Home Sweet Home

Love is a powerful emotion. But the opposite of love, or whatever happens when a relationship ends the flood of emotions that are releashed can be just as powerful. And the relationship may end, but the feelings seem to go on for a long time.

McKay Ian Codrington, 40 and his wife Renee Codrington, 32 got a divorce last month. Now McKay C. is in jail charged with felony fleeing and eluding, trespassing, larceny, resisting arrest and stealing his ex-wife’s car.

Probably, there will be more charges later. Codrington has confessed to arguing with his ex-wife, and he confessed to punching her in the face. Then he says he straddled her and choked her until she quit breathing. Her parents were the ones who found her.

Codrington stole his ex wife’s car, and fled to Key West, where he was picked up and held on the above charges.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/central/content/local_news/epaper/2006/03/13/0313bbmurder.html

When a couple argues, usually both want to win. Sometimes they want to win at all costs. Ok, Renee will no longer be arguing with McKay. He will no longer have to suffer whatever the percieved problem was. Does that mean he wins? While he is sitting in prison, will that bring him some comfort- to be able to say “I guess I won the argument”? Did he really win?

No parent expects to outlive their child. These parents walked in and found their child’s beaten body. She was an adult, but still their child. The had no say so into her decisions, into who she dated or married. Now they have the job of doing the last thing that a parent ever wants to do for their child. Call 911 and make arrangements for a funeral. No parent should outlive their child.

Sometimes mistakes happen. People are human, and no human is perfect. Sometimes accidents happen. The only thing to do after a mistake or accident happens is to take responsibility, correct as much as possible, and then go on with your life.

But what happens if that “mistake/error” is another life? People do get pregnant, sometimes by acting irresponsibly, sometimes through freak accidents, and sometimes through no fault of their own (rape, incest victims).

If a person has an unwanted pregnancy, there are ways this can be handled. Abortion is legal in the US. There is adoption. And most states even have a process where new mothers can “abandon” their newborn infants and do so with no questions asked and no hassles. The law is sometimes called the Baby Moses law, sometimes it is the Good Sheperd law, and sometimes it is the Safe Haven law. California has such a law. If a mother wishes to give up her child with no hassles or threat of prosecution, all she has to do is take the child to a hospital or fire station within 3 days of the birth and leave it. It is that simple.

On Sun. in Alhambra, Calif. railroad employees found the remains of a human infant. The spot where the remains were found is within a half mile of a fire house, and within a mile of a hospital.

The baby was apparently born alive. The umbilical cord was still attached. The baby is thought to be either white or hispanic. The baby was found inside two white Albertson’s plastic shopping bags, with a Christmas design.

Police believe the baby was tossed over a fence near the tracks, and it landed approximately 40 ft below street level, down an embankment. The case is being investigated as a homicide.

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/7946061/detail.html

I can understand an unwanted pregnancy. But I cannot understand why a mother would choose to throw away her child. And they are children. They aren’t “fetuses”. They aren’t random pieces of protoplasms. They are miniature human beings. Miniature little personalities. Shortly after birth, a baby will have its first interaction with another person when it registers the touch of someone. Soon it will have its second interaction by trying to focus it’s eyes on someone, usually the mother. Babies already have their own personalities at birth. Some are active, some are quiet, some are snugglers, some are sleepers. But they are all somewhat different, unique.

Tossing a baby into a trash heap or tossing it over a fence like a piece of litter, my first thought is to wonder why the mother has such contempt for her baby. But when I think of the the Safe Haven law, I wonder if it is the baby that the mother had so much contempt for, or is it herself? After all, she could easily get rid of the baby at no cost or hassle to herself. But the way she chose to get rid of the baby was in a way that was guaranteed to get her in trouble if she was caught.  So was the baby thrown away, because it was a part of herself? And the way she chose to discard the baby a way to punish herself? I don’t know. But looks as though that is how it is going to work out.

Henry Anthony Sunderman, 32, was caring for his 7 month old niece, as well as her 7 year old sister and her 5 and 2 year old sisters while their mother worked. He called 911 on Friday morning. His 7 month old niece Zoey Sunderman was unresponsive. They took her to the hospital where she later died.

Police interviewed Sunderman at his home, and then arrested him. He has been charged with the rape and murder of the 7 month old baby. He is on suicide watch in the jail.

Details of the autopsy have not been released.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/7934621/detail.html

http://timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=51627&r=0

7 months old. At that age a baby smiles, jabbers, and crawls. It may have a couple of teeth, wears a diaper, and needs to be fed.

They say that with most sex offenders, the issue is not really a matter of sexual attraction. It is a desire for control and domination and a release for rage and frustration. But it completely escapes me how a man can look at a baby and even think of sexually assaulting it!

The article doesn’t say what is happening with the 7 year old brother, the 5 and 2 year old sisters. I am sure they have been examined for signs of abuse by now. It doesn’t say where they are now, so I would presume to say they are back with their mother. She was at work, there is no indication that she was aware that anything was happening with her children. Although Sunderman had a criminal history including domestic violence, there were no sex offenses. So it is very possible that she was not aware of the danger the children were in when she left them with their paternal uncle. She has lost her youngest child. Her husband is in jail, and will not be available to her for support. The children have lost their sibling. And likely at least the 7 year old will have some beginning awareness of what death means. And at that age, they will often take on undeserved guilt feelings for events that occur. Big brothers often feeling a distainful protectiveness for younger siblings. So he especially is going to be emotionally vulnerable, over things he can barely understand.

And me personally, I just don’t understand.

Dr. Ira Klein owned the medical group Gastroenterology Associates of Memorial City and the Liver Institute of Texas, at 10565 Katy Freeway, had been awarded four patents on drugs used to treat hepatitis C.

He purchased a home in an exclusive part of Fla. for his wife Gabrielle Puccini Klein, 34. He also had homes in Houston appraised at $1.87 million, and Vail, Colorado appraised at $216,000..

Gabrielle and Ira married about a year ago. She didn’t know that being generous to the women who were important in his life, was a trait that Ira had shown before.

She didn’t know that in 1994, Ira’s then wife Yolande,  had sued him for divorce and listed as the reason that Ira had given his mistress $144,000 per year, with an apartment and a Porsche. But they were able to work things out, and came to an agreement that Ira would take turns staying with his wife and his mistress on alternating days.

However, Yolande sued for divorce again in 2000, upset about her husband giving a a $204,000 annual salary, an $840,000 house and a Lexus 650 to his newest second mistress.

Ira boasted about how successful his medical practice was. And about the success of his investment firm. But evidently these successful enerprises weren’t enough for Ira.

In 2004 the medical board fined Ira and ordered him to stop selling medications. In Dec. he voluntarily gave up his medical license. Then last week Ira recieved an indictment for 46 counts alleging mail fraud, insurance fraud, health-care fraud and false claims for billings to insurance companies totaling $16 million over the last six years. Klein is accused of making $10 million from false claims by billing for injections he never gave and improperly retailing drugs to his patients instead of sending them to pharmacies.

Gabrielle and Ira had been having problems recently, a friend has recounted an incident where Gabrielle was talking to him on the phone, and Ira took the phone from her. The friend claims that Gabrielle was afraid of Ira. And that Ira had threatened to kill himself. However, they were attempting to reconcile, and had planned a trip to Hawaii in order to faciliate this. However, the latest indictment put a stop to Ira doing any traveling.

Gabrielle left Ira Thurs. And upon learning that she was  leaving, Ira flew to the home in Fla. given to Gabrielle, then called her on the phone, leaving messages that he hired a locksmith to open the doors to the home. Then he called and told her that he was going to kill himself.

Police allege there was an odor like kerosene strewn throughout the home. Ira was found in the garage, and a security guard broke in and pulled him from the burning home.

Police debated sending Ira to a hospital, then finally they arrested him for arson and took him off to jail. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3716296.html

Christopher Cobb, 14, died Tuesday. A victim of delayed homicide.

Fourteen years ago Christopher was left in the care of his mother’s boyfriend. When he cried, he was hit in the head several times by Cornelius Fletcher, then he was picked up and thrown into his crib so hard that he bounced out and landed on the floor. He suffered from the syndrome known as shaken baby syndrome, a cause of brain and spinal cord injuries. After 14 years, he has died of those injuries.

Fletcher was convicted of child abuse in 1992, and was given 10 years with 5 of those years suspended. He served 2 1/2 years. He will not be prosecuted further for the death due to a quirk in Maryland’s law, which until 1996 stated that the state can only bring murder charges if the death occurred within a year and a day of the attack. This law has since been changed, but still applies to cases that occurred before 1996.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/10/AR2006031002156.html

Rest in peace Christopher. You deserved so much more.

If you are female, remember being 14 years old? Very into peers esp. boys, impressionable, sometimes guillible, often rebellious, sometimes hormonal, and even at times a bit hysterical? And always a bit dramatic?

I really debated about writing about this case. Not because the subject is too difficult. It is, hard but I’ve written about worse. Not because I have any objection about writing about kids who commit crimes.

I guess the main reason I hesitated, is because I remember being a 14 year old girl.

Brittany Norris has been arrested for the murder of her mother Regina Norris and her mother’s boyfriend Lawrence Norris (no relation to each other, even though the last names were the same). The only articles I have been able to find are announcements of her arrest.

I haven’t found any description as to how their bodies came to be found by police or who was present at the time. I haven’t seen anything about the crime scene other than the fact that both victims were killed with a single gunshot to the head. I haven’t seen any indications of a motive or a criminal history for Brittany. As a matter of fact, she is said to be an honors student with no criminal record.

And while normally what defense attorneys say aren’t one of my immediate concerns, this one did say something that got my attention:

Attorney Gerald Schwab Jr. said Brittany Norris was held for hours and questioned without having an attorney or family member present“They badgered her and manipulated her into making a statement,” attorney Gerald Schwab Jr. said, describing his client as a well-behaved honor student reeling from the death of her mother. “She’s terrified and in shock, and now they’re saying she’s confessed.”

http://www.modbee.com/state_wire/story/11910505p-12679006c.html

As I said, I haven’t seen anything about what police found when they got to the crime scene. But they are saying that she confessed. Still, at 14 if I had been faced with the murder of my mother, likely I would have been easily led to say about anything. It always makes me uncomfortable when I hear that kids are questioned without the benefit of the advice of a parent, guardian, or attorney. After all, under the law this child is not deemed capable of making the decisions necessary to live on her own, to sign a contract, to marry, or to vote or to get a driver’s license. And that is under normal conditions. Yet, for some reason it is ok for her to cooperate in a murder investigation on the same day of her mother’s death- without even the benefit of an adult presence.

Maybe she did commit the murders. But I would have felt a lot more comfortable about her confession, if she had had an attorney or at least a relative with her, to help guide her in acting in her own behalf. I think I would probably have more confidence in the confession.

16 year old Joshua Osborne took the stand yesterday. He admtted that he frequently got in trouble at school for cursing and fighting. He admitted that he loved his father, but not so much his stepmother. As a matter of fact he admitted to trying to kill his stepmother on previous occasions.

Joshua is not on trial. He is testifying for the prosecution in the trial against his stepmother and his father. They are accused of aggravated child neglect.

At the time of the inital investigation in Sept. 2004, 15 year old Joshua weighed 50 lbs. He told investigators and the court that he was chained to his bed at night. A fact that defense attornies pointed out was a result of him trying to kill his stepmother. He told that he was sometimes made to sleep on the floor and was sometimes made to wear a diaper. He was only fed soup. Unless he cleaned the house really good, then he was given real food. He testified that sometimes he would escape at night, trying to get to the kitchen to find some poptarts and bologna. Sometimes he said he walked to a nearby Walmart where he shoplifted food. He said that sometimes his father did sneak him some sandwiches, but that he had to eat them in secret so his stepmother wouldn’t find out.

Since being removed from the home in Sept. 2004 Joshua has almost doubled his weight. Joshua has not had an easy life. At the age of 2 weeks, he required a heart transplant. Doctors have testified that other than pneumonia which Joshua got soon after the investigation began, Joshua appeared to be skinny, but healthy with no further problems noted with his heart.

http://www.ashlandcitytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060310/NEWS03/603100401/1291/MTCN01

http://www.gallatinnewsexaminer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060310/COUNTY10/603100402

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=32610

I really don’t know of anything more I can say about this one. It sort of speaks for itself.

Police were called to the home of Sabrina Soltis, 20, and her boyfriend Rodney Cole, 19, on Wed. due to a domestic disturbance call. Apparently, the dispute was about the baby. The mother wanted to take the baby to the hospital due to bruising around it’s eyes, but Cole didn’t want to as he knew he may have caused the bruising. During the call, one of the officers noted that the 5 month old child’s eyes appeared red so the child was taken to the hospital for examination. There doctors found several factures on his ribs, arms, and femur. The fractures were thought to have occurred in the last month.

During questioning, the boyfriend admitted that when the baby was crying he would roughhouse with it, to stop the crying. The mother said she would squeeze him to get him to stop crying. Both the mother and the boyfriend were thought to have held the baby’s head under water to stop him from crying.

 http://www.nbc6.net/news/7848576/detail.html

http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_068111357.html

The police department puts the blame on the fact that the couple was young and immature and didn’t know how to nuture a child.  But I think it is more than that. Most people have realized by the age of 19 and 20, that causing pain is not the way to get someone to stop crying. I don’t believe all the injuries were unintentional.

The baby remains in the hosp. and is in the temporary custody of the children’s protective services. The baby’s maternal grandparents have come from out of state to see if they can get custody of the baby.

Now a lot of people will try to blame everyone. The mother for inflicting pain and not stopping the boyfriend. The boyfriend for inflicting injuries and not wanting to take the child to the hospital. I have even seen people blame the grandparents for raising such a child as the parent.

But one person you won’t hear a lot about is the father. He remains out of state. There is no indication that the father ever abused the child. Yet he isn’t stepping forward now. That would lead me to believe that he hasn’t been too involved in the child’s life. Too me, he is just as guilty as the mother. No he may not have witnessed any abuse. But by not staying in contact with the child, he increases the risk of abuse for the child. And even after the fact, you don’t see him stepping up to be a Dad.

Keyonia R. Dunn, 20, was the mother of a 2 year old, and was pregnant again. Erika L. Thornton, 31, resided in the same apartment, and was the mother of 3.

Last month two men shot and killed them, and also shot the two year old boy in the neck and a 5 year old boy three times in the abdomen. After the shooting, some of the injured children were found wandering around outside, wearing only their underwear. All of the children are now recovering from their injuries.

Police have arrested Royal Amos, 26, and Howard Harris, 22, for the murders. They had been waiting on some DNA evidence, and it has now been processed and shows that Dunn’s blood was found on Amos’ jacket.

Police have said that Dunn was Amos’s girlfriend and he was angry about the pregnancy. They also say that Amos had been slapping her around and stealing her welfare checks and that he had threatened to shoot her. 

 No motive has been established for Harris. Prosecutor’s are charging both with equal charges, as they say they acted in concert in committing the crime.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060309/NEWS01/603090438

Now I don’t know if Amos just didn’t want to have to hide from the courts so he didn’t have to pay child support, or if he just didn’t think that Dunn was “fine” enough to carry his child. But there are couple of things I would like to point out here……the “welfare money” he stole from Dunn, was given to her to aid her in caring for her children, so by stealing it, Amos was in effect stealing from babies. And this “fine” man who was too good to get a job, had to get a friend to help him murder two unarmed mothers and some little kids. And he still didn’t do a very good job at that since the children lived, thank God.

We are going to revisit an older case. Martin Miller was a church leader and a Christian school board memeber. And he was convicted in 2005 of killing his wife, Mary Miller in 2004 so that he would be free to pursue other women.

Martin was sentenced to prison, and is expected to be incarcerated until 2030, barring winning a conviction being overturned.  

Before killing his wife, Miller was seeing a woman from his church, after being charged with murder that relationship broke up. Miller began seeing Laura Cuthbertson from a different church, who said their relationship included roleplay, bondage, and some bible study.

Now why in the world would I want to bring up that old case?

I just thought you might like to know, that Miller and  Cuthbertson will be getting married in prison this Sat.

http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/7808531/detail.html?rss=kc1&psp=news

I’m trying to think of an appropriate wedding gift.