Majd Al-Shara Charged With Child Abuse After Allegedly Burning His 6yo Daughter

[Whisper]

Burned Macomb County girl's father charged with child abuse
A Lenox Township man whose 6-year-old daughter was burned in a pit fire is in jail today after he was charged with child abuse in connection with the incident, according to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office.
Majd Mohammad Al-Shara, 40, is being held in Macomb County Jail on a $10,000 bond after he was arraigned in 42-2 District Court in New Baltimore. A preliminary exam is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 10 in court.

“She still is in extremely bad shape,â€￾ Sheriff Mark Hackel said Tuesday. “This case was very disturbing to us as it looks like the father was neglectful in having his 6-year-old child that close to such a dangerous situation. To us, this was beyond an accident.â€￾
l-Shara was charged with second-degree child abuse, which is punishable by up to four years in prison, for the Sunday afternoon incident that gravely injured his daughter at the Quail Run mobile home park.
According to police, Al-Shara and the girl were sitting around a campfire outside their home on Deerwood Street when he allegedly used a mix of gasoline and possibly oil to fuel the fire.

It appears the liquid splashed onto the youngster, who was sitting a few feet away. The dangerous mix of chemicals caused an explosion that sent flames leaping out to both the girl and her father.
As the girl began screaming, a number of neighbors rushed over to help, using clothing, blankets and a chair cushion to douse the fire as Lenox Township fire crews were on their way.

The father, who suffered less serious burns, was treated at a hospital and released.
The girl suffered burns to 90 to 100 percent of her body, Hackel said. She is reported to be in stable but critical condition at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit.

Sheriff’s Capt. Tony Wickersham said state child protective services have been notified and likely will conduct their own investigation. Al-Shara has at least one other daughter who lives at the family home.
[...]

http://dailytribune.com/articles/2010/09/22/news/doc4c9a3194d86a2013605086.txt

Majd Mohammad Al-Shara​

 

[TheMeaningOfItAll]

How tragic. This idiot probably didn't mean to harm his child. He was just too fucking stupid to realize the risk he was taking. Poor little girl. I hope she heals and has no memory of what happened.

 

[SqueezeBoxx]

Probably drunk too.

 

[Dakota]

This seems nothing more than a horrible accident. I'm willing to bet that the father feels horrible enough with out the charges. If the justice system is meant to "rehabilitate", I'm betting that this one is a waste of money. time, and effort. If the system is meant to "punish", I have a huge list of stupid people...

 

[Whisper]

I agree and I really see a diff outcome once everyones calmed and read the reports

 

[Whisper]

Sadly she lost her fight to live 1 hour ago and they expect charges to change now
A child burned in a fire pit accident died in the hospital
LENOX TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) - 6-year-old Aliaa Alshara was burned in a fire pit accident, she died from her injures.

Her father is charged with second-degree child abuse. No word on if the charges will change since the girl's death.
Police say 40-year-old Majd Mohammad Al-Shara was sitting by a fire pit with the little girl at the Quail Run Mobile Home Park Sunday night when Al-Shara fueled the flames with some type of accelerant, possibly gasoline.
The vapors exploded, setting him and the child on fire.

She was receiving treatment at the burn unit at Children's Hospital.

[...]

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/local_...-lenox-township,-father-in-macomb-county-jail

Aliaa Alshara​

 

[Pene784]

I was not expecting to read that the child had died as a result of her injuries That is awful for her and her enitre family. Horrible, stupi accident. And she was a gorgeous little girl.

 

[BreakTheSilence]

I have a feeling the criminal justice system will not begin to punish this father greater than what he's most likely punishing himself about now. I would bet the guilt will end up destroying what remains of his life.

RIP Aliaa Alshara! You are Heaven's Newest Gorgeous Angel!

 

[Dakota]

Al-Shara had set up a fire pit, actually a tray that was three feet in diameter, in a field next to his residence in the Quail Run mobile home community and was adding an accelerant to get the fire going when his daughter was injured, Hackel said.

"The question is how did she get so close" to the pit, Hackel said. "Ninety to 100 percent of her body was burned. It is questionable as to how that could happen without there being some sort of intent."

Other relatives were in the field and under blankets at the time, Hackel said. The girl suffered third-degree burns.

It wasn't the first time Al-Shara had used the fire pit in the field, Hackel said.

The Macomb County Prosecutor's Office would have to sign off on more serious charges, and Hackel said he will speak with the office about doing so as early as today.

Hackel cautioned adults to use care when children are around dangerous situations. He said if youngsters are hurt, even on accident, adults may face charges.

"It doesn't have to be intentional," Hackel said.

http://www.detnews.com/article/2010...ts-interim-leader-amid-search-for-missing-CEO

 

[Whisper]

Accident or not Hackell will go after more charges
I saw him today and hes haggard and I think getting over whelmed with all the high profile child abuse cases hes dealing with
(not to mention the adult assholes cases)
Nevaeh Buchanan,Dominic Calhoun and many more high profile cases

 

[Jerri Blank]

This is a new fear of mine.. we just bought a house that has a brick fire pit in the back and my husband is all excited about it. I really don't want it used while my baby is young. We avoided homes with pools for her sake and this thing about bothered me as much.

I'd like to think my husband has better sense than to throw gas on it, but who knows??

This is really sad :-(

 

[Whisper]

As more comes out this isnt all about putting this man through more pain for his daughter dying,theres a immigration/deportation order involved
They are going to have a news feed tonight and Ill hear/know more

Judge refuses to free Macomb man in daughter's fire-pit death
The mother of a 6-year-old killed in a fire pit accident is begging officials to let her husband out of jail, saying the Macomb County man has suffered enough.
But Judge William Hackel III – brother of Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel – ordered Majd Mohammad Al-Shara, 41, of Lenox Township to stay behind bars on child abuse charges today during a preliminary exam in 42-2 District Court in New Baltimore.

His hands and arms wrapped in white bandages up to his elbows, Al-Shara said nothing about what happened when Aliaa Al-Shara, 6, was burned Sept. 19.
“Please let him go – he’s already suffering,” Cheryl Edgil, 44, said today outside the courtroom.“He loved his daughter very much. My heart hurts for him so bad. I think this is a horrible situation that is being made worse.”
Al-Shara has been in the Macomb County Jail since he was charged Sept. 21, unable to post $10,000 bond. If convicted of second-degree child abuse, he could be put in prison for up to four years.
But Assistant Macomb County Prosecutor Gordon Hosbein said he thought bond was too low – and Al-Shara could face worse.
his is a serious offense, and there are going to be more serious offenses coming down the line,” Hosbein said, declining further comment. Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith did not return a call seeking comment today.
Investigators say the accident happened as father and daughter sat at a metal fire pit in their backyard in the Quail Run subdivision on Deerwood. The Macomb County Sheriff’s Office said Al-Shara added gasoline to get the fire going, and a resulting explosion caught Aliaa’s clothing on fire.
Edgil said she was on her way to a Stephen Curtis Chapman concert at DTE Music Theater with her 14-year-old son and a girlfriend when the accident happened. Burned over 90% of her body, Aliaa died three days later as her father sat in a cell.
“He was just sobbing,” Edgil said of a call from her husband from jail. “He said ‘I’m dead,’ because his daughter is gone.”

She said her faith – and her role as parent to her 19-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son – are keeping her going.
“God is helping me,” Edgil said. “Turning to God and prayer.”
Neighbor Theresa Vann of Lenox Township said more than 700 people attended a spaghetti dinner fundraiser at New Haven Elementary Friday. The event raised $7,000, according to the Al-Shara family. All items were donated by community members and businesses to raise money for Aliaa’s funeral and medical expenses.
“It was awesome,” said Vann, who helped coordinate the fundraiser. “It was a great turnout. Everybody was very supportive, there for the family.”
New Haven Elementary principal Aaron Sutherland described Al-Shara as a doting father who regularly visited the school to have lunch with his daughter.
And while none of the money is to be used for Al-Shara’s defense, the overwhelming response is that Aliaa’s father shouldn’t be jailed for what they call a “tragic accident,” Vann said.

“Everybody supports him and thinks he needs to be let out of jail,” she said. “Everybody supports him and wants him to come home.”
[...]

http://www.freep.com/article/20101004/NEWS04/101004049

 

[Dakota]

Attorney: Gas can flaw may have led to firepit death

The attorney for a man charged with pouring an accelerant into a fire pit and sparking an explosion that killed his 6-year-old daughter suggested today that a gasoline container safety flaw may be the culprit.

Richard Graving, who is defending Majd Muhammad Al-Shara, said he was contacted last week by an out-of-state burn injury law firm that specializes in gas can litigation. The firm, he said, informed him of safety measures lacking in gasoline containers, the factors that cause the containers to explode and similar cases nationwide that have resulted in severe injury and death.

Graving says he's relayed the information to investigators and the Macomb County Prosecutor's office. He hopes fire investigators will verify the theory and that the case will be dismissed. If not, he says he plans to retain an expert in the field to testify at the Lenox Township man's trial.
[...]

Assistant Prosecutor Therese Tobin said today the information Graving supplied to prosecutors about the gas can has been relayed to authorities conducting the investigation.

"The information right now supports the charge of a reckless act," she said. "When the testing is done we'll see what the opinion is."

Attorney Hank Anderson said today his associate contacted Graving about the case. Anderson says he's been involved in many lawsuits against gas container manufacturers for similar incidents. But Al-Shara's case, he said, is the first like it where he's heard of a victim being charged criminally.

"It's tragic … we just feel like it's compounding the tragedy to file a criminal charge against this man," he said.

Anderson said his Wichita Falls, Texas, firm specializes in burn injury cases, including gas can litigation. In the last decade, he said the firm has handled more than two dozen cases from 26 states, including the one that manufactured the can Al-Shara used.

In that time, testing done by two engineering firms found that three factors cause gasoline cans to explode: the age and amount of gasoline inside a container and the temperature.

Anderson said explosions have occurred in cases when the liquid is aged, if there are three cups or less inside the container and if the temperatures are 68 degrees or lower.

"Those three combinations together, you basically have a bomb with a handle on it," Anderson said. "The testing has been done with various sizes, models and manufacturers. If the three factors exist it doesn't matter which container it's in. It'll still be a bomb."

Anderson said tragedies involving gas containers could be prevented if cans were required to have a flame arrestor, a small metal filter that goes into the spout or neck of the container. There is currently no government authority that dictates standards for gas cans, he said.

http://www.detnews.com/article/2010...y--Gas-can-flaw-may-have-led-to-firepit-death

 

[Whisper]

I saw this as I was running out the door and wanted to update it
Hes been given 1 yr probation after defense came forward with problems reported before about these gas cans


Dad in fatal firepit blast gets probation

Mount Clemens— A Lenox Township man was ordered today to serve one year of probation after pleading guilty today to a reduced charge in connection with a fire pit explosion that killed his 6-year-old daughter.
Majd Muhammad Al-Shara, 41, entered the plea in Macomb County Circuit Court this morning to one misdemeanor count of fourth-degree child abuse, his attorney Richard Graving said. Al-Shara was previously charged with second-degree child abuse, a felony offense.
He'll be glad to put it behind him and move on to his next page," Graving said, adding the incident was a "horrible accident."

But the sentence doesn't mean Al-Shara will be able to return home. Graving said the Jordanian native is living in the United States illegally and could wind up being deported.

Graving said Macomb County Sheriff officials will notify immigration authorities about the resolution to the case. They will likely pick him up from the Macomb County Jail in the next few days and a deportation hearing will be scheduled. If a bond is set and he can post it, Al-Shara hopes to return home with his family while he awaits the hearing to find out whether he will be released or deported, Graving said.

Al-Shara, a self-employed handyman, was accused of tossing an accelerant into a fire pit Sept. 19 behind his home in the Quail Run mobile home community. Al-Shara's daughter, Aliaa, was sitting nearby and was engulfed in flames. She died a few days later.
[...]
Today's plea deal comes about a week after attorneys received an eight-page report detailing laboratory tests conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The tests were to determine if a two-gallon gasoline container filled with a diesel-gasoline mixture — like Al-Shara used — could produce a flame jet from the open mouth of a container when poured over an open flame. The report concludes that it is possible, and flame-jetting was documented in 13 out of 17 tests.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110127...al-firepit-blast-gets-probation#ixzz1CHMtcI7F

 

[Dakota]

Majd (Mitch) Mohammad Al-Shara said he wished it was he and not his 6-year-old daughter, Aliaa, who died in a September fire pit accident at their Lenox Township home.

“I’m sorry,” he said today after pleading guilty to fourth-degree child abuse, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to one year probation by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge David Viviano.

Al-Shara, 41, a Jordanian citizen in the country illegally, cried during the hearing and told Cheryl Edgil, Aliaa’s mother, that he loved her. Edgil replied from her courtroom seat that she loved Al-Shara, who was charged with second-degree child abuse, a felony, after the Sept. 19 accident that killed Aliaa. That charge was dismissed.
[...]

Al-Shara may have faced murder charges, Graving said, but test results indicated it was possible for a two-gallon container filled with diesel-gasoline mixture to produce a flame jet when poured over an open flame.

The report stated that the flame jet was seen extending as far as 13 feet horizontally and was capable of propelling ignited liquid out of the gasoline container and depositing it on a person more than four feet away.

Based on the scientific tests and other information, “we came to the conclusion it was a reckless act,” Assistant Prosecutor Therese Tobin said. “Fire can be a weapon and you treat it like that. I think it’s very emotional for the family and I think it’s devastating that a little girl lost her life.”

[...]

http://www.freep.com/article/201101...ping-dad-gets-probation-girl-s-fire-pit-death

 

[Whisper]

Deportation for Jordanian in daughter's fire death

A Jordanian man is being deported after getting one year's probation for starting a backyard fire that killed his 6-year-old daughter in suburban Detroit.

Defense lawyer Richard Graving tells the Detroit Free Press his 41-year-old client Majd Mohammad Al-Shara will go to Jordan. Al-Shara didn't have a valid visa to be in the U.S.

Al-Shara pleaded guilty to fourth-degree child abuse for starting the Sept. 19, 2010, fire that killed his daughter Aliaa at their home in Macomb County's Lenox Township. It's about 30 miles north-northeast of Detroit.

[..]

http://www.argus-press.com/news/state_news/article_364d83a0-4fa1-5521-a914-f2e9d4f0429b.html

 

[VXIII]

Even though this man "supossedly went free" I think most of us can tell he loved his daughter, and the worst punishment to him of all is losing her, he will never be a happy man again, his child will haunt him until he dies, dont know about the wife but she probobly is suffering too, sad story all the way around... beautiful little girl too,

 

[Cat85]

I know that this was long ago but live in Lenox twp in the same park were the wife did. I know her personally. I don't think it was an accident. Although I didn't ask the wife my self because I would never want to be rude like that I did ask a neighbor that really good friends with her. From what I heard and what a lot of people had said be for is that is ment to do that. The neighbor said the wife believes now that he killed her because the wife was getting into Christianity more and the husband was Muslim and he did not want her to get his daughter into Christianity.