in Minneapolis when a friend became sick and threw up after only two drinks at a nightclub. This friend had never became sick after drinking before.

Between 2 & 10 AM, the victim was unconscious in a grassy area near I-94. When she came to, blood was on her white shirt, hands and knees, and a subsequent sexual assault exam at the Hennepin County Medical Center revealed the rape. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s DNA database matched osoro to the evidence at the scene.

(1-7-11 Acquittal) After two trials, Osoro was acquitted of kidnapping and rape charges against him. The final acquittal came December 23 after a three week trial and an hour of deliberation. Osoro was held in jail for 16 months, according to his attorney, Joseph Fru, who suspects race played a role. Despite the acquittal, Hennipin County Prosecutor Mike Freeman maintained the peosecution was just. "The jury made its decision, we believe in the system, and we accept the decision. We're moving forward."

Hialeah, FL armed robber gets 30 years for robbery, rape, kidnapping

A Hialeah, FL rapist and robber was sentenced to 30 years in prison by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ellen Sue Venzer on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 after pleading guilty to a crime spree which included burglary, robbery, and rape. Jeosvany Salas was caught after DNA evidence left at the attacks matched his profile.

The crimes Salas plead guilty to involved:

Tying up and robbing a 73-year-old Miami woman in a September 2007 robbery that police said was a case of mistaken identity. Through forensic science, again, a fingerprint found on a piece of Scotch tape doomed Salas.

Kidnapping a Miami-Dade pawn shop owner in August 2008, holding him hostage for nine hours. Salas was nailed when his DNA was found on a beer bottle he drank from inside the victim's home.

Taking a Hialeah mother hostage in May 2008, shooting her with a stun gun and sexually assaulting her. It was that final act that broke the case: Saliva swabbed off the victim's chest matched Salas' DNA.

Salas was set to go to trial on the attack on the 73 year old woman, and was facing 21 life sentences in all, but plead after prosecutors filed the rape case. The attack on the woman occured after Salas and other robbers mistook her home for a Cuban human trafficer's. The rape case started out as a kidnapping and robbery, where Salas and his gang tied up the mother and her daughter while ransacking their home looking for electronics and jewerly. The rape occured after Salas asked the mother for a kiss and licked her body. The pawn show owner was beaten for hours while the robbers tried to get him to hand over his secuirty codes. Police caught Salas after noticing his SUV outside the pawn shop.

Text messaging "lovers" receive life without parole in murder of woman's husband

Monterey County, CA Judge Larry Hayes sentenced a mother and her "lover" to life without parole for kidnapping and killing the woman's husband.  Marisela Zarate Andrade, 33, and Sergio de la Cruz, 34, were sentenced to life without parole Tuesday, September 14 for the murder of Jose "Nicco" Zarate of Wasco, CA. Zarate was kidnapped April 11, 2008 from his home and his body was found three days later in the trunk of a Ford Escort near Gonzales, CA vineyard with his hands and feet bound with duct tape, shot between the eyes.

The evidence which convicted the two was collected by Monterey County Sheriff's detective Brett Speirs. These included text messages which spoke of how Marisela and De La Cruz intended to kidnap and kill Jose. Marisela would drug her husband's coffee with chloroform, then De La Cruz and another man would kidnap Jose from his Wasco home. After killing Jose, Marisela wanted De La Cruz to behead her husband to make sure "the rat (is) very dead." The pistol used to kill Jose was recovered in San Francicso during a drug raid.

She gave police different statements about the last time she saw him. When confronted with the text messages, she admitted she participated in the plan to have her husband abducted, but insisted she only wanted him beaten up, a claim she maintained at trial.

Noting that he had received a letter from Zarate Andrade prior to sentencing, Hayes said Tuesday the woman was in denial. He said the length of time the two spent planning the murder, and the content of the text messages, showed the extent of the cruelty they intended to inflict on the victim.

Judge Hayes said,"In some ways you are both very lucky the DA did not choose to (seek) the death penalty in this case. That's how atrocious this murder was." Prosecutor David Gross could have sought the death penalty because Zarate's murder occurred duing the course of a kidnapping.

Besides the life without parole sentenced, Judge Hayes sentenced Marisela to an additional 8 years for kidnapping and De La Cruz to an additional 33 to life for kidnapping and executing the victim. Hayes stayed both sentences. The victim's family attended the sentencing.

Man forces wife and her "lover" to have sex after catching her cheating - both plead guilty

(Original Post 12-24-09)
A man whose wife cheated on him with another man allegedly forced the "lover" and his wife to have sex with each other in their Minnesota home. 52 year old Kevin Robert Thomas was charged in Cook County, MN court with kidnapping, second-degree assault, terroristic threats, false imprisonment, domestic assault and second-degree criminal sexual conduct. His wife, Susan Ann Thompson, 40, is charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping and false imprisonment.

According to the criminal complaint filed against Susan Thompson, the alleged victim believed that her husband had discovered the affair. When he turned down her invitation to her home on May 15, she became angry and threatened to tell her husband that the alleged victim had been bothering her. She said her husband would harm him by “peeling off his face or killing him,” the complaint alleges.

 Susan Thompson is accused of calling the alleged victim several times on May 15 and demanding that he come to their house. He eventually acquiesced. When he arrived at the house, the woman invited him downstairs. The man told Cook County sheriff’s deputies that the woman told him: “You look hot. Take off your shirt and take something else off.” He was wearing only a T-shirt and his underwear when Kevin Thompson arrived home. Kevin Thompson came downstairs holding a crowbar and a hammer.

[Defense Attorney Richard] Holmstrom said his client came home and saw another vehicle in his driveway and didn’t know if someone might be burglarizing his house. He said Kevin Thompson put a handgun in his belt for his own protection, went downstairs and found his wife and the alleged victim engaged in sexual activity.

Susan Thompson was charged because she willingly accepted a sex toy and did not express surprise or concern about the events, but the victim did, especially after Kevin struggled with him and tied him up with plastic ties and duct tape. According to the complaint, Kevin uttered threats to the "lover" during the standoff, saying “We start with losing a digit here and there...I could turn that on and put your face in it [the electric oven.]...I want to ruin you financially. I don’t need your money. I’ve got five million in the bank.”

Richard Holmstrom, who represents Kevin, said that  “The best way to sum this case up is if the prosecution wants to call [the alleged victim] a victim, the only thing he is a victim of is his own lust and his own illicit lust,” Holmstrom said. “He got caught in the act, and now they are trying to make it out that Kevin Thompson is some kind of a criminal here — and he’s just not.
 
"He came home and he’s presented with a situation where his wife is engaged in sexual activity with another man,” Holmstrom said. “He got mad, things happened during that night, but [the alleged victim] was not injured in any way physically. He was allowed to leave. … It’s our position that he committed no crime.”
 
Law enforcement alleges that they “found digital material on the Thompson’s computers and cell phones indicating that both husband and wife regularly search for ‘swinger’ relationships on the Internet … and have engaged in sexual relationships with multiple partners.”
[Susan Thompson's attorney Chris]Stocke describes Susan Thompson as “a very pretty woman, genteel, honest, well-spoken, professional.” He said she did volunteer work and had worked as a substitute teacher.

“That’s just speculation by police,” Holmstrom said. “They seized every computer they could get their hands on in the house. At least one of those computers had been used in Mr. Thompson’s business in the Chicago area.”

The Thompsons are the parents of an 11 year old boy, the only real victim, regardless of the outcome of this case.

(Update 5-14-10) Guilty Plea

The Thompsons plead guilty in Minnesota's Cook County District Court to kidnapping, false imprisonment, and criminal sexual conduct. Kevin Thompson also plead to second-degree assault and terroristic threats. Both appeared separately under 6th Judicial District Judge Kenneth Sandvik Tuesday, May 11.

Both testified that Kevin Thompson had learned of Susan's affair with another man about a week earlier, and that Kevin Thompson asked Susan to lure the victim to their residence. Susan Thompson, under questioning by her attorney, Christopher Stocke of Duluth, said she was no longer claiming that her husband forced her to take part in the scheme.

"He asked you to get (the victim) to come to your residence?" Stocke asked. "Yes," Susan Thompson said. "To really scare him?" "Yes." "Maybe threaten him?" "Yes."

Kevin Thompson, under questioning from his attorney, Richard Holmstrom of Duluth, testified that he surprised the victim in the basement of their home that night, that the two men struggled, and that Thompson overpowered the victim.

"You forced him to stay in the home for the next, I would imagine, six to eight hours?" Holmstrom asked. "Yes," Kevin Thompson said. "You don't have any doubt that he was terrorized?" "That's correct."  Thompson also testified that he displayed a firearm, and that he forced the victim to have sexual contact with his wife.

According to the plea agreement, Kevin will serve 2 years at the Northeast Regional Correction Center, another year under house arrest and 10 years probation. He'll be ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution and a $20,000 fine, undergo psychosexual evaluation and register as a sex offender. Susan will not have to register as a sex offender or spend time in prison, but will have to under a year or two of electronic monitoring, pay $10,000 fine, and otherwise abide by the same stipulations as her husband.

Cook County Attorney Timothy Scannell reached a plea agreement with both Thompsons separately. The lack of jail time for the wife was so their son, described as a straight A student by her attorney Chris Stocke, could be raised by at least one biological parent. "The main reason my client agreed to this is that (their child) would be able to be taken care of. If both of them were going to be incarcerated, this case would have gone to trial."

Scanell said that the involvement of the child factored into the prosecution's decision to plea. "I think that the impact of the child influenced their decision and the state's decision as well. I think it's an appropriate resolution, and I'm pleased that we're finally done with this case." Formal sentencing will be July 7.

(Update 7-11-10) As promised, the Thompsons were sentenced as indicated in their plea agreement Wednesday, July 7. The victim was present in their courtroom, and said in a statement, “The Thompsons are scurrilous individuals who show no shame, no remorse and no regret. It’s time for the Thompsons to realize that the gig is up.”

Judge Sandvik said that “You’re not here because you engaged in an alternative sexual lifestyle. You’re here because you engaged in violence and threats of violence … and they were sexual in nature.”

Kevin was ordered taken into custody immediately, while Susan was ordered under house arrest, which includes no guests without permission of her probation officer. Both Thompsons were ordered to enter sex offender treatment programs and pay restitution and court costs totaling $50,000.

Marine faces charged in abduction, rape of N. Virginia woman

A US Marine has been charged with the rape of two Ballston, VA women who he followed home and assaulted at around 4AM on February 27, 2010. 21 year old Jorge "George" Torrez was charged with acts relating to the gunpoint rape and abduction of two women after they returned home from a meal. According to authorities, after Torrez forced them inside of their house, one of the women called 911 and hung up, leading him to flee with the other woman.

4 hours later, that woman was found in Prince William County VA, close to the edge of Marine Corps Base Quantico. Torrez was stationed in Ft. Myer, near the area of the attack. She had been raped, beaten and choked to within inches of her life before being dumped in the woods. Authorities arrested him within hours of the attack.

Arlington police on Friday [June 25] announced that they have charged Torrez with 14 criminal counts related to the North Wakefield Street attack, including abduction, rape, forcible sodomy, robbery, burglary with intent to commit sexual assault and use of a firearm during a felony.

Torrez was already in jail for a second attack which took place February 10, 2010, when he allegedly attempted to abduct a woman at gunpoint near a local high school, but settled for simply grabbing her purse. That attack led to a composite sketch which led to Torrez.

Arlington County spokeswoman Crystal Nosal, a detective, said "If these two cases are connected, there's obviously a clear escalation within two weeks. Two weeks ago the woman convinced him not to take her, and then he confronts two women and leaves one for dead in Prince William County."

Torrez, who joined the Marine Corps at 18 immediately after graduating from high school in Zion, Ill., served in Okinawa, Japan, for two years before moving to Northern Virginia last year, according to his family. He had a lifelong ambition to join the military, an ambition that solidified after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, his sister said.

Sara Torrez said her brother has been working at the Pentagon and seemed to be enjoying it, their discussions centering on whether he wanted to continue with a career in the Marine Corps or to leave, go to school and return to Illinois.

Torrez is being held in the Arlington County Jail without bond. His next court appearance was scheduled for July 26, but may be sooner in Prince William County officials file their own charges. Prosecutors are considering bringing attempted capital murder charges against Torrez because it appears that parts of the attack occurred in their jurisdiction and the attack included rape.

Man sentenced to dozen years in prison for rape attempt which left woman brain damaged

A Gangster Disciple leader was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for kidnapping Monday, June 28 in the attempted rape of a woman, suffering from mental illness, who either fell or was pushed 7 stories off of a project building at 51st and Federal on Chicago's south side. The woman suffered broken legs, a broken pelvis, and massive brain injuries that will leave her under the care of a guardian for the rest of her life.

The victim, a 21-year-old woman who suffered from bipolar disorder, had just been released from the police lockup at 51st and Wentworth, authorities said. She wandered into a JJ Fish restaurant, and several young men took her to an apartment in the Robert Taylor Homes, sources said. A video camera in the restaurant reportedly captured bizarre behavior by the woman.

After she was left there by the men, now 27 year old Marvin Powell forced himself into the apartment, and ended up alone with the victim. Chicago police sought the last man in the apartment with her after the fall (or push) out of the window. Powell was originally charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, attempted criminal sexual assault and unlawful restraint, but plead guilty to a single count of kidnapping Monday, June 28.

Powell's previous most serious charge was attempted murder in 2002, pleaded down to aggravated battery with a firearm. He served 3 years before release in 2005.

Remains of 25 year old Brooklyn woman missing since December 2008 found- repeat sex offender suspected

(Original Post 12-11-08)
A high ranking New York City MTA assistant police chief’s son, sandwich shop owner, and registered SO was arrested yesterday on suspicion of the kidnapping (and presumably rape and murder) of a 25 year old aspiring dancer from McAllen, TX after her disappearance a week ago today.

According to her family, 25 year old Laura Garza, shoe store worker and recent transplant to New York from Texas, Garza fell in love with NYC after a trip there earlier this year, and saw an opportunity to engage in two of her passions – designing and dance.

Garza's cousin, Isela Villalobos, told WNBC Monday from Mission, Texas, that Garza loved New York after moving there from McAllen. “She went there for a vacation this year and she came back and told her mother she was moving,” Villalobos said. “She loved fashion and she loved the dance, and where else but New York do you go for that?”

As the search for Garza continues, all her friends and family can do is hope and pray that she is found alive.

Garza’s aunt, Elma Esquivel, sat with other family members in their home in Texas, holding pictures of the missing woman and weeping. “He knows where she is,” she said of Mele. “How come he don't tell us where she is?”

“If you guys see her, please call the police and let the authorities know that you've seen her or try to help her out,” her friend Christy Torres told NBC News. “We really want her to come home. We want her to be safe.”

Unfortunately, it is probably too late, as Garza crossed paths with 23 year old Michael Melo, the Newburgh, NY area sex offender with a history of exposing himself to women, and either forcing sex on them, or jacking off in front of them.

Melo had been charged, then convicted of shopping mall parking lot sexual assaults in New Jersey, where he would run up to women, jack off in front of them, leaving semen on his victim’s clothing. One of the New Jersey victims was a 16 year old girl. These offenses were plead down to child endangerment and forcible touching, and Melo was sentenced to 6 years probation.

Garza was picked up at a Manhattan club a week ago today at 4 AM by Melo and another man, after going out with a friend, something that profiler Clint Van Zandt says protects from sexual predation of adults:

Garza came to the bar with a friend, but she left her friend to be with a man she had just met, someone she otherwise knew nothing about. As Tom Cruise's character learned in the movie "Top Gun," you never leave your wingman, the person who would have your best interest at heart, a lesson also learned by 18-year-old Natalee Holloway in Aruba and Imette St. Guillen, the 24-year-old criminal justice graduate student who in early 2006, made a fatal error in judgment; she too trusted the wrong man.

After the other man left, Garza was left alone with Melo, who was the last person who saw her alive. They went to Melo’s hometown of Newburgh, and that’s where the last reports of her alive were made. Though she hasn’t been found, profiler Clint van Zandt lays out his belief that Garza is probably dead, using available police evidence:

When Garza was reported as missing, the police quickly went looking for Mele. When they found him he had scratches on his neck, bite marks on his hands, and had allegedly scrubbed his car and apartment with bleach, this with the assistance of his unknowing girlfriend. He also cut out a large piece of his carpet, indicating that he had accidentally spilled bleach on it, a piece large enough to wrap around the body of a 5’2”, 120 lb. woman like Garza. Witnesses indicate Mele frantically cleaned and vacuumed his car and apartment the morning of Garza’s disappearance, eventually disposing of the vacuum cleaner, one that could contain physical evidence related to the missing woman.

In their search for Garza, police have found a machete, a woman’s shoe and other items of clothing that could be related to the victim, some of which were recovered from a nearby dumpster he was seen going through. Evidence of blood was found in Mele’s SUV, one he had parked at his parent’s home, and blood was also found by police in his apartment.

DNA should quickly tell police if the blood and other physical evidence confirm what investigators believe, that Mele took Garza to his apartment where he may have assaulted and murdered her, then took her remains to a yet to be discovered body disposal site. Should this be the case, investigators will attempt to determine where he car was the morning of Garza's disappearance and where a man in panic would go to dispose of a body.

Divers are in the pond behind his apartment in case he chose a close by site. Although now in police custody for violation of his probation, he is represented by counsel and is not discussing his role in the disappearance and possible death of Garza. I have no doubt that other young girls and women, after seeing Mele's photo and reading about his actions, will come forward to identify him as their previously unidentified assailant. Too late, I fear, for Laura Garza.

Melo was arrested yesterday and held on $50,000 bond by Rockland County police for parole violations, including skipping three sex offender classes, hanging out at bars, failing to met with his PO, and moving to his own apartment from his parents’ home. At least 10 other women have reported various sexual violations by Melo, and officials suspect that the number of victims is much higher.

Besides Paramus, NJ police officials, other law enforcement officers have investigated Melo. Police Detective William Fritz became interested in Melo 2 years ago after complaints of sexual aggression against young women. “His behavior can be described like a predator,” Fritz said.

When minors are kidnapped by sex offenders, most of the time, the first 72 hours are the most critical (and this is the reason why Amber Alerts are issued). If a victim has not been found in the first three days alive, they probably won’t be. There is no reason to doubt this applies to adult victims as well as child victims. However, Garza’s Texas family, including her aunt Elma Esquivel, are holding out hope that for one young woman, things might turn out differently.

“He knows where she is. How come he don't tell us where she is?”

(Update 4-26-10) Laura Garza's body was found in Pennsylvania. Her remains were discovered by two ATV riders in a field April 11 in Olyphant Township, PA, near Scranton.

By April 13, Pennsylvania investigators determined the remains didn’t belong to a missing person in that state’s database. They notified state police in New York, and that led investigators to travel to Pennsylvania and obtain sample to use for the DNA tests.

New York State Police Capt. Wayne Olson said that “That DNA evidence has concluded that the remains are definitely those of Laura Garza...We’ve got a lot of legwork to do here.”  Convicted sex offender Richard Mele is still the only suspect in her murder. "Michael Mele has never been cooperative in this investigation," Olson said.

Miss Garza's remains and a Michael Kors wristwatch were found in a remote wooded area more than a half-mile from the nearest home. Two days after the discovery, investigators in Pennsylvania contacted state police in Middletown, N.Y., to see if the remains could belong to Miss Garza.

Now that the remains have been identified, both New York and Pennsylvania investigators will begin trying to determine the circumstances surrounding Miss Garza's death. For now, New York investigators have taken the lead in the investigation, though Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy Jarbola said his office, the state police and the county coroner's office are still involved in the investigation.

"New York authorities have jurisdiction," he said. "It is possible she was killed here, but I believe the evidence will dictate otherwise." He declined to elaborate.

Lt. Pierce Gallagher said officials plan to interview residents in the Olyphant area regarding possible recollections of suspicious activity around the time of Garza's disappearence and death.

Ex-officer sentenced to 10-12 years for rape

On February 25, 2009, Judge Janet Kenton-Walker sentenced a former Rutland, MA police officer to 10-12 years imprisonment and 5 years probation for sexually assaulting a prostitute in the fall of 2008. 37 year old Jason Briddon was officially sentenced after a jury conviction, to the prison term for aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, and assault for the rape.

The 30-year-old victim in the case testified that Mr. Briddon repeatedly raped and beat her and held her against her will on the morning of Oct. 9, 2008, after she agreed to engage in a sex act with him for money to support her crack cocaine addiction.

She said the assaults and kidnapping took place in the basement of a house at 178 Burncoat St. that was owned by a friend of Mr. Briddon.

Assistant District Attorney Paula J. Frasso was hoping for a 25 to 30 year sentenced and the aggravated rape and kidnapping charges to run consecutively, calling the attack predatory and pre-planned. Though a streetwalker, “she didn’t deserve what happened to her,” said Frasso in her closing arguments.
 
In her victim impact statement, the victim told the court that “He showed no mercy to me and the court would be wise in showing none to him."
 
Describing his client as a hard-working family man with no prior criminal record, Mr. Briddon’s lawyer, Christopher P. LoConto, recommended a sentence of 5 years to 5 years and a day.

Mr. Briddon made a personal plea for leniency, telling the court he “saved lives” as a police officer and always provided for his family. He called his convictions a “miscarriage of justice.”

Wendy Briddon, his wife and the mother of his two children, asked the judge to keep in mind that her husband was “somebody’s father.” “He’s been a wonderful son,” said Mr. Briddon’s mother, Carol Briddon.

Judge Kenton-Walker said that the brutal attack by Briddon not only physically injured the victim, but also caused “severe emotional and psychological trauma which continues to this day.” Factors used to arrive at her sentence included “punishment, deterrence, protection of the public and rehabilitation.”

Briddon's probation conditions include sex offender treatment and registration, no contact with the victim or her family, GPS monitoring, undergoing any other treatment deemed appropriate, and no weapon posession.

Briddon is facing charges that he raped a 29 year old woman who rode home with him from a bar. A mistrial was declared last year after a hung jury.

Cedar Rapids man sentenced to 30 years prison, lifetime parole for rape, beating of wife

A Cedar Rapids, IA man was sentenced Friday, February 5, to 30 years in prison and lifetime parole for the rape of his then-wife. Shawn Kruse, 32, pled no contest to second-degree kidnapping, second-degree sexual abuse, assault while participating in a felony, going armed with intent and eluding charges for the attack last December. Kruse must serve 17 1/2 years on the abuse and kidnaping charges before being eligible for parole.

The assault began after Kruse grabbed and choked his now ex-wife, forcing her into their basement. According to the victim impact statement Kruse's ex-wife read, he then beat, gagged, raped, and then stomped on her pubic bone.

She said the only reason her torture that lasted for hours stopped is because he left the house to get a shotgun, so he could kill them both.

Before he left, he piled a sofa and an ottoman on top of her, so she couldn’t escaped. Once he left, she loosened the tape around her wrists and the belt around her legs and got out from under the furniture to get to her cell phone and call her mother. She first called 911 but she had the gag on her mouth and the dispatcher hung up on her because she couldn’t understand her.

In the meantime, Kruse came back to the house but when he saw police he turned around. Police later found him and he led them on a high speed chase on Highway 30 before crashing his car into a ditch. Kruse remains paralyzed from the waist down.

In Linn County District Court, he apologized to his family and friends, and his now ex-wife's family and friends. The victim still has nightmares and can't catch her breath due to the attack.

Two rapists sentenced to de facto life terms in New Hanover County courts

Last Thursday, December 10, 2009, two separate rapists were convicted by New Hanover County juries of separate sex and kidnapping crimes against mainly adult victims. Nicholas Lee Lofton, a 28 year old resicent of Rocky Point, NC, was convicted of robbery, two counts of kidnapping, burglary and two counts of assaulting a child under 12 years old, malicious castration, one count of attempted sex offense and two counts of sex offense. Lofton was sentenced to 84-115 years in prison. The second rapist, 51 year old Douglas Job Smith, was sentenced to 94-115 years in prison after convictions of rape, sex offense and kidnapping. The New Hanover County District Attorney's Office prosecuted both cases.

In the Lofton case, a man and woman testified that three men, including Lofton, burst into their bedroom on Oct. 5, 2007 while they slept in a home in the 600 block of Sharease Circle and pointed guns at them. The attackers punched and kicked the man, and burned his neck and genitals with hot pliers, said prosecutor Barrett Temple. The attackers bound the man and his girlfriend, she said. During the attack, all three attackers sexually assaulted the man's girlfriend in front of the man's two young girls, whose eyes were duct-taped, Temple said. “The girls were awake the whole time and aware of what was going on."

The attackers, who were known by their victims, rummaged through the house and grabbed $400 in cash and jewelry. Lofton was caught because the victims knew his voice and saw his face. Temple said that “It was a tough case for us, and we were pleased with the verdict.”

On December 10, 2007, Smith pulled up in his vehicle and offered a 32 year old woman a ride home, but instead of taking her home, he took her to his house, a 8' x 27' camped behind a Castle Hayne business, according to prosecutor Connie Jordan.

When the woman asked to use the bathroom, she couldn't because the room was littered with feces. That's when Smith pulled out a butcher knife and forced her to take off her clothes. He bound her wrists and ankles and duct-taped her mouth before raping and sexually assaulting her over six hours, Jordan said.

It wasn't until workers at the business arrived the following morning that they asked Smith to move his truck because it was parked across several parking spaces. He moved his vehicle and returned to the residence where the woman eventually managed to undo the duct tape on her ankles and run outside to an automotive business where workers contacted 911, Jordan said.

Police found the woman's clothes inside a garbage bag in the camper, and arrested Smith in Columbus County, NC. According to Jordan, “The jury's verdict will really help her attempt to put this behind her more. Not only has she been trying to forget it for two years, I really feel like their verdict is a powerful healing tool for her...This will be with her for the rest of her life. I don't see any way around that. It's a devastating crime. I can't even begin to understand how you cope with this.”

Florida mom's killer, rapist found guilty - jurors recommend death penalty, judge hands it down

(Original Post 8-30-09)

The murderer of a Florida mother of two will face the same jury which convicted him last Friday to learn whether his death inside prison will come through an executioner's needle, or by natural (or inmate) causes. Thirty-eight year old Michael King, a plumber (or more accurately, former plumber) and dad of two, was convicted of the January 17, 2008 kidnapping, rape, and murder of 21 year old Denise Amber Lee, a detective's daughter, from her own home. The Florida Jury deliberated for 2 1/2 hours Friday, August 28 before finding Michael King guilty as charged.

Lee was kidnapped from her own home that winter afternoon after breastfeeding her sons. She made sure that the boys were left behind unharmed before King trained his gun on her.

Witnesses, including King's cousin, help determine the movements of King before and during the kidnapping. Jennifer Eckert, 24, saw the green Camaro King drove circle the neighborhood between 1 & 2 PM before King abducted his victim. Harold Muxlow, King's cousin, stated King stopped by his house to borrow a flashlight, gas can, and shovel. Muxlow also heard Lee say "call the cops" but King told his cousin it was nothing.

The most damming evidence came from calls Lee made after she grabbed her captor's cell phone. Like a detective's daughter, Lee used the phone to tell police that she was benng kidnapped.

Lee used one of King's cell phones to call 911 as she was driven across three counties. As the six-minute tape was played for the jury, her voice sounded tremulous at times, and frantic at others.
The call came in at 6:14 p.m. on January 17. A 911 operator repeatedly said "Hello," and Lee was heard pleading with her captor: "I'm sorry. I just want to see my family. ... I just want to see my family again. Please. ... Oh please, I just want to see my family again. Let me go."

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

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

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

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

She followed the car for a while, but lost it. Police quickly traced Lee's call to King's cell phone, and were looking for him. But Kowalski's call was never passed on to officers.

The victim took off of her wedding ring and pulled out her hair, leaving more evidence behind. Thar hair, blood, duct tape, and semen were collected from King's Camaro and his home and helped link the perpetrator to his victim. The defense never disputed that the rape and kidnapping occurred, but tried to absolve their client of the murder by stating only gun shells were found, not the actual weapon.

The death penalty phase of the trial will start Tuesday.

During that penalty phase, jurors will hear from King and Lee’s families.Two of King’s brothers will ask that he be spared the death penalty because he has no history of violence and he is the father of a 12-year-old boy.

Lee’s family, including her widower Nate Lee and her father Rick Goff, will ask that King be put to death. The men will talk about how Lee doted over her two sons, Adam, 2, and Noah, 3 1/2.
The jury will recommend a sentence, and the final decision rests with Judge Deno Economou, who will give a great deal of weight to the jury’s recommendation.

This is what the victim's parents had to say after the guilty verdict.

Susan Goff said "I just feel like a big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Justice was served." Rick Goff, the Charlotte County detective, said that "The next step we're going to go up there and watch him get the needle put in his arm -- sending him to the place where he belongs -- totally opposite from the place Denise is at. That's where we want him, and we can't send him there fast enough."

(Update 9-6-09) Florida jurors voted unanimously to send King to death row, taking less than three hours to do so. Jurors were not impressed by the defense's view that a childhood sledding accident damaged King's brain and caused poor impulse control. Jurors credited the 911 call by Denise and King's borrowing of tools needed to bury Denise after shooting her to death as factors in handing down the death recommendation.

Pat O'Quinn, one of the jurors, stated that "I think he gave her a death sentence when he got the shovel, and the flashlight, and the gas can." A second juror, Marcia Burns, stated that the evidence Denise left behind played a major factor. "I don't know a normal person would be able to do that. The family needs to be extremely proud." Jury consultant Art Patterson also agreed with Burns' assessment.

"You have a smoking gun. The emotion of hearing a woman plead for her life. They get comfort in knowing this guy was so horrible and they know for sure what he was doing to her."

King was described as a good father of a 13-year-old son, a good boyfriend and a good plumber, who led a life as a good citizen until one terrible decision.

Juror Jean Burgess said the decision to convict was quick and overwhelming; the decision to send King to his death was equally decisive -- but more difficult to make.

Nancy Bates, the victim's grandmother, stated that "Michael King is going to burn in hell. Forever and ever and ever." Rick Goff, the victim's father, stated that "I can't say enough. This is how the criminal justice system is supposed to work."

The death penalty vote is just a recommendation. King will be sentenced at a later date, but in Florida, judges are required to give "great weight" to a jury decision - something enhanced if that decision is unanimous.

(Update 12-5-09) King was formally sentenced to death by Judge Economou yesterday afternoon. In a hearing which went on for about half an hour, he weighed aggravating and mitigating factors. Aggravating factors which carried great weight included the murder being carried out after rape and kidnapping, being "especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel," which includes inflicting fear on the victim, and murders occuring in a "cold, calculated, premeditated" manner, and the murder occurred to eliminate a witness. 

Mitigating factors given moderate weight included that King was impaired due to a brain injury due to a sleeding accident back in 1978, and an IQ averaging around 80 and lack of previous criminal history. Mitigating factors given little weight included King being a responsible father and boyfriend, his divorce, and taking special needs classes as a minor.

The father of the victim said that justice was served in the case. "Justice is served. We had faith in the judicial system," Rick Goff, Lee's father said. "Without her, we'd still be looking for her, still be looking for him. She's the one that turned us onto him directly from her 911 call...I just want to tell Michael King you're a coward; you got what you deserved coming. And Denise is a lot better person than you and she's going to put you in the place where you belong, which I believe is hell, is where you're going to be."
Her mother, Susan Goff, said that King's death sentence would not give closure, but his execution would do so. "It isn't over. It won't be over until the day Michael King dies. That's the day we'll have closure."

Nathan Lee, Denise King's widower, said this in his statement below:

Today the man who kidnapped, raped and killed my wife, Denise Amber Lee, was sentenced to death. People have asked me if I'm happy about the sentencing. Happy isn't the right word. Whether he was sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty, that man's life is over. He can't destroy another family. That's justice for Denise and some closure for our family.


Denise should be alive today, going to soccer games, planning birthday parties and having date nights. But she's not and nothing is going to bring her back, which is something we have to live with every day.

We have some closure, and now we'll focus on making sure that Denise's death will not be in vain. Dispatchers on duty when my wife was killed failed to properly handle 911 calls that would have saved her life. Now I am working hard (through a foundation we started in her name) for a national standard in training, procedures and policies so that when you dial 911, you get the help you need.

Finally, I want to thank everyone, my family, Denise's family and our friends, for everything they have done to support and help us. I would also like to thank you, the media, for the respect you have shown to our family during this difficult time."

"Imperial Avenue Strangler" indicted on 11 aggravated murder charges, pleads not guilty

(Original Post 12-2-09)
The convicted rapist Anthony Sowell has been formally charged by a Cuyahoga County grand jury yesterday, December 1, with the strangulation murders of 11 Cleveland women whose decomposing bodies were found in his east Cleveland home. Sowell was formally indicted on 85 counts, including 11 counts of aggravated murder and numerous rape and kidnapping charges.

On Halloween, 2009, police investigating a rape came across numerous decomposing bodies after investigating a rape complaint. 11 bodies were found in various stages of decomposition after a police search. Police determined that most of the women died of strangulation because their bodies still had binds and ligatures on them.

Ten of the "Imperial 11" were identified. They are Tonia Carmichael, 52; Nancy Cobbs, 45; Tishana Culver, 31; Crystal Dozier, 38; Telacia Fortson, 31; Amelda Hunter, 47; Michelle Mason, 45; Kim Yvette Smith,44; Janice Webb, 49; and Leshanda Long, 25.

In addition to charges of aggravated murder with mass murder specifications and abuse of a corpse related to each of the 11 dead women, Tuesday's indictment includes multiple counts of attempted murder, felonious assault, rape, attempted rape, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and tampering with evidence.

Some of the charges were in connection with reported attacks on women at Sowell's house on Sept. 22 and Oct. 20.

Sowell, who is being held on $6 million bond, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at 8:30 a.m., and to appear Wednesday before Common Pleas Judge John Sutula on a previous charge related to the September attack that drew investigators to his home.

Hidden among the slew of charges include the attempted rape of 41-year-old Gladys Wade, whose case, if properly charged by Cleveland prosecutors, almost certinly would have prevented Sowell from killing his last five victims. December 8, 2008 was the day Wade flagged down police officers, bleeding, saying that Sowell tried to rape and rob her. Only the robbery charge was presented to city prosecutors, and those charges were dropped after further investigation.

More coverage of this case can be found here.

(Update 12-4-09) Yesterday, Sowell plead not guilty by reason of insanity in the Imperial Avenue stranglings and three rapes. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Eileen Gallagher ordered Sowell held without bond, while prosecutors asked for a $14,000,000 bond. Sowell, represented by a public defender, faces ther death penalty, and his trial lawyers will be assigned Wednesday, December 9 by Judge Timothy McGinty, who will preside over the case.

Assistant County Prosecutor Rick Bombik said that Sowell was a psychopath, not insane. Quite frankly, he's a psychopath, a person void of any human empathy. That does not mean he is mentally ill. A psychopath is not insane, he's just a lousy, evil person with a personality disorder."

Case Western Reserve university professor Lewis Katz, who has taught law for four decades, said that "A sociopath, or psychopath, lives his life unaffected by the moral code and other concepts that guide the rest of us. It does not mean they are insane."

On Wednesday, FBI agents poured over Sowell's house looking for more bodies, but did not find any. This article shows the need to see the victim's as someone's daughters, sisters, and mothers.

Serial kidnapper of women sentenced to 25 years prison, 15 years post release supervision

A predator who attacked three women - 19, 22, and 29 - was sentenced to 25 years in prison and 15 years of post release supervision yesterday. He recieved a 25 year sentence for the rape of two women in Herkimer County Court today. Judge Patrick Kirk sentenced Lipiec for the kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment of the older two victims.

Because he said nothing at the sentencing, including comments which would indicate remorse, Judge Kirk said that “I’m disappointed that you’re not doing that, but I’m not really surprised,” only changing his tune after he officially signed the plea agreement papers.

Lipiec previously pleaded guilty to second-degree kidnapping in connection with a Feb. 7 incident in which he gave a 29-year-old woman a ride from Tom Cavallo’s Restaurant in New Hartford and wouldn’t let her leave his truck and residence.

Lipiec also once was charged with unlawful imprisonment for offering a 22-year-old Frankfort woman a ride home late at night in early March. When Lipiec attempted to handcuff the woman, she fought him off and was allowed to leave.

On Tuesday, Kirk additionally sentenced Lipiec to 1 to 3 years in prison for possessing a filed down plastic “shank,” or knife-like device, which he tried using to chip away the wall of his cell in an attempt to escape the Herkimer County jail, prosecutors said.

Herkimer County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Carpenter said that Lipiec, who he described as a predator, caused concern because he targeted three strangers. “Anybody who targets three individual strangers, and uses the methods that he did, causes grave concern for anyone in law enforcement and our community. We know of three victims, and that’s three too many.”

Judge Michael L. Dwyer of the Onieda County, NY court sentenced David Liplec, 42, to 25 years in prison and 15 years of post release supervision for the kidnapping and rape of the 19 year old victim yesterday.  Unlike the Herkimer County victims, the 19 year old attended Lipiec's sentencing.

She accepted a ride home from Lipiec on the early morning hours of January 31, after she went out to a bowling alley with friends in South Utica, NY, when Lipiec tortured and raped her. Her victim impact statement is below.

"I’ve lost my sparkle, and my ability to shine,” the woman began as she recalled how her life has spiraled into paranoia and anxiety in the 10 months since she got into Lipiec’s truck at the parking lot behind Pin-O-Rama in South Utica.

“I no longer trust anyone,” she explained. “I constantly feel everyone is out there to get me.”

Suffering from post-traumatic stress, the woman has to look for intruders under every bed and behind every door whenever she gets home, she explained. She gets angry at her family when they leave her home alone, she said, and her long-term relationship with a boyfriend recently collapsed when the pressure to cope became too much to endure.

She feels there is nobody to help make her “sane” again, not even her own family, and nobody who can understand what it’s like to look in the mirror everyday and feel “dirty, broken and scarred,” the woman said. And some mornings she wakes up with bruises and cuts on her body that she unknowingly inflicted upon herself while she slept.

She can no longer listen to the happy, bubbly songs that remind her of the normal teenager she once was, she continued. Instead, she listens to hard, angry rock music because it makes her feel comforted knowing that she’s not alone in her suffering.

In closing, the victim said that what she had before the attack "was all wasted on a person who doesn’t even deserve a name or a place in society." The judge echoed those words as he said to Lipiec "I’m not going to waste any words on you,” as he felt the perp could not understand the true magnitude of his crime.

Calgary, Alberta man's bail hearing on rape charges

(Original Post 5-7-08)
Obsession over a former co-worker led a city man to repeatedly rape her — and possibly contemplate killing her —a prosecutor charged today.

Crown lawyer Pat Yelle said the woman had to flee the man’s northwest Calgary home half naked, with her hands cuffed behind her back, to escape.

But defence lawyer Tonii Roulston said David Michael Gendreau has a right to be presumed innocent and will be taking his case to trial.

“I’m not going to put forward a case, I’ll save that for the trial judge,” Roulston said, at a hearing to determine if Gendreau could be released on bail.

The former supervisor with Canada Post faces charges of sexual assault and unlawful confinement in connection with an incident at his Charleswood home on Jan. 31.

Yelle told provincial court Judge Catherine Skene the woman fled Gendreau’s home after being held for nearly six hours and repeatedly raped.

The prosecutor said the woman was only able to escape when Gendreau fell asleep and she was able to loosen a rope he had tide to the handcuffs which bound her wrists behind her back.

The harrowing assault left the victim believing she would be murdered when Gendreau discussed having to go to her home to retrieve a glass which might contain his fingerprints after they had consumed beer there earlier.

“At that point she was terrified he was planning on killing her,” said Yelle.

Gendreau tied a rope to her handcuffs and laid on top of it so he could fall asleep, she said.
The woman, naked from the waist down, was able to escape to a nearby home and call police, who found Gendreau had loaded her abandoned purse and clothing into his car, said Yelle.
Roulston argued it was “sheer speculation” her client considered murdering the woman and argued there were inconstancies in her story.

The lawyer also dismissed suggestions he was obsessed with the victim, noting he has not tried to contact her while in the Calgary Remand Centre since Feb. 1.

Skene will decide this afternoon whether she’s ready to make a decision.

(Update 11-29-09) On December 18, Gendreau will be sentenced for 5 counts of sexual assault after being convicted of sexual assault and unlawful confinement. Justice Scott Brooker ruled that when he attacked his former coworker, that there were five separate sexual assaults in 5 hours, instead of the assault being treated as a single crime. Crown prosecutor Gary Cornfield stated that Gendreau's fantasies about the victim indicate planning of the attack against her.

"I find all five of those assaults took place essentially as described by the complainant," Jutice Brooker said. 

Cornfield wants a prison sentence between 5 and 7 years, a permanent weapons ban, SO registration, a $100 fine, and a DNA requirement imposed on Gendreau at the sentencing. As for Gendreau, he continued to deny his involvement in the assault. "You're going to charge me, convict me, take my DNA, register me as a sex offender and then you want to fine me? For something I didn't do? Are you high?"

Sex offender convicted of raping wife at gunpoint in vehicle, motel

A Laramie, WY man faces a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life for kidnapping then raping his wife at a park, then motel. A jury of 10 women and 2 men convicted Donald Ray Daves of 4 counts of 1st degree sexual assault, 5 counts of using a firearm while committing a felony, and single counts of kidnapping, aggravated battery, and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent.

The 46 year old perpetrator's conviction stemmed from a incident which occurred over the couse of two days. According to the victim and prosecutors, Daves' assault began April 4 at the Monolith Ranch public access area to purportedly dig up jewelry he buried. The gunpoint sex assaults at the access area occurred in Daves' Ford Ranger pickup truck. After Daves finished raping his victim there, he drove around, looking for a motel to stay.  According to Albany County Attorney Richard Bohling, Daves unsucessfully rented a room at a Howard Johnson's. “He reminded her if she runs he’ll blow a hole in her head the size of a coffee mug,” Bohling said about the threats the perpetrator made to his victim.

Eventually, Daves rented a room at the 1st Inn Gold, where he raped his victim three times, each time with the semiautomatic handgus laring on the stand next to the bed. According to Bohling, the gun on the stand was used to keep the victim submissive. “This is all about power. It’s not about consensual sex.”

After he finished raping his wife, he dropped her off at her home April 5, threatening to kill her if she told. The next day, Daves fled and led  police on a high speed chase after Laramie and Albany County Sheriff’s officers attempted to question him about the rapes.

Public defender Vaughn Neubauer focused on the physical evidence and the victim’s testimony.

Neubauer said the victim had lied on the stand because she wanted Daves out of her life. “Don’s an easy target,” he said. “She had the perfect opportunity to get rid of Don Daves forever.”

Neubauer asked the jury to remember the victim’s testimony and how she became “defensive and angry and hostile” during cross examination after crying earlier in the day. “Her testimony was contrived. She made it up,” he said. “Someone … who can turn it on, turn it off and turn it on again is capable of doing that.”

Concerning the physical evidence, Neubauer said the DNA analysis performed by the Wyoming State Crime Lab and the biological materials tests performed by Laramie Police Sgt. Michael Ernst were non-factors.
He reminded the jury that the DNA analysis and presence of fluids on Daves’ underwear could not be used to determine if the sexual acts were consensual or non-consensual. Neubauer added that Ernst failed to find any biological evidence inside Daves’ pickup truck, which is where the victim had said Daves had forced her to perform oral sex.

In addition, Neubauer referred to the testimony of Dr. Jonna W. Gies of the Ivinson Memorial Hospital Emergency Department, who performed a sexual assault examination of the victim on April 9. In her testimony on Tuesday, Gies had said there was no evidence of tearing or redness on the victim. Gies had said there were two bruises on the victim’s inner thighs. However, she admitted they could have happened during consensual or non-consensual sex.

Because the physical evidence could not prove Daves had sexually assaulted his wife, Neubauer said the prosecution’s case depended on the victim’s testimony and circumstantial evidence. “What this case really comes down to is whether you believe (the victim) beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said. Neubauer also pointed to the events in the front lobby of the Howard Johnson’s Hotel on the night of April 4 to show the victim was with Daves on her own volition.

Jeffrey Becker, a former Howard Johnson Hotel front desk manager, testified on Wednesday that the victim could have escaped out the front door or spoken to him while Daves was in the restroom.“She had a number of options available to her,” Neubauer said. “She could have asked for help, but she didn’t.”

Then, instead of fleeing the county or holding the victim hostage, Daves took her home before returning to his residence.
 
Bolling rebutted the defense argument by stating in his closing that “There’s no handbook of how to be a victim of crimes like this...Some people spend years in (an abusive) situation before they ever get out.”
 
Daves is being held without bail in the Albany County Detention Center until sentencing.