The Face of America in Year 2016

[kscarbel2]

WCTI 12  /  November 30, 2016

A Camp Lejeune Marine officer is charged with sexually abusing a 6-year-old child.

Col. Daniel H. Wilson, 55, of Mason, Washington, assigned to the II Marine Expeditionary Force, was charged on Nov. 15.

He is charged with three counts of alleged sexually assaulting and/or abusing a child (Article 120b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), four specifications of Article 128, (assault consummated by battery on a child under the age of 16 years); one specification of Article 92, (failure to obey a general order or regulation), and nine specifications of Article 133, (conduct unbecoming of an officer).

Wilson, who has been in the Marine Corps since June 1981, was removed from his post and reassigned to administrative duties after the investigation began.

The allegations of sexual misconduct remain under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigation Service (Carolina Field Office).

An Article 32 hearing has been directed for the near future.

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[kscarbel2]

Associated Press  /  November 7, 2016

A 16-year-old Nevada high school student was shot by a Washoe County School District police officer Wednesday morning after attacking classmates in the schoolyard with two knives.

The shooting at Procter R. Hug High School was first reported at around 11.30am, Washoe County School District spokesman Riley Sutton stated.

Reno police Officer Tim Broadway told reporters that one student was taken to a hospital with unspecified injuries and the campus remained locked down, 'but the kids are safe.'

The attacker is in critical condition at Renown Hospital Medical Center.

Reno Police Chief Jason Soto said the incident began at 11:25 a.m. with an altercation between two students. One of those students drew a knife and tried to attack others. At that point, a school police officer told the student to drop the knife. When the student didn't cooperate, the officer shot him and then provided medical attention.

High school freshman Robert Barragan told the Reno Gazette-Journal that an officer shot a student in the shoulder after the teen pulled a knife and stabbed a classmate during a confrontation outside the school library.

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[kscarbel2]

Heroin deaths surpass gun homicides for the first time

The Wall Street Journal  /  December 8, 2016

Opioid deaths continued to surge in 2015, surpassing 30,000 for the first time in recent history, according to CDC data released Thursday.

That marks an increase of nearly 5,000 deaths from 2014. Deaths involving powerful synthetic opiates, like fentanyl, rose by nearly 75 percent from 2014 to 2015.

Heroin deaths spiked too, rising by more than 2,000 cases. For the first time since at least the late 1990s, there were more deaths due to heroin than to traditional opioid painkillers, like hydrocodone and oxycodone.

"The epidemic of deaths involving opioids continues to worsen," said CDC Director Tom Frieden in a statement. "Prescription opioid misuse and use of heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl are intertwined and deeply troubling problems."

In the CDC's opioid death data, deaths may involve more than one individual drug category, so numbers in the chart above aren't mutually exclusive. Many opioid fatalities involve a combination of drugs, often multiple types of opioids, or opioids in conjunction with other sedative substances like alcohol.

In a grim milestone, more people died from heroin-related causes than from gun homicides in 2015. As recently as 2007, gun homicides outnumbered heroin deaths by more than 5 to 1.

These increases come amid a year-over-year increase in mortality across the board, resulting in the first decline in American life expectancy since 1993.

Congress recently passed a spending bill containing $1 billion to combat the opioid epidemic, including money for addiction treatment and prevention.

"The prescription opioid and heroin epidemic continues to devastate communities and families across the country—in large part because too many people still do not get effective substance use disorder treatment,” said Michael Botticelli, Director of National Drug Control Policy, in a statement. "That is why the President has called since February for $1 billion in new funding to expand access to treatment."

Much of the current opioid predicament stems from the explosion of prescription painkiller use in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Widespread painkiller use led to many Americans developing dependencies on the drugs. When various authorities at the state and federal levels began issuing tighter restrictions on painkillers in the late 2000s, much of that demand shifted over to the illicit market, feeding the heroin boom of the past several years.

Drug policy reformers say the criminalization of illicit and off-label drug use is a barrier to reversing the growing epidemic.

“Criminalization drives people to the margins and dissuades them from getting help,” said Grant Smith, deputy director of national affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance. “It drives a wedge between people who need help and the services they need. Because of criminalization and stigma, people hide their addictions from others.”

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[kscarbel2]

KTLA 5  /  December 12, 2016

Two people in Oklahoma have been arrested in what nurses described as "the worst case of child abuse they had seen."

On Saturday, the parents, 25-year-old Kevin Fowler and 24-year-old Aislyn Miller, were arrested on child abuse charges.

Police in Owasso, Oklahoma were called to a local urgent care Friday evening to investigate reports of child abuse.

When authorities arrived, nurses were working on two victims, who were described as twin infants, the Tulsa World reports.

According to KJRH, officers said a nurse told them they saw a maggot crawl out of one of the victim's genitals.

The nurse found feces in one of the infant's ears and said the malnourished children looked like skeletons.

Nurses found feces in one child’s ear while the other baby had a strand of hair wrapped tightly around one of its fingers. The baby’s finger had become infected as a result, and that skin had started growing over the hair.

The infants were both suffering from bed sores and severe diaper rash.

Miller told police she knew the twin infants were in bad condition, but said that she and Fowler are "new parents" and she didn't have any experience taking care of babies.

Miller said the children seemed malnourished because they were born prematurely. She said the couple didn’t have health insurance, so they let they ignored the children’s health problems. Miller said the babies had not seen a physician since their birth.

Both were jailed and held on $100,000.

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[kscarbel2]

Associated Press  /  December 18, 2016

Police say a 3-year-old boy being taken on a shopping trip by his grandmother was murdered in an Arkansas road rage shooting when a driver opened fire on the grandmother's car because he thought she "wasn't moving fast enough."

The boy and his grandmother were at a stop sign in southwest Little Rock on Saturday when a driver angry about the delay stepped out of his car and opened fire. They say the boy was struck by gunfire at least once.

The grandmother wasn't struck. She drove away and called police from a shopping center.

Police Lt. Steve McClanahan says investigators believe the grandmother and the boy "were completely innocent" and have no relationship with the shooter.

Police are looking for an older black Chevrolet Impala driven by a tall black man.

[kscarbel2]

Associated Press  /  December 24, 2016

An infant died in her bassinet of dehydration and starvation three or four days after her parents died, also at home, from drug overdoses.

Jason Chambers, 27, Chelsea Cardaro, 19, and 5-month-old Summer Chambers were found dead Thursday in Kernville, about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh.

Cambria County coroner Jeffrey Lees said that the parents had been dead for about a week when the discovery was made.

The infant died three or four days after them, he said.

Jason Chambers was found on the first floor, and Cardaro in a second-floor bathroom. The infant died in her bassinet in a second-floor bedroom.

Heroin overdoses are suspected and there was evidence of drugs at the scene.

Johnstown police Capt. Chad Miller said emergency responders had been called to the home in November to treat the man after an overdose.

[kscarbel2]

WLOX  /  December 24, 2016

Kyandrea Thomas, 34, was arrested Saturday, December 24 by the New Roads Police Department after throwing her newborn infant into a bathroom trash can at the Walmart in New Roads.

Thomas was also arrested in 2009 in connection with the hot car death of a toddler. 

Thomas gave birth to a baby girl in the store’s bathroom before throwing her in the trash and leaving the store.

Pointe Coupee Chief Deputy Coroner Joe Gannon said had police not arrived when they did, the baby would be dead.

Police say it is not the first time Thomas has been arrested.

"I think as the story unfolds, you'll be surprised at what you find," Gannon said.

Thomas was linked to another horrible crime in 2009.

Thomas and another woman, Michelle Veals, were both indicted on negligent homicides charges in connection with the death of Damiyn McElveen, 3. Criminal charges for the owner of the daycare, Wanda Connor, were dropped in 2012. Thomas and Veals were both sentenced to five years of probation and 10,000 hours of community service after pleading guilty in the case.

The two women were employed at a daycare called Wanda's Kids World in Baton Rouge. The young girl was found dead in a van on July 1, 2009 after being left inside for six hours with temperatures outside of 98 degrees. 

The daycare was closed following McElveen's death. 

Thomas faces attempted second degree murder charges for abandoning her newborn in Walmart.

 

[kscarbel2]

On 8/9/2016 at 1:29 PM, kscarbel2 said:

Woman raped, murdered and set on fire while jogging in Massachusetts

Associated Press  /  August 8, 2016

A Google employee from New York City who disappeared on an afternoon jog while visiting her mother in Massachusetts has been found murdered in the woods.

Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said Monday that 27-year-old Vanessa Marcotte was reported missing after failing to return from a run between 1pm and 4pm in Princeton.

Her body was discovered at around 8.20pm Sunday by a state police K9 unit near Brooks Station Road, about a half-mile from her mother's home.

Investigators are examining the possibility that Marcotte was sexually assaulted and set on fire, with burns to her hands, head and feet.

Authorities say her death is a homicide.

'We have a horrible set of facts, horrible circumstance,' said Early.

He added that it was unclear whether Marcotte's killing was a random act of violence and urged local residents to remain vigilant and exercise caution.

'People should be concerned,' Early said. 

Five days before Marcotte's death, 30-year-old New York City resident Karina Vetrano was murdered while on an evening jog in the city’s borough of Queens. No arrests have been made in Vetrano's death..

 

[kscarbel2]

On 1/14/2016 at 9:46 AM, kscarbel2 said:

New Jersey father murders 3-year-old toddler son

Associated Press / January 13, 2016

David "D.J." Creato Jr., 22, murdered his 3-year-old son Brendan Creato because the child was an impediment to his relationship with a teenage girlfriend.

Creato is also charged with child endangerment and faces a possible life sentence if he's convicted on the murder charge.

Brendan vanished from his father's home in the pre-dawn hours of October 13th on the 100 block of Cooper Street in Haddon Township.

The 3-year-old todder was later found by a K-9 unit partially submerged in the water in a wooded section of nearby Cooper River Park. He was still wearing his pajamas.

Investigators do not believe the child went to that area on his own because his socks were clean despite the muddy surroundings, and family members say Brendan was afraid of the dark making it unlikely that he would have gone into the wooded area in the pre-dawn hours. Also, there were no signs of forced entry at the home and Brendan slept on a love seat just nine feet from his father's bedroom door.

D.J. Creato began dating a 17-year-old girl, Julie Spensky, in June of 2015 who had a dislike of children.

In September, the girl became upset that Creato had custody of his son every other weekend, limiting their time together.

Around 6 a.m., Creato called 911 to report his son missing. Brendan would be found dead just a few hours later.

Medical examiners say the toddler’s brain showed a lack of oxygen before his death, indicating homicidal violence such as drowning, smothering or asphyxiation. He also had a fresh bruise near his collarbone.

Creato’s bail was set at $750,000 and he cannot leave the state if he posts bail.

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Intentionally snuff out the life of another human being, your own son and a mere 3-year old child no less………..and you only get 10 years in prison. Where's the justice? This man should be summarily executed by suffocation - an eye for an eye.

And, US tax payers had to feed and board this murderer for two years before our judicial system churned out this disgusting outcome, and now will finance 10 more years of incarceration. Then again, he might walk early due to "good behavior".

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Creato [Only] Gets 10 Years for Killing His Son

NBC 10  /  September 29, 2017

A South Jersey father who admitted to manslaughter in the killing of his 3-year-old son will spend the next decade behind bars.

David "DJ" Creato suffocated his 3-year-old son, Brendan, and left his body in a wooded area next to a Camden County, New Jersey, neighborhood in 2015, according to a plea deal.

"I sentence you to 10 years in prison," the judge said Friday while giving Creato the maximum sentence.

The 24-year-old will be required to serve 8 1/2 years before being eligible for parole. 

Prosecutors read victim statements and played a montage of photos of Brendan before the judge handed down the sentence.

Creato admitted to depriving Brendan of oxygen to end his life and pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the killing, prosecutors said.

County prosecutors said Creato, 22 at the time, murdered the preschooler because he was fearful his 17-year-old girlfriend would leave him.

Creato was facing a September retrial after a jury failed to convict him on a murder charge in the killing before he plead.

Brendan's body was discovered in a wooded area of Haddon Township by the Cooper River in October 2015. DJ Creato said, at the time, the boy wandered away from home and maintained that a stranger killed his son.

During the April murder trial, prosecutors argued that Brendan didn't walk into the woods alone. They said the boy was very afraid of the dark and that the boy wasn't wearing shoes, yet the soles of his bright socks were clean.