Tag: Illinois
9-year-old boy arraigned on 5 murder charges in deadly mobile home blaze
A 9-year-old boy was arraigned Monday on charges of murdering five relatives in an Illinois mobile home fire, a report said.
Kyle Alwood appeared confused at times during the half-hour hearing and quietly cried at its conclusion, before being escorted out by his grandparents, who are caring for him, according to The Journal Star.
The child is facing five counts of first-degree murder for allegedly setting the April 6 blaze in Goodfield, Ill. that killed three kids and two adults – ranging in age from 1 to 69-years-old.
After the blaze broke out, the boy ran next door to the home of his maternal grandparents and shrieked “The house is on fire! Help!” the report said.
The boy’s 28-year-old mother Katrina Alwood, who survived the blaze, has backed her son.
“Everyone is looking at him like he’s some kind of monster, but that’s not who he is,” she told CBS News earlier this month. TOP ARTICLES2/5READ MORETMZ’s Van Lathan fired after newsroom spat withMichael Babcock
“People make mistakes, and that’s what this is. Yes, it was a horrible tragedy, but it’s still not something to throw his life away over.”
Kyle is due back in court on Nov. 22. Because of his age, he cannot be held in custody between hearings.
He will also avoid incarceration if convicted. He could, however, face probation, therapy and counseling, the report said.
Photo Credit: AP
Students in blackface in two states prompt walkout
Blackface is causing outrage in Maryland and Illinois, where 1,000 students walked out of class to protest offensive images posted on social media by classmates.
The walkout Tuesday at Homewood-Flossmoor High School outside Chicago took place days after four unidentified male students posted a photo and video of themselves on social media wearing blackface while going through a fast-food drive-through window, WLS-TV reports.
Most students involved in the protest returned to class after a few minutes, but several dozen stayed outside to voice their disapproval of the response by school administrators, the station reports.
“The administration is honestly making it to be not a big thing and it really is,” student Karina Duncan said.
Another student, Kaila Chambliss, said she was pleased by the “big turnout” but wants school officials to respond appropriately to the controversy.
“I’m very happy with the results because this something that systematically is happening in America now and we need to see a change take place,” Chambliss told the station.
District officials, meanwhile, said in a letter to parents that administrators met with the students and their families Sunday, but did not indicate what disciplinary measures — if any — were taken.
“However, we can share that the social media postings that were seen and heard were not representative of the high expectations we have for all students that attend our school,” the statement read. “This type of behavior is contrary to our expectations, is being addressed quickly and appropriately and will not be tolerated.”
Students were allowed to take part in the walkout or stay inside, district officials said in a separate statement Tuesday.
Nearly 600 miles away, politicians in Maryland said they were troubled by two ninth-graders at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda who posted an image of themselves in blackface on social media over the weekend, the Baltimore Sun reports.
“It is unfortunate for us to be in 2019 and these types of incidents are still happening,” Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro told the newspaper. “In light of this, it is imperative that we continue our work to engage in education and outreach to sensitize our residents on the harmful effects of racism on the residents of our communities.”
A Montgomery County police spokesman said an officer at the nationally ranked public school characterized the incident as a “bias-related incident” and the student’s actions were determined not to be criminal.
Byron Johns of the Montgomery County branch of the NAACP said the incident was indeed offensive, but has become “more normalized” amid rising political and racial tensions throughout the country.
“It’s part of the ether now,” Johns told the Baltimore Sun.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/05/01/students-in-blackface-in-two-states-prompt-walkout-unrest/
Photo Credit: LOGAN CYRUS/AFP/Getty Images
Man pleads guilty to stabbing parents of daughter who called him ugly
NAPERVILLE, Ill. — A suburban Chicago man has pleaded guilty to stabbing the parents of a girl who called him “ugly.”
The Daily Herald reports that 21-year-old Zachary Machnikowski faces up to 60 years in prison on charges of attempted first-degree murder.
Police say the Naperville man believed a girl called him “ugly” while the two were at the same party in 2015. Machnikowski became angry and left the party to sneak into the girl’s home. Once inside, he grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed the girl’s parents in the head, neck and body while they were lying in bed.
The couple survived after the father was able to knock the knife away.
Machnikowski has been held without bail since the night of the stabbing. He faces sentencing later this summer.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/07/02/man-pleads-guilty-to-stabbing-parents-of-daughter-who-called-him-ugly/
Parents Heartbroken by Video of Illinois Bus Aide Slapping 6-Year-Old Daughter
A video showing a bus aide slapping a 6-year-old girl with autism has left an Illinois mother and father heartbroken.
In the surveillance-camera footage, the unidentified aide strikes the little girl twice as she screams while riding to school in New Lenox, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
Nicholas Rushing said his daughter, Kaylee, is nonverbal. Rushing said he found out about the incident because the superintendent of the local school district contacted him and asked him to review the footage.
The video “broke my heart,” he said.
The footage showed the woman had been touching Kaylee throughout the bus ride, denying her personal space, Rushing said.
Kaylee spat on the woman, who reacted by slapping her in the face, he said.
“She is an awesome kid and she is super sweet and for this to happen as a dad it almost feels like I failed her … I don’t think I have ever been more mad in my life,” he said.
While Kaylee did not suffer any physical injuries, the incident has affected how she responds to strangers, Rushing said.
“It kind of changed her personality on things,” he said. “She doesn’t want anything to do with people she doesn’t know.”
Rushing said the bus aide had only been with the bus company for two weeks and did not appear to have been trained to follow protocols around Kaylee.
Investigation underway
New Lenox police are reviewing the entire video as part of the investigation, Rushing said.
“I’m worried as a dad it may not be the first time this happened,” he said. “My main goal is to make sure this never happens to any other people.”
Rushing said staff members notified the school district superintendent about the incident.
The school district told CNN affiliate WLS that the aide involved was not a district employee, and worked for the bus contractor, Lincoln-Way Special Education District.
The bus operator’s executive director, Sarah Rexroad, said an investigation is underway.
“I cannot provide a specific comment at this time. There is an ongoing investigation regarding an incident that allegedly occurred on a school bus. Student safety is a number one priority for the cooperative,” she said.
No charges have been filed, the affiliate reported.
Chicago Area Man Credits Cellphone App for Helping Him Lose 500 pounds
A 45-year-old man once-confined to his suburban Chicago-area home for years said he lost 500 pounds with the help of a cellphone app.
In 2011, Rafael Zuniga weighed over 800 pounds. His weight was a lifelong battle that spiraled out of control, KTLA sister station WGN-TV reported.
Over the past six years, he has lost 500 pounds. While he did the work alone, Zuniga said that ultimately, it was an app that got him on the path to living again.
Stress from work as a real estate adjuster and a bad break up left him at an all-time high of 831 pounds. Alcohol and fast food were his best friends.
“I’m always thinking I’ve got to lose a couple hundred pounds and I’ll be back in the mix,” he says. “But it wasn’t a couple hundred pounds. My weight doubled. I was in shock. As stupid as it sounds, I was in shock.”
Rock bottom
“When I was unable to keep cleaning myself, I guess that was my rock bottom,” he told WGN.
In July 2011, he was taken to the hospital and labeled morbidly obese. He was fighting lymphdema, hypertension, and cellulitis among other things.
It was a turning point for Zuniga.
“It was a beautiful day out and I had seen everybody. Life was passing me by,” he said.
That is when Zuniga decided to change his path of physical and financial ruin to one of wellness. After researching weight loss, he discovered the app “LoseIt!”
Zuniga’s goal was to weigh 250 pounds and travel the world.
“The image of me just being by an ocean, man, that helped me out tremendously,” he says.
How the weight loss app changed his life
Zuniga uses the app to count his calories, track his meals, and seek support from other users trying to lose weight. The app taught him to eat smarter, he said.
But he also started exercising. At first, it meant the smallest of movements.
“I was sitting at the edge of my bed doing sit ups. I refused to believe that I was disabled,” he says.
Zuniga now does cardio five times a week and lifts weights two to four times a week. He eats a high-protein diet, cuts out the carbs, and counts every calorie he eats.
And he has not had any surgical procedure to lose the weight. There is no more alcohol and he does take a prescribed appetite suppressant.
The real motivator? A vacation
In 2014, Zuniga’s dream came true. Labeling himself as “skinny for him” — he was down to 400 pounds — his father booked him a business class seat to the Dominican Republic.
Over the past three years, Zuniga has shed another 100 pounds bringing his overall weight loss in excess of 500 pounds.
He told the station he’d like to lose another 50 and get his doctors more comfortable with the idea of double knee replacements for his severe osteoarthritis. Removing his excess skin might get him close, but insurance doesn’t cover the procedure.
Zuniga is just the beginning of the rest of his life. Clean living with the help of an app is opening a whole new world for him, he said.
via: http://ktla.com/2017/03/31/man-says-app-helped-him-lose-500-pounds/
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/
Illinois men bring 1-year-old along for robberies
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) _ Police in northern Illinois say two men who carried out a string of robberies brought a 1-year-old child along with them for some of the heists. Two suspects arrested in the case face charges of endangering the life of a child in addition to aggravated battery and robbery. The full news story is detailed in the news link down below:
http://fox2now.com/2015/07/11/illinois-men-bring-1-year-old-along-for-robberies/
Who in the world does something like this? I guess it’s bring your kid to work day.