Lakeland, Florida A little after 3 pm on Monday, firefighters responded to a car fire on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa, Florida. They had no way of knowing that they were about to drive up on an arson, a homicide, and a suicide. Court records show that Robert Laird and his wife, Sheryl, were divorced and she was granted an injunction keeping him from having contact with her. All who had contact with Sheryl describe her as being a positive woman despite the past marital problems and despite having to share her daughter with the man she feared. None of that matters now. Robert drove to the top of that bridge, doused the car with gasoline and turned it into a torch with his dead wife in the trunk, and lept from the bridge as the firefighters worked to extinguish the flames. And at 6 pm, their 7-year-old daughter was still sitting patiently waiting to be picked up from Happy Days School. [Read more...]

Lakeland, Florida Young children are fascinating. You can show them how to tie their shoes 50 times, step by step, and when they can’t even seem to get step 1 completed, you know they’re either brain damaged or simply haven’t paid attention. You can show them how to pick up their toys, explain the importance of the task, offer them great rewards if they do…and great punishment if they don’t. But as we grow older and a bit wiser, we realize just how smart children are. And we learn this during the most inopportune times…in the grocery story when they repeat the choice words you’ve once uttered about the person you’ve just run into…the precise placement of swear words…and the demonstration of what daddy did to baby sister to CPS investigators. Timothy KingKing reviews found out the hard way that his 5 year-old son paid a lot more attention than he originally thought. [Read more...]

Lakeland, Florida–They say never point a weapon at someone unless you intend to shoot. They also say you should always assume that a gun is loaded even if you think it’s not. They are wise. Chris Chambers, 23, isn’t. He thought it would be fun to scare the shit out of his girlfriend while she was showering. He grabbed his Glock 19, snuck into the bathroom, aimed, and fired. Now, his girlfriend, 19-year-old Stephanie “Dapheney” Joseph, is dead from a gunshot wound to the face. Oh yeah…he scared her real good. They also say there are two sides to every story. Personally, I think there are three–his, hers, and the truth. [Read more...]

Lakeland, Florida–Nathan Bellar, 13, is lucky to be alive today…the rest of his family isn’t. After an argument with his wife, Troy Bellar, 34, opened fire on his family with a 7.62 mm rifle, killing his wife and two of his children, before turning the gun on himself. [Read more...]

Catheline Colon

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Lakeland, Florida–People get all stabby over the strangest things. Take Catheline…she wanted a Pop Tart. Her boyfriend denied her request, so she stabbed him in the chest with a steak knife. Nice.

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Carmen Cardenas

Lakeland, FL–Are you pregnant? Are you contemplating starting a family? Let me clue you in on something important…babies cry. They cry a lot. They cry because they are hungry. They cry because they are uncomfortable. They cry because they are lonely. And sometimes, they cry for no particular reason at all. They’re babies, it’s their job. As a parent, your job is to soothe and comfort them the best you can…not break them.

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Lakeland, FL–Gordon Finley Dugger III, 24, was a friend of Steven and April Edwards. The Edwards’ trusted Dugger enough to let him live in their home, he’d been living there since July. They trusted him enough to care for their 15-month-old daughter Lily. He had sat for her on numerous occasions and managed to do so without harming the child. So Friday evening, Steven and April had no problem leaving him in charge of Lily while they went out for the evening. Something bad happened, breaking the Edwards’ trust and their baby. [Read more...]