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A 12-year-old boy is in the Douglas County Youth Center Thursday afternoon accused of sexually assaulting two young girls.

Police said the boy’s mother, 36-year-old Yolanda Rodgers, knew about the assaults and failed to report the incidents.

Rodgers provides respite care for foster families. Three children under the age of 10 stayed with Rodgers four times from August to April.

During those stays, Rodgers' 12-year-old son is accused of sexually assaulting one of the children.

According to a police report, the 6-year-old girl told investigators she had been sexually abused "a lot" of times.

Police said Rodgers allegedly knew about the assaults, but didn't report it to police. She is charged with felony child abuse negligence.

Investigators didn't uncover the alleged assault on the girl until after Rodgers' son was arrested in connection with another sexual assault with another girl April 20.

The 12-year-old is charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault.
[...]

It is unclear if the family of the 6-year-old knew Rodgers, but they did bring their three children there four times in eight months. Nebraska Families Collaborative said they usually try to do respites with people the children are familiar with, but couldn't say if they even handled the respite process for this family.

Respite providers don't need a license, but they undergo extensive background checks and home studies as well as children 13 or older who live at the home.

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The mother of the first alleged victim confronted Rodgers about her son's actions, prosecutors said. The son told investigators that his mother scolded and reprimanded him, yet the 6-year-old continued to stay in their home.

Rodgers son is also accused of later sexually assaulting that 6-year-old girl.

Prosecutors said Rodgers denies being confronted or scolding her son.

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A 41-year-old Omaha man faces charges he ignored his adolescent son's sexual abuse of a 6-year-old girl.

Iguan Rodgers, 41, is charged with felony child abuse.

Prosecutors said Iguan Rodgers was aware for months that his 12-year-old son had been sexually abusing the girl, who stayed at the family's home on weekends for respite care.

The girl told Omaha investigators that she went to Iguan Rodgers and his wife about the abuse. She said that Iguan Rodgers "whooped" his son, but the abuse continued.

Rodgers at some point was overheard saying he couldn't help his son, prosecutors allege. This refusal to address and stop the abuse led to the continued victimization of the girl.

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A six-year-old girl who was stabbed last week in her Hartman home by a 22-year-old male relative has died from her wounds, police said Thursday.

Kou Her of Clarksville is accused of using a large knife and scissors to attack the girl and two men, who sustained minor injuries, during a home invasion in the early morning hours of May 10. Police have not released the girl's name or how Her is related to the victims.
[...]

A fundraiser established at giveforward.com identifies the girl as Autumn Vang.

Her is being held on suspicion of first-degree battery, second-degree battery, kidnapping and residential burglary, although he could face additional charges stemming from the girl's death.

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Witnesses told deputies they woke up and found Her, a family relative, in the bedroom of their 6-year-old daughter, the report states. They tried to kick Her out of the house, but he attacked them with a large knife and a pair of scissors, according to the report.

Her tried to pour kerosene on other relatives, said Susan Xiong, the girl’s aunt.

The girl sustained a puncture wound behind her ear and was taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock in critical condition, the Sheriff’s Office says. The girl’s grandfather and uncle were injured. One suffered a deep cut under his upper arm, and another was cut on the finger, authorities said.

Family members stopped Her in an attempt to keep him from attacking the rest of the family, Xiong said. They were able to subdue him until authorities arrived, according to the police report.

---

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Her was subdued by family members and continued to fight with them and Deputies while being transported to jail.

Her is being charged with three counts of Second Degree Battery, one count of Residential Burglary, one count of Attempted Kidnapping and one count of Attempted Murder.

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The man the bikers really wanted to kill couldn’t be found, so they took his brother.

They kidnapped 24-year-old Kirk Knight, tethered him to a cement block and dumped him – bound, gagged and possibly still breathing – into the Detroit River.

Sunday marks the 33rd anniversary of Knight’s violent unsolved murder. Windsor police believe the slaying was payback for the shooting of Lobos biker gang member John Muzzatti, which Knight had nothing to do with.

“It was brutal,” said Det. Frank Providenti with the major crimes unit. “This young man didn’t have anything to do with the shooting. He had some issues with the Lobos, but he didn’t deserve to be bound and gagged and thrown in the river. It was just sheer violence. It must have been pretty scary. If he was alive when he was bound, and they’re strapping that block to him, and he knows he’s going in the water, can you imagine what would be going through his mind? It would be just terrifying.”

Along with a $5,000 reward, police are hoping DNA technology can help give them clues they need to close the case. Re-examining old cases with new technology is a practice that has worked before for Windsor police.

Last year, they used 12-year-old DNA from a cigarette butt to help solve the cold case murder of Michelle Charette. Peter Dale MacDonald, 54, already serving a life sentence for another murder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February 2012.

They are hoping DNA analysis of evidence in the Knight case will bring similar results. Investigators still have the cement block used to weigh down Knight. They also have Knight’s clothes, the rope he was tied up with and a pop can left at the scene.

Investigators believe the catalyst for Knight’s demise happened three days before his kidnapping, with that drive-by shooting he didn’t do.

On May 16, 1980, Lobos gang member John Muzzatti was standing next to his motorcycle outside the Seminole Tavern, now known as Silvers. Someone put a bullet in his stomach from a passing car. He survived – and went on to become Lobos president until the gang patched over to the Hells Angels in 2001 – but police said the bikers didn’t let the attack go unanswered.

On May 19, three men rolled up to Knight’s home at 1737 Central Ave. in a green 1972 Chevy Nova. A neighbour saw the men force Knight into the car and peel away. The neighbour jotted down the licence plate number and called police.

Detectives ran the plate and learned the car was registered to Christina Rizok, a known associate of the Lobos. The manhunt began.

“They figured they find that car they’re going to find evidence, or even Kirk himself,” said Providenti.

Police found the car a few days later, on May 22, at a home on Belcraft Beach in Colchester. The vehicle itself offered up no clues.

“But it did tie another gentleman to the case,” said Providenti.

Police charged Michael Plantus with kidnapping Knight. But Plantus, now dead, walked away free when the case was quashed at a preliminary hearing.

“He was seen in that car hours before the kidnapping,” said Providenti.

Rizok was also in the car. They were questioned, along with several others.

“I think every Lobos was brought in and questioned,” said Providenti.

“Nobody was forthright and upfront with the police, because they’re all afraid.”

Then on May 25, 1980, a man went out for a Sunday boat ride, behind what was then the Rendezvous Tavern. The Rendezvous housing subdivision now covers the area.

Bobbing against some abandoned docks in shallow water, there was a body, tied to a cement block.

“It was payback, payback for John getting shot,” said Providenti. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”

The Star’s efforts to reach Muzzatti, who still lives in Essex County, were unsuccessful.

The coroner ruled it death by asphyxiation. But he wasn’t strangled. Police will likely never know for sure if Knight was still alive when the killers threw him in the water.

“Did they choke him out before he went into the water or did the water cause the asphyxiation?” said Providenti. “He was bound and gagged. That could have caused his death before he hit the water.”

After Knight’s body washed up, police executed search warrants at several homes, and raided the Lobos clubhouse at 1527 Provincial Road. Officers swarmed in with shotguns. They lined up the Lobos, and some visiting Satan’s Choice members, along an outside wall as they searched the place.

“Looking for anything that would tie anybody to the murder, like evidence of ropes or locks or tape,” said Providenti. “If they could find it at someone’s house, then they could link it.”

But any evidence, if it had been there, was gone. No one was talking. Still, everything seemed to point to the Lobos.

Knight’s grisly death wasn’t his first run-in with the notorious bikers. After he disappeared, his father Ed told police that gang members had beat him up before.

And a few days before his appearance, Knight took another beating from someone.

“There were a couple of occurrences,” said Providenti. “He was having problems with the Lobos in regards to taking over bars. They’d come in and make the bar their bar.”

Knight and his brother Reginald didn’t like that. The brothers stood up to the bikers, which usually didn’t go well for the Knights.

“They got the best of them, on a few occasions,” said Providenti.

That feud may have reached a boiling point with the drive-by shooting of Muzzatti. Knight’s brother Reginald was a suspect in that shooting. Reginald has since left the Windsor area and couldn’t be reached for comment.

“His brother was suspected of shooting Muzzatti,” said Providenti. “So whether they couldn’t find Reginald that night and they took his brother, the next best thing, we won’t know. But that is one theory, that they grabbed him because they knew where he was.”

Anyone with information about Knight’s murder or any other cold case can call Windsor police at 519-255-6700 ext. 4390
[...]

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CABOT, AR -- A husband and wife are in jail, accused of rape and allowing abuse of a child.

According to the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office (LCSO), 28-year-old Napoleon Teixeira and his wife, 24-year-old Shayla Teixeira were arrested after an investigation into two incidents involving 3 and 4-year-old girls.

LCSO received a report in late April about sexual abuse of two young girls under the age of 4, and the investigation revealed two incidents that occurred between September and November of 2012.

Napoleon Teixeira, a level 2 sex offender who was paroled in December of 2011, was arrested and charged with three counts of rape, and is currently in the Lonoke County Detention Facility on $250,000 bond.

Shayla Teixeira was arrested and charged with two counts of rape, two counts of permitting abuse of a child and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. She was also taken to the Lonoke County Detention Facility, where her bond was set at $25,000.
[....]

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[.....]a girl not yet 13 years old and still in 6th grade invited her classmate to her home and murdered her, hacking off her head and arms and bagging them out of resentment of her being prettier than herself. Recently, Guangxi Hechi City Intermediate People’s Court pronounced its final judgment: The defendant’s parents is to compensate the plaintiff 108,000 yuan for all sorts of expenses.

As it’s written in the court’s judgement, the 13-year-old girl surnamed Zhou studied at Nandan County Lihu Yao Ethnicity Village Renguang Elementary School, where she and the less-than-13-year-old girl surnamed Qin were classmates in 6th grade. They were good friends, and their families were neighbors on the same street, their houses less than 150 meters away from each other. Qin became envious of Zhou and started to hate her because her classmates liked to play with Zhou and used to say that she was fat and was not as pretty as Zhou.

The judgement shows that on the evening of 2012 April 10, Qin invited Zhou over to play. After Zhou arrived at Qin’s home and while the two were watching TV, Qin smashed a wooden stool over Zhou’s head and knocked her unconscious as Zhou was playing with her cell phone with her head down. For fear of Zhou telling teachers and parents upon regaining consciousness, she assaulted Zhou with a kitchen knife, a beer bottle, a paper knife, a pair of scissors and other murder instruments she found at home, causing Zhou to die at the scene. Then Qin even chopped off Zhou’s head and arms, put them into plastic bags, and cleaned the blood from the scene of the crime.

Guangxi Police determined that the defendant Qin committed intentional homicide [murder], but because she has not reached the age of 14 when she was committed the crime, she would not be held criminally liable in accordance with the law, and that Qin would be rehabilitated for 3 years. Zhou’s parents filed a lawsuit in court, where the Guangxi Nandan County People’s Court ruled that in addition to the 10,000 yuan that Qin’s parents had already compensated the plaintiff, they must compensate the plaintiff another 98,000 yuan. Zhou’s parents were unsatisfied, and appealed
[....]

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HAUGHTON, LA (KSLA) -
Authorities arrested three Ark-La-Tex daycare workers, accused of child abuse involving at least eight children, ranging in age from 1 to 4, in alleged incidents over the past two weeks.

Investigators say they received a tip this week about the alleged abuse happening at the TLC Child Care and Learning Center, located in the 4600 block of Highway 80 East in Haughton, Louisiana.

On Wednesday (5/15/13), the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office arrested 23 year old Tronica Peterson of Haughton and 25 year old Antionikia Moncrief of Minden. Each faces two counts of simple battery and cruelty to a juvenile. And, 31 year old Fanisty Kennon of Haughton faces six counts of simple battery. Authorities say Peterson videotaped several of the incidents.

Sheriff's Spokesman Lt. Bill Davis says all three workers confessed to the allegations, which included slapping children in the face, swatting them on the leg or head and pulling the ears of those eight children. "Yes, all three admitted to the actions. Kind of hard not to when you're caught on tape, as well. But nonetheless, all three did admit to the actions and all three were subsequently arrested, taken to jail."

Davis says none of the children required medical attention, and detectives have notified all parents of the children involved. All three women arrested were transported to the Bossier maximum security facility. Bonds were set at $6,000 each for Peterson and Moncrief and $3,000 for Kennon.

[...] of TLC Child Care and Learning Center. According to computer records available on the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services' web site, it shows 14 inspections on file. There are violations on at least eight of those inspections.

The inspection dates range from February 2010 until March of this year. In the past, TLC has been cited for not reporting accidents that required a trip to the emergency room. They have also been warned in the past for not keeping a record of reference checks for employees.

In January 2011, DCF cited the center for not taking proper notes on children who came to the daycare with an illness, bruises or other injuries. On that particular visit, the daycare was cited for not documenting how four different children were injured.

Then, just a month later in February 2011, a child came to the center with a black eye and a knot on his head. Again, DCF documents show that nothing was noted. Then again in May 2011, DCF found that three children on the same day came into the center with either scratches or bruises. But, the state report stated that the daycare did not document how the injuries happened.

Documents also show a history of not keeping a file of reference checks on the employees at the daycare. In the years 2013, 2011 and 2010 DCF stated that they failed to provide that documentation. Criminal record checks were also an issue. DCF also state that they could not find documentation on employees on two separate visits in 2011 and again on two visits in 2010.

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The bruises to a 2-year-old boy who investigators say was beaten extend from his “head to his knees,” and it’s some of the worst injuries one Washington County Sheriff’s official said he’s ever seen.

The boy’s mother, Amanda Percell, 22, and a man investigators said is her boyfriend, Andres Lorenze Allen, 29, 533 Browning Road, Telford, are both charged with aggravated child abuse and child neglect or endangerment.

The charges stem from Percell’s 2-year-old son having extensive bruising all over his body — some that appeared to be in various stages of healing, according to Capt. Shawn Judy.

Percell and Allen were both arraigned by Washington County Sessions Court Judge Don Arnold Thursday and their cases were reset for May 23 at 1:30 p.m.

According to Judy, Percell called 911 around 11 a.m. Wednesday and reported her son had fallen off the porch. When EMS and deputies arrived, the boy was transported to Johnson City Medical Center and officers contacted the Criminal Investigative Division.

[...]
“There’s old bruises and new bruises. That tells how far back it goes,” he said. There have also been no internal injuries found as of Thursday afternoon, but Judy said the child was still being examined and treated.

Judy also said Allen was the boy’s primary caregiver while Percell worked. The couple also had Allen’s 7-month old child in the home, but Judy said that child had no injuries.

Both children are now in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services.

“The bruises are the worst I’ve ever seen. Why would someone do this to a child, to an innocent kid,” Judy said.

Percell and Allen are each being held on a $100,000 bond. Arnold appointed the public defender to represent Allen and attorney Charles London to represent Percell.

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Aaron Sabbah tried to extort money from a Sydney mechanic he blamed for losing his Mercedes-Benz by threatening him with a large black sex toy, a court has been told.

Sabbah was armed during an attempt to demand money from Michael Monajed, Sydney's Central Local Court was told during a bail application on Friday.

"What is the alleged arm?" Magistrate Eve Wynhausen asked.

"It's a black dildo, your honour," prosecutor Christian Hearn said.

According to court documents Sabbah arrived at Mr Monajed's workshop on April 22.

"Sabbah ... entered the workshop in an intimidating manner with a large black dildo in his right hand, which he was smacking into his left hand continually in an aggressive and threatening manner," the documents state.

The 39-year-old's $167,000 Mercedes-Benz had been repossessed in January after he defaulted on a loan.

A week later Sabbah drove the repossessed vehicle away from the car yard where it was being held and took it to Mr Monajed's Botany workshop to have the brakes replaced.

The next day police spotted Mr Monajed driving the stolen car.

They took back the car and released the mechanic without charge.

In the meantime, Sabbah, who was overseas, rang the mechanic and demanded $10,000 that he estimated was the outstanding loan amount, which turned out to be $112,000.

"You are responsible for losing my car," court documents allege Sabbah said.

Over the next few weeks Sabbah upped his demand to $30,000 and made threats of violence.

The mechanic bought Sabbah a used Honda for $800, but Sabbah demanded something better.

"Get me a better car, this is a piece of s***," Sabbah allegedly told Mr Monajed.

During February and March, Sabbah allegedly made more threats of violence and the mechanic paid him cash totalling $4500.

After being threatened with the dildo on April 22, Mr Monajed fled the premises and contacted police. Meanwhile, Sabbah allegedly stole $400 from his desk.

Sabbah was arrested that evening and charged with robbery in company, demanding money with menaces and stealing two vehicles from the mechanic.

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She had just turned 16 years old last week, and her family had allowed her for the first time to drive alone.

Savannah Nash was en route Thursday afternoon to the grocery store to pick up items for the family dinner when her vehicle slammed into a semi. She died at the scene.

She was texting when the crash happened, the Missouri Highway Patrol says. An unsent lengthy text was found on her phone.
[...]

The crash happened at 4:19 p.m. at Highway 7 and Walker Road. It was so close to her house that a neighbor heard the horrifying collision.

"When you looked, you could see the tail end of the car," Linda Murphy said. "You just knew that someone had been devastated. It just T-boned that little car. There was no way they could survive."
[...]

The Missouri Highway Patrol's crash log says Savannah failed to yield at the intersection and pulled into the path of a semi. Gary W. Moberly, 60, of Clinton was driving the 2003 Freightliner. He was not injured.

Savannah was driving a 2003 Chrysler, which was totaled in the crash. Savannah was driving on Walker and went to turn left to go north on Highway 7 when she drove into the path of the oncoming semi, which Moberly was driving south on the highway, the Highway Patrol said.

Both drivers were wearing seatbelts.

Savannah was born May 8, 1997. She received a learner's permit on May 23, 2012, according to Missouri records. She received a full driver's license with certain restrictions on Wednesday.

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Witnesses told authorities that the suspect accused of trying to set a man on fire poured a liquid on the victim in an attempt to kill him.

Jamal Morris, who listed an Alexander Street address, has been charged with second-degree terroristic threatening after he allegedly doused a 37-year-old man with a flammable fluid Saturday, police said.
[...]

In a police affidavit filed in District Court this week, the victim told police he was playing drums at Da Spot restaurant on South King Street at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday when the suspect approached him and began pouring liquid on his head and body.

The victim said he thought it was alcohol because it “began to burn his eyes and caused his eyes to close,” the document said.

A witness told police that said: “I’m gonna get you on fire” as the suspect tried to light the liquid with a lighter.

Another witness said she heard Morris say: “I got you; I’m going to kill you,” according to the court document.

A third witness told police Morris also said: “You did magic on me,” according to the court document.

A bottle of Grey Goose vodka was recovered at the scene with a quarter of its contents remaining along with a yellow lighter.

The victim did not need to be treated by city paramedics.

The victim told police that the suspect approached him for unknown reasons. No motive was given for the attack.

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Ganjali was driving to work Wednesday afternoon when 24-year-old Jamal Morris asked to hitch a ride. The two men had gone to the same mosque and had been acquainted for a few years.

"I hadn't seen Jamal for a long time. But I never knew him as a violent man," said Ganjali.

But as Ganjali was parking his truck, Morris attacked without warning, gouging Ganjali's eye.

"And he put his finger in my eye. I was so shocked. I didn't know how to react. I didn't know if he's joking. I didn't know if he's serious. I didn't know what was going on. I was so shocked," said Ganjali.

Ganjali said Morris also bit his head and beat him. He was unable to escape because the truck was still in gear and his seat belt was fastened.

Ganjali spent several hours in the hospital emergency room. That's where he found out that Morris had been arrested Saturday night, just a few blocks away from where he was attacked. Arrest records show Morris was taken into custody at South King and Coolidge Streets for terroristic threatening after he allegedly doused someone with vodka and threatened to light it.

Morris was out on bail and missed a court hearing Wednesday, the day Ganjali was attacked.

"He tried to light someone on fire, knowingly. And a bail of two thousand dollars for that?" asked Ganjali.

Ganjali is still shocked. But he's also angry. He said Morris is on a mission, and has mentioned the names of others from the mosque that he has targeted. "He has people he's going after and he's actively pursuing that goal. He's going to the places that they eat in. He's going to the places they work in."

Honolulu Police said Morris remains in custody in the psychiatric ward at the Queen's Medical Center.
[...]

Ganjali said he still considers himself lucky because there's a chance that his right eye will recover. He said there was some external damage to the eye, but no internal damage.

"I'm happy that it happened to me and not a little girl or a little boy, not someone weaker than I am," he said. When asked whether it should have happened at all, Ganjali looked down and shook his head.

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“Can’t comprehend authorities allow someone to that extent to be out there and hurt other citizens,” Ganjali said.

Prosecutors say that’s how the system works.

Morris was not in custody from Saturday’s incident because he posted $2,000 bail, which prosecutors say is a high amount for misdemeanor terroristic threatening.

“Unreal, this gentlemen does not belong out there and needs to be locked down or needs medical attention I have no idea,” said Ganjali. “Otherwise he will go hurt someone else.”

Morris is in police custody as of Wednesday night.

His bail for the assault charge was set at $1,000.

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A woman whose husband was reported missing six years ago today was charged with his murder after investigators searched her Ventnor home and discovered his remains in a closet, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said.

This morning, detectives from the prosecutor's office cold case unit arrested Loretta Doyle Burroughs, 61, of Ventnor, for the fatal stabbing of her husband, 66-year-old Daniel Burroughs. She was charged with murder and weapons offenses.

Authorities say Loretta Burroughs fatally stabbed her husband in August 2007, when the couple lived on Leipzig Avenue in Mays Landing. He was reported missing a month later.

The Hamilton Township Police Department detective bureau and the State Police Missing Persons Unit investigated the disappearance at the time, and it remained a missing persons case ever since.

Following her husband's disappearance, Loretta Burroughs moved to Ventnor, according to the office of Acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain.

In February, member of Daniel Burroughs' family contacted the prosecutor's office newly created cold case unit with information about the disappearance, and the case was reopened.

When she was arrested this morning, Loretta Burroughs was in the process of selling her Ventnor home, just south of Atlantic City, and moving to Villas in Cape May County, the prosecutor's office said. Villas is about 40 miles away, at the very southern tip of New Jersey.

Executing search warrants today, authorities found inside the Ventnor home human remains inside a closet, which were positively identified as Daniel Burroughs. Autopsy results are pending.

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Loretta Burroughs divorced her husband Danny after he disappeared in 2007. This morning, investigators found his body parts in her home, according to a source.
[...]

The remains were found in two containers in Loretta's home in Ventnor, N.J., according to a source close to the investigation who did not want to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.

Loretta Burroughs, 61, wept quietly this afternoon as she was formally charged with Danny's murder.
[...]

Investigators are not clear if they were put into containers due to decomposition, or if the body was mutilated. They do believe that the body was moved several times.
[...]

Danny Burroughs' family convinced investigators to re-open the case in February, after the county put together a Cold Case Unit. The family launched a Find Danny Burroughs Facebook page in 2010, and used the page to raise questions about Danny's disappearance. In the "about" section of the page, his brother wrote:

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A Potsdam man is behind bars after being accused of public lewdness at a grocery store in Massena Wednesday night.

State police arrested 41 year old John Allison of 8614 Route 11.

Investigators said Allison rubbed a packaged stick of pepperoni on his exposed penis inside the Hannaford store at the St. Lawrence Plaza.

Police said he then put the food back on the store shelf.

According to police, a Hannaford loss prevention security officer was watching Allison on video surveillance and captured the incident on tape.

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Mother Nature often works in mysterious ways, but the recent birth of a baby anteater has the staff at a Greenwich conservation center stumped.

The mystery begins in August, when Armani, a female giant anteater at the LEO Zoological Conservation Center in Greenwich, gave birth to baby Alice. It was a joyous occasion for all involved, except perhaps for @Alf, baby Alice's father. Male anteaters are known to commit infanticide, so Alf had to go. He remained at the center, but was kept away from mom and baby for several months.

Fast forward to one morning in April. A tender went into Armani's enclosure and received quite a shock.

Armani, sometime during the previous night, had given birth to another baby.

The sudden appearance of little Archie was a surprise, to say the least. The gestation period for anteaters is six months. Armani and Alf had not been back together long enough to do what they needed to do to put the cycle of life into gear a second time.

The staff at the conservation center immediately got to wondering. Either this was a case of immaculate anteater conception, or Alf had somehow gotten the keys to Armani's pen one night in October.

Marcella Leone, founder and director of the conservation center, has another idea. She thinks it might have been a case of delayed implantation, when fertilized eggs remain dormant in the uterus for a period of time.

The phenomenon has been observed in sloths and armadillos, which belong in the same group of mammals as anteaters. The difference is, those animals are able to delay one pregnancy, but some experts say they've never seen a second embryo implant after a mammal has just given birth.

"It is a bit of a mystery," admits Leone, who directs the nonprofit conservation center and breeding facility, which runs education programs and breeds animals for zoos and other sites, such as the Six Flags Great Adventure Wild Safari in New Jersey.

Stacey Belhumeur, species survival plan coordinator for the North American population of giant anteaters, and a zookeeper at Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Ariz., said delayed implantation coinciding with another pregnancy has been observed in marsupials, but that it wasn't likely in giant anteaters.

"When she gives birth, her entire uterus is going to clear out," Belhumeur said. "Anything that's in her uterus, even another undeveloped embryo, would clear out."
[...]

Belhumeur said she thinks the most likely scenario is that the two anteaters were, somehow, able to mate.

"My guess is they thought they had him separated," Belhumeur said. "We've seen incredible feats of breeding success. We've had animals breed through fences."

Leone said she couldn't see that happening.

"There is a place they could share a fence line, (but they) should not have been sharing that fence line during that time," Leone said.

As it stands, the case will likely be something animal experts can talk about, but since there was no formal scientific study done, there is no way to prove what took place.

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A Johns Creek man was arrested Thursday after admitting to police that he faked his kidnapping.

Aftab Aslam faces several felony charges, including terroristic threats, false statements and tampering with evidence.

The 19 year old disappeared Apr. 27. He initially told police he was drugged and held prisoner, according to Johns Creek spokesman Doug Nurse.

Aslam's parents received a text on the day their son vanished, saying the teen had been kidnapped and warning them not to call police.
[...]

Aslam returned home May 5 and later admitted that he camped in Forsyth County until the weather turned cold and rainy, Nurse said. He told police he essentially ran away because he didn't want his parents to know he was failing his English class at Georgia Gwinnett College for the second time.

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Johns Creek police, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, found the phone that sent the text near Aslam’s home. Investigators determined he purchased the phone a few days earlier from a local Target store.

After being missing for eight days, Aslam returned home unharmed May 5.

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A 45-year-old woman was charged with murder after deputies discovered she was living with her father's decomposing body.

On May 14, deputies arrived at a home in the 500 block of Northridge Drive near Ball Ground for a welfare check.

Authorities discovered the deceased body of 77-year-old James Reece.

It appeared Reece had been deceased for several days, according to deputies.

Investigators learned the daughter of Reece, Andrea Blanton, lived at the home with Reece and was his primary caregiver.

Blanton had failed to report the death, according to reports. She was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with concealing a death.

She was released Tuesday night on an $11,200 bond.

On Wednesday, an autopsy of Reece's body was performed and revealed Reece had died of strangulation.

Blanton was taken into custody Thursday morning and charged with murder.

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A 36-year-old woman is behind bars after police say she tried to give her daughter away.

Phoenix police spokesman Tommy Thompson said on Wednesday around 5:15 p.m., officers were called to a convenience store near 23rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road after a woman called to say she could not care for her child anymore.

When officers arrived, witnesses told police Rozenna Luna was offering strangers her 6-month-old little girl for free.

"I don't know how she could do that," said Luna's ex-husband and the baby's father, Enrique. "I'm getting more mad."

Police said the mother, who had been drinking and had smoked methamphetamine earlier in the week, made no attempt to contact any safe haven locations, government agencies or family members for assistance.

The individuals, who were approached by Luna, told the cashier inside the store about the woman's offer. The cashier then called police.

Authorities said Luna called police, too, but only after she had tried to give the baby away.

Thompson said Luna told officers she called because she had misdemeanor warrants and would be arrested and go to jail, which meant she would not have to care for the baby girl.

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"I saw her walking with the baby to people," says William Castillo, AM/PM store clerk. "One customer comes to me and says she is giving out the baby, she doesn't want it anymore."
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After four people turned her down, Luna herself called police to self-surrender on outstanding misdemeanor warrants, so that she would no longer have to be responsible for the baby.

"As soon as she saw the cops over here she just walked over here to the store. They tried helping her. They argued. And then they just handcuffed her and took her," says Castillo.

Later Thursday, we spoke to the baby's father.

"What kind of mother gives a newborn baby away. I am torn, I am torn, I need my baby back... no matter what I need my baby back," says Enrique Luna.

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Police said her baby, Elena, was not harmed. She was turned over to Child Protective Services, but the baby's father told CBS 5 News that he will do everything in his power to get her back.

"I got three kids with me and I want her back, you know, no matter what. I want that, I want her back," her father, Enrique Luna said.

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A mother whose 4-year-old was being abducted chased the suspect down and crashed her vehicle into his car, triggering a manhunt and the arrest of the suspect, Albuquerque police said Thursday.

The young girl was playing in her yard at St. Anthony's Plaza Apartments in Albuquerque's North Valley about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when a group of teenagers saw the kidnapping and ran to alert the girl's mother, police said.

The family called 911 and the mother jumped into her vehicle and gave chase for about seven miles, unaware the man had pushed the girl out of the silver Buick before fleeing the apartment complex, authorities said. The girl was found wandering nearby, uninjured, police said.

According to police, the mother followed the suspect and finally rammed into his car near an intersection. The suspect fled on foot, police said.

Melissa Torrez, the mother, told KOAT-TV she didn't mean to hit the suspect's car and struck it accidentally when she lost control of her car. Torrez said didn't even have time to cry when she jumped to chase the suspect.

"I don't ever want to lose my kids," said Torrez, a mother of three.

Torrez said after the crashed she looked in the back seat of the suspect's car and saw an empty baby car seat.

"I was like...what a sick man," she told the station.

The attempted kidnapping sparked a massive manhunt Wednesday as more than two dozen officers went door-to-door in the area looking for the suspect. A helicopter with heat-sensor cameras also was sent in for the search, authorities said.

Police arrested David Hernandez, 31, on Thursday afternoon in Rio Rancho after he saw his picture on television and called police. After being interviewed, he was charged with kidnapping, police spokeswoman Tasia Martinez said.

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Melissa Torrez said her little girl was playing in front of her apartment with several other children when she says some teens told her the girl was taken.

Torrez said she immediately got in her car and was able to find the car the teens described.

She says she chased that car for several miles, and accidentally crashed into it on Kathryn near San Mateo.

"He got down from the vehicle, he threw his arms up at me like I don't know what he meant and I was on the phone with the cops and I got out. We were standing face to face and I guess he saw me waving the cops down and then he ran," Torrez said.
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She said after the crash, she realized her little girl had been let out of the suspect's car miles back unhurt.

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The mother, who was in cell-phone contact with the police during her pursuit, thought her daughter was still a prisoner, according to an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman.
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"At this point in time it appears to be a complete stranger abduction," APD Chief Ray Schultz said during a news conference outside the search perimeter. "It appears to be no relation that we've been able to determine from either the mother or any witnesses.

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SAN DIEGO - A private investigator told 10News he might know where to find the body of Jahi Turner, the two-year-old boy who disappeared 11 years ago in San Diego and is believed to be dead.

"It's very heart-wrenching," said private investigator Bill Garcia.

When young Jahi disappeared, San Diego police combed the Miramar Landfill. Jahi's stepfather was questioned after witnesses told police he was seen carrying a large bag to a Dumpster.

Jahi's stepfather had called 911 a few days later to say the boy had disappeared. It was suspected Jahi was killed and his body thrown in a Dumpster, which was emptied and taken to the Miramar Landfill.

"The most extensive landfill search, I believe, in San Diego history was launched at Miramar," said Garcia.

"I remember the odor. I remember wearing the white uniform in a line with other officers," said Chula Vista Police Chief David Bejarano, who was in charge of San Diego at the time and helped search Miramar.

However, Garcia said investigators got the wrong Dumpster and a different driver told them they got the wrong landfill.

"He has said that load had come here to Otay [Landfill] as opposed to Miramar," said Garcia.

Garcia was hired by Jahi's family to look for the boy shortly after he disappeared. He said chances are good the boy's body is in the Otay Landfill. Unfortunately, it would be covered under 11 years of garbage.

Bejarano said San Diego investigators worked closely with the FBI and San Diego County sheriff's investigators on the case.

"So I'm very confident that we reviewed every lead and looked under every rock," Bejarano said.

However, Garcia said the Otay Landfill was never searched, even though landfill engineers can pinpoint where and at what depth the garbage from that neighborhood could be found.

Garcia said it might cost millions to dig up that same part of the landfill, but he's hoping San Diego is willing to try.
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DOBBINS (CBS13) — A Yuba County woman is accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend with a sword, but she claims it was all an accident.

Joanne Cardoza admits grabbing a 3-foot-long sword off her kitchen table and pointing it at her boyfriend of five years on Sunday. But she told Yuba County Sheriff’s deputies that she didn’t mean to stab him with it.

Buck Day’s friends believe his death was no accident, claiming Cardoza had major anger problems.

“She recently lost her son, so I know she had some issues, and they fought a lot,” said Tara Thomas.

Cardoza says she grabbed the sword when Day “rushed” at him during an escalating argument. His friends insist that’s something he’d never do.

“Buck wouldn’t hurt anybody. He’s a very calm, docile personality,” Thomas said.

Even Day’s ex-wife says he wouldn’t hurt a fly. She says her called her several times to pick him up from the house because of Cardoza’s outbursts. She says he wouldn’t leave Cardoza because he said he loved her.

Friends say it was a fatal attraction.

“It’s just sad, very sad, because people could seek help and things like this wouldn’t happen,” Thomas said.

Cardoza is being held without bail at the Yuba County Jail on murder charges.

Deputies say they aren’t sure why the sword was on the table in the first place.

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