Aniston Walker

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The baby found in a Millington ditch Sunday is confirmed to be Aniston Walker, who went missing on January 9. She was just 7 weeks old when the search for her began. …   According to Memphis Police Department, the body was found at 12:16 p.m. The physical description and clothing matched those of baby Aniston. Millington police immediately contacted MPD investigators, who determined the baby’s identity.
“I would say that it seems like the body has been there for some time,” Millington Police Chief Rita Stanback said after the body was discovered by a motorcyclist on Singleton Parkway Sunday. “It’s less than a year old, wearing a onsie.”
Aniston’s mother, Andrea Walker, 33, is charged with first-degree murder. She surrendered herself to authorities Monday morning, according to her defense attorney, Leslie Ballin.
When Aniston’s father first reported her missing, Andrea told police she had left the baby home with a 3-year-old as she dropped her 5-year-old son off at school. When she returned, she said Aniston was gone.
Following that report, Andrea was arrested on aggravated child abuse and neglect charges. She was released from jail on February 5 after posting bond.
Investigators wanted to interview Andrea Walker Monday morning, but she declined.
“At this time, she’s not going to make that statement. At the appropriate time, once our investigation has progressed some, she will decide at her trial or at any hearings in the future if it’s appropriate for her to make a statement,” said Ballin.
The discovery of Aniston’s body ends a search that lasted more than one month.
“You know, this is a trying scene for everybody,” Chief Stanback said from the scene Sunday. “I’m a grandmother myself and this is something that is very difficult to deal with.”
“I have grandchildren too, I just can’t imagine. It’s tough on everybody right now,” added Inspector Charlie Chapman.
In a statement issued Monday afternoon, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong credited investigators for their long hours of work on this case, adding:
“It is heartbreaking to confirm that an innocent child’s life has been taken, but now family members of Aniston Walker can have closure and begin the healing process of losing a loved one.”

http://www.wmctv.com/story/24745313/baby-found-in-ditch-is-confirmed-to-be-aniston-walker?utm_content=bufferf2944&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

The baby found in a Millington ditch Sunday is confirmed to be Aniston Walker, who went missing on January 9. She was just 7 weeks

Shameyer Ronnice Ashburn

A 24-year-old Franklin woman is facing murder charges for the death of her six-year-old son.
Franklin police say Shameyer Ronnice Ashburn is responsible for the child’s death.
Police responded to a room at the Days Inn Motel in Franklin …early Wednesday morning in response to an unresponsive child. The boy was pronounced dead at Southampton Memorial Hospital.
Police say their investigation led them to charge the child’s mother, Ashburn, with the murder of her son. Ashburn is being held without bond at the Tidewater Regional Jail.

http://www.wvec.com/news/Mother-arrested-for-murder-of-6-year-old-in-Franklin-245272841.htmlSee More

Tariji Gordon

Three years ago, Sanford police Investigator William Erwin had the grim task of investigating the death of a newborn, Rachel Fryer’s 2-month-old boy, whom she accidentally suffocated as they slept together on the couch.
On Monday, Erwin ag…ain sat down with Fryer. This time with questions about the death of another of her children, who were only recently returned from a foster family.
Two-year-old Tariji Gordon, whose body was recovered Tuesday, was the twin sister of the dead boy, Tavont’ae Gordon.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-dead-child-sanford-putnam-20140211,0,6488049.story

— with Thomasina Bell.

Omaree Varela

Target 7 has uncovered a major development in the case involving a 9-year-old boy who investigators said was killed at the hands of his own mother.Target 7 uncovered a chilling and disturbing 911 call that was likely made by the child… himself. It’s a cry for help that authorities said was made by Omaree Varela just months before his death.
The 911 call was made June 22, 2013. Omaree is crying and scared, and he is being verbally abused and berated. It was the second time the boy turned to authorities for help, and the second time those cries from a terrified child were ignored.
“I’m trying to teach the (expletive) something man,” says a male voice on the 911 call.
What the adults on the call likely don’t know is they’re being recorded by police dispatchers.
“You don’t want to learn. You want to live a hard life like that. Don’t you Omaree?” says the man on the call.
Things went from bad to worse when the 9-year-old apparently spilled food.
“I swear I’m going to (expletive) have a nervous breakdown. Mainly because of this (expletive) right here. You make everybody sick around you Omaree. Everybody! You make me and your mom (expletive) sick man! I can’t stand you Omaree,” said the man on the call.
The verbal abuse continues. Police traced the call to Omaree’s home at 4909 Comanche NE.
“That’s not a (expletive) rug burn man,” said the man on the call.
“Not a (expletive) bruise either. That’s not a bruise. This doesn’t hurt. So don’t act like it hurts,” says a woman on the call.
“He’s a (expletive.) Everything (expletive) hurts you,” says the man in response.
“How can it hurt you one day and not the next day Omaree? It doesn’t, does it?! You just want attention right!? Right,” says the woman in response.
The tirade continues. The adults still do not know that someone has called for help
“Yeah, (expletive) beat the (expeletive) out of you Omaree,” says the male.
Then, the child screams out “stop, please.”
“Shut the (expletive up) up before I really pop you hard man,” says the male.
“You caused this on yourself Omaree. Cause you don’t want to (expletive) change do you?” says the woman.
The male on the recording tells the child he is not his father and doesn’t want to be.
“And you want me to be your dad? (Expletive)you! I ain’t gonna be (expletive) to you. Don’t you even (expletive) look at me as our dad. (Expletive) you Omaree! (Expletive) you,” says the male.
The adults scream at the boy even when he is silent.
“Why don’t you (expletive) speak for yourself man! Speak man! Use your (expletive) voice! You don’t have nothing to say but (expletive) yes. Yes what?” says the male.
More than a dozen minutes pass, and it’s more of the same.
“You make me so (expletive) sick Omaree. Not even my worst enemy has gotten me as made as you,” says the male. “I never hated nobody like you in my life, ever. You know that Omaree. I hate you more than I ever hated anybody in my whole life. And I’ve been on this earth 41 years, and nobody made me feel the way you do Omaree — ever.”
Six months after that 911 call from the home, Varela was found dead. Police arrested and charged his mother Synthia Varela Casaus.
“I didn’t do it. It wasn’t intentional,” Casaus told Target 7 as she was being transported. “It was an accident. I was disciplining him. I kicked him the wrong way. It was an accident.”
So what happened after that 911 call was made? Two Albuquerque police officers were dispatched to the home, but it was not priority call. No report was ever written.
Albuquerque police refused to comment, but Target 7 confirmed an internal investigation is being conducted.
A spokesperson for the Children, Youth and Families Department said they were not informed of the 911 call, and therefore didn’t do an investigation.
Read more: http://www.koat.com/news/target7/Slain-9-year-old-Omaree-Varela-called-911-for-help-months-before-

baby Zanai

Matthew Albert Worthen was charged Monday with one count each of murder and assault on a child causing death for the fatal beating of baby Zanai, according to the Los Angeles Distric…t Attorney’s Office.
The alleged fatal beating occurred on Sunday, Sept. 22 at the couple’s Palmdale apartment in the 200 Block of Avenue R, according to detective Q. Rodriguez of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.
The child’s mother told detectives she left Zanai alone with Worthen for a few minutes while she went to the store, Rodriguez said.
“She returns six to seven minutes later and her baby is gasping for air, is groaning as though she was in some sort of shock,” Rodriguez said.
He said baby Zanai was “near death” when Worthen and the child’s mother brought her to Palmdale Regional Medical Center around 9:25 p.m.
“She had severe internal injuries consistent with hard blows to the back causing rib fractures, hemorrhages, a collapsed lung, internal bleeding and a pulverized liver,” Rodriguez said.
Baby Zanai died about an hour later, Rodriguez said.
Worthen was arrested Thursday, after a coroner’s autopsy report confirmed Zanai’s cause of death.
“The coroner said he’s only seen injuries like this in high speed traffic accidents, so you can imagine,” Rodriguez said.
The child’s biological father Robert Skinner (shown with Zanai) believes both mother and boyfriend should be charged in his daughters death. The child’s biological father Robert Skinner (shown with Zanai) believes both mother and boyfriend should be charged in his daughter’s death.
The child’s mother has not been arrested or charged in the incident so far. Zanai’s biological father, Robert Skinner, said both mother and boyfriend should be implicated in his daughter’s death.
“I want him buried under the prison and I think she should be right there with him,” Skinner said.
Skinner said he has barely slept since the incident. He says he found out about his daughter’s death via Instagram, when a friend posted his daughter’s photo with the caption “RIP” on the night of Sept. 22. Skinner said he began frantically calling his child’s maternal relatives until someone told him to go to Palmdale Regional, where doctors confirmed his worst fears.
“I’m devastated behind this, my whole family is devastated behind this,” Skinner said. “I understand now why half the time she would not let me have my daughter, because she knew my daughter was going to tell me that something was going on.”
Friends of the couple said Worthen had abused his girlfriend on several occasions, and baby Zanai was terrified of Worthen. They said Worthen had beaten his girlfriend so severely in July that she had to be hospitalized, and Worthen was jailed on domestic violence charges.
Rodriguez confirmed that Worthen was arrested for a domestic violence incident in July 2013, and that his girlfriend had filed a restraining order against him.
“There was a restraining order, a keep away order, however we believe it expired and we’re looking into that,” Rodriguez said, adding that Worthen had been fired from his job as an Emergency Medical Technician over “domestic violence issues.”
Skinner said he was in disbelief that his daughter was left alone in Worthen’s care.
“How could you leave our daughter with a man who, mind you, has already put his hands on you up and down? Then you have to get a restraining order against him and you’re still dealing with him? That’s crazy!” Skinner said.
Worthen was expected to be arraigned on the murder charge Monday afternoon at the Antelope Valley courthouse. He made his first court appearance, but did not enter a plea. Instead, the case was continued until October 16, and Worthen was remanded back to custody on $1 million bail.
If convicted as charged, Worthen faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison.
The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
http://theavtimes.com/2013/09/30/palmdale-toddler-beaten-to-death-moms-boyfriend-charged-with-murder/

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Levon Wameling

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Utica, NY — An autopsy on the body of baby Levon Wameling found the infant suffered a 1-inch skull fracture, Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said today.

Wameling, who disappeared nearly four months ago, was found by police divers Sept. 6 in a container at the bottom of the Mohawk River, Williams said.

The young boy’s body was sent for a forensic autopsy to Albany, the chief said. That’s when the 1-inch fracture was discovered.

It’s still not known how the baby died, Williams said.

Wameling’s father, Jevon, reported the baby missing in early June, two weeks after the boy allegedly disappeared.

Utica police spent months searching for the baby boy’s body. Police searched East Utica, the town of Marcy, Barnes Avenue in the city of Utica and an Ava landfill, sometimes with help from volunteers.

Jevon Wameling

Jevon Wameling, 27, was arrested Sept. 5 after being accused by his step-uncle of stealing money and a precious family heirloom from his residence, according to court papers. (Read more about his arrest.)

A day later, authorities searched a specific location of the Mohawk River in North Utica for the boy’s body. State police divers found the infant, whose identity was confirmed later. Authorities have not said publicly what led them to search that area for Levon.

Williams declined to describe what type of container the baby was found in at the bottom of the river.

The case will now head to Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara, who has indicated a “strong possibility” of prosecution.

“In seeking justice for baby Levon, we shall continue to thoroughly review the entire matter to its conclusion, at which time we shall make such commentary as the law allows,” McNamara said in a statement released Aug. 9.

Williams said the medical examiner has not yet determined if the death was a homicide or not. What caused the baby’s death, such as drowning or skull trauma, has not been determined, either.

Gabbiee Swainson

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said he believes his officers have found the remains of missing Columbia teen Gabbiee Swainson at… a location in Kershaw County.
Lott said 53-year-old Freddie Grant led officers to a location near Elgin Thursday where Grant has said he buried the girl.
“The monster Freddie Grant took us to a location in Elgin where he buried Gabbiee,” Lott said. “The search for Gabbiee is over…She is coming home.”
Just after 9 p.m. Thursday night, Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews said crews finished removing the body from the scene, after an excavation effort that took several hours. Her body has been taken to the State Law Enforcement Division’s facility in Newberry County for an autopsy.
Lott was not specific, but said that something recovered at that scene led him to conclude with a high degree of certainty that his officers had found the girl’s remains.
Swainson had been missing since August 18th, 2012. The 15-year-old was a student at Ridge View High School. Related Coverage: School District ‘We Are Saddened by This Tragic Event’
Grant has been the prime suspect all along in Swainson’s disappearance. He was being held in a prison in Kentucky after a conviction on a federal ammunition charge earlier this year.
Lott and Fifth Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson said they had been in negotiations with Grant for months for him to give them details on the girl’s disappearance.
“We made an offer to them and we haven’t changed it from day one,” Lott said. “There were some requests made that we could just not meet and we were not going to meet.”
The breaking point in the case, they say, came last month when officers arrested Grant’s daughter, 27-year-old Dominique Grant, and charged her with accessory after the fact in connection with the case. Deputies say she took Swainson’s cell phone and dumped it behind a Piggly Wiggly store in Myrtle Beach. A delivery truck driver found it on June 18th. Previous Coverage: Evidence Extracted from Swainson’s Cell Phone | Bond Set for Daughter of Kidnapping Suspect
“I don’t want people to think that he did this out of his conscience,” Lott said. “He did it solely because his daughter had been arrested and she was facing some very serious jail time.”
Since then, Grant began talking to investigators, and on Thursday, Grant was flown from Kentucky to South Carolina. When he got off the plane, he led officers to the area in Kershaw County.
According to Lott, that same area had been searched “many times,” but that Grant had done a good job of concealing the location.
Sheriff Matthews agreed with that evaluation.
“He went to great lengths to conceal this crime,” Matthews said. “A lot times you find a deceased person in a shallow grave. This was by no means a shallow grave. This is a deep grave, and he went to extreme measures to keep from being discovered.”
Matthews estimates the hole was at least five feet deep.
“It kills us, it kills us that we failed to find her,” Lott said.
Solicitor Johnson says this will not be prosecuted as a death penalty case.
Lott had said early in the case that he believed Grant took Swainson from her Richland County home, then drove her to his home in Elgin. Investigators say Swainson’s DNA was found in Grant’s home in Elgin.
According to officers, Grant had been in a relationship with the teen’s mother. Months before the disappearance, Lott said Grant had been given a key to the home so he could do flooring work. Lott told the mother, though, that he had lost it. Previous Coverage: Lott Says Key Opened Door Swainson’s Home Lott said that when investigators entered Grant’s home, they found the key on a ring hanging on a door.
Lott repeatedly had said that the girl’s mother did the best for her daughter, and was in no way responsible for what happened.
“As I told her she’ll never be by herself,” Lott said. “This community, this sheriff’s department is going to be with her from now on and it will always have her and will always wrap her arms around her.”
http://www.wltx.com/news/article/245399/2/Sheriff-Lott-The-Search-for-Gabbiee-Swainson-is-Over

 

Kamari Taylor

The 33-year-old man suspected of killing his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son punched him several times in the abdomen with enough force to lacerate his liver, police say.
Kamari Taylor was found unconscious inside a home in Northeast on Mond…ay. He later died. MPD officials have charged Peter Hendy with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Kamari Zavon Taylor, who was found unconscious and later died on Monday afternoon.
Kamari’s grandmother Azalea Taylor waited at a DC Superior Court on Wednesday. It was the first time she or Kamari’s father even laid eyes on 33-year-old Hendy.
“Kamari’s a sweet little boy,” said Taylor. “He’s a lovable, sweet little boy.” And regarding Hendy: “This is the person who murdered by grandbaby.”
Authorities not only allege that Kamari died as a result of injuries at the hands of Hendy, but that the suspect ignored obvious signs of the boy’s injuries; instead, he left the boy alone to go sell marijuana.
According to a police report released Wednesday, Hendy, who lived with Kamari and his mother near 56th Street and Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue in Northeast, told police after calling 911 that he had “hit” the boy.
Police believe that after Kamari’s mother went to work on Monday morning, Hendy called her several times to tell her that he was forced to discipline her son.
According to police, Hendy was upset that Kamari rode his scooter too far from home, after which the boy allegedly told the suspect, “I don’t have to listen to you…you’re not my daddy.” In response, police say Hendy punched the boy twice in the abdomen, then let him ride off again.
About 45 minutes later, police say Kamari returned home profusely sweating and shaking. He also had severe bruising on his midsection.
Hendy then put the boy to bed, gave him some water, then went outside to sell marijuana, police say. He came back an hour later to find Kamari with a “blank look” on his face, but went back outside to sell more pot in lieu of helping the boy.
When Hendy finally returned to check on the boy again, he was already unconscious, police say.
Shocked neighbor Christy Gardner says Kamari never talked back.
“He was well-mannered,” she said. “Just the sweetest little boy.”
“That’s a poor excuse for a human being,” cried Kamari’s grandmother. “And that’s a poor excuse for a man. He’s a coward.”
The medical examiner determined Hendy’s story could not be accurate due to an autopsy that showed that the child was hit so hard his liver was torn into three pieces.
Read more: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/08/kamari-taylor-dies-mother-s-boyfriend-admits-to-punching-boy-sources-say-92415.html#ixzz2bO79kPHu

Brooke Singleton

Stacy Singleton, 39, admitted killing Brooke Singleton by striking her in the head with a frozen water bottle and other means — an aggravated assault.
A Savannah woman has been sentenced to life in the fatal beating of her 14-month-old step-granddaughter.
Judge Timothy Walmsley sentenced Stacy Singleton, 40, to life in prison for the felony murder charge, according to the Chatham County District Attorney’s Office.
Singleton, who is the step-grandmother of three children, is accused of physically disciplining them to an extreme degree. The youngest child, Brooke Singleton, died from blunt force trauma to the head.
Singleton admitted to killing the child and entered into a negotiated plea, according to the Chatham County District Attorney’s Office.
As part of a plea deal the lesser charges: aggravated assault, three counts of first-degree cruelty to children and three counts of false statements and writings were dismissed
http://www.wtoc.com/story/18217148/woman-gets-life-in-prison-for-childs-beating-death?clienttype=printable

Jamina Briggs, 29

Jamina Briggs, 29, is charged with two counts of first degree murder.
Her two children, 23-month old Jeremiah and 6-year-old Nicholas, were found on the couch with multiple stab wounds. They were taken to the hospital after police say they… were stabbed Wednesday night.
First responders performed CPR on one of the children at the scene, 230 Tillman Street. They both died at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital about an hour later.
According to Department of Children’s Services, Briggs has a third child, who is 9 years old. She did not have legal custody of her two oldest kids at the time of the stabbing.
The booking photo provided to Action News 5 is one taken in 2010 when Briggs was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and violating her probation. She has been locked up a total of seven times, once for threatening to kill her boyfriend with a butcher knife. She was also arrested for reportedly biting her mother’s face and for attacking her mom while dropping her children off with her.
Court documents note Briggs’ mental health issues, which include depression and schizophrenia.
Her former boyfriend told police she had a temper and is also bipolar. Twice, she had gotten into trouble with a judge for violating her probation, in part, for skipping out on mandatory anger management classes.
In a December 5 Facebook post, she asked for peace and protection from the enemy for herself and her children at all times.
Briggs’ neighbors on Tillman Street say she has only lived in the neighborhood for about two months.
“Everybody surprised, you know, that it happened right here in the neighborhood,” said Lawrence Bonds, who lives across the street from Briggs. “Just sad. I feel sorry for her.”
Bonds says he tried to help Briggs whenever she asked. He gave her rides, let her use the phone, bought her cigarettes, and even dropped her off at the dentist office Wednesday morning.
He says he had talks with her about her medication.
“She wasn’t, she wasn’t taking her medicine like she was supposed to,” he recalled. “She had a problem. She needs help.”
http://www.wmctv.com/story/23021348/mother-charged-in-murder-deaths-of-her-2-childrenSee More