Posted on 09/23/2006 6:30:59 PM PDT by freepatriot32
1 hour ago
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - A woman was charged Saturday in the deaths of a pregnant friend and the fetus authorities believe she cut out from the slain woman's womb after knocking the victim unconscious.
Tiffany Hall, 24, was charged as authorities implored the public for help in their search for the victim's two sons, ages 7 and 2, and 1-year-old daughter. Authorities say they were last seen with Hall on Monday, three days before she was taken into custody.
Hall, who was jailed on $5 million bond, faces charges of first-degree murder and intentional homicide of an unborn child in the death of 23-year-old Jimella Tunstall, said St. Clair County State's Attorney Robert Haida.
Relatives of both women told media outlets the two grew up together and attended alternative schools. The woman in custody often baby-sat Tunstall's children, and Tunstall never expressed worry about leaving them in her care, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
An autopsy showed Tunstall bled to death after sustaining an abdominal wound caused by a sharp object, believed to be scissors, said Ace Hart, a deputy St. Clair County coroner.
Hart said he believes Tunstall was knocked unconscious before her baby, seven months into gestation, was removed during a slaying he called "very graphic and very brutal."
Officials were optimistic about the prospects of finding the children unharmed. Illinois State Police Capt. Craig Koehler said authorities will not end the search until the children are found.
"We have no evidence that leads us to believe they're dead," he said, adding two or three additional sites will be searched in and around East St. Louis on Sunday.
"These children are from East St. Louis," said Police Chief James Mister. "They know how to survive."
Koehler and Mister refused to publicly discuss the evidence or possible statements Hall has made to investigators. Authorities have also refused to reveal how the women knew each other, or whether Hall's alleged confession came before Tunstall's body was found.
Hall will likely be arraigned Monday on the charges, each carrying a 20 to 60 years or life in prison, Haida said. The murder count could be punishable by the death penalty.
"It's way too early to talk about that," Haida said. "Obviously, it's a very devastating situation for the families, but we're hopeful for a positive outcome in the return of the three children."
The charges came a day after a meticulous scouring of the 1,100-acre Frank Holten State Park, just blocks from where Tunstall's body was found. Investigators would not say what led them to believe the children were there.
Officials suspect Tunstall was slain on or about Sept. 15, Haida said.
The same day, Hall summoned police to the Frank Holten park, saying she had gone into labor, Hart said. The dead baby, taken to a hospital, showed no signs of trauma, and an autopsy the next day failed to pinpoint a cause of death, he said.
Hall would not let doctors at the hospital examine her and offered conflicting reasons for why she went into labor, alternately saying she had consensual sex and was raped, Hart said.
Authorities say Hall acknowledged to her boyfriend during the baby's funeral Thursday that the child wasn't his, and that she killed the mother. The boyfriend told police, who arrested his girlfriend hours later, investigators said.
DNA tests should determine definitively whether the baby was the one Tunstall was carrying, Hart said.
The baby was buried Thursday as Taylor Horn after a funeral arranged by L. King Funeral Chapel, whose president said Hall called minutes after the service was to start, asking if she could reschedule for a different day so more relatives could attend. At the time, Levi King said, only two relatives were there.
The woman showed up two hours late, ultimately signing an affidavit for the funeral home stating that the child was hers, King said.
The East St. Louis case is the second recent case in the area involving babies.
Shannon Torrez, 36, of Lonedell, Mo. _ south of St. Louis, about an hour's drive from here _ is accused of slashing a young mother's throat and kidnapping her baby on Sept. 15. The baby was returned unharmed Tuesday, the same day Torrez was arrested.
Also in Missouri, Lisa Montgomery will stand trial April 30 on charges of snatching a baby from the womb of Bobbie Jo Stinnett at her Skidmore, Mo., home in 2004. The baby survived.
This photo released by the Illinois State Police Friday, Sept. 22, 2006 in Collinsville, Ill shows Jimella Tunstall, 23. who was found slain after apparently having a fetus cut from her womb on Thursday in East St. Louis, Ill. Her three missing children were last seen with a person of interest in their mother's murder. (AP Photo/Illinois State Police Handout)
Mother and BABY.
And this is different from an abortionist's actions, just how?
Geez. With friends like these....
Lord, please help the searchers find those other children.
Amen to that.
L
very disturbing
I believe I just heard Fox report that the other children have also been found dead.
Hanging is just too good for some people.
"These children are from East St. Louis," said Police Chief James Mister. "They know how to survive."
interesting comment
Roe v. Wade
Columbine and etc.
Dr. Kevorkian
Terry Schiavo
Pregnant women killed for their fetuses
What is the next step in this parade?
ALERT: Fox News' Kimberly Guilfoyle not 5 minutes ago said the victim's 3 missing children have been found dead in a basement dryer of an East St Louis apartment. However, I cannot find the story anywhere on their website or any other website.
Prayers for this family, and for the boyfriend of Hall, who is a Navy man on leave for what he thought was the funeral of his baby.
Crickets chirping from the NAACP and other black liberals.
Glenn Beck made this same point during the Scott Peterson case. He said he was against Scott being tried for a double murder because of the hypocrisy in the law. Although his point was a little tounge in cheek, it did make sense that we have a life which is conditional.
It's a ridiculous comment IMO. 7, 2 and 1....in no position to be able to survive for long at all.
oh no - prayers for this brave man
He is the one who turned her in to the police. God Bless him, and I hope he can mentally handle this nightmare he has found himself in.
I'm normally all for local PDs but in the case of ESL the Illinois National Guard should be patrolling.
And we fine citizens of the Peoples Republik of Illinois can thank that scumbag George Ryan for throwing a monkey wrench into our Capital Punishment system.
These monsters will now be guests of the State for the rest of their lives.
I hope George Ryan dies a long, slow painful death in Marion.
L
CC&E
Story on Fox now.
Yall have a death penalty?
anything on the local news about a motive?
Breaking News >> All Three Missing Children Found Dead in Illinois, FOX News Confirms
Horrible thought but they probably saw what she did.
The children have been found dead in a dryer in an apartment house.
Death penalty, please!
Except that this monster, Tiffany Hall, was the "best friend" of the girl she murdered. They went to school together, and babysat for one another.
Three Missing Children Found Dead in East St. Louis Last Edited: Saturday, 23 Sep 2006, 8:38 PM CDT Created: Saturday, 23 Sep 2006, 8:34 PM CDT
KTVI) - Sources tell FOX 2 News the bodies of three children who have been missing from East St. Louis were found Saturday evening at a housing project.
The three children were found dead, stuffed inside a washer dryer unit at the John DeShields Housing Complex at 14th and Bond.
Police have scheduled a 9:30 news conference at the search command post.
She (Hall) already had 2 children, which is even sadder & makes this all the more bizarre. She had previously lost them once to Social Services for child abuse, but I am unsure if at the time of the murder, if they were in her custody again or not.
If anyone doubts the existance of evil in this world, I give you exhibit "A"!
Prayers for these babies.
Prayers for all those innocent babies, their deceased Mother, and for the poor family!
Tiffany Hall should be immediately released from custody...in front of city hall in St. Louis, for the public to conduct justice as they see fit.
Yes I'm sure the 2 year old has brass knuckles. What a stupid comment.
|
Time For Some "Old Time" Justice! Click the Pic J |
The perp could well have been whacked out on crack or something too.
This is awful. An entire family wiped out. For what?? Also, the victim was 23 and she had a seven year old child...??
This whole story is just beyond depressing. I feel sick to my stomach.
Did Fox say how the little girls died?
It was two little boys and the baby girl. I haven't heard a specific cause of death reported, just that they were found in a dryer.
She was 16. It happens. There was a big gap then 3 babies one after another. Wonder why?
No, just that they were stuffed in a dryer. Did she kill them before she stuffed them in the dryer?
They will have to do autopsies to determine the cause of death.
I hate to even think this, but did those children witness this attack? If they did, and they're still alive, they would be terrifed to show themselves.
looks like little girls according to the pic up thread
It wouldn't surprise me if someone that could do what she did could have killed them. I was wondering though, if the oldest might have run away with them and they got trapped hiding and suffocated .
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