Free Republic

The 65-31 vote came after Democrats urged quick action so that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius could get to work leading the federal response to the flu outbreak.

What can you say about a people who welcome a child murderer as a hero? Most Americans are familiar with the brutal murder of wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer on the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985. Terrorists led by Abu Abbas (who was later given safe haven in Baghdad by Saddam Hussein) took the ship captive and threw Klinghoffer overboard. But few recall that the ship was seized to bargain for the release of, among others, Samir Kuntar from an Israeli prison. Kuntar had taken part in an earlier terror attack. In 1979, as a 16-year-old, he and four others had...

HOUSTON — The stepfather of a 2-year-old girl lost control and beat her to death because she wouldn't say "please" and "yes sir," an attorney for the girl's mother said Wednesday. A body found last month in Galveston Bay is believed to be that of the little girl, Riley Ann Sawyers, though DNA tests are pending. Her mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, and stepfather, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, were arrested Saturday. According to court documents, Trenor, 19, told police she and her husband killed the girl in July and hid her body in a shed before dumping it in the bay....

Oregon child killer Ward Weaver stabbed during haircut Posted by The Associated Press May 08, 2007 06:18AM Categories: Breaking News Ward Weaver ONTARIO -- Convicted child killer Ward Weaver survived a stabbing by an inmate barber at the Snake River Correctional Institution, authorities said. Weaver, 44, is serving two life sentences at the Eastern Oregon prison. He pleaded guilty in 2004 to killing two Oregon City girls whose bodies were found in 2002 at his home -- one under a concrete slab and the other in a bag in a storage shed. The barber, Marvin Lee Taylor, 44, was charged...

Environmental movement's 'patron saint' was "attitude changer" -- Rachel Carson, whose book "Silent Spring" is credited with saving species of birds and kicking off the environmental movement, would have been 100 years old this year. Now, a two-act play celebrating the life and work of Carson is the highlight of this week's 174-program Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Gatlinburg and throughout Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "A Sense of Wonder," written and performed by Kaiulani Lee, has been touring for more than 10 years - proof Carson still has influence 45 years after "Silent Spring." When the book came out in...

<p>RALEIGH, N.C. — A mother found her 4-year-old daughter decapitated in her home, and police issued an arrest warrant for the girl's father.</p> <p>John Patrick Violette, 37, was last seen driving a Buick station wagon near his home Friday afternoon in Clayton, about 15 miles southeast of Raleigh, said Clayton Police Chief Glen Allen. Violette's wife, Amber Violette, called 911 that evening, saying she had found her daughter, Katlin, with her head severed from her body, he said.</p>

A Plano woman found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2003 drowning of her two daughters is now mentally stable and can leave a state hospital, a Collin County judge ruled Thursday. State District Judge Mark Rusch signed the order releasing Lisa Ann Diaz from Big Spring State Hospital in West Texas after a little more than two years. Judge Rusch said Ms. Diaz must remain on medication and continue treatment on an outpatient basis.

PLANO, Texas -- A Plano mother who drowned her two children in 2003 is free to restart her life. Lisa Diaz is home with her relatives, just three years after killing her two young daughters. In September 2003, Diaz drowned the sisters, 3 and 6 years old. She told police voices told her to kill them and she was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Doctors said Diaz had recovered enough to be sent home, and a judge ordered her set free. Collin County prosecutors released this statement: "Given Ms. Diaz apparent swift recovery, Judge Rusch had no choice...

LOGANSPORT – A judge entered pleas of not guilty Friday for a Kansas parolee charged with murder and criminal confinement with a deadly weapon in the slaying of a 16-year-old co-worker who had stopped to help him when he had car trouble. Danny R. Rouse, 51, who was paroled in March after serving 26 years in prison for the murder of a 5-year-old Kansas boy, is accused in the slaying of Stephanie Wagner, whose body was found in a Cass County farm field Wednesday. snip Cass County Superior Court Judge Rick Maughmer entered the pleas on Rouse’s behalf and appointed...

Child killer literally a marked man Sep 28, 2006 06:16 AM EDT David MacAnally/Eyewitness News Crothersville - Convicted child killer Anthony Stockelman's face and head were unmarked at his trial last year. But now he's turned up at Wabash Correctional Facility with a tattoo on the forehead reading 'Katie's revenge.' Katie is Katie Collman of Crothersville, the little girl he confessed to raping and killing last year. The Department of Corrections is not saying who applied the tattoo, which is against prison regulations, or why. They say they are still investigating. Katie's dad, John Neace, has his own theory. Wednesday...

This is a reference thread with links to previous FR threads discussing the arrest of a suspect, John Mark Karr, in the decade-old cold case concerning the murder of JonBenet Ramsey, plus case resources for continued commentary on investigation of the crime.

Seven-year-old Noah Yates struggled so hard while his mother was drowning him in the bathtub that his small fists remained stiff and over his head even several hours later, the medical examiner testified Wednesday. Testifying on the third day of Andrea Yates' murder trial, Dr. Luis A. Sanchez said Noah, the oldest of Yates' five children drowned that day in 2001, had extensive rigor mortis because of intense movements indicating a struggle just before death. Noah also had deep bruises consistent with someone holding him down, as did 6-month-old Mary and 5-year-old John, Sanchez testified. Sanchez also said that based...

MIAMI -- Former Attorney General Janet Reno got up and sang Aretha Franklin's "Respect" at a Miami fundraiser Thursday night. The karaoke performance was caught on tape. It happened at an event honoring the 10th anniversary of the Human Services Coalition. Proceeds went to help fight poverty. Reno suffers from Parkinson's disease, but that hasn't stopped her public appearances. Recently, she gave speeches on law enforcement at the University of Iowa and Pennsylvania State University.

WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ -- A woman abducted from a Jersey shore home where her two sons were found bludgeoned to death managed to escape from her captor and run to a gas station for help, authorities said Friday. The woman's ex-husband had called police Thursday night after she called him by cell phone, saying she had been kidnapped and forced to withdraw money from an ATM. He went to the home and found the bodies of his slain sons in the basement. Ocean County Prosecutor Thomas Kelaher said Friday that the boys, ages 7 and 14, had been beaten to...

A 50-year-old Placerville man who led police on a manhunt after reportedly killing his son and wounding his wife took his own life Thursday morning, El Dorado County sheriff's officials said. Roy Clayton reportedly confronted a 25 year-old man at the man's home on Moonshine Hill Road east of Diamond Springs at about 8 a.m., wielding a gun and demanding food and help, said Lt. Marc Adams. Adams said the man inside the home escaped and called 911.

Hudson, Ohio -- Two bodies discovered in Ohio may be those of two New Hampshire children whose father confessed to killing them and burying them somewhere along a 700-mile stretch of the Midwest 2 1/2 years ago, authorities said Friday. Police and the FBI said a dog that bolted from its owner during a walk Thursday found two shallow graves with human remains wrapped in plastic near Interstate 80, also known as the Ohio Turnpike. Scott Wilson, a spokesman with the FBI's Cleveland office, said he could not comment on the gender or age of the bodies, but added: "We're...

ELYRIA, Ohio — Three weeks after a jury convicted a single mother of murdering her 4-year-old son, then burning her house down to destroy the evidence, the same 12 people recommended she be sentenced to death. A judge accepted the jury's verdict and sentenced the 30-year-old mother to be executed by lethal injection Jan. 10, 2007. Diar stood sobbing after the verdict was read and spoke for the first time during the proceedings. "I didn't kill my son," Diar said. "I'm sorry that you people feel that way. I can't feel remorse for something I didn't do." The jury reached...

He allegedly slays family members before setting fire. A San Jose man described by his neighbor as a "cool, laid-back dude" killed his pregnant girlfriend and their two young daughters Monday before setting their home on fire, according to police. San Jose police arrested 28-year-old Rodrigo Ortiz Paniagua as he sat outside the burning home smoking a cigarette. He was being held on suspicion of three homicides. As investigators tried to figure out why Paniagua attacked his family, relatives of the slain woman said there had been earlier incidents of domestic violence. Paniagua shared the home in the 3100 block...

(CNN) -- A Florida man's confession that he kidnapped, raped and buried alive a 9-year-old girl may never be heard by a jury because, according to documents, he previously asked for a lawyer but was not given one. John Couey, accused of murder in the death of Jessica Lunsford, asked for an attorney on March 17, the day before he confessed, according to the transcript of his questioning released by police. At the time of his request, Couey was maintaining he had nothing to do with the girl's disappearance. His request came after Citrus County, Florida, detectives asked him if...

MARTINEZ - While police were seeking Jimena Barreto in connection with the hit-and-run deaths of two Danville children, Barreto asked her building manager to remove cocaine from her apartment, the manager testified Thursday. The jury was not supposed to hear that statement and it could lead to a mistrial. It came after a morning when witnesses testified they saw Barreto, 46, intoxicated and preparing to get behind the wheel on various occasions. "I knew she was a ticking time bomb," said Kathleen McNamara, who met Barreto in a bar a few weeks before the crash. Prosecutors allege that Barreto drove...

Editors have a nasty little habit of telling news writers, "you missed the lead," when a complicated story buries itself in facts and figures but fails to discover the salient feature that made it worth doing and thus worth reading. When an entire newspaper, and then its ombudsman, miss the lead, it is worth a few lines. The Washington Post began an ambitious three-part series Sunday, December 19, entitled "Pregnancy and Homicide: The Unknown Toll," the gist of which was that the states and the CDC and whatever agencies keep track of intentional deaths are remiss in keeping records regarding...

A Small Success at the Washington Post! Last week the Washington Post ran a three-part series on Maternal Homicide and Domestic Violence that was an example of writing (it didn’t qualify as “journalism”) that appealed more to the emotions than the intellect. But this time around, we were ready. Thanks to a cooperative effort among several groups, we hit a home run! On Saturday, the Post ran two excellent letters to the editor – see below. And then on Sunday, the WP Ombudsman Michael Getler devoted one-third of his weekly column to a critique of the series – again, see...

Stephen Byrne (NOTE: MY EMPHASIS BELOW)Stephen James BYRNE Steve, who lived in Edmonds, savored life. He has left us now, in a struggle to find peace, and we will miss him. But we will remember that savoring of life, his love of sailing, biking, cross country skiing, diving, hiking. His love of an incredible mountain vista, how the leaves turned gold in the fall, a great bottle of wine and a wonderful meal with friends, a long ride around Lake Washington or up Washington Pass, completing the STP bike ride for the first time, and the second. He loved his...

Former football star O.J. Simpson, who was found liable for the murder of his wife in a civil trial, expressed sympathy in an interview released Friday for Scott Peterson, who is accused of killing his pregnant wife. "Look at Scott Peterson," Simpson told Playboy Magazine. "Ask anyone in America about him. They'll say the guy is guilty. But we haven't heard one shred of evidence." Fertilizer salesman Peterson of Modesto, California, is accused of killing his wife Laci last Christmas Eve and dumping her body into the San Francisco Bay. A preliminary hearing in the case starts next month. In...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Scott Peterson could spend his remaining years catching glimpses of the bay where he launched his boat on Christmas Eve 2002, not far from where the bodies of his pregnant wife and unborn child eventually floated to shore. Now convicted of their murders, Peterson will be transported to San Quentin State Prison overlooking San Francisco Bay if the jury recommends a death sentence following a hearing that begins Monday. Cell doors on two of the three units at San Quentin look past walkways patrolled by rifle-toting guards, out at the same water that doomed Peterson when jurors...

Two men face murder trials for deaths of pregnant wives Article Last Updated: Friday, February 06, 2004 - 3:36:15 AM PST Two men face murder trials for deaths of pregnant wives One gets headlines around the world; the other is largely ignored By Amelia Hansen, STAFF WRITER REDWOOD CITY -- Deep inside the Maguire Correctional Facility, a man accused of killing his pregnant wife and unborn child sits waiting for his day in court. His name is not Scott Peterson. But like Peterson, he is in his 30s, has dark hair, and will stand trial for multiple counts of murder....

McKINNEY - A Plano mother who said she drowned two of her daughters to save them from disease and death was found not guilty by reason of insanity Thursday. A Collin County jury of seven women and five men deliberated for 11 hours over two days before acquitting Lisa Diaz of one count of capital murder in the death of her 5-year-old daughter Briana. Diaz also killed Kamryn, 3, inside her Plano home on Sept. 25. Defense attorney Robert Udashen said Diaz will be sent to a mental hospital and be evaluated by psychiatrists. Judge Mark Rusch is expected to...

In October 1997, Jeffrey Curley, a 10-year-old Cambridge, Mass., boy, was playing outside his home when he was lured into a car by Charles Jaynes and Salvatore Sicari. The two men, seeking a child to rape, attacked Jeffrey, who fought back. Then they choked him to death with a gasoline-soaked rag, molested his dead body in Jayne's apartment in Manchester, N.H., stuffed the body into a cement-filled Rubbermaid container and threw the poor child's remains, like a sack of garbage, into the Great Works River in Maine. During their trials, at which the men were convicted of murder and sentenced...

<p>WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Appellate judges ordered Wednesday a new trial for a 16-year-old boy who is serving a life sentence for killing a 6-year-old playmate, raising questions about the Florida law that allows child murderers to be locked away with no hope of parole.</p>

Child killer Joel Steinberg has a cable-TV job waiting for him if he is released on parole next summer, his civil attorney said yesterday. Lawyer Darnay Hoffman, who is general counsel for the show, said he has arranged for Steinberg to work on "New York Confidential," a program planned for a leased-access Time Warner cable channel. Steinberg, 62, is serving 8 to 25 years for fatally striking his illegally adopted daughter, 6-year-old Lisa, in his Greenwich Village apartment in November 1987.

<p>Infamous child killer Joel Steinberg is getting ready for his close-up - he has a TV job waiting for him when he gets out of prison.</p> <p>Steinberg, the abusive monster who became the city's most hated man, will go to work as a reporter and field producer for a new leased-access cable show called "New York Confidential" when he's released next year, his lawyer said yesterday.</p>

Henk Admits To Killing SonSays Brendan Gonzalez wore the mark of the beast Ivan Henk has confessed to killing his four-year-old son, Brendan Gonzalez, saying he thought his son was the Antichrist. The confession came during a court appearance Tuesday afternoon during which Henk was sentenced on two counts related to a police pursuit that he was involved in on the day Brendan turned up missing. That was on January 6th. Henk has remained in custody since then and he was a suspect in Brendan's disappearance but was never charged. Police didn't have the evidence and Henk continuously denied...

'I just don't believe that you bomb women and children in order to enforce the United Nations Resolution on Iraq,' the Harlem Democrat told Fox News Chaneel's 'Hannity and Colmes' program Thursday night.When challenged on his claim that United States forces were killing Iraqi children, Rangle said sarcastically, 'You're right. They are shooting themselves. They just don't know they are being liberated.'After accusing GI's of what amounts to the commission of war crimes, Rangle then slammed President Bush as unqualified to lead the United States into war with Iraq.

Jurors weighing whether to sentence a father to death or life in prison for killing his two young daughters listened Monday to a taped phone call of a mother's anguished moments before she learned her daughters' fate. "Oh, my God, please don't let it be; please, Jesus," Mary Jean Pearle said as she talked to a Highland Park police officer on a cellular phone while waiting outside her ex-husband's apartment, where the girls' bodies were found. "Oh. Oh. I'm so scared." After closing arguments today, jurors will begin deliberating the fate of accountant John Battaglia, convicted last week of capital...