Man gets 41 years for killing babysitter with submachine gun
A Brooklyn judge laid into a man convicted of fatally shooting a 16-year-old babysitter with a submachine gun, saying she saw no reason to show him mercy before sentencing him to 41 years behind bars Tuesday.
Convicted killer Taariq Stephens — who was named as the shooter by his victim, Shemel Mercurius, with her dying breath — had just finished whining that he didn’t kill the teen when Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Deborah Dowling cut him off.
“All the evidence indicated that it is you,” Dowling snapped. “When you take a life, what do you give in exchange for life? There is nothing to give in return for a life.”
“I am not showing any mercy,” the judge said, adding that Stephens had shown none when he pushed his way into the East Flatbush apartment where Mercurius was babysitting her 3-year-old cousin Josiah and racked the gun three times before firing a single shot through her arm and into her abdomen.
The 16-year-old’s aunt and Josiah’s mother, LaToya Mercurius-Price, said Stephens, 26, had crippled their entire family with the May 2016 shooting.
“The echoes of ‘Mommy, mommy, Shemel has been shot and Josiah is covered in blood’ pierced me with the anguish, pain, hurt, panic, confusion, grief and left me emotionally paralyzed and hyperventilating,” she told the court. “The loss of our precious gem is beyond words.”
The motive for the heinous crime was never clear.
“This defendant will now spend many years behind bars for the callous killing of an innocent teenage girl who was taken from her loved ones far too early, and for undoubtedly traumatizing the toddler she was babysitting,” Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. “Nothing can bring Shemel back to her devastated family.”
via: https://nypost.com/2018/01/16/man-gets-25-years-for-killing-babysitter-with-submachine-gun/
Plastic surgeon accused of showing up drunk to operate
A Kentucky plastic surgeon was arrested Monday after allegedly showing up drunk to perform a surgery.
Dr. Theodore Gerstle, of Lexington Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, was scheduled to operate around noon on Monday at the Baptist Heath Lexington, but staff at the hospital were alerted that the physician was intoxicated, hospital spokesperson Ruth Ann Childers told the Lexington Herald Leader.
Gerstle left the hospital, voluntarily and on foot, after the chief medical officer confronted him, WKYT reported. Hospital staff then reportedly called the police. He was arrested a short time later when he was located not far from the hospital.
The surgeon was scheduled for one procedure Monday and had not started operating when he was confronted about his alleged drunken state, Childers told the news station.
“Patient safety is always our number one concern, every day,” Childers said of the incident. “We take these things very seriously and it will be thoroughly investigated.
Gerstle was charged with public intoxication and is being held at the Fayette County Jail, the Herald Leader reported, citing jail records. His staff privileges at the hospital — where he was not technically an employee — have been suspended pending the investigation.
According to the surgical practice’s website, Gerstle, from New York, is “the only Harvard-trained, board-certified plastic surgeon in Lexington,” and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy in West Point.
While it’s unclear what type of surgery Gerstle was scheduled to perform, the practice’s website states he specializes in migraine headaches and a variety of plastic surgery treatments.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/01/16/plastic-surgeon-accused-of-showing-up-drunk-to-operate/
Dad allegedly beats 4-year-old Bronx girl with bat. She suffered a hematoma to the abdomen, internal bleeding in the liver
SOUNDVIEW, the Bronx — A Bronx dad allegedly beat his daughter with an aluminum bat after he’d argued with the girl’s mother, court documents show.
After the 4-year-old girl’s mother left to work on Saturday, Noel Morales, 32, allegedly swung at his daughter repeatedly as she played.
“I don’t know what happened to me,” Morales said, according to the criminal complaint. “The baby started to play and I punished her.”
He was apparently frustrated with the girl’s mother who “is always putting me down.”
The girl was hit three times, but wasn’t taken to a hospital until Sunday. She suffered a hematoma to the abdomen, internal bleeding in the liver and acute bruising to the abdomen and back.
“She never fell when I hit her,” Morales said, according to the criminal complaint. “She was not crying.”
Morales was arrested Monday and charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon, endangering the welfare of a child and harassment.
via: http://pix11.com/2018/01/16/i-punished-her-dad-allegedly-beats-4-year-old-bronx-girl-with-bat/
Colorado Woman Charged With Murder After Father’s Body Found Encased in Concrete Inside Crawl Space
The daughter of a man whose body was found inside a Colorado home has been charged with first-degree murder, the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
Dayna Jennings, 44, was arrested Wednesday in the death of her father, 69-year-old William Mussack, whose remains were found inside a home in the 10000 block of Eliot Circle in Federal Heights, according to KTLA sister station KDVR in Denver.
His body was found in the crawl space encased in concrete and Jennings admitted to pouring that concrete, according to court documents.
Although those documents do not list a cause of death, it does say family members believe Mussack was drugged because of a prior incident where he was found unconscious for 15 hours last December after taking a bite of a hamburger Jennings gave to him.
Jennings has been charged with first-degree murder after deliberation and tampering with a deceased human body.
A preliminary hearing was set for Feb. 15 in Adams County District Court.
Family and friends had been searching for Mussack for two weeks and notified authorities in late December.
Police executed a search warrant on the home on Wednesday where Mussack’s body was found.
The Federal Heights Police Department said Jennings and Mussack shared a house. Neighbors said Jennings’ boyfriend also lived at the home.
Authorities have not said when they suspect Mussack was killed.
Danish inventor is charged with killing and dismembering reporter Kim Wall on his submarine
The Danish inventor at the center of the mysterious death of Swedish freelance journalist Kim Wall, whose dismembered body was found off the coast of Copenhagen in August, was formally charged with killing her Tuesday.
Prosecutors say that during a trip on his private submarine, Peter Madsen, 47, either strangled or cut Wall’s throat before severing her body and tossing it into the sea. Madsen is charged with homicide, dismemberment and the indecent handling of a corpse.
“This is a very unusual and extremely brutal case which has had tragic consequences for Kim Wall and her relatives,” prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen said in a statement from the Danish prosecution authority.
Wall’s disappearance and gruesome death has drawn international attention, demonstrating the risks female freelance journalists can face. Friends and family say Wall, 30, was a brave reporter who had reported from Sri Lanka, the Marshall Islands and North Korea.
Madsen in October denied killing Wall and said she died of carbon monoxide poisoning inside his submarine while he was on deck. Wall boarded the submarine on Aug. 10 to report a story about Madsen, according to her family. Madsen is known in Denmark for raising money through crowdfunding to build rockets and submarines.
She was reported missing the next day. Madsen was rescued from Koge Bay, according to police, after purposely sinking his vessel, a 60-foot UC3 Nautilus.
Read more via:
Simone Biles says she, too, was abused by former USA team doctor
On the eve of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar’s sentencing for sexually abusing girls in his care, American gymnast Simone Biles has come forward to say me, too.
“I, too, am one of the many survivors that was sexually abused by Larry Nassar,” she said Monday afternoon in a Twitter post with the hashtag #MeToo.
“There are many reasons that I have been reluctant to share my story, but I know now that it is not my fault.”
Nassar was the team doctor for USA Gymnastics through four Olympic Games, treating young hopefuls and gold medal winners. His case illustrates the drive of the #MeToo movement to call out serial predatory behavior and the forces that enable it.
This experience ‘does not define me’
More than 140 female athletes said they were abused by the once-respected doctor, including Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney, members of the “Fierce Five” US Olympic gymnastics team that won the gold in 2012. Many said they were pressured into silence by powerful institutions, including USA Gymnastics, the sport’s governing body in the United States.
In response to Biles’ statement, the organization pledged “unwavering” support for Biles and others who have “courageously” come forward.
“USA Gymnastics is absolutely heartbroken, sorry and angry that Simone Biles or any of our athletes have been harmed by the horrific acts of Larry Nassar,” the group said. “We are our athletes’ advocates. USA Gymnastics will continue to listen to our athletes and our members in our efforts of creating a culture of empowerment with a relentless focus on athlete safety every single day.”
Biles, now 20, joined the US Olympic gymnastics team in 2016, winning the individual all-around. Though her statement did not include specific allegations against Nassar, she described experiencing abuse under the guise of “special treatment,” a recurring claim from Nassar’s victims.
“This behavior is completely unacceptable, disgusting, and abusive, especially coming from someone I was TOLD to trust,” she said Monday.
She, too, called out USA Gymnastics for its alleged role in allowing Nassar to prey on young girls for decades.
“For far too long I’ve asked myself ‘Was I too naive? Was it my fault?’ I now know the answer to those questions. No. No. It was not my fault. No, I will not and should not carry the guilt that belongs to Larry Nassar, USAG, and others.
“After hearing the brave stories of my friends and other survivors, I know that this horrific experience does not define me.”
Dozens of victims expected to speak
Nassar faces sentencing on Tuesday in Michigan state court after pleading guilty in November to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct. He faces additional sentencing later this month on three counts of criminal sexual assault involving victims in a neighboring county.
He worked at Michigan State University from 1997 to 2016 as an associate professor, and he served as the gymnastics and women’s crew team physician. In his plea, Nassar admitted to sexually abusing patients under the guise of providing medically necessary treatment in instances as far back as 1998, some of which involved girls under 13.
Several days have been set aside in Nassar’s sentencing for victim impact statements. At least 88 people are expected to speak, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
At his plea hearing, Nassar apologized and compared his crimes to “a match that turned into a forest fire.”
Allegations of a culture of complicity
Biles’ teammates and others have repeatedly accused USA Gymnastics of complicity in Nassar’s abuse. In 2017, the organization said it would implement 70 policy change recommendations from an independent investigator.
In a lawsuit, Maroney said USA Gymnastics paid her to be quiet about the abuse, which she said began when she was 13.
University of Oklahoma gymnast Maggie Nichols said she and a coach reported abuse by Nassar to USA Gymnastics in 2015, a few years after Nassar began treating Nichols for a back injury. USA Gymnastics said it hired an independent investigator to look into her allegations.
Raisman said she was first treated by Nassar when she was 15. She called for a thorough investigation of a system that she said enabled a “monster” to thrive for decades by silencing victims.
On Monday, Raisman praised Biles for coming forward and vowed to stand with her.
“I know we will all get through this together,” Raisman said on Twitter.
In her statement Monday, Biles said she hoped for the kind of reckoning that would prevent serial predators from striking again.
“We need to know why this was able to take place for so long and to so many of us. We need to make sure something like this never happens again.”
via: http://pix11.com/2018/01/16/simone-biles-says-she-too-was-abused-by-former-usa-team-doctor/
Actress Tracey Birdsall accuses Seal of groping and forcibly kissing her in 2016
Singer Seal was accused by his neighbor of groping her and forcibly kissing her; police are investigating the incident.
Actress Tracey Birdsall told TMZ she was close with the “Kiss From A Rose” crooner when they were neighbors in Los Angeles in 2016. The actress said she went to Seal’s home to take back a salad spinner she allowed him to borrow when he forced himself on her and tried to give her a kiss.
“What are you doing?” Birdsall recalled yelling at the singer.
“I’m kissing you!” he replied.
Birdsall claimed the British-born musician ridiculed her clothes, shorts and a tank top, and grabbed her breasts. She said she told the singer to stop.
The “Doomsday” actress told TMZ she sat down next to Seal on a couch and he tried to grope her again. Birdsall said she left soon after and never spoke him after.
The actress said she decided to come forward with her allegations after she saw Seal’s comments regarding Oprah Winfrey. The former talk show host was praised for her speech at the Golden Globe Awards on sexual misconduct in Hollywood.
Last Wednesday, Seal posted a picture of Winfrey with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and wrote: “Oh I forgot, that’s right…..you’d heard the rumors but you had no idea he was actually serially assaulting young starry-eyed actresses who in turn had no idea what they were getting into. My bad.” He added the hashtag “#SanctimonoiusHollywood” to the post.
Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct spanning decades.
Birdsall told TMZ she has filed a police report. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told TMZ a report was filed for sexual battery and was currently under investigation. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately return Fox News’ request for comment.
A representative told TMZ Seal denies the allegations.
Two Members of Utah Doomsday Sect Allegedly Married Each Other’s 7- and 8-Year-Old Daughters
Two Utah men believed to be involved in a doomsday religious cult allegedly married each other’s underage daughters.
Samuel Shaffer, 34, and 33-year-old John Coltharp have both been charged with kidnapping. Coltharp also faces charges of sodomy of a child for a sexual assault stemming from an alleged incident on August 1, 2017, KUTV reports.
Shaffer allegedly told detectives that he was married to Coltharp’s 8-year-old daughter, and that Coltharp was married to Shaffer’s 7-year-old daughter, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by Salt Lake Tribune.
Both are allegedly members of the Knights of the Crystal Blade, which identifies as a fundamentalist offshoot of the Mormon church. Shaffer told deputies he had been the prophet of the church — which allegedly believes in doomsday prophecies and practices polygamy — but had recently passed down the title to Coltharp.
Police began investigating on Dec. 1 after Coltharp’s ex-wife called police to report that Coltharp had allegedly kidnapped their four children, according to an Iron County Sheriff’s Office press release obtained by PEOPLE.
Coltharp was arrested at his home, but his children were not with him. On Dec. 4, police raided a compound in a remote area about one mile west of Lund, where members of the sect were living inside shipping containers.
At the compound, policed found Coltharp’s parents and his two sons, according to a press release obtained by PEOPLE.
Police learned that Shaffer was allegedly last seen with his two daughters, ages seven and five, and Coltharp’s two daughters. He had spent the previous night with the four girls in a tent near the compound, the release states.
Shortly after an AMBER Alert was issued for Coltharp’s two daughters, a tipster called police reporting they saw a white male later identified as Shaffer walking alone on a dirt road several miles west of the compound.
Shaffer was taken into custody and told police where they could find two of the girls. Deputies discovered one of Shaffer’s daughters and one of Coltharp’s daughters inside two blue plastic 50 gallon water barrels located approximately 1,000 yards south of the Coltharp property. Shaffer allegedly told police the two girls had been placed in the water barrels to hide them from law enforcement.
Police alleged the two girls had spent approximately 24 hours inside the barrel in subfreezing temperatures. “These two children were not properly dressed for the cold temperatures and did not have food or water at that time,” the release states. “Shaffer also made statements he had left a firearm behind on the ground next to the barrel.”
Police alleged Shaffer initially refused to tell authorities the whereabouts of the remaining two girls but that he finally did. The girls were found in “poor health with signs of dehydration and acting lethargic” in an abandoned single-wide mobile trailer, police allege.
All four girls were transported by ambulance to the Cedar City hospital where they received emergency medical care.
According to the affidavit, a man who lived out of state called the Spring City Police Chief and told him that he had communicated with the two men over social media and had gone to Utah to explore the sect. He told the chief he was “forcefully” baptized into the church by Shaffer and was promised a child bride, the Tribune reports.
Shaffer was arrested and charged with two counts of kidnapping and four counts of child abuse. Coltharp was originally charged with first-degree-felony kidnapping and obstruction of justice.
It is unclear if the two men have obtained attorneys.
Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Wednesday.
via: http://people.com/crime/utah-church-allegedly-married-child-daughters/
Woman accidentally leaves backpack full of heroin outside school
BENSALEM, Pa. – A Pennsylvania woman faces drug charges after accidentally leaving a backpack containing four “bricks” of heroin outside a school, police say.
26-year-old Natasha Willis was charged with possession with intent to deliver heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Bensalem police. She allegedly admitted to placing the bag outside her vehicle behind the school on Dec. 20th.
The bag was discovered by staff members at Cecilia Snyder Middle School at 9:28 a.m., police say. The heroin in the bag had already been packaged for sale, according to WPMT.
Police say the bag contained approximately 10,000 dosage units of heroin, with an estimated street value of $100,000.
After the bag was discovered, Bensalem Police Department narcotics officers reviewed the school’s video surveillance and found that a tan Toyota Corolla with New Jersey registration was in the area where the bag was discovered. That vehicle was stopped by police on Wednesday, which led to the identification and arrest of Willis.
Willis was arraigned and transported to Bucks County Correction Facility, where she is being held in lieu of $750,000 bail.
Parents shackle their 13 children to beds, hold them captive
Two California parents were arrested after authorities found a dozen children and adults shackled to beds with chains and padlocks in their home, officials said Monday.
The 13 victims held captive in the home in Perris, California range in age from 2 to 29, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities started investigating after a 17-year-old girl managed to escape from the residence on Sunday and called 911. The girl claimed her 12 brothers and sisters were being held captive inside the home by her parents, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.
Police initially believe the 17-year-old girl who’d escaped was just 10 because she was emaciated.
Sheriff deputies responded and identified the 13 victims. They were “in dark and foul-smelling surroundings,” police said. Deputies initially thought all of the victims were children based on their size and were shocked to discover that seven of them were actually adults, ranging in age from 18 to 29. All of the victims were malnourished and dirty.
The vitims were given food and drinks “after they claimed to be starving,” police said.
David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, face charges of torture and child endangerment. Bail was set at $9 million for each.
“The parents were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained,” officials said.
The six children are being treated at Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley. The seven adults are being treated at Corona Regional Medical Center in Corona, authorities said.
via: http://pix11.com/2018/01/15/parents-shackle-their-13-children-to-beds-hold-them-captive-police-say/