TSA Worker Tried Making Girl 'Sex Slave'

Authorities Haven't Yet Disclosed Where Alleged Sex Crime Happened

POSTED: Sunday, January 31, 2010

UPDATED: 8:10 am EST January 31, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A federal Transportation Security Administration employee has been arrested in connection with the molestation of a girl, Orange County sheriff's deputies said. The man told investigators he planned to make her his "sex slave," according to the arrest report uncovered by Local 6.According to jail records, Charles Henry Bennett, 57, works as a TSA employee at Orlando International Airport, and was booked into the Orange County Jail early Friday morning after a 15-year-old girl came forward claiming Bennett touched her inappropriately when she was 12, deputies said.

A TSA spokesperson reached late Saturday night said it would not be possible for her reveal whether Bennett’s employment status with the agency was impacted by his arrest until Monday at the earliest.It’s unclear exactly where the alleged abuse took place and how Bennett and the girl met, because the arrest report detailing the abuse is heavily redacted. The report reveals, however, that the “protective investigation” that led to Bennett’s Friday arrest, was initiated after Florida’s Department of Children and Families was notified of the girl coming forward by her “house parents.”In the police report, Bennett acknowledges that he "groped" the girl, although the girl's version is more graphic.A DCF spokesperson reached late Saturday night said she would research the case to see what details she could legally provide by Sunday morning.Bennett’s family declined comment to a Local 6 photographer who knocked on his Winter Garden door Saturday.

Bennett’s apparent MySpace page says Bennett wants to meet “submissive females” and is a swinger who is a master of BDSM, which stands for bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism.Investigators wrote that Bennett was also very forward in his statement to them.“He advised, in a written statement, he actually asked her to be his sex slave,” the report stated.Bennett is currently being held on no bond in the Orange County jail.Watch Local 6 for more on this developing story.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/22391933/detail.html

Mother Arrested For Leaving Kids Home Alone For 14 Hours

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- A mother in Brevard County was charged Saturday with leaving her two young children home alone for 14 hours.One of the children was an 18-month-old; the other was only three-years-old.Sheriff deputies were first called Saturday morning, when a woman found the youngest child wandering down the road from his house on Akorn Street near Port St. John. Deputies later found the child’s three-year-old brother home alone.

Deputies tracked the children’s mother down at another home in the same neighborhood.Sarah Petty admitted she had been drinking the night before.Deputies say she was still intoxicated around noon.Petty claims she thought the children were with their grandmother who lives next door.

The children are now with their father.He had been working in south Florida all week.

~Go to the site and watch the video of drunken mom trying to say "They were with Nana", she was still drunk when they arrested her at noon. Pathetic! Lets hope CPS keeps these kids out of her care. ~

http://www.wftv.com/news/22389618/detail.html

Minister: Drew urged Stacy Peterson to lie to police :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: News

Minister: Drew urged Stacy Peterson to lie to police :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: News

January 30, 2010
BY DAN ROZEK Staff Reporter

Just before Stacy Peterson vanished, she told a friend that her husband, Drew Peterson, had ordered her to lie to police questioning her about the 2004 drowning death of his third wife.

An anxious Stacy confided that Peterson warned her not to tell investigators he had left their Bolingbrook home the night before his former wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in her bathtub, Scott Rossetto testified Friday. Read more.......

Judge gives Coleman's lawyers until March to file a request for change of venue

BY BETH HUNDSDORFER
News-Democrat

Accused triple murder defendant Christopher Coleman's lawyers have until March to decide if they want to move the trial out of Monroe County.

St. Clair County Circuit Judge Milton Wharton gave the defense until March 1 to file a motion for change of venue on Friday, then Wharton must decide whether to approve the move.

John O'Gara, one of Coleman's lawyers, already sent subpoenas to local media outlets, including the News-Democrat, requesting copies of all articles related to Coleman.

Coleman is charged with the murders of his wife, Sheri Coleman, 31, and their sons, Gavin, 9, and Garett, 11. Their bodies were found May 5, in separate upstairs bedrooms at the family's home at 2854 Robert Drive in Columbia.

Coleman appeared in an orange jumpsuit flanked by Monroe County deputies. His mother and father, Ron and Connie Coleman, sat feet away in the courtroom's gallery.

The next court date for Chris Coleman is scheduled for March 26.

In the civil case, Monroe County Circuit Judge Dennis Doyle decided Friday that he will hear a motion to compel the deposition of Joyce Meyer, Christopher Coleman's former employer, and her son, Danny Meyer and Joyce Meyer Ministries employees Mike Bauer, Mike Cole and Robert Sanabria. That motion will be set on Feb. 9.

The motion seeks to convert Joyce Meyer Ministries from a respondent in discovery to a defendant in the wrongful death suit filed on behalf of Sheri Coleman's brother and mother.

Mike King, the ministry's minister, has said in court papers that Enrico Mirabelli and Jack Carey, Sheri Coleman's brother and mother's lawyers, are too late to conduct depositions.

Mirabelli asked for a delay last month to allow Carey to recover from heart surgery.

Contact reporter Beth Hundsdorfer at bhundsdorfer@bnd.com or 239-2570.
http://www.bnd.com/breaking_news/story/1110076.html

Jaycee Dugard case: New birth certificates issued for girls

Some rape charges against Phillip and Nancy Garrido coincide with conception dates

Bay Area News Group
Posted: 01/27/2010 06:22:56 PM PST
Updated: 01/28/2010 10:15:00 AM PST

Jaycee Dugard's two girls now have birth certificates, with both listing Dugard and Phillip Garrido as their parents, and their birthplace as the home outside Antioch where authorities say Garrido and his wife, Nancy, confined Jaycee to a secret backyard lair after snatching her in 1991.

The certificates list birth dates for the girls in August 1994 and November 1997, making them 15 and 12. Dugard gave birth to the first at age 14. At the time, Phillip Garrido was 43 and on parole after his 1988 release from federal prison for the kidnapping of a woman he also raped in a Reno storage shed.

Bay Area News Group is not naming the girls, who authorities say lived in a backyard warren of tents, sheds and outbuildings, never going to school or seeing a doctor. Contra Costa County issued the birth certificates last month under a special state process for people who never receive them.

Authorities say the Garridos snatched Jaycee from a bus stop on her South Lake Tahoe street and spirited her back to the house on Walnut Avenue.

In August, Dugard finally revealed her identity, ending an 18-year mystery.

The Garridos have remained for five months in a Placerville jail, charged with 29 felony counts in Dugard's abduction and a series of rapes during her youth.

Phillip Garrido, 58, is being held without bail. Nancy Garrido's bail is set at $20 million. Their next court date is Feb. 26.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14281446

Cummings moved to Putnam Jail

By Kristin Chambers
Published: Saturday, January 30, 2010 1:56 AM EST

Ronald Cummings, the father of missing child Haleigh Cummings, was moved out of Flagler County to the Putnam County Jail on Friday morning.

"The investigators on the narcotics case no longer have reason to keep him segregated," Lt. Johnny Greenwood, spokesman for the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, said. "All the trafficking charges were in Putnam County, so the proper place to have him is our jail."

Cummings, 26, faces three counts of trafficking in prescription medications after a monthlong drug investigation revealed he and four others - including his former wife, Misty Croslin - were dealing in Oxycodone and Hydrocodone pills, the sheriff's office reported.

Cummings was taken to the Flagler County Jail while narcotics investigators questioned the five in relation to the drug charges, Greenwood said.

Greenwood said Cummings' bond will remain at $500,000.

Misty Croslin, 18, faces six counts of trafficking in medications, and is being held in the St. Johns County Jail on a bond of $950,000.

Other involved include her brother, Hank Croslin Jr, 23, of Satsuma, Donna Brock, 43, of Orlando and Hope Sykes, 18, of Satsuma.

All are being held in St. Johns County with the exception of Sykes and Cummings.

Officials from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have said that the drug arrests are not related to the Haleigh case.

Haleigh was reported missing by Croslin at 3:27 a.m. the morning of Feb. 10, and no sign of the 5-year-old has been found.

Investigators have said they believe Croslin is the key to the investigation.
http://www.palatkadailynews.com/articles/2010/01/30/news/news01.txt

Man Charged In 3-Month-Old Son's Death

Police Say Autopsy Revealed Child's Death In March 2009 Result Of Abuse
POSTED: Friday, January 29, 2010
UPDATED: 5:55 pm EST January 29, 2010

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office booking photo of Marshall Cole
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville police said they've arrested a 42-year-old man on charges of killing his 3-month-old son in March 2009.

Marshall Cole was arrested Friday in the death of Marcus Cole.

The chief medical examiner said an autopsy determined that the injuries that lead to the child's death were a result of child abuse.

An arrest warrant was issued on Jan. 8 leading to Friday's arrest.

Both of the child's parents told them Cole took his son into a back bedroom of their home to put the child to sleep, according to a police report.

Cole was alone with the child in the bedroom for a minimum of 30 minutes, according to the report.

Cole told police he heard a noise from his son and noticed he was not breathing, according to the report. The baby's mother said she went to the room and found Cole sitting next to the baby but not calling for help or trying to help the child.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/22380994/detail.html

Morgan Harrington

Ronald Cummings - Where is he? - Maybe an Answer?

UPDATE - 1/29/2010 - 6:00 PM - Back in Putnam County - http://public.pcso.us/jail/bookingDetails.aspx?SYSID=758544&IMG=49930

------------------------------------------
UPDATE - 1/29/2010 2:50 PM
------------------------------------
Jailed Father of Missing Satsuma Girl Transferred to Putnam Co.

TJ Hart

News Talk 97.3 The Sky has learned that Ronald Cummings, the father of missing 6-year-old Satsuma girl Haleigh Cummings, has been transferred to the Putnam County jail after being jailed in Flager County on drug trafficking charges with his ex-wife and 3 others.

Lt. Johnny Greenwood told The Sky, "Investigators assigned to the narcotics investigation have determined that it is no longer necessary to keep Ronald Cummings segregated in this case, and the decision was made to return him to Putnam County. Each of Ronald Cummings charges for trafficking in prescription medications took place in Putnam County, and the proper correctional facility for him to be housed, pending his trial, is in Putnam County."

Cummings was arrested on charges of trafficking in controlled prescription medications along with former wife, Misty Croslin, Hope Sykes, Donna Brock and Misty's brother Tommy Croslin who has just been charged with three more crime not related this case.

Tommy Croslin faces new charges:
Burglary/Dwelling- Armed- Armed-Becomes Armed With Dangerous Weapon
Grand Theft -A Firearm
Grand Theft -A Firearm Less Than $300

CLICK TO READ THE PCSO REPORT - a must read - note page 5 .... "who is going to tell first?"

http://www.thesky973.com/pages/6240443.php
--------------------------------------------------------------
Seems there is some activity concerning Ronald Cummings. As of yesterday he was in custody, but now its seems he is en route to being transferred.

This is yesterday:

Offender Record

Offender ID: 74178

Offender Name: RONALD LEMYLES CUMMINGS

Date of Birth: 10/29/1983

Age: 26

Custody Status: In Custody

Location of Offender: FLAGLER COUNTY JAIL

Race: White
Gender: Male

This is today:

Offender ID: 74178

Offender Name: RONALD LEMYLES CUMMINGS

Date of Birth: 10/29/1983

Age: 26

Custody Status: Transferred

Location of Offender: Unknown Agency (hmmm - What agency?)

Race: White

Gender:Male

Is he being transferred to a different agency? Is He being bailed out? What ever is happening is interesting.

Mayport 2-Year-Old Dies After Brain Injury

Toddler Found Unresponsive In Home Earlier This Week; Police, DCF Investigating

POSTED: Friday, January 29, 2010
UPDATED: 5:04 pm EST January 29, 2010

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A 2-year-old who was found unresponsive earlier this week in a Mayport home has died.

The toddler was rushed to a hospital late Monday night when his mother and her boyfriend said they discovered that he was not breathing, according to police.

The case is still being investigated as an undetermined death.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Sgt. Scott Dingee said earlier this week child abuse was among the possibilities being investigated.

The Florida Department of Children and Families was also notified and began its own investigation, which is standard practice when a child is injured.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/22380414/detail.html

What is your theory of what happened the night Haleigh Cummings went missing?

Tell us what you think happened in the comment section below.......

Elizabeth Joanne Johnson (Gabriel Johnson) Docket as of 1/29/2010

View the Court minutes from the 1/25/2010 hearing

Case InformationCase Number: S-0700-CR-2010101760 view case minutes
Title: St of AZ Vs. Elizabeth Johnson Category: Unknown
Court: Maricopa County Superior Filing Date: 01/12/2010
Judge: UNKNOWN Disposition Date:

ELIZABETH JOANNE JOHNSON DEFENDANT - D 2 Date of Birth: 07/1986
Citation Count Description Disp. Date Disposition

1 KIDNAP *
2 CHILD/VULNERABLE ADULT ABUSE *
3 CUSTODIAL INTERFERENCE *
STATE OF ARIZONA PLAINTIFF - P 1

Case ActivityDate Description Party

03/09/2010 Initial Pretrial Conference D 2
03/09/2010 Initial Pretrial Conference P 1
01/26/2010 152 - ME: Not Guilty Plea Arraign D 2
01/25/2010 Original Arraignment Hearing D 2
01/25/2010 Original Arraignment Hearing P 1
01/21/2010 002 - ME: Hearing Vacated D 2
01/21/2010 CR Admin GJ Review D 2
01/20/2010 Preliminary Hearing D 2
01/20/2010 Preliminary Hearing P 1
01/15/2010 Status Conference D 2
01/14/2010 NSI - Notice of Supervening Indictment D 2
01/14/2010 IAD - Initial Appearance Document D 2
01/14/2010 606 - ME: GJ Not/Supervening Indictment D 2
01/14/2010 IND - Indictment D 2
01/14/2010 NSI - Notice of Supervening Indictment P 1
01/14/2010 IND - Indictment P 1
01/12/2010 DCO - Direct Complaint D 2

Search for Baby Gabriel may soon begin at east-side landfill

by KENS 5 staff
Posted on January 29, 2010 at 6:56 AM
******
The search for a missing Arizona baby last seen in San Antonio will continue Friday.

A section of an east-side landfill where police have been lately now has been staked off with indicators that show how deep to dig in an effort to find baby Gabriel Johnson's body.

However, police are not saying that the baby is dead.

But his mother, Elizabeth Johnson, has alluded to it, they say.

Johnson is currently being held in an Arizona jail.

Baby Gabriel hasn't been seen since Christmas, when police say his mother brought him to San Antonio.
Johnson told police she gave the baby to strangers. She later told the baby's father that Gabriel was dead.

Eyewitness News paid a visit to the Tessman Landfill on Thursday.

Both SAPD and the FBI are keeping tight-lipped about the investigation going on there.

But we've learned from the baby's father that there are at least three teams of detectives working on the search.
http://www.kens5.com/news/Search-for-Baby-Gabriel-may-soon-begin-at-east-side-landfill-83020582.html#

James Hataway - Court Docket as of 1/29/2010

Thank you Ghost Writer for the info!

Detailed Information for Case 592009CF002737A

Case Number: 592009CF002737A Judge: MCINTOSH, DONNA L.
Defendant Name: JAMES HATAWAY
DOB: 11/1980
Proceeding: DOCKET SOUNDING Courtroom: 5C
Court Date: 02-17-2010 Time: 08:30AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 BURGLARY OF A CONVEYANCE WITH A BATTERY
2 ROBBERY
3 FALSE IMPRISIONMENT
4 BATTERY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01/27/2010 MNF1 1ST AMENDED MINUTES FOR MOTION BEFORE JUDGE DONNA L MCINTOSH
01/27/2010 PRES DEFENDANT WAS PRESENT FOR MOTION
01/27/2010 MNFD DEFENDANT WAS IN CUSTODY
01/27/2010 MNFD STATE ATTORNEY ANNA VALENTINI WAS PRESENT FOR MOTION
01/27/2010 MNFD PD ALPHEUS PARSONS WAS PRESENT FOR MOTION
01/27/2010 DKSN DOCKET SOUNDING CONTINUED TO 02/17/2010 AT 0830AM IN COURTROOM 5C, AT CRIMINAL
01/27/2010 DKS1/27/2010 DKSN --JUSTICE BUILDING BEFORE JUDGE DONNA L MCINTOSH
01/27/2010 MNFD COURT HEARD STATE'S MOTION TO COMPEL THE DEPOSITION TESTIMONY OF COLT HICKOX.
01/27/2010 MNFD --ARGUMENTS WERE PRESENTED. COURT TOOK NO ACTION. CANCEL PRE-TRIAL
01/27/2010 MNFD --CONFERENCE PREVIOUSLY SET FOR 1/28/10. **CORRECTED MINUTES TO REFLECT
01/27/2010 MNFD --DEFENDANT PRESENT FOR MOTION HEARING**
01/27/2010 MNFD ALL CHARGES: DEFENDANT RETURNED TO CUSTODY.
01/27/2010 MNFD MINUTES FOR PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE BEFORE JUDGE DONNA L MCINTOSH
Read more.....

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- He's the only suspect in the case of missing Ocoee woman Tracy Ocasio, but new police papers say James Hataway has attacked before. The papers describe how Hataway dragged away another woman.

WFTV reporter Ryan Hughes spoke with an eyewitness to that attack. She says she was afraid this other victim could have disappeared just like Ocasio. The eyewitness said she thinks she saved the woman from being on the news, like Tracy Ocasio has been since she disappeared.

Karen Lowe gave Eyewitness News a chilling account of the attack and said James Hataway was the attacker.

The blood-curdling scream tipped off Lowe and her boyfriend that something was terribly wrong.

“He said somebody's having a really good time or somebody's in big trouble,” Lowe said.

It was August 2008 and Lowe lived in Seminole County. Newly-released police papers describe an incident in which a woman was attacked, allegedly at the hands of James Hataway.

“I just yelled out, ‘Are you okay?’ She just took that minute, ran to me screaming at me, ‘He's trying to kill me! He's trying to kill me!’” Lowe explained.

Lowe won't ever forget the condition the woman was in.

“Oh, she was just a bloody mess. Her face, her whole top of this area was red,” Lowe said.
read full story

Haleigh Cummings' family speaks about recent drug arrests

MATT SAFFER

WAWS TV
Members from both sides of Haleigh’s family talk about their loved ones incarceration.

Four days after Ronald Cummings and Misty Croslin were arrested on drug trafficking charges, their families are talking about the experiences they are having behind bars. Both Misty and Ronald have been able to make phone calls to their loved ones, and both say they are trying to keep in good spirits despite facing lengthy prison terms for trafficking prescription pain pills.

A judge has reduced Misty Croslin’s bond from $950,000 to $500,000. Misty’s family says even though her bond has been reduced, they still can’t afford to bail her out. Members of Misty’s family say Misty has contacted them a few times by telephone for 4 or 5 minute clips. We are told Misty has done a lot of crying on the phone, and has talked about going to Bible study while being under incarceration.

Ronald Cummings, Haleigh Cummings’ father, is sitting in a Flagler County jail cell by himself. His grandmother says he does have access to a telephone. She says Ronald has contacted them a few times but mainly talks about the search for Haleigh. Ronald’s grandmother also says visitation is only allowed once a week on Wednesdays, and this Wednesday will be the first time his mother will see him since he was locked away this past Thursday.

Haleigh’s Mother, Crystal Sheffield, has been granted emergency custody over Haleigh’s little brother. She says a Putnam County Judge determined it would be best that Ronnie Jr. stay with his mother while his father was behind bars.

Misty Croslin, Misty’s brother Hank “Tommy” Croslin Jr. , Ronald Cummings, Ronald’s cousin Hope Sykes, and a woman named Donna Brock all face drug trafficking charges for the illegal sale and possession of oxycodone and hydrocodone. If convicted, Ronald, Misty and Donna could face mandatory minimum sentences of 25 years in prison.

Casey Anthony attorney: Media should 'look at itself'

An attorney for accused child killer Casey Anthony said on the Today Show this morning that the media needs to "take a different look at itself."

The recorded comments from Andrea Lyon comes one day after Anthony, accused of killing daughter Caylee Marie Anthony, made headlines after being found guilty on six charges related to a check-fraud case.

The piece on the Today Show noted Monday's verdict and included information about the Anthony-inspired play in Australia called "Tot Mom."

When a reporter asked Lyon about the play's significance and coverage of the Anthony case, she said:

"It tells me that the media process needs to take a different look at itself. You know, it's one thing to cover a trial and cover a case. It's another thing to create one."

Lyon has been critical of the media in the past.

Anthony, 23, is being held without bond at the Orange County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder, accused of killing her daughter in 2008.

She pleaded not guilty in the murder case.

On Monday, she pleaded guilty to 13 charges in a check-fraud case.

Orange County Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland found Anthony guilty on six of the charges: one count of grand theft, four counts of check forgery, and fraudulent use of personal identification.

Strickland withheld adjudication for the remaining seven counts.

He sentenced Anthony to time served — 412 days she's already been jailed — and one year of probation. He also ordered her to pay the court and investigative costs associated with the check-fraud case.

Anthony was charged with stealing hundreds of dollars from a friend, Amy Huizenga, in July 2008.

Anthony is accused of using Huizenga's checks to buy more than $400 worth of clothes and groceries at area Target and Winn-Dixie stores.

Casey Anthony's attorneys want meter reader Roy Kronk investigated

Prosecutors have no doubt about the identity of 2-year-old Caylee Marie Anthony's killer. Her 23-year-old mother, Casey Anthony, did it, and she's the only suspect they ever had, they say.

But now Anthony's attorneys are stepping up efforts to put someone else under a microscope — the man who found the toddler's remains.

Roy Kronk discovered what was left of the toddler when he was a meter reader for Orange County in December 2008, nearly five months after the Anthony family reported her missing.

The idea that Kronk should be a suspect — an idea first raised by Anthony's defense team in November — is one experts that say is designed to raise doubts among jurors during Anthony's murder trial.

It's also an idea that's not going away anytime soon, even though Kronk and his attorney steadfastly dispute the allegation.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Anthony, who has pleaded not guilty.

This week, her lead attorney, Jose Baez, said on national television that she won't admit to guilt in the murder trial, as she did Monday in an unrelated check-fraud case.

On the same day Anthony was found guilty of six theft-related charges, a judge cleared the way for her defense team to dig up more on violence allegations in Kronk's past.

Orange County Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland is allowing her team to question Jill Kerley, one of Kronk's former wives, under oath.

Casey Anthony - From County Clerk Site - Motion Denied Jan 26

01/26/2010 Order Denying Without Prejudice, Def's Motion for Protective Order Prohibiting Orange County Jail from Videotaping Attorney Visits

A toddler's body found; Family of Aveion Lewis speaks out

UPDATED WEDNESDAY 11:30 PM

News7 sits down with the family of Aveion Lewis

News7 talked to Aveion Lewis' family Wednesday after police announced that the body of a small child found in a Roanoke County landfill may be that of the toddler.

Holding back tears, Chris Ward reacts to the news his nephew's body may have found.

"He was a fighter, he had a big heart," says Aveion's uncle Chris Ward.

As they wait for official word from the medical examiner's office, Aveion's family is trying to come to terms with the fact his remains may have been found in of all places a landfill.

"He didn't deserve, no kid deserve that. I couldn't even fathom another human being doing that to a child," says Ward.

The boy's step father Brandon Lockett so far has been charged with improper disposal of a body, felony child neglect, and obstruction of justice.

Initially he told police and News 7 the two year old was kidnapped from his home by three intruders nearly two weeks ago.

Police say Lockett admitted last week the boy was dead.

Online court records indicate a murder case will be presented to a grand jury on Monday and the grand jury could charge Lockett with murder.

"Personally, I hope they let him go. I hope they let him walk the streets... that's what I want. I just rather see him out here and get street justice than jail justice," says Ward.

Police declined to say whether Aveion's mother will eventually face charges.

The family is concentrating on making funeral plans. It looks like it will be held Sunday at 5 p.m. at St. Matthew's Word of Life Church.
-------------- Read More.....

All,

Recently
we had what we thought would be a break in the case when a person came forward
with a video that showed what they thought was Hataway and our daughter, but
after the police reviewed the tape it did not turned out to be. However we were
thankful to the person that came forward because we hope and pray one of these
days someone will come forward with information to help us break her case open.
I again ask you to please keep her name "alive" out in the
public eye to help us get information about her case.

I
was asked recently why we are "fixed" on James Hataway. I'm not
sure if sharing this will ever hurt our case in the long run but as of today we
do not have a case and maybe it might help get information so here we
go; when Hataway was brought in for questioning he accused an
acquaintance of his to have been responsible for her disappearance. Hataway
used to work for this guy from time to time cleaning out lake shores. His
name is Paul Hutto who ironically had an incident with our daughter at the
Taproom for which she called the cops and filed
charges. Hataway basically told the cops during questioning that Paul
Hutto had called him the morning Tracy disappeared and told him that if the
police would come to him asking about Tracy that he was to tell
them he did not see Tracy the night before or knew her. When the
fact came up that police would issue a warrant for the phone records
Hataway changed his story and instead claimed Paul Hutto instead came to his
house the morning she disappeared around 11:00 AM and again told him he better
not tell the police about Tracy. The police brought in Paul Hutto for
questioning and he had a solid alibi of his where about for the morning Hataway
claimed Paul came over. It appears Paul had car trouble and had witnesses and
receipts putting him in another place when Hataway claimed he came to his
house. In addition the incident at the Taproom between Paul Hutto and our
daughter was deemed very minor and not a reason that Paul or someone else would
harm her for it. As a matter of fact Paul helped the police there after by
showing them where they would dump debris and other wooded
areas where Hataway was known to either dump debris or hang
out. I want to point out that Paul Hutto is not a suspect and has been
cleared. These conflicting changing stories Hataway gave in addition to having
her phone ping right around his house and the fact he also changed stories
about her being in his house along the many other coincidences (last to see
her, car a straight 150 yards from his house, someone else dropped off her car
where it was abandoned, etc) makes us believe he either has harmed our daughter
or knows about what happened to her.

I
also want to share something that has been bothering me about "his
rights". When the questioning kept going back to him and his
involment with Tracy's disappearance he invoked his right to a lawyer and
the Ocoee detectives could not question him any longer without a lawyer. I want
to point out he did not get a lawyer in her case and does not
"technically" need to get one because he has not being charged
with anything on her case! So my understanding is the Ocoee detectives
can't interview him again unless they come up with evidence that would
force him to get a lawyer…..not that he would say anything at all even
if he had a lawyer and they could interview him again but to me is like
he's laughing at us!!

Last,
in regards to Hataway's Seminole county court case this Wednesday coming up my
wife Liz will be there. I unfortunally need to be at work but once the court
case gets going I will make arrangements to attend as well when I can.

Thank
you for your support during these difficult times,

Joe
Ocasio

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_homicide/2009/10/tracy-ocasio-case-person-of-interest-pointed-finger-at-boss.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+news_homicide+%28Orlando+Homicide+Report%29

Seminole prosecutors have eye witnesses in Hataway choking, beating case

SANFORD — A neighbor heard screams about 3 a.m., went outside, saw a man beating and choking a woman and knew right away who was hurting her, according to new evidence released Wednesday by prosecutors.
It was James Virgil Hataway, 29, the man who has since become better known as a person of interest in another case: the disappearance of 27-year-old Tracy Ocasio.
Hataway is not a suspect and has not been arrested in that case. Ocasio has not been found. She was last seen leaving an Ocoee bar with Hataway in May.
After she disappeared, Seminole County prosecutors charged Hataway in another case. He's charged with battery, false imprisonment, robbery and burglary with a battery in the Aug. 7, 2008, attack on a young woman near his home in south Seminole County.
He has pleaded not guilty and is in the Seminole County Jail awaiting trial.
Records released by prosecutors Wednesday shows that authorities have strong eye-witness evidence.
Neighbor Karen Lowe told deputies she saw the attack and recognized Hataway.
Her live-in boyfriend, Michael Fishell, told investigators he also saw the attack. In a written statement, he said he didn't recognize the attacker but saw that the man "had a woman suspended in the air with both hands around her neck."
Fishell took the woman inside, and she told him her attacker was Jimmy Hataway, Fishell said.
Although deputies searched for Hataway that night, they did not find him. He was not arrested until nearly a year later, June 12, 2009.
more to follow........
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-hataway-roommate-20100127,0,5131535.story

Search warrants in Shaniya Davis case unsealed; phone had explicit photos

By Drew Brooks

Staff writer

Police investigating the disappearance of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis found explicit pictures of a child on a phone belonging to the suspect in the child's murder, according to unsealed court documents.

Mario Andrette McNeil's phone was seized by police after his arrest Nov. 19, the warrants say. The Fayetteville man is charged with kidnapping, raping and murdering Shaniya.

Search warrants in the case were unsealed this week by a Cumberland County Superior Court judge. Read More...

Cummings Crew - Status as of Jan 28th

Offender Record

Offender ID: SJSO10MNI002273

Offender Name: MISTY JANETTE CUMMINGS

Date of Birth: 12/09/1991

Age: 18

Custody Status:In Custody

Location of Offender: ST. JOHNS COUNTY JAIL

Race: White

Gender: female

Offender Record

Offender ID: 74178

Offender Name: RONALD LEMYLES CUMMINGS

Date of Birth: 10/29/1983

Age: 26

Custody Status: In Custody

Location of Offender: FLAGLER COUNTY JAIL

Race: White

Gender: male

Offender Record

Offender ID: SJSO10MNI002272

Offender Name: HANK THOMAS CROSLIN

Date of Birth: 08/02/1986

Age: 23

Custody Status: In Custody

Location of Offender: ST. JOHNS COUNTY JAIL

Race: White

Gender: male

Offender Record

Offender ID: SJSO10MNI002270

Offender Name: DONNA MICHELLE BROCK

Date of Birth: 11/27/1965

Age: 44

Custody Status: In Custody

Location of Offender: ST. JOHNS COUNTY JAIL

Race: White
Gender: Female

HOPE ANTWANETTE SYKES

PALATKA, FL
Booking Date & Time: 1/3/2010 8:22:50 AM - Booking#: 10-00026
Release Date & Time: 1/3/2010 9:49:00 AM
DOB: 3/24/1991 - RACE: W - SEX: F
Charges Misd/Felony Degree Bond Bond Posted
893.13-6a DRUGS-POSSESS CNTRL SUB WO PRESCRIPTION F T $1,004.00 1/3/2010 9:51:49 AM
$1,004.00

Smile Nancy! You're on TV

Last Updated: 7:59 AM, January 28, 2010

Posted: 1:13 AM, January 28, 2010

Nancy Grace has lost her bid to bar cameras from her deposition today in a wrongful death lawsuit.

A Florida judge ruled that HLN's "Nancy Grace" host can be videotaped while answering questions in the suit, bought by the estate of Melinda Duckett, who committed suicide in 2006 the day after taping a combative phone interview on Grace's TV show.

Duckett was on the show to talk about the disappearance of her 2-year-old son, Trenton. Grace demanded to know where she was on the day of the boy's disappearance.

Duckett's family blames Grace for inflicting "emotional distress" on Duckett, which led to her suicide. (She shot herself the day the interview was scheduled to air.)

While Grace can be videotaped today, the tape cannot be shared with "any third party," and no portion of Grace's testimony can be disclosed without the federal magistrate's permission.

Trenton Duckett has never been found.
http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/smile_nancy_you_re_on_tv_DL3rw1gQ3PLjY7Cxohz2SK

Ronald Cummings jailhouse interview-Same old song and dance

Ronald Cummings said detectives wasted no time asking him about his missing 6-year-old daughter after police arrested him on drug charges last week, according to a phone conversation with a Florida Times-Union reporter.Cummings said questions from investigators immediately turned to Haleigh following his arrest."They just told me that their main focus is not on putting me in jail but finding Haleigh," Cummings said in the recorded conversation from his Flagler County jail cell. "They already know that I don't know nothing about Haleigh's disappearance, or otherwise I would've already been in DOC."

Cummings also talked about what he'd do if he ever finds the person responsible for the girl's disappearance last February.

Uncut Audio:

Ronald's Jailhouse Interview

Video:

Investigators Ask About Girl

"Kill him. Same thing I said on the 911 call. I'm telling you, I haven't changed my mind not a bit," Cummings said. "I don't care if they get me with unjustifiable homicide. I don't care. If I find out what happened to my youngin it doesn't matter to me. It will be worth life without parole or the death penalty."Cummings' conversation with the reporter turned from Haleigh to his ex-wife, Misty Cummings, the last person to see his daughter, and whether Ronald thinks Misty knows more than she's telling.

"It's hard to believe she doesn't know more, but it's also hard to believe that if she did know more she ain't already talked," Cummings said. "Especially if they got her locked up like they got me.""I want my family to know I love them, my girlfriend to know I love them, my kids to know I love them, Haleigh to know I'll never give up on her," Cummings added. "This is a setback in my life that when I come out will remind me what I should be doing and not what I was doing, what I'm being accused of doing."

http://www.news4jax.com/news/22358352/detail.html

James Virgil Hataway

http://www.wftv.com/video/19633159/index.html

UPDATE (thank you Ghost Writer) -
GhostWriter said...

This video takes place on Tuesday, June 02, 2009. It seems the judge and prosecution are confused with Jim Hataway's back ground. Prosecution is upset because he doesn't have some of his records. The court stumbles upon his record and are confused. Seems he used a alias as a youth, James Virgil. His court representative is flabergasted, you can hear him comment, "you did this at 14?" Jim replies that he doesn't remember.

This happens at the sweet age of 14, in the year 1994. The case number is CJ5470, sixteen years ago. It startles the judge, she states that is is relevant, "prior history of kidnapping especially in adjudication of guilt." Seems Jim has a prior record in which he doesn't recall. He pleaded guilty to kidnapping and bodily harm. The judge revokes bond.
Thursday, January 28, 2010 9:53:00 AM

Remains identified as missing Virginia Tech student

By Maria Glod

Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 27, 2010; 5:25 PM

When Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington went missing Oct. 17, her family began a tireless search. Now they are focused on honoring the memory of the bright young woman, and searching for her killer.

Virginia State Police said Wednesday that human remains found on a farm southwest of Charlottesville have been conclusively identified as Harrington's.

Her parents, Daniel and Gil, and her brother, Alex, gathered Wednesday at the Copeley Road railroad bridge in Charlottesville where Morgan Harrington was last seen alive. The bridge, once a spot where the family came to pray and plead for their daughter's return, has become a memorial of flowers and notes.

"At least we now have some peace and we're able to have some closure today," Daniel Harrington said. "We now need to find the person who did this, and we will not stop until that person is brought to justice." Read More...

Misty Cummings and Donna Brock

On Friday, January 8, 2010, at approximately 0200 hours, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Special
Agent (SA) , SA , Putnam County Sheriffs Office (PCSO) Detective (Det.) ••••
Det ,Det. and Det. I,and Lieutenant (Lt.) met at a
pre-determined location, where a briefing was conducted. It was determined that Det..would act as an
undercover officer (UC) and attempt to purchase a large quantity of "Endocet" (Oxycodone) pills from Misty
Cummings.
Through previous recorded telephone calls with Det.••• and Cummings, Cummings agreed to sell "Endocet"
(Oxycodone) pills to Det_ The calls are summarizeabelow:
Call #1: Cummings advised Det._ that she was coming from Virginia and was offering to sell Det." a large
quantity of 7.5 mg "~ndocet". (Oxycodone) prescription pills .. Cummings told Det.~t~at s~e and Brock had "a
lot of them". Cummmgs advised Det." that they had the pills and could meet Det.. tonlqht.
Call #2: Misty Cummings told Det. .that she would call him back from another telephone. Cummings stated
that she does not like to talk on her telephone.
Call #3: Det._asked Cummigs if "she" (Donna Brock) wanted to sell an entire prescription, to which
: Call #3: Det._asked Cummigs if "she" (Donna Brock) wanted to sell an entire prescription, to which
Cummings stated that "she" (Brock) would do as many as Det..wanted to purchase. Cummings stated that
she was traveling and would be in Brunswick, Georgia at 0223 hours. Cummings stated that "she" (Brock) does
not live where Cummings lives and that "she" (Brock) lives in Orlando. Cummings told Det.• that "she"
(Brock) needed that money. Cummings told Det. ~hat they could meet at 0400 hours. Cummings told Det.
• that she would call Det. _ Det. _and Cummings agreed to meet and complete the transaction at
Interstate 95 in St. Augustine. Cummings asked Det.• for a ride from St. Augustine to Putnam County, to
which he agreed. Oet.,.. advised Cummings that he might be able to buy the "whole script", to which
Cummings told Oet. _ that "she" (Brock) had "a really lot" of prescription pills. Cummings stated that "she"
(Brock) had a thousand dollars worth of prescription pills. - Read More....

Judge: Nancy Grace's Deposition Can Be Videotaped

TV Host To Answer Questions In Lawful Death Lawsuit
Posted: 10:59 am EST January 26, 2010Updated: 8:07 am EST January 27, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A judge has ruled that talk show host Nancy Grace can be videotaped while answering questions in a Florida wrongful death lawsuit. But lawyers representing Melinda Duckett's family can't share the recording with "any third party" or disclose any portion of the testimony without the federal magistrate's permission. Grace's lawyers wanted to bar the videotaping to spare Grace embarrassment. Duckett's family is suing the host of HLN, formerly CNN Headline News. They blame her for inflicting emotional distress on the 21-year-old Florida mother during an appearance on her talk show in 2006 after her son Trenton went missing. Grace accused Duckett of hiding something. Duckett shot and killed herself the day the taped interview was scheduled to broadcast. ___ Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/

Baez: No Plea Deal In Casey's Murder Case

Posted: 3:40 pm EST January 26, 2010Updated: 3:51 pm EST January 26, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A member of Casey Anthony's defense team says there will be no plea deal in her murder case.Eyewitness News was in court Monday when Casey Anthony pleaded guilty to check fraud. Monday night on CNN, Jose Baez said that does not mean Casey would be pleading guilty to murder.Baez said Casey is not guilty and the case would be going to trial. A trial date has not been set.Casey is accused of killing her daughter Caylee Marie Anthony.

CASEY: "I JUST WANT TO LET EVERYONE KNOW I’M SORRY"Casey Anthony arrived in court just before 1:30pm and entered a guilty plea to check fraud charges followed by an apology. Casey, who is charged with killing her young daughter, was wearing a light blue button down shirt and a pair of grey slacks, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail (see images).During the hearing, it came out that prosecutors had offered Casey a 5-year sentence on the charges she stole and used checks from her former best friend, Amy Huizenga; it's more than she wanted and it's more than she ended up getting. She got credit for the 412 days she's already spent in jail. She also has to pay almost $6,000 in court and prosecution costs, which she says is too high.

Casey sat at a table with her attorneys, Jose Baez and Andrea Lyon. Judge Stan Strickland presided over the hearing. Also in court as the hearing got underway were Casey’s parents, George and Cindy, their attorney, Brad Conway, WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer and WFTV reporter Kathi Belich. - Read More....

Remains of Morgan Harrington found , waiting for confirmation

Albemarle Co., VA - Updated: 5:05 p.m. Thursday

State Police say they are "confident" that the remains found in southern Albemarle County this morning are those of 20-year-old Morgan Harrington. State Police Superintendent Steve Flaherty says an autopsy will be conducted to confirm that the remains are those of Morgan Harrington, who disappeared on Oct. 17.

The skeletal remains were found by a farmer surveying his farm. The farm is about 10 miles from where Harrington attended the concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville.

This announcement was made at a 5:00 p.m. press conference.

Tuesday afternoon, Gil and Dan Harrington rushed to a farm in Charlottesville, Va. about an hour's drive northwest of Richmond, to determine if remains found there were of their 20-year-old daughter who vanished during a Metallica concert Oct. 27, 2009.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01/26/crimesider/entry6143910.shtml

http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0110/699755.html

Baby Gabriel's Mother Due Before an Ariz. Judge Today - Jan 25th

After More Than a Month, the Search for Gabriel Continues

By CHRIS CUOMO, RICH McHUGH and SABRINA PARISE
Jan. 25, 2010—

Elizabeth Johnson, the mother of missing 8-month-old Gabriel, is due before an Arizona judge today when she is expected to plead not guilty to charges that include kidnapping, child abuse and custodial interference.

Johnson, 23, and the boy's biological father, Logan McQueary, were in the middle of a custody dispute when she fled Arizona with Gabriel before Christmas. Johnson allegedly sent text messages to McQueary, saying she had killed their son and left his body in a trash bin.

She later changed her story and said she gave the baby to a random couple she met in a San Antonio park. Police have not been able to confirm that that couple exists.

Another Arizona couple who said they were in talks with Johnson to adopt the baby said they also had no idea of his whereabouts, although police have named them as persons of interest for potentially withholding information.

McQueary held a vigil last night in Scottsdale, Ariz., with his friends and family. He said he still holds out hope that his son, who has been missing for more than a month, will be found alive and returned home safely.

"I hope he comes back soon," McQueary said. "I want him back more than anything else."

Johnson has refused to speak to investigators, which has put them and the prosecution in a difficult position.

It's the dilemma of, you have somebody incarcerated but you really need their help in finding this baby, and so the real key is communication between the police and Elizabeth because that relationship will get you that piece of information that you need," Brad Garrett, an ABC News consultant and former FBI agent, said. - Read more...

PCSO: Croslin-Cummings Investigative Reports - TheSky973.com

Posted: Tuesday, 26 January 2010 3:46PM

PCSO: Croslin-Cummings Investigative Reports
TJ Hart

News Talk 97.3 The Sky was able to obtain the investigative reports concerning the mutli-jurisdictaional drug bust in Putnam County involving the trafficking of controlled prescribed medications.

We have decided to link the reports so that you can read them as WSKY received them from Lt. Greenwood at the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

Incident 336
Incident 359
Incident 398
Incident 510

Official Warrants in the Putnam Co. Drug Bust:
http://multimedia.jacksonville.com/WMV/pdfs/Cummings_%20Croslin_Brock_%20Sykes_Warrants.pdf

http://www.thesky973.com/pages/6210686.php

In Melinda Duckett Suicide Case, Nancy Grace Wants to Silence Cameras

ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS/AP) Melinda Duckett took her own life after suffering "emotional distress," her family claims, during an appearance on the Nancy Grace Show.

The family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the CNN talk show host, but Grace, who appears nightly on national television, is fighting to silence the cameras when she is deposed by the family's lawyers.

Duckett, a 21-year-old Florida mother, was on Grace's show in 2006 after her son Trenton went missing.

Grace grilled the woman, accusing her of hiding something. Duckett shot and killed herself the day the taped interview was scheduled to broadcast.

Grace's attorney wants a federal judge to prohibit the videotaping of her client Thursday or prohibit the release of the deposition if it's videotaped. The attorneys say it's necessary to protect Grace from embarrassment.

Grace is a host of the "Nancy Grace Show," a crime program on Headline News, which is owned by CNN.
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01/26/crimesider/entry6143293.shtml

Police: Mayport Child Has Brain Injury

2-Year-Old Flown To Shands With Life-Threatening Injuries

MAYPORT, Fla. -- A 2-year-old child hospitalized Monday night after having difficulty breathing is in critical condition, and both police and child welfare workers are investigating.

About 7:30 p.m., the boy's mother and her boyfriend called Navy police from their home in the 1000 block of Valley Forge Court, off-base housing near the Mayport Naval Station.

Department of Defense police and firefighters responded and the boy was flown to Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center by air ambulance.

Jacksonville police were notified about 11:15 p.m. that the boy was found unresponsive with extensive injuries.

"He apparently has some kind of brain injury, but we're not sure as to what it is and why," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Sgt. Scott Dingee told WOKV overnight.

Homicide detectives were investigating the circumstances and questioning the couple. Dingee said child abuse was among the possibilities being investigated.

Channel 4 learned that the Florida Department of Children and Families was also investigating since it was not clear what led to the child's injuries.

Casey Anthony’s Body Language in Court Reflects Phony Non- Tears, Fake Sniffles, and An Empty Apology

by: Dr. Lillian Glass - Body Language Expert

CASEY’S ENTRANCE

Casey Anthony entered the courtroom with a nauseating smirk. The smirk and smile did not leave this sociopath’s face as she looked “excited” to have all the attention focus on her. She was wide-eyed and consistently maintained her smile, as she finally said to Andrea Lyons “I’m excited.”

Even though the sound wasn’t up for anyone to hear, my Utley lip-reading skills that I learned about as an undergraduate speech pathology major, back in the day, stood me well.

I was able to read Casey’s lips as she mouthed those words, as she smiled all the while. At first, I didn’t believe that I actually read those words on her lips, so I rewound the video. Low and behold, my eyes were not playing tricks on me after all. She definitely spoke those words. I was even more nauseated and disgusted by Casey Anthony then ever before.
EXCITED ???????EXCITED ABOUT WHAT???

Was Casey EXCITED by the fact :

---that she stole money from her best friend and ran up her bills and was now on trial for doing that ?

---that she is now a full fledged felon????
---that she is the center of attention?
---that she had some lines to memorize, courtesy of “screenwriters” Andrea Lyon and Jose Baez and didn’t want to flub those well rehearsed lines during her verbal acting debut in court.
---that she had her lines down pat and was excited to recite them in court???

All of the above ???

VOCAL “TELL”S OF DECEPTION .....Read More....

Tap Room Terminator 5 Part Series

A Chat House Exclusive Series

Casey: "I just Want To Let Everyone Know I'm Sorry"

(Where were these tears the first 31 days little Caylee was missing?)

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony arrived in court just before 1:30pm and entered a guilty plea to check fraud charges followed by an apology. Casey, who is charged with killing her young daughter, was wearing a light blue button down shirt and a pair of grey slacks

Casey sat at a table with her attorneys, Jose Baez and Andrea Lyon. Judge Stan Strickland is presiding over the hearing. Also in court as the hearing was getting underway were Casey’s parents, George and Cindy, their attorney, Brad Conway, WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer and WFTV reporter Kathi Belich.

The hearing started quickly, with attorney Jose Baez, with Casey at his side, offering a guilty plea to the court on the 13 charges related to check fraud and Casey was immediately sworn in.

"Please state your name," Judge Strickland told Casey.

“Casey Marie Anthony,” she replied.
The judge then asked Casey questions about the submitted plea and confirmed that she was aware of the meaning of the plea she was entering, that she’s giving up the right to go to trial and that she wasn’t coerced into making it.

“Five years [in jail], in our position, is extremely absurd,” Baez argued regarding the sentencing they are requesting with the plea. "We simply ask that she receive equal justice under the law."

Baez went on to explain the circumstances and made arguments about the type of sentence any other person in this situation, with no prior convictions, would get and then stated what he was seeking.

Casey Anthony found guilty of several check fraud charges

Watch Court Hearing
part one
part two

Casey Anthony was found guilty this afternoon in several of the 13 check fraud charges she faced.

The 23-year-old woman entered a plea this afternoon to Orange Circuit Judge Stan Strickland. The judge found her guilty in six of the charges and withheld adjudication in seven. She was given credit for 412 days of time served in jail and one year of probation.

Casey Anthony was also ordered to pay $348 in court fees and $5,517.75 in investigative fees.

Anthony was accused of stealing hundreds of dollars from a friend, Amy Huizenga, in July 2008. Investigators have said Casey Anthony used Huizenga's checks to buy more than $400 worth of clothes and groceries at area Target and Winn-Dixie stores.

After the sentencing, a tearful Casey Anthony addressed the court and apologized to her friend for stealing the money.

"I'm sorry for what I did," Casey Anthony said. "I sincerely apologize to Amy, I wish I would have been a better friend."

Anthony and a slew of lawyers gathered in Orange County Circuit Court for the check fraud case and to discuss two other motions in the unrelated murder case.

Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony.

Strickland also heard arguments from lawyers on two motions:

The defense wants to depose — question under oath — the ex-wife of Roy Kronk, the meter reader who found Caylee's remains in December 2008. Anthony's defense claims testimony from Jill Kerley, who was married to Kronk for about four months, is material because it will introduce evidence that Kronk should be a suspect in the case. Kerley lives in Tennessee and because of an illness cannot travel to court in Orange County, the defense stated

Aja Johnson is Believed To Be With Lester Hobbs, a Person of Interest In Her Mom's Murder
An Amber Alert has been issued for a 7-year-old girl who authorities believe may be with the man who is a person of interest in the murder of her mother this weekend.

An Amber alert has been issued for a missing 7-year-old girl whose mother was later found dead inside an Oklahoma home. She is believed to be with Lester HObbs, her mother's estranged husband who is wanted for questioning in her murder.
(Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation)Aja Johnson, described as a 65-pound, 4-foot tall young girl with brown eyes and brown hair, and was last seen Saturday evening at her Geronimo, Okla., home.
Her abduction is believed to have occurred sometime before 9 p.m. Sunday, when the body of her mother, 37-year-old Tonya Hobbs was found dead in her RV by authorities at the Comanche County Sheriff's Office.

Does Baez even check these people out before throwing their names out there?

After reading that Kronks Ex-Wife is testifying and looking around, it seems it takes one to defend one... ?

Read about the court docs on Baez's new witness...

See what you think -

Link one
Link two

Casey Anthony Hearing Jan 25, 2010 1:30 PM Watch Live

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/subindex/our_programs/live

2-Year-Old Aveion Malik Lewis Dead; Kidnapping a Hoax

January 23, 2010 by Saul Relative
Roanoke, VA

Brandon Lockett Admitted to Authorities that Aveion Lewis was Dead Before 911 Call

The stepfather of missing 2-year-old Aveion Malik Lewis has now admitted that the child was dead before placing a call to 911 and spinning a kidnapping hoax to elude capture, according to Roanoke (Virginia) Police.

Read more...

Casey Anthony fraud case: Something appears to be in the works — we may find out Monday - OrlandoSentinel.com

Casey Anthony fraud case: Something appears to be in the works — we may find out Monday - OrlandoSentinel.com
By Sarah Lundy, Orlando Sentinel

9:39 AM EST, January 24, 2010

What's going to happen Monday when accused child killer Casey Anthony appears in court to face fraud charges filed against her?

A trial was supposed to start — but that was canceled. Neither the state nor the defense has asked for more time to prepare. No new trial date has been set.

Hmmm. Something's in the works.

Prosecutors aren't talking. Defense attorney Jose Baez hasn't responded to calls or text messages from the Orlando Sentinel.

Anthony, 23, is accused of taking her friend's checks to buy more than $400 worth of clothes and groceries at Target and Winn-Dixie stores. Security video shows her writing out checks in the summer of 2008.

Investigators also say she withdrew $250 from the bank and tried to pay a $574 phone bill, but there wasn't enough money left in her friend's Bank of America account. In July, Baez repaid $664 on behalf of his client to the bank.

The check charge is the least serious of the crimes of which Anthony is accused. She is being held without bail in the Orange County Jail as she awaits trial on a first-degree murder charge.

Several things could happen Monday. Some options: ...Read More....

Exclusive: P.I. Claims Group Will Post Bond for Misty and Tommy Croslin

TJ Hart

As you heard first on TheSky973.com, the arrests of Ronald Cummings, Misty Croslin, Tommy Croslin, Hope Sykes and Donna Brock took place Wednesday evening and stemmed from a tip from a source with knowledge of the alleged dealing of oxycodone and hydrocodone, according to Putnam County Sheriff's officials.

Misty Croslin is facing six counts of trafficking in prescription medications. Three counts of the same charge are pending against Cummings and one against Hank Croslin Jr., Sykes and Brock, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Misty Croslin is being held in lieu of $950,000 bail; Cummings, $500,000; Brock, $250,000; Sykes, $150,000; and Hank Croslin Jr., $100,000.

Ronald Cummings is the father of missing 6-year-old HaLeigh Cummings of Satsuma, FL who was abducted from her home February 9, 2009. Misty Croslin was babysitting the girl and her younger brother that night and was the last person to see her. Croslin and Cummings married a few weeks later and got a divorce a few months ago.

Private investigator William "Cobra" Staubs called 97.3 The SKY Friday morning to announce that he is acting as a media representative for a group who is seeking to post bail for Misty Croslin and Tommy Croslin. Staubs called the SKY Newsroom midday Friday to make that clarication and that he does not personally want to see the two out of jail.

Staubs once led a pro-bono investigation into HaLeigh Cummings' disappearance and was the source who revealed to the public via 97.3 The SKY, FOX News Channel, Headline News and several online news sites that drugs played a prominent role in the domestic lives of Ronald Cummings, Misty Croslin, her family and perhaps might have been a factor in the child's abduction.

Staubs left his independent investigation shortly after his arrest on charges of false imprisonment regarding the temporary cuffing of an accused capital child sex predator shortly after the man reportedly caused trouble at the HaLeighbug Information Center in Satsuma, FL where children were present.
Misty Croslin, Hank Croslin Jr. and Brock are incarcerated in the St. Johns County Jail. Cummings was moved to the Flagler County Jail. Sykes is in the Putnam County Jail.
All but Sykes were moved to jails outside of Putnam County for security reasons. Ronald Cummings and Misty Croslin were placed in separate jails to avoid the possibility of communication between them.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement Agent Dominick Pape said that potential maximum sentences if convicted are: Misty Croslin, 74 years; Cummings, 43 years; Brock, 25 years; Sykes, 15 years; and Hank Croslin, three years.

Haleigh's mom regains custody of girl's brother

Haleigh Cummings' brother is now in the custody of his mother following the arrest of Ronald Cummings.

"He's already gone," Annette Sykes, paternal grandmother of Haleigh, said Friday afternoon. "It's really hard with his daddy gone to let him go. He has been with us all of his life."

The state Department of Children and Family Services confirmed Friday that Junior was taken into the custody of his mother, Crystal Sheffield, as decided by the judge.

"The first priority of DCF is the safety of all children," John Harrell, a spokesman for DCF, said.

Haleigh was reported missing from her Satsuma home on Feb. 10, where she lived with her younger brother, Ronald Junior, in the custody of Ronald Cummings.

Cummings and the children's biological mother, Crystal Sheffield, have been estranged for several years.

Sheffield's former attorney, Kim Picazio, was glad to hear the news.

"It looks like the amount of bond will keep Ronald in jail for a while, so naturally the child would go to the biological mother in this case," Picazio said. "It is definitely the safest place for Junior."

Cummings was jailed Wednesday evening along with Haleigh's former stepmother, Misty Croslin; her brother, Hank "Tommy" Croslin Jr.; Cummings' cousin, Hope Sykes; and former Equusearch volunteer Donna Brock.

The five were arrested following a month-long narcotics investigation that involved the trafficking of Hydrocodone and Oxycodone within St. Johns and Putnam counties.

Street value of the drugs was estimated at $3,900.

Sykes declined to comment as to whether she knew the drug trafficking was taking place.

"Right now we are just basically numb," Sykes said.

Arraignment is expected to take place in mid-February, Chris Kelly, State Attorney's Office spokesman, said.

Charges include:

Guilty Plea Expected Monday In Casey Check Fraud Case

ORLANDO, Fla. -- There is a major hearing coming up in the case against Casey Anthony. On Monday January 25 at 1:30pm, for the first time, the public could actually hear Casey Anthony admit she's guilty of something

In Monday's hearing, Casey is expected to plead guilty in her check fraud case. Casey's defense team will also make several motions Monday in the murder case.

Casey may go to trial for her daughter's murder as a convicted felon. That could be the most significant outcome Monday if Casey goes through with her defense’s plan to offer a plea in her check fraud case.

Casey is planning to take her plea directly to the judge, with the hopes of a more lenient sentence on charges she stole her ex-best friend's checks, forged them and cashed them to buy beer and clothes. Casey will have to stand up in court and admit to it.

“Own it. Take responsibility for it, without equivocation,” WFTV legal Analyst Bill Sheaffer said.

read more

No Bond Posted Yet for Suspects in Putnam Co. Drug Arrests

TJ Hart

All five suspects arrested Wednesay on drug trafficking charges in Putnam County remained behind bars as of Saturday morning despite an announcement made by a private investigator on behalf of a group of people rumored to be from Nevada who expressed interest in bonding out two of the suspects, Misty Croslin and Tommy Croslin.

As you heard first on TheSky973.com, the arrests of Ronald Cummings, Misty Croslin, Tommy Croslin, Hope Sykes and Donna Brock took place Wednesday evening and stemmed from a tip from a source with knowledge of the alleged dealing of oxycodone and hydrocodone, according to Putnam County Sheriff's officials.

Misty Croslin is facing six counts of trafficking in prescription medications. Three counts of the same charge are pending against Cummings and one against Hank Croslin Jr., Sykes and Brock, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Misty Croslin is being held in lieu of $950,000 bail; Cummings, $500,000; Brock, $250,000; Sykes, $150,000; and Hank Croslin Jr., $100,000.

Ronald Cummings is the father of missing 6-year-old HaLeigh Cummings of Satsuma, FL who was abducted from her home February 9, 2009. Misty Croslin was babysitting the girl and her younger brother that night and was the last person to see her. Croslin and Cummings married a few weeks later and got a divorce a few months ago.

Private investigator William "Cobra" Staubs called 97.3 The SKY Friday morning to announce that he is acting as a media representative for a group who is seeking to post bail for Misty Croslin and Tommy Croslin. Staubs publicly stated that he does not personally want to see the two out of jail, but agreed to make the announcement onbehalf of the group.

Staubs once led a pro-bono investigation into HaLeigh Cummings' disappearance and was the source who revealed to the public via 97.3 The SKY, FOX News Channel, Headline News and several online news sites that drugs played a prominent role in the domestic lives of Ronald Cummings, Misty Croslin, her family and perhaps might have been a factor in the child's abduction.

Staubs left his independent investigation shortly after his arrest on charges of false imprisonment relating to the temporary cuffing of an accused capital child sex predator shortly after the man reportedly caused trouble at the HaLeighbug Information Center in Satsuma, FL where children were present.

Misty Croslin, Hank Croslin Jr. and Brock are incarcerated in the St. Johns County Jail. Cummings was moved to the Flagler County Jail. Sykes is in the Putnam County Jail.

All but Sykes were moved to jails outside of Putnam County for security reasons. Ronald Cummings and Misty Croslin were placed in separate jails to avoid the possibility of communication between them.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Agent Dominick Pape said that potential maximum sentences if convicted are: Misty Croslin, 74 years; Cummings, 43 years; Brock, 25 years; Sykes, 15 years; and Hank Croslin, three years.

http://www.thesky973.com/pages/6187301.php

Kronk's Ex-Wife To Give Testimony Monday

Kerley Believes Kronk Should Be Considered Suspect In Caylee's Death

POSTED: 3:07 pm EST January 22, 2010
UPDATED: 6:25 pm EST January 22, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony's attorneys will try to gain sworn testimony Monday from a woman who said Roy Kronk should be considered a suspect in Caylee Anthony's death.

Kronk is the meter reader who found the 2-year-old's remains in a wooded area off Suburban Drive, near the Anthony family home, in December 2008 and denies having anything to do with her death.

The testimony will come from Jill Kerley, Kronk's ex-wife.

"The more I think about it, the more my gut's telling me that he had something to do with it," Kerley said.

Anthony's defense team will argue that they need Kerley's testimony as soon as possible because she is sick with cancer.

During a turbulent marriage, Kerley said Kronk twice restrained her with duct tape. The allegations are potentially significant because Caylee's skull had duct tape across the mouth, according to investigators.

Anthony's attorneys will argue Monday that they should be allowed to introduce Kerley's testimony that she believes Kronk should be "considered a suspect" in Caylee's death.

Read more...

Legal Analyst Bill Sheaffer on Casey Anthony Case

Judge Strickland had made it very clear on numerous occasions: the criminal check charges pending against Casey Anthony will be resolved via a trial or a plea, on or by Monday, January 25, 2010. A trial was widely anticipated by most observers. However, based upon reliable information and observation of the conduct of both the State and Defense, all indications now point to a change of plea as opposed to a trial.

If we are correct in our conclusion, let’s then examine the mechanics of a change of plea in Florida state courts. When a Defendant decides it is in his best interest to forego a trial on his charges, withdraw his plea of not guilty, and enter a plea of either nolo contendere (no contest) or, guilty, this change is generally accomplished in one of two ways. The defense attorney has negotiated a deal with the Assistant State Attorney assigned to the case, in which event both the State and the Defense will know exactly what the terms, conditions and the sentence and will be prior to the plea hearing. Or, should the defense attorney be unable to come to an agreement with the State that is satisfactory to his client, the other option would be to plead to the charges, (either guilty or no contest) directly to the judge and let the judge decide the appropriate sentence.

Read more...

Shaniya Davis Case Updates: Antoinette Davis' February court date

January 19, 5:27 PM
Raleigh Headlines Examiner
Loretta Arnold

Antoinette Nicole Davis is scheduled to appear in the Cumberland County Courthouse on February 18, 2010. Many have been confused about court dates surrounding the Shaniya Davis case.

The North Carolina Court System website has offered little in detail, if any at all, sending mixed signals to researchers of the Shaniya Davis case. However, the District Attorney's office has confirmed that the next court date for Antoinette Davis will be February 18, 2010 in the Cumberland County Courthouse.

Antoinette Davis, 25, was charged with human trafficking, felony child abuse involving prostitution, filing a false police report and interfering with a police investigation. Davis has not been charged with the murder of Shaniya Davis, her biological daughter.

Antoinette Davis remains in the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh just 2.44 miles from Central Prison where Mario McNeill is located.

Mario McNeill, 29, was charged with first-degree kidnapping, first-degree rape and first-degree murder. McNeill's next court date will be tomorrow in courtroom 2B surrounding the kidnapping charges as it too may not bring new updates to the case surrounding murdered Shaniya Davis. His second February court date will be on February 27th.

Read more....

Autopsy Report For Five-Year-Old Shaniya Davis Released

(Fayetteville, NC) -- Medical examiners have released the autopsy report for a five-year-old North Carolina girl allegedly sold by her mother as a sex slave and later murdered.

According to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, injuries on Shaniya Davis' body were consistent with a sexual assault.

The report lists asphyxiation as the likely cause of death.

It goes on to say the body was in the early stages of decomposition when it was found by the side of a road not far from Shaniya's hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina back in November 2009.

Police believe 29-year-old Mario Andrette McNeill was the last person to see Shaniya alive.

He has been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape of a child.

The girl's mother, Antoniette Davis, has been charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution.

Both are being held in isolation cells at Central Prison in Raleigh.
http://mystateline.com/content/fulltext/?cid=128942

Mom Gets Custody Of Haleigh's Brother

Ronald Cummings Jr.'s Dad, Others Arrested Wednesday On Drug Charges

POSTED: Friday, January 22, 2010
UPDATED: 3:20 pm EST January 22, 2010

PALATKA, Fla. -- An emergency hearing was held in Palatka on Thursday over who should get custody of Ronald Cummings Jr. after his father was arrested on drug charges.

Crystal Sheffield, whose daughter Haleigh Cummings has been missing since February, was awarded custody of her son.

Ronald Cummings Sr. is being held in the Flagler County jail, while his ex-wife, Misty Cummings, and her brother Hank Croslin Jr., who were also arrested on drug charges, are being held in the St. Johns County jail.

Sheffield was to pick up her son Friday afternoon.

If you have any information about where Haleigh may be, call Crimestoppers at 888-277-TIPS.
http://www.news4jax.com/news/22315918/detail.html

Peterson brother: Stacy was in barrel

CHICAGO, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The stepbrother of accused killer Drew Peterson says he helped Peterson remove his fourth wife's body from the couple's suburban Chicago home.

Thomas Morphey testified during a pretrial hearing in Will County Court he and Peterson carried a heavy blue container to Peterson's pickup truck in October 2007, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

Morphey said he believed the body of Peterson's wife, Stacy, was inside the container.

After the two put the container in the back of Peterson's truck, Morphey testified Peterson told him, "This never happened."

"I won't tell a soul," Morphey said he replied.

Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police officer, is accused of murder in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Salvio.

He is a suspect in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson but has not been charged.

Morphey acknowledged he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He said he has been treated for drug and alcohol abuse.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/01/22/Peterson-brother-Stacy-was-in-barrel/UPI-15381264178669/

Cop admits mistakes in Savio case

By Steve Schmadeke
Tribune staff reporter
1:33 p.m. CST, January 22, 2010

A retired Illinois state police sergeant admitted there were numerous shortcomings in his investigation that led to the conclusion that the death of Drew Peterson's third wife was an accident.

"I'm not going to beat myself up right now, you can second-guess anything," Patrick Collins testified today. "Looking back now, everything could have been important. But at that particular moment, I was looking for things that were more obvious." Savio was found dead in an empty bathtub in her home in 2004. After Peterson's fourth wife Stacy disappeared more than three years later, investigators exhumed her body, ruled her death a homicide and charged Peterson with murder.

Collins took the stand today during a hearing to determine what hearsay evidence, if any, should be allowed in Peterson's murder trial.

Collins said a crime scene technician considered the death an accident, and that assessment colored his view of what happened because he had never investigated a murder before.

Read more....

Prosecutors: NY mom repeatedly abused kids, pets

Prosecutors: NY mom repeatedly abused kids, pets

Thursday January 21, 2010
Prosecutors: NY mom repeatedly abused kids, pets

FRANK ELTMAN
Associated Press Writer

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) - A Long Island woman pleaded not guilty Thursday to abusing her children and family pets, sometimes forcing the children to witness her torturing animals to death, prosecutors said.

"This is a case where a mother subjected her children to the most unimaginable and horrific living conditions that I have ever seen," Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said. "These kids were beaten, they were starved, they lived in absolutely horrendous conditions within their own household and this was done intentionally by the mother."

Sharon McDonough, 43, killed numerous kittens and dogs, stashing the dead cats in the trash, and burying 42 dead dogs in the backyard of her Selden, Long Island, home, Spota said. The dogs were buried, he said, because some had identifying microchips implanted in them and McDonough feared being discovered if the carcasses were found in the trash.

The children were not only abused, but were forced to witness the deaths of family pets, the prosecutor said.

"Our investigation found evidence she wrapped duct tape around a cat's nose and mouth and hung the animal from her child's bunk bed, killing the cat," Spota said, adding the woman's "11-year-old daughter witnessed the cruelty."

Read more.....

Casey Anthony: What’s the real story? We’ll find out Monday

WFTV, WKMG — posted by halboedeker on January, 21 2010 2:13 PM

At noon today, WFTV-Channel 9 was still crowing that it had broken the story about a plea deal in the Casey Anthony check-fraud case.

Maybe a plea deal will happen on Monday at a hearing. There’s a lot of room to speculate because neither prosecutors nor the defense is talking.

Yet WFTV’s Kathi Belich has been responsible for confusion in her reporting. After reporting the plea deal on Tuesday, she started talking on Wednesday about a “plea to the bench” in which Judge Stan Strickland would decide Anthony’s sentence.

But a plea to the bench is not a plea deal. The terminology undoubtedly confused viewers.

Contrast what WFTV offered with what WKMG-Channel 6 has reported. WKMG reported there is no plea deal because there was no agreement by the state and the defense to such a deal.

WKMG’s Tony Pipitone explained the “plea to the judge” and added more detail.

“A court source tells me Strickland talked on the phone with both the state and the defense before canceling next week’s trial date,” Pipitone said. “That’s something lawyers say they often see when a plea is in the works.”

And Pipitone aded: “Now we are not saying a plea deal is likely, because a deal would mean the state and defense agree on what they recommend Judge Strickland should do at sentencing. But it’s possible Casey Anthony could just plead to the bench, as it’s called. Tell the judge she pleads either no contest or guilty to some of the charges filed against her and leave sentencing up to the judge.”

We’ll learn more at the hearing at 1:30 p.m. Monday. And Casey Anthony could always change her mind then, Pipitone noted.

WFTV keeps boasting about its plea-deal exclusive. For now, perhaps WFTV should say it was first to speculate there was a plea deal.

Who is right? We’ll find out on Monday.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/01/casey-anthony-whats-the-real-story-well-find-out-monday.html

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Posted: 3:40 pm EST January 26, 2010Updated: 3:51 pm EST January 26, 2010

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