First appearance for suspect in boy's decapitation
A father accused of decapitating his 7-year-old disabled son made his first appearance in court Tuesday without entering a plea, his newly appointed lawyer said.
Police say Jeremiah Lee Wright has admitted killing 7-year-old Jori Liritte, who had cerebral palsy and was unable to speak or feed himself, and intentionally leaving the boy's head where his mother would find it. The 30-year-old suspect appeared before a judge in Lafourche Parish, attorney Kerry Cuccia said.
Judge Bruce Simpson set a September 16 arraignment date, and prosecutors have until December to bring formal charges against Wright, Cuccia said.
Cuccia, a lawyer with the Capital Defense Project of Southeast Louisiana, was named to defend Wright during the hearing and had not had a chance to discuss the case with his client, he said. Asked about the accusations against Wright, he said, "The only thing I know of the allegations is what I read in the press."
Though a capital defense lawyer, Cuccia said it was "too early to tell" whether Wright would face a death-penalty prosecution.
"The one thing I am confident of is that the Lafourche Parish district attorney will look at all the evidence before he determines how to proceed," Cuccia said.
A volunteer firefighter spotted Jori's head by the side of a city street in Thibodaux, about 65 miles southwest of New Orleans, on Sunday, police said. Wright initially tried to tell police the head was from a CPR dummy but eventually admitted to investigators that he had killed the boy, they said.
"During the interview, Wright said he was taking care of (the child) for so many years, and he just started to look at him as no longer his son, just an inanimate object," Thibodaux Police Chief Scott Silverii said. "He and the child's mother had some issues. And he purposely put the child's head in a position for her to see it."
Silverii said police had responded to at least one other recent call at the house, a domestic argument over money.
This makes me sick and heart broken. I want to beat the living piss out of the father for even thinking that his actions were justifiable in its self. It doesn't matter if your child is disabled. But to fucking do this? Not only do you kill your own flesh and blood but to fucking behead them and then leave the head on the mother's door step? She will never be the same and I am sick to know this man calls himself a human being. I hope to god he gets the death penalty. Just down right disgusting, DISGUSTING. I can't even finish my morning coffee my stomach has turned. Ugh.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
'Barefoot Bandit' cuts deal for movie; profits will go to victims'
August 12, 2011 -- Updated 1458 GMT (2258 HKT)
"Barefoot Bandit" Colton Harris-Moore, 20, sold movie rights to his life story.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- 20th Century Fox disputes reports it paid $1.3 million for movie rights
- Colton Harris-Moore awaits sentencing after a federal plea deal
- He has said money will go for restitution for victims
Los Angeles (CNN) -- "Barefoot Bandit" Colton Harris-Moore has sold the movie rights to his life story to 20th Century Fox, a studio spokesman said Thursday.
The Fox spokesman, however, said reports the studio paid $1.3 million for the right were "highly exaggerated."
Harris-Moore, 20, was a teenager when he took a two-year joy ride running from the cops, which ended last year with his arrest in the Bahamas.
As part of a plea deal, Harris-Moore agreed to give up any profits that may come from book or movie deals on his story.
His attorney, John Henry Browne, has said his client wants any such money to go to the victims. Harris-Moore is estimated to owe more than $1.4 million in restitution.
Harris-Moore led law enforcement on a wild ride across nine states and three countries. He stole, flew and crashed five airplanes.
His final journey took him across eight states, leaving behind a trail of home and business break-ins and stolen cars.
Surveillance video shows him taking off in a stolen plane from Bloomington, Indiana, heading to the Bahamas. Harris-Moore lasted a few more days before police stopped him by shooting up a stolen boat while Harris-Moore was stuck on a sand bar.
Harris-Moore's plea deal is expected to result in a 10-year prison term when he is sentenced in late October. He also faces an assortment of state charges.
This is kind of interesting. Then again what was he going to do with the money behind bars?
Monday, August 8, 2011
Video shows white teens driving over, killing black man, says DA
August 8, 2011 -- Updated 0252 GMT (1052 HKT)
Hate crime? Killing caught on video
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- James Craig Anderson, 49, was run over and killed on June 26
- Authorities say a group of white teens targeted Anderson because he was black
- The suspected ringleader, Deryl Dedmon, Jr., 18, has been charged with murder
- Dedmon faces possible double life sentence for the murder
Editor's note: The following story contains language some readers may consider offensive.
Jackson, Mississippi (CNN) -- On a recent Sunday morning just before dawn, two carloads of white teenagers drove to Jackson, Mississippi, on what the county district attorney says was a mission of hate: to find and hurt a black person.
In a parking lot on the western side of town they found their victim.
James Craig Anderson, a 49-year-old auto plant worker, was standing in a parking lot, near his car. The teens allegedly beat Anderson repeatedly, yelled racial epithets, including "White Power!" according to witnesses.
Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith says a group of the teens then climbed into their large Ford F250 green pickup truck, floored the gas, and drove the truck right over Anderson, killing him instantly.
Mississippi officials say it was a racially motivated murder. What the gang of teens did not know was that a surveillance camera was focused on the parking lot that night, and many of the events, including the actual murder of Anderson, were captured live on videotape.
CNN has exclusively obtained that surveillance tape. The group of teens that night was led by 18-year-old Deryl Dedmon, Jr., of Brandon, Mississippi, according to police and officials.
Deryl Dedmon, Jr., right, could face two life sentences in connection with the killing. John Aaron Rice, left, has been charged with simple assault.
"This was a crime of hate. Dedmon murdered this man because he was black," said Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith. "The evidence will show that."
Asked if there could be any doubt whether the intent was to actually hurt and kill a black person, Smith responded: "No doubt about it. They were going out to look for a black victim to assault, and in this case, even kill."
RELATED TOPICS
Dedmon led and instigated the attack from early in the evening, he took part in the beating of Anderson, and Dedmon was also the actual driver of the Ford 250 truck that would serve as the murder weapon, according to officials.
As the teens were partying and drinking miles away from Jackson that night, in largely white Rankin County, Dedmon told friends they should leave, saying "let's go fuck with some niggers," according to law enforcement officials.
Then, the gang of teens climbed into Dedmon's green truck and a white SUV Cherokee, and drove 16 miles down Interstate 20, to the western edge of Jackson, a predominantly black area.
The teens would have seen Anderson immediately as they exited the highway, as the parking lot where he was standing is just beside the exit ramp.
"This is the first business that you get to coming off the highway and so that was the first person that was out here and vulnerable," said district attorney Smith.
On the videotape, obtained and reviewed by CNN, the group of teens is seen pulling into the parking lot, and stopping where Anderson is standing, though he is just off camera and not visible.
The teens can then be seen going back and forth between their cars and Anderson. Witnesses told law enforcement officials this is when the repeated beatings of Anderson took place.
Dedmon pummeled Anderson repeatedly as he crumpled to the street, according to officials, though this is not visible in the videotape. Finally, after the beating some of the teens left and some got into the green truck.
At this moment on the video, Anderson becomes visible, as he staggered into view and walked towards the headlights of the truck. The truck suddenly surges ahead, running over Anderson, then continuing at high speed away from the scene.
Shortly after he allegedly drove the truck over Anderson, Dedmon allegedly boasted and laughed about the killing, according to testimony given by some of the teens to detectives.
"I ran that nigger over," Dedmon allegedly said in a phone conversation to the teens in the other car.
He repeated the racial language in subsequent conversations, according to the law enforcement officials.
"He was not remorseful he was laughing, laughing about the killing," said district attorney Smith.
Later that morning, James Craig Anderson's family learned their 49-year-old brother and son died in a hit and run. Only later, when witness statements were taken did they learn the real horror.
"It appears there is no doubt that this was a racially motivated killing," said Winston Thompson, the attorney representing Anderson's family. "The family is still in shock still in disbelief."
Smith and officials in the Hinds County District Attorney's office say they plan to indict Dedmon for murder and a hate crime.
Deryl Dedmon is thin, weighing a mere 130 pounds, and short -- at 5 feet; he has straggly blond hair and piercing blue eyes.
The teen, just 18 years old, has been charged with murder and now faces a possible double life sentence. Calls to Deryl Dedmon's attorney have gone unanswered.
During a bond hearing his attorney told the court he saw nothing to back up the "racial allegations."
At Dedmon's home, a girl who answered the door pretended not to know him though the pick-up truck he allegedly used as a murder weapon sticks out of the family's garage.
Police say they returned it after the vehicle was processed. A second teen, 18-year-old John Aaron Rice, has been charged with simple assault, for his part in the beating his attorney also did not return calls.
Neither teen has entered a plea.
The other teens in the group have not been charged.
And James Craig Anderson's family has decided to remain silent for now, trying to come to grips with a crime they thought was in Mississippi's past: the murder of a man just because he was black.
THIS MAKES ME SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ANGRY! These kids should get an ass wooping themselves! OMG. JUSTICE FOR JAMES CRAIG ANDERSON'S FAMILY!
Police name suspect in Ohio shooting spree
August 8, 2011
(CNN) -- Police have identified Michael E. Hance, 51, as the suspect behind a shooting rampage in Ohio on Sunday in which a man gunned down seven people before police killed him.
Hance allegedly shot his girlfriend, Rebecca Dieter, 49, at the home they shared at about 11 a.m. before running through his Copley Township neighborhood and claiming six other victims, police said at a news conference on Monday.
"No words can adequately express the loss experienced by the families of the victims and the community at large," said Copley Township Police Chief Michael Mier. He described the community, which lies about seven miles west of Akron, as having a very low violent crime rate.
Dieter is the only victim who survived the shooting spree. She is currently at a local hospital after suffering multiple gunshot wounds, Mier said.
The spree continued at an adjacent house where Hance allegedly shot and killed Autumn Johnson, 16, and her grandparents, Russell Johnson, 67 and Gudrun Johnson, 64, according to detective Joe Krunich.
Craig Dieter, 51 -- Rebecca's brother -- and an unidentified 16-year-old were also killed at the second crime scene.
Krunich said Hance then chased Bryan Johnson, 44 -- the father of Autumn Johnson -- northward, where he was shot to death in a nearby driveway.
He then followed victim Craig Dieter's son, 11-year-old Scott Dieter, into a neighboring house where he was then shot and killed, Krunich said.
As Hance was leaving the house, police surrounded the shooter "and issued some commands," Mier said. "The suspect did not obey or go along with the commands, and the suspect was shot," he said.
Authorities said Hance used two handguns in the shootings.
"We have no idea what prompted this incident whatsoever," Krunich said.
Residents held a candlelight vigil Sunday evening, according to CNN affiliate WJW-TV.
One neighbor said residents were shocked and baffled by the shooting and would likely never get a full explanation.
"The killer's gone. We'll never know," the neighbor said.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Imprisoned murderer says he plans to plead guilty to 1976 killing of woman
Imprisoned murderer says he plans to plead guilty to 1976 killing of woman
its amazing that someone actually admitted what he did was wrong. Granted it has been so long for the family to get peace and closure over this whole thing but at least they have finally got it.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Autopsy to determine how missing New Hampshire girl died
(CNN) -- The medical examiner's office in Concord, New Hampshire, will conduct an autopsy Tuesday morning on the body of Celina Cass to determine how the 11-year-old girl died.
Celina's body was found by divers searching the Connecticut River on Monday -- one week after she was last seen.
"We have brought Celina home, not the way we wanted to bring her home," New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said.
The girl's father, Adam Laro, said he was heartbroken and grasping for answers after hearing the news.
"I ... can't believe what's gone on," Laro told HLN's "Nancy Grace" show on Monday night. "I have no fingers to point ... I hope there will be some answers, that's what I'm asking."
Young said that the case -- which had been considered a "missing persons" case -- is now being investigated as a "suspicious death." No one has been arrested or named publicly as a suspect in what is now a criminal investigation.
RELATED TOPICS
"Based on what we have seen visually, we are treating it as suspicious," the official said.
Celina's body was found around 10:30 a.m. Monday by divers from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department near a hydroelectric plant outside West Stewartstown, New Hampshire, according to the attorney general's office.
Young described it as a "routine search because of the proximity to (Celina's) home," about one-quarter mile away. The site is also near the Canadian border, where the Connecticut River forms the border between New Hampshire and Vermont.
The discovery came a day after Laro -- who was in the hospital when Celina went missing -- said that he was like others "wondering where my daughter is" and hoping she was safe.
On Monday night, the father thanked all those authorities and residents who had put their time and effort into finding Celina.
He said his memories of his daughter are "beautiful, beautiful, just a wonderful hearted person."
"(She was) someone who was loving and caring to a lot of people," Laro said. "That's how I would like to remember her."
Celina was last seen in her room, at her computer, around 9 p.m. July 25, according to police. CNN affiliate WMUR reported that her parents told authorities the girl was gone when they went to wake her up.
Since then, local, state and federal investigators had searched for her and for clues about her whereabouts "by air, by land, by water," Young said Sunday evening.
Young said on Monday that authorities, including FBI agents, had received nearly 500 tips prior to finding the girl's body.
She described investigators' focus Monday around Celina's home as "routine," after being asked about yellow crime tape there and the removal of a vehicle. The aim is to "determine if we have any evidence" in place's around where the girl was last seen alive.
Young added that the discovery of the girl's body should help authorities "hone the investigation, so you will (still) see searches conducted in different areas."
Celina's father said that he had not spoken with his ex-wife, who lived in the house with the girl's stepfather of about a year, since the girl went missing. He described his ex-wife as a "great mother," and added he had positive interaction with the stepfather.
"(It was) a household that supposedly gave her great love, that's what she always told me," Laro said.
I am heart broken by this case and this hits close to home. I am from New Hampshire but not near where this crime happened. My heart goes out to the father and the stepmother...considering the biological mother isn't in the picture. Who knows where she is right? I hope they get the son of a bitch who did this to her. Only 11 years old. So tragic she had a whole life a head of her. Who knows what she could have accomplished in her life time.
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