Tag: News
Firing, discriminating against women breastfeeding at work in NJ now illegal
TRENTON, N.J. — Firing or discriminating against women who breastfeed at work is now prohibited under a state law enacted by Republican Gov. Chris Christie on Monday.
Christie signed the legislation along with dozens of other measures, including two related bills, in the waning days of his two-term administration. Democrat Phil Murphy will take over as governor on Jan. 16.
In a statement, Christie rebuked the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, a business lobbying group, for what he called its “illogical opposition” to the legislation.
“During my term, I have done all I could do to support a welcoming environment to working mothers in New Jersey workplaces. It is deeply disturbing that a major business lobbying group does not share that sentiment,” Christie said.
The business group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Employers would be in violation of the new law, which serves as an update to the state’s civil rights law, for firing or discriminating against a woman over breastfeeding. Businesses must now also provide break time and a suitable location for breastfeeding women to express milk in private.
New Jersey and 48 other states, along with Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands, already have laws allowing women to breastfeed in public and private locations, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Christie cast the new law, which passed unanimously in the Democrat-led Legislature, as an extension of a 2014 measure that expanded civil rights protections to pregnant women and required pregnancy-related accommodations.
“My hope is that this bill will close the gap left by the 2014 legislation and will provide on-going protections to breastfeeding mothers,” Christie said.
The bill’s sponsors welcomed the new law as a way to help breastfeeding women balance work and motherhood.
“No woman should ever be shamed for, or prevented from feeding her child the best food possible,” said Democratic Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle. “This allows working women to breastfeed or pump at work without fear of repercussions.”
Christie also signed into law a bill requiring human milk banks to be registered and another measure that exempts breast pumps from the sales tax.
Man beat 7-year-old stepson to death for sneaking out of bed to get a cookie
Seffner, Florida (WFTS) — Detectives have charged a man with first-degree murder after they say he threw his 7-year-old stepson against a wall and beat him to death at a Seffner motel.
Jack Junior Montgomery, 31, has been charged with felony first-degree murder for the death of his stepson, 7-year-old Brice Russell.
According to the arrest affidavit, an employee at the Masters Inn in Seffner called authorities to report loud yelling in a room which sounded like an adult male yelling at a child saying to “beat the kid” and “push the kid over here”.
Around 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, HCSO responded to conduct a welfare search. A HCSO deputy met with a male who identified himself only as “Jack” and advised that the loud noise was him playing his music loudly. He told the deputy that he was in the room with “his children” and pushed the door open enough for the deputy to see the children sleeping in a bed towards the back of the room.
The deputy did not enter the room at the time and cleared the call with no further investigation, according to the arrest affidavit.
Later that day, deputies responded to the same motel room at 10:50 a.m after Montgomery called 911 to report his stepson would not wake up.
Fire rescue crews responded and found Brice laying in the bed. The arrest report states that the child was cold to the touch with rigor mortis present. He was pronounced deceased at 10:59 a.m.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Montgomery was taking care of the child and his three siblings while their mom, Donya Shenita Russell, 28, was at work.
The three siblings told detectives that they woke up to find Brice crying. They say they witnessed Montgomery hitting their brother and throwing him around the room.
Detectives say that their stepfather threatened the same violence against the other children if they did not join in with him and strike their brother. Under imminent fear of being hurt by Montgomery, one child did strike Brice.
According to the arrest report, the children saw their stepfather pick Brice up by the leg and throw him against a shelf along the wall. The children told detectives they saw blood coming from his nose and mouth and that their brother never woke up after that.
Through the course of the investigation, detectives determined that Montgomery had punched the child in the face, mouth and stomach with a closed fist, threw the victim around the hotel room and shoved his face into the carpet.
After the investigation, it was determined that Montgomery had punched the child in the face, stomach, and mouth with a closed fist.
Post Miranda, Montgomery told authorities that he picked Brice up and threw him onto the bed after finding Brice trying to sneak out of bed to get a cookie, according to the arrest affidavit. Montgomery said that Brice hit his head on the headboard when he threw him onto the bed, but said that he was fine after that.
The Medical Examiner’s Office determined the victim’s death a result of homicidal violence.
Montgomery was arrested on Sunday and has been charged with aggravated child abuse and felony first-degree murder. He was booked into the Orient Road Jail.
Small child playing with stove started Bronx fire that killed 12
BELMONT, the Bronx — New York City’s deadliest fire in a quarter century was started by a small child playing with a stove, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Friday.
Twelve people, including five children, were killed and four others critically injured when a fire ripped through a five-story, walk-up apartment building at 2363 Prospect Ave. in Belmont Thursday night, Nigro said.
A 3-year-old boy with a history of playing with stove burners started the fire in a first-floor unit, according to Nigro.
The child’s mother heard him screaming, and was able to rush him and a 2-year-old out of the unit, but she left the door open, the fire commissioner said.
“This fire quickly spread up the stair,” Nigro said. “The stairway acted like a chimney. It took the fire so quickly up stairs, people had very little time to react. They couldn’t get back down the stairs. Those that tried, a few of them, perished.”
The lessons learned from the deadly incident are that children cannot be left unattended, and when fleeing a fire, people should always close doors behind them, Nigro said.
Fire crews arrived at the building a little more than three minutes after the blaze started, but it was too late.
Five people were later found dead inside, Nigro said.
Four people from a single family are among the dead, family members said.
A 1-year-old girl and 63-year-old woman who are related also died, police sources said.
The fire has been called the worst fire tragedy the “city has seen in at least a quarter century,” by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Four people in critical condition continue to fight for their lives Friday, and 10 other civilians also suffered injuries.
About six firefighters and one EMT suffered minor injuries, officials said.
Because of the number of lives lost, Nigro called the fire, “historic in its magnitude.”
The investigation into the fire, including whether or not the building had working smoke detectors, continues.
NYPD tweeted out the number to call for anyone looking to contact a loved one who may have been affected by the blaze: “If you’re unable to reach someone who may have been impacted by the five-alarm fire at East 185th Street and Prospect Avenue in the Bronx, call 311 or 212-639-9675 from outside NYC.”
4-year-old girl found alone in the cold leads Utah police to mother’s body
OGDEN, Utah — A man came to the aid of a 4-year-old girl who was alone and not dressed for the cold Wednesday night, leading police to a tragic scene, according to KSTU.
Ogden Police say he encountered the young girl just before 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Marcus King said he was on his way to play pickup basketball when a little girl called out to him from a playground near the Marshall White Community Center.
“I had heard a little girl’s voice inside the park, didn’t really think nothing of it… once I came around this way she had got my attention,” he said.
King said the girl was playing in the snow on the playground, but with the sun already down and temperatures near freezing, he was shocked by her attire.
“She didn’t have any jacket, no shoes, no parental supervision, and just took action then and took her inside,” he said.
The staff at the nearby community center helped him call the police, and King stayed around for almost three hours until police could figure out where the girl’s mother was.
“When they walked over there, the door was wide open,” King said. “And the way the little girl was explaining it was: Her mom wasn’t paying attention, and her mom was on the floor sleeping.”
Lt. Tim Scott with Ogden Police spoke about the scene.
“Officers went inside and found a 41-year-old mother dead,” he said. “She was living alone with her mother. There is no sign of foul play. There are some pre-existing medical conditions that may have played a role.”
Ogden Police confirm the girl’s mother died nearly 24 hours before the child was found by King. At some point, the young girl left the apartment and went across the street to the playground.
King said he was glad to help out a child in need.
“This is not a good part of Ogden—there’s a lot of weirdos around here, and I’m really, really fortunate and happy that I got to her, and nobody else did,” he said.
As of Thursday night, the child was in the care of the Division of Child and Family Services and authorities were working to determine if there are relatives she can stay with.
Parents locked daughter in room for 15 years until she died
A couple in Japan have been arrested after their emaciated adult daughter was found dead in a windowless room where she had apparently been locked for at least 15 years.
The daughter, 33, weighed less than 42 pounds – about the average weight of a 4-year-old – when her body was discovered Saturday, police said. She appeared to have died from exposure to the cold, police said.
The couple, who live in Osaka, kept their daughter in an unheated structure next to their house, according to police. The room measured about 39 square feet and the pair locked it from the outside, police said.
Her parents fed the woman one meal a day and forced her to drink water through a tube, police said.
The couple, who were arrested Tuesday and remain in police custody, said they confined their child because she was mentally ill and violent.
The official reason given for the arrests is abandoning a corpse. Under the law Osaka police have 23 days from the time of the arrest to decide whether to press charges. The defendants’ first court appearance would occur several months after any formal charges.
via: http://pix11.com/2017/12/28/parents-locked-daughter-in-room-for-15-years-until-she-died-police-say/
Deputies’ stray bullet kills 6-year-old boy hours after Christmas party
Hours after Kameron Prescott’s Christmas party at his school, the 6-year-old boy was fatally shot when deputies opened fire on a suspected car thief, the local sheriff said.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar called Kameron’s death Thursday a “tragic accident.” No weapon was found after four deputies fired, also killing the suspect, Amanda Lene Jones, 30, whom they believed was armed, Salazar said.
A bullet pierced the wall of the mobile home where Kameron lived and lodged in his abdomen, Salazar told reporters.
Deputies discovered the wounded boy inside the home, carried him out and administered first aid, Salazar said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
“The deputies are, of course, understandably shaken up,” the sheriff said. “Officer-involved shootings are traumatic enough. Add to this the death of an innocent 6-year-old, and it’s that much more troubling.”
A dark-colored pipe with Jones’ blood on it was found near her body, Salazar said. The deputies, as well as witnesses who encountered the woman that day, said she threatened to shoot them. Investigators were still searching for a weapon.
The killing stunned the small community near San Antonio. First-grade teacher Shanda Ince told CNN affiliate KSAT she couldn’t help but wonder how the tragedy might have been averted.
“All I can think about right now is what could I have done differently,” she said, “had it not been a half day.”
‘A tragic accident’
The deputies who opened fire — identified as John Aguillon, George Herrera, Jesse Arias and Johnny Longoria, a reservist — have been placed on administrative leave, the sheriff’s office said. The local district attorney is investigating.
“Preliminarily, I can tell you it appears as if policies were complied with,” Salazar said of the shooting. “Right now, what I’m dealing with is a tragic accident that led to the death of this young man.”
Parts of the shooting were captured by a body camera worn by one deputy, Salazar said. But the view was obstructed when the deputy raised his rifle to fire.
“I’ll be honest with you,” Salazar said, “it’s pretty heartbreaking video for us to see.”
‘Kameron was a ball of energy’
Maria Morales, a counselor at Wiederstein Elementary School, described the slain boy as a kind soul.
“Kameron was a ball of energy, happy, smart and could strike up a conversation with anyone,” she said. “He also had a great sense of humor and caring heart. He’ll be truly missed.”
Ince called Kameron “the kindest-hearted little boy that I have ever had the pleasure of teaching.”
“He loved to make everyone laugh,” she said in a statement. “He will be missed by all of his classmates and everyone at Wiederstein.”
Suspect described as ‘desperate, maybe on drugs’
The incident began Thursday morning when a deputy responding to a report of a stolen vehicle spotted Jones with what he thought was a weapon, Salazar said.
Jones, on several occasions, “physically threatened him with that weapon and verbalized to him that she intended to shoot him with that weapon,” the sheriff said.
The suspect managed to get away, and deputies did not see her again until a couple of hours later, when she turned up at the mobile home park where Kameron lived, Salazar said.
She forced her way into Kameron’s home, threatened to shoot members of his family and said she was taking their vehicle, the sheriff said, adding that Jones had no apparent ties to the boy or his relatives.
When Jones left the home, the deputies were outside, waiting. Salazar said witnesses heard the woman threaten to shoot the law enforcement officers.
“Those deputies all report in their statements that she was holding an object in her hand they believed it to be a weapon at the time,” Salazar said.
‘He loved everybody’
Jones’ criminal history included at least 13 arrests on charges ranging from drug possession to burglary, KSAT reported.
Rhonda Campbell, who also lives in the Pecan Grove Mobile Home Park, told KSAT that Jones’ had kicked in her door that morning. She described Jones as “desperate, maybe on drugs.”
“She was standing right here, demanding my car keys,” Campbell told the station. “Well, it took me almost 30 years to get my dream car. She wasn’t about to get it.”
Ince, Kameron’s teacher, said she wondered what she could have done differently that morning.
“Kameron had the biggest heart of any boy I have ever come across,” she told KSAT. “He cared about everybody. He loved everybody. Not one day would go by where he would not hug me and tell me he loved me before he left.”
A fund was set up to help Kameron’s family with expenses, the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District said in a statement.
via: http://pix11.com/2017/12/24/deputies-stray-bullet-kills-6-year-old-boy-hours-after-christmas-party/
Teacher who wrote ‘I want to kill children’ on projector has resigned
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — A Commerce City middle school teacher has resigned after he allegedly typed out an inappropriate message to students last week, school district officials told KDVR.
“Silent reading … I want to kill children but I am a loving Christian man who never would hurt a flee (sic) so please sit down and read,” the note on Kris Burghart’s projector said.
Burghart was placed on administrative leave after the incident on Dec. 5, but has since resigned from his position, School District 27J spokesman Tracy Rudnick said.
Burghart was an eighth-grade teacher at Otho E. Stuart Middle School in Commerce City.
Principal Fabricio Velez told parents in a letter that students were never in any danger.
“Please know that we take any allegations concerning the safety and security of our Raptors very seriously,” Velez said. “I can assure you that your student was not in danger at any time.”
After the incident, more than a dozen parents voiced support for Burghart.
“[He is] the most supportive teacher for any of the kids in this school,” a parent said.
Other parents called the teacher an asset to the community, to the school and fellow teachers.
“He’s the greatest teacher at this school in my opinion,” another parent said.
via: http://pix11.com/2017/12/12/teacher-who-wrote-i-want-to-kill-children-on-projector-has-resigned/
Woman pleads guilty, says she killed pregnant neighbor so she and her boyfriend could keep the baby
FARGO, N.D. — A North Dakota woman pleaded guilty Monday in the killing of a pregnant neighbor so she and her boyfriend could keep the baby, though officials are still saying little about how the victim died.
Brooke Crews, 38, could face life in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder and lying to law officers in the death of 22-year-old Savanna Greywind, of Fargo. Her boyfriend, William Hoehn, 32, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder and lying to law officers.
He is scheduled for trial in March, which a prosecutor cited as a reason for continuing to withhold information on the case.
Crews’ attorney, Steven Mottinger, said afterward that the guilty pleas will help his client argue for less than the maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
“Ms. Crews early on indicated that she wanted to take responsibility for her actions,” Mottinger said. “From where I stand, she took responsibility today by entering a guilty plea to the three charges.”
Greywind was eight months pregnant when she disappeared in August. Kayakers found her body wrapped in plastic in a river. The baby was found alive in the apartment Crews shared with her 32-year-old boyfriend, William Hoehn. Hoehn is scheduled for trial in March.
Crews didn’t offer details on how Greywind was killed. Authorities haven’t said either, but Fargo Police Chief Dave Todd has said her death was a “cruel and vicious act of depravity.”
Cass County State’s Attorney Birch Burdick said further details aren’t likely to be released until after Hoehn’s case is finished.
“As you’re well aware, this is one important step in two cases that are intertwined,” Burdick said outside the courtroom. “At least our office will be rather circumspect until we’ve got both cases resolved. Then we can elaborate more fully.”
Although Crews and Hoehn are not facing murder chargers, Burdick said that the conspiracy charges are in the same offense category and carry the same maximum penalty as murder.
“At the time we charged the case, it seemed like an appropriate charge based upon our then-available evidence,” he said. “As the case moved forward, we did not see a reason to change the charges. We believe it makes no difference from a sentencing perspective.”
Crews initially claimed that Greywind gave up her newborn daughter, but she later admitted taking advantage of the woman to get the child, according to court documents. Crews told police she arranged to have Greywind come to her apartment and told her how to induce labor. Greywind came back two days later to give her the newborn baby, Crews said.
But Hoehn told police a different story, according to the documents. He said he came home on Aug. 19 to find Crews cleaning up blood in their bathroom. Hoehn said Crews presented him with an infant girl and said: “This is our baby. This is our family.”
Hoehn told police he took garbage bags containing bloody shoes and his bloody towels and disposed them away from the apartment complex, according to the court documents. Hoehn is scheduled for trial in March.
Authorities have not said how the baby was delivered. The baby is now in the custody of her father, Ashton Matheny, who was Greywind’s boyfriend.
East Central District Judge Frank Racek on Monday asked Crews about letters she sent to the court complaining about a delay in receiving evidence. Crews told the judge that the issue was resolved.
“Cases like this we start with initial police reports, lab reports,” Mottinger said. “Things come in over a period of time. It’s a step by step by process.”
Woman shoots, dismembers husband, lives with rotting body parts for months
BARBERTON, Ohio — Authorities say an Ohio woman shot her husband multiple times earlier this year and dismembered his body.
Forty-nine-year-old Marcia Eubank has been charged with murder in the death of 54-year-old Howard Eubank. Records don’t show an attorney for her.
The Summit County sheriff’s office says in a release that deputies went to the couple’s home in Coventry Township in suburban Akron on Saturday when the couple’s adult son called about possible remains. The deputies found deteriorating remains tentatively identified as those of Howard Eubank. The release says investigators believe Eubank was killed earlier this year in a “domestic-related incident.”
Authorities say Marcia Eubank was arrested later Saturday in a store parking lot. A Barberton Municipal Court judge on Monday set bond for her at $1 million.
Phoenix dad is accused of putting methamphetamine into a coffee cup as he watched two children drink it
PHOENIX, Ariz. — A Phoenix dad is accused of putting methamphetamine into a coffee cup as he watched two children drink it.
Phoenix police report that on Thursday morning, they arrested 33-year-old Edgar Flores Avila on child abuse charges.
They say on November 30, Avila placed meth into a coffee cup and watched as his 2-year-old son and 5-year-old step-daughter drank from the cup.
The boy immediately turned white and started convulsing. He and the girl were taken to a hospital, and both tested positive for meth.
Police say the girl reportedly told them she drank the coffee with a straw saying, “it was sour and nasty.”
She also told police that she saw the boy drink it too. She said he turned white and started, “moving, moving, moving.”
Avila also tested positive for meth and allegedly admitted to putting .5 grams of meth into the cup after smoking the rest.
via: http://pix11.com/2017/12/08/dad-watches-as-kids-drink-meth-laced-coffee-police/