Mother fatally shoots son over an argument over a video game
According to police, 48-year-old Angelique Chase was involved in an argument with her son, 17-year-old Christopher Perry. It later turned into a physical struggle and resulted in Chase shooting her son.
According to two law enforcement sources, Perry was playing video games in the living room with another family member when his mother heard what she thought was offensive language. When Chase confronted her son, the two got into a verbal argument that turned physical.
Sources said Chase then went downstairs where she grabbed a revolver and confronted her son again – shooting him once in the chest.
During an interview with police, Chase indicated to them that she did not mean to fire and was lowering the pistol when it went off.
Detectives who responded to the scene Thursday night initially charged Chase with second-degree murder after listening to her story. She had told detectives the gun went off as she was lowering it to the ground.
However, after speaking with prosecutors, a decision was made to add in the charge of first-degree murder while armed.
“During the course of the investigation, the investigators consulted with our State’s Attorney’s Office – during the course of the dispute, they found evidence that may indicate that the suspect had in mind to engage in this activity instead of being in the heat of the moment-type environment,” said Prince George’s County Cpl. Lamar Robinson.
Robinson added this may have been pre-meditated, “but that is still under investigation right now.”
According to court documents, investigators say the family member inside the home separated the mother and son during the altercation prior to the shooting. Chase told the family member to leave the room and go into the basement.
“While in the basement, the family member stated that the defendant went downstairs to the basement into a room and went back upstairs,” the court document said. “Moments later he heard what he described as a ‘loud bang.’ The family member then heard the defendant on the phone advising Prince George’s County Public Safety Communications that the decedent had been shot.”
Neighbors said the 17-year-old lived alone with his mother at their house on Buckler Road. He was a senior student at Grace Brethren Christian School just down the street from where they lived.
As students were dismissed Friday afternoon from the school, approximately a dozen classmates came to his house where they went to the front door. Many of them had flowers in their hands. Some of them wiped away tears as they spoke with Perry’s older sister.
Police said Chase has admitted her involvement in the homicide. She is in custody of the Department of Corrections on a no-bond status.
Michael Jackson’s Mother Accuses Nephew of Elder Abuse
The Jackson family matriarch is accusing her nephew of abusing her.
Katherine Jackson has been granted a temporary restraining order against her nephew, Trent Lamar Jackson, alleging ongoing elder abuse.
The younger Jackson has been employed as the driver for Mrs. Jackson, who is described as “the beloved, 86-year-old mother of nine children, her most famous son was the late Michael Jackson,” in court documents obtained by CNN.
Since the pop star’s death in 2009, Mrs. Jackson alleges, her nephew has “manipulated’ her and “preyed on her kindness.”
“Trent was supposed to be her driver, but over time has infiltrated Mrs. Jackson’s business and personal affairs, even referring to himself as her ‘House Manager,’” a statement included in the restraining order reads. “Trent has made it his business to regulate Mrs. Jackson’s interactions with her children — screening phone calls, not relaying messages, not allowing privacy during visits or phone calls.”
The document states that Trent Jackson “conned employees at Mrs. Jackson’s bank” to obtain access to her accounts.
Mr. Jackson has not responded to CNN’s request for comment.
It’s not the first time Katherine Jackson has been at the center of family drama.
In 2012, a missing-person report was filed — and her guardianship of Michael Jackson’s children, Prince, Paris and Blanket suspended — after she was out of touch with her family for 10 days.
She later said she had been secluded at an Arizona spa — unaware of the uproar surrounding her “disappearance.”
The order states that Mrs. Jackson has fired her nephew.
A hearing in the case has been set for March 1.
via: http://ktla.com/2017/02/10/michael-jacksons-mother-accuses-nephew-of-elder-abuse/
Brooklyn day care worker beats her 4-year-old son to death with stick for dropping egg on floor
Strangers trust Zarah Coombs to care for their children — never suspecting that the Brooklyn day care worker could be capable of savagely killing her own son.
An enraged Coombs beat her 4-year-old son Zamair to death with a broomstick after the preschooler accidentally broke an egg on the floor of their Brooklyn basement apartment, sources said.
Coombs — who worked in a family-owned Bushwick day care center — waited 20 minutes with the dying boy stashed inside a water-filled plastic storage bin before finally calling 911 for help, according to a source. The 26-year-old Coombs confessed to the Wednesday night beating and was charged with murder. She was led away in handcuffs as tears rolled down her face.But neighbor Ray Moore, 18, said the cold-blooded Coombs showed no such remorse as medics tried to save her son’s life
“She was just standing there like she just don’t care,” said Moore, who lives one floor up from the murder suspect in Brownsville. “I know if it was me, my mother would’ve been in the ambulance.
“That’s when you know something wasn’t right.”
Coombs was later placed on suicide watch. The brutal killing occurred while Coombs was home alone with Zamair and two younger kids, waiting for her boyfriend to return from buying marijuana, sources said.
When the egg slipped from the small child’s hands, the mom lost her mind, grabbed the broomstick and beat the helpless little boy until he fell silent, sources said.
She then put the unconscious Zamair in the large bin inside the apartment bathroom, according to sources.
Coombs — raised in a family of 15 kids and the mother of four children — only summoned help when her live-in boyfriend, Jamari Richardson, returned home shortly before 9 p.m., cops said.
When cops arrived, they found the battered Zamair unable to breathe and foaming at the mouth, according to police and a relative. He was pronounced dead about five hours later at Brookdale University Hospital.
Cops said the boy had cuts, bruises and abrasions on his neck and body. The medical examiner, in ruling the case a homicide, found the cause of death was multiple blunt-impact injuries.
The city Department of Investigation immediately announced plans for a probe into the little boy’s death and whether the city Administration for Children’s Services played any role.
Hours after Zamair died, an Investigation Department summary report ripped ACS for botching the case of another Brooklyn boy, 3-year-old Jaden Jordan, who was beaten to death last month.
Coombs’ brother said ACS officials had stopped by the apartment several times before the death.
Police remove evidence from the Brooklyn home where Zamair Coombs was beaten to death.
According to sources, ACS investigated a pair of allegations against the mom in 2015: Failure to provide medical care in March and inadequate supervision three months later. Both were deemed unfounded. Details of the beleaguered agency’s investigations were not revealed.
Police sources said there were also three prior domestic incident reports involving the mother — in 2002, 2006 and 2011.
Coombs’ family ran four day care centers, and state officials confirmed Zarah Coombs had been employed by their Leading Star Academy since February 2014.
A source indicated Coombs told investigators the fatal assault began because she was stressed out while caring for the victim’s two younger siblings — ages 1 year and 1 month.
Coombs’ brother said ACS officials had stopped by the apartment several times before the death According to sources, ACS investigated a pair of allegations against the mom in 2015: Failure to provide medical care in March and inadequate supervision three months later. Both were deemed unfounded. Details of the beleaguered agency’s investigations were not revealed.
Police sources said there were also three prior domestic incident reports involving the mother — in 2002, 2006 and 2011.
Coombs’ family ran four day care centers, and state officials confirmed Zarah Coombs had been employed by their Leading Star Academy since February 2014.
A source indicated Coombs told investigators the fatal assault began because she was stressed out while caring for the victim’s two younger siblings — ages 1 year and 1 month.In a series of 2014 Facebook posts, the murder suspect wrote about her doomed son Zamair — in one case, adding a now-chilling photo in which he ate a breakfast of egg whites, toast and blueberries.
Coombs initially claimed Zamair died after she left him unattended inside the storage bin where her boyfriend found the child’s limp body, the sources said. She claimed she was tending to one of the smaller kids when he was injured.
Richardson tried unsuccessfully to perform CPR on the boy before police and EMTs arrived. Coombs was arrested after coming clean with detectives about what really happened, the sources said.
“I don’t even know how I feel, part of me is like, Zamair is going to come from around the corner and say, ‘Daddy.’ ” Richardson told The News. “Since I’ve been in the picture, there has been no foul play with these kids and if I had seen something that I didn’t think was right, I would of said something about it.”
Coombs’ brother Michael Thomas offered little support after the arrest.
“This is unacceptable, intolerable for you to kill a 4-year-old,” said Thomas. “A sister or not, she has to be held accountable.”
Thomas described the grim scene outside the apartment when he arrived amid the flashing lights and howling sirens of police cars and medical personnel.
“They were pumping on his chest,” Thomas, 53, said of his nephew. “When I saw them inserting the breathing tube, you know that’s bad. He was foaming at the mouth.”Thomas said he was initially told the little boy took a spill and cracked his head after stepping on some loose towels in the bathroom.
Coombs, who tried to hide her face behind her dredlocks at her arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court late Thursday, was also charged with manslaughter, acting in a manner injurious to a child and criminal possession of a weapon. She was granted emergency psychiatric care and placed on suicide watch. She must undergo a 30-day mental health observation.
The mom’s two youngest kids were both fathered by her current boyfriend, while Zamair and a 9-year-old child have different dads, sources said. Both dads are in jail.
The boy’s grandfather said he was kept away from Zamair by Coombs and Richardson. Asked if the couple were good parents, the grandfather demurred.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t want to get into that.”
via: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/mom-admits-fatally-beating-4-year-old-boy-brooklyn-home-article-1.2956011
Missouri Man Accused of Shooting Thief Over iPhone Thought “Stand Your Ground” Protected Him
A Missouri man told police he thought the state’s new “stand your ground” gun law would protect him after allegedly shooting another man Monday, according to KTLA sister station KTVI in St. Louis.
Karl O. Henson, 23, admitted he opened fire while running after a man whose back was turned, he later told officers in a probable cause statement.
Henson, who faces charges of armed criminal action and first-degree assault, told police, “the only reason I thought it was OK to shoot at him while he was running away was because of what happened with the new year with the gun law change,” officer Spirit Stevens wrote.
Missouri instituted the “stand your ground” law in January 2017, after the state legislature guaranteed the passage of Senate Bill 650 in September, despite Governor Jay Nixon’s earlier veto. The law allows people to use deadly force instead of running away, as long as they believe deadly force will be used upon them.
On Monday afternoon, Henson met up with a 20-year-old man who wanted to buy an iPhone 7 from him, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune. While examining the phone, the 20-year-old allegedly took off with the device, running behind a duplex in a cul-de-sac on Riva Ridge Court in northern Columbia.
Henson told police he chased the man into a field, firing six shots and dropping one unspent round as he ran, according to the statement.
The shooting victim was wounded in the heel, and a private vehicle took him to University Hospital, police said.
Henson was arrested at the scene and taken to Boone County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
via: http://ktla.com/2017/01/26/missouri-man-accused-in-shooting-thought-new-gun-law-protected-him/
North Carolina Mother Charged After Toddler Tests Positive for Cocaine
A North Carolina mother has been charged after her 2-year-old daughter tested positive for cocaine, according to the Burlington Times-News.
Tammara Gail Overman, 32, of Burlington, faces a charge of felony intentional child abuse causing serious physical injury after being arrested Wednesday
The toddler was also suffering from a severe, untreated rash on her groin, according to the paper.
The arrest comes after a monthlong investigation by the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities have not said how the child consumed the drug.
Overman was jailed in Alamance County under a $25,000 bond and had a court date on Thursday.
Two other suspects who shared the same house were charged with misdemeanor child neglect in connection to the investigation, the paper reported.
via: http://ktla.com/2017/01/27/north-carolina-mother-charged-after-toddler-tests-positive-for-cocaine/
Arkansas Mother of 4 Builds Home for Family From Scratch Using YouTube Tutorials
With two bad marriages behind her and debt that came with them, Cara Brookins, an Arkansas mother of four, needed a place to stay for her and her four kids.
But Brookins, who writes young adult novels for a living, didn’t have the money to hire builders. So she built one by herself — using YouTube tutorials.
“Things can get a little expensive when you are escaping an abusive relationship and have four children,” Brookins explained.
Brookins’ initial intention was to buy a home. But she found they were either too expensive or just too small. Then she realized that YouTube is a great tool for how-to’s.
So after careful research, Brookins brought an acre of land in Bryant, Arkansas, a suburb of Little Rock, and began building.
She started in 2008, watching videos in the evening, making a list of the tools she’d need. She tallied the cost of supplies for her dream home: $130,000.
So she sold a small property she owned.
Her children, Hope, Drew and Jada and Roman — ages 17 to 2 at the time — helped along the way.
“My oldest son, Drew, helped me draw the blueprint to get approved by the city,” Brookins said.
Brookins and her children worked on the house for nine months. Jada would haul water from the neighbor’s pond to make a mix to help lay the foundation. Drew helped move lumber. Hope would cook for everyone.
“The entire process brought our family closer together and we learned that nothing is impossible. We found new hope,” said Brookins.
But all the YouTube learning can’t fill all the holes in one’s knowledge. So Brookins enlisted the help of a friendly firefighter who had past building experience. She would pay him $25 an hour, when she could afford it, to help her with some of the tasks.
Finally, on March 31, 2009, the family moved into its 3,500-square-foot house. Brookins called it Inkwell Manor because, she said, she wanted a place where she could write and one that reflected her passion for books and writing.
The house has five bedrooms and a library.
The experience is now the subject of a book, “Rise: How a House Built a Family,” which comes out January 24. Brookins said she hopes the book inspires others to never think small.
“I never intended to write a book. I was ashamed. But I think it is important to shift your perspective on any negative situation and do something big,” she said.
“Never think of your situation as a solo journey,” she added. “You can heal and grow together with your family.”
via: http://ktla.com/2017/01/13/arkansas-mother-of-4-builds-home-for-family-from-scratch-using-youtube-tutorials/
Missing 5-Year-Old Girl Found ‘Deceased and Concealed’ Inside Ohio Restaurant Owned by Her Parents
Nearly 24 hours after authorities began searching for a missing 5-year-old in Jackson Township, Ohio, the girl’s body was discovered in the same restaurant where she was last seen.
Ashley Zhao, 5, was found dead Tuesday night inside her parents’ Portage Street NW eatery, Asian Cuisine, authorities confirmed.
According to a press release from Jackson Township police, it was determined that the child was found “deceased and concealed inside the building,” according to WJW-TV.
Police, with the assistance of the FBI and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation in cooperation with the Stark County Coroner’s Office continue to investigate her death.
Ashley was last seen at 5 p.m. on Monday. Jackson Township police had said they believed she wandered out the back door.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office issued a missing child alert for Ashley just before noon Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, officers used dogs to search a wooded area behind the restaurant from Portage to Mega Streets. The Jackson Township Fire Department used a drone and a ladder truck to help with the search.
via: http://ktla.com/2017/01/10/missing-5-year-old-girl-found-deceased-and-concealed-inside-ohio-restaurant/
Man accused of slitting 16-year-old’s throat, leaving her in Illinois garage
MARKHAM, Ill. — A man suspected of killing a teenage girl on Christmas Eve and leaving her in the garage of a suburban Illinois home was denied bond Friday.
Antonio Rosales, 32, is accused of murdering 16-year-old Desiree Robinson, from the South Side of Chicago, after meeting the teen online.
Rosales turned himself into police three days ago, according to WGN-TV. He admitted to the murder and explained to authorities how he met the victim through an ad on Backpage.com, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Police say Rosales invited Robinson to a home in Markham, Illinois, home where she later showed up with two friends. Witnesses later told police they saw Robinson and Rosales having sex in a truck during that first meeting.
Afterward, Robinson and her friends left, but investigators say the three girls came back a short time later because Rosales wanted to have sex with her again.
The two went into a garage next to the home while Robinson’s friends fell asleep in their car.
Rosales told police a fight started after he didn’t have cash to pay her.
During the altercation, prosecutors say, Rosales punched her in the face and strangled her as she tried to call for help.
Around 9:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve, Robinson’s friends woke up and realized she hadn’t returned and asked the homeowner to open the garage, according to investigators.Prosecutors say Rosales then used a knife to slash Robinson’s throat before locking the garage, telling Robinson’s friends that she’d be out shortly and leaving.
That’s when they found her naked body on the ground inside, along with a bloody knife, prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, police say Rosales – who had cuts and swelling on his knuckles and blood on his pants – went to a friend’s home, then his sister’s house.
He turned himself in on December 27th and admitted to the murder, according to court documents.
Rosales’ prior criminal history includes two years in Indiana prison for robbery, assault and battery. He had current warrants out for his arrest out of Massachusetts for a robbery last August.
Rosales is due back in court Jan. 18th.
via: http://fox2now.com/2016/12/30/man-accused-of-slitting-16-year-olds-throat-leaving-her-in-illinois-garage/
Texas Mother Fatally Shot While Trying to Raise Money to Buy 6-Year-Old Daughter a Christmas Gift
A Texas woman who was trying to sell jewelry online in order to make enough money to buy her 6-year-old daughter a gift for Christmas was shot and killed after arranging to meet a potential buyer last week, according to police and reports.
April Vancleave, 33, had agreed to meet the buyer at the Target located in the area of South Cooper Street and Arbrook Boulevard in Arlington last Thursday, the Arlington Police Department said in a news release.
Wanting to remain cautious, she also took her husband along, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
But when the couple went to meet the buyer at the Starbucks inside the store, that person wasn’t there, the newspaper reported. The pair then drove back to their apartment complex, where the husband dropped the wife off and headed to work.
While in the parking lot of the complex, Vancleave was confronted by someone and shot, according to the police news release. She was taken to a hospital where she later died.
Arlington police Lt. Chris Cook told the Star-Telegram that investigators believe the potential buyers followed the couple to their apartment complex, then likely tried to rob Vancleave after she was dropped off in the parking lot.
Vancleave had been trying to sell the jewelry in order to raise enough money to buy her daughter, Lilly, a Christmas gift, her relatives told the newspaper.
No arrests have been made, but police released surveillance video from the Target store showing two people they describe as “persons of interest.”
In the footage, which was posted to the department’s Facebook page, the two men are seen walking out of the retailer and then driving off in a red pickup truck.
Anyone who recognizes the two men, or has information about the case, is asked to contact Arlington police at 817-459-5735. Those wishing to remain anonymous can leave a tip by calling the local Crime Stoppers hotline at 817-469-8477.
A $10,000 reward has been offered by Oaks Farms Dairy for anyone who has information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the homicide, the release stated.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe has been established to pay for Vancleave’s funeral.
Oklahoma Parents Arrested After Twin Infants Found in ‘Worst Case of Child Abuse’ Nurses Say They’ve Seen (Warning: Graphic Content)
Warning: The story below contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.
A mother and father were arrested on child abuse charges in Oklahoma late last week after two infants were found in what nurses called “the worst case of child abuse they had seen,” according to multiple reports.
The child abuse allegations began when police responded to an urgent care facility in Owasso on Friday evening. When they arrived, they discovered two victims described as twin infants, the Tulsa World reported.
The infants suffered from bed sores and severe diaper rash, and were apparently malnourished and looked like skeletons, according to television station KJRH in Tulsa.
A nurse told officers through tears that she saw a maggot crawl out of one of the young victim’s genitals, the station reported. Nurses also found feces in the ear of one of the infants.
Both were hospitalized.
The parents — identified as Kevin Fowler, 25, and Aislyn Miller, 24 — were arrested the following day on suspicion of child abuse, according to the reports.
Miller allegedly admitted she knew there were issues with the children’s conditions, but told police she and Fowler were “new parents,” and had no experience caring for babies, according to the Tulsa World.
She also told them the infants were born premature, something she said explained their condition, the newspaper reported. The pair didn’t have health insurance, nor did they know how to find healthcare they could afford, Miller said.
Both were jailed and held on $100,000, according to the newspaper.