Chat House News: July 2011

Sex offender hunt is linked to teen nursing student's abduction

Posted: Jul 28, 2011 4:40 PMUpdated: Jul 31, 2011 7:52 PM

PARSONS, TN (WBTV & WMC) - Authorities have revealed that a sex offender has gone missing and they are investigating that case in relation to the disappearance of a nursing student in April.

Holly Bobo, 19, was seen being led away from her home into woods. Her brother said in mid-April he saw a man with her and authorities later found blood at the home.

Now, more than 3 months later, nearby sheriff's detectives say there is a sex offender that they can't find in the Parsons area.

The search for all sex offenders in the area started just after Bobo disappeared – and Victor George Wall, 44, has not turned up, according to the Decatur County Chronicle.

http://www.wbtv.com/story/15167080/sex-offender-search-linked-to-nursing-students-disappearance

Mom on pills crashed car with kids in it, Maitland cops say

A 32-year-old mother from Casselberry was arrested in Maitland early Saturday, after police said she crashed her car with her daughters inside while driving under the influence of prescription pills.

An officer reported hearing a loud crash about 7:15 a.m. and saw that a U-turn sign on the U.S. Highway 17-92 median had been knocked down, according to an arrest report.

The officer then spotted a white Kia pulling into the parking lot of a nearby Publix. Police said the driver, Brenda Michelle Singletary, claimed she didn't know how she arrived in the lot.

Casey Anthony: Is probation coming her way? Stations disagree

Will Casey Anthony be going back on probation? WESH-Channel 2 and WKMG-Channel 6 saw the issue differently tonight.

“It is still possible that Casey Anthony will be ordered to come out of hiding to come back to Orange County to begin serving a yearlong probation,” WESH’s Bob Kealing reported.

Kealing, citing a source in the clerk’s office, said a clarification order is being drawn up to bring Anthony back to Orange County to serve a year’s probation for check fraud. Judge Stan Strickland could sign the order on Monday, but Strickland wasn’t available for comment today. Strickland had intended the probation for check fraud to start after she left jail.

Woman Accused Of Killing 5 Babies Charged With Murder (Video)

Kyron’s Wall of Hope moving to Beaverton gym

Posted: Jul 30, 2011 1:11 AM EDT

Updated: Jul 30, 2011 1:21 AM EDT

By FOX 12 Staff

BEAVERTON, OR (KPTV) -
The Wall of Hope, a tribute to missing child Kyron Horman, will soon have a new home.

Kyron was last seen in June 2010 at Skyline School in northwest Portland. People started leaving photos, cards and flowers on a fence at the school after he disappeared.

It was later moved to a nearby fire station. Now, it will be taken to the Xtreme Edge Gym in Beaverton.
Read more at www.kptv.com

Casey Anthony: 'She served her probation,' State Attorney's Office says

Confusion lingered Friday over whether Casey Anthony should have to serve a year of probation in her check-fraud case now that she is out of jail.

Circuit Judge Stan Strickland said Thursday that his intention in sentencing Anthony last year was that she should go on supervised probation if released from custody. But she left the Orange County Jail on July 17 with no restrictions following her acquittal at trial in the death of her child.

The Orange County Clerk of Courts office confirmed Friday that it was working to amend the wording in one of Anthony's sentencing documents to more accurately reflect Strickland's intentions.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/caylee-anthony/os-casey-anthony-probation-served-20110729,0,642541.story

New Photo Surfaces of Hailey Dunn

Seven months after Hailey Dunn went missing, the story has gone from a local search to taking over national headlines.

But the face that's been all over billboards and fliers everywhere, may not even look like the missing teen. A new picture has surfaced showing Hailey a week before she went missing, and when compared to the older photos, some are finding the differences alarming.

"It doesn't look like the same picture that we posted," exclaimed Patricia Trichel, the mother of Naomi Dunn, Hailey's Father's fiance.

READ MORE HERE AND WATCH VIDEO:

http://bigcountryhomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=395907

Clay Waller arrested on two separate charges

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) -

Clay Waller has been arrested and charged with 2 separate crimes unrelated to his wife's disappearance.

According to the Cape County prosecutor's office Clay Waller was arrested around 6 Friday evening.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle says Waller has been charged with a class B felony of stealing by deceit.

The stealing by deceit charge stems from an investigation of Waller appropriating a check in the amount of $55,000 from the Delta Companies on or about April 23, 2010 with the purpose to deprive them of the money, according to Cape Police.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.kfvs12.com/story/15177340/dont-go-live-clay-waller-arrested-on-warrant

Judge Perry grants bond for free-speech zone violator

Mark Schmidter, who was sent to jail earlier this week for violating free-speech zones and handing out jury information pamphlets during the Casey Anthony trial, was just granted a bond to leave jail while he appeals Judge Belvin Perry's contempt sentence.

Perry granted Schmidter a $1,000 bond Friday morning, allowing him to bail out of jail later that afternoon.

His attorney, Adam H. Sudbury, also said the appeal on this issue could take years going up through the 5th District Court of Appeal, the Florida Supreme Court and possibly all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

DNA shows dead girl in burning home is missing Mariha Smith, 5

The charred remains of a little girl found in a home Sunday are those of missing 5-year-old Mariha Trenice Smith.

Dennis Niemiec, a spokesman for Wayne County, said the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office was notified by police this afternoon that a DNA test to determine the identity of the burned girl was positive for Mariha.

“We just got confirmation a little while ago,” he said.

He said the family has been notified.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.freep.com/article/20110729/NEWS01/110729048/DNA-shows-dead-girl-burning-home-missing-Mariha-Smith-5?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Casey Anthony sightings popping up in Northeast Ohio

Couple questioned after alleged Madeleine McCann sighting

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Investigators: Father of missing Morenci boys looked up how to break a neck

The father of three missing Morenci children last seen around Thanksgiving pleaded no contest this morning to criminal charges of unlawful imprisonment, but not before the judge revealed his conflicting, chilling statements to investigators.

Whether the plea deal with Lenawee County Prosecutor Jonathan Poer will lead to an explanation of what happened to Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton, then ages 9, 7 and 5, is unclear.

John Skelton, who has been jailed on a multimillion dollar bond since his arrest shortly after Thanksgiving at an Ohio hospital where he was receiving treatment for an alleged suicide attempt, entered pleas today before Lenawee County Circuit Judge Margaret Noe.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110728/METRO/107280463/Investigators--Father-of-missing-Morenci-boys-looked-up-how-to-break-a-neck#ixzz1TX9JHpFG

Local lawyer retained for possible suit against Casey Anthony

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Attorney Spencer Kuvin said Friday he has been retained by a California producer to explore the possibility of suing Casey Anthony and her attorney Jose Baez for filching on $1 million tell-all interview.

Al Taylor, of Private Elevator Productions, claims he sealed the deal with Anthony and Baez shortly after the 25-year-old was released from an Orlando jail on July 17 following her acquittal on charges of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Kuvin said. Taylor claims a third party, who Taylor thought was working with him, stole the interview. Kuvin declined the name the third party.

Kuvin, president of the Palm Beach County Justice Association of trial lawyers, said he will explore filing a breach of contract lawsuit against Anthony and Baez.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/casey-anthony-local-lawyer-retained-for-possible-suit-1670789.html

Casey Could Be Ordered Back To Orange Co. - Video - WESH Orlando

Documents: Girl who died in box suffered abuse for months

PHOENIX - Court documents show a Phoenix girl who was found dead earlier this month in a box was also a victim of various forms of abuse over the last several months.

Police arrested four family members in the case Wednesday night for putting the 10-year-old girl in the box overnight as punishment earlier this month.

Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump said 10-year-old Ame Deal's grandmother, aunt and two cousins each face charges in the girl's death.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/south_phoenix/phoenix-police%3A-4-family-members-arrested-in-girl%27s-death

Offers roll in for Anthony's car

ORLANDO (WESH/NBC) - Offers are rolling in for one of the most iconic pieces of evidence in Casey Anthony's murder trial - her white Pontiac Sunfire.

The car is still in the possession of the Orange County Sheriff's Office, which said the car can be picked up anytime by George and Cindy Anthony, who own the car.

Their attorney, Mark Lippman, said he's been getting calls from people interested in buying the car.

The car was thought to be key to proving the state's murder case against Casey Anthony.

Numerous witnesses took the stand saying how the car smelled like it had contained a dead body.

"There are collectors of macabre things. Apparently, this falls into that category now," Lippman said.

Inmates help raise money for Zahra Baker playground

TAYLORSVILLE, NC (WBTV) – The Kiwanis fundraising effort to build a playground in memory of Zahra Baker got a boost on Thursday from a group of inmates in the Alexander Correctional facility.

The Men's Club there raised $650 through the sale of hamburgers and added another $350 from other donations and sales.

The $1000 total was presented to Annette Setzer who has been spearheading fundraising efforts at her Chik Fil A store in Hickory.

Judge Strickland Sentences Casey Anthony - Casey Anthony Extended Coverage - WESH Orlando

Elizabeth Smart on Missing Girl Celina Cass

Caylee Anthony song unleashes tirade on radio airwaves

It started mostly as a way for Tampa radio jock Cledus T. Judd to vent on how little attention was focused on deceased 2-year-old Caylee Anthony after her mother's acquittal on murder charges.

But Judd has seen interest in the ballad he wrote, She's Going Places (Caylee's Song), become supercharged by passions over the Casey Anthony trial. It's spawned more than 700,000 hits on various YouTube videos, attention from R&B singer Brian McKnight and a profanity-laced fight Thursday between local radio guys Orlando Davis and Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.

"This was done as a labor of love," Judd said of the tune, fashioned from a song he originally co-wrote with Rascal Flatts singer Gary Levox for the hit country band, which was never used. Levox contributed a few lines to the rewrite, which was sung as a ballad by studio vocalist Shane Hines.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.tampabay.com/features/media/caylee-anthony-song-unleashes-tirade-on-radio-airwaves/1182989

DNA test expected soon to determine if body is missing Mariha Smith

Detroit — Investigators are awaiting a DNA test to determine if a body found in a vacant house on the west side is that of 5-year-old Mariha Trenice Smith, who disappeared from a home about a mile from the scorched dwelling.

"I really do feel my grandbaby's (alive)," grandmother Diane Henry, 45, said Wednesday afternoon. "It's in my heart."

Mariha was last seen around 3:30 a.m. Sunday sleeping on the floor of her aunt Quanita Smith's home on the 3800 block of Burlingame Street.

Detroit firefighters found a body matching Mariha's description in a burned vacant house on the 2900 block of Waverly Street, but needed to run DNA tests because Mariha had no dental records.

Detroit Police are holding Quanita Smith after she failed some aspect of a lie detector test earlier this week, Henry said. Police can hold her for more than 48 hours because she had outstanding traffic violations, Sgt. Eren Stephens said. She added police are looking for Mariha and treating the two cases separately.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110728/METRO01/107280398/DNA-test-expected-soon-to-determine-if-body-is-missing-5-year-old#ixzz1TUtoW6lo

Family of missing five year old keeps searching From The Detroit News

Detroit — Konesha Smith is determined not to let anything stop her from finding her 5-year-old daughter, especially not the boarded-up doors of vacant houses on the west side.

Mariha Trenice Smith has been missing since Sunday, and for the past five days, her family has searched and posted fliers around the neighborhood, asking for information on her whereabouts, hoping she's alive.

Investigators said Thursday they are awaiting a DNA test to determine whether a body found in a burned vacant house a mile from where she went missing belongs to Mariha.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110729/METRO01/107290385/Family-of-missing-5-year-old-determined-to-keep-searching#ixzz1TUrns0Ex

Will Casey Anthony face probation?

Phoenix police arrest 4 in death of girl found in container

Phoenix police have arrested four family members in connection with the death of a 10-year-old girl whose body was found in a plastic container July 12.

Police arrested two cousins of Ame Deal and charged them with her murder. Her grandmother and aunt were also arrested and were charged with neglect and fabricating the story.

Police did not identify the family members by name, but said the aunt was the child's legal guardian.

Pamela Long guilty/Billings Murder

Jurors have convicted Pamela Long for being an accessory in the 2009 deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings.

Six jurors had deliberated about an hour today before reaching their decision that she helped hide a safe owned by the Billingses and took guns to Mississippi following the couple's death.

She faces 45 years in prison on the charges when she is sentenced Sept. 2.

The jury of four women and two men deliberated for about seven hours Wednesday but could not reach a verdict.

Slain U.K. girl's mom was targeted by tabloid

British schoolgirl Sarah Payne, 8, who was murdered by a pedophile in 2000.

(Credit: AP Photo/Family photo via PA)

(CBS News)

LONDON — The News of the World tabloid did more than cover the grisly details of the 2000 murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne at the hands of a pedophile.

The paper owned by Rupert Murdoch spearheaded a long and ultimately successful push to help launch Sarah's Law (similar to Megan's law in the U.S.) requiring more public disclosure about known sex offenders.

The cause of Sarah's mother, Sara Payne, and that of her charity organization, Phoenix Chief Advocates, was championed by the paper's former editor, Rebekah Brooks, who even gifted the girl's mother with a cell phone with which she could stay in touch with the paper.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/28/world/main20084879.shtml

Casey's White Sunfire

BBQ fundraiser being held to help family of Rebecca Herrera

The San Antonio Police Officers Union is holding a BBQ fundraiser Thursday to raise money for the family of 6-year-old Rebecca Maria Herrera. Herrera died Saturday when she suffocated inside a microwave in her family's backyard. She was playing a game of hide-and-seek when she hid inside the appliance.

Services for Herrera will begin today. A visitation is planned for Thursday at Porter Loring Mortuary from 10am on McCullough. The rosary will start at 7pm. Funeral services are set for Friday.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/BBQ-fundraiser-being-held-to-help-family-of/VYm4ImMPQk67q4s6NBXNow.cspx

Sex offender arrested for operating train ride at mall

Missing New Hampshire Girl: FBI Joins Search for 11-Year-Old Celina Cass

New Hampshire authorities plan to double their manpower today and have enlisted the FBI in the search for missing 11-year-old Celina Cass.

Celina's parents last saw her at a computer in her bedroom on Monday evening. By Tuesday morning, she had vanished from the family's Stewartstown home. Friends and family described the girl as a shy fifth grader who would never run away or leave with a stranger.

Today, authorities will pore through Celina's computer and phone records, looking for any clues into her disappearance.

Celina Cass is missing

July 26, 2011

Missing Juvenile from Stewartstown

The New Hampshire State Police is seeking the public's help in locating a missing juvenile from Stewartstown, NH.

Celina Cass

Age: 11

Height: 5 feet 5 inches

Weight: 95 lbs.

Color Eyes: Hazel

Color Hair: Brown (waist length)

Last seen wearing: pink shirt, pink pullover, blue shorts and shoes

Celina Cass

Celina was last seen at her residence on Washington Street at 9:00 p.m. last night.

Anyone with information is asked to call the New Hampshire State Police at 603-846-3333.

FBI joins search for girl missing from NH town/Celina Cass

STEWARTSTOWN, N.H. -- The disappearance of an 11-year-old girl from her house just a mile from the Canadian border rattled nerves in her small town Wednesday as crews searched the Connecticut River and cordoned the house with police tape.

Celina Cass was last seen in her house at a computer around 9 p.m. Monday and was gone the next morning, authorities said. Police have said that there's no indication she ran away or that someone took her, and there are no signs of a struggle.

Jacque Waller missing: Plans to leave volatile marriage on-again, off-again Continue reading on Examiner.com Jacque Waller missing: Plans to leave vo

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Missouri (Isabelle Zehnder reporting) -- On Wednesday, friends and family of missing Missouri mother of triplets, Jacque Sue Waller, spoke out saying Jacque’s plans to leave her volatile marriage were on-again, off-again, and for good reason.

After months of trying to leave her husband last March Jacque finally walked away from her 15-year marriage to James “Clay” Waller. But, her friends and family say, it was an uphill battle.

Jacque said all she wanted was out - out of the marriage and away from the fear and dread of living another day with a man who she believed was capable of murder.

Two of Jacque’s good friends, Kristin and Elizabeth, said that for over a year before she went missing Jacque told them that Clay repeatedly threatened to kill her and her three kids.

http://www.examiner.com/missing-persons-in-national/jacque-waller-missing-why-plans-to-leave-her-husband-wereon-again-off-again

Shots fired at Detroit vigil for missing girl, 5

A vigil for a 5-year-old Detroit girl reported missing over the weekend was disrupted by scuffles breaking out and the sound of gunfire.

No injuries were reported.

TV stations WDIV and WXYZ captured the sound of multiple gunshots at the Tuesday night vigil in Detroit for Mariha (mah-RY'-ah) Trenice.

Casey Anthony: FDLE, MBI report what it cost to investigate Caylee's disappearance, Casey Anthony

By Anthony Colarossi and Amy Pavuk, Orlando Sentinel

11:31 a.m. EDT, July 27, 2011

Some of the costs associated with investigating Caylee Marie Anthony's disappearance and the murder case against her mother Casey Anthony have been tallied.

Assistant State Attorney Linda Drane Burdick filed itemized investigative costs Wednesday from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation.

Costs from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the lead agency that investigated the case, have not been reported. An agency spokesman told the Orlando Sentinel earlier this week they hoped to have a total by Friday.

Pittsburgh Man Convicted In Double-Homicide

After the verdict, Jones’ attorney, Blaine Jones, said the acquittal of Casey Anthony in Florida may have played a role in the verdict against his client.

“I think there is truly a backlash with the Casey Anthony verdict,” said Blaine Jones.

“The court of public opinion. This person's guilty. Where, as in a court of law, you look at the evidence. I think that's going to be difficult to overcome for quite some time.”

Blaine Jones said he plans to appeal the verdict.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.wpxi.com/news/28678662/detail.html

Nathan Sloop set for court hearing

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

July 27th, 2011 @ 8:50am

By Shara Park

FARMINGTON -- A man accused of killing his 4-year-old stepson is scheduled to appear in court for an evidentiary hearing.

Prosecutors say Nathan Sloop killed Ethan Stacy last year and dumped his body in the mountains.

Sloop's hearing is expected to last three days. During the proceedings, prosecutors will present the evidence they have against Sloop.

This story made national headlines last year when Ethan went missing. His body later was found buried near Powder Mountain in Weber County. Court documents list "severe abuse" as the cause of his death.

Jacksonville FBI Office Demonstrates with its Crime-Solving Tools/ Haleigh Cummings

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Behind the reinforced fence of steel off Gate Parkway is a restricted area that is by far one of the most secure places in Jacksonville.

It is the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where 125 people work to protect you and solve crimes.

MORE: Inside the FBI: Still on the Lookout for Terrorists in Jacksonville

"Some of them never get solved. Some of them you think you know who did it, but it never gets solved," said Special Agent in Charge James Casey.

He said one of those puzzling unsolved cases is the disappearance of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings in 2009. "We have no reason to believe that Haleigh was taken out of state," said Casey. Haleigh was never found.

Hailey Dunn's grandmother says she could be dead

COLORADO CITY, TX (KCBD) -

Wednesday will be seven months since Colorado City teen Hailey Dunn vanished.

Investigators say they are still continuing to follow leads, but some are giving up hope she will be found alive.

"She's all I think about - I don't think of anyone else. Thinking that I may never see her again," Connie Jones, Hailey's Grandmother, said.

Parents of missing Missouri mom, Jacque Waller, hope for break in case, says report

July 26, 2011 3:32 PM

(CBS/AP) COLUMBIA, Mo. - The parents of missing Missouri mother Jacque Sue Waller said Monday they are hoping for a break in the case this week, after Waller's father said "blood evidence" was recovered from the home of his daughter's estranged husband, according to a report.

Nearly two months have passed since 39-year-old Jacque, mother of triplets, went missing on June 1, the same day family members say she and her estranged husband Clay Waller planned to visit a divorce attorney in southeast Missouri.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20083653-504083.html

Judge to decide if woman competent to stand trial in daughter-in-law's kidnapping death

Posted: 12:55 PM
Last Updated: 2 hours and 21 minutes ago
By: Tina Kaufmann, newsnet5.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A woman charged with kidnapping her daughter-in-law from Akron, with her husband and son, is scheduled to face a judge Tuesday afternoon.

Sandra Inman is back in jail after trying to commit suicide. A judge is expected to decide if she's competent to stand trial.

The woman's husband, William Inman, and their son, are all charged in connection with the kidnapping and gruesome murder of Summer Inman.
Read more at www.newsnet5.com

Body of missing Louisville girl found about two miles downriver from home

Jessie Halladay
and Chris Quay

12:26 PM, Jul. 26, 2011 |

The body of a 2 ½-year-old girl reported missing from a home along Dixie Beach Road in southwest Jefferson County Monday has been found in Hardin County.

About 7:15 a.m., Louisville Metro Police river patrol officers and the U.S. Coast Guard discovered the body about 300 yards southwest of the Salt River, said Lt. Barry Wilkerson, head of the metro police homicide unit. The Salt River is the border between Jefferson and Hardin counties.

The body was found along the shore at West Point on the Kentucky side of the river about two miles downstream from the house where the missing child lived.
Read more at www.courier-journal.com

Interview: Adam Longoria calls Eyewitness News (Video)

Jacque Waller Search: Husband Clay Waller Proclaims Innocence

By YUNJI DE NIES and JESSICA

HOPPER

July 22, 2011

The estranged husband of Jacque Waller, the Missouri mom of triplets who has been missing for seven weeks, is proclaiming his innocence despite reports of blood evidence being found in his home.

Jackson police have labeled Clay Waller, who is a former cop, a person of interest in his wife's disappearance. The couple was in the midst of a separation when Jacque Waller disappeared on June 1. Her husband was the last person to see her alive.

"I want her to come home alive," Clay Waller said.

The 39-year-old missing mom's family say she is afraid of her husband.

READ MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/US/jacque-waller-search-husband-clay-waller-proclaims-innocence/story?id=14132414

Search will resume at dawn for toddler missing along Ohio River

http://www.wave3.com/story/15144712/nightfall-suspends-search-for-toddler-missing-along-ohio-river?redirected=true

Longoria's phone, visitation privileges revoked

Published: 7/25 3:56 pm

Updated: 7/25 3:57 pm

GREAT BEND, Kansas

– Telephone and personal visitation privileges for Adam Longoria, the man charged with the murder of 14-year-old Alicia DeBolt, have been severed except for arranged visits from immediate family.

Judge Hannelore Kitts, who has also said his attorneys must first screen any mail Longoria sends, ordered a court order revoking the privileges Friday after he conducted an interview with a local TV station from his jail cell.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October 5.
Read more at www.ksn.com

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Phoenix police have arrested four family members in connection with the death of a 10-year-old girl whose body was found in a plastic container July 12.

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