Jurors took 95 minutes on Monday to decide Harve L. Johnson should die for fatally beating 2-year-old Darisabel Baez, in what they also decided was a case of torture.

It was about five minutes longer than they took to convict him on Friday of first-degree murder.

The six-man, six-woman jury rejected an impassioned plea by defense attorney Ari Weitzman to spare Johnson’s life, and also rejected the argument that Johnson’s own horrendous childhood should be taken into consideration when deciding his fate.

Jurors unanimously agreed Johnson should die for his crime. The only other possible punishment was life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Darisabel’s murder captured the attention of not only the York community, but the worldwide community, via online reports.

Chief deputy prosecutor Chris Moore said he saw at least 10 prospective jurors, who were ultimately rejected for the jury, attending Johnson’s trial last week simply to watch.

“That’s unheard of,” he said. “Everybody’s so invested in the case.”

He said the community didn’t forget Darisabel, and that the intense interest in the trial showed people were concerned Johnson might not be held accountable.

Police officers who initially responded to Darisabel’s 710 W. Philadelphia St. home on April 6, 2008 — the day she was beaten — as well as county workers and a York Hospital trauma nurse who photographed Darisabel’s injuries, crowded the courtroom on Friday for Johnson’s guilty verdict. Many returned on Monday to hear his punishment.

They cried and hugged on Friday. Nurse Patti O’Brien later said that while police and emergency responders regularly witness heartbreaking tragedies, Darisabel’s case left an indelible mark on all of them.

People walking and driving past the courthouse reacted to Johnson’s punishment by pumping their fists or exclaiming “Yes!” Some simply nodded, but all knew about the case and wanted the death penalty for Johnson.

Prosecutor Tim Barker acknowledged “it’s a very difficult thing” to ask a jury to impose the “ultimate sentence.”

“But we had to do that, because that’s what justice required,” he said. “Darisabel still died a torturous death … that’s forever a loss to society.”

Darisabel’s grandmother, Margarita Leon, did not comment as she left the courthouse. Weitzman and fellow defense attorney Rick Robinson also declined comment.

Last Friday, the same jury took less than two hours to convict Harve Johnson of that first-degree murder charge. Details are available on this video:

In case you’ve forgotten, Harve Johson beat 2-year-old Darisabel Baez with a video game controller back in April of 2008. He beat her because she had the nerve to keep waking up every day a 5:00am. He though a good whupping would teach her to sleep later, so he, Harve Johnson, could sleep undisturbed.

The highlight of Harve Johnson’s trial was the testimony of Nedia Benz, the mother of Darisabel Baez. Baez had already plead guilty to third-degree murder for failing to intervene while Johnson was beating her daughter to death. Here are some excerpts from a York Dispatch article detailing Baez’ testimony:

Baez, 21, recounted the minutes leading up to her daughter’s death in their former 710 W. Philadelphia St. home. She said she’d first awakened that day about 5 a.m., when Darisabel walked into the living room where Baez and Johnson slept.

Angered that his sleep had been interrupted, Johnson ordered Darisabel to stand in the corner. She was still there about noon, when the couple woke up for the day, Johnson said.

But Johnson was still angry, Baez said.

“(He) swatted her in the butt,” she said, “and her diaper popped.”

Feces and bits of diaper soiled the little girl’s clothing and the floor, the mother testified.

Baez — who has pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and is expected to be sentenced to five to 10 years in prison — said she cleaned up both her daughter and the mess on the floor.

“That’s when Mr. Harve Johnson grabbed her from me” and carried Darisabel to another room, Baez said.

‘She didn’t deserve it’: “He was hitting her … she was crying,” Baez recounted. “I told him … she didn’t deserve it. He told me to mind my business and go into the other room.”

Baez said she went back to the living room.

“I could hear the whistle of the remote control” as it whipped through the air and hit Darisabel, she said, and at times could see Johnson wielding the device. During the beating, Darisabel cried for her mother and Baez cried for Johnson to stop, she said.

She didn’t summon help because “I was scared, ’cause Harve threatened he would hit me too,” Baez told jurors.

Baez said eventually, Darisabel stopped crying, at which point she heard Johnson running the water in the bathroom. They’d just moved into the apartment a few days before, and had no heat or hot water, she said.

‘What did you do?’: “Harve brings Darisabel to me and she’s wet. She was limp. She wasn’t moving,” Baez said. “I was asking him, ‘What did you do to her?’

“I took her to the kitchen and started giving her CPR,” she said, during which Darisabel threw up blood and briefly began breathing again.

“She was wheezing … three times,” Baez said, and then the toddler stopped breathing.

At that point, Baez yelled for Johnson to call 911 and he went to a neighbor’s home and used their phone to do so. Police said he left the house as officers arrived, but returned later and was arrested.

Darisabel’s wounds were widespread and severe, including injuries to the brain, chest, heart, liver, neck, extremities and vagina, her autopsy report states. The report states that “the amount of beating is extensive and indicative of torture.

Now ol’ Harve Johnson will sit on death row and wait for his sentence to be carried out. Unfortunately, his life will end much more humanely than his victim’s did. Instead of hours and hours of vicious beatings by a bully and a coward, Harve will just go to sleep and never wake up. No matter how hard I try, I can never talk myself into believing that’s justice. I do believe this is the best justice a civilized society can give, however, and that I can live with.

Woops, I Almost Forgot To Thank Missy For Tipping Me Off About Harve Johnson’s Fate. Well Done Missy.

Brought to you by People You’ll See In Hell. The best reason to get a background check that just about anyone can think of.

Lillington, N.C. — Harnett County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against the mother of an 11-month-old girl whose remains were were found in the attic of a Spring Lake home two years ago.

Johni Michelle Heuser, 27, of 1680 Ray Road, was indicted in September on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Harmony Jade Creech.

Deputies found the toddler’s remains in her mother’s attic on Oct. 20, 2007. The indictment states the child was killed between Aug. 31, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2007.

You guys remember Johni Michelle Heuser, don’t you? Sure you do. Well, one of the problems with Johni’s case was that the prosecution couldn’t identify a cause of death for little Harmony. Heuser claimed that she panicked when she found the child dead in her crib and hid the body in her attic. They no longer have that problem.

The decision (to go for the death penalty) was made official Tuesday during a hearing in Harnett County Superior Court for Johni Heuser, 27, during which possible causes in the death of 11-month-old Harmony Jade Creech were revealed for the first time.

Ms. Heuser was charged with first degree murder in October 2007 after a search of her home revealed Harmony’s remains stuffed in a plastic-wrapped diaper box hidden in the attic of her Ray Road home.

The decision to try Ms. Heuser with a capital offence came during a Rule 24 hearing. In a Rule 24 hearing the state must show mitigating circumstances in the crime in order to raise it to the level of a death penalty offense.

In Ms. Heuser’s case, the mitigating circumstance, Prosecutor Davis Weddle said, was the way in which Harmony died, a cause of death determined in part by a study conducted by an anthropologist from UNC-Chapel Hill who studied the child’s bones. The death was a slow one, he said. “It takes a long time for bones to become stunted,” Mr. Weddle said. “She (the anthropologist) relayed to me that this child, Harmony Creech, died of starvation or chronic severe malnutrition.”

During his response, co-defense counsel Phil Fusco argued the state medical examiner officially sets the cause of death. Mr. Fusco said the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy said he could not determine starvation conclusively and chronic malnutrition could be caused by natural causes such as SIDS and pneumonia..

So it appear the State’s theory will be that Johni Michelle Heuser was obsessed with the online video game “Final Fantasy” to the point that she ignored the basic needs of 2-year-old Harmony Jade Creech. Things like food. And water. As a result of Heuser’s obsession, little Harmony Creech starved to death.

Afterwards, Heuser wrapped the body in plastic, placed it in an empty diaper box, and hid it in her attic. When Harmony’s father, Sgt. Ronald Creech II, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, returned from a 15-month deployment in Iraq, Heuser initially claimed the baby had been abducted. Later, when the remains were discovered, she changed her story and told police she found the baby dead in her crib.

A Big Thank You Goes Out To Starr Harper And Lanie For Their Tips On The Latest Developments.

Brought to you by People You’ll See In Hell. The best reason to get a background check that just about anyone can think of.

Lake Tapps Pilot Pleads Guilty to 35 Counts of Production of Child Pornography, Sex Traveling, and Obstruction

April 24, 2009 — Weldon Marc Gilbert, 48, of Lake Tapps, Washington, pleaded guilty yesterday evening to 35 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in the Production of Child Pornography, Transportation of a Minor to Engage in Illegal Sexual Activity and Obstruction of Justice.  U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez remained at the Seattle federal courthouse into the evening hours to conduct the plea hearing, to ensure GILBERT knowingly and voluntarily entered his guilty plea.  GILBERT remains detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle in Tacoma on August 17, 2009.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, GILBERT must be sentenced to between 19 years and 25 years in prison.  Prosecutors will ask for a 25 year prison term.  The plea is also dependent upon GILBERT’s guilty plea to charges in Pierce County Superior Court.  He will serve both sentences concurrently.

“With this plea agreement we ensure that Weldon Marc Gilbert will not have any access to children for a long, long time,” said U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Sullivan.  “Resolving this case now allows the victims to continue the healing process, without reliving in court the horror Gilbert inflicted upon them when they were young boys.”

According to documents filed in the case, GILBERT’s activities first came to light in October 2007, when two brothers reported to the FBI the long term sexual abuse of their relatives by GILBERT.  A court-authorized search of GILBERT’s Lake Tapps home revealed a studio-type set-up with cameras, and numerous videos showing minor boys being sexually molested and sexually spanked by GILBERT.   In the plea agreement GILBERT admitted that the thirty-one videos he produced show 17 different victims, the youngest being 10, 12, 13 and 14 years-old.  GILBERT pleaded guilty to two counts of Transportation of a Minor to Engage in Illegal Sexual Activity, related to trips to Canada in 2005, and 2006.  On these trips GILBERT produced child pornography.  Finally, the obstruction of justice charges related to his actions when he learned he was under police investigation in 2007, and after he was charged federally and was in custody in 2008.  By telephone in 2007, and by letter in 2008, GILBERT tried to get one of his victims to lie about what happened in the investigation.

As part of the plea agreement, GILBERT forfeits to the government property and high end goods he used to lure his victims including his Lake Tapps property, two cars, a helicopter, a float plane, and a boat.  GILBERT also forfeits camera and computer equipment.  The government, in turn, agrees to seek a way to ensure that those forfeited funds go to victims who have filed civil lawsuits, rather than to the government.  GILBERT waived his right to appeal the sentence imposed by the court.

The case represents a terrific example of cooperation between state prosecutors, local law enforcement, federal law enforcement, and the United States Attorney’s Office.  The case was investigated by the FBI and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Roger Rogoff and Mike Dion.

Weldon Marc Gilbert will be sentenced on November 16th, 2009.

According to his plea deal, Weldon Marc Gilbert cannot receive less than 19 years or more than 25 years in a Federal Prison. The magic words in that sentence are “Federal Prison”. They’re important words because, no matter what Gilbert’s sentence is, he will server every single day of it – In the Federal Prison System, there is no such thing as parole.

Brought to you by People You’ll See In Hell. The best reason to get a background check that just about anyone can think of.

But this time I thought I’d handle things differently. Many updates are inspired by comments from supporters of on of our featured members, protesting one of our stories on their friend or family member and claiming their innocence. That forces me to dig into their friend or family members case.

That’s exactly what happened here, only I had to do quite a bit of research in Randy P. Aaser’s case. Not because it was difficult to find, but because there was so much of it, all pointing directly at his guilt.

Now before we continue, I should refresh people’s memories on what Randy P. Aaser actually did. According to the Criminal Complaint, after a night of partying to celebrate his wife Meg Lundeen’s birthday, Randy slashed her throat during an argument over Meg smoking a cigarette. The crime happened during the early morning hours of June 13th, 2007, in the Minneapolis, MN suburb of Brooklyn Center. This video will provide all the details for you:

Anyway, after I posted my reply, I thought it might make a pretty good update too, so I came up with this format. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Carrie H says:
November 7, 2009 at 12:26 am

I know Randy personally. I’ve known him for 14 years. When we first heard what happened we thought the psycho bitch did it to herself! She is THAT crazy! I hope SHE rots in hell! This is NOT the whole story.

Max The Cat says:
November 7, 2009 at 2:48 am

So please, enlighten us Carrie H. Explain to us how a woman can slash her own throat so badly she severs her tongue.

Because I gotta be honest, it’s not her I’m thinking is the psycho bitch right this minute.

From what I’ve found out, he admitted he did it. According to the official Criminal Complaint against him, Aaser called a friend around 3 a.m. and said Lundeen had pulled a knife on him. he said he grabbed and then cut her neck. He said he was sorry, the complaint said. Police arrested him around 3:20 a.m. Police found a bloody 8-inch knife in the couple’s kitchen.

BTW Carrie, have you seen you seen Randy lately? I have.

Minnesota Department of Corrections – Offender Information

And wait just a minute. It looks like Randy pled guilty to Assault in the First Degree. He got himself 12 and a half years.

Behold, Randy P. Aaser’s Court Records:

Case No. 27-CR-07-037701
State of Minnesota vs RANDY PAUL AASER
Case Type: Crim/Traf Mandatory
Date Filed: 06/12/2007
Location: Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown

Party Information

Lead Attorneys:

NELSON, ERIC JOHN
BARRY, LEE W, III

Defendant:

AASER, RANDY PAUL
BROOKLYN CENTER, MN 55429
Male, DOB 10/05/1973

Charge Information

1. Assault-1st Degree 609.221.1 Felony 06/09/2007

2. Attempted Murder in the Second Degree -Intentional (Attempt to Commit – GOC) 609.19.1(1) Felony 06/09/2007

Events and Orders of the Court

DISPOSITIONS

08/01/2007 – Plea (Judicial Officer: Oleisky, Allen)

1. Assault-1st Degree – Not guilty
2. Attempted Murder in the Second Degree -Intentional (Attempt to Commit – GOC) – Not guilty

01/08/2008 – Amended Plea (Judicial Officer: Oleisky, Allen)
Reason: Court Order, Plea agreement

1. Assault-1st Degree – Guilty

02/20/2008 – Disposition (Judicial Officer: Oleisky, Allen)

1. Assault-1st Degree – Convicted

2. Attempted Murder in the Second Degree -Intentional (Attempt to Commit – GOC) – Dismissed

02/20/2008 – Sentenced (Judicial Officer: Oleisky, Allen)

1. Assault-1st Degree – Commit to Commissioner of Corrections – Adult: MN Correctional Facility – St. Cloud 150 Mo

Report on: 02/21/2008
Credit for Time Served: 28 Days
Departure: Dispositional
Status: Active 02/20/2008
Condition: Adult

1. Restitution reserved, 02/20/2008, Active 02/20/2008

Trust me girlie, he’s guilty as hell. Now don’t you regret coming on this website and accusing the victim of faking the crime just to frame this asshole, without any proof whatsoever that things happened the way you say they did? People like you make me physically ill. Meg Lundeen has already suffered enough without some jackass like you starting rumors about her sanity and her integrity, based in absolutely nothing.

Now shut the fuck up.

Brought to you by People You’ll See In Hell. The best reason to get a background check that just about anyone can think of.

A Galveston County jury deliberated for more than fours hours today before finding Royce Clyde Zeigler II guilty of capital murder in the death 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers, who became known as Baby Grace.

Prosecutors portrayed Zeigler as helping his wife kill his stepdaughter during a cruel disciplinary session and then concocting elaborate lies to help cover up the slaying and disposal of the body.

The defense countered in final arguments that Zeigler, 26, was a good man who had nothing to do with the death of Riley Ann Sawyers, but loved his wife so much that he helped her pack Riley’s body in a box and eventually toss it into the Gulf of Mexico.

The arguments on the eighth day of Zeigler’s capital murder trial before District Judge David Garner were made with dramatic flourishes by both sides before the nine men and three women on the jury began deliberations.

“If you’ve never seen the face of a man who killed a child, get a good look,” Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said as he pointed to Zeigler at the defense table.

“We don’t have a video of what Royce Clyde Zeigler and the co-defendant did in the house that day,” Sistrunk told the jurors.

Causing a loud bang by kicking the blue, plastic box that Riley’s body was found in on Oct. 29, 2007, and scattering dirt from it onto the courtroom floor, Sistrunk said, “It’s not the state’s fault that there was 12 pounds of rotting flesh in this box.”

Assistant District Attorney Kayla Allen held up a photo of the blond, blue-eyed girl, saying, “This is the Riley that came to Texas. Then Allen held up a second photo of Riley’s skull showing three fractures. “In six weeks, this is what they reduced her to,” she said.

It took the jurors exactly four and a half hours to decide the guilt of Royce Clyde Zeigler II. I wonder what took them so long? I guess there was a juror or two who wanted to look at all the evidence before making a decision, as if they weren’t in the trial for the past week. No matter, they got it right. Royce Zeigler will now spend the rest of his life in a Texas state prison without the possibility of parole. That the only sentence available to the judge, since the Death Penalty is not on the table.

I don’t understand why that is. Royce Clyde Zeigler II, along with his wife, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, Beat, tortured and killed two-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers in an attempt to teach her manners. Little Riley suffered this abuse for a full 8 hours – she was beaten with a leather belt. Her head was held under water until she nearly passed out, allowed to recover, then dunked again, over and over. She was slammed against a bathroom wall so hard her head left an indentation. This is cruel and heinous treatment by adult standards, but Riley Ann Sawyers was just a baby.

As far as I’m concerned, both Royce Clyde Zeigler II and Kimberly Dawn Trenor should be thinking about a date with the needle. Kimmy should already have her appointment, and Royce should be worrying about when his will be. But none of that will happen, for reasons only the District Attorney understands.

Thanks To insaneinthesfv For The Tip On The Verdict

TRIAL OF ROYCE CLYDE ZEIGLER II BEGINS FOR MURDER OF “BABY GRACE”
by Harvey Rice – The Houston Chronicle

October 28th, 2009 — Royce Clyde Zeigler II was portrayed alternatively today as a killer who lied repeatedly to cover up the death of 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers or a man so in love with his wife that he tried to protect her even after learning that she had slain her daughter.

The prosecution and defense presented those contrasting portraits during opening statements on the first day of Zeigler’s capital murder trial before District Judge David Garner.

Zeigler, 26, and his wife, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, 21, both of Spring, concocted an elaborate web of lies that began unraveling when a fisherman discovered Riley’s body in a blue plastic box that washed onto an island in West Galveston Bay on Oct. 29, 2007, Assistant District Attorney Kayla Allen told the nine men and three women on the jury.

Allen told jurors that investigators called the then-unidentified girl Baby Grace.

Zeigler attorney Neal Davis II countered that his client was guilty of nothing more than helping his wife conceal evidence. Davis said that on the day Riley died, Zeigler walked into the living room and found Trenor with Riley, who already was unconscious.

“There is not one iota of evidence that Royce Zeigler knowingly, intentionally or in any way caused the death of Riley Sawyers,” Davis said. “He is not only not guilty, He is innocent.”

Don’t you just love defense attorneys? Every one of them has an innocent person for a client. Unfortunately for them, this time the prosecution has a pretty good case against their client, including the testimony of his wife and convicted co-defendant Kimberly Dawn Trenor.

Of course, Royce Clyde Zeigler II is claiming that Kimberly Dawn Trenor killed her daughter Riley by herself, and Royce only did what any good husband would have done and helped her cover up the crime. What a guy, eh folks? Even if he’s a disgusting fat bastard.

Oh I’m sorry, that was pretty biased of me to say that. Well, this time I don’t care if I come across as biased and unfair. Royce Clyde Zeigler II and Kimberly Dawn Trenor whipped Riley Ann Sawyer with a leather belt because, at 2-years old, she would sometimes forget to say “Yes sir”, “No Sir”, and “Please”. When that didn’t produce the results they were looking for, they filled the bathtub with water and held Riley’s head under water, effectively “waterboarding” a two-year-old girl. Finally, frustrating because Riley forgot what little she had learned about etiquette because of the torture, slammed he against the bathroom wall, fracturing her skull in three places and killing her.

And as if to add insult to injury, these two bullies, these two sacks of human excrement, put her battered, broken body in a plastic box and threw her into the Gulf Of Mexico, denying Riley even a proper burial, until her decomposed remains were found months later washed up on the shore of an island off Galveston, TX.

So yeah, I’m biased against this fat fuck. In fact, I hate his ever living guts. If anyone has a problem with that, feel free to debate me about it in the comments section.

Trenor was convicted of capital murder in February and sentenced to life in prison. As in the Trenor case, Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk is not seeking the death penalty for Zeigler.

The prosecution will try to convince jurors that Zeigler killed Riley during a July 25, 2007, disciplinary session in which she was beaten with belts, her head held under bath water and a pillow placed her face. Trenor said in a videotaped statement played during her trial that Zeigler hurled Riley onto a tile floor. The medical examiner testified that any one of three cracks in Riley’s skull could have killed her.

Allen said Zeigler helped pack Riley’s body in a plastic box and later tossed it off the Galveston Island railroad bridge.

The prosecution will challenge Zeigler’s assertion that Trenor alone killed Riley with testimony from Riley’s paternal grandmother. Sheryl Sawyers of Mentor, Ohio, will testify that Trenor never beat Riley while the family lived with her, Allen said.

Allen said evidence will show that Zeigler was party to deceptions that included telling his parents that Riley was with one of Trenor’s relatives, inventing a story about Riley being abducted by an Ohio welfare worker and forging an Ohio welfare document.

The prosecution rested on Tuesday, November 4th, and the defense began their case Wednesday. Most of the testimony appears to be about how great a guy Royce Zeigker III is and what an evil bitch Kimberley Trenor was when Riley was alive. If we believe the witnesses for the defense, Royce Zeigler II doted over Riley Ann Sawyers as if she was the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he was the only thing that stood between the toddler and Kimberley Trenor’s anger and jealousy.

Yeah, we’ll get back to you guys on that.

If you’d like to follow the trial on a day by day basis, The Police News has the most thorough coverage of the courtroom proceedings. Here are the links to each days coverage of Royce Zeigler II trial:

Royce Zeigler II Trial, Day 1

Royce Zeigler II Trial, Day 2

Royce Zeigler II Trial, Day 4

Royce Zeigler II Trial, Day 5

Royce Zeigler II Trial, Day 6

Royce Zeigler II Trial, Day 7

I’ll let you know as soon as there’s a verdict in this case.

Brought to you by People You’ll See In Hell. The best reason to get a background check that just about anyone can think of.

June 12th, 2009–State prosecutors will unveil the crux of their case against accused murderer Leon Davis in a hearing next month, although the hearing essentially has nothing to do with proving him guilty or innocent.

Circuit Judge Michael Hunter ruled Friday that prosecutors must prove that they have enough evidence to keep Davis in jail. When he was arrested on Dec. 13, 2007, the day two women were fatally burned during an attempted robbery at a Lake Wales insurance office, prosecutors had 21 days to officially charge him with those crimes.

Hunter ruled Friday that the state missed that deadline, which means Davis is eligible for a preliminary hearing on the allegations against him.

Prosecutors must prove there’s reason to believe Davis committed the murders he’s charged with, but at this point, that proof doesn’t have to meet the higher reasonable-doubt standard, which will come at trial.

If Hunter rules that the state didn’t prove its case to hold Davis in custody, Davis will be eligible for release, but the criminal charges against him will stand while prosecutors continue to build their case.

Assistant State Attorney Paul Wallace said Friday that he’s certain the state has enough evidence to keep Davis in custody.

“I have no doubt that we can prove probable cause at this point,” he said.

During Friday’s hearing, Wallace argued that the 21-day period began when each of the victims died, which happened several days after the failed robbery on Dec. 13.

Davis’ court-appointed lawyer Bob Norgard argued the 21-day period began the day Davis was arrested, which was Dec. 13.

Prosecutors allege that Davis, 31, walked into the Headley Nationwide Insurance office that December afternoon and demanded money. When the two employees said they had none, he ordered them into the bathroom, splashed gasoline on them and set them afire.

Yvonne Bustamante and Jane Luciano, who was five months pregnant, died from injuries related to their burns. Luciano’s son, who was delivered prematurely the night of the crimes, died three days after his birth.

Davis also faces two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of two convenience store clerks at a BP station on County Road 559 near Interstate 4 in Lake Alfred six days before the Lake Wales attacks. Both Pravinkumar Patel and Dashrath Patel died of gunshot wounds to their heads.

The killings have been described as the worst murder rampage in Polk County history.

Davis is being prosecuted separately on the two crimes, and the state is seeking the death penalty in each case.

He’s scheduled to stand trial on the two cases later this year. The trials have been delayed repeatedly because Davis has changed lawyers. He represented himself last summer.

Leon Davis Junior’s Criminal Records

Wow, this guy’s crimes left me stunned. And speechless. How cold and heartless does a person have to be to shoot two innocent men in cold blood? How evil was Leon Davis when he poured gasoline on two helpless women, one of them very pregnant, set them on fire, and watch them writhe and scream in agony as they burned? Who does that?

1. Leon Davis Jr.
2. from left to right – Pravinkumar Patel and Dashrath Patel
3. from left to right – Jane Luciano and Yvonne Bustamante

Brought to you by People You’ll See In Hell. The best reason to get a background check that just about anyone can think of.

A judge yesterday tossed a one-year prison deal offered to a teenage girl accused of burning her ex-lover’s cat to death.

Judge Margaret Clancy, who had earlier approved the plea deal, said “nobody realized” at the time that reducing a violent felony charge to a nonviolent charge was illegal.

Prosecutors in July let Cheyenne Cherry, 17, plead guilty to attempted burglary and animal cruelty after investigators said her 14-year-old accomplice was the one who put the helpless Tiger Lily in the oven.

The judge yesterday said Cherry could plead guilty to a reduced charge and still be sentenced to a year in prison.

But Bronx prosecutors quickly pounced on the legal snafu to offer Cherry two years behind bars in exchange for a guilty plea.

That prompted Cherry’s lawyer, Danielle Follett, to accuse the prosecution of playing to animal-rights activists gathered in the courthouse.

“They are succumbing to public pressure,” Follett said.

Cherry is due back in court on Dec. 2.

Brought to you by People You’ll See In Hell. The best reason to get a background check that just about anyone can think of.

The gates of Tennessee’s only death row prison opened wide for Lemaricus Davidson tonight, hours after a Knox County jury sentenced him to die for his role as the ringleader in the January 2007 carjacking, torture and killings of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

Davidson arrived at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution’s Unit 2 in Nashville around 6 p.m. local time, said Dorinda Carter, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Correction. He’ll spend 23 hours per day alone in his cell every day, with just one hour of daylight in a caged yard.

That status won’t change for at least 18 months, Carter said. Depending on his behavior, Davidson could eventually be upgraded to allow occasional phone calls or the chance to apply for inmate jobs such as cleaning, she said.

“Regardless of their status, they don’t ever leave that building,” she said.

The jury of five women and seven men deliberated about four hours before returning its decision this afternoon to a packed courtroom.

“The punishment is death,” the jury foreman said.

Chase Christian, Lamaricus Davidson, Channon Christian, Deana Christian, knoxville torure murders, Christopher Newsom

The victims’ families gasped at the verdict, but Davidson showed no reaction. Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner admonished those in the courtroom to control any outburst.

“The murder was especially heinous, atrocious and cruel,” the foreman said, reading from the verdict form.

Davidson, 28, most likely will be taken to Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville where death row is housed. Some male inmates, however, are incarcerated at Morgan County Correctional Complex in Wartburg for security reasons. Two inmates with the death penalty are currently housed at that prison.

The jurors this morning heard closing arguments in the penalty phase of this 11-day trial before getting a final round of legal instructions from Baumgartner.

Prosecutor Takisha Fitzgerald told jurors Davidson killed Christian, 21, a University of Tennessee student and her boyfriend Newsom, 23, to save his own neck.

“The only thing Chris had left was the knowledge of who his attacker was,” Fitzgerald said. “(Davidson) took everything else. The only thing (Channon) had left was the knowledge of who her attacker was.”

Defense attorney Doug Trant asked jurors to spare Davidson’s life, noting the abuse he suffered and the foster parents who still love him.

“I’m going to ask you to spare Lemaricus Davidson’s life,” he said. “I’m going to ask you to do it for that little boy who was sexually abused … I’m going to ask you to do it for that little boy who was whipped by extension cords and paperweights.”

The jury, chosen from Knox County at Davidson’s insistence, considered death by lethal injection, life without parole or life, a mandatory 51-year sentence.

Davidson’s brother, Letalvis Cobbins, 26, was convicted in August and is serving life without parole. He is in a protective safety unit away from the general population at a West Tennessee prison after expressing fears for his safety.

Pending trial are suspects George Thomas, 26, who will face a Hamilton County jury Dec. 1, and Vanessa Coleman, 21, whose case is on hold pending a pre-trial appeal.

A fifth suspect, Eric Boyd, 37, remains uncharged in the killings but is serving an 18-year federal prison term for hiding out Davidson after the slayings.

Davidson is the first defendant from Knox County to be sent to death row since 1997. Executions in Tennessee are carried out by lethal injection.

Dennis Suttles, 57, was convicted of first-degree murder for cutting the throat of a woman in a fast-food parking lot in 1996.

Death row currently has 89 inmates, six from Knox County. All but two of the inmates are men.

The female inmates are housed at the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville. One of those is Christa Gail Pike, 33, who was sentenced to death in 1996 for the torture-slaying of Colleen Slemmer, then a fellow 19-year-old Job Corps student.

On Thursday, two women who offered Davidson a better life as a teenager asked the jury to spare his life.

Foster mother Flo Rudd and group home mother Alice Rhea told jurors Davidson was worth saving despite the fact that he turned to robbery and, ultimately, murder despite their efforts to rescue him from a troubled upbringing.

“He’s my son,” Rhea said. “I love him. He has such potential. If you put him in a structured environment, he does everything he should. I think he can be an influence to young men for years to come.”

The defense called 11 witnesses on Thursday on Davidson’s behalf in the wake of his convictions.

Jurors on Wednesday deemed him guilty of the top count in 35 of 38 charges, ranging from the murder of both Christian and Newsom to kidnapping to robbery. They also found Davidson guilty of multiple counts of raping Christian.

Davidson’s only reprieve – and it was largely irrelevant because of the murder convictions – came in the rape of Newsom. With no DNA evidence to directly link him to a rape that forensic evidence suggested was committed with an object, jurors opted for convictions of the lesser charge of facilitation of aggravated rape.

He will be sentenced at a later date on those charges.

Davidson chose not to testify in his own behalf either during the trial or sentencing phase.

The victims were white and all four defendants are black, and that raised some racial tension, including a protest in Knoxville.

A lot was made of race on the Internet, but prosecutors and police have said race was not a factor, contending the carjacking that led to their deaths was random.

Brought to you by People You’ll See In Hell. The best reason to get a background check that just about anyone can think of.