Lawrenceville, Georgia–Authorities were called to Jessica Holcomb’s home on a welfare check. It had been reported that her children, ages 1 and 3, had been left unattended on occasion and were living in unsanitary conditions. When officers arrived at the home Friday evening, they heard the sound of a small child crying…then, the crying stopped. Abruptly.

Jessica Holcomb

Officers, fearing for the child’s safety, entered the home through an unlocked door. While searching for the child, one officer noticed a large hole cut out of the drywall in a closet. When he looked inside the hole, he saw Holcomb, cowering in the crawlspace, holding her lifeless 1-year-old daughter. The child had no pulse. Once the child was transported to the hospital, emergency personnel were able to revive the child and had her life-flighted to Scottish Rite Children’s hospital for further treatment. The little girl died on Monday. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause of death. Raise your hand if the first thing that popped into your head was ’suffocation.’ But, why?

Jessica Holcomb, 26, is charged with one count of first-degree child cruelty and violating probation. (She was on probation for felony forgery). The 3-year-old child, who was found to be unharmed, was placed with his paternal grandparents.

As always, we will update this story as more information becomes available.

Source

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Susan Pinkerton and Justin Tetreault

On March 20, 2009, Jason Pinkerton believed he was taking his step-son, Justin, to a friend’s house. The two pulled over at a vacant lot where the teen said his friends would meet him. Suddenly, Justin began stabbing his step-father multiple times. Pinkerton was stabbed five to seven times in his arms, back, neck and chest. One of the wounds punctured his left lung.

When police arrived at the scene, they found Pinkerton sitting in the front seat of his car. As they applied first aid, he told deputies his stepson, Justin, had stabbed him. Justin was found a short time later as Lee County Sheriff’s Office K-9 and aviation units searched the area. He was charged with one count of Attempted Murder.

After getting a search warrant, detectives looked through Justin’s phone and found a startling revelation. The mastermind behind Justin’s attack on his step-father was Justin’s own mother, 43-year old Susan Pinkerton. Police say they found text messages between the two that revealed a plot to kill Jason Pinkerton. Susan Pinkerton was arrested March 30 and police said they don’t have any specifics about a motive. Susan Pinkerton did make allegations of abuse, but nothing was ever documented to support her claims.

Pinkerton was flown to the hospital where he was listed in serious condition. Now, he is in hiding in Charlotte County because he fears for his life. “I’m getting better, but I’ve got a lot going on right now. I have to restructure me entire life basically,” Pinkerton said. “I didn’t, I guess, know her as well as I should have.”

Susan Pinkerton was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and violation of an order of protection. She was arrested just days after getting out of another legal bind.

On February 25, 2002, Susan told deputies she awoke from a nap and discovered her step-mother, 59-year-old Sharon Weeks, dead in her bed. It was later revealed that Susan told family members how she killed Weeks and that her death was not accidental. Damn. Crazy much? When family members contacted law enforcement, they began an investigation into Weeks’ death.

On September of 2003, Susan spoke with deputies and confessed to smothering her step-mother with a pillow until she was dead. She was arrested and charged with second degree murder. In March 2009, manslaughter charges against her were dropped after a judge granted a motion to suppress Susan’s statements and the medical examiner’s report. The State Attorney’s Office said it had no evidence remaining and couldn’t move forward with the case. Well, I sure hope this psycho bitch doesn’t get off so easy this time. Her mugshot alone just spooks the shit out of me.

Oh, and Amy Wegmann? Call me. *wink* *wink* - Morbid

Dina Jackson

Fort Worth, Texas- The King of Pop is dead. Well, the king who supposedly popped Dina Jackson around is, anyhow. She is claiming that she killed her husband, 37-year old Michael Jackson, in self defense. Is this true, or is she just a Dirty Dina?

On Wednesday, February 18, 2009, Dina Jackson, 34, says she and her husband, Michael, got into a violent argument over car payments. Supposedly, these kind of fights were normal in the Jackson home, but this last one was a real thriller. Dina says Michael attacked her and she stabbed him in self defense. Michael immediately left the house and took off in his truck. Instead of sticking around to cry about it, Dina says she also left minutes later.

Just four blocks away, around 11:00 p.m. that evening, Michael’s truck went through a neighbor’s yard and crashed into another truck. His truck hit with such a force it pushed the other vehicle into the living room of the house. The homeowner was getting ready for bed when he felt his house shake. He opened his garage door and found his vehicle where his front window was supposed to be. The homeowner believed Michael Jackson may have been on his way to the hospital because he had his hazard lights on.

When medical crews arrived at the scene, they discovered that Michael had been stabbed in the chest and back. He was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital where he died less an hour later and his death was ruled a homicide. It didn’t take long for detectives to suspect Dina of her husband’s death, especially when they realized she was gone too soon.

Dina said it was normal for Michael to disappear for two to three days at a time after their spats, but he’d always return and beg for one more chance. This is why Dina was not concerned when he left, but the next day, after not hearing from her husband, Dina grew worried. She filed a missing person report with Fort Worth Police at about 2:45 p.m. and stated that she had last seen her husband about 5 p.m. Wednesday. She failed to inform them about the blood in her house or even ask the police to respond to her house. Yeah, she was worried, all right. Worried her crazy cutting ass was in deep shit and that stabbing her husband might have been a pretty bad idea. Especially, when there was blood on the dance floor after their off the wall tango.

About 7 p.m. on Thursday, after calling a friend and arranging a visit, Dina decided to board a Greyhound bus and ease on down the road to fabulous Las Vegas. Sometime during this road trip she decided to call the Tarrant County Medical Examiner and inquire about her husband’s physical condition. Why? Perhaps this pretty young thing heard on the radio the police were looking for her ass, who knows. The medical examiner informed Dina that her husband was dead. She then called the police and an officer informed her she was wanted for murder.

Dina told the officer she was on a bus to Las Vegas. After zeroing in on Dina’s cell phone signal, the police stopped the bus on Interstate Highway 40 in New Mexico. Officers with virtually every law-enforcement agency in McKinley County arrived at the scene. Dina Jackson surrendered by cell phone to the U.S. Marshals Service while on the Greyhound bus.

Dina Jackson stated she left their house minutes after her husband and that she must have passed his crashed truck and never noticed it. She said that when she stabbed him, she didn’t realize the severity of his wounds because he left their house so quickly.  Uhh, yeah! You were stabbing him, bitch! He was hauling ass to get away from you.

Dina gave a detailed a six-year relationship with Michael that was rife with abuse. She said that, after meeting in Chicago, the couple moved to Las Vegas. While there, Michael had spent 30 to 60 days in jail after crushing one of her legs during one of his many violent outbursts.

Dina Jackson is being held in the McKinley County jail awaiting extradition to Texas on a murder charge. She also has been charged in New Mexico with being a fugitive. Her bond has been set at $750,000.

If Michael Jackson was abusing his wife, as she says he was, I can understand her feeling the need to defend herself from another attack. Yet, her explanations of everything afterward make me question her credibility and wonder if this whole incident was really about him forbidding her to go see a friend in Vegas. What do you think? Was it self defense or is Dina Jackson just trying to be a smooth criminal?

Thanks to Dakota_Valkyrie who has this one in the forums.

Michael Shane Charlton

Cookeville, TX–Every now and then, I come across a story that just bewilders me. All I can think is, W.T.F? This is one of them. Michael Shane Charlton, 42, was left alone with 16-month-old Katie Frye. You know where this is going, don’t ya?

Katie was the daughter of Michael’s common law wife, Barbara Tucker, 28. Tucker had some errands to run Monday, so she left Michael in charge of Katie. Michael was napping when Tucker arrived home several hours later. She checked on little Katie in her crib…when she pulled back the cover, she discovered only a stuffed animal. Katie was gone. Michael, quick on his feet, came up with a brilliant explanation…Katie must have been kidnapped! Yeah, maybe her biological father snuck in the house while I was sleeping and took her. Yeah, that’s it.

An Amber Alert was issued. Authorities were looking for Katie’s father. They found him…he didn’t have Katie and he had an alibi for his whereabouts at the time of Katie’s disappearance. Back to square one. At about 10:00 p.m. that night, the F.B.I. got involved and search dogs were brought in. The dogs immediately picked up a scent and led authorities right to Katie. She was buried in a shallow grave behind the residence. Time to change your story Michael.

In an interview with the F.B.I., Michael admitted that he gave Katie too much medication. There is no mention as to what kind of medication he administered to Katie. When he later found her dead in her bed, he wrapped her in a garbage bag and buried her in the back yard. All that digging made him tired, so he took a nap.

Authorities would not comment on the condition of Katie’s body, nor whether any injuries were apparent when the child was found. Her little body has been sent to the Southwest Institute of Forensic Science in Dallas and authorities will now wait for the results of an autopsy to see what other charges might be filed.

In 2006, Michael lost his own son to an accidental drowning. Friends of Michael say that after the death of Dakota Charlton, he just went downhill. He didn’t like talking about Dakota because it would ‘choke him up.’

Michael Shane Charlton is being held in the Titus County Jail on $1 million bail. As of right now, he is being charged with injury to a child, a second-degree felony. Further charges are pending. I will update this case as new information becomes available.

Katie Marie Frye. RIP baby girl.

This article was written and submitted by our member Ladyeridan – thanks, and welcome to the front page!

http://www.myspace.com/starry_eyes_hates_you

Jacksonville, FL – On November 5th, two men were hiking in Jennings State Forest, a patch of land near the Clay/Duval county border.  They were originally scouting out hunting spots, but they found more than they bargained for.  About two miles in from Normandy Road, near the Cecil air field, they spotted circling buzzards.  As they got closer, they saw what the buzzards had found.  The nude body of a woman was lying in a ditch in just a few inches of water, near a bike path.  They called the police, and the area was quickly turned into a crime scene.

A week later, on November 12th, the body was identified as 17-year-old Meghan Runkle, who had been living with some friends in Jacksonville.  She would have been 18 just two days later.  Police for Duval County are investigating this as a homicide at this time, saying the death is ’suspicious’, but not elaborating.

In an odd parallel, Meghan’s younger brother Jonathan Hackett died in care at Children’s Hospital on November 2nd.    He would have been 15 just a few days later, on the 6th.  Meghan never knew her brother died, nor did he know she was gone.  She had only recently reestablished contact with her family in Pennsylvania, keeping in touch with her stepmother (Jonathan’s mother, Rebecca Jaegacks) through Myspace.  Her last login was on October 2nd, though… and it’s possible that she had been dead since then.  When her remains were found she was in such an advanced state of decomposition, it was impossible to pinpoint her time, or even date of death.

It is supremely difficult for me, as a mother, to imagine what could have happened to Meghan Runkle.  I can’t help but look at it from a mother’s perspective.  What if it had been my daughter in that drainage ditch?  How would I be able to pick up and go on, having lost a son and a daughter so close together?

Here’s where I lose it, though.  Where were the adults in her life?  You have a 17 year old girl, in Florida, whose Myspace shows her having gone to school in California, whose family seems to all be in New York and Pennsylvania.  There are no anchors, nothing that seems permanent.  She drifted too far, and ended up in a drainage ditch, and they still don’t know how, why, or even WHEN.

That same Myspace shows pictures of a very pretty girl, in that spot midway between beautiful child and striking adult, trying to find an identity.  The few blogs are dramatic in the way only a 17 year old who wants to be loved can be dramatic.  Romeo and Juliet style poetry, ’stand by your friends’ stuff… all the things a 15-16-17 year old writes.

I hope Meghan has some measure of peace now that she was unable to find in life.

It has been verified, Joann Cisneros Perez IS the Waller County Jane Doe. Unamused Cat has spoken with Teresa Becker, a research specialist at TXDPS, who confirmed the information.

Waller County, TX – On March 18, 2007, the nude and mutilated body of a woman was discovered dumped near US Highway 290 in Prairie View, Waller County, Texas. She’d only been dead for about two hours. The young woman appeared to be white or Hispanic, and looked to be approximately thirty years old. She stood 5′4″, and weighed about 150 pounds. For over a year, she’s been known as the Waller County Jane Doe, her body unclaimed. Now, with the help of our member Unamused Cat, Jane Doe is undergoing DNA testing to determine whether she is actually missing person Joann Cisneros Perez. Note: There is a postmortem headshot of Jane Doe after the jump. Skip it if you’re easily squicked.

Joann Cisneros Perez, missing since October 2007

When Jane Doe was found last year, the hair on her head and pubic area had been shaved off, and her hands had been removed to deter identification. Plastic bags had been placed over the woman’s head and arm stumps, and secured with duct tape. An autopsy revealed cause of death to be strangulation – the victim’s hyoid bone was broken, a sure sign of compression to the neck which would result in death.

Investigators believe that Jane Doe was killed elsewhere, partially dismembered, and dumped within two hours of her discovery. She was meant to be found – but not meant to be easily identified. No physical evidence produced CODIS hits, and without fingerprints or a local missing persons report, there wasn’t much to go on.

The FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, called ViCAP, released this bulletin to law enforcement in an attempt to identify Waller County’s Jane Doe. They retouched her postmortem identification picture and placed the retouched photo, with opened eyes and added hair, next to the shorn head of Jane Doe, taken shortly after she was discovered:

Jane Doe remained unindentified, her body lay unclaimed in the Harris County Morgue for well over a year. On July 7, 2008, she was buried in a privately owned cemetery, just off of Mathis Road, a rural area surrounded by horse ranches and cow pastures.

On October 19, 2008, Dreamin’ Demon contributor Unamused Cat began a computer search to find the identity of Jane Doe. On Oct 19th, she logged her search here, in our forums. Working from the morgue photo and seaching through missing women in Texas, she started at The Charley Project website and looked at nearly 500 photos before a probable match was found.

When she got to photo #488, Unamused Cat knew right away that she had her Jane Doe. The eyebrows, the mole above the right upper lip, the age, everything was a match except body weight. Joann Cisneros Perez, 31, had been reported missing from Nixon, Texas on October 30, 2007, but might actually have been gone for much longer. Few details were available, but investigators believed Joann had been taken against her will. At the time she went missing, Joann weighed about 200 pounds. By the time Jane Doe was murdered she weighed 151 pounds – which made sense, if Joann was indeed missing for so long before being reported.

Unamused Cat immediately contacted authorities at several agencies, along with a side by side photo comparison of Jane Doe and Joann Cisneros Perez, like this one:

Sgt. Brian Taylor of the Texas Department of Public Safety responded to UCat’s query on Wednesday, October 22nd. At that time, he agreed that the photos were “real close”. All the features appear to be a perfect match, as do the victim’s age and height. That day, Sgt. Taylor told UCat that a Texas Ranger was en route to Waller County.

Unamused Cat waited. And waited. And waited some more. But just yesterday, after nearly two weeks, Sgt. Taylor notified UCat that DNA is currently being processed to verify that Joann Cisneros Perez is indeed the Waller County Jane Doe.

Is Joann Cisneros Perez Jane Doe? Looks like a match to me. But whether she is or she isn’t, we’re proud of our UCat. She took her own time to help an unidentified murder victim get her name back. If Jane Doe is Joann Cisneros Perez, Unamused Cat will have been instrumental in helping to find her and get her some much-needed justice. Once Jane Doe has a name, the search for her killer can begin.

Note to UCat – I know you didn’t really want your name used, but you deserve credit , so there. – imp

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Orlando, FL (October 14, 2008) – In the biggest breaking news since her daughter Caylee was reported missing, 22-year-old Casey Anthony was indicted this afternoon by a Florida grand jury on seven counts, including first-degree murder.   The sealed indictment was issued this afternoon by the grand jury, who deliberated for less than an hour after they heard testimony this morning in the case.   Late this afternoon, Casey Anthony turned herself in at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

State Attorney Lawson Lamar just released the following information on the indictment against Casey Anthony:

The first count of the indictment is for a capital offense. Casey is accused of the first-degree murder of two-year-old Caylee Marie Anthony “by premeditated design” sometime between June 15 and July 16.

Count two is for  aggravated child abuse: Casey is accused of “causing great bodily harm” to Caylee by intentionally or deliberately inflicting injury onto Caylee or causing the injury to happen.

Count three is aggravated manslaughter. As Caylee’s caregiver, Casey allegedly failed to give Caylee what was needed for her physical or mental health or to protect her from abuse that caused her death.

Count four alleges that Casey was lying to Detective Yuri Melich when she said she worked at Universal Studios in 2008.

Count five says Casey lied to Det. Melich about leaving Caylee with a nanny (or anyone at all, for that matter) named Zenaida Gonzalez.

Count six alleges that Casey lied to Yuri Melich when she said that she told two former Universal Studios employees, Juliette Lewis and Jeff Hopkins, that Caylee was missing.

Count seven alleges that Casey lied to Melich when she said that she got a phone call from Caylee on July 15.

Early Wednesday morning, Casey Anthony was bound over for trial on all seven charges and ordered held without bail.

All Casey and Caylee comments should go in this thread from now on, as we move on to the trial phase of this case.   I will update as information comes in.

Rest In Peace, Caylee Marie Anthony.  You will not be forgotten.

Gibbs, MO - Robert William Sapp, 18, wanted to get rid of his grandmother, but now he won’t have to.  On Friday, Sapp was arrested and charged with attempted murder for putting antifungal spray into the coffee of  74-year-old Wilma Kelsey back in early September.  Then Wilma Kelsey died in a car accident on September 17.  Careful what you wish for, Robert.

Mrs. Kelsey and her husband, James Smith, went to the Adair County Sheriff’s Office early in September to file a report claiming that Sapp had poisoned them.  According to the arrest affidavit, Sapp told one of his teachers that he was spraying antifungal spray in his grandparents’ coffee in order to poison them, saying that they were “rude” and “always told (him) what to do”.  In addition to the poisoning, Sapp made verbal threats on a child who also lived in the home with him and his grandparents.

The coffee was turned over to authorities for testing, and Smith said he and his wife suffered a few days of nausea and diarrhea, but  “we were fine after we quit using the coffee”.

Two weeks later, on September 17, Wilma Kelsey had been to the doctor that morning.  That afternoon, she was driving along U.S. Highway 63 when her car crossed the median and hit a truck head-on. Kelsey died, but no autopsy was immediately conducted.

Testing is pending on the coffee, but James Smith does not want his grandson charged with murder.  Smith says that in the twelve years Sapp lived with him and Kelsey, he was only violent that one time, and that Kelsey had blood work earlier in the day that did not show poison in her system.

Of course, Smith doesn’t say what kind of blood work was done, but I’m guessing it was not an in-depth chemical panel designed to detect poisons.  Furthermore, Smith says that he and the family have not approved an autopsy and do not plan to have one done.  The Adair County coroner confirmed this, saying that no autopsy is currently on his schedule.  He also said that blood drawn just after the accident didn’t show poison – but again, he doesn’t say what kind of toxicology was done.

Smith maintains that he believes Wilma Kelsey died of “natural causes”, but doesn’t know which natural cause it was that made her nod out at the wheel shortly after a doctor’s visit.  Could it be a coincidence?  Absolutely.  Could the poison have caused organ damage that went undetected?  Also yes.  Even without active poison in her system, it’s entirely possible that Kelsey died of aftereffects of the poisoning.

I smell something, and it’s not coffee.  Is it just me, or is this kind of weird?  It’s like the family – or at least Grandpa – would rather not know exactly what killed Wilma Kelsey than be sure.  They’d rather let Robert Sapp live under suspicion – or get away with murder.

I wonder why.

Robert William Sapp is being held in the Adair County Jail on $100,000 cash bond.

Update 10/13/2008 – Break in the case with three arrests. Luther Bonds, 26, Jerry Williams and Steven Brown, both 24 years old. Bonds told police he was Tate’s boyfriend. More info at bottom of article.

Luther Bonds, Jerry Williams, Steven Brown

At Dreamin’ Demon, sometimes we get a story that hits close to home because it involves one of our own.  This is such a case.   Our member Zibarro emailed us with this story today, and much of the information comes from her.   Words really don’t express our sadness for Zibarro and her family – you are in our thoughts.  Thank you for sharing Brittany’s story with us. – Imp and Morbid

http://www.myspace.com/lil_britt_20_0206

Indianapolis, IN - On Friday evening, just before 6:00, a man and his son were fishing on the White River just off 10th Street in Indianapolis.  They saw what they thought was a mannequin, clad only in underwear, floating just offshore.  On closer inspection, though, the mannequin turned out to be the body of a young woman – and she’d been in the water for awhile.  Today, that body was identified as Brittany Tate, 21.  She’d been murdered and dumped in the river.

Brittany was a cute redhead with stunning blue eyes.  She had a number of tattoos, many of which were applied or touched up by her cousin Bryan. Those tattoos, along with her fingerprints, helped to identify her body.  Cause of death has not yet been released – police will say only that she was a victim of homicide.  Brittany was found only in her panties, and some of her personal effects were found scattered along the shore.

Brittany’s family tells me that she was a sweet, sometimes gullible girl who got caught up in a romantic relationship that might not have been good for her.  Certainly after getting involved with her boyfriend, Brittany quickly got a criminal record to go with her new man, and ended up doing prison time for nonviolent offenses like fraud and theft.

But recently, Brittany seemed to be getting her life together.  She had gotten out of prison, gone home, and had recently bought a car.  But something clearly wasn’t right.  A witness reported seeing a girl matching Brittany’s description standing outside a car like Brittany’s sometime in the last week or so.  The witness said that Brittany appeared to be arguing with a man next to the 10th Street river entrance – just where Brittany’s body was found on Friday.  The car has not been recovered, and the man who was seen arguing with Brittany has not been located.

As of today, there are still more questions than answers.  We know that Brittany Tate was likely murdered.  We don’t know how, or when, or by whom.  All we really know, now, is that Brittany Tate is gone, leaving behind her family and friends.  I’ll keep this article updated as information comes in.

Update 10/13/2008 - Bonds told detectives that he, Williams, Brown and Tate were riding in a car together and that Williams was messing with a gun in the rear driver seat. Tate, the passenger, told Williams not to play with the gun and WIlliams replied by shooting her in the head. The three then took Brittany’s body to the White River and dumped her in.

UPDATE 10/7/08 – Alan Jones has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the strangulation death of Erin Maxwell.  Jones is Erin’s adult stepbrother who was home alone with her at the time of her death.  Also arrested were Erin’s father, Lindsey Maxwell, and her stepmother, Lynn Maxwell. They are each charged with six counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Alan Jones is being held on $100,000 cash or $250,000 surety bond.  The Maxwells are each being held on $2500 cash or $5000 surety bonds. Warrants were issued Friday after indictments were handed down by a grand jury in the case.

Alan Jones, Lindsey and Lynn Maxwell

Our member RMiles has pics and video at his blog, Shadowscope – thanks, Richard, for the update!

Palermo, NY - Erin Maxwell died on August 29, 2008.  She was eleven years old.  This week her cause of death was ruled a homicide, but her family says that the medical examiner is wrong.  They say that Erin’s death was a tragic accident caused by her roleplay of the opening scene from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.   That movie opens with a young boy singing the pirate’s shanty “Hoist The Colours” with a noose around his neck. At the end of the scene, the child is hanged.  Erin’s family says she must have been playing pirates.

But a child’s game doesn’t explain Erin’s official cause of death:  homicide by asphyxia with sexual trauma as a contributing factor.  I’m pretty sure that Erin Maxwell didn’t rape and strangle herself.

On the evening of August 29, Erin was at home alone with her stepbrother, Alan Jones, 27.  Jones called 911 at about 5:20 p.m., saying that Erin had tried to kill herself.  Jones told police that he had found Erin standing in her room, a green cord tied tightly around her neck.  Jones further said that a rope was tied to the green cord and then attached to a screw on Erin’s window.  Erin was alive, but only just.

Erin was taken to the hospital, where she died later that evening.  She was survived by her father, Lindsey Maxwell, 35; her stepmother, Lynn Maxwell, 53; and her stepbrother Jones.  She may also have had other siblings in the home, although I haven’t confirmed that.  Erin’s mother lives in Nevada.

Almost immediately, Erin’s death was investigated as a homicide.  For one thing, most eleven year olds don’t commit suicide.  But that alone didn’t do it – the evidence of recent rape did.  Erin wasn’t hanged; she was strangled.  So it’s not likely she was singing “Hoist the Colours”.  More likely, the little girl was praying for someone to save her.

When investigators arrived at the family home, they were appalled.  Over 100 cats were in the house.  The master bedroom was, by all appearances, a giant litter box.  No trash removal service was in place, so months of accumulated trash was piled on the porch.  The stench was overwhelming, and there was a three-foot pile of feces on the floor.  Twelve dead kittens were being stored in the home’s freezer.  Also inside the house were two chickens and a snake.  Outside in a shed, police found an emu, a pot-bellied pig, several geese, and more chickens.

Makes you wonder why nobody called the Department of Social Services, right?  Oh, except they did.  Erin’s school hotlined her at least twice.  The last visit, in 2006, was closed out because social workers said that the family was cooperating, and that conditions were not bad enough to remove Erin from the home.

And yet Erin had allegedly been seen eating out of the garbage at school and hiding food.  Teachers have said they were washing Erin’s clothes themselves to help with the smell.  She was terribly thin, and sometimes kids threw soap at her.  But that wasn’t enough to get Erin help?

This poor baby reminds me of Rowan Ford.

The family has lawyered up.  They say Erin’s death was a Johnny Depp-inspired accident.  Their attorney is brushing off the rape findings, saying that the ought to be looking at her maternal family, since Erin visited her mother in Nevada from late June until early August.

But I noticed that the picture I’m using of Erin is the only one I could find that wasn’t a blur – and it was taken by her mother’s family in Nevada.   The house in which Erin is sitting in that picture is clean.  There is no rope around her neck.  In the picture above, Erin looks happy.  I’m wondering why they didn’t just go to court to keep Erin there.  Did they not know things at home were so bad?

Fact of the matter is, Erin got home alive and just fine on August 11.  Three weeks later, she was left alone with her adult stepbrother, was strangled and raped, and died. Johnny Depp didn’t do it.   But maybe, just maybe, someone closer to Erin did.

Alan Jones, Lindsey Maxwell and Lynn Maxwell have all been named persons of interest in Erin’s death.  Their house has been condemned by the city of Palermo.  And their actions – or inactions – are being condemned here.  You hateful bastards.  Couldn’t you care a little bit more for Erin than to let her live like that?  Couldn’t you care a little more than to let Erin DIE like that?

Shame on you, Lindsey and Lynn Maxwell.  Shame on you, Oswego County DSS.  Shame on you, Erin’s mother.  Shame on everyone who thought it was being handled, or didn’t want to get involved.  And shame on you, Alan Jones.  Because I suspect you might have killed Erin to cover up your sins.

Nobody has yet been charged in Erin Maxwell’s murder.

Hippiepoet is using the eff word about this case in our forums with SoUncool – thanks!

This article written and submitted by Ruby – thanks!

Great Falls, MT - You know how annoying it is when you have a few drinks, put your kids in the car, lead the police on a chase through your town, crash into a parked truck, and get then arrested for driving under the influence, reckless driving, and failure to remain at the scene of an accident?  I, for one, hate when that happens. Imagine how much more inconvenient it is if you have your 2-year-old child in the trunk of the car during the whole ordeal, and somehow “forget” to tell police he’s there. That’s what happened to Summer Many White Horses.  

On July 21st, Many White Horses put her 11-year-old daughter in the back seat of her car, and her 2-year-old, autistic son James in the trunk. It’s unclear right now whether James was alive or dead when she put him there, but the Medical Examiner is fairly certain the crash didn’t kill him. She then led police on the above-mentioned chase, was booked charges, and remained in jail until August 10th. Things were quiet for awhile. But on Thursday, September 4th, a missing persons report was issued for James, and police tracked Summer down to ask her some questions.

When the police located her on September 5th and asked about her son, she said he’d been in the trunk of her car since her arrest more than a month earlier. Say what?! And where was the car? Sitting at the repair shop of Carnahan and Sons where the police had towed it following her arrest. Needless to say, police obtained a search warrant, hightailed it over there, and, sure enough, found the badly decomposed body of the toddler right where she’d left him.

Now, I have a lot of questions. I’ll bet you do, too.

First, reports say that Ms. Many White Horses was a non-custodial parent. So I really want to know who had custody of James, and why he wasn’t reported missing for something like 6 weeks. When Casey Anthony failed to report Caylee missing, it was national news. How come no one seemed to notice this 2-year-old was gone?

Second, why didn’t police search the vehicle at the time of the crash and arrest? Wouldn’t it be standard operating procedure to at least open the trunk?

Third, why didn’t Summer or her daughter mention the boy at any time? This tells me that he was likely already dead. That would also explain why she was so determined to elude police that night. So the question now will be whether it’s possible for the Medical Examiner to determine a clear cause of death at this late date.

Poor little guy. Some kids don’t stand a chance in this world.

The 11-year-old is currently being taken by a Youth in Need of Care order, and Summer Many White Horses is expected to be charged with Deliberate Homicide on Monday.

Rest in peace, James Many White Horses.

10/14/08 UPDATE – CASEY ANTHONY INDICTED FOR MURDER

In the biggest breaking news since her daughter Caylee was reported missing on July 15, 22-year-old Casey Anthony was indicted this afternoon by a Florida grand jury on seven counts, including aggravated manslaughter and first-degree murder. ALL COMMENTS TO THIS GINORMOUS, RECORD-BREAKING THREAD ARE NOW CLOSED.  Updates and new comments for the new phase of this case can be found here: Casey Anthony Indicted For Murder.

Rest In Peace, Caylee Marie.  You will never be forgotten.

Caylee Marie Anthony – b. August 9, 2005 – d. June 2008

Orlando, FL, August 28, 2008 - The DNA is back.  Ten weeks after Caylee Marie Anthony was last seen alive, it now appears certain that the missing toddler is dead.   More than that, her decomposing body lay in the trunk of her mother Casey’s white Pontiac for an undetermined period of time before being removed.  Many of us hoped that by some miracle, some slender thread of fate, Caylee would be found alive and unharmed.  Now it is clear that Caylee never saw her third birthday.  She will forever be two years old.

The evidence is in, and I think it’s about as good as a body.  The decomposition fluids in the trunk yielded epithelial cells that came from the inside of someone’s nose and mouth.  The DNA from that fluid, from those cells, is consistent with Caylee’s.  The hair from the trunk is also consistent with Caylee’s hair, and showed bacterial infestation of the root and hair follicle that are indicative of postmortem shedding – that is, the hair was left in the trunk after Caylee was dead.

Even the air samples sent to the University of Tennessee’s Body Farm for testing showed the presence of human cadaverine and putrescine, the polyamines which are most present in human decomposition.  It is now blatantly obvious that Caylee Anthony was in her mother’s car trunk for awhile after she died.

Right now, Casey has only until Tuesday to accept a deal offered by Orange County investigators:  if she provides information leading to the recovery of Caylee’s body, she will receive immunity for those statements, and those statements only.  Truth be told, they no longer need a body to prosecute and get a conviction – it’s just a matter of which charges to file.  A body would be nice for closure, and for cause of death that might prove murder, if that can still be determined.  If Caylee was stabbed, for example, there might be marks on her bones to prove that.  If she was strangled, her hyoid bone might be fractured.  But even without a body, a case could be made for manslaughter or even murder one.  It’s just a bigger gamble, that’s all.

Also this morning, Leonard Padilla (he of the big hat, the toothpick and the tummyache) is saying that he is beginning the process of revoking Casey Anthony’s bond.  In any event, I would not be surprised to see new charges filed against Casey fairly soon.

We’ve seen a lot of action on this case, you and I.  We have covered this case from the very beginning.  We broke a thread.  We’ve bemoaned Casey’s bond in a thread that broke all records for views and comments ever on this site.  Peeperann even sent a pizza.   You all have read, and prayed, and watched and waited for news of Caylee.   Now that the case is breaking, it seemed like a good time to bring all those posts together here, and I will be closing the comments to the other threads later today.  I’ll be updating this thread as new stuff comes in, of course.

For now, though, there’s really only one thing to be said:  Rest in peace, little Caylee Marie. You will be missed.

9/23/08 UPDATE - Today, the Florida State Attorney’s Office has released almost 600 pages of discovery documents in the case of Caylee Anthony, who remains missing.  The documents include depositions, phone and text messages and will no doubt start showing up on news sites later today.  Discovery is standard legal procedure, and these documents have been sent to Casey’s defense team – which now includes forensic scientist Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky.  Wonder why they need a forensic scientist if all Casey did was write some stolen checks?  Sounds like a murder defense in the making to me.

10/08/08 UPDATE – MURDER CHARGES COMING?  The Florida State Attorney’s Office says it is working with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office on the case for murder against Casey Anthony.  The State Attorney’s Office is preparing to present the case evidence to a grand jury next week in order to seek a homicide charge – which could mean anything from manslaughter to first-degree murder.   Also today, another discovery release of hundreds of pages of case documents.  These documents appear to deal mostly with Casey’s financial crimes rather than with Caylee.  Stay tuned for updates as we get them.

http://www.myspace.com/melissa0095

Placerville, CA  – At first, it just looked like a terrible accident.  On Thursday night, Melissa Nicole Nichols, 23, hit her boyfriend’s motorcycle in a bizarre collision.   Anthony James Payne was driving towards Nichols’ car when she veered into his lane and struck him head-on.  Payne, 23, was thrown about 200 feet and died at the scene.   Nichols was kinda drunk, and it appeared that she’d just drifted into his lane.  All the way into his lane.   You see where this one’s going already, don’t you?

Melissa Nichols suffered minor injuries and was taken to the hospital overnight. On Friday she was released from the hospital and was booked into the El Dorado County Jail on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and drunken driving resulting in bodily injury.  The whole thing initially looked like a horrible, fatal mistake.

Until police started talking to witnesses.   At least one person put Melissa and Anthony near an intersection where there were, apparently, words exchanged.  After the discussion the couple left on two different roads, but at some point Anthony Payne made a turn and ended up heading back toward Melissa’s car.  When Anthony’s motorcycle was within range of Melissa’s car, she drove into his lane and hit her boyfriend  head-on, killing him.  One witness was with Nichols at the time of the crash, and police gathered enough evidence from that witness and others to pursue a murder charge.

Melissa Nicole Nichols is now being held in the El Dorado County Jail on suspicion of homicide.

This topic was submitted via our forums by Wends – thanks!

Columbia, MO – It’s never a good idea to break traffic laws when you are transporting a dead body in the trunk of your car, but that’s just what 19-year-old Daniel Sanders did.  He wasn’t hauling just any old body either, it was his mother, and people were calling cops to report his bad driving.  Hell, it was night and he didn’t even have his headlights on. No wonder he was weaving all over the roads.  

When pulled over by police, Sanders admitted to running a stop light and produced his intermediate driver’s permit.  When asked where his mother was, he stated she was back at home with his 16-year-old brother.  Officers arrested Sanders for not having a licensed adult motorist riding with him. I guess mom in the trunk didn’t count.  By then, Sanders had invoked his right to STFU and was hoping that they wouldn’t pop open the trunk.  During inventory, prior to towing the vehicle, the body of 53-year-old Helen Sanders was found.

Helen Sanders lived with her two teen sons in Columbia, MO.  She worked as psychologist or psychiatrist from her home, and is licensed as a physician with the Missouri Division of Professional Registration.   Neighbors say they pretty much kept to themselves, staying indoors most of the time.  It seems that the father is out of the picture.  The younger brother has been released to relatives.

I reckon that Daniel Sanders had some plan half assed plan to bury his mom somewhere.  Police have asked neighbors if they are missing any shovels.  Cause of death has not been determined at this time.  So far, Sanders been charged with Tampering with Physical Evidence.

Boulder, CO and Atlanta, GA – Well, denizens, I never thought this day would come. In a letter released today, Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy issued a formal apology to John Ramsey, father of murder victim JonBenet Ramsey. The letter states that new DNA evidence has cleared the entire Ramsey family of any suspicion in the December 26, 1996 death of six-year-old JonBenet.

I KNOW! I’m shocked. Well, partly shocked. Mostly, even. For years, I was sure Patsy did it. Then I decided maybe Burke did it and John and Patsy covered it up. And then I decided that probably an intruder did it – maybe not John Mark Karr, but someone who knew the family, knew the routine, knew JonBenet. Maybe the Christmas party Santa, or some random party guest, or even a family friend. I really didn’t know.

JonBenet in life was a pageant princess, a dress-up doll for her mother, a bleached blonde, contact-lensed little girl who wore Pull-ups to hide her bedwetting and curlers to hide her naturally straight hair. Her eyes weren’t really green or blue, her hair wasn’t really blonde, and maybe she liked pageants, maybe she didn’t, but she was very good at doing what she was told. Her father John ran a successful business. Her mother Patsy, John’s second, younger wife, had been a pageant princess herself.

The Christmas-night murder of JonBenet inside the family home was a cluster from the beginning. From the ransom note on the stairs to John Ramsey finding his daughter’s stiff body in the basement and bringing it upstairs, placing her under the Christmas tree, the whole thing was an evidentiary nightmare. None of the fiber evidence was viable due to compromise. Half the neighborhood was in the huge Ramsey house while JonBenet’s body was in the basement. The timelines were a mess, and the parents lawyered up. Frankly, few people on the planet have looked as guilty as the Ramseys.

The problem was motive.  Motive and that pesky, degraded DNA on JonBenet’s underwear and under her fingernails. Some people thought Patsy had killed JonBenet out of rage over toileting or possible molestation. Some accused John Ramsey of abusing his daughter. Some thought Burke did it out of jealousy.  For twelve years, the crime has remained unsolved – through countless books, some civil suits, the advent of internet true crime message boards, Patsy’s cancer, a few movies, and one screamo band, The JonBenet.

Patsy Ramsey died of cancer in June 2006. At the time of her death, she remained under the “umbrella of suspicion” that clouded the family after JonBenet’s death. Burke spent most of his teen years in private school, and the Ramseys lit out for their hometown of Atlanta as soon as they could get out of Colorado – but the suspicion followed them, even after weirdo John Mark Karr’s false confession in August 2006.

The new DNA was taken in March of this year from the waistband of the long thermal underwear JonBenet was wearing over her panties when her body was found. Because JonBenet was sexually assaulted, it has been thought that the long johns were taken off and put back on by her killer.  That DNA matches the earlier DNA from JonBenet’s panties, and excludes every member of the Ramsey family, including John’s adult son.  Instead, it points to an “unknown male”.

JonBenet was found dead, in full rigor, in the basement of the family home in a little-used room on December 26, 1996.  She had been garroted with a cord and sexually assaulted with finger or possibly a broken paintbrush of her mother’s which, broken, became the handle of the garrote used to strangle her. She had an eight-inch skull fracture, and the bleeding in her brain indicated that she had probably been hit as or after she was strangled, certainly not long before. And marks on her body could have come from a Taser. Her mouth was duct-taped, and she had eaten some pineapple shortly before her death.

So if none of the Ramseys killed JonBenet, who did? That, as always, remains the question. The floor is yours, demons. I know some of you have followed this case from the beginning, and I’ve wanted to toss it out there for awhile now. This is your shot. Got a theory? Let’s hear it. Whose DNA is it? Could the Ramseys have done it anyway? What really happened in the Ramsey house on Christmas, 1996?