A woman who helped her "lover" to kill her husband was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment Wednesday, December 1, in a St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana courtroom. Kendra Talley, a 30 year old mother of an eight year old son, was sentenced to the decade long term after pleading guilty to 2nd degree manslaughter and crystal meth posession last month. Judge Peter Garcia presided over her trial. The "lover," Tommy D. Rowell Sr., is serving a mandatory life without parole sentence for 2nd degree murder.
The deadly night of Dec. 11, 2004, started when Kendra Talley left her home wearing a sweater, a T-shirt and jeans. Her husband stayed home to recover from surgery to remove his wisdom teeth.
Kendra Talley later met up with Rowell and slipped into a blouse, black miniskirt and knee-high boots, and they drove together to the French Quarter to feast on crystal meth, marijuana and potent "hand grenade" drinks, according to witness testimony from Rowell's trial.
They spent most of the evening and morning with friends at a Bourbon Street bar. There, Rowell and Talley argued after Talley gave Carnival beads to another man and flashed him by lifting her leg onto a railing, friends at the bar testified.
Finally, as the sun rose during their journey back across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, Kendra Talley told Rowell that her husband had raped her.
Rowell took Kendra Talley to her home at 108 Gratitude Drive. He honked his horn. Thomas Talley, who had been taking pain medication, stepped outside, wearing only his pajamas. Rowell drew a gun and shot the husband six times, twice point-blank to the head.
Rowell met Kendra when she was 15 and he was 27, meeting through her parents.
David Talley, the victim's brother said through his victim impact statement that the killing robbed the victim of family bonding time, including watching his son grow up. "I know my brother would like to take his son fishing, but he can't - because his life was taken by a selfish act....Zachary's birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter," he said. "The saddest thing in my life was seeing my little brother in his casket . . . all because of bad choices that were made."
Defense attorney Kevin McNary asked Judge Garcia to take into account the single parenting of his client and Zachary's high grades in school. He said his client was not the same person she was "when she was 24," completing a drug rehabilitation program.
Judge Garcia, focusing on the killing, told Talley, "You had a high degree of responsibility," sentencing her to the maximum possible in the plea deal.
Showing posts with label love triangle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love triangle. Show all posts
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Former Navy sailor sentenced to decade behind bars for "love" triangle slaying
On Friday, September 3, Sixto Balbuena, a former Navy sailor who stabbed "romantic" rival Samuel Valdivia to death over the affections of their "girlfriend" and former teacher Tamara Hoffman, was sentenced to a decade behind bars. This sentence was the minimum Balbuena could have gotten after his conviction of 2nd degree murder - the max he could have got was 22 years. The trial started May 28, 2010 and ended June 4. The presiding judge in the trial was Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten
Balbuena and the victim, 18 year old Valdivia, were both seduced by their former math teacher as students at separate high schools. Hoffman was teaching the then 17 year old Balbuena at Tempe, AZ's Marcos de Niza High School. She was fired after police caught Balbuena with Hoffman's bra in a parked car in November 2006 . She then went to Chandler's El Dorado High School and started a sexual relationship with 18 year olf Valdivia.
On April 9, 2009, Balbuena left Naval Air Facility El Centro in California, where he was an aircraft mechanic, at about 9 p.m., after finishing his shift, and headed toward Chandler to visit his fiancee, Hoffman, then 48.
Phone records show that they exchanged cellphone calls several times that night as he made the 4 ½-hour drive. But when he reached her house, according to the attorneys' statements, Hoffman did not answer the door or her cellphone. Balbuena opened the front door.
Inside, he heard noises coming from the bedroom. He grabbed a knife from the kitchen. Then, he told police investigators - one of whom testified Thursday - he saw a shadowy figure and they tussled. Seventeen minutes after he arrived, Balbuena called police. Prosecutor Jason Kalish played the 911 call, in which Balbuena says that "some guy" had been stabbed. Hoffman can be heard sobbing in the background.
When police arrived, they found Balbuena and Hoffman sitting calmly in the living room and wondered if either had been stabbed. An officer then found Valdivia, wearing only boxer shorts, moaning on the bathroom floor, his internal organs protruding from an abdominal wound.
Valdivia, who played for El Dorado's baseball team and wrote songs, died at the scene. After the conviction, Julio Valdivia, Samuel's older brother, said "I don't know if he's going to pay enough. It's been tough. The pain is still there. I still feel like it happened yesterday. Sometimes, I feel like I need to talk to him. He made me think and kept me out of trouble." During the sentencing hearing, Balbuena said "I'm going to face them. I want to ask your forgiveness for all that has happened," but Valdivia's family did not believe he was sincere.
The victim's mother Placida Maldonado said "He said he didn't mean to hurt him, but I don't believe that." The victim's brother-in-law Julio Laurean said "He's going to do 10 years, but we will do a lifetime...It felt like he was just trying to get out of the hole, that's how I felt."
Valdivia's relatives also believe that Hoffman had a part in the killing. "There are two victims here. One is dead and the other now behind bars," Maldonado said. A sister said that "She's truly at fault. She's crazy and should not have been dating boys. She was 48 years old and my brother only 18."
TheArizona Board of Education investigation of Hoffman saw her surrender her teaching certificate on December 7, but she can reapply within 5 years of the surrender. No criminal chargers were ever filed regarding Hoffman.
Balbuena and the victim, 18 year old Valdivia, were both seduced by their former math teacher as students at separate high schools. Hoffman was teaching the then 17 year old Balbuena at Tempe, AZ's Marcos de Niza High School. She was fired after police caught Balbuena with Hoffman's bra in a parked car in November 2006 . She then went to Chandler's El Dorado High School and started a sexual relationship with 18 year olf Valdivia.
On April 9, 2009, Balbuena left Naval Air Facility El Centro in California, where he was an aircraft mechanic, at about 9 p.m., after finishing his shift, and headed toward Chandler to visit his fiancee, Hoffman, then 48.
Phone records show that they exchanged cellphone calls several times that night as he made the 4 ½-hour drive. But when he reached her house, according to the attorneys' statements, Hoffman did not answer the door or her cellphone. Balbuena opened the front door.
Inside, he heard noises coming from the bedroom. He grabbed a knife from the kitchen. Then, he told police investigators - one of whom testified Thursday - he saw a shadowy figure and they tussled. Seventeen minutes after he arrived, Balbuena called police. Prosecutor Jason Kalish played the 911 call, in which Balbuena says that "some guy" had been stabbed. Hoffman can be heard sobbing in the background.
When police arrived, they found Balbuena and Hoffman sitting calmly in the living room and wondered if either had been stabbed. An officer then found Valdivia, wearing only boxer shorts, moaning on the bathroom floor, his internal organs protruding from an abdominal wound.
Valdivia, who played for El Dorado's baseball team and wrote songs, died at the scene. After the conviction, Julio Valdivia, Samuel's older brother, said "I don't know if he's going to pay enough. It's been tough. The pain is still there. I still feel like it happened yesterday. Sometimes, I feel like I need to talk to him. He made me think and kept me out of trouble." During the sentencing hearing, Balbuena said "I'm going to face them. I want to ask your forgiveness for all that has happened," but Valdivia's family did not believe he was sincere.
The victim's mother Placida Maldonado said "He said he didn't mean to hurt him, but I don't believe that." The victim's brother-in-law Julio Laurean said "He's going to do 10 years, but we will do a lifetime...It felt like he was just trying to get out of the hole, that's how I felt."
Valdivia's relatives also believe that Hoffman had a part in the killing. "There are two victims here. One is dead and the other now behind bars," Maldonado said. A sister said that "She's truly at fault. She's crazy and should not have been dating boys. She was 48 years old and my brother only 18."
TheArizona Board of Education investigation of Hoffman saw her surrender her teaching certificate on December 7, but she can reapply within 5 years of the surrender. No criminal chargers were ever filed regarding Hoffman.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Man kills woman he wed twice over other husband - had 2nd wife of own
Clair Fullarton, Kilmarnock Standard
A KILMARNOCK man has been jailed for life for murdering the woman he had married for the second time. George Clark, 53, was ordered to spend at least 14 years for what temporary judge Michael O'Grady QC described as the ‘cowardly and brutal’ murder of his wife Sharlene. The High Court in Glasgow heard that love triangle killer Clark married his victim Sharlene twice and moved with her into the home he shared with his second wife Helen, 58.
Judge O'Grady told Clark: “You have taken the life of your own wife. A woman who had a lot to live for.”
The High Court in Glasgow heard that Clark told a social worker that she had it coming to her saying: “I would have done it sooner or later.”
Clark murdered 44-year-old Sharlene by knifing her three times on the chest and once on the neck, a day after sending a chilling text message saying he was going to kill her. As Sharlene lay dying Clark dialled 999 and told an operator: “I've just stabbed my wife. Would you please get an ambulance. She's not breathing, hurry up.” When paramedics arrived on the scene they found Clark with both hands covered in blood and Sharlene lying dead on the living room floor.
Prosecutor Alastair Carmichael revealed that Clark has previous convictions for assault, breach of the peace and road traffic offences.
The couple who were first married 27 years earlier fell in love again after meeting by chance when Clark returned to Kilmarnock. Within seven months on March 11, 2009, they had married for a second time on the anniversary of their first wedding. They were the last couple to be married in the old registrar’s office in Kilmarnock town centre.
At first the couple were besotted with each other and even got tattoos to show their love for one another. Sharlene had the word George tattooed on her back and Clark had Sharlene tattooed on his body. But, Clark was jealous of Sharlene's friendship with former love Hayden McGonigale, 42, and she feared Clark was going to return to his second wife Helen.
Clark said he loved his wife and added: “I wouldn't have hurt Sharlene in a million years”, claimed he had killed her in self-defence after she had launched a murderous attack on him with a kitchen knife. He admitted picking up a double-edged hunter's knife and stabbing her, but claimed he was fighting for his life.
But the jury didn't believe his story and convicted him of murdering 44-year-old Sharlene, a mum of four and a gran of one, at 25 Lindsay Drive on October 12, last year.
A KILMARNOCK man has been jailed for life for murdering the woman he had married for the second time. George Clark, 53, was ordered to spend at least 14 years for what temporary judge Michael O'Grady QC described as the ‘cowardly and brutal’ murder of his wife Sharlene. The High Court in Glasgow heard that love triangle killer Clark married his victim Sharlene twice and moved with her into the home he shared with his second wife Helen, 58.
Judge O'Grady told Clark: “You have taken the life of your own wife. A woman who had a lot to live for.”
The High Court in Glasgow heard that Clark told a social worker that she had it coming to her saying: “I would have done it sooner or later.”
Clark murdered 44-year-old Sharlene by knifing her three times on the chest and once on the neck, a day after sending a chilling text message saying he was going to kill her. As Sharlene lay dying Clark dialled 999 and told an operator: “I've just stabbed my wife. Would you please get an ambulance. She's not breathing, hurry up.” When paramedics arrived on the scene they found Clark with both hands covered in blood and Sharlene lying dead on the living room floor.
Prosecutor Alastair Carmichael revealed that Clark has previous convictions for assault, breach of the peace and road traffic offences.
The couple who were first married 27 years earlier fell in love again after meeting by chance when Clark returned to Kilmarnock. Within seven months on March 11, 2009, they had married for a second time on the anniversary of their first wedding. They were the last couple to be married in the old registrar’s office in Kilmarnock town centre.
At first the couple were besotted with each other and even got tattoos to show their love for one another. Sharlene had the word George tattooed on her back and Clark had Sharlene tattooed on his body. But, Clark was jealous of Sharlene's friendship with former love Hayden McGonigale, 42, and she feared Clark was going to return to his second wife Helen.
Clark said he loved his wife and added: “I wouldn't have hurt Sharlene in a million years”, claimed he had killed her in self-defence after she had launched a murderous attack on him with a kitchen knife. He admitted picking up a double-edged hunter's knife and stabbing her, but claimed he was fighting for his life.
But the jury didn't believe his story and convicted him of murdering 44-year-old Sharlene, a mum of four and a gran of one, at 25 Lindsay Drive on October 12, last year.
Entrepreneur & father of three killed - wife and employee charged in love triangle slaying
According to officials, the plot began when Morgan and Steve began to "fall in love" at the business that the victim and Morgan ran together, M.K.B. Property Management LLC. The company does landscaping for homeowners and other property owners.
On June 17, she reportedly said, Shappell placed "some sort of drug" in a lemon Snapple, which Morgan Mengel then left on the hood of the pickup truck for Kevin Mengel to find. No one else who worked at the business drank Snapple, she reportedly told police, and she knew Kevin Mengel would drink it.
A short time later, according to court documents, she received a text from Shappell that said he had struck Kevin Mengel in the head with a shovel.
She reportedly asked if he was serious and he replied, "Dead serious." She then asked if there was a "pulse," police reports said, to which he replied "Get down here now." Morgan Mengel reportedly told police that Shappell told her he buried Kevin Mengel's body approximately 150 yards behind Marple Newtown High School, where he had been a student.
The beginning of the end for Morgan Mengel and Shappell's freedom came on Father's Day, when Kathleen Barton reported her son missing. She noted that her daughter-in-law told her that she had seen Kevin move out of their West Goshen, PA apartment on June 18. Still suspicious, Kathleen monitored her son's Facebook page and told West Goshen detectives about the affair. After her son's Facebook page was updated in a different style than he would use on June 23, detectives went to the victim's apartment.
While Morgan gave police the same story that she gave her mother-in-law, detectives saw the victim's clothes and toothbrush in the apartment. After being taken to the police station for an interview, Morgan Mengel admitted the affair and the murder.
According to West Goshen Police Department Chief Michael J. Carroll, "Normally a report of a missing person who's a 33-year-old adult male is sometimes not taken as seriously because they have the absolute right to be missing, they can go wherever they want to go. During the course of the week it became clear to our department that this was more than just a missing person case."
We were able to identify and locate the victim by the use of a cadaver dog that was brought to us by the Search and Rescue Dogs of Pennsylvania in Malvern. I can tell you without the use of this dog, we would not have been able to find this body.
It's a very tragic case. The victim was the father of three children. Obviously the children have lost their father and with what has gone on so far they're going to lose their mother for an extended period of time.
Shappell was arrested in Denver the evening of Sunday, June 27. Carroll said "This was a direct result of cooperation between departments. It was through an investigation here. We knew where to look for him."
It is unknown what charges he'll face when he is extradited to Pennsylvania, but Morgan Mengel will be facing 1st degree murder and criminal homicide.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Ex teacher sentenced to life without parole for murder of love rival
A former teacher was sentenced to life without parole yesterday in a capital murder case stemming from a love triangle between two former teachers. Carla Hughes, a 28 year old mother of a 5 year old son, was sentenced to life without parole for the capital murder of her "love" rival, Avis Banks and her unborn child. The 27 year old Banks was murdered by the then 25 year old Hughes. Banks, who was five months pregnant, was shot four times, stabbed trhree times, and slashed in front of her driveway on November 29, 2006.
The reason for Banks' murder was jealously and a wish for Hughes, a language arts teacher and cheerleading coach at Chastain Middle School in Jackson, MS to steal Banks' man Keyon Pittman, a fellow teacher at the same school. Now 34, married, and living in Detroit, Pittman testified during the trial that though he had a sexual relationship with Hughes, he was still planning to marry Banks - and their wedding day was supposed to be in January 2007.
According to Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest, Hughes "wanted the life Avis Banks had and she believed the only way to get it was to kill Avis and her unborn child."
Banks, 27, was looking forward to having her first child and getting married. The college graduate was working toward her dream of opening her own day-care center.
Meanwhile, Hughes was already a mother and working in the family business - education. She had a master's degree from Belhaven College and completed the coursework for an education speciality degree from Delta State University.
After eight hours of deliberations over two days, thr jury of 9 women and 3 men convicted Hughes of capital murder Tuesday, October 13.
On the other side of the nearly full courtroom, Banks' parents, Frederick and Debra Banks, and about a dozen other family members reacted with quiet sobs and embraces.
"Avis can finally rest in peace," Frederick Banks said after the verdict.
The family has waited for almost three years to see justice, Frederick Banks said. He said pent-up emotions made him feel like someone who has been in jail for three years. He said the guilty verdict allows him to let it out.
Hughes' parents, Carl and Linda Hughes of Noxapater, wouldn't comment after the verdict, but Carla Hughes' aunt, Ruthie Morris, said her niece is innocent.
Her defense attorney, Johnnie Walls, stated that Pittman killed his fiance because he didn't want to be a father, but wanted to stay a womanizer. While Guest did not like Pittman's lifestyle, "he came in here and told the truth. He is no killer."
After the guilty verdict, testimony gravitated to the penalty phase of the trial. Guest said as he tried to persuade the jury to sentence Hughes to death, "This crime was premeditated murder. This was not an accidental death or a heat of passion death. It was premeditated. She hid and waited to shoot Avis Banks when she arrived home."
During the penalty phase of the trial, the prosecution [also] recalled forensic pathologist Steven Hayne to the witness stand to testify about Banks being shot four times, stabbed three times and slashed.
Hayne said Banks probably would have been conscious for 15 or 20 minutes after three of the shots before going into shock and dying. His testimony was to show the manner of Banks' death was heinous and atrocious, an element for sentencing a person to death.
The defense called seven witnesses, including her former pastor and others from her hometown of Greenfield, MS.
Carl Hughes was the final defense witness called in the penalty phase of the trial that has gained national attention through live coverage on national television.
Carl Hughes, a ninth-grade football coach in Greenville, began to cry when he described his daughter and how hard it has been to see her charged and convicted of capital murder.
"That's not Carla the way I perceive her," Carl Hughes said. "I beg you to please spare my daughter."
Carla Hughes' mother also asked the jury to have mercy on her daughter. "She has so much to give," Lynda Hughes said of Carla. She and her husband adopted Carla when she was 6 weeks old.
Armed with an array of awards Carla Hughes had won, Lynda Hughes noted that her daughter has been helping inmates at the Madison County Detention Center to read while she has been incarcerated there and started a Bible-reading session. All the defense witnesses said they have never known Hughes to be violent and she was always a peacemaker.
Hughes' parents and her attorney, Johnnie Walls Jr. of Greenville, made emotional pleas Wednesday to let Hughes live. Walls said Hughes wasn't just a client but a friend he has known all of her life.
At one point, Walls choked with emotion as he spoke to the jury. "I can't believe a woman like that should be put to death," Walls said, fighting back tears. "I ask you to spare her life."
After 52 minutes of deliberation, the jury did just that yesterday. Now Hughes can spend all the time in the world teaching fellow inmates how to read - while Fredreick banks is left to ponder what could have been with his daughter and grandchild.
The reason for Banks' murder was jealously and a wish for Hughes, a language arts teacher and cheerleading coach at Chastain Middle School in Jackson, MS to steal Banks' man Keyon Pittman, a fellow teacher at the same school. Now 34, married, and living in Detroit, Pittman testified during the trial that though he had a sexual relationship with Hughes, he was still planning to marry Banks - and their wedding day was supposed to be in January 2007.
According to Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest, Hughes "wanted the life Avis Banks had and she believed the only way to get it was to kill Avis and her unborn child."
Banks, 27, was looking forward to having her first child and getting married. The college graduate was working toward her dream of opening her own day-care center.
Meanwhile, Hughes was already a mother and working in the family business - education. She had a master's degree from Belhaven College and completed the coursework for an education speciality degree from Delta State University.
After eight hours of deliberations over two days, thr jury of 9 women and 3 men convicted Hughes of capital murder Tuesday, October 13.
On the other side of the nearly full courtroom, Banks' parents, Frederick and Debra Banks, and about a dozen other family members reacted with quiet sobs and embraces.
"Avis can finally rest in peace," Frederick Banks said after the verdict.
The family has waited for almost three years to see justice, Frederick Banks said. He said pent-up emotions made him feel like someone who has been in jail for three years. He said the guilty verdict allows him to let it out.
Hughes' parents, Carl and Linda Hughes of Noxapater, wouldn't comment after the verdict, but Carla Hughes' aunt, Ruthie Morris, said her niece is innocent.
Her defense attorney, Johnnie Walls, stated that Pittman killed his fiance because he didn't want to be a father, but wanted to stay a womanizer. While Guest did not like Pittman's lifestyle, "he came in here and told the truth. He is no killer."
After the guilty verdict, testimony gravitated to the penalty phase of the trial. Guest said as he tried to persuade the jury to sentence Hughes to death, "This crime was premeditated murder. This was not an accidental death or a heat of passion death. It was premeditated. She hid and waited to shoot Avis Banks when she arrived home."
During the penalty phase of the trial, the prosecution [also] recalled forensic pathologist Steven Hayne to the witness stand to testify about Banks being shot four times, stabbed three times and slashed.
Hayne said Banks probably would have been conscious for 15 or 20 minutes after three of the shots before going into shock and dying. His testimony was to show the manner of Banks' death was heinous and atrocious, an element for sentencing a person to death.
The defense called seven witnesses, including her former pastor and others from her hometown of Greenfield, MS.
Carl Hughes was the final defense witness called in the penalty phase of the trial that has gained national attention through live coverage on national television.
Carl Hughes, a ninth-grade football coach in Greenville, began to cry when he described his daughter and how hard it has been to see her charged and convicted of capital murder.
"That's not Carla the way I perceive her," Carl Hughes said. "I beg you to please spare my daughter."
Carla Hughes' mother also asked the jury to have mercy on her daughter. "She has so much to give," Lynda Hughes said of Carla. She and her husband adopted Carla when she was 6 weeks old.
Armed with an array of awards Carla Hughes had won, Lynda Hughes noted that her daughter has been helping inmates at the Madison County Detention Center to read while she has been incarcerated there and started a Bible-reading session. All the defense witnesses said they have never known Hughes to be violent and she was always a peacemaker.
Hughes' parents and her attorney, Johnnie Walls Jr. of Greenville, made emotional pleas Wednesday to let Hughes live. Walls said Hughes wasn't just a client but a friend he has known all of her life.
At one point, Walls choked with emotion as he spoke to the jury. "I can't believe a woman like that should be put to death," Walls said, fighting back tears. "I ask you to spare her life."
After 52 minutes of deliberation, the jury did just that yesterday. Now Hughes can spend all the time in the world teaching fellow inmates how to read - while Fredreick banks is left to ponder what could have been with his daughter and grandchild.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Woman gets 6 3/4 years in prison for stabbing mother of 5 in love triangle
Whitney Kizart was sentenced to 6 years and 9 months in prison for 2nd degree manslaughter in the death of her "lover's" wife, the mother of 5 kids ranging from 2 to 10. Kizart, 22, from St. Paul, MN, plead guilty in Ramsey County District Court July 2 to stabbing to death 26 year old Jennifer Linnear around 1:15 AM on March 5.
According to police reports, the victim and her husband, Robert Linnear, went to Kizart's St. Paul apartment to confront Kizart about a STD which she infected Bob with. Bob passed the STD on to Jennifer. The victim, got out of the car and started yelling at Kizart before being fatally stabbed by the perpetrator.
Shon Cannon read the victim impact statement before sentencing.
I had the honor and pleasure of loving my cousin for 26 years but her children will not. ... Their mother was not taken from them due to an ailment, accident or surgery that went wrong, but by murder.
Jennifer did not live a life that was flawless or of luxury, but she would give a family member or stranger whatever she had, and most importantly her children. Her children were the center of her joy and her reason for trying to improve in life.
District Judge James H. Clark also fined Kizart $1000 and ordered restitution.
According to police reports, the victim and her husband, Robert Linnear, went to Kizart's St. Paul apartment to confront Kizart about a STD which she infected Bob with. Bob passed the STD on to Jennifer. The victim, got out of the car and started yelling at Kizart before being fatally stabbed by the perpetrator.
Shon Cannon read the victim impact statement before sentencing.
I had the honor and pleasure of loving my cousin for 26 years but her children will not. ... Their mother was not taken from them due to an ailment, accident or surgery that went wrong, but by murder.
Jennifer did not live a life that was flawless or of luxury, but she would give a family member or stranger whatever she had, and most importantly her children. Her children were the center of her joy and her reason for trying to improve in life.
District Judge James H. Clark also fined Kizart $1000 and ordered restitution.
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