Woman accused of leaving newborn in toilet after giving birth at work
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. – A newborn is in critical condition after his mother allegedly gave birth in a Pennsylvania bathroom and left the boy partially submerged in a toilet bowl, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.
Emmanuella Osei, 23, now faces a charge of endangering the welfare of a child, a felony because of the boy’s age.
Osei gave birth to the baby boy in the bathroom of a Warwick Township assisted-living facility where she was working, according to WPMT. Minutes prior, she called her supervisor to relieve her at work because she was in pain, and, shortly after that, advised her boss to call 911 as she couldn’t hold the pain anymore.
Osei, who came from Ghana to live with her uncle in Reading in May, 2018, also told police she was “afraid to touch it” and “didn’t know how to help [the baby],” a criminal complaint states.
Osei allegedly admitted that she remained on the toilet and never moved to check and see if the newborn was moving or breathing.
Police found Osei in the bathroom with the door ajar, a large amount of blood and what appeared to be an umbilical cord, according to a news release from the Lancaster DA.
The unresponsive infant, whose skin was cold and appeared blue, was believed to have been in the water for about 10 to 15 minutes, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.
Cpl. Curtis Orchs used CPR to get the boy breathing again, and he was transported to the hospital after being resuscitated. The baby is currently on a ventilator in stable but critical condition.
“The quick thinking and actions of Corporal Ochs almost certainly saved this child’s life,” District Attorney Craig Stedman said. “This is a reminder of how much our men and women in uniform do for us.”
Osei claimed she first learned of her pregnancy on January 4 during a trip to Reading Hospital, police wrote in the criminal complaint. She later admitted that wasn’t the case — having known since May 2018, when she went to a clinic in Ghana.
Medical records confirmed Osei’s visit to the emergency room, the criminal complaint notes, and she was told by hospital staff that she was at least 34 weeks pregnant, possibly more. Police also wrote that Osei left the hospital following the visit, going against doctor’s orders after staff tried to admit her. The criminal complaint adds that Osei did not seek follow-up medical care since the visit.
According to the criminal complaint, Osei kept her pregnancy a secret from friends and family because she feared that they would be disappointed in her. She has an almost 2-year-old daughter in Ghana currently living with her mother, police said.
Osei was arrested Wednesday afternoon and is being held at Lancaster County Prison without bail.
Man accused of locking toddler dryer ‘on numerous occasions,’ turning it on
ALABASTER, Ala. – An Alabama man faces multiple charges after authorities say he abused a toddler on multiple occasions by locking the child inside a dryer and turning it on.
Steven Garrett Todhunter, 25, faces charges of domestic violence by strangulation or suffocation and aggravated child abuse, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office records show.
“On numerous occasions Steven G. Todhunter placed the victim in the washing machine or dryer,’’ according to an arrest warrant obtained by The Birmingham News. “When the victim was placed in the drying (sic), (the suspect) would close and secure the door with a chair, and sometimes turn the dryer on.”
The court documents did not specify the age of the victim, now what relationship he might have to Todhunter. According to the paper, Todhunter is the father of a 3-year-old.
Todhunter is also accused of choking an adult until the victim “passed out,” according to the Alabaster Reporter.
Court records show Todhunter, who is due back in court in early Feb. posted $10,000 bond for each charge and was released from jail Jan. 13.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/01/16/alabama-man-accused-of-locking-toddler-in-running-dryer/
Dishwasher awarded $21M after being forced to work on Sundays
MIAMI – A dishwasher at a Miami hotel claimed in a lawsuit that her former employer violated her religious rights by scheduling her to work on Sundays.
This week, a jury agreed and awarded Marie Jean Pierre $21 million in punitive damages, NBC reports. But, as WTVJ points out, she’ll end up with only a fraction of that, some $300,000, due to a cap on punitive damages in federal court.
Pierre, who worked at the Conrad Miami for a decade, sued the hotel’s parent company, in 2017, saying it violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on color, religion, sex, or national origin. The 60-year-old mother of six is a member of Catholic missionary group Soldiers of Christ.
Pierre claimed that the hotel knew from the onset of her employment that she could not work Sundays, and that her employer accommodated her until 2015, when she began to be scheduled to work on Sundays. She said she traded shifts with coworkers for several weeks until her boss said she had to come in, the Miami Herald reports. When she didn’t, he fired her.
Pierre’s lawyer tells NBC that the hotel argued in court that it didn’t know that she was a missionary and why she needed Sundays off.
“During Ms. Pierre’s ten years with the hotel, multiple concessions were made to accommodate her personal and religious commitments,” a spokeswoman says, adding that the hotel will appeal.
In addition to the punitive damages, Pierre was reportedly awarded $36,000 for lost wages and $500,000 for emotional suffering.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/01/16/dishwasher-awarded-21m-after-being-forced-to-work-on-sundays/
Bay Area McDonald’s Cashier Convicted of Trying to Drown Newborn in Toilet After Giving Birth at Work
A Northern California woman charged with trying to drown her baby after giving birth in a McDonald’s restaurant has pleaded no contest to child endangerment.
KPIX-TV reports that 26-year-old Sarah Lockner entered the plea Monday and faces up to four years in prison.
Authorities say Lockner was a cashier at a McDonald’s in Redwood City when she gave birth in a bathroom during her shift in September of 2017.
Prosecutors say a co-worker who went to check on Lockner found a newborn baby boy face down in the toilet bowl with Lockner’s hand on his back.
Police were called and found the boy had no pulse and wasn’t breathing. He was taken to a hospital and survived.
Lockner was charged with attempted murder but pleaded to the lesser charge.
Man filmed punching 11-year-old girl outside mall facing charges
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A 51-year-old man is accused of pushing and punching an 11-year-old girl outside a North Carolina shopping mall.
The Asheville Citizen Times reported that David Steven Bell, of Black Mountain, was caught on video assaulting the victim Saturday outside the Asheville Mall.
Bell was arrested by an off-duty officer and charged with assault on a child under the age of 12, a misdemeanor offense.
He was also charged with two other counts of assault on a female after two 13-year-old girls also said Bell pushed them.
Bell is listed in an incident report as standing 6-feet-5 and weighing 250 pounds. Video of the assault was shared widely on social media.
Some people online came to the suspect’s defense, saying he was responding to a threat after being pushed. The exact circumstances of what led up to the assault remain uncertain. Bell has not responded to the paper’s request for a comment.
via: https://fox2now.com/2019/01/15/man-filmed-punching-11-year-old-girl-outside-mall-facing-charges/
Ex-Yankee John Wetteland sexually abused boy between ages 4 and 6: officials
Yankee great John Wetteland, who was MVP of the 1996 World Series as the team’s closer, was arrested this week on charges he sexually abused a male relative, officials said.
The 52-year-old abused the boy from October 2004 to October 2006 — when he was between the ages of 4 and 6, according to his arrest affidavit.
He posted $25,000 bond and was released Monday just hours after being taken into custody.
Wetteland — who also played for the Rangers from 1997 to 2000 after a two-year stint with the Yanks — was living in Texas at the time of the alleged abuse.
The victim claims to have been assaulted by Wetteland when he would return home from work trips.
“[The victim] stated that his [attacker] was gone most of the year for work responsibilities and would return for about a month at a time,” the affidavit states.
Wetteland is accused of forcing the boy to perform a sex act on him “on three separate occasions between the years of 2004-2006. Each of these three acts occurred while they were in the master bathroom shower located at [his] residence.”
Wetteland, a born-again Christian, was living in Bartonville at the time and serving on the board of directors for the Calvary Chapel church in Katy.
“He volunteered to do it,” church leader Mark Martinez told The Post.
Over the years, Wetteland has worked at Liberty Christian School in Texas as the school’s baseball coach and also taught Bible studies. He divorced from his wife, Michele, in 2015 and the pair had four children together.
Wetteland had made a name for himself in the mid-1990s as a dominant closer, who saved a record four games during the Yankees’ World Series win against the Braves in 1996.
It was the team’s first title in 18 years, and his performance earned Wetteland World Series MVP honors.
The iconic image of that championship was Wetteland in the arms of catcher Joe Girardi with a fist raised in the air as the Yankee Stadium crowd exploded with joy.
Wetteland went on to play for the Rangers the following year.
His setup man, rookie Mariano Rivera, moved into the Yankees closer’s role after Wetteland’s departure and went on to a Hall of Fame career.
Wetteland recorded 330 saves over the course of his 12-season career, which also included stints with the Dodgers and Expos.
The California native struggled with drugs and alcohol throughout his youth but was still able to land in the minors in 1986. According to Yankees analyst and journalist Jack Curry, he almost died twice — when he was just 17.
“Once he nearly overdosed on a combination of drugs, including LSD, at a Grateful Dead concert,” wrote Curry in a 1995 profile on Wetteland for the New York Times. “Another time, Wetteland was in the front seat when a drunken friend rammed his car into a telephone pole. Something happened. He trudged on. He kept playing baseball and guitar. He kept walking crooked.”
According to his then wife, Michele, “it was difficult for him to forgive his parents for some things he had to go through as a kid.”
“He wishes they would have protected him from some of the things he experienced,” Michele explained in the 1995 article.
“He was really wild and really out there at one time and it was so opposed to my beliefs as a Christian,” she said, noting how “it really is two different persons with John.”
“God’s word says the old man is cast off. John’s old man has been cast off. If you asked me if I sit here in awe of John and how obedient he has been to God’s word, I’d tell you that I do.”
Michele could not be reached for comment Tuesday and declined to speak to the Dallas Morning News.
Neither Wetteland nor his attorney could be reached for comment.
His arrest on Tuesday is the worst turn for the former Yankees star, who has faced troubles since retiring after the 2000 season.
After entering the coaching ranks in 2006 — a year after being inducted into the Texas Rangers’ Hall of Fame — he failed to make it through one season with the Nationals as bullpen coach.
Wetteland reportedly irked team management by encouraging pranks, like setting off firecrackers during spring training. He also allegedly tried to disassemble a video camera.
Nationals manager Frank Robinson eventually said enough is enough and fired Wetteland in June 2006.
“They seem to focus a little bit more on practical jokes and fooling around out there in the bullpen rather than focusing and concentrating on the game, and keeping their minds focused to what they would have to do when they came into the ballgame to get people out,” Robinson told the Washington Post at the time.
“I just couldn’t put up with it anymore. I talked to John on a number of occasions and told him flat-out what I needed and how I wanted things done. He just didn’t seem to understand.”
More seriously, there were once worries about Wetteland’s mental health.
In November 2009, he was hospitalized in Texas in what police believed to be a suicidal situation.
A woman at Wetteland’s home had called the cops about a possibly suicidal person believed to be Wetteland.
The CBS affiliate in Texas reported that when officers arrived at the home, Wetteland emerged, saying he “needed help.”
Later, Wetteland and the Mariners — for whom he was then a bullpen coach — said he had an elevated heart rate.
He claimed in a statement that “the circumstances leading to my elevated blood pressure and heart rate” had been addressed.
Additional reporting by Zach Braziller
Photo Credit: Denton County Jail via AP
Couple charged after their toddler died with 17 pound tumor
An Oklahoma couple, whose 3-year-old daughter died on Jan. 3 from cancer and had a 17-pound tumor, is facing manslaughter charges for their alleged negligence, the Lawton Constitution reported.
Authorities in Lawton, Okla., responded to reports of an unconscious toddler at a camper home, according to the paper. The girl was unconscious but breathing and had a 17-pound tumor, the report said.
She was then taken to a hospital where she died, the report said. First responders said at least six other children were living with the couple in the camper, the report said.
The child’s parents – Bonnie Beth Mills-Lilly, 42, and Henry Clarence Lilly III, 49 – failed to seek medical care for the child, authorities said. It was not clear where the tumor was located.
The couple was arrested and charged Thursday with first-degree manslaughter, according to the report. They face a minimum of four years in prison if convicted, the report said.
Lawton is about 90 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/01/14/couple-charged-after-their-toddler-died-with-17-pound-tumor/
3 children dead after becoming trapped in chest freezer
SUWANNEE COUNTY, Fla. — Three children in Florida have died after climbing inside a chest freezer that was recently brought to their home.
WCTV reported that the children, ages 1, 4, and 6, were found unresponsive and taken to a hospital where they were pronounced dead.
The children were playing outside in the yard when they climbed inside a chest freezer that had not been plugged in or brought inside, according to authorities.
A woman at the home who was with the kids said she went inside to use the bathroom and could not find the children when she returned.
She said she opened the freezer and found the children inside not breathing. The woman then called 911.
Authorities believe the freezer’s lid closed and a hasp fell shut, trapping the children inside. Authorities do not suspect foul play.
R. Kelly accuser says he threatened to reveal her sex life; holds news conference with Gloria Allred
NEW YORK — R. Kelly wrote a letter threatening to reveal embarrassing details of a woman’s sexual history if she didn’t drop a lawsuit accusing him of sexual abuse, the woman and her lawyer said Monday.
In the letter, a person identifying himself as R. Kelly warned a lawyer for the woman, Faith Rodgers, that if she persisted with the suit, she would be “subjected to public opinion.”
The letter said the singer would demand medical documentation of her claim that he gave her herpes, force her to turn over texts and social media posts, and have “10 personal male witnesses testifying under oath about her sex life.”
“If Ms. Rodgers really cares about her own reputation she should cease her participation and association with the organizers of this negative campaign,” the letter said.
A lawyer for R. Kelly in Chicago, Steve Greenberg, denied the letter’s authenticity, saying it “looks fake.”
“It obviously was not authored or signed by Mr. Kelly, nor sent on his behalf,” Greenberg said. “He doesn’t write letters.”
The letter was sent in October to one of Rodgers’ lawyers in New York, a few weeks after the singer was served with the lawsuit accusing him of demeaning her, locking her in rooms and vehicles, and subjecting her to “non-permissive, painful and abusive sex.”
Rodgers, 21, said she met Kelly as a 19-year-old after a concert in San Antonio. She participated in the recently aired Lifetime documentary “Surviving R. Kelly,” which catalogued years of accusations against the singer.
“We are here today to let Mr. Kelly know in no uncertain terms that he cannot and will not intimidate his alleged victims into keeping silent about their allegations,” one of her lawyers, Gloria Allred, said at the news conference Monday.
“No woman should be victim-shamed, harassed or retaliated against because she asserted her rights and spoke her truth,” Rodgers added.
The Associated Press does not typically name people alleging sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Rodgers has done.
Kelly has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
The letter send to Rodgers’ New York lawyer, Lydia Hills, also lectured her in sometimes nonsensical terms about her understanding of the law.
“This is to enlighten you concerning the presumption of court appearances that you may not be aware of since attorneys are taught a coloring of law and not Canon or Common Law. Color-of-Law is NOT law. It’s fiction for corporate fictions of which I am not.”
The letter writer added later that, “I am exempt and not subject to this court so I don’t know why you are even addressing me.”
via: https://pix11.com/2019/01/14/r-kelly-accuser-says-he-threatened-to-reveal-her-sex-life/
Cheating Husband Gets Chest Tattoo To Apologize To His Wife, Gets Mocked For Misspelling
We have seen some of the crazy cases of cheating in the year 2018, even many celebrity couples have been in the spotlight for this. While there is a lot of audience rooting for some couples to get back and exchange their apologies, this one man has gone to a totally different level to apologize to his wife for cheating on her. He seems to have gone all out on this apology that he branded on his chest in the form of a permanent tattoo. As bizarre as it sounds, it has met with mixed responses, but most of them have been filled with ridicule.
While a passing thought – the one that is prompted by survival logic – which might come to our minds is that getting a permanent brand on your chest which equates you to some of the social evils is not a great idea at all. Especially if you are trying to seek forgiveness. However, Jose L. Torres, a man thought to be from Houston, Texas had a totally radical view about apologies, and he started his New Year with a painful bang.
An image of the tat, in which he owns up to being a ‘liar’ and a ‘cheater,’ has apparently gone viral. Garnering a lot of derision, mockery, laughter, and face-palms on social media. It seems to have an aura of defiance that a lot of us might feel is unnecessary and pointless, given how we use tattoos to commemorate something valuable or to honor a person. Torres’ attempt at this gesture comes across not only as misplaced but also something that he did not think through.
Tattoo artist Tattoos By Jorge first posted the image of the tat on Instagram, where he goes by @sickcat_13. “Nothing like some nice lettering to start the year,” he wrote. The photo has gone viral ever since it has been shared on Instagram. Apart from the tattoo communities and other Instagram users, people on Reddit and Twitter have also been talking about this Torres’ tattoo.
It appears that this was not his first attempt at getting a tattoo. He already has his name written over his belly button. But this new attempt is nothing short of a problem that he seems to have invited upon himself.
In a message written from nipple to nipple and down to his navel, it reads: ‘I, Jose L. Torres am getting a tattoo voluntarily on January 2, 2019 so that I can earn my wife’s trust back for the pain and suffering I have cause in our marriage.
He then goes on to list that he is a ‘liar,’ ‘cheater,’ ‘manipulator,’ ‘deciever,’ ‘w****/prostitute lover,’ and ‘dishonest and disrespectul.’
Many people were quick to point out the many inaccurate spellings included in the lengthy tattoo, with one person questioning: “Didn’t you double check and treble check the spelling??” And other responses have not ceased. Below are some of the responses that are transparent of the feelings being felt by people on social media:
via: https://urban.inkedshop.com/cheating-husband-gets-chest-tattoo-to-apologize-to-his-wife