TROUTMAN PLEADS ‘NOT GUILTY’ IN SKLER KAUFMAN MURDER CASE
from the article by Carl Hessler Jr. – The Times-Herald (Philadelphia)

His eyes cast downward, the Souderton man accused of raping and killing a 9-year-old girl who was his neighbor showed little emotion as his alleged crimes were addressed in court.

James Lee Troutman, 24, through his lawyer, Wm. Craig Penglase, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday during an arraignment hearing in Montgomery County Court to charges of first- and second-degree murder, rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, kidnapping, false imprisonment and abuse of a corpse in connection with the May 9 death of Skyler Rae Kauffman.

Troutman and Kauffman were neighbors at the Souderton Garden Apartments at Second and Chestnut streets.

CHRIS COLEMAN SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE
from the article by Jim Suhr – The Carmi (Illinois) Times

A judge imposed a life sentence Monday for a former Marine and pastor’s son convicted of strangling his wife and their two sons in their beds, opting against the death penalty in a state where capital punishment soon will be outlawed.

Circuit Judge Milton Wharton said justice would be better served if Christopher Coleman, 34, spent a lifetime behind bars, where he’d be forced to reflect daily on the crimes prosecutors say he committed to further an affair and keep a high-paying security job with a global ministry.

GERMAN SHEPHERD’S OWNER AVOIDS JAIL IN RIDGEFIELD DOG ATTACK CASE
from the article by Libor Jany – The Danbury News-Times

A 59-year-old Bantam man avoided jail time by pleading guilty in an April 2, 2010, incident in Ridgefield in which his two German shepherds mauled a man and a puppy, according to court records.

Robert Kahn pleaded guilty Wednesday in state Superior Court in Danbury to two counts of allowing a dog to roam and second-degree reckless endangerment for the dog attack on Guy Marchison and his then-15-week-old golden retriever, according to the prosecution.

“We’re grateful that the state’s attorney’s office handled this appropriately, with an interest for protecting public safety,” said Marchison’s lawyer, William Bloss, of Bridgeport. “We’re hopeful that other dog owners will not be forced to confront this type of situation.”

2 TEENS IN MASS BULLYING CASE GET PROBATION, PHOEBE’S MOTHER LASHES OUT
from the article by Peter Schworm – The Boston Globe

Two Massachusetts teens accused of harassing a 15-year-old classmate who later hanged herself were sentenced Wednesday to a year of probation, the first of five anticipated plea deals in a case that drew worldwide attention to school bullying.

Phoebe Prince’s crying mother approved the deals finalized Wednesday in Hampshire Superior Court, where Sean Mulveyhill and Kayla Narey, both 18, were sentenced for their roles in the bullying that preceded Phoebe’s suicide in January 2010.

Three other former South Hadley High School students are expected to accept similar plea arrangements Thursday in a nearby juvenile courthouse, a few miles from their small hometown about 100 miles west of Boston.

VANDERGRIFF NO LONGER FACES DEATH PENALTY
from the article by Jim Seckler – The Mohave Daily News

A Bullhead City murder suspect will not face the death penalty if he is convicted of the murder of his son.

Deputy Mohave County Attorney Greg McPhillips said he will not pursue the death penalty in the case of Jonathan Edward Vandergriff, 24. Vandergriff is charged with first-degree murder, child abuse by domestic violence, sexual assault of a minor under the age of 15 and sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 15 for the death of his infant son in June 2010.

GRAND JURY HANDS UP 15 COUNT INDICTMENT AGAINST ROOMMATE OF TYLER CLEMENTI.
from the article by Kelly Heyboer and Tom Haydon – The Star-Ledger (NJ)

In the days after Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi committed suicide, his roommate tried to cover up his alleged role in using a webcam to secretly watch Clementi in an intimate encounter with another man, prosecutors said today.

Dharun Ravi, 19, misled investigators by deleting text messages from his phone and changing an incriminating post about the webcam on his Twitter account, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said. The teenager also allegedly tried to convince friends not to testify against him.

MOTHER GETS LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR KILLING 13-MONTH-OLD DAUGHTER
from the article by Kelly Gooch – TylerPaper.com

The jury foreman in a capital murder trial involving the brutal beating death of a 13-month-old described the experience as “the worst two weeks of my life.”

“I didn’t think anything like this could happen to a child,” foreman Pat Beets said, adding that it was hard for jurors to talk about the case.

After less than two hours of deliberation, the jury on Wednesday found Jesseca Carson guilty in the sexual assault and beating death of her daughter, Amora.

WOMAN CONVICTED IN FATAL SHOOTING OF 7-YEAR-OLD BOY
from the article by Cindy Horswell – The Houston Chronicle

Liberty County prosecutor Joe Warren reminded jurors Thursday that the warning sign posted in front of a tiny stilt house flying a rebel flag was deadly serious: “Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be reshot. Smile, I Will.”

But Warren admitted he did not have the words to explain why he believes the homeowners, Gayle and Sheila Muhs, fired two blasts from 12-gauge shotguns that killed 7-year-old Donald Coffey IV and seriously wounded three others riding down a rutted road in front of that house.