Man sentenced to life in disappearence, murder, of mother of two - chief defendant's mom sentenced for mutilating corpse

(Original Post 7-16-09)
A Brookfield, WI man who allegedly strangled, then hired his friend and mother to burn a suburban Milwaukee mother's body was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and mutilating a corpse. Brandon J. Mueller, 36, was charged in the Jaunary death of his "girlfriend," 28 year old Renee Redmer, who he had been "dating" for a month.

Redmer was strangled around January 5, just after she appered in court for a misdemeanor cocaine posession charge, in Mueller's mother's apartment. Her family did not report her missing until January 13. Nancy J. Pinno, 53, Mueller's mother, of Fond Du Lac, WI and Donald R. Worth, 48, of the Town of Friendship in Fond Du Lac County, WI were charged with mutilating a corpse and aiding in a felony, and a misdemeanor of obstructing an officer after burning Redmer's body in a burn barrel, which was later emptied out into the middle of frozen Lake Winnebago. The burn barrel was later found on Worth's property.

The relationship between Mueller and Redmer was violent, according to the victim's family. Mueller has a history of domestic violence.

According to court records:
• Mueller was convicted in 2008 of disorderly conduct, with a domestic violence enhancement, and served 20 days in jail.

• In 2002, Mueller was sentenced to 60 days in jail and two years' probation after he was convicted of disorderly conduct, with enhancement penalties of domestic abuse, being a habitual criminal and using a dangerous weapon.

• In 1998, Mueller was convicted of intimidating a victim with a domestic abuse enhancement penalty and served four months in jail.

• Also in 1998, Mueller was sentenced to three years' probation for criminal damage to property with an enhanced penalty of domestic violence.

Mueller faces a mandatory life sentence with the possibility of parole if convicted as charged. He is being held on $1 million bail. The others face 16 3/4 years for their roles in the crime. Pinno is being held on $250,000 bail, and Worth on $150,000 bail.

(Update 12-25-09) Two days ago, Pinno was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison and 9 months in jail for being party to the crime of mutilating a corpse and resisting and obstructing an officer.

On Dec. 18, a jury found Pinno guilty after five days of testimony, including watching hours of footage in which Pinno confessed her involvement to detectives.

Nuss compared Pinno — whose criminal history includes crimes of theft and possession of THC — to Kevin Moore, a seemingly mild-mannered man who used a cinder block to kill his wife outside of their Ripon home during the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2006.

Pinno told Judge Nuss that "I am sorry for any involvement I had with Renee.I still don't know how Renee got there. I should have looked in my bedroom. For that, I am so sorry." The victim's twin sister, Amber Donath, explained how she tried to tell her niece that "I find it impossible to explain to a 12-year-old girl that her mother was mutilated, violated and destroyed beyond the darkest imagination… All I can do is hold her and tell her I love her."

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Dan Kaminsky said that the "disgusting" and "callous" crime warranted 7 years in prison. "I believe it was a maximum-sentence case. It was just a question of how we were going to get there. I'm very pleased with the sentence. I think it's appropriate. In this case, it is justice."  

Defense Attorney Catherine Block told The Reporter there may have been too much focus on the connection between the mother and son, noting that Pinno put Mueller up for adoption 36 years ago and only had contact with him the past 1½ years.

"It was a very manipulative relationship," said Block, who requested probation for her client. "… There was a lot of focus on her son being Brandon Mueller. I think that had a lot less to do with it than Ms. Pinno's own mental condition and depression."

Judge Nuss said that Worth, a defendant who took a plea deal and will be sentenced later, might never have gotten involved if Pinno was not party to the crime, and that Pinno should have guided her son. "But for your actions, this may have never had happened. You were there at a critical time in this woman's life and your son's life when you could have stepped up and been the person you would like me to believe you are. You didn't."

(Update 1-2-11) Brandon Mueller was sentenced to life without parole Tuesday, December 28, 2010. Judge Robert Wirtz handed down this sentence for the 1st degree intentional homicide for strangling Redmer and 7 1/2 years for mutilation of a corpse. The victim's father, Mark Redmer said that "I'm asking please protect us and other fathers such as me. Don't let him out for any reason whatsoever. He's shown over and over what kind of individual he is."

Wirtz noted Mueller's criminal history started at the age of 15. His past includes six juvenile convictions, 22 adult convictions and three domestic abuse-related restraining orders. Redmer's father, Mark Redmer, said Mueller threatened to kill Renee's sister, Amber Donath, and Renee's children as a means to keep the victim close to him.

[ District Attorney Dan] Kaminsky noted motivation for murder may have been fueled by a disdain Mueller had for Redmer not telling him where she was going and who she was spending time with.

During the trial, Mueller claimed that while he strangled Redmer, it was unintentional, the result of a fight between them over her heroin use. While Mueller claimed he only took a few seconds strangling Redmer, Fond du Lac County Medical Examiner Douglas Kelley said strangling someone to death can take minutes.

Mueller himself said, "I want to apologize and just say that the lifestyle I was living was very sinful and not appropriate." He told Kaminsky, "I wasn't just going to throw her body somewhere. I considered it cremating it. I said a prayer when I spread her ashes into the lake. So I guess, yeah, technically, it could be an act of love."

Judge Wirtz told him, "You have caused a lot of sorrow and anguish. Renee's children are motherless. "Her whereabouts for quite some time were unknown. It is not comforting, I'm sure, for the parents, children, family members or friends to find out ultimately what happened."

Donald Worth's sentence handed down earlier this year was 6 years.

Serial "girlfriend" rapist sentenced to life without parole for raping woman in front of her child

A Savannah, GA man with a history of raping "girlfriends" was sentenced to life without parole as four-time habitual offender Monday, September 20. 47 year old Jerry Howard was convicted by a Chatham County, GA jury Saturday, September 18 of rape, aggravated assault, and misdemeanor cruelty to a child for raping and choking his 28 year old "girlfriend" in front of her 1 year old daughter at his home November 29, 2007.

Assistant District Attorney Isabel Pauley presented evidence that Howerd tried to intimidate the victim into recanting the charges and called as a witness a previous "girlfriend" who was attacked in a similar manner in 1988. 

Chatham County Superior Court Judge John E. Morse Jr imposed the life sentence on Howard based on prior felony convictions. The life term for rape and the 20 year term for aggravated assault were imposed consecutive to each other. A year term for cruelty to a child will be served concurrently with the life sentence. Because this is his fourth strike, the life term is without parole. These convictions include robbery, possession of controlled substances and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Howard was released from prison in August 2007, three months before the latest attack.

Below is the law requiring four time felons in Georgia to serve the maximum sentence for that crime without parole.

[A]ny person who, after having been convicted under the laws of this state for three felonies or having been convicted under the laws of any other state or of the United States of three crimes which if committed within this state would be felonies, commits a felony within this state other than a capital felony must, upon conviction for such fourth offense or for subsequent offenses, serve the maximum time provided in the sentence of the judge based upon such conviction and shall not be eligible for parole until the maximum sentence has been served. (from O.C.G.A. 17 -10-7)

Iraq vet who killed wife gets 14 1/3 years in prison

A wife-killing Iraq veteran was sentenced to 14 1/3 years for the February 18 strangulation murder of mother-of-one Winter Plummer.  Sheldon Plummer, 28 was sentenced Friday, August 20 in accordance with a plea agreement which capped his sentenced at 14 years 4 months. According to the July 21 plea agreement, Sheldon strangled his wife to death in their Lacey, WA apartment. The supposed reason for the murder was in self-defense after the victim attacked him with a knife.

Thurston County sheriff’s detectives began investigating Winter Plummer’s disappearance April 18, after one of Sheldon Plummer’s friends, also an Army soldier, called the sheriff’s office to say Sheldon Plummer had called him and “wanted advice on how to dispose of a body,” court papers state.

When detectives spoke to Sheldon Plummer, he said that about a month earlier, his wife had packed three suitcases and left after an argument.But Thurston County Sheriff’s Lt. Chris Mealy has said that Plummer’s timeline of when his wife left was inconsistent.

Detectives later found that Plummer had pawned his wife’s jewelry. Detectives also thought it was suspicious that Winter Plummer’s car still was parked at the apartment complex at The Villages at Nisqually Ridge Apartments. And they found it odd that she would abandon her daughter.

A prosecutor later said Plummer had disposed of some of his wife’s belongings to make it appear as though she had left. Sheldon Plummer even sent text messages from her cell phone to her family members in Arizona in an effort to make them think she was alive.

After detectives initially interviewed Sheldon Plummer, he removed his wife’s body from a storage unit and placed it in his garage, court papers state. Soon thereafter, he admitted to killing his wife. He told detectives he acted in self-defense after she attacked him with a knife during an argument, court papers state. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jodilyn Erikson-Muldrew said in court Friday that the medical evidence contradicted that claim.

The 14 year, 4 month sentence is in the middle of the standard sentencing range for 2nd degree murder without any priors in Washington State. In Florida, 2nd degree murder can carry up to a life without parole sentence. Certain female teachers have been sentenced to more prison time for raping their students, even in Washington.

During an emotional hearing before Thurston County Superior Court Judge Carol Murphy, Winter Plummer’s family members, including her father, Carlos Goseyun, spoke of the loss of their loved one, who grew up on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona and joined the Army to better her life.

Winter Plummer’s grandmother, Andrea Goseyun, broke into tears in court, describing how she taught Winter the Apache language and traditions. She spoke about how Winter was a great athlete, excelling at volleyball, basketball and softball. She also said her granddaughter was an outstanding soldier. “I loved her as much as my own daughter, and today I miss her,” Andrea Goseyun said. “I know that I will never be able to speak to her again.”

Sheldon's attorney, James Dixon, tried to explain his client's murder of Winter Plummer by invoking post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. According to Dixon, his client had done three tours of Iraq, saw many friends become casualties and suffered a concussion in his 1st Iraq tour.  Dixon hired Dr. April Gerlock to write a report on his client. 
 
Dixon noted that Gerlock’s report says people who suffer from PTSD can experience a “heightened sense of arousal to an actual or perceived threat,” and that they “may respond with aggression in response to that threat.”

In a phone interview Friday, Gerlock cautioned that Plummer’s case is complex. She added that she thinks PTSD contributed to Plummer’s actions. Not all soldiers coming back from Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from PTSD, and most who do never commit violent crimes, Gerlock said. It’s difficult for soldiers to shift from that “hyperawareness of ongoing danger” during combat tours to day-to-day civilian life, she said.

Gerlock also said that soldiers she sees every day minimize their PTSD to continue on with their lives, including careers and families. "We’re doing a lot for the recently deployed, but they have a lot on their plates. It’s tough. It’s so hard on these folks. They’re young, they want to get a family going and they just keep getting deployed.”

Eastpointe, MI woman's killer "boyfriend" sentenced to life without parole

A 48 year old man was sentenced to life without parole Tuesday, August 17 by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Edward Servitto for bludgeoning then suffocating his baby's mama to death with a vacuum cleaner and trying to hide the body in his car trunk.  Latoya Lowery, 35, was murdered around January 11 after an argument in which 48 year old David Cook struck her in the head with the vacuum cleaner. After she stayed alive, Cook finished her off by suffocating her. Lowery was reported missing January 11, and her body was found January 14. Cook was convicted of  1st degree murder by a jury in July. Cook had two children with Lowery.

Southport, England man gets 25 to life for rape-slaying of estranged wife

A sex obsessed husband was sentenced to life with a minimum sentence of 25 years imprisonment for raping then strangling his wife. 32 year old Brent Mott was sentenced by Judge Henry Globe, QC in a Liverpool, England courtroom August 11, 2010 for the murder of his 35 year old wife Kate. Mott was convicted by a 9 man, 3 woman jury in Liverpool Crown Court after a 3 week trial and 3 1/2 hours of deliberation.

Judge Globe said, “You murdered her because you couldn't bear to lose her. You murdered her because you couldn't bear to think of her with anyone else. In your own words: ‘The pain of losing her to another bloke was killing you.’ And you murdered her for sex. It was done in circumstances of your heightened sexual frustration borne out of your own twisted obsession towards sex.”

Judge Globe also detailed the “considerable mental suffering” Mrs Mott had endured at the hands of her husband, who told everyone about their lack of physical relationship after she became pregnant with their second child.

After separating in 2009, Mott, who worked alongside his wife at Southport hospital, insisted on moving back into the family home [in Southport, England]. But, just weeks later, in November, 2009, Mrs Mott got a court order banning her husband from entering a make-shift bedroom she had set up in their Everard Road home and harassing her with his sexual behaviour.

But Judge Globe said the injunction “held no fear” for Mott.

On January 20, 2009, Mott came "home" from the pub and raped, then murdered his victim. Mott dressed his wife's nude body, and drove her body to a field where he tried to stage the murder as an accident by burning his car in a Scarisbrick, England field. He also sent texts to his victim's mother and feigned worry for her safety by calling the police, but he was caught 4 months later.

Kate Mott finalized their divorce just hours before her slaying, and gave her husband 2 weeks to leave their house.

Judge Globe said about the victim,

“This was an intelligent, mature woman who had already arranged for the locks to be changed upon your imminent departure, so desperate was she to see you leave. She wouldn't have willingly allowed you to have sexual intercourse with her and risk becoming pregnant in the course of that intercourse.

You came home determined to have sexual intercourse with Kate, come what may. It is inconceivable that she would have suggested having, and would actually have had consensual sex with you in these circumstances. You raped her at or around the time of killing her.”

Drug addict, batterer sentenced to life without parole for killing of "girlfriend"

A Michigan man with a history of violence against woman was sentenced to life without parole Monday, July 5 in the strangulation murder of his "girlfriend." Oakland County Circuit Judge Colleen O'Brien sentenced 50 year old Joseph Susalla, of Howell, MI to life without parole for the 1st degree murder of 50 year old Kelley Duberg, 50, of Wixom, MI.

Susalla, with a history of drug and alcohol abuse and a criminal record for violence against women, was convicted by a jury after under an hour of deliberation last month on the murder charge. Lawrence Kaluzny, Susalla's attorney, hopes that even though his client faced the mandatory life without parole sentence, that Susalla would get drug and alcohol treatment in prison.

Duberg and Susalla had dated for several months. Susalla strangled Duberg in her Wixom apartment on May 22, 2009, authorities said, because he was angry she wanted to break up. He then drove to an area near Grayling and buried her body on his family's property. Michigan State Police, acting on a tip from his mother, found the body on June 5, 2009, in a shallow grave, nude and wrapped in a shower curtain. Duberg had been beaten and strangled with twine.

The victim's sister, Kimberly Arresto, said her sister was a smart and funny woman who adored her cat Peaches. "The world was a better place when Kelley was with us," Arresto said.

Judge O'Brien said that while the life sentence handed down was mandatory, it was also deserved for the attack on Duberg. "You left a gaping hole in her family and her community. I've seen very little remorse...The defendant is not fit to live in society."

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.

"Boyfriend" who strangled woman to death with bra sentenced to 45 years

A man with a long history of mental illness was sentenced to 45 years behind bars for the 2nd degree murder of his "girlfriend," who he strangled to death with her own bra. Circuit Judge F. Rand Wallis imposed the sentence on Orlando, FL resident Abdullah Khalig as the result of a guilty plea to 2nd degree murder in the death of Lolitta Flores February last year. The sentencing range was between 30 and 45 years.

Khalig described a long history of drug use and mental illness. But he admitted to strangling Flores with a bra. He said the voices came in his sleep. He woke up, reached over and started strangling her, he said.

"What I remember that night, I was hearing voices and I couldn't control myself," the 38 year old said in court this morning. "They were telling me to strangle her. I strangled her with the bra," he said. 49 year old Flores, a victim of Khalig's violence according to a December 2008 DV complaint, was last seen alive February 21, 2009.

He went away to use drugs and told a friend what happened. The friend contacted police, who arrested Khalig. The perpetrator led authorities to Flores' nude body, bra still around her neck, who had been dead about a week. Police believe she was murdered the night of February 22-23, 2009.  "I just needed to let it out. I felt bad for what I did. I'm thinking clearly now. I'd just like to apologize to the family and the friends."

Initially, Khalig denied killing Flores to authorities, but he later confessed. Khalig said he suffers from schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder. A psychiatric evaluation, however, determined Khalig's condition did not meet the legal requirements of an insanity plea. And all parties agreed Khalig was competent to make his guilty plea.

Khalig asked for a 30-year sentence. So did his defense attorney, Marc Burnham, who told the judge that no matter what his sentence, Khalig would be an old man if he makes it out of prison. [He]described a long history of drug use — including crack cocaine and heroin — and mental illness. He said he was homeless before staying with Flores, who held a steady job as manager for a telemarketing company. He added that they used drugs together. And he openly admitted to strangling Flores with a bra.

Phillip Marion Warren, the half brother of Flores, who experienced her as a mother figure, asked for the maximum sentence. "You took away my mother.I know he's accepted responsibility. Do I forgive him, your honor? Yes, I do. I also believe he deserves the maximum time he can get."

Assistant State Attorney Jim Altman also asked for the maximum. "You took that bra and wrapped it around her neck until you were sure she was dead?" "Yes sir," Khalig responded.

After the sentencing, Warren said, "The judge listened. He gave us the 45-year maximum. We were very happy with that."

States hope to curb domestic murders by targeting choking

More and more states are charging those who choke victims in domestic violence situations with felonies. According to DV advocates and studies, people who choke their"partners" are more likely to go on to kill or seriously injure them in future domestic attacks. The latest states to pass laws targeting DV strangulations are Delaware and New Hampshire. In Delaware, choking a partner carries up to 5 years imprisonment and is always a felony. Delaware state troopers analyzed cases and found that half of choking cases were charges as misdemeanors, eventually leading them to lobby for the strenghtened law.

New Hampshire passed its law after Melissa Cantin Charbonneau, 29, a mother and nurse, was killed by her husband two days after he tried to strangle her. Jonathan Charbonneau, 32, shot and killed her in October. He also shot his father-in-law and then killed himself, a report by the state attorney general found. He was out on $30 bail after being charged with a misdemeanor for throwing her down a flight of stairs and trying to strangle her.

John Cantin, the victim's father, said that his daughter would still be alive if her "husband" had been charged with felony strangulation. "I'm doing this for my daughter. I don't believe this bill will stop the person doing the choking, but at least when it does happen and they are arrested, they are put away."

In New York, Democratic State Sen. Eric Schneiderman introduced a strangulation bill after chairing a commitee that investigated a state senator for domestic abuse. During the hearings, he learned there was no penalty for strangulation, even though women who were choked have a higher risk of being killed by their partner. "I'm just sorry it took us so long in New York state to do this," he says. "I think this will save a lot of lives."

A 2008 study in the Journal of Emergency Medicine found 43% of women who were murdered in domestic assaults and 45% who were victims of attempted murder had been choked in the past year by their male partners.

New York's strangulation bill, passed by its legislature, is on its way to Governor David Patterson's desk.

Long Island man sentenced to 18 to life for wife's murder

A 31 year old Long Island, NY man who killed his wife by strangling her then pretended to look for her was sentenced to 18 years to life yesterday, June 23, with the presiding judge and prosecutor angling for the life sentence. Judge David Ayres said that the man, a "cold blooded murderer," should never get out of prison and that he recommended to the parole board that the killer never be released.

After an argument over his cheating, William Walsh strangled his wife, Leah Hirschel Walsh, in their Bethpage, NY apartment, early on October 26, 2008. After covering her body up with black trash bags, William went to the gym, laundromat, and McDonalds. When he returned home at 10 that night, he stuffed her body in the bags and drove her car to a wooded area off of the Long Island Expressway, and dumped her body there. He left her car on another expressway to make the murder look like a carjacking.

For two days, Walsh made impassioned public pleas for information on his wife’s whereabouts that were covered extensively by the local media. In several of his appearances, he stood with his in-laws in front of their Rockville Centre home. Police arrested him on Oct. 29, when his wife’s body was found. Walsh later confessed to her murder, and police said he gave them a written seven-page confession.

On May 20, Walsh plead guilty to 2nd degree murder, criminal posession of a weapon, and tampering with evidence.

In his victim’s impact statement, Howard Hirschel spoke of how hundreds of special-needs students would be deprived of his daughter's special gifts as a teacher. He spoke of the pain and anguish her family has suffered and said that Leah’s violent, brutal death and ultimate betrayal gave new meaning to the phrase "till death do us part.” Calling her murder cruel, cold and premeditated, Leah’s father said that Walsh had no sense of remorse. "His sole purpose was to save his own skin,” he said.

A statement from Leah's mother, read by Assistant District Attorney Michael Walsh, and one from her brother followed. In his statement, Josh Hirschel said that Walsh ran up debt in his sister’s name, and that when she had had enough of his drugs, gambling and infidelity, he decided to end her life. “The plea agreement is for 18 years to life,” he said, “and the emphasis should be on ‘life.’”

As for the defendant, his lawyer William Petrillo, of Rockville Centre said that contrary to reports, his client had shown emotion, and that the murder was not premeditated. Describing his client as sincere, he cited a probation report saying his client prays for his victim's family and will never find peace. William Walsh spoke, saying he was sorry for the pain he caused his wife's family.

Judge Ayres contrasted Walsh, who he considered to be a narcissistic and controlling killer, with the victim and her family. He acknowledged letters saying that Leah was a special education teacher with much more to give. But for Walsh, Judge Ayres offered only denunciation, saying that "The physical violence you showed Leah,” Ayres said, “was echoed only by the cowardice you showed."

After the sentencing, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said that “The fact that Walsh cruelly tortured the victim’s family in the days following her brutal murder with his deceitful lies just shows what a cold and merciless killer he is.”

Wife of Nashville attorney gets life in strangling death

A Nashville woman who got her husband drunk then strangled him by wrapping a cell phone cord around his neck was sentenced to life without parole for at least 51 years last Thursday. Kelley Cannon was found guilty of 1st degree murder in the strangulation death of her husband James "Jim" Cannon on June 23, 2008. The verdict and sentence were handed down by a Davidson County court Thursday, April 29, after an hour of deliberation.

A cleaning lady found his body in a bedroom closet in his 710 Bowling Ave. home. Kelley Cannon claimed she went to the home the previous evening and found the back door open and no sign of her husband.

However, investigations found discolored pants from bleach Kelley used to try to destroy DNA, and gloves stolen from a Walgreens which matched gloves found at the scene of the murder.

Witnesses called by the prosecution testified about forensic evidence that officials said link Kelley to the murder scene including the tip of a latex glove that contained her DNA.

Brad Putnam was the lead investigator in the murder case. He told the jury Wednesday he found a box of gloves at Kelley's home the day after Jim was found dead in his Green Hills home. "I noticed a box of latex gloves, and the name brand was Walgreens. The corner of the box was missing," said Putnam.

Prosecutors said the tip of glove found at the crime scene contains Kelley's DNA on the inside, and her husband's on the outside. The jury also saw surveillance video showing Kelley taking a box of gloves from a nearby Walgreens the same night as the murder.

In a phone conversation played to the jury Wednesday, Kelley explained to a friend that she used the gloves when coloring her hair.

Prosecution witnesses brought up implied Kelley's motive for the murder was anger at her husband's affairs, her anger of Jim's full custody of their 3 children, and to cover up her own affair. Rick Greene, a "lover" of Kelley, stated he believed Kelley knew about the murder of Jim. "I said look me in the eye and tell me you didn't know his body was in the closet. She said ‘Rick, I can't tell you anything because I don't want you to have to lie.'"

Aaron Bagley, a Smynra bartender, stated that she told him "He was flying women to come see him in other states. They were going through a divorce, and if he tried to take the babies from her that she would kill him."

Her attorney Peter Strianse, said at 5' 3" and around 100 pounds, she was simply too weak to commit the crime. He also tried to convince the jury that police did a sloppy job investigating the case. He argued they didn't check thoroughly on other potential suspects, and did not proceed carefully enough in evidence gathering.

Jurors found that  the victim's blood alcohol content of 0.15 and willingness of the defendant to murder overcomes body strength differences.

After the verdict, Jim's family offered this statement.

We are grateful to have this behind us. We feel that justice has been served, and thank the members of the jury for their careful attention to the facts of the case. Our family appreciates the efforts of the local authorities, and the support and well-wishes of everyone as we return our focus onto our family.

Kelley's mother, Diane Sanders, told reporters, "I still believe in my heart that my daughter didn't do this deed. There are some things that didn't come out that should have been."

Assistant DA Katy Miller said "Whenever there's a death involved and three children have lost their father, it's not victory but justice was done. Still it's a sad day all around." The children have filed a $40 million wrongful death lawsuit against their mother regarding their father's death.

"Boyfriend" sentenced to 25 years for slaying of woman in NYU apartment

A man who choked his girlfriend to death inside her mother's apartment was sentenced to 25 years for 1st degree manslaughter Wednesday in a Manhattan courtroom. Michael Cordero plead guilty to 1st degree manslaughter in a Manhattan courtroom for the chance to avoid life behind bars.

Mr. Cordero, 26, pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter for the 2007 killing of Boitumelo McCallum, the daughter of two New York University professors. In exchange for his guilty plea, Mr. Cordero was promised a 25-year sentence.

The killing took place early Wednesday, August 1, 2007, at her mother's NYU owned apartment in Greenwich Village. Cordero was angry that his victim threw a bash inside the apartment without inviting him, and choked her to death so hard that her nose bled. After the slaying, Cordero wrapped a bloody towel around her head and wrapped it in bedsheets, which he stuffed between the bed and the wall of the apartment. On Sunday, August 5, tenants who sublet the apartment from the victim's parents found "Tumi's" rotting body and called police.

Justice Bonnie G. Wittner of State Supreme Court in Manhattan had said that she would not have accepted the plea deal without the parents’ consent. Ms. McCallum’s parents, Teboho Moja and Robert McCallum, did accept the deal, but they still had words that were both touching and harsh.

The victim's father said, "You made the relationship about power and domination, rather than about love and compassion. That is why Tumi was trying to move away from you. Tumi was scared of you. I tried as much as I could to protect her, but you did everything behind my back and that of our family to get to her one final time.”

The victim's mother also had a statement read for her by Manhattan Assistant District attorney Martha Bashford. “You barehandedly killed my child. Your hands are stained forever with her blood.”

"Michael Cordero added insult to injury by making us bury our loved one in unrecognizable image. Her decomposed body is buried and memories of her charming smile live in our hearts. Her infectious laughter and her voice calling out ‘mummy’ still rings in my ears.”

[Neighbors knew] McCallum as the bubbly daughter of the two professors. Her mother, Teboho Moja, is a professor at NYU's Steinhardt School of Education.

Moja was part of the board of UNESCO's Institute for International Education Planning, appointed by then-South African President Nelson Mandela to draw up higher education reforms for the country.

The slain woman's father, Robert McCallum, is an adjunct professor in art education at NYU. "She was a regular girl, a pretty girl, a typical college student," said Dan Lee, a filmmaker who lived down the hall. "She wasn't edgy. She's not the type of girl who would get into trouble."

McCallum graduated from the Beacon School, a selective public school in Manhattan, in 2005 and attended Mills College in Oakland, Calif., for two semesters. But she had not returned to the college since finishing spring semester in 2006.

A native of South Africa, she moved to the city with her parents as a young child and while in high school worked for two years at the American Museum of Natural History learning how to isolate, amplify, sequence and edit DNA.

"She didn't have a green card and neither did I. We bonded over that in the lab," said her pal Bernard Laszczower, 19.

Cordero, in court, said that "Just living without her is a fate worse than death - or imprisonment," he said. "I know what I did was wrong. ... It was just something that happened." However, the victim's parents said his "apology" statement was just another self serving ploy designed to shift blame and minimize the impact of his crime.  McCallum said that "In the time that I've known him, he's always had an excuse for his behavior. One wants to be compassionate, but I'm sorry I couldn't be."

Moja said, He said, 'I'll die from loneliness.' We're all going to miss her. What about us? We weren't a part of his equation. If he can't have her, nobody else should have her - not another guy, not his family. I feel like I've seen him for the last time, and I want to keep it that way. Looking in the face of a killer is something that I cannot explain."

Man who strangled wife to death with belt sentenced to 30 years imprisonment

A man who strangled his wife to death with a belt was sentenced to 30 years in a Tallahassee, FL, courtroom Monday, April 26. Daniel Tappen murdered his wife Kimberly inside their southeast Tallahassee, FL home in 2008. After a 6 day trial, and five hours of deliberation, Tappen was convicted of 2nd degree murder by a jury on March 10 of this year. The main reason that Tappen was convicted of 2nd and not 1st degree murder was defense evidence showing that Kim had a high level of cocaine in her body and the insistence that Kim's death was suicide.

During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors asked for life without parole. Kim's mother, Lynn Delay, brought her dead daughter's childhood teddy bear, saying the bear was "still very much loved just like his owner." Kim's sister Cheryl Phillips said that "It has been almost two years now and I just want to stop crying, but I can't, it hurts so much."

 "Danny is a kind and harmless man. There is not an unkind bone in his body. Throughout our entire marriage, he never said no to me," says Daniel's ex-wife Mary Jane Tappen.  Through tears, his mother turned her attention from the Judge to Daniel. "We know that you didn't do this son and we love you very much."

The defendant will be eligible for early release after serving 25 1/2 years in the Florida Department Of Corrections. He hopes to be incarcerated in Wakulla Correctional Institute, 20 miles from Tallahassee.

Mother of 3 strangled in home, allegedly by "husband"

A mother of 3 who worked at a suburban Chicago zoo as an outreach coordinator was strangled, allegedly by her husband, around 2 AM Saturday, April 10, in their west suburban Chicago home, according to police.

Ian A. Alamilla, 33, a Westmont resident who is a Belize native, was charged by DuPage County, IL prosecutors with 1st degree murder for strangling his "wife," 34 year old Tara, in the basement of her Westmont home. Ian drove to the Central District Police Station in Chicago's near south side around 5:30 AM and turned himself to police. According to DuPage County prosecutor Robert Berlin, Alamilla said that he had been in a fight with his wife and that police should check on her.

Chicago police contacted their Westmont counterparts, who found the mother of three dead in her basement. Her kids, 2, 5, and 11, were found by police asleep and physically unharmed.

The couple had been separated since March 5, 2010, after Tara filed for divorce. The divorce papers make no allegations of DV, and according to neighbors, the couple, who still lived within several blocks of each other,were trying to repair their marriage. Ian was at his wife's home for the youngest child's birthday party.

Christin O'Malley said, "They were very cordial with each other. Never once did she ever say he was violent She was a good person, but so was Ian. That's why this is so shocking."

At Brookfield Zoo, where Tara Alamilla had worked since 2006, she had established a reputation for making inroads with Chicago Public Schools teachers in the zoo's new education program. A teacher-development program that she coordinated, Levels of Engagement, won the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Education Award in 2009, officials said.

More recently, Alamilla was helping with the design of wildlife clubs in Guyana, said Stuart Strahl, president and chief executive officer of the zoological society. Earlier, Alamilla also had managed the zoo's accessibility program for children with disabilities, arranging internships and volunteer opportunities, Strahl added.

"She was a remarkable woman with a huge heart that would reach almost anybody at any level," Strahl said. "Her passing is a great loss."

Brookfield Zoo made grief counselors available to employees and set up a memorial fund in Tara Aramilla's name to enhance the institution's education efforts.

DuPage County, IL State's Attorney Joe Birkett said that "Tragically, Tara's life was taken on the birthday of her youngest child. The heartbreaking, senseless loss of life in this case is compounded because it involves three young children who have lost their mother and now see their father accused of taking her life."

DuPage County Judge Liam Brennan set Ian's bail at $2 million.

Oro Valley man gets 25 to life for strangling "girlfriend," mom of 2

An Oro Valley, AZ man was sentenced to 25 years to life yesterday for the beating and strangulation death of his "girlfriend," 25 year old Lisa Berrie.

On Aug. 12, 2008, [36 year old Paul] Beam's father called 911 to say there had been a domestic violence incident at his son's Oro Valley apartment and his son's girlfriend had been injured. Beam was outside when police arrived, but he turned and went back inside, according to court documents. When police got him to open the door, he said he and two children were the only ones in the apartment.

During a search of the apartment, police found Berrie unconscious on the bedroom floor. She was pronounced dead at University Medical Center about an hour later. An autopsy revealed Berrie had been beaten and strangled.

During his trial, Darlene Edminson-O'Brien, assistant Pima County public defender, asked jurors to convict Beam of manslaughter, saying Beam acted in the heat of passion after Berrie told him she was leaving him and taking their 2-year-old daughter, Katlyn.

However, the victim's parents, Marc and Linda Berrie, told the court that their daughter told them Beam was abusive and that she feared for her life if she ever left him. The parents also helped their daughter apply for jobs in their home state of Delaware for an eventual move back there.

Besides the loss of their daughter, the victim's parents had to move to Tucson to take care of their grandchildren, Katlyn and 8 year old Jeremy. This was because Arizona did not want the children moved out of state. The victim's mother had to retire and become her grandkids' full time caregiver, and this has cost them their life savings.

As for the kids, Katlin reeancts her mother's last moments with her dolls and asks why she can't go and see her mom.

The victim's sister, 24 year old Suzanne Berrie, said that her sister, "a strong Viking woman," would have fought back if given the chance. "He's not a man. He's an animal." 

Jeremy, before showing Pima County Superior Court Judge Clark Munger a picture of his mother, said "I feel mad and sad. Because of this man, my sister is an orphan."

Beam himself read a statement about his "extreme regret" for the killing of Jeremy and Katlin's mom. "I cannot give back what I've taken and for that I'm truly sorry...I do not ask for forgiveness because I can't forgive myself. This never should have happened and I accept responsibility for that."

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.

Kansas city metro man faces death penalty for strangling wife, killing baby

A suburban Kansas City, KS man faces either the rest of his life in prison or the death penalty for killing his wife, then dumping her body along the side of the road. Jason Cott, 30, of Overland Park, KS, was charged with capital murder for strangling his wife, and killing their unborn child. Capital murder carries life without parole or the death penalty. Johnson County prosecutors also have the option of filing two 1st degree murder charges, which carry a minimum sentence of 50 years without parole.

On Jan. 20, authorities found the body of Angela Cott, 29, along U.S. 69 in Miami County but soon transferred the case to Lenexa police. They said they believed she was killed at the Knights Inn, 9630 Rosehill Road.

The capital charge is possible because of what is known as Alexa’s Law, passed three years ago. The Kansas law makes it a crime to kill or wound an unborn child during an attack on the mother. The law is similar to federal law signed in 2004. It was passed after Scott Peterson killed his wife, Laci, and her unborn son in California.

This is the second time the Kansas law has been used in Johnson County. The first time this charge was used was when Brandon Reed killed his "girlfriend," Christina Osburn, in her Shawnee KS apartment. He was sentenced to life without parole last year.

40 to 50 years for Daykin, NE man for choking wife to death

A man who overreacted to his wife's abuse was sentenced to a term of 40-50 years in prison by District Judge Paul Merritt Jr. Wednesday, December 23. 49-year-old Mark Ziemann said that "I know it was wrong. I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

Ziemann pled no contest to 2nd degree murder on October 2, 2009 under District Judge Paul Merritt Jr.

In the courtroom, Deputy County Attorney Amy Jacobsen said friends of Rhapsody Ziemann's reported her missing Dec. 13, 2007, after she asked them to watch her daughter, Daniella, the night of Dec. 10. She never returned to pick her up. Lincoln police searched her apartment at 3341 Holdrege St., where they now believe her husband killed her. A sheet was missing from the bed, along with her purse.

Investigators called her husband, who said he hadn't been to the apartment until he was told his wife was missing Dec. 13. He said he was with his brother. But his alibi quickly fell apart. His brother, Brent Ziemann, called investigators to say he wasn't with Mark - but was told to lie and say he was, Jacobsen said.

Brent Ziemann also said his brother told him he'd killed his wife and taken her body to his trailer house in Jefferson County, she said. Police found her body there Dec. 15, 2007, with blood on her mouth and marks around her neck. She had died of blunt force trauma to her head and asphyxia by manual strangulation.

Jacobsen said Ziemann asked an aunt to store a bag of things. When she turned it over to police, they found a bloody sheet, Rhapsody's purse and other items. She said police also obtained a note Ziemann left for his brother explaining what happened: When he kissed his wife, she bit his lip. Then "my fingers clenched around her throat for two agonizing minutes," Jacobsen said he wrote.

Ziemann's defense attorney Stuart Dornan said "Mr. Ziemann did a very bad thing under extraordinary circumstances," but that he wasn't a bad man. He went on to talk about how his client had struggled with Asperger's disorder, but managed to get through college and become a law abiding citizen.

Because Ziemann had suffered from extreme stress and potential harm from his wife, his client reacted in an "animalistic fashion." Two of Ziemann's supporters said that he "was used, abused, and didn't have sense to know it." and that the wife may have had his hands on the knife.

Chief Deputy County Attorney Joe Kelly said he didn't think that [the 20 year term asked for by the defense]was sufficient. Despite what his family and friends thought of Rhapsody, Kelly said, Ziemann seemed to have a sincere love for her. He didn't think he was exploited or mentally abused, as they told the judge they did.

Kelly asked District Judge Paul Merritt to focus on the difference in size between Ziemann, a tall man, and his wife, barely 5 feet tall. "He could have done things short of killing her to force her to release her grip. One kick, one hit, one slap would have taken care of the situation," he said. But Ziemann held her throat, even after she let go, and he killed her. Could the same thing happen again, Kelly asked. Probably not, he conceded. But maybe a road rage could. "We're not convinced that he has much insight into the act," he said.

Judge Merritt said that the circumstances in the leadup to the murder suggested that more had happened than just the defendant's version of the story. "I do believe he was in pain when he reacted, but he obviously overreacted," he said.

Rhapsody's cousin Rey Pacuno said that "We just really want justice for this. After two years, we have a response from the court. ... Let God decide the other."

Woman's murderous "boyfriend" sentenced to life without parole

A man who choked his "girlfriend" to death because she was seeing her ex was sentenced to life without parole yesterday in a Tallahassee, FL courtroom. Thirty-six year old Terrell Lee Robinson plead guilty to the 1st degree murder of pregnant 25 year old Elisabeth Killam in a Tallahassee, FL apartment on September 23. The choking took 5 to 6 minutes, according to Robinson's police statement. When she tried to scream, Robinson stuffed napkins in Killiam's mouth. Robinson took medicine to commit suicide, but was found semiconscious.

The victim's family members attended Robinson's sentencing, which was to a mandatory life without parole sentence. “I often have to beg God to take the image of Elisabeth out of my mind. The pain of that knowledge is debilitating,” said Killiam's sister.

“What we fervently hope is that Terrell Robinson will not be allowed out of prison again,” Barbara Killam told Circuit Judge Terry Lewis in speaking on behalf of her daughter. “Now we live in a constant state of struggle to try to grasp that she is gone. We have lost our joy in life.”

David Killam, told Lewis that if his daughter were alive today, “she would tell you in no uncertain terms that justice has not been served.”

Robinson plead guilty to the murder to avoid facing a possible death penalty. According to Assistant State Attorney Jack Campbell, the 2 1/2 months between the crime and sentencing was “the fastest resolution in a first-degree murder case (he’d) ever heard of.”

Robinson's reason for pleading guilty against his public defender's advice was “I’d like to get on with it. Nobody needs to be run through the mud. Every time we go through this, her body continues to be drug through the grave.”

Killer of young mother sentenced to 20 years - currently serving life for rape-slaying of another woman

In the space of two hours yesterday, a Dubuque, IA man went from being charged with to being sentenced for the murder of a Rockford, IL mother of three. Gregory Otterbeck, 54, was charged with the murder of Thomasina Dunivant back in December 1980. The prostitute, 23, was last seen alive outside a bar in East Dubuque, IL on December 7, 1980. Her strangled, beaten body was found on the side of a road in Grant County, WI. The case went cold until 2007, when Wisconsin Department Of Justice matched Otterbeck's DNA to samples taken from the victim's vagina.

Grant County Circuit Judge Robert P. VanDeHey said after accepting Otterbeck's no contest plea that the defendant was one of the most dangerous defendants in his courtroom. "It was a violent murder ... her death shouldn't be minimized just because it took 28 years," he said.

The victim's daughter Margaret, four when her mother was killed, said "He's the type of scum no one should feel sorry for."

Otterbeck is currently serving life for being party to the rape and murder of Jodi Bausman. She was gang raped before being killed at a cabin Otterbeck's friend owned back in April 1981.

The complaint said it was "plausible" Otterbeck killed Dunivant at the same cabin because Dunivant's purse was found 500 yards from the building, it was a short drive from the bar where Dunivant was last seen and bedding from the cabin was missing after Dunivant was killed but before Bausman's death.

The complaint also says a woman told investigators that Otterbeck's sister told her he had wandered into his sister's restaurant at 4:30 a.m., looking half-drunk, and told his sister he had killed a woman. He said they were going to have sex, but she decided not to and began to scream. He covered her mouth until she stopped breathing and he dumped the body in a ditch.

Otterbeck's sister, however, told investigators she didn't remember any such conversation.

Oliveto told the judge she explained to Otterbeck that the complaint was laced with circumstantial evidence, hearsay and evidence of other criminal acts, which might not be allowed at a trial in Dunivant's death, and another conviction would erase any chance at parole.

"He understands all these things," Oliveto told the judge. "Mr. Otterbeck wants to proceed in this manner."

Mr. Otterbeck wants Ms. Dunivant to be at peace," Oliveto said.

In accordance with the plea deal, Assistant Attorney General Dave Wambach asked Judge VanDeHey to order Otterbeck to pay for Dunivant's headstone, a request the judge denied. Wambach recommended the perpetrator for transfer from Oshkosh Correctional Institution to WIsconsin's Supermax in Boscobel, the Secure Program Facility in Boscobel. While judges can make a recommendation on placement, only Wisconsin Department of Correction officials can actually transfer inmates.