Florida couple has lost custody of their cancer-stricken 3-year-old son because they opted to treat him with marijuana-infused oil instead of chemotherapy
Noah McAdams’ parents skipped his chemo appointment last Monday after deciding to use natural remedies for his acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
The parents, Joshua McAdams and Taylor Bland-Ball, claimed their son hadn’t responded well to chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer last month.
“He had vicious mood swings making him violent, making him very emotional,” his mother told news station KTRK. “He also started to lose his hair right away after the first treatment.”
So the parents pulled the plug on the chemo sessions — prompting authorities to issue an endangered child alert when the family didn’t show up for last week’s appointment.
The family was quickly tracked down in Kentucky, and the boy was returned to a Tampa-area hospital, officials said.
A Hillsborough County judge ruled Thursday that Noah will go home with his maternal grandparents as his parents wage a legal battle to seek alternative treatments.
The parents testified that they began giving their son CBD oils, fresh foods and clean alkaline water in a bid to help him, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
“This is not about whether we’re choosing alternative therapies, natural therapies,” Bland-Ball told KTRK. “This is about our rights as parents to seek other options.”
Authorities said an investigation was also launched to determine whether the couple will face child neglect charges.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/05/06/parents-lose-custody-of-son-after-stopping-chemo/
Photo Credit: nypost.com/facebook
Man freed from prison for rape after 30 years faces new rape charge
A Massachusetts man who spent roughly 30 years in prison for rape before being freed in 2016 is facing new charges in connection with a January sex assault, authorities said.
George Perrot, 51, was arraigned Monday in Salem Superior Court on charges of rape, assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and open and gross lewdness after police said he was found unconscious on top of a partially naked woman who was also unconscious.
Perrot allegedly raped the woman orally and charged at a police officer when the cop woke him up, Essex County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Carrie Kimball said.
The victim, who was revived after being given Narcan, said Perrot offered her drugs during the Jan. 4 encounter in Lawrence but did not remember anything after that. She was not dating Perrot and did not consent to sexual contact, Kimball said.
Perrot, who has been held without bail since his arrest, was later arraigned in Lawrence District Court. A judge on Monday ordered him to remain held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for June 10. He has pleaded not guilty, Kimball said.
Perrot, according to the Boston Globe, became a “symbol for criminal justice reform advocates” after his release in 2016 based on flawed testimony about microscopic hair evidence. He was convicted in 1987 and sentenced to life in prison for raping a 78-year-old woman in her Springfield home two years earlier when he was 17.
Perrot was then granted a new trial in 1990 after a court ruled that prosecutors improperly presented evidence during his trial, The Republican reported. Two years later, he was convicted a second time and was again sentenced to life in prison.
But he was later released on bail in 2016 after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that testimony during that second trial “exceeded the foundational science” of hair analysis, according to The Republican. The guilty verdict was overturned and a third trial was ordered, but prosecutors decided against it since the victim had died and other factors.
Perrot’s release at the time was lauded by criminal justice reform advocates, including those at The Innocence Project and the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism and Brandeis University, according to The Republican.
In the latest accusation against Perrot, officers suspect he gave the victim heroin and asked her to snort it. The woman knew Perrot, but was not romantically involved with him, the Globe reports.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, meanwhile, said in a statement that prosecutors still maintain that Perrot was guilty as originally charged in the 1985 rape.
“We have and do continue to maintain the position that George Perrot committed several heinous offenses of elderly female victims,” the statement read. “Regrettably, there is another victim who has now allegedly suffered at his hands three decades later.”
A message seeking comment from Perrot’s attorney, Tom Torrisi, was not immediately returned.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/05/06/man-freed-from-prison-after-30-years-faces-new-rape-charge/
Photo Credit: nypost.com/AP
Teen won’t survive after trying viral ‘choking game’: mom
A heartbroken mother in Indiana is preparing for the death of her teenage son after he was gravely injured while replicating a “choking game” that he saw on social media, she said Sunday.
Joann Jackson Bogard, of Evansville, said something went “horribly wrong” when her son, Mason, tried to temporarily asphyxiate himself late Wednesday after seeing the practice of self-strangulation or assisted strangulation online.
“The challenge is based on the idea that you choke yourself to the point of almost passing out and then stop,” Bogard wrote in a Facebook post Sunday. “It’s supposed to create a type of high. Unfortunately, it has taken the lives of many young people too early and it will take our precious Mason.”
Bogard thanked doctors at Deaconess Hospital for doing everything they could to save her son, who was critically injured. The family is now preparing to donate the teen’s organs, she said.
“While we are devastated that we will never experience so many things with Mason again, we are able to find some comfort in the fact that Mason will save the lives of others,” Bogard’s post continued. “He would have wanted it this way. He was an extremely generous young man.”
Bogard also warned other parents to monitor what their children view on social media, despite concerns that they may be a bit overprotective.
“Unfortunately, we will not have the opportunity to experience so many things with our child because of a stupid challenge on social media,” Bogard wrote.
Bogard could not be reached for comment Monday. In a subsequent post late Sunday, Bogard said Mason still had fluid in his lungs.
“Please pray that he continues to improve his lung function to give his recipient the best lungs possible,” the post read. “He has already surpassed expectations and is almost there. He is still showing us how strong he is!”
A message seeking comment from Evansville police was not immediately returned.
Eighty-two children between ages 6 and 19 died after playing the so-called choking game between 1995 and 2007, according to the Evansville Courier & Press, citing a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report with the agency’s most recent statistics.
Seventy-one of the victims were male and the average age was just over 13, according to the 2008 report, which noted that serious neurological injury or death can result if strangulation is prolonged.
The earliest known death due to the stunt took place in 1995, with three or fewer deaths following in each year between 1995 and 2004. A total of 22 deaths were recorded in 2005, followed by 35 fatalities in 2006, according to the CDC report.
And among the 42 deaths in which sufficient details were reported, 92 percent of the victim’s parents said they didn’t know about the choking game until their child died, the report found.
“Hug your children, tell them you love them,” Bogard’s initial post concluded. “Enjoy every moment and let the little issues go.”
via: https://nypost.com/2019/05/06/teen-wont-survive-after-trying-viral-choking-game-mom/
Photo Credit: nypost.com/facebook
8th grade football phenom recently featured in Sports Illustrated is shot to death in Venice
VENICE • Jaylon McKenzie, an eighth grader at Mason-Clark Middle School in East St. Louis who was featured in Sports Illustrated as one of six young athletes who would rule the future of sports, was shot to death at a party Saturday night, police said.
A 15-year-old girl was also critically wounded in the incident, police said.
At 14, Jaylon had drawn the attention of college football coaches and had told his family that his goal was ultimately to be taken in the first round of the NFL draft. Jaylon had made announcements on social media after getting his first verbal scholarship offer in December from the University of Missouri and about a week ago from the University of Illinois. He had just visited the University of Southern California during a trip with his club team.
His mother, Sukeena Gunner of Belleville, said witnesses to the shooting told her Jaylon was hit by a stray bullet after a fight broke out at a party.
“It’s so hard to fathom that someone took my baby from me because he dreamed so big,” Gunner said, fighting back tears. “I can just remember him coming into my room and telling my husband to call his name. ‘We have a 5-6 running back, Jayyyyy-lonnnn MacKenzieeee.’ And he would run into the room after his name was called.”
Illinois State Police said the shooting occurred in the 600 block of Third Street in Venice about 11:40 p.m. Several area police officers, including troopers from District 11, responded to a report of a disturbance and shots fired at a party. They found Jaylon and the other teen with serious wounds and tried to save their lives. Jaylon died shortly after arriving at a hospital, according to a news release. The girl was in critical condition at a hospital.
A harrowing Facebook Live video taken by a young woman at the scene showed that gunshots were still being fired even after police arrived and were tending to victims.
No arrests have been made. Anyone who witnessed the shooting was asked to call Illinois State Police Investigations Case Agent Scott Wobbe at 618-381-1467.
Gunner said her son had been to his school’s eighth grade dance earlier that night. She picked him up about 8 p.m.; he changed clothes and went back out with friends about 9. They ended up at another school’s post-prom party in Venice.
A little before midnight, she said, she heard one of Jaylon’s friends was trying to get in touch with her. She called her son’s phone and one of his friends answered “and told me he had been shot.”
The East St. Louis school district said crisis teams would be at school in coming days to counsel and support students.
In November, Jaylon was one of six teens featured in the Sports Illustrated feature “Six teens who will rule the future in sports.”
According to Sports Illustrated, Jaylon — who played running back, receiver and defensive back — drew national attention in August when he caught five passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns to help his youth football team to a victory at the NFL’s 8th Grade All-American Game in Canton, Ohio.
As a seventh grader, Jaylon rushed for 1,546 yards and 21 touchdowns for his team, the East St. Louis Jr. Flyers.
Jaylon was also a terrific basketball player, according to Al Lewis, who coached Jaylon for four years on his AAU team, the Southwest Illinois Jets.
“I remember talking with his father and saying he was going to have a decision to make between basketball and football because he was so great at both of them,” Lewis said. “He had speed and power, could finish at the rim over pretty much anybody, and he was one of the best defenders I have ever seen at his age level.”
Gunner said her son’s goal was to be drafted in the National Football League in the first round. “He wanted to attend a Division I university, no specific one, but he was excited about the offers coming in. A few coaches were in last week. LSU was watching him, Western Michigan were in town and got a chance to see him practice.”
Although he lived in Belleville, the family made the decision for him to transfer into East St. Louis this year, where Gunner works in the district. East St. Louis High School is in the family’s blood — Gunner and her husband, Otis Gunner, were standout athletes there. She played volleyball and he played football.
“He wanted to walk across the stage to accept his contract in the NFL,” his mother said. “He told me, ‘We’re going to make it, mama; we’re going to be good, mama.’ That was his dream. And I believe it would have come true if someone had not taken my baby away from me.”
Editor’s note: The link to the Sports Illustrated article has been updated.
Photo Credit: kmov.com/the family of Jaylon McKenzie
St. John woman charged in baby’s death after leaving children alone for five hours
ST. LOUIS COUNTY • A St. John woman left three young children alone for several hours and came home to find her 4-month-old son dead, prosecutors say.
Blessing Barlee, 21, was charged Friday with three felonies: endangering the welfare of a child resulting in the death of the child and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child creating a substantial risk.
St. John Police Capt. Bob Connell on Monday told the Post-Dispatch that the cause of death for 4-month-old Micah Lee Stringfellow hasn’t been determined. Investigators plan to meet with the medical examiner’s office in the coming days. Connell said there was no obvious sign of trauma to the infant.
Barlee left three children alone for five hours from last Wednesday night into Thursday morning, resulting in the death of Micah, charges say.
A tow truck driver is the one who called 911, Connell said. The tow truck driver had just dropped Barlee off at her home in the 3600 block of McKibbon Road early Thursday when Barlee ran back outside with the child in her arms, Connell said.
The baby was unresponsive and not breathing when police got to the home. A St. John police officer performed CPR on Micah, who was taken by ambulance to DePaul Hospital, but the child was pronounced dead.
Barlee’s 1-year-old child also was left in the home alone. The oldest child of the three left alone is a 4-year-old who is not Barlee’s biological child.
Connell said he doesn’t know where Barlee was for the five hours. “She’s changed her story several times,” he said.
Photo Credit: stltoday.com
Metro East St. Louis man unintentionally ran over and killed wife in driveway after night out, DUI charge says
ST. CLAIR COUNTY • A Metro East man unintentionally ran over and killed his wife as she lay in the driveway of their home after a night out, authorities say.
Jonathan E. Whitwell, 36, was charged Sunday with felony aggravated DUI resulting in death after allegedly running over his wife, Stephanie M. Whitwell.
The couple were dropped off at their home in the 5800 block of Concordia Church Road after going out Friday night, according to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office. The home is in a rural area southwest of Belleville.
The department believes Stephanie Whitwell lay down in the driveway while her husband went in the house.
Confused when he couldn’t find his wife, Whitwell was intoxicated but got in his 2004 GMC pickup to look for her, according to the sheriff’s office. When he backed out of the driveway he missed his wife, but when he returned, he drove over her, the department said.
Deputies were called to the scene just after midnight and found Stephanie Whitwell unconscious on the driveway with severe injuries. She was transported to Memorial Hospital in Belleville, where she died.
Jonathan Whitwell was taken into custody and was charged Sunday. Other charges, including reckless homicide, are possible, pending lab results and presentation to a grand jury, according to the sheriff’s office.
Jonathan Whitwell’s bond was set at $50,000. He was released Monday after posting bond.
Whitwell has no criminal record, according to the sheriff’s office.
Photo Credit: stltoday.com
Girl dies in Queens car fire with doors chained shut; father in custody
SPRINGFIELD GARDENS, Queens — A 3-year-old girl was killed in a car fire after her father allegedly set a fiery death trap in Queens, police said Monday morning.
FDNY responded to a car fire at 154th Street and Baisley Boulevard shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday, after a passerby saw the car parked at an intersection and called 911, officials said.
Firefighters arrived to find a silver 2008 Audi sedan engulfed in flames with the doors of the car chained shut, police sources told PIX11.
Witnesses told responders they saw a girl “burning” in the vehicle.
Three-year-old Zoey Pereira was found on the backseat of the car, fire officials said.
The latch of the chains bolted on the doors gave way due to the heat, and firefighters were able to get the child out, FDNY sources said.
Pereira was rushed to the hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
FDNY firefighters found two fuel canisters and a propane tank inside of the car, they said.
A 39-year-old Valley Stream man, who sustained burns throughout his body, was found a short distance away near Baisely Pond, police said.
Witnesses told PIX11 they saw the man, who was “on fire”, running for his life while his child appeared to be seemingly clinging to life inside of the charred vehicle.
“The fire caught on him, also maybe he was running for his own life,” said Owen Johnson. “She was still a little bit alive, but I could tell the time range and the time the FDNY came, she was burned,” Johnson said.
The man, whose identity has not been released, was taken into custody and transported to the hospital in critical but stable condition, police said.
He has not yet been charged, police said.
PIX11 has learned that a separate interference 911 call was made around the same time of the fire regarding the well-being of Pereira.
The child lived with her mother in Jamaica, Queens, sources said.
The mother and the father of Pereira were not married and were in the midst of a bitter custody battle, sourced told PIX11.
The father holds a previous arrest record from 2013 for aggravated harassment. It is unknown if this arrest directly involved the mother of Pereira.
Police are investigating this incident as a homicide.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/05/06/girl-dies-in-car-fire-with-doors-chained-shut-father-in-custody-police/
Photo Credit: pix11.com
12-year-old boy charged in fatal shooting of brother, 10
CONROE, Texas — Authorities say a 12-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of his 10-year-old brother in Texas.
The Montgomery County sheriff’s office says deputies on Saturday afternoon responded to a 911 call reporting a shooting in Conroe, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Houston. Authorities found the 10-year-old with a single gunshot wound to his chest area.
The child was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Authorities say the 12-year-old was placed in custody in the Montgomery County Juvenile Detention Facility.
Further details of the shooting were not released. Authorities say it’s an active investigation.
This is the latest incident of a child being accused of killing another in recent weeks.
A 6-year-old Georgia girl died last month after her 4-year-old brother accidentally shot her in the head in a car outside their home, authorities said. In that case, the siblings were in a car in their driveway, preparing to go to the boy’s baseball game, when the vehicle failed to start. The mother exited to find out what was wrong with the car, authorities said.
The boy took a gun from the car’s console and accidentally fired it while his mother was outside, striking his sister in the head, the sheriff’s office said.
And in March, an 11-year-old girl was accused of first-degree child abuse after she assaulted a 1-year-old boy she was babysitting in Maryland, leaving him with injuries so severe, he died days later, police said.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/05/05/12-year-old-boy-charged-in-fatal-shooting-of-brother-10/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
FL Woman left alone in jail cell for nearly 7 hours while giving birth
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A pregnant Florida woman was left alone in a jail cell for nearly seven hours after asking for help and eventually gave birth alone, her attorney said Friday.
Public defender Howard Finkelstein demanded an immediate review of medical and isolation practices in a letter to Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony.
“I am incensed and heartbroken after learning that a mentally ill client was forced to deliver her child alone in a jail cell,” Finkelstein wrote.
Finkelstein said his 34-year-old client complained of contractions and bleeding in the early morning hours of April 10. Jail staff attempted to contact an on-call doctor rather than take the woman to a hospital, the letter said. The doctor advised that he would check on the inmate when he arrived at the jail.
The attorney wrote that the Broward Sheriff’s Office was aware of the woman’s pregnancy since her March arrest on drug charges. He said medical records indicate the baby was not premature or unexpected.
A sheriff’s office report said a guard entered the cell after seeing the inmate with her newborn but didn’t mention the earlier equests for help. A nurse and doctor entered the cell to check on the mother and child, the report said. They were eventually sent to a nearby hospital. No injuries were reported
The sheriff’s office released a statement saying an internal affairs investigation was launched two days after the birth. Child Protective Investigations Section was notified, and the baby was placed with an appropriate caregiver, officials said.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Man poses as ride-share drive, rapes woman at knife point, Delaware police say
Police in Delaware arrested a man accused of posing as a ride-share driver to lure a woman into his car and sexually assault her at knifepoint.
Roberto Rodriguez, 41, faces charges of first-degree rape, third-degree unlawful sexual contact and possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, the Newark Police Department said.
Rodriguez is also accused of theft and malicious interference with emergency communications for allegedly taking the victim’s phone to prevent her from calling police.
CNN has reached out to Newark Police to find out if Rodriguez has a lawyer. We were unable to find another contact for him or anyone related to him.
The allegations
The 21-year-old woman called 911 early Saturday morning to report the attack, police said.
She said she was walking down a street near the University of Delaware when the driver approached her in a pickup truck.
She had not called for a ride, police said. He told her that he was driving for a ride-share service and offered her a ride.
She got into the car and the two rode for a bit until the driver pulled the car over, police said.
He pulled out a knife and told her to perform a sexual act, police said. After the act was completed, he kept driving.
Eventually, the woman was able to escape from the vehicle, police said. She went to a nearby residence where she called 911.
The investigation
Newark Police said they tracked the suspect through his vehicle, a silver 4-door GMC pickup truck with an extended cab and a tool chest behind the cab.
Police released photos to the public of the vehicle thought to have been used in the attack. Tips led police to a vehicle parked at a residence in Newark, where they began surveillance.
Police said they determined that the vehicle’s registered owner matched the suspect’s description. They arrested him as he was leaving the residence and found a knife in his possession.
Photo Credit: Getty Images