Clayton, NJ – At the time I typed this, officials have not officially identified the body that was found in a recycling container, but they preliminarily identified the body as that of Autumn Pasquale, the 12-year-old who was reported missing on Saturday.
Authorities said Pasquale was last seen around 12:30 p.m. Saturday riding her bike. A friend of her said that she exchanged text messages with her that day, the last one received at 1:22 p.m. that she did not believe was intended for her. She said the message read, “don’t be like that.”
Police say the last text she sent was at around 2.30 p.m. and that there was nothing alarming or unusual about it. She was reported missing at 9:30 p.m. after not arriving home by her 8 p.m. curfew. By Monday, about 200 law enforcement officials and hundreds of volunteers were out looking for her. By 10 p.m., she was found.
Investigators have not said exactly where in Clayton her body was located, other than saying that it was a few blocks from her home inside a recycling bin. An autopsy is to be conducted today to positively identify the body is Pasquale’s. Investigators say they have talked to at least 75 people, but that they do not have any suspects or know she left on her own or was the victim of foul play.…
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Brooklyn, NY – Vindalee Smith, a 38-year-old mother of four, was found dead in her Brooklyn apartment on Saturday, lying in a pool of blood from slash and stab wounds to her neck. She was to be married to her fiancé, Anthony Jackman, on Sunday at New Dimension Seventh Day Adventist Church in Brownsville. Sources are indicating, however, that Jackman is still legally married to another woman in New Jersey.
The baby Smith was carrying was due in just two weeks, but did not survive the attack. Smith’s other four children are older and did not live with her.
Police questioned Jackman, but they report that he is not currently a suspect. Authorities believe, however, that Smith did know her attacker, as there was no sign of forced entry.
Another lead police are investigating is a luke-warm one. Smith had previously had an argument with a former neighbor who threatened to kill her. That incident occurred months ago, however, and the tension seemed to evaporate once she’d moved away.
In a “WTF” twist on the case, police report that they found a note at the crime scene. It states that one pregnant woman will be killed each week until the “D.C.…
Continue ReadingMentally Ill Man Found With Mother’s Dismembered Body In Car
October 22, 2012 at 11:08 am by PetePuma
Centennial, CO – Ari Liggett, 24 and mentally ill, was arrested on October 17th after he crashed his vehicle attempting to flee police. The dismembered body of his 56-year-old mother, Beverly Liggett, was found in the back of his car.
Ari Liggett informed police that he’d recently become aware of the fact that his mother had left him out of her will, and was displeased by the news. He is being held without bail at Arapahoe County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder.
Ronald Liggett, Ari’s father and Beverly’s ex-husband, told a reporter that his son has a long history of mental illness. “We’re failing our society in terms of mental health treatment, prevention and resources. This is a mental-health issue. Like you’re seeing every day in the papers, it won’t be positively addressed until the society takes it as seriously as the war on drugs or terrorism.”
Two days before the apprehension of Ari Liggett, police entered Beverly’s home based upon suspicions of her boyfriend and ex-husband that something had happened to her. She was not answering their calls. Officers found her medication in the home, but her car was missing. They also found traces of blood in the freezer and bathtub, cutting tools in the dishwasher, and potassium cyanide, the same substance ingested by Michael Marin in his courtroom suicide back in July of this year. The case immediately became a homicide investigation at that point.…
Continue ReadingMan Found Guilty Of Beating His Stepson To Death With Rolling Pin
October 19, 2012 at 2:19 pm by Morbid
Buffalo, NY - A man has been found guilty of beating his 10-year-old stepson to death with a rolling pin after arguing with the boy about homework.
Prosecutors say that on April 17, 10-year-old Abdifatah Mohamud climbed out a window of his home and ran down the street. A neighbor driving by saw the boy running with his stepfather, 41-year-old Mohamed Mohamud, chasing after him. She pulled over and gave Mohamud a ride so he could catch up to his stepson.
After catching up to the boy, Abdi told the woman he did not want to go back home with his stepfather, but Mohamud pulled Abdi into the vehicle and the neighbor took them back home. The neighbor said she stood at the entrance and asked Abdi if he wanted to come study at her house, but Mohamud told her he wasn’t going to do anything to the boy and she could leave.
According to Mohamud, Abdi would not stop trying to flee the house after the neighbor left, so he used electrical cord to tie him to a chair in the basement.…
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Salt Lake City, UT – More details have been released in the case of a mentally ill man who stabbed his 84-year-old grandmother to death earlier this month.
On Oct 3, police were called to the home of Joyce “Honey” Dexter where they found her grandson, 21-year-old Zachary Weston, covered in blood and standing over her dead body while holding a bloody knife. Weston later told investigators that he “stabbed his grandma” and that he “slit her belly, her jugular and her heart.” As overkill as that all sounds, it’s still an understatement.
A medical examiner later determined that Dexter had been stabbed 111 times, nine of those to her heart, and that several of Dexter’s internal organs had been removed. Because of the heinous nature of the crime, Weston was charged with aggravated murder. Since this happened in Utah, that means Weston is looking at a possible death sentence.
Weston’s family says that he’s had long-standing mental issues that have gotten progressively worse, calling his life a “tragedy in slow motion.” Weston was diagnosed with schizophrenia and has told others he was hearing voices. He was staying with his grandmother because she was the only one willing to give him a place to stay.…
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HUNTSVILLE, TX – Police in Texas say a 10-year-old boy was at home when he shot his sister and then fatally shot himself.
Sheriff’s deputies said that sometime late Thursday, Coby Tucker walked into his 15-year-old sister’s bedroom and shot her multiple times with a small caliber handgun before turning the gun on himself. The siblings’ father was at work at the time, but their mother was downstairs and called 911 after hearing the first shots.
Coby and his sister, Ashley, were flown to the hospital were Coby was pronounced dead. Ashley underwent surgery and is currently listed in good condition. At this time, police do not have a motive. “We have not been able to talk to the girl because she was in surgery this morning,” Detective Greg Williams said. “It is still early in the investigation, and we are not sure why this happened.”
Police did say they think that Cody got the handgun from a locked gun safe in the home and that, at this time, no charges will be filed against the parents. “There is no reason for us to believe that this was a case of negligence by the parents,” Walker County Sheriff Clint McRae said.…
Continue ReadingFight Over Farting Leads To One Teen Dead, Another Charged With Her Murder
October 10, 2012 at 2:20 pm by Morbid
WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS, OH – Police say that a girl being teased about her farting ended with a 16-year-old girl dead and a 16-year-old girl charged with her murder.
Last Wednesday police received several 911 calls reporting some kids fighting while some adults watched. “It’s some kids that’s fighting, and it’s adults, grown-ups — they’re watching them fight,” the caller told dispatch. Not long after, another 911 call was made, but this time it was to report one of the girls involved had fallen down and was having trouble breathing.
By time police arrived on the scene, the fight had already been broken up and EMS were on the scene trying to revive an unresponsive 16-year-old Shaakira Dorsey. She was rushed to the hospital but would be pronounced dead. Her cause of death has not been released.
Police questioned Shaakira’s stepfather, who had been one of the adults watching the altercation, but he did not tell officers about the fight. He only told them that Shaakira was “pacing back and forth” in front of the apartments before she fell face forward onto the grass.…
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FORT COLLINS, CO — Police in Colorado have charged a woman with second-degree murder after they say she slit her fiancé’s throat during an argument.
Police arrested 23-year-old (!) Nicole Marie Ryan on Friday after Ryan called 911 to report she had hurt her “husband” during an argument. Turned out that this was a bit of an understatement as when police arrived, they found that Ryan had turned her man into a Pez dispenser.
He was rushed to the hospital suffering from a severe knife wound to his neck, but he died on the way to the hospital. The victim’s name has not been released at this time because his next-of-kin have not been notified. Police say they are having a hard time identifying any of the man’s family as he lived a transient lifestyle.
The incident happened in a basement bedroom of a home the couple shared with Ryan’s mother, brother and another roommate. No one else was at home at the time, according to police, but they are asking anyone with any information to call Detective Keith Maynard at (970) 221-6540.…
Continue ReadingConvicted Child Killer Stops Fighting Death Penalty, Says He Deserves To Die
October 8, 2012 at 9:02 am by Morbid
Sioux Falls – A man on death row, twice convicted of the rape and murder of 9-year-old Becky O’Connell in 1990, has asked that all efforts to stop his execution be terminated — he’d like to die now.
In 1992, Donald Moeller was convicted of kidnapping O’Connell from a Sioux Falls convenience store, driving her to a secluded area near the Big Sioux River, and then raping her before stabbing her and slashing her throat. Her naked body was found the next day.
He was convicted a second time in 1997, after the original conviction was overturned due to improper evidence was used at trial, and he was sentenced to death. So for the last 22 years Moeller has sat on death row on the taxpayers’ dime while his appeals ran their course. During this time he says he watches the news, reads the paper, writes and watches old movies.
Part of the the delay in his execution wasn’t just because of his appeals, but because of the method of execution used in South Dakota that has left Moeller’s state-court lawyer fighting with Arkansas-based federal public defenders.…
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NEW FAIRFIELD, CT – A popular teacher in Connecticut shot a masked prowler next door to his home only to learn he had just killed his teenage son.
Sometime around 1 a.m. Thursday, Jeffrey Giuliano got a call from his sister, who lives next door, informing him that she thought someone was trying to break into her home.
Armed with a handgun, Giuliano walked over to investigate and encountered someone in his sister’s driveway wearing a ski mask and brandishing a knife. Giuliano shot and killed the masked suspect when they made a move towards him.
When police arrived at the scene, they found Giuliano sitting in the grass and the suspect’s dead body lying sprawled in the driveway. Police lifted up the mask and revealed the suspect to be Giuliano’s 15-year-old son, Tyler Giuliano. Early reports stated Giuliano had removed the mask and realized he had shot his son before police arrived, but those reports turned out to be incorrect.
“He didn’t know it was his son. … We made the identification.” State Police spokesman Lt. J.…
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Lakeland, FL — Police have charged 14-year-old Cassidy Goodson with first-degree murder after she gave birth to a full-term baby boy and then proceeded to choke him to death.
Three days after deputies had been called to Lakeland Regional Medical Center on a report of Cassidy being treated for a miscarriage, the Sheriff’s Office received a call from the girl’s mother after she made a gruesome discovery in her daughter’s room.
Teresa Goodson had been collecting dirty laundry when she smelled something bad coming from Cassidy’s room. Upon investigating, she found a shoebox with a dead baby inside. Homicide detectives arrived at the home and interviewed Cassidy, who showed little emotion while explaining why she a dead baby in her room rotting in a shoebox.
The ninth- grader at Kathleen High School told them that she had been hiding her pregnancy for months, and on the morning of Sept. 19, she went into labor in the bathroom. After using a pair of scissors to try and pry the baby out, she finally gave birth to a 9.5-pound, 20.4-inch baby boy.…
Continue ReadingRowan Ford’s Stepfather Pleads Guilty To Reduced Charges, May Only Serve Six Years In Prison
September 27, 2012 at 11:16 am by Morbid
WAYNESVILLE, MO - It’s been almost five years since I first reported on 9-year-old Rowan Ford. At the time, she was just a missing girl from Missouri whose stepfather was not being cooperative with police. I didn’t know it at the time, but it would take five years for the case to be resolved, and the details of what happened to that little girl would end up haunting me to this day.
Three days after I posted that article in 2007, Rowan’s battered body was located in a sinkhole where she had been dumped after having been raped and strangled to death. The day after, police would arrest Rowan’s stepfather David Spears (who had previously been on the news pleading for her safe return) and his friend Chris Collings. Police would charge them both with Rowan’s rape and murder after Collings admitted to acting alone in abducting, raping, and strangling Rowan, while Spears confessed to participating in the rape of Rowan and being the one who strangled her to death.
A year later, these two men still had not stood trial, and Impqueen wrote a great summary of everything we knew about the case up until then.…
Continue ReadingBabysitter Accused Of Slamming Baby Pleads Not Guilty In Child’s Death
September 26, 2012 at 9:35 am by Morbid
WAUKEGAN, IL — The Illinois woman accused of killing a 3-month-old baby, allegedly by violently slamming her down on a table, has pleaded not guilty to murder.
Sarah Gumm, 33, is facing life behind bars if she is convicted of the multiple murder and battery charges filed against her in connection to the death of Rylan “Turtle” Koopmeiners, the baby girl she’d been babysitting for six weeks.
On July 27, Rylan was rushed to the hospital after Gumm called 911 to report that Rylan was not breathing. She was pronounced shortly after arrival and an autopsy report would reveal that the girl had a skull fracture and cranial hemorrhaging.
Her cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma, the medical examiner noting a significant amount of force caused the fracture and that Rylan probably died within an hour of receiving the injuries.
Gumm would later admit to investigators that she had gotten angry after Rylan became fussy during a diaper change. “She admitted she put the baby down on a table such that the baby’s head hit the table,” Lake County assistant State’s Attorney Ari Fisz said.…
Continue ReadingTwo 13-Year-Old Boys Charged With Murdering Elderly Woman With Hatchet
September 24, 2012 at 12:59 pm by Morbid
SHEBOYGAN FALLS , WI – Police have charged two juveniles with murder after they say the teens used a hatchet and hammer to murder one of the boy’s great-grandmother.
Last week the body of 78-year-old Barbara Olsen was discovered lying in a pool of blood inside her garage. At the time police were calling the death “particularly violent” and that they had two juveniles in custody; her great grandson and his friend. Now that the criminal complaint has been released, the disturbing details of what happened to Olsen have been revealed.
According to 13-year-old Nathan Paape’s admission, he and 13-year-old Antonio Barbeau went to the home of Antonio’s great mother to kill her and steal some money. They got a ride to her home from Nathan’s mother, concealing a hammer and hatchet they brought along with them. After entering Olsen’s home through an unlocked side door attached to the garage, they encountered Olsen.
Olsen told Antonio that she was calling his mother, but when she turned around to do so, Antonio struck her in the back of the head with the blunt end of the hatchet.…
Continue ReadingMan Found Guilty Of Killing 15-Week-Old Daughter During Oral Rape
September 21, 2012 at 1:32 pm by Morbid
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A man in Michigan was convicted of first degree murder after being accused of killing his infant daughter while orally raping her.
Last year, 26-year-old Steven Deuman says he left 15-week-old Evelynne Deuman on a bed and walked away to smoke a cigarette. When he returned, he found his daughter on the floor bleeding from the nose, unconscious and not breathing.
What he didn’t tell anyone, until much later, was that he also found a used condom in her mouth. He also didn’t call 911. Instead he called the girl’s mother, Natasha Maitland, and told her their baby wasn’t breathing. Only after she drove home from work was a call made to 911.
Instead of waiting for an ambulance, they attempted to drive Evelynne to the hospital, but were told to pull over by 911 dispatch. A paramedic arrived and tried to revive Evelynne before rushing her to the hospital. But it was too late as, according to prosecutors, she had been dead for awhile.
It wasn’t until later that night that Deuman allegedly whispered to Maitland that he felt that the baby had choked to death on a used condom.…
Continue ReadingBaby Who Fell From Window May Have Been Strangled, Beaten First
September 15, 2012 at 12:12 pm by Lizard
SAN DIEGO – Zewoinesh Badasso, the mother accused of intentionally throwing her 7-month-old son out a 3rd-floor window, was in court on Wednesday, where she pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and assault on a child.
As you may recall, passersby found the boy–being referred to as “David N.” in court records–on the ground in an alley near the building out of which he was allegedly thrown. CPR was administered and he was rushed to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. The evidence gathered at the scene and the results of questioning Badasso led police to place her under arrest.
Here’s what seems to be known about Zewoinesh Badasso at this time: The 33-year-old (or 32-year-old, depending on your source) came to the U.S. from Ethiopia around 12 years ago thanks to a sponsorship by some unnamed Catholic charity. Even so, she apparently has not developed a good grasp of English, since an interpreter was present with her at Wednesday’s hearing. She had been in San Diego for only a very brief time and did not know the three men with whom she and her son shared the apartment since she had been placed there.…
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CARROLLTON, TX - Police in Texas believe a man murdered a 16-year-old girl to keep her from testifying that he had raped her.
On Saturday, Shania Gray’s body was found in a secluded area near the Trinity River. She had been missing since Thursday after last being seen at Hebron High School in Carrollton. When trying to figure out who would want the teen dead, police wouldn’t have to look far.
Gray was set to testify against 30-year-old Franklin “Wish” Davis, a man for whom she used to babysit, and a man she had accused of raping her. Gray’s family stated that after asking the teen why she refused to babysit Davis’ two children any longer, Gray confided that he had raped her. They went to police and in July 2011 ,Davis was charged with four counts of sexual assault of a child.
But Davis says he is innocent and set out to prove the teen was lying. He created a fake Facebook profile, pretending to be a teenage boy who had a crush on Gray, that he used to gain Gray’s trust and find out what she planned to say in court. He then used a pre-paid cell phone to arrange a meeting with Gray after school last Thursday.…
Continue ReadingMMA Cage Fighter Pleaded Guilty To Ripping Out Friend’s Heart And Tongue
September 10, 2012 at 9:33 am by Morbid
Klamath, CA - Two years ago we reported on Jarrod Wyatt, a mixed-martial artist who was accused of ripping out his friend’s heart after the two ingested some hallucinogenic mushroom tea. Last Thursday, Wyatt pleaded guilty to murder and mayhem charges.
Back in March 2010, a then 26-year-old Wyatt and his sparring partner, 21-year-old Taylor Powell, were drinking tea brewed with hallucinogenic mushrooms. People who were at the home at the time stated Wyatt began mumbling about a coming tidal wave and the end of the world before he started fighting with Powell. When Wyatt and Powell were left alone in the home, Wyatt became convinced Powell was the devil.
When one of their friends showed up at the home later, he saw Wyatt on the couch next to his Powell’s mutilated corpse. Wyatt had removed most of Powell’s face, including his tongue, and had cut out his heart while the man was still alive. According to the probable cause statement, “a large incision in the chest could be seen, and other unspecified body parts had been removed.…
Continue ReadingMother Charged With Murder After 7-Month-Old Falls From Window
September 9, 2012 at 10:10 am by Lizard
SAN DIEGO – At a bit after 5:00 p.m. on Friday, a woman walking down an alley near the Park View Apartments complex probably had the contents of her nightmares altered forever: she spotted something odd on the ground, and when she moved closer, she realized it was an infant.
It appeared that the little boy had fallen from one of the complex’s windows. She immediately called authorities, who discovered, upon arriving, that the child was severely injured. (Odd how falls from a significant height seem to affect infants that way.) Medics performed CPR and transported the boy to the hospital, but the little guy didn’t make it to 6:00 p.m.
Currently, there are more questions than answers on this case, but let me share what we do seem to know: (1) The infant’s injuries were caused by a fall from a 3rd-story window. (2) The police initially detained the boy’s 33-year-old mother for questioning but have since arrested her and are now investigating the death as a homicide; they indicate she will be charged with first-degree murder. (3) The mother, who goes by the brain-bending and seemingly unlikely name of Zewoinesh Badasso, is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.…
Continue ReadingMan Murdered Pregnant Ex-Girlfriend Then Had Sex With Her Corpse
September 6, 2012 at 10:31 am by Morbid
STURGEON BAY, WI -- An Illinois man has been charged with choking his pregnant ex-girlfriend to death, then having sex with her dead body.
Last month, 35-year-old Brian Cooper was staying with 22-year-old Alisha Bromfield, who was 6½ months pregnant with another man’s baby, at the Door County resort in Wisconsin. They were at the hotel to attend the wedding of Bromfield’s sister.
After the wedding, the two got into an argument over the fact that Bromfield wanted to end their relationship. Bromfield fell asleep, and Cooper started drinking and becoming increasingly angry over the breakup and how cold and indifferent he felt Bromfield was acting.
According to the criminal complaint, Cooper said he “didn’t want to go home single,” so he decided to stay in Wisconsin as a murdering, corpse raper.
Prosecutors say that at 2 or 3 in the morning, after watching Bromfield sleep for about two and a half hours, Cooper got on top of Bromfield and used his bare hands to choke her. Court papers revealed Bromfield pleaded for her life and the life of her unborn child.…
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