6 yr. old Michael Levine was shot & killed by his grandfather who also shot his wife

[Special2bme]

(WSB Radio) A six year old child is dead and his grandfather is in custody, charged in the killing.

Police were called to the home on Troy Street in Commerce at about 1 o'clock Sunday afternoon. An officer went to the front door, sparking an exchange of gunfire.

"When he (the officer) tried to make contact at the front door, he reported the suspect inside fired a round at the officers," says Commerce Police Chief John Gaissert. "They then made a tactical retreat."

Officers returned fire and were able to make their way into the house. It was there that they discovered the dead boy.

"Michael Levine, age 6, was deceased on the scene of an apparent gunshot," says Chief Gaissert.

Police also found Clark's 58 year old wife Linda in the home. She had been shot and wounded by her husband.

"Mr. Clark is the suspect in the shooting of both his wife and the child," says Gaissert.

According to police the Clarks had custody of Michael and a 5 year old boy. The other child was able to escape the house unharmed.

The chief says Clark was wounded in the exchange of gunfire.

Gaissert says police bullets only hit Mr. Clark and not the boy nor Mrs. Clark.

"The GBI has confirmed to me that police gunfire did not strike anyone but the suspect," he says.

Both Clarks are expected to survive. Police say they do not know what provoked the shootings.http://wsbradio.com/localnews/2009/06/grandfather-accused-in-grandso.html

[Abroad]

RIP Michael Levine

You'll forgive me for smiling at the thought you were married, I hope.......



:stupido3:

[runecire]

Another taken way too early. I hope the elder survives long enough to spend the rest of his life in prison. What could possibly be the motivation for such a killing/ shooting spree? At 6, there is little that the boy could do to earn this fate.

Rest in peace, Michael.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A watermelon may have triggered the deadly shooting of a 6-year-old boy by his grandfather Sunday afternoon, according to police.

Robert L. Clark Jr., 55, shot and killed his 6-year-old grandson and wounded his wife before police shot him, according to Commerce Police Chief John Gaissert.

“At this point in the investigation we believe the argument precipitated over a watermelon,” Gaissert said from the scene Monday. “The child either dropped the watermelon or cut it prematurely. The ensuing argument escalated and resulted in deadly violence.”
[...]

Clark was shot by police after a 45-minute standoff when he opened the front door while brandishing a handgun. Two officers from Commerce, two from Jackson County, one from Pendergrass and a Georgia State Patrol trooper fired shots, police said.
[...]

There had been six or seven 911 calls from the residence in the past and DFACS has long been involved with the family, Gaissert said. He said the biological father, Andrew Levigne, has been busted on drug charges by Commerce police. Police had been unable to locate the boy’s mother, Crystal Levigne, as of Monday afternoon.

“I would characterize the family environment as dysfunctional,” Gaissert said. “It was clearly a domestic violence incident.”
[...]

Neighbor Rita Whitman indicated there were signs of verbal abuse.

“It breaks my heart,” said Whitman, the mother of three teenagers. “I hate to say this because I feel like we should have said or done more, but there were times we heard him yelling at those kids. The one that he killed, he did yell at him a lot. You did see the occasional explosion of anger. He would just use terrible language, cussing so bad at that one boy.

“I only witnessed that two or three times but I just minded my own business. But I never, ever dreamed it was dysfunctional to the point that there would be violence.”
[...]
http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2009/06/08/commerce_shooting_grandson.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13

[DamagedGoods]

Why is there always a neighbour? Why does this make me so angry? and as usual wtf am I even asking?

Shit like this is what turned me atheist, (ok not all of it, but it sure helped). This 55 year old POS shot a child over a watermelon, his own grandson no less, then shoots his wife. As if that weren't bad enough this little boy seems to have lived under a stream of verbal abuse; if the neighbours know things are bad, imagine what those kids knew.

You know, I wish I could work up some sympathy for the neighbour who just wanted to "mind her own business" because I imagine this will haunt her; but then I remember being a child and knowing that adults cause unknown incalculable suffering, simply by "minding their own business." Knowing that there often was no one to save you, with so many people off in their own mindless apathy. Knowing that even if someone did do the right thing, 20 others would not, knowing that it really wouldn't matter in the end, because... Even if things go as well as could legally be expected, chances are, the child suffers for life, while the asshole gets room & board & protection from those who would make them suffer the punishment they so rightly deserve and that their victim so did NOT deserve...

[Dakota Valkyrie]

http://i40.tinypic.com/2ajzuvd.jpg
Michael Levigne
At least school was out.

Kim Savage, the principal of Commerce Primary School where Michael Levigne was a student, is thankful for that. She would not have wanted to explain to a bunch of 5- and 6-year-olds why their classmate was dead.
[...]
Savage said there were no obvious signs from Levigne at school that there was trouble at home.

“He was just a sweet little kindergarten boy,” Savage said. “We knew his grandparents had custody; I’m not going to go into anything beyond that. But his grandmother made sure he was at school every day and made sure he had everything he needed.”
[...]
Gaissert said the father, Andrew Levigne, has an extensive arrest record. The whereabouts of the mother, Crystal Levigne, are still unknown.
[...]http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2009/06/09/commerce_shooting_grandson.html
[...]
Monday, Gaissert said there had been a half-dozen 911 calls from the residence in recent years, and that the family had a history with the state DFCS.

But Tuesday the police chief said none of those 911 calls seemed to indicate wrongdoing by the grandparents. Gaissert said several were hangup calls and one involved the children’s father, Andrew George Levigne.

The police chief also noted that Clark was not known as a lawbreaker.

“Mr. Clark does not have a criminal history,” he said.

State Child Advocate Thomas Rawlings said Tuesday that his office is looking into the child’s death. He said he wants to know what role DFCS played, and whether the agency performed any assessment of the grandparents as adequate care providers.

DFCS spokeswoman Dena Smith said the agency has no record of child abuse or neglect regarding the Clarks and the two boys.

She added that DFCS did not have an open case with that household at the time of the shooting. However, the boys and their parents have a history with the child protection agency, according to the state child advocate.

In July 2003, the agency received a complaint that included the allegation that one of the boys was losing weight. In April 2004, the children’s mother, Crystal Levigne, tested positive for marijuana when she gave birth, Rawlings said.

Shortly afterward, DFCS opened a case on the family due to neglect, said Rawlings, the child advocate, pointing to DFCS records. When the parents did not cooperate with the agency, DFCS officials obtained a court order requiring them to do so. The agency worked with the family for about 18 months, and that case was closed in early 2006.

Before that, the paternal grandparents took guardianship of the boys in fall 2005.

DFCS has had at least two interactions with the grandparents since then, but neither involved abuse or neglect, officials said. Rather, the incidents involved the agency helping the family with some services, officials said.

In September 2006, Robert Clark was about to be hospitalized, and the family called DFCS to ask for help in caring for the boys.

Most recently, in September 2007, the agency became involved again when concerns arose over one of the boy’s behavior. Rawlings said that the DFCS report noted “no indications of parenting or safety concerns.”http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2009/06/09/commerce_shooting_grandson_dfcs.html

[Ninja0980]

From my understanding, the argument was started over the fact the grandson caught his watermelon the wrong way. How the hell do you cut a watermelon the wrong way?!

[Jaded]

From infancy, people were worried about Michael Levigne.

The 6-year-old boy, who apparently was shot and killed by his grandfather June 7, left behind a caring grandmother, a little brother, a loving but unstable father, a distant birth mother, a collection of well-loved Thomas the Tank Engine toys and a 1,200-page Department of Family and Children Services case file.

From early reports of neglect to later reports of molestation, Michael was under the supervision of case managers and case workers almost constantly.

As he finished kindergarten, his life seemed to stabilize. He and his brother had settled into the home of their paternal grandparents, Robert and Linda Clark, in Commerce and went more than a year without a DFCS investigation.

Teachers, extended family, social workers and therapists all were watching out for Michael, but no one foresaw what happened June 7.
[...]
Around noon that Sunday, Linda, Robert, Michael and his younger brother were getting ready to go the lake, said Murphy, who has five children and spent lots of weekends with Linda and her two grandkids.

Linda had bought a watermelon to take for a picnic, but she woke up Sunday morning to find that someone had a cut a slice out of the melon.

She asked her husband, and he said that the kids did it, according to interviews conducted by DFCS case workers the day of the shooting.

She told him that the kids couldn't have cut the watermelon, that she knew he had cut the melon, and he exploded. Linda was on the phone with Murphy about 12:30 p.m.

"He got on the phone and he was upset," Murphy said. "He said, 'I'm tired of being blamed for everything.' I noticed something a little different in his voice, but I didn't think anything like this could happen."

Robert handed the phone back to Linda, and she and Murphy talked about her bringing the boys by his house Sunday afternoon to play with Murphy's children. They hung up.

Thirty minutes later, according to Murphy and DFCS interviews, his stepfather went into his bedroom, unlocked his gun cabinet, took out a pistol, shot Michael in the abdomen and then attempted to shoot his little brother. Instead he shot Linda Clark three times after she stepped in front of her grandson, Murphy said.

He had a brief standoff with police before he allowed Linda and their younger grandson to leave the house, and then walked outside with his gun drawn. Police shot him, and he spent two weeks in the hospital.
[...]
Robert had no history with police. Despite neighbors reports that they heard him yelling at his wife and grandchildren, police never were called, said Commerce police Chief John Gaissert.

He worked a lot, Murphy said, but when the two boys first came to stay with the Clarks in August 2007, Robert told a caseworker that he had never had kids and considered the boys a blessing.

The boys moved in with Robert and Linda in 2005 after DFCS workers made their final attempts to reunite them with their mother, according to case records.


Much more at link (http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/062809/new_455600827.shtml). What a very sad story.

[Little Pea]

RIP Michael.

This is sad. Over a slice of watermelon. Who the heck cares so much about a slice of watermelon, and being accused of cutting it? I wouldn't even be annoyed by such a thing. I would probably laugh.

Though I would be concerned about a six year old cutting a watermelon, safety and all.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A month after a 6-year-old boy was allegedly killed by his grandfather during an argument over a watermelon, a review of his state child welfare records raises questions about whether he should have been placed in his grandparents’ home.

Michael Levigne moved into the home around September 2005, after his troubled parents transferred care of him and his brother to the grandparents, according to interviews with state officials and child welfare records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

But Michael’s 1,200-page DFCS file does not contain such an assessment. DFCS officials say they can’t find it, either, but they say they believe one occurred.

The lack of that assessment — which would have determined whether the home was a safe and suitable place for children — has led State Child Advocate Tom Rawlings to question whether Michael and his younger brother should have been placed there.

“I’m concerned that those children were placed in a home that [a child welfare] office said was not appropriate,” Rawlings said. The State Child Advocate is appointed by the governor as a watchdog over DFCS.

The DFCS records and accounts by Rawlings paint a picture of a child whose parents had a history of drug and emotional problems and how he and his brother came under the care of their grandparents.
[...]http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/07/06/michael_0707_web.html

A 1,200 PAGE file on ONE kid??? I can't even imagine the life of a child with a 12 page file.

Even if they magically thought that the grandparents were a good placement, shouldn't they, at minimum, keep tabs on the situation?

[runecire]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/07/06/michael_0707_web.html

A 1,200 PAGE file on ONE kid??? I can't even imagine the life of a child with a 12 page file.

Even if they magically thought that the grandparents were a good placement, shouldn't they, at minimum, keep tabs on the situation?

Honestly, it doesn't take much to reach 1200 pages. Everything from background checks on anyone this child is going to stay with (even for 4hrs or less) to caseworker notes on monthly meetings to court documents (which may include custody hearings, treatment plans, and judicial reviews of the ongoing case) are thrown into these files. In this state, when a foster parent adopts, they are required to READ these files, and, trust me, they are extensive.

RIP, Michael. I wish I could have been there for you.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Thanks, Rune! That makes much more sense. I was thinking more along the lines of a criminal history that just lists charges/events. Brain fart.

[runecire]

Thanks, Rune! That makes much more sense. I was thinking more along the lines of a criminal history that just lists charges/events. Brain fart.

I had to read the files for my boys, and BOTH files were 4 inches thick. No joke. They had little or no ongoing contact with DHS before they were placed with me. It still took me 10 hrs of constant reading to get through these. I can imagine that the file on a child involved with DHS for years on end could be monstrous.

People wonder why the system is slow to pick up on red flags? It's because there is so much paperwork on each child, and to see an emerging pattern is near impossible when you are covering 8 to 20 cases by yourself.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Swift justice:
A Commerce man will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty Monday to charges that he shot and killed his 6-year-old grandson June 7 as the family was preparing to go on a Sunday afternoon picnic.

Robert L. "Bobby" Clark Jr., then 55, shot and killed his stepgrandson, Michael Levigne, and shot his wife, Linda Clark, several times in the abdomen in their Troy Street home.
[...]

The slain boy's father and mother, Andrew and Crystal Levigne, and their extended family sat in on the 3 p.m. hearing in Jackson County Superior Court as Clark pleaded guilty - without an apology or explanation - to malice murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and aggravated battery.

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office provided extra security inside the courtroom Monday because the case is so emotional, said Maj. David Cochran.
[...]

"I hope you rot in hell," Andrew Levigne yelled as Clark was led out of the courtroom and looked back at his wife's family.

Clark could have faced the death penalty at trial, but was sentenced to life without parole for Michael's murder, and 25 years for the firearm charge and for the aggravated battery charge connected to his shooting of Linda Clark.
[...]

Linda Clark spent several weeks in the hospital and suffered permanent damage to her digestive system. She remains at a long-term care facility recuperating from her wounds, said Andrew Levigne.

Linda Clark had been the primary caregiver for Michael and his younger brother for several years before the shooting. The brother since has gone to live with his maternal grandfather, but Andrew and Crystal Levigne are able to visit him.
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/091509/new_493243160.shtml