On Saturday, December 15th, 2007, four bystanders rescued Michelle Lynn Kehoe, 33, of Coralville, Iowa and her two young sons after she drove her minivan into the icy Iowa River. Kehoe said she lost control of the car when she was distracted by her kids and drifted off the driving surface of the road onto the dirt shoulder.

No one suspected this was really her first attempt to kill herself and the two boys. There would be another, much more successful attempt approximately a year later.

On Sunday, October 26, 2008, Michelle Kehoe loaded Sean and Seth into her Volkswagen Eurovan and left her home in Coralville, Iowa for a trip to visit relatives in Sumner. They would never make it there.

Instead, Michelle Kehoe appeared at Littleton home near a pond owned by the Hook-N-Liner Sportsmen’s Club in a panic, bleeding from a bad cut to her throat. She collapsed on the floor of the home but police found a note which said she was hit in the head by a man after he snuck into the van while they were at a playground and tried to force them to take him to Chicago. Kehoe wrote she attempted to pepper spray him but he overpowered her and knocked her unconscious. When she awoke, Seth was dead and Sean was injured.

When cops located the minivan a short distance away, they found the youngest son, 2-year-old Seth, dead with his throat cut and his 6-year-old brother Sean locked in the car, still alive but with a similar wound. Both boys had their hands and eyes duct taped.

Needless to say, the police were a bit “skeptical” about the Michelle Kehoe’s story, especially after they were able to ask Sean what happened to him and his brother. Here is some testimony from the first day of Michelle Kehoe’s Trial for murdering her son Seth and attempting to murder her other son Sean:

Jurors this morning heard Sean Kehoe describe to Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Deputy Stephen Petersen what he saw when he pulled off the duct tape his mother, Michelle Kehoe, had placed over his eyes before cutting his throat.

“She was hurting my baby brother,” Sean said in a recording played for the jury Thursday morning.

Following the playing of the first part of Petersen’s interview with Sean, two photos Petersen took at Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo were displayed. The first depicted Sean, his face caked in dry blood, a breathing tube in his nose, facing the camera. The second showed the deep cut on the lower right side of his throat.

Various police, fire and medical personnel testified Thursday morning. When first responders found Sean Kehoe alive in his mother’s van last October, they asked him about the first-aid kit they had found nearby.

“He said the first-aid kit was from him trying to help his brother,” Sean Even, a firefighter who responded to the scene with the Jesup Fire Department, said.

But 2-year-old Seth Kehoe was already dead, Even testified.

Iowa State Patrol Trooper Jim Smith talked to Sean Kehoe at the scene. A recording from Smith’s patrol vehicle was played for the jury, though much of it was hard to understand.

“Who hurt your brother?” Smith asked.

“My mom,” Sean replied.

Later, Smith asked Sean who hurt him.

“Your mommy hurt you?” he asked.

“Yes,” Sean replied.

First responders testified that Sean was alert and articulate when speaking with them. However, Smith testified that Sean was often looking past him when he spoke and instead looked at the body of his brother.

Also at Michelle Kehoe’s trial, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Chris Callaway testified about her eventual confession during questioning the day after the murder:

Originally, Kehoe told Callaway that she and the boys were headed to Sumner to see her mother, who was in a nursing home there. They left Coralville around 11:15 a.m. She stopped in Jesup around 12:30 p.m., for snacks and to let the boys burn off some excess energy at the St. Athanasius School playground.

It was there, Kehoe said, the man likely climbed into the back of her van and hid. She said he was in his 50s, with a beard and long, graying hair under a stocking cap. He had two scars on his face and was wearing a trench coat. She didn’t see him until his head popped up in the rearview mirror, she said.

Kehoe eventually ended up at the Hook-N-Liner pond, where she said she tried to fight the man using pepper spray. She hoped to escape, but the man kicked the canister away.

“I was trying, trying, trying to get away,” she wrote. “He’ll have nasty bruises on his shins.”

The man banged her head against the van and knocked her out. When she came to, she was in the back of the vehicle. Her wrists and ankles were bound with duct tape.

She also found the boys injured. Sean was still bleeding. Kehoe tried to administer first aid. Seth’s lips were already purple.

The man came back and assaulted her. He cut her throat and then she blacked out, she said. The next day, she managed to make it to Debra Hinde’s house a quarter-mile up the road. Hinde called 911, and first responders discovered the van.

Kehoe appeared worried in the interview about what family members said during hospital visits.

“When Aunt Colleen was here yesterday, Sean said I was trying to hurt him,” she said. “(I was) trying to stop the bleeding.”

Story Unravels

Callaway told jurors details of the story didn’t match up with the evidence they already had, including a statement from Sean Kehoe that Michelle cut him.

“The mystery assailant, we didn’t think was true,” he said.

He confronted her in the same interview, and she confessed she hurt the boys. She couldn’t say why.

“I want to die. I can’t explain this to anyone. Just kill me,” she wrote.

Kehoe said she intended to kill the boys and herself. She drove them out to the pond and told them she had to take care of something. She then bound Sean with tape and covered his eyes. She chose him first because he was older, she said. She killed Seth next, she wrote.

“I knew they would go up to heaven, and I would go to hell,” she said.

She cut her throat about 5 minutes later. Michelle Kehoe went to the road and curled up in a ball and “waited to finish dying.” In the meantime, Sean had crawled into the van to hide, though Kehoe didn’t see him.

Several family members had gathered at the hospital, though Kehoe declined the offer by Callaway to have them come into her room.

“I don’t want to see anyone, I don’t want to face anyone, once they know I’m not OK,” she said.

On Thursday, October 29th, 2008, Michelle Kehoe was officially charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and child endangerment causing serious injury. To view a copy of the Complaint & Affidavit for all three charges, click on the following three links:

Murder in the First Degree
Attempt to Commit Murder
Child Endangerment Resulting in Serious Injury

On October 28th, 2009. almost exactly one year to the day since Michelle Kehoe slit the throats of her two sons, he trial began. As is usually the case when the prosecution has a defendant cold, and the crime is so unbelievably heinous, Michelle Kehoe had pled insanity.

Her attorneys pointed to the previous attempt at suicide, when Michelle Kehoe drove her minivan into the Iowa River, and to an even earlier attempt when she was growing up. Besides, they argued, what mother in her right mind tries to kill her own children?

Unfortunately for them, and for Michelle Kehoe too, investigators found evidence that she had planned the murder of Sean and Seth almost a month in advance. Part of that evidence was receipts that proved she had bought the duct tape and the knife several weeks before making her move.

The jury didn’t buy the insanity defense. On November 5th, 2009, after only 2 hours of deliberation, Michelle Lynn Kehoe was convicted on all counts:

Coralville mother Michelle Kehoe cried and her family sobbed as a jury found her guilty of first-degree murder in the death last fall of her 2-year-old son in a remote area of northeast Iowa.

Kehoe used a white handkerchief to stem her tears as the jury of eight women and four men also found her guilty of attempted murder and child endangerment causing serious injury to cap the week-long trial.

It took jurors only two hours to come back with the three guilty verdicts against Kehoe, 35, who had been accused of killing her son, Seth, near Littleton on Oct. 28, 2008, and then trying to kill her then 7-year-old son, Sean, before also cutting her own throat. She had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

In a statement read by B.J. Franklin of the Cedar Rapids-based Horizon Survivors Program, the family said the ordeal caused them “a great sadness” and that they did not know the extent of Kehoe’s mental illness.

“This situation has been extremely traumatic for all involved,” Franklin read.

The family said they will now focus their attention on Sean Kehoe.

“There are no winners in this case,” Franklin read. “Lives have been irreparably damaged.”

As the verdict was read, Michelle Kehoe’s husband, Eugene, looked straight ahead and showed no emotion.

Defense attorney Andrea Dryer left the courtroom shortly after the verdict was read and was not immediately available for comment; her office said she would not be in for the rest of the day. Iowa Assistant Attorney General Andy Prosser, who prosecuted the case, said all homicide trials are difficult and “this one had its issues that were very tragic.”

Michelle Kehoe will be sentenced Dec. 15 in Independence; the trial took place in Grundy Center on a change of venue because of pretrial publicity.

Michelle Kehoe and her family seemed to predict the outcome of the short deliberation as they filed back into the courtroom and cried before the jury entered. Eugene Kehoe sat with his hands clasped and looked forward.

In closing arguments earlier in the day, attorneys for both sides argued whether Michelle Kehoe was mentally capable of distinguishing right from wrong at the time of the attacks.

Dryer said there was no contesting what Kehoe had done. However, her mental state at the time of the attacks prevents her from being held accountable, she said.

Dryer also reiterated what defense witnesses testified earlier about Michelle Kehoe’s reasons for attacking her children, attempting to kill herself and blaming it on a fictitious attacker — she would save her children the burden of losing a parent and living with mental illness and they would go to heaven. That was fixed, delusional thinking, Dryer said.

“There is absolutely no reason for this other than what she said,” Dryer said. “She wanted to die, she thought it was right. She thought it was right for the kids, too.”

In his closing, Prosser countered that “thinking it’s right is not the same as losing the capacity to tell right from wrong.”

Legal insanity does not have a cause and effect relationship with Kehoe’s mental illness nor does the incomprehensibility of her acts mean Kehoe is legally insane, Prosser said.

“Failing to comprehend why she did it does not mean she’s legally insane,” he said.

Michelle Kehoe will be automatically be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

This was another story that took me several days to finish, because it was just too difficult to keep my anger in check for more than a hour or two at a clip. People who choose to take their children with them when they commit suicide – especially the ones who fail miserably at their own attempt to end their life – have earned special status in the place in my mind where I store my rage. What gives them the right to take the lives of these children before they’ve even had a chance to start living it? Who are they to make that choice?

I hope Michelle Kehoe spends the rest of her life in abject misery. I hope she never, ever finds the peace she is looking for in this life. Most of all, I hope that life is a long one, full of painful memories of Seth.

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It’s been just over 7 years since Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammad were arrested, sleeping in their 1990 Chevrolet Caprice Sedan. The murder weapon the two had used to kill ten people, a Bushmaster .223 rifle was found inside the car, and was later conclusively linked through ballistics to 8 of the 10 shootings, though the eventual conviction that led to Muhammad’s death sentence relates to only a single shooting, that of Dean Harold Meyers, a 53 year-old man who was just pumping his gas.

At the time, in the post 9-11 aftermath of fear and conspiracy, systematic murders by a man named Muhammad and his young disciple added fuel to the fire of religious hatred and disjointed relations that colored the character of national and international decisions. Was Muhammad and the young Malvo a dastardly duo on a mission from Allah?

No, Muhammad was angry at one woman, his ex-wife, who had estranged him from his children. His killing spree, shooting 10 other people and basically scaring the piss out of everyone and anyone living near the Beltway, was his “clever” cover for his plans to murder his ex-wife.

Yeah, this guy killed 10 people, in order to hide the fact that he was going to kill his ex-wife….How does this make sense?

Here’s a list of Muhammad’s victims:

James Martin, age 55, shot and killed, October 2, 2002
Premkumar Walekar, age 54, shot and killed, October 3, 2002
Sarah Ramos, age 34, shot and killed, October 3, 2002
Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, age 25, shot and killed, October 3, 2002
Pascal Charlot, age 72, shot and killed October 3, 2002
Caroline Seawell, age 43, shot and seriously wounded, October 4, 2002
Iran Brown, age 13, shot and seriously wounded, October 7, 2002
Dean Harold Meyers, shot and killed October 9, 2002
Kenneth Bridges, age 53, shot and killed October 11, 2002
Linda Franklin, age 47, shot and killed October 14, 2002
Jeffrey Hopper, age 37, shot and seriously wounded, October 19, 2002
Conrad Johnson, age 35, shot and killed October 22, 2002

Well, soon we won’t have to worry about him. Governor Kaine over in Virginia, whatever your feelings about his politics has stepped out of the way, and barring some rather lofty judicial intervention or some other major event, Muhammad will be executed by lethal injection this evening at 9:00 PM.

John Allen Muhammad, age 48, was pronounced dead a 9:11pm on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009. He was executed by lethal injection at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia. Relatives of his victims, his attorneys, members of the media and official state witnesses watched as Muhammad’s sentence was carried out.

You can bet the fires of hell burned a little brighter the moment Muhammad’s soul arrived.

Note: “The Final Report – The DC Sniper” is from a CNN special report on the sniper attacks. There’s a lot of opinion mixed in with the facts, so don’t let yourself get sidetracked by the producer’s spin on things. I chose to use the videos because it contained the most thorough examination of the facts surrounding Muhammad’s and Malvo’s killing spree.

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Pacheco would beat Jessica’s “favorite son”, 4-year-old Raymond, to get back at Jessica, and Jessica would in turn beat his favorite child, her 5-year-old daughter Alea. The probable cause affidavit said Arrowood had:

“snatched Alea up by her hair, picked her up by her throat one-handed, threw her like a rag doll and wrapped her arms around Alea’s throat.”

The last time she choked her daughter was the day before Pacheco beat Raymond within inches of his life (more on this soon).

The probable cause affidavit also said:

“Alea stopped screaming and turned blue when Jessica began choking her…(Jessica Arrowood) threw Alea across the room.”

Greenwood, Indiana, Police Department Commander Matt Fillenwarth said:

“Alea was Pacheco’s favorite and Arrowood would beat her to get back at him. She would pick the little girl up by her hair, choke her and then throw her around the room.”

The following day, Jesse Pacheco must have been really pissed that Jessica had hurt little Alea, because he retaliated by slamming little Raymond’s head onto the floor so hard, the boy went limp and fell into a coma. Now, being the great mother is, Jessica took Raymond to the hospital, where doctors found numerous injuries on the boy, including a blood clot on his brain, bruising to the left ear, a forehead abrasion and a bite mark on his stomach. She was questioned about abuse, because typically 4 year olds don’t have severe head trauma for no reason. At first, Jessica denied there was any abuse going on, then confessed that both she a Pacheco beat the children.

She also admitted that the beatings had been going on for nearly two years. Two years!

Now to make this case that much more interesting, Raymond was going to day care, Kid Co. Childcare Inc. The day care providers had noticed some bruising on Raymond that didn’t seem quite right, so they turned the mother and boyfriend in for child abuse. Oh, wait, that’s right, if they had done that, maybe Raymond wouldn’t be in a coma right now. They told Jessica that they wouldn’t “report her this time.” This daycare is now under investigation….hmm…can’t figure out why.

When questioned by reporters, an administrator at Kid Co. Childcare Inc. initially denied neglecting the signs of abuse but then, a few minutes later, she changed her tune.

“The police was in on this, CPS was in on this, everything was done. I’m not arguing with you.”

Jesse Pacheco III, 27, was charged on August 10th, 2009, with battery resulting in serious bodily injury to a person younger than 14 on allegations that he beat Raymond Arrowood. On August 14th, Jessica Arrowood, 27, was charged with battery resulting in bodily injury, neglect of a dependent and two counts of strangulation for the alleged abuse of Alea Arrowood.

Jesse Pacheco remained in the Johnson County Jail on Thursday on $60,000 bond. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all charges. Jessica Arrowood, who faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted, remained in the Johnson County Jail on $15,000 bond.

This Story Was Written And Submitted By Lost Cause

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Christie Scott, 30, is one of those people. Back on July 8th of this year, she was convicted of setting fire to the bedroom where her six-year-old autistic son, Mason Scott, was sleeping. She and her younger son, Noah, now 5, were outside when first responders arrived at their home in Franklin County, Alabama, but little Mason didn’t survive the blaze. The fire occurred on August 17th, 2007.

But this isn’t your usual mother of an autistic child killing the kid to put him out of his misery or to release herself from the burden of caring for a special needs child. Oh no, this is much worse than that. You see, Christie Scott here figured that as long as she was going to lose a son, she ought to receive something in return. That something was one hundred thousand dollars from an insurance policy she took out on Mason Scott the day before the fire.

I said she was evil, I never said she was smart.

She steadfastly maintained her innocence, but there were other things that pointed to Christie Scott’s guilt. Fire investigators determined the fire began on or around Noah Scott’s bed. Those same investigators also proved Scott disabled the smoke detector in Mason’s room to prevent it from alerting her son to the fire. The victim was sleeping alone in his bedroom; Mason’s younger brother Noah normally slept with his brother, but on the night of the fire he slept with his mom, and both were able to escape the burning home through a window in her bedroom.

In October of 2008, Christie Michelle Scott was indicted on charges of Capital Murder for Financial Gain, Committing Capital Murder During a First-Degree Arson and Committing Capital Murder by Intentionally Killing Someone Younger Than Fourteen. She faced the Death Penalty.

The highlight of the trial was Christie Scott’s decision to testify in her own defense. When asked about why she purchased a $100,000 life insurance policy for both her sons the day before the fire, she responded by saying she wanted to lock in on a low rate:

“When they were 40-year-old men, they would still pay premiums for a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old.”

She also testified that after she had escaped the house with Noah, she ran next door to get help from her neighbors, Jennifer Davidson, and her fiancée, Brian Copeland. She said Davidson called 911 while Copeland went back with Scott to try and rescue Mason. Christie Scott attempted to enter the home by using the keypad for the garage doors:

“My hands were trembling so badly, I was hitting the wrong buttons. I tried myself about six times. I saw Brian put (the code) in twice I know.”

But she’d been caught in a lie. Brian Copeland had testified earlier in the trial for the prosecution, and said that Scott beat on the garage door, but he never saw her attempt to use the key pad, and that he never tried to use the key pad either.

Christie Scott’s defense also tried to minimize Mason Scott’s suffering, insisting that he died of smoke inhalation alone and never felt any pain. That was also proven untrue by the prosecution

Dr. Emily Ward, who performed the autopsy on Mason’s body, testified he died of smoke inhalation AND thermal burns. Ward testified that soot found in the child’s throat and lungs during the autopsy indicates he was alive as the fire began.

Mason was also found on the floor next to the bed, indicating that at some point the boy was awake and tried to escape the flames.

“We don’t think he was alive the whole time the burning was going on, but we don’t know at what point the death occurred.”

After nearly 4 weeks of testimony, and 9 hours of deliberations spread out over three days, the jury of six men and six women finally had their verdict. They found Christie Michelle Scott guilty of all three counts of Capital Murder. The sentencing hearing was an emotional roller coaster that would test the resolve of the strongest members of the jury.

Christie Scott’s husband, Jeremy, cried as he told jurors that he still loves her.

“She doesn’t deserve to get the death penalty.”

Scott’s mother, Kathy Bray, told jurors that executing Scott would reunite a mother and son.

“If you choose to take Christie’s life, you would really do her a favor because she will go to heaven to be with Mason.”

I found this statement particularly annoying – Mrs. Bray seems so sure of herself. I, on the other hand, doubt Christie Scott will see Mason Scott again, unless it’s to explain to him why mommy set him on fire and left him to burn to death. But enough editorializing…

Scott’s father, Donald Bray, also begged for his daughter’s life.

“I know in my heart that Christie didn’t kill Mason, and I know in my heart that Mason is in heaven. Christie doesn’t deserve to die.”

Finally, Christie Scott’s sister, Mitzi Bray, told jurors that Noah prays every night for his mother to come home.

It was just too much for the members of the jury. They returned from their deliberations with a recommendation of Life in Prison without the possibility of parole.

Enter The Honorable Judge Terry Dempsey.

On Wednesday, August 5th, Judge Dempsey exercised his power as trial judge to ignore the recommendation of the jury and sentenced Christie Scott to Death. Here are some excerpts from his sentencing order:

“The capital offense was particularly heinous, atrocious and cruel compared to other capital offenses.

There may be no more painful way for a human to die than by fire. It is not certain whether the victim died from thermal burns or smoke inhalation.

A high carbon monoxide level in the victim’s blood … indicate he was still breathing as he was burning. This would be a horrific death with immense pain for the victim.”

“It is easier to believe that Mason Scott died in his sleep, not knowing of the fire. However, the stark truth is, in all likelihood, that is not the way he died. It is reasonable to assume he died a very painful and terrifying death.

Regardless of the amount of pain suffered by the victim, it is still more heinous, atrocious and cruel when compared to other capital offenses.”

“The Court is a great believer in the jury system and following the jury when at all possible. Killing your own child for money by burning him alive is too much to overcome.

Christie Scott and her supporters were stunned.

It’s a shame that Mason Scott’s entire family forgot about him, and it took a complete stranger, one man with a powerful sense of what is right, to remind that courtroom what real justice is about. This wasn’t really about whether or not Christie Scott deserved the death penalty – she did, of course – this was a question of whether or not someone would have the courage to speak for Mason Scott. It seemed that no one, not his father, not his grandparents, not the jury, was willing or able to do that. Thankfully, Judge Dempsey was – he didn’t forget about Mason and his suffering, and justice for the little six-year-old-boy was finally served.

We couldn’t agree more, Your Honor.

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Abneris, 30, and her live-in boyfriend, Alfred, 37, moved to Dallas from Florida, in search of the American Dream; tagging along for the ride were Abneris’ daughter, her two sons, and a daughter the couple made together. Forgive me for saying, but I think their sights were set a little lower than the typical “American Dream as they took up residence at a Budget Suites of America extended stay hotel, directly off a major freeway in Dallas. The family stayed in the confined quarters for just about a year, until the beginning of July, when their journey together came to an abrupt end.

Abneris’ brother, Abner, stated he came to Texas from Ohio at the urging of his mother after she had a phone conversation with his sister. The mother had grave concerns about her family from the minute Abneris hooked up with Alfred and moved away from her; she was raising her grandchildren and was afraid of the kind of care they were receiving now that they were gone. Abner arrived just in time to catch the discovery of the torture being inflicted on his niece and nephews.

Abneris Santiago phoned police in Dallas on this morning of July 2, 2009 requesting help to remove her children and belongings from the hotel room. Upon police arrival, Abneris knocked on the door to motel room 2019B requesting admittance from Alfred who was in the room. She would claim later that he refused to let her have a key to the room. Mr. Santiago opened the door, surprised to find the little party standing on the other side of it. Based on information stated in the official affidavit filled out by the police on scene, the room was kept immaculately. There was a healthy one year old girl present in the room, sleeping in a crib. Police continued checking around the room; that’s when they found the Santiago’s’ dirty little secret.

Locked in the bathroom were three emaciated, underweight, malnourished children. There was an 11 year old girl who weighed 59 pounds, a 10 year old boy who weighed 58 pounds and was covered in bruises, and a 5 year old boy who weighed a whopping 29 pounds. I checked into this and found out that the average weight for an 11 year old girl is 79.2 pounds. The average weight for a 10 year old boy is 70.4 pounds, and for the average 5 year old boy it is 41.8 pounds. The Santiago children sure seemed to be lacking a little bit. Police officers noted all three children were suffering from serious physical, mental, and emotional neglect. Each of the children displayed obvious signs of the neglect including; dry and swollen lips, protruding ribs, and sunken cheeks and eyes.

Children’s Protective Services were called in immediately and workers tried to feed the children for the first time in Jesus only knows how long, unfortunately, their tummies were so empty they threw up their first taste of food. The children were removed from their dire surroundings and evaluated by a doctor; all three of the children were hospitalized for 10 days. As soon as they were released from the hospital, the three joined their sister in temporary foster care. The 10 year old boy was placed back in the hospital at a later date for some additional problems he was experiencing.

Police cars and ambulances tend to bring out the rubbernecker in all of us; and the guests at this hotel were no different. A few guests told reporters that they had seen the couple around the grounds of the hotel, which had several apartment complex like buildings, but none of them were ever aware there were children with them. The seemed to have done quite a good job of concealing the children and their hideous ways.

While in the hospital, the 11 year old girl admitted to police that she had been sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend while he was in charge when her mother was at work. She graphically described the rapes and told officers about the oral sex she was forced to perform on Mr. Santiago. The girl was threatened that she would be killed if she ever told her mother about the abuse. Police and CPS workers also learned that the children were locked in that tiny bathroom day- in day-out for almost a year; the only time they were let out was when Alfred showered. Other forms of torture were regular beatings and irregular feedings; these activities weren’t limited to the little girl.

Abneris and Alfred were arrested from their hotel room. Abneris (Her Arrest Record) was charged with injury to a child and is being held on a $50,000 bond. Her attorney, James Jamison, stated that her initial court appearance on the charge will not be until August 3, 2009. Alfred (His Arrest Record) was charged with aggravated sexual assault and continuous sexual abuse and is being held on a $125,000 bond. His attorney, Richard Carrizales, declined to make a statement. I am glad these two have both been charged; but, I am seriously wondering why some are missing?

Abneris’ attorney, Mr. Jamison, claims that she has made mistakes in the past about her male companions and he believes that Alfred was controlling her and her children. He also claims that she was afraid of what would happen if she came forward about the abuse. By her having made mistakes in her past and not learning from them; shouldn’t she be facing more charges? The fact that she continuously got in the same kind of relationships proves she didn’t give a damn about bettering herself or for providing a better life for her kids.

She was afraid to report the abuse? Sure she was. I totally believe that. But as afraid as she was, she knew her children were stuffed in a bathroom and being starved for a year; any other mom would have taken a couple smacks to make sure her kids were fed or a couple of punches to try to get them somewhere safe. Instead, she went to work and came home. She fed her youngest daughter, her spawn with the devil himself. She slept in a bed probably not 10 feet away from where her kids were sandwiched together in misery. Afraid, sure? But, she was also indifferent to the pain being felt by her children.

Lawyers for the hotel have stated that there was no reason to believe anything was going on in the room; they had received no complaints from other guests. The hotel offered a maid service for guests that was available for an extra charge. It is not clear if any staff ever entered the room.

I couldn’t imagine being locked in a whole house for a year, let alone a room. Those kids are a helluva lot tougher than I am. Hopefully, with some counseling and having their mother banished from them for life, these kids will become something great.

Editor’s Note: And if this story wasn’t already aggravating enough, Alfred Santiago gave an interview with the Dallas Morning New where he claimed it was HE who was being abused, not the children who were starved and locked in the bathroom for a year. Seriously. Check this guy out:

The man accused of shutting three kids inside a bathroom for months, starving them and repeatedly raping one, said Wednesday that he – not the children – is the victim.

“The one who is being disrespected right now is I, because I’m the one who’s being abused,” said 37-year-old Alfred Santiago during an interview inside the Dallas County Jail.

In Wednesday’s interview, Santiago accused the children of, among other things, raping babies and pouring urine on his infant daughter.

“What I was doing is protecting my baby daughter from her (his girlfriend’s) kids,” Santiago said. “What I did was I did not leave my daughter out of my sight.”

At the same time, Santiago said it was his girlfriend, not him, who kept her kids shut inside the bathroom. Authorities say Santiago stayed home during the days while his girlfriend worked at a barbecue restaurant.

But Alfred Santiago said Wednesday the children had access to “mountains of food,” claiming authorities had photos to prove it.

“They were skinny because they were not eating the food,” he said. “I was feeding them, but they were not eating the food.”

He accused reporters who probed him further of being out to get him, saying society is generally biased against men: “I’m a man in the United States. We’re treated very unfairly when it comes to a woman.”

“If people will start looking for what they need to be looking for,” he said, “they will find the truth.”

I’m telling you people, some folk have no shame, and no respect for the other guy’s intelligence. How does a person like Alfred say these kinds of things with a straight face, while all the time knowing he’s lying his ignorant, child raping ass off. What I wouldn’t give for a chance to choke the living shit out of Alfred Santiago.

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Mad enough to kill.

On Saturday morning, July 18th, 2009, at around 10 minutes to ten, the Lincoln County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from Jacob Shaffer, 30, requesting that a deputy be sent to the home of his estranged wife, Traci Shaffer. When the deputy arrived, he found Shaffer sitting on the porch of the house holding his four-year-old daughter. Shaffer made some comments about something having happened in the house, so the officer went inside to check. What he found would remind him of a slaughter house.

Inside the home were the bodies of Traci Shaffer, 38; her son from a previous marriage, Devin Brooks, 16; and Devin’s best friend, Robert Berber, also 16. All three had been stabbed multiple times.

The deputy, after making sure all three victims were dead, carefully backed out of the house so as not to destroy any evidence. He had already arrested Jacob Shaffer based on his initial statements; now Shaffer made more remarks concerning the house across the street, where Traci Shaffer’s father and brother resided. By now, backup had arrived, and other officers walked across the road and entered the second home. There they found that Traci’s dad, 57-year-old Billy Hall, and her 34-year-old brother Chris Hall had also been stabbed to death.

Sheriff Murray Blackwelder of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department said that Jacob Shaffer purchased two hand-held stun guns on Friday afternoon. At some point after that, Shaffer murdered a sixth person, Sidney Wade Dempsey, 50, at Hall Marble Company in Huntsville, Alabama. The stun guns explain how he was able to overpower so many people, especially Traci Shaffer’s Dad and brother.

Chuck Crawford, district attorney for Lincoln County, said the purchase of the stun guns also shows that Jacob Shaffer didn’t just snap and go on a killing spree.

“That’s not indicative of somebody snapping to me. That’s indicative of somebody who has a plan and is following it.”

“(In fact) There is a lot of evidence of premeditation,”

According to police, Sidney Wade Dempsey was the first to die. Apparently he was a coworker of Jacob Shaffer at the Hall Marble Company which was owned by his in laws. He was also the only victim not to be stabbed – instead, Shaffer beat Dempsey to death. Jacob then hitched a ride from Huntsville, Alabama, to the small community of Lincoln, Tennessee, where he stabbed his father-in-law and brother-in-law to death. He then crossed the street to Trace Shaffer’s house and murdered the two boys. Finally, in a move that was obviously timed deliberately, Jacob Shaffer committed his final act of violence. You can bet he made sure Traci knew her father, brother and son were dead before he butchered her.

James Wilson is a close friend of the Hall family, He gave an interview to WAAY TV in Huntsville, Alabama, where he spoke of his friends and some of the events that led up to their murders.

“They were good people, her (Traci) father took Jacob from Fayetteville to Huntsville to work and dropped him off. He was good to Jacob and everybody.”

“Her dad done everything he could for Jacob. I have no idea why he walked across the street to her daddy and her brother. Her daddy never done anything wrong.”

“Traci was worried that night because he wouldn’t leave her alone. Every time she’d hang up, (Jacob would call right back) constantly over and over, she was worried that night. She said her dad and brother were across the street and she’d be alright.”

“She’s (Traci’s sister Jennifer, who Wilson is dating) not handling it and I can’t blame her. What can you say to someone who has lost everybody?”

“It’s alot, too much to handle right now.”

The two teenage victims, who were as close as best friends could be, were also a study in contrast. Devin Brooks, with his shoulder length, wavy hair, was a quick-thinking, creative teen who enjoyed writing and planned a career working with young children. Robert Berber, on the other hand, looked like the all American boy. He had the skilled hands of a tradesman, excelled in technical courses and planned someday to work as a collision specialist.

Candice Skall, a relative of Sidney Wade Dempsey, said the man the family all knew as “Slick” will be sorely missed.

“He was just so funny, just talking a mess, you know just flirting you know, he was happy and he just wanted to enjoy his family.”

Melissa Dean, a friend said Dempsey was a great guy with a good heart, and recalls the last time she saw him, they had a conversation about one of her children.

“The last time I’d seen him he came into Tip Top and was asking how Dustin was doing, and he said he was proud of him, for doing what he wanted to do…which is skate boarding.”

Skall said Dempsey most recent family get-together, two weeks ago was one of the happiest moments for the family. He was celebrating his 50th birthday, Skall’s says it was all laughs, and a good time.

“So to have that kind of memory, you know it’s a good thing, it’s kind of like, God knew what was going to happen so we got to say our goodbye in a round about way.”

Jacob Levi Shaffer was arraigned Monday, July 20th on 5 counts of premeditated First Degree Murder in Lincoln County, Tennessee. He still faces an additional murder charge in Alabama. Both Tennessee and Alabama are death penalty States.

So there it is folks. I’m sure Jacob Shaffer feels he was a man who was push too far, and finally decided to push back. I’m sure his lawyers will say,”Here is a man whose life was spinning out of control, and in his sick mind, decided to take back that control.”

Some of us think that’s bunk. Some of us look at Jacob Levi Shaffer, and all we see is a immature, spoiled man-child who couldn’t take the word “No” for an answer. For whatever reason, his wife Traci had decided she didn’t want to be with him any longer, and because he couldn’t convince her to chance her mind, that somehow made her eligible for a death sentence. I think if I live to be a thousand years, I will never understand how men like Jacob Shaffer justify that kind of thinking to themselves.

UPDATE – JULY 24th, 2009

I discovered some additional information about Jacob Shaffer that shows him in a better light. According to Nikki Doyle of the Huntsville Times, Shaffer once tried to take custody of his two children away from his first wife, Elizabeth Shaffer, by claiming she was an unfit mother.

“According to court records from August 2008, 30-year-old Jacob Shaffer claimed his ex-wife, Elizabeth Shaffer, was ‘neglectful in the welfare and well-being’ of the couple’s two children, 9-year-old Arianna and 7-year-old Justin.”

“Jacob Shaffer claimed less than a year ago that his oldest daughter thrived in his household, earning better grades and showing more involvement in Sunday school than when she lived with her mother.”

“Shaffer said his ex-wife had been living with her boyfriend and left the children in his sole custody for months, neglecting to pick them up at scheduled times, according to court records”.

“The claims went unanswered, and the case was closed in December after a Madison County judge denied Shaffer’s request for a waiver of fees based on financial hardship.”

“The 2008 civil case was the second chapter of a custody battle between Shaffer and his ex, who sued him three years earlier for $7,375 in back child support for their two children.”

“Shaffer teetered on the brink of a 110-day jail sentence for failing to pay 80 child support payments since the couple’s divorce in 2003. Shaffer put down a ‘large good-faith payment’ after the civil court claim was filed, causing the judge to withdraw the order that could have sent him to jail.”

So, we see that Shaffer was a deadbeat dad, he had financial problems, and he didn’t like paying child support. Now he was facing another divorce, and another round of child support payments for the 4-year-old daughter he had with Traci Shaffer. I’m starting to see motive here, are you?

It’s pure speculation on my part, of course, but I did find some indications that Shaffer was also stalking Traci. One incident involved him riding a bicycle all the way from Huntsville, Alabama, to Lincoln, Tennessee, and showing up unannounced at Traci’s house to beg her to reconcile. If you add the financial angle to the obsessive behavior and you can see how this can easily end in tragedy.

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But what to do about Sloopy and Skeeter, the two mutts he had adopted for the Humane Society in 2007. Money was tight, so he couldn’t afford to pay to board them, and for some reason, he chose not to let a neighbor watch the dogs while he was away, despite the fact that the neighbor twice offered to do it for free.

Instead, David P. Santuomo took his best friends into the basement, strung then up from a pipe running across the ceiling, took his .22 caliber rifle with a crude, home made silencer attached (How thoughtful – wouldn’t want to disturb the neighbors.), and used the dogs for target practice.

He blasted the two helpless animals with eleven shots – One dog had six bullets in his head. He then wrapped the carcasses in plastic and threw them in a dumpster behind a firehouse.

Now, how to explain the dog’s disappearance to his children and ex-wife. Simple of course – He lied.

I don’t know if David Santuomo ever went on that cruise. I do know that he was pretty proud of the way he solved his animal problem. He bragged to other firefighter about what he had done, laughing as he told them about concrete flying everywhere from the bullets that went completely through the two dogs’ bodies.

Unfortunately for Dave, his fellow smoke eaters were disgusted with his actions, and one of them reported him to the Humane Society. Needless to say, Jodi Buckman, executive director of the Capital Area Humane Society, was pretty pissed off:

“This is a travesty and abhorrent behavior to those in this community who work to save the lives of animals.”

“Fellow firefighters were disgusted by what he did, and the Capital Area Humane Society was called to investigate.”

At first, David Santuomo lied to the investigators, telling them he shot the dogs to put them out of their misery after they accidentally drank antifreeze, but a necropsy showed no trace of the poison.

Reporters obtained a search warrant served on David Santuomo’s home late last year that said Santuomo sent several text messages also bragging that he was going to shoot his dogs instead of paying for their boarding during his vacation.

After the investigation, David Santuomo was arrested and charged with two counts of animal cruelty and and one count of possession of a criminal tool, for the plastic soda bottle he use as his makeshift silencer. All three charges are misdemeanors.

On June 25th, 2009, David P. Santuomo pleaded guilty in Ohio Municipal Court, and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay $4,500 to cover the cost of his investigation and serve five years’ probation by Judge Harland H. Hale. Hale also fined Santuomo $150 and ordered him to perform 200 hours of community service. He must not have pets or weapons in his house for five years and must undergo random home inspections.

He was also ordered to publish a public apology in a firefighters’ magazine.

Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Heather Robinson said this about David Santuomo:

“I think it was the thrill of the kill for him. He has shown no remorse for this.”

Defense attorney Sam Shamansky disagreed:

“This was an isolated event not to be repeated and totally out of character for him. He is extremely remorseful.”

In the courtroom, David Santuomo showed just how remorseful he was, flipping the bird at the reporters who were there to cover his case.

Yeah, remorseful.

There’s an online poll set up at The Petition Site for folks who would like to express their opinion of Davis Santuomo’s sentence (Click Here).

David Santuomo, a firefighter since 1996, remains on active duty while awaiting a disciplinary hearing with Columbus Fire Chief Ned Pettus Jr.

I dug up something interesting on our boy Dave. According to court records, in February David P. Santuomo petitioned the court to reinstate his driving privileges on a limited use basis. It had been suspended for “Non-Compliance”, a legal term used to describe a parent who doesn’t pay his child support. Yes my friends, it appears David Santuomo is a deadbeat dad too. You can view those court records by clicking here.

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Many professionals consider Münchhausen Syndrome By Proxy to be a lethal form of child abuse (as most victims are minor children). There are also documented cases of Münchhausen Syndrome By Proxy where a medical care provider inflicts injury upon a patient only to be the one to diagnosis and perform emergency medical procedures to save the patient and gain accolades for their actions.

OK, enough of the scientific mumbo jumbo, psychobabble and flashbacks to Psych 101.

Let’s all give a warm welcome to our latest inductee into PYSIH, Emily Beth McDonald, 23, of Manor, Texas. On April 15, 2009, McDonald’s 3-year old daughter Dakota, was admitted to Dell Children’s Hospital with a high fever and a history of chronic diarrhea and a series of infections due to unusual organisms, which are normally found in feces, infecting her bloodstream. Being hospitalized was not a new phenomenon for this precious child as she had been in and out of the hospital throughout her young life after being born prematurely. McDonald published a blog, narrating the families’ struggles with the child’s illness. On May 28th, McDonald wrote:

“The last few days have been frustrating. It’s one thing to spend 8mos in the NICU after your child’s born but it’s 10x worse having to revert back to that lifestyle after having your child home for 2.5yrs. I have certain expectations of the doctors caring for [my daughter], mainly that I’m consulted or at least informed before changes are made. I’ve felt very out of the loop this week with the discussions taking place about the broviac, possible discharge in the future and her over all care. My gut instinct when I come in and hear that X has been changed without the doctors talking to me, is to invoke my veto power and say, “no, I won’t let it happen”. Obviously this doesn’t sit well with them and so everyone ends up irritated.”

It appeared as if every time the child would start to make progress in her recovery, she would have a relapse. The hospital staff became suspicious of McDonald, her behavior and attitude toward the medical personnel. Now as a mother, I am the first one to say that NO ONE knows my child like I do. I don’t care how many letters they have after their name. It’s like a male gynecologist once told me that he knew my menstrual cycle better than I did. Right. Yo, Doc, you stick a tampon up your butt for 7 days a month for the next 20 years and then we can talk, until then, you’re fired. Where my kids are concerned, I will listen to the doctors and evaluate what they are saying and seek a second opinion if necessary. But when a doctor tells me my child is improving, the last thing I am going to do is argue with them. But that is exactly what McDonald did.

The hospital placed a surveillance camera in the child’s hospital room. According to Lt. Jeff Hampton, “They made the decision, which I think was the right decision to monitor that child’s room. By any means possible.” Much to their surprise (or not) they observed McDonald taking feces from the child’s diaper and applying it to her Central Ventricular Line cap; that line goes directly into the girl’s bloodstream, with her finger. They had finally solved the mystery behind the child’s life threatening illness: her mother.

Dr. John Hellerstedt, Vice President of Medial Affairs for Dell’s Children’s Hospital said, “The Seton Family of Hospitals has many security and safety procedures in place to protect our patients. If we suspect possible injury to one of our patients, we take legal and necessary steps to protect their health and safety.”

The hospital notified the police and when questioned, McDonald confessed to treating her daughter’s feeding tube with feces on five separate occasions to ensure that she stayed violently ill. McDonald was arrested and charged with felony injury to a child, which carries a possible life sentence. She was initially grated a “personal recognizance” bond and released from jail. But The Honorable Judge Julie Kocurek of the 390th Criminal District Court revoked McDonald’s recognizance bond and added a $100,000 bond after she learned of the allegations (yeah Judge Kocurek!).

McDonald has since posted bond and been outfitted with an electronic ankle-monitoring bracelet. She is forbidden from having any contact with her three children – Dakota is in the custody of child protective services while the older two children (a 6-year old daughter and 4-year old son) are in the custody of their father.

McDonald has never been formally diagnosed with Münchhausen Syndrome By Proxy, but she stated in her confession that she kept her daughter sick to gain attention for herself (if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…). Reading her blog entries is like looking in the narcissism handbook just plum full of I’s and Me’s. Example:

“May 26, 11:26 pm: Obviously I’m not driving much these days. My car is a fairly permanent fixture in the parking lot at the front of the hospital. We’re saving a bit of money on gas to put a positive spin on being in the hospital for almost 50 days (yep, midnight will be day 49 with no end in sight). Back to my story. I haven’t driven a car since Saturday when I took my other daughter back home after spending the previous night here with me at the hospital. I completely, unintentionally left an unopened can of Dr. Pepper (my addiction) in the front seat of my car…Tonight I hopped in my car to drive to the Thai restaurant next to the hospital (yes, I could have walked but am lazy)…”

McDonald kept a meticulous log detailing the treatment of her daughter on her blogs. A sufficient amount of these treatments were extremely painful and required a tremendous amount of suffering for baby Dakota to endure. It is unimaginable that a mother would intentionally infect her child with life threatening bacteria just to maintain herself in the spotlight. But that that is what McDonald did. She deliberately and maliciously poisoned her daughter and then chided the doctors for not being able to properly diagnosis or treat her daughter.

But not everyone is ready to accept that this young mother would deliberately poison her youngest, and most vulnerable, child. When questioned, family members and her husband were shocked and blindsided by the allegations. Her attorney, Bob Phillips, told journalists that she is a “fine young woman from a fine family who loves her children very much.” He further stated, “I believe that as the facts unfold, the impression people have of this young woman will change for the better.” Bob must live in a really happy place full of chirping birds and dancing squirrels. Because I do not think that once people see this “fine young woman” smearing shit into the cap of tube that runs directly into her toddler’s bloodstream to change their opinion of her. She was and IS a sad and pathetic excuse for a human being and a monster. Oops, I meant mother.

I hope and pray that this child recovers from the infections (which her doctors believe that she will make a full recovery now that shit is not being mainlined into her bloodstream) that her mother caused her and furthermore, that she never have to suffer through any unsupervised visitations with her mother. Ever.

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