Teen parents and grandfather made their toddler smoke pot

Buffalo, N.Y.: Teen parents and a grandfather have been arrested and charged with forcing their 23-month-old child to smoke marijuana, Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office reported Friday.

The toddler’s mother, Jessica Kelsey, 17; the father, George Kelsey, 18; and Jessica’s father, Don Baker, 54, are charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child, authorities said.


The incident allegedly occurred in the family’s apartment on the evening of Dec. 5, when the three adults either helped, observed or encouraged the 23-month-old to smoke marijuana from a lighted bowl, the sheriff’s office said.

The case was investigated by the Chautauqua County sheriff’s office, the district attorney and child protection department.

All three were arrested on warrants and arraigned in Town of Chautauqua Court.

They are being held in lieu of $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond.

The toddler and another sibling are in the care of Child Protective Services, authorities said.

Sources:

Teen parents and grandfather made their toddler smoke pot

Teen parents charged with forcing toddler to smoke marijuana 

Jayden Parkinson: Murder inquiry launched

Jayden Parkinson

Oxfordshire, U.K.: Police investigating the disappearance of Jayden Parkinson have changed their inquiry to a murder investigation, despite no trace of Ms Parkinson having been found.

The 17-year-old has been missing since December 3rd 2013. Police have said a young man seen struggling with a suitcase in the area could hold the key to her disappearance and are eager to talk to him.


Jayden was last seen on CCTV leaving Didcot train station at around 4.30pm on Tuesday 3 December.
In a news conference this afternoon, Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Murray said the case had been upgraded from a missing persons case to a murder investigation.

Mr Murray said the man was seen struggling to carry the large suitcase in an open field near Upton on 9 December at 2am. He is described as a white male in his early 20s, with short dark hair and of medium to slim build.

A short time later he was again seen in the Lydalls Road area of Didcot.

The case he was pulling is described as large, 3ft by 2ft and 15ins deep, made of light coloured canvas, possibly pale blue. The case is on wheels and the handle consists of two silver extendable bars with a black top handle.
Police have already arrested two men, aged 17 and 22, on suspicion of murder in connection with her disappearance.

Jayden is white, of slim build with shoulder-length dark brown hair and brown eyes.
She was wearing light blue faded jeans, a brown hooded top with red lettering on it, a black waist-length jacket, and dark trainers when she was last seen
If you or anyone you know has any information pertaining to Jayden's whereabouts please contact Freefone number by call or text 116000.

The last CCTV image of Jayden from December 3

Printable Missing Poster:

Jayden Parkinson Missing Poster by youmustacquit

Sources:

Missing Person's Poster
Jayden Parkinson: Murder inquiry launched 
Jayden Parkinson: Police Launch Murder Inquiry  

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting: Timeline of Events

On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot twenty children and six adult staff members in a mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the village of Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut. Before driving to the school, Lanza shot and killed his mother Nancy at their Newtown home. As first responders arrived, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.

This is the story of that day.

Click the "Play" symbol to watch the slideshow, or "Pause" to click through manually.

Sources:

• khq.com 
• ABC News 
• Wikipedia
• First 911 Call
• Crime Scene Photos
• State's Attorney's Report

PHOTO: Arapahoe High School Shooter KARL PIERSON

Arapahoe, CO: This is the face of the 18-year-old high school student, authorities say shot and injured at least two other students on Friday at Arapahoe High School in Colorado. Karl H. Pierson has been identified by the Sheriff's Office as the only suspect in the shooting, and it is reported that he killed himself at the scene.


Videos:

Jordan Graham Agrees to Plea Deal

Missoula, Montana: A newly wed woman on trial for the murder of her husband of eight days, has agreed to plead guilty to second degree murder. Jordan Graham had been charged with first degree murder, second degree murder and making false statements to authorities. Prosecutors allege that she deliberately pushed her husband, Cody Johnson off of a cliff in Glacier National Park, in July.

The plea agreement comes as jurors were about to hear closing arguments in the trial, which began on Monday. A judge is still deciding whether to accept the agreement.

No sentencing date has been scheduled.

Markeith Council: Video of fatal beating during jailer's trial [Graphic]

Markeith Council: Video of fatal beating during jailer's trial [Graphic]

Source:

News Observer

YouTube

Jordan Graham Trial: Coroner Testifies Newlywed Cody Johnson Not Wearing Wedding Ring When Body Was Found

Missoula, Montana: The coroner testifying at the trial of Montana woman Jordan Graham, has said that her new husband, Cody Johnson, was not wearing his wedding ring when his body was found. Johnson, who federal prosecutors allege was pushed off of a cliff by his wife, had an 8-inch fracture to his forehead.

Flathead County deputy coroner Richard Sine testified Wednesday in Jordan Graham's trial that Cody Johnson also had lacerations on his legs days after he was reported missing in July. Sine, who has 43 years experience as a police officer and has served as the coroner for Flathead County since April 2012, gave his account of where he found articles of clothing belonging to Cody Johnson, as well as a cloth that has been in question. 
He also described how he climbed down with a group of other agents, to recover Cody Johnson's body, in Glacier National Park. He said that the first sign of Johnson that he came upon was a shoe downstream of the body about 100 to 150 yards. The next thing he saw was a black cloth near a waterfall, about “one-third of the way to the body.” In a feeder drainage above where Johnson’s body was found, Sine said he found Johnson’s other shoe as well as one sock that was down slope from the second shoe. Photographs of each item in the location that they were found were shown as evidence exhibits.

Johnson’s body was lifted from the water in a yellow, mesh body bag up to higher ground where it was put into a standard, black body bag. The imagery of this sequence of events was chronicled through photographs shown as exhibits to those in the courtroom.
During cross examination for the defense, Mike Donahue returned to the topic of the cloth, asking Sine who he gave it to, who photographed it and who bagged it.
“When I located the cloth I was not in immediate vicinity to anyone else,” Sine said. “I did alert someone else of it being there.”
Sine went on to say that he photographed the cloth in the original place he saw it at before it was disturbed. However, it was not involved with the reservation of any evidence besides that which was immediately on the body.
Donahue concluded his cross examination by asking Sine about the weather conditions on the day that the body was recovered. Sine said that it was sunny and warm, and with regard to wind, he doesn’t recall there being any, but if there was he said it would have been “minimal in that canyon.”
In redirect, Sine was asked just one question. Did he find any car keys on Johnson when he was searching the body? The answer, “no.”

The trial continues.

Sources:

Newstalk KGVO
The Huffington Post
True Crime Blog

Jordan Graham, Newlywed On Trial For Murder, "Showed No Emotion When Body Found."

Missoula, Montana:
A Montana woman on trial for the death of her new husband, showed little emotion when she located his body in Glacier National Park days after she told authorities he had driven off with friends and disappeared, friends of the woman testified.

Jordan Graham is charged with first degree murder, second degree murder and making false statements to authorities, in relation to the death of her husband of only eight days, Cody Johnson, (25).
Federal prosecutors allege that Graham ( 22) blindfolded Johnson and then pushed him off of a cliff because she was having cold feet about being married.

But Graham denies these allegations and says that she and Johnson had argued and that he tried to grab her hand. She then pushed him in retaliation and he fell off the cliff. She says she lied about the circumstances of Johnson's death at first because she feared that nobody would believe her story.

"We were in the middle of an argument and he thought I was going to run away. Cody had grabbed me and I thought he was going to push me down," she said in her pretrial hearing in November, as quoted by People. "My first instinct was to get him off [of me]."

Many of Graham's friends, and even her sixteen-year-old brother have been called to testify. According to friend Hannah Sherrill, who testified on Tuesday, Graham said after finding Cody Johnson's body that now a funeral could be held and "the cops can be out of it."


Graham, her mother, brother and friends drove to the park twice in the days after Johnson went missing on July 7 2013. Graham climbed down a steep slope to a ledge below the roadway and she called out that she spotted the body in a ravine below the cliff.

"And then after that she didn't really show any emotion," friend Cecilia Lewellen recalled.


Graham's brother, Michael Rutledge, (16), testified earlier Tuesday that he was angry with Graham because she had lied again and again.
"She could have told us the truth," Rutledge testified, sobbing. "She told one lie, was asked to tell the truth, and she said it again. And she had to keep adding more lies to cover it up. And that's maybe why I was mad."
Graham cried quietly during her brother's testimony.

Graham's trial continues.

Sources:

The Huffington Post 

MailOnline 

Video: Jordan Graham: Newlywed On Trial For Murder of Husband 

I.B.Times

People.com

Boy Sentenced To 3 Years For Killing Little Sister With Wrestling Moves

Terrytown, LA: A 13-year-old Louisiana boy has been sentenced to three years in a secure juvenile facility for the death of his younger half sister.

Armstrong Desvallons pleaded guilty last month to accidentally killing five-year-old Viloude Louis while practicing W.W.E. wrestling moves on her.



Desvallons said that he used the "John Cena Slam" and the "Mark Henry Slam," named for the wrestlers he emulated, when he threw his body or elbow into the petite girl's torso 15 to 20 times at the family's apartment on June 16 2013, according to nola.com. Louis suffered broken ribs, internal bleeding and liver lacerations from the beating.

Desvallons pleaded guilty last month to negligent homicide, The Times-Picayune reported, and was sentenced Tuesday to three years in the facility, where he is to receive treatment for grief, trauma and anger. He could potentially be released sooner than three years, depending on his progress in treatment.

On Tuesday, members of the church where Desvallons' family worshiped offered to take the boy into probationary custody, but Judge Andrea Price Janzen declined. The church members described Desvallons as a good kid, while Louis' stepfather reportedly called him disrespectful and argued that he'd do it again given the chance.

Sources:
New York Daily News
Boy Sentenced To 3 Years For Killing Little Sister With Wrestling Moves
NOLA.com
The Huffington Post

Claudia Lucero: Missing 14-Year-Old Arizona Girl Found Murdered In Dumpster

Claudia Lucero

Mesa, AZ: An arrest has been made in the murder investigation of 14-year-old Claudia Lucero. The young girl was assaulted, strangled and dumped in a trash container, police said Tuesday.

Family friend Alex Madrid has been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, sexual conduct with a minor, molestation of a child, sexual abuse, child abuse, abandonment/concealment of a dead body and tampering with physical evidence, according to Mesa police.


"Over the past some weeks, he had been estranged from the family," Milstead said. "It was known to detectives that Claudia was afraid of Alex. He had inappropriately touched her, on occasion."
The body was found early Friday by two women digging through the trash container for aluminum cans at the Sun Garden Apartments. Police said the girl was identified Monday.

Madrid, a construction worker, originally was arrested on a probation violation and other charges last Friday. Milstead said police wanted to keep Madrid off the streets until investigators could determine if he was linked to the teen's killing.

The girl was last seen at her home at 6:30 a.m. Thursday and didn't make it to Westwood High School that day, police said. Her mother filed a missing-persons report that night.

Boy (7) ‘traumatised’ after seeing parents gunned down in attack

Tullamore, Co. Offaly, Eire: A seven-year-old boy has been left "traumatised" after witnessing the attempted murder of both of his parents on Sunday December 8.
Thomas Power (32) and his partner Leanne Daly escaped with their lives after a gunman fired at them as they were taking one of their children out of their car.
Mr Power was grazed on the back while Ms Daly was shot in the shoulder. She received surgery on her injury this morning.

Their seven-year-old son was not hit but was said to be traumatised after seeing his parents gunned down.

The incident occurred  Cluain Darach estate on the outskirts of Tullamore at 7.15pm  yesterday evening.

Gardaí this morning arrested a man in his 20's in relation to the incident.

He is currently being detained at Tullamore Garda Station under the provisions of Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

Inspector Kieran Keyes is appealing to anyone who saw the silver car or witnessed anything suspicious in the area between 7pm and 8pm on Sunday to contact Tullamore Gardaí on (057) 9327600 or call the confidential line at 1800 666 111.

VIGILANTE JUSTICE: FATHER & DAUGHTER (16) PLEAD GUILTY TO ATTACKING HER RAPIST

David Mills

Temecula, CA: A Californian father and his sixteen-year-old daughter have pleaded guilty to a "vigilante attack" on the man who raped her.
David Mills (36), and his daughter watched while her friend, 21-year-old Andre Dickerson Jr, attacked Miguel Esteban Cruz with a baseball bat in January of this year.

Mills pleaded guilty to being an accessory was sentenced to four years probation and time served. His daughter, who was charged as an adult, pleaded guilty to assault and was also sentenced to four years probation and time served.

Dickerson also pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to six years in prison.




All three defendants had been charged with attempted murder, mayhem and vandalism. But those charges were dismissed as
part of the defendants’ agreements with prosecutors.

Riverside County sheriff's have said that on the night of the attack Ms Mills lured the Cruz to Kent Hintergardt Memorial Park. There Dickerson beat him with a baseball bat and smashed the windows of his car, while Ms Mills watched.
Cruz suffered skull fractures, large cuts to his scalp that required more than two dozen staples, a lung injury, a mangled ear, missing teeth, several broken bones, Investigator David Gorlicki testified during a court appearance in June 2013.

Cruz also was charged with a crime after the girl’s allegations came to light following the attack. Cruz pleaded guilty in September to sodomy with a minor. His sentencing is scheduled for December 20.

DR MARTIN MACNEILL TRIES TO COMMIT SUICIDE IN JAIL

Utah: The doctor who was last month convicted of murdering his wife, Michele, in 2007 has tried to commit suicide in jail. According to the MailOnline, Martin MacNeill was discovered by officers during a routine check at Utah County Jail at 5pm on Thursday December 5.
Sgt. Spencer Cannon, of the Utah County Sheriff's Office told KSL that officers intervened and MacNeill was transported to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, where he remained over night. Spencer said that MacNeill was conscious but uncooperative with officers. He is expected to be returned to the jail Friday.
Sgt Cannon did not say what MacNeill had used in the suicide attempt, or what condition he was found in by deputies. However, KSL has reported that the doctor used a razor.

MacNeill is currently awaiting sentencing for the murder of his wife. He is due in court on January 7, 2014.

Jury Clears Richard Tuite of Killing Stephanie Crowe

San Diego, CA: A jury has cleared a mentally-ill transient in the 1998 death of 12-year-old schoolgirl Stephanie Crowe. Richard Tuite had been convicted in 2004 of the voluntary manslaughter of the young girl. However, he was granted a retrial, which started in October of this year. The jury returned their verdict earlier today.

The case initially made headlines in 1998 when the police force were accused of eliciting a false confession from Stephanie's teenage brother, Michael Crowe, and two of his friends. They were eventually declared "factually innocent" by a judge. The Crowe family sued the police force and reportedly settled for $7.25 million in 2011.


Video of Verdict Reading:

Colleen Ritzer Murder: Teen Philip Chism Pleads "Not Guilty" to the rape & murder of the teacher

Chism is escorted into the court for his arraignment.

Salem, Mass.: The 14-year-old boy who is accused of murdering and raping his teacher, has pleaded "Not Guilty" at his arraignment (December 4). Philip Chism has been charged with murder, aggravated rape and armed robbery of his maths teacher, Colleen Ritzer.


The popular teacher was found dead in woods behind the Danvers High School, Mass. in October this year. Ritzer had been reported missing after she'd failed to return home from work on October 22.


Prosecutors allege that Chism, wearing a mask and gloves and armed with a box-cutter, attacked Ms Ritzer and dragged her into the bathroom at the high school. It is alleged that he then cut her throat and sexually assaulted her with a three-foot-long tree branch. Prosecutors say that Chism then left the teacher in the bathroom and later return with a large recycling bin, accessing the building through a service elevator. Security camera footage shows the bin being moved through the school toward the woods where Ms Ritzer was eventually found. An indictment says she was found naked from the waist down, posed in a sexual manner, with the branch still inside her. A note was found beside her with "I hate you all," written on it.
It is alleged that Chism then stole Ms Ritzer's credit cards and underwear and went to see a movie. He was picked up by police later that night as he walked along a highway to a neighbouring town. Chism had also been reported missing by his mother. When he was found he had Ms Ritzer's underwear and credit cards, along with the box-cutter, in his back pack.

Colleen Ritzer

Chism is being charged as an adult for the murder charge, and as a juvenile offender for the charges of rape and armed robbery.
He has been evaluated by a psychologist and been declared competent to stand trial. However, his lawyers said they may raise the issue of Chism's mental health should it be relevant to the course of his defense.

Prosecutors have yet to reveal a motive for the attack, with speculation that it may have come after a discussion Ms Ritzer had with Chism about his home state Tennessee. According to report, Ms Ritzer had stayed behind at school that day to help Chism. He was said to have become "distressed" when the topic of his old home came up. After Ms Ritzer changed the subject, Chism was reportedly seen "talking quietly to himself."

Ms Ritzer's body being removed from the woods

The 14-year-old had recently moved to Massachusetts with his mother. According to court papers his parents have been going through a difficult divorce.
There is also some speculation that Chism was afraid of failing his maths class, as a failing grade would mean he would no longer qualify to play on the junior varsity soccer team, of which he was a prominent member.

Both Ms Ritzer's and Philip Chism's parents were in court Wednesday for the short hearing, but neither made any comment to the media. Philip Chism is due back in court in January. -E.R.

Sources:
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2518338/Student-Philip-Chism-14-raped-murdered-teacher-Colleen-Ritzer-pleads-guilty.html  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/04/philip-chism-pleads-not-guilty_n_4386449.html?utm_hp_ref=crime

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/21/philip-chism-indicted-in-_n_4319312.html


http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/herald_bulldog/2013/11/cops_teen_killer_left_i_hate_you_all_note_next_to

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/12/04/year-old-pleads-not-guilty-murder-other-charges-slaying-popular-danvers-teacher/UwJTHRSie1YE26Q2uo5EgJ/story.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNtbgRR59lw

SANDY HOOK SHOOTING: 911 CALLS TRANSCRIPTS

 

Police at the School Dec. 2012 Source: Wikipedia/youtube

Newtown, CT: On Wednesday, December 4th, the 911 calls from the day of the Sandy Hook Shooting were released to the public for the first time.
Below you will find the transcripts from those calls. If you would like to listen to the calls, please click here. The transcripts were originally posted on courant.com at this link.




From Call #1 at 9:35:39 a.m.
“Sandy Hook School. I think there’s somebody shooting in here in Sandy Hook School.”
Dispatcher: “What makes you think that?”
“Somebody’s got a gun. I saw a glimpse of somebody running down the hallway. They’re still around me. There’s still shooting. Sandy Hook School please.”

Call #2 is a duplicate of Call #1.

Call 3 at 9:36:13 a.m., Rick Thorne, Custodian

Caller: Sandy Hook Elementary School, 12 Dickinson Drive

Dispatcher: Yeah, I’ve got that. What’s going on down there?

C: There’s … I believe there’s shooting at the front – at the front glass. Something’s going on.

D: OK, all right I got I want you to stay on the line with me. Where are you in the school?

C: I’m down the corridor – I’m

D: All right I want you to take cover. Jen – get the sergeant – all right get everybody you can going down there. All right. Let me – let me get some information here. What makes you think that.

C: The front glass is all shot out, it kept, it kept going on.

D: OK –

C: It’s still happening!

D: All right, what about the students in the front of the building?

C: They’re – they’re everything’s locked up as far as I know, I’m not in the front

D: All right – you’re in lockdown?

C: They’re in lockdown

D: Did you see anything out the window?

C: No, it’s still going on! I can’t get over there

D: OK, I don’t want you to go over there. I want to know what’s happening with the students, though, along the front corridor – this is in the front parking lot?

C: Yes. I’m not – I’m not in the front, I’m actually down the other part, but I’m close.

D: OK. Do you see anything or hear anything more?

C: I keep hearing shooting – I keep hearing popping.

(dispatch chatter)

D: All right. Now who am I talking with right now?

C: You’re talking with Rick

D: Pardon me? What’s your name?

C: Rich Thorne

D: Rich Thorne? All right. Rick, what’s your position with the school?

C: I’m – I’m acting head custodian.

D: All right.

Other dispatcher: What’s the address of the school?

C&D: 12 Dickinson Drive

Other dispatcher: OK

C: Something’s happening

D: OK – (to dispatcher in background) Jen, hang up, I need you to get off that phone

D: All right, Rick? Rick?

C: Yeah

D: All right, what are you hearing now

C: It’s - Now it’s silent

D: OK. All right. Now when you say the school is in lockdown –

C: All doors are locked, kids are in classrooms.

D: OK. So at this time you’re defending in place.

C: Excuse me?

D: OK. At this time, all the rooms are locked.

C: Yes.

D: K. Did you see anything out front before this started?

C: No. And I was out all morning.

D: Where are you in the –

C: OK, the gym teacher told me they saw shadows going past the gym.

D: Just now?

C: Yes.

D: All right. Now are they running on the outside or the inside?

C: I would say that was the outside? – There’s still shooting going on! Please!

D: All right – what about injuries at this time?

C: Excuse me?

D: What about injuries at this time?

C: I don’t know of any injuries right now.

D: OK

(inaudible background)

D: Jen I need you to call the state police

C: There’s still – It’s still going on!

From Call #4 at 9:37:06 a.m.

Teacher: “It sounds like there are gunshots in the hallway. I’m a teacher in the school.”

Dispatcher: “Are you in the school right now?”

Teacher: “I am in the school, I’m in a classroom.”

Dispatcher: “Do you have everyone in the classroom and the door locked?”

Teacher: “All of my students. The door is not locked yet I could go lock the door.”

Dispatcher: “Lock the door keep everyone down, keep everyone calm, get everyone away from the windows.”

Teacher: “Yes ok.”

Dispatcher: “Where are you in the school?”

Teacher: “I am in the hallway when you walk in the front entrance if you take a left.”

Dispatcher: “Try to lock down the school, OK?”

Teacher: “We’re trying.”

From Call #5 at 9:40:02 a.m.

“This is state police.  I’ve got a victim..she’s been shot once in the foot. She’s in room No. 1…How close are you guys to arriving on scene?”

Newtown Dispatcher: “Female party shot in the foot.”

Connecticut State Police: “Right by the playground. Room No. 1.”

Newtown Dispatcher:  “Are you ok? Where’s room No. 1 in the school”

Teacher: “Facing the playground

Newtown Dispatcher: On the playground

Teacher: Facing the playground

Newtown Dispatcher to teacher: “Are you safe right now?”

Teacher: “I think so. My classroom door is not locked.”

Newtown Dispatcher: “Is there anybody that can lock the classroom door?”

Teacher: “No..there’s children in this room still.”

Try to apply pressure okay

Is there any other teacher with you

There’s 2 other adults in the school with me

They’re over on the other side of the bookshelf

Are you ok for now

For now hopefully, just try to keep pressure on it

Call 6 at 9:40:20 a.m., Rick Thorne, Custodian    

D: K, I have that, we have officers on scene.

C: Thank you.

D: What’s your name?

C: Rick Thorne.

D: OK

C: I’m in the building

D: All right, Rick, I gotcha, I’m on the other line. All right. We have officers there.

(background noise, dispatch noise – Newtown 911, what’s the location of your emergency, repeating)

C: Are you talking to me?

D: I am talking to you. Is this Rick?

C: 12 Dickinson Drive, Sandy Hook.

D: All right, Rick, is this you?

C: Yes

D: OK. We’re going back on the line together. Is that by – is that by PD?

C: The firehouse. It’s by the firehouse.

D: Yeah we got, we got, I’m sorry … (background noise, discussions with dispatchers) Well I’m not let - sending them in there yet. Where is she in the school? Don’t worry about where room 1 is. Where is she in the school? - Yes ma’am.  At this time it’s unknown to me. We believe there is a shooting going on at that school. It is in lockdown. I don’t have any other information but unfortunately I’m going to have to put you on hold for a moment because I have multiple calls going. All right?

Newtown 911. Rick?

C: Yes

D: OK. Stay on the phone with me.

C: OK.

D: 10-4, it’s dispatcher (?) – yes ma’am, I just spoke with Janet Robinson, I do believe there has been a shooting at the school, we’re in the middle of multiple calls. Yes ma’am.

D: Hi, Rick, are you still with me?

C: Yes.

D: All right. What do you see now?

C: I’m standing in the corridor, just watching the corridor.

D: All right, you’re watching your corridor.

C:  Yes.

D: OK. Um  

Call 7 at 9:43:55 a.m., Rick Thorne, Custodian 
D: We got a shooting at Sandy Hook School. You’re going to have to talk to the first selectman. I’ve already talked to Janet Robinson and -- Newtown police, dispatcher Newton. Yeah. Very. Uh at this point I would maintain your post in your school. All right? Thank you. – All right. Do you hear any police officers at this time, Rick?
C: I’m hearing talking. I’m not seeing anybody and I’m hearing talking.
D: OK
C: Like I said, I’m standing in the middle of this corridor. -- CUSTODIAN! CUSTODIAN! – (Background, unknown speaker: Who are you?) CUSTODIAN!
D: All right, tell them you’re on the phone with me.
C: I’m on the phone with dispatch! (background speaker, inaudible) – Victims in the buildings!
D: How many?
C: How many? (background: Two down!) Two down!
D: Got it. Is it safe?
(background: Did you see anybody firing a gun?)
C: I saw nobody!

-E.R.

Adam Lanza shot his way into the school.

 

 

SANDY HOOK SHOOTING: 911 CALLS RELEASED

Police outside the school Dec. 2012 source: Wikipedia

Newtown, CT: After a long fought battle between media outlets and law enforcement, the 911 calls from the Sandy Hook school shooting have today been released. Despite the obvious terror of the callers, the recordings show how the town's dispatchers calmly and professionally handled the situation. Throughout the calls, even as shooting can be heard, they advised the callers on their movements, to “take cover”, and inquired after the well-being of the children.

The recordings, which are not for the faint-hearted are utterly gut wrenching, with one lady caller begging for assistance and intimating that she “caught a glimpse of somebody. They're running down the hallway. Oh, they're still runningand still shooting. Sandy Hook school, please.”

Adam Lanza

The shooting, which occurred on December 14^th 2012, rocked the small Connecticut town. Adam Lanza, 20, first murdered his mother, Nancy, before shooting his way into the elementary school and killing 20 children and six female adult staff. The gunman then turned the gun on himself as police began to arrive. 

As per the MailOnline:

“On Tuesday, Newtown School Superintendent John Reed emailed parents to alert them to the recordings' release and remind them the recordings could serve as an 'emotional trigger'.

The release came after the Associated Press and other news organizations requested 911 calls and police reports - as is routine - on the day of the shooting.
But these requests were effectively ignored for months until AP appealed to the state's Freedom of Information Commission, which said in September that the recordings should be released.”

John Reed

In arguing against the release of the tapes, the prosecutor in charge said that the release could be potentially harmful and distressing for both the victims' families and the survivors of the shooting. He was also worried that the release of the recordings might hurt the investigation, subject witnesses to harassment and violate the rights of survivors who deserve special protection as victims of child abuse.

Superior Court Judge Eliot Prescott

However, it was ordered last week by a state judge that the recordings be released by today unless any appeals were lodged.




"Release of the audio recordings will also allow the public to consider and weigh what improvements, if any, should be made to law enforcement's response to such incidents," New Britain Superior Court Judge Eliot Prescott said at the ruling.
'Delaying the release of the audio recordings, particularly where the legal justification to keep them confidential is lacking, only serves to fuel speculation about and undermine confidence in our law enforcement officials.'

A Playlist of  all of the calls is below. Beware, they are Graphic.  -E.R.

PLAYLIST OF SANDY HOOK 911 CALLS [GRAPHIC]

JODI ARIAS RESPONDS TO CLAIMS SHE "THREATENED" PROSECUTOR JUAN MARTINEZ

Phoenix, AZ: Convicted murderer Jodi Arias, has responded to claims made by a former cellmate that she had "threatened" to harm Prosecutor Juan Martinez.

Last week former cellmate Cassandra Collins, spoke to FOX 10 News reporter, Troy Hayden, and told him that Arias "threatened to get revenge on prosecutor Juan Martinez if she was given the death penalty."

Hayden, who famously interviewed Arias just moments after she had been convicted of First Degree Murder in the death of her one-time lover Travis Alexander, had been able to confirm that Collins had been Arias' cellmate before her trial began. However, since the story broke, Arias has taken to her Twitter account to reach out to Hayden and not only deny the claims, but to question the credibility and stability of Collins. She also accused Hayden of "misleading" his viewers.

When Hayden messaged Arias privately to ask for a more detailed comment on the situation, she Tweeted: 

Arias' defense team, however, are using the original Fox 10/Hayden story as the basis of yet another motion for a change of venue, saying that it further goes to "infect" any future jury pool. In their brief they state: ""the nature and the content of the report aired by FOX 10 infected the (proceedings) with extra-judicial information that directly attacks her case.. and presents aggravating circumstances that are of the nature that they would not be legal for the jury to consider."

Although Judge Sherry Stephens has yet to rule on the motion, based on previous similar motions by Arias' team, it isn't likely to gain much ground. -E.R. 

JODI ARIAS: JUDGE SHERRY STEPHENS DENIES DEFENSE MOTION TO COMPEL JUROR TWITTER INFO

Phoenix, AZ: The judge presiding over the long battled Jodi Arias trial, has denied the motion from Arias' defense counsel to compel the social media "handles" of potential jurors for the next phase of her trial.

Arias, 33, was found guilty of the brutal June 2008 murder of her one time boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in May of this year. Although the jury agreed that the murder was "especially cruel", which made Arias eligible for the Death Penalty, they were later unable to agree on a verdict as to whether the Yreka, California      woman    should face the ultimate punishment, leading to a mistrial being declared for the Penalty Phase of the trial, alone.

Arias, in court, June 2013

Since then, legal wrangling on both sides has lead to further delays, complaints and motions, and ultimately to Judge Stephens banning the televising and live streaming or live blogging of any future court proceedings. A move which has been called "unconstitutional" by attorney David Bodney, who represents several media outlet, including the Arizona Republic, fighting for transparency. “There have been repeated flagrant violations of the public’s constitutional right to attend proceedings.” A move Bodney also referred to as a severe "over-correction".
-E.R.

David Bodney