Charges and Bookings

05-01-09

DNA reveals John Floyd Thomas as LA's 'largest ever' serial killer

Police believe a 72-year-old insurance claims adjuster arrested earlier this month is the most prolific serial killer in the city's history, having raped and strangled as many as 30 older women over two decades.

The break in the cold case came in October when John Floyd Thomas Jr., who had twice been convicted of sexual assault, had a DNA sample taken as part of an effort to build an offender database.

He was charged with the murder of Ethel Sokoloff, 68, in 1972 and Elizabeth McKeown, 67, in 1976.

But officials say that his DNA has been traced to at least five murder scenes spanning two waves of sex killings that were previously thought to be unrelated.

In both waves, the victims were elderly white women.

In the first wave of killings in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, a man police dubbed "The Westside Rapist" entered the homes of dozens of elderly women who lived alone, raped them and choked them until they passed out or died. The 17 people killed were found with pillows or blankets over their faces.

During that time, Thomas was a social worker, hospital employee and salesman. The attacks stopped in 1978 — the year Thomas went back to prison for the rape of a Pasadena woman.

After his 1983 release, he moved to Chino in San Bernardino County and took a job as a hospital peer counselor in nearby Pomona. That year, a series of attacks on elderly women began, including five slayings in the nearby Los Angeles County town of Claremont. The attacker also used blankets or pillows over his victims' faces.

Despite some 20 survivors, detectives didn't connect the two cases. There were conflicting descriptions from victims, a lack of communication between agencies and an absence of DNA technology.

Investigators said the attacks stopped in 1989, when Thomas began working at the State Compensation Insurance Fund in Glendale. He was arrested at his South Los Angeles apartment on March 31.

Richard Bengston, an LAPD robbery-homicide cold case detective, told the Los Angeles Times: "When all is said and done, Mr Thomas stands to be Los Angeles's most prolific serial killer."

Resources...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6202024.ece

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090430/ap_on_re_us/us_serial_slayings

12/31/08

Man Accused of Murdering Jennifer Hudson Family Due in Court

The man accused of killing three members of actress Jennifer Hudson's family is slated to appear before a judge in Chicago later in the day.

William Balfour is the estranged husband of the Oscar winner's sister, Julia Hudson. Balfour is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of the sisters' mother, Darnell Donerson, their brother, Jason Hudson, and Julia Hudson's 7-year-old son, Julian King.

The 27-year-old Balfour is also facing home invasion charges. He's being held without bond.

Prosecutors contend that Balfour killed the family members in a jealous rage because he thought Julia Hudson had a new boyfriend.

However, defense attorney Joshua Kutnick says evidence linking Balfour to the shootings is weak.

Resources...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,473984,00.html

12/17/08

Santa Answers Girls Wishes!

Jessica's Law could put alleged molester away for 25-99 years

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. A 9-year-old girl wrote a letter to Santa as a school assignment and her wish was that her relative quit touching her and her sister.

A counselor at her elementary school turned the letter in to authorities. A day later she was interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center in Edinburg, which works with abused children, and told authorities about the alleged molestation.

Police allege that for as long as four years, Andres Enrique Cantu sexually abused the girls in their bedrooms while they slept or did their homework. Cantu is a computer lab aide at an alternative high school but has not been accused of crimes against students there.

Cantu was arrested Friday and charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child.

The white-haired Cantu, 55, shuffled into court in leg irons and handcuffs for the second time in less than a week Tuesday to face a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a young child. He did not have an attorney present. His bond was set at $100,000.

The charge against Cantu is a new one, created by the Texas Legislature last year. It is part of a series of changes to the penal code called Jessica's Law, designed to heighten punishments of sexual predators. If convicted, Cantu could face 25 to 99 years in prison.

Read resources...

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/newsletter/sns-ap-santa-letter-molestation,0,6270222.story

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/16/national/main4670951.shtml?tag=topHome;topStories

http://www.themonitor.com/news/year_21005___article.html/cantu_girl.html

10/19/08

Sex Offender arrested after 4-day crime wave.

A registered sex offender has been arrested again on sex charges according to Wilminton Delaware police.

Jermaine Carter was arrested Friday morning for an armed assault on a 17-year-old girl as she walked to her school bus.

Police said the 22-year-old Carter faces kidnapping, rape and weapons charges from another sexual assault and two armed robberies earlier in the week.

At 22, Carter is already a registered sex offender. "He had accumulated 23 felony charges with six convictions. 46 misdemeanors with 23 convictions. He has been charged with violating probation 18 times,” said Wilmington Police Chief Michael Szczerba. Carters criminal history dates back to when he was just 13-years-old.

http://cbs3.com/local/jermaine.carter.wilmington.2.843340.html

07/30/08

Man arrested in Megan Touma murder

SPC. Megan Lynn Touma--In The News

A soldier, Edgar Patino, 27, was charged with first degree murder Tuesday, for the death of Megan Lynn Touma, around 8:00 pm ET, after they picked him, up without incident, at his home in Hope Mills, about 15 miles south of Fort Bragg.

Police did not give any other details about Patino or the arrest, but a news conference is scheduled for Wednesday at 11 a.m.

Touma was found in the Fairfield Inn bathtub after a hotel maintenance supervisor smelled a foul odor coming from the room. The door had a "Do Not Disturb" sign on it for several days.

Touma was seven months pregnant and had recently arrived from a base in Germany.

Shortly after her death, police said Touma and a person of interest were both stationed in Bamberg Germany before reporting to Fort Bragg.

In the letter, the author confesses to being a serial killer. The author also put a symbol at the bottom of the letter similar to one used by the Zodiac killer, who was blamed for at least five slayings in California in 1968 and 1969, but never caught.

"I will start using my role-model's signature," the author says in the letter, which was posted on the newspaper's Web site.

Read resources...

http://www.nbc17.com/midatlantic/ncn/news.apx.-content-articles-NCN-2008-07-29-0017.html

http://www.huliq.com/65289/fellow-soldier-arrested-over-megan-touma%E2%80%99s-death

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/29/nc.soldier.dead/

07/24/08

Baby cut from Womb

Andrea Curry-Demus

Andrea Curry-Demus, 38, of Wilkinsburg is being held without bond at the Allegheny County Jail on homicide, kidnapping and other charges related to the abduction and slaying of Kia Johnson, 18, of McKeesport, whose baby boy was cut from her womb.

Curry-Demus was obsessed with having a baby and even had hallucinations about hearing babies after a February 1990 miscarriage.

A few months later, Andrea Curry-Demus allegedly stabbed one woman in an apparent plot to steal her newborn; the next day, she allegedly kidnapped another baby from a hospital.

Curry-Demus, 38, of Wilkinsburg, was charged Sunday with homicide, kidnapping and related offenses in the death of Kia Johnson, 18.

Johnson's decomposing body was discovered Friday in Curry-Demus' apartment, capping a four-day search for the missing woman, who was in her 36th week of pregnancy.

Funeral services for Kia Dorese Johnson are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at Trinity Church of God in Christ.

A formal Petition for Dependency or a motion indicating "emergency custody" likely will be filed by the county Office of Children, Youth and Families. A special attorney from nonprofit advocacy organization KidsVoice will be named to represent the child.

Read full story resources...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_578934.html

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ia7JuX4vmurQm-1_5DJIm_Md8jYAD923AP280 No longer available

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20080723_ap_painfantcutfromwombleaveshospital.html No longer available

07/15/08

Army 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc Murder

Marine Cpl. John Wimunc Charged with murder

John Wimunc and Kyle Alden were already charged with arson, but Wimunc was also charged with first-degree murder, Monday.

Both men were currently being held without bond in the Cumberland County jail and are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. It wasn't immediately clear if they had attorneys.

Earlier, a witness found a charred body in woods, but Detective Jeff Locklear told reporters that police were still awaiting a positive identification from the medical examiner and could not say for certain it was Holly Wimunc.

The lieutenant's father released a statement about the death Monday in which he said his daughter was a nurse at a military hospital and had two children.

Read story details...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/14/wimunc.case/index.html

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hE2em26ICD1-zDMLR6fGV7o7cJLwD91TRS9G1 No longer availabe

06/23/08

Botox Bandit Arrested

The evidence is written all over her face

Kellie Thomas is 23-years old. What the heck did she need Botox for.

Thomas was arrested in Florida for grand theft after she alleged ly recieved Botox treatments and skipped out on her bill, and this wasn't the first time according to TheSmokingGun.com.

Police released before and after images taken last June 10th at the Porlaro Hair and Cosmetic Surgery center and many calls came in from people who recognized her.

It's reported that she said she had forgotten her credit card that was in her car. She left to retrieve it and didn't come back.

For more information and pictures visit....

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0619082botox1.html

05/27/08

Bride and Groom Shot, guests chase gunman

An apparent stranger shot the bride, groom and two other people at an outdoor wedding in rural Arkansas, then was arrested after being chased by outraged guests, a sheriff's official said Sunday.

The wedding was just ending Saturday when the suspect approached with a 9 mm pistol and opened fire, Pope County sheriff's Lt. Aaron DuVall said. No one else was hurt.

About 50 people, including children, had attended the ceremony along Piney Creek north of Dover at a spot the lieutenant said was popular for picnicking and swimming. Dover is 64 miles northwest of Little Rock.

Read Story...

www.cnn.com

05/05/08

Person of Interest in Senior Citizen Murder Arrested With Missing Teen

A 22-year-old man wanted in connection with the brutal murder of a disabled senior citizen in Florida was found panhandling with a missing 15-year-old girl and arrested.

Toby Lee Lowry was picked up Saturday in El Paso, Texas, along Interstate 10 with the teen, Morgan Amanda Leppert, The El Paso Times reported. A third person with themwas also taken into custody.

Read Story Detail...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354161,00.html

04/26/08

Mother Charged in Child's Murder

A little boy dubbed "Beloved Doe" was found discarded in a southeast Houston trash bin five years ago.

Jose Martinez Sr., saw a broadcast Tuesday night on a Spanish-language television show that featured the boy.

"I saw the sketch, and I recognized his markings," said the boy's father, José Martinez Sr. of Houston. "I know the markings on his body. Then I saw the sketch on the TV show. After talking to family members, they agreed that it was him."

Authorities identified the boy as José Bernardo Martinez and on Thursday filed criminal charges against the boy's mother, Ma Dana Martinez.

Read detailed article...

http://www.chron.com:80/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5727492.html

04/08/08

Another Serial Killer?

Brian Ranard Davis, 32, is charged with capital murder in the stabbing and burning death of Kandus Yvonne Hightower-Sharp, 25, a pastor's daughter from Huntsville. He was booked Friday into the Harris County Jail, where he has been ordered held without bail.

Davis is also a person of interest in the Sept. 22 death of Willie Bianca Jones, 18, who was strangled and dumped in the Acres Homes neighborhood after she was last seen riding in a car fitting the description of a vehicle he sometimes drove, said Houston Police Department Lt. Ron Walker.

But officers stressed Davis is just one of several people they are looking at in their continuing investigation.

Walker is not yet willing to rule out that Davis might be involved in any of the Acres Homes killings, but said it is too early to call Davis a suspect.

Read story details...

www.chron.com

04/07/08

High School teacher is shooting suspect

A teacher at John Muir High School in Pasadena was being held Thursday night as the prime suspect in the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old man at a hillside home in Arcadia earlier this week.

Police booked Brandon Michael Landreth, 30, of Pasadena on suspicion of murder, Arcadia Police Department Lt. Ron Buckholtz said.

Pasadena Unified School District human resources officials confirmed Thursday that Landreth taught history at Muir High, a 1,200-student campus on Lincoln Avenue.

Landreth was arrested in the death of Justo Cesar Morales, who was found shot in his parents' Canyon Road home in northern Arcadia on Sunday.

Read Story...

http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_8804156

04/04/08

Female Pedophile

Jaime Foss met a young man at the Calvary Assembly of God church one day. They developed a romantic relationship that soon became sexual.

The problem? HE'S 15 YEARS OLD!!

She's charged with three counts of sexual assault of a child and is not to have contact with the boy, but, about an hour before she was due in court, on those charges, the police found the boy at her house and determined that the two had spent the day together, violating the conditions of her bail. She was immediately arrested.

If convicted of the sex assault charges, Foss could face a maximum of 40 years in prison on each felony count.

Read resource details...

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0403082wisc1.html

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=735188

04/02/08

Man drowns his kids for spite!

The bodies of three children, ages 6, 4 and 2, were found in a room at the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards.

Mark A. Castillo, 41, of Rockville, was charged with first-degree murder and child abuse after his release from a hospital where he was treated for self-inflicted cuts to his neck, police said.

More than two years ago, Amy Ashley Castillo pleaded for help in court papers, saying that her estranged husband had threatened to kill their three children to punish her by leaving her alone in the world.

"He has never actually hurt them," she wrote in a Montgomery County court complaint seeking a temporary protective order Christmas Day 2006. "But he did tell me that the worst thing he could do to me would be to kill the children, and not me, so I could live without them."

Hundreds of pages of documents as part of a pending divorce filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court illustrate the tumultuous relationship between Amy and Mark Castillo from the time their marriage began to falter in August 2005 to when their three children were found drowned in a downtown Baltimore hotel room on Sunday.

This is country wide. When will the laws be changed!!!

Read more of the story below...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-castillo0331,0,6724148.story

www.cnn.com

03/31/08

Mom pleads not guilty to killing kids

A mother accused of killing her two children and briefly taking a university counselor hostage at gunpoint pleaded not guilty on Friday.

1 of 3 Gail Lynn Coontz, 37, was charged with two counts of murder and terroristic threatening. Bond was set at $500,000.

Dressed in a canary yellow jail uniform, the single mom and college student rocked in her chair and wiped her face while waiting to be arraigned.

Read Store...

www.cnn.com

03/25/08

Detroit mayor faces felony charges

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and a former aide were charged Monday with perjury and obstruction of justice after prosecutors said sexually explicit text messages between the two contradicted their sworn court testimony.

Kilpatrick defiantly declared his innocence just an hour after the charges were announced.

"This has been a very flawed process from the beginning," Kilpatrick said at a press conference Monday. "I look forward to complete exoneration."

Kilpatrick, who is married, has been snarled in a well-publicized sex scandal since January after the Detroit Free Press reported he exchanged romantic text messages with his then-chief of staff, Christine Beatty.

Read full Story....

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/24/kilpatrick.investigation/index.html

03/24/08

Chauffeur arrested in millionaire's stabbing death

A chauffeur and his cousin are being charged in the 2006 stabbing death of a millionaire developer accused of real estate fraud, police said.

Andrew Kissel, 46, was found tied up and stabbed to death in his Greenwich mansion just days before he was to plead guilty in a multimillion-dollar fraud case.

Carlos Trujillo, who was Kissel's driver, and his cousin, Leonard Trujillo, have been arrested in connection with the developer's death, Greenwich Police Chief David Ridberg said Saturday.

Read Story...