Inmate moved after jail suicide attempt

THIBODAUX — Deputies have moved a Lafourche Parish jail inmate who attempted suicide last week to a state correctional facility in St. Gabriel, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

Curtis Hinton, 55, 160 Nora T. Lane, Thibodaux, is expected to make a full recovery after being found unconscious in his cell before 3 a.m. Oct. 16, Lafourche deputies said in a statement Wednesday.

Hinton will be housed at the medical/suicide unit at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, deputies said.

Sgt. Lesley Hill Peters, sheriff’s spokeswoman, said Wednesday Hinton will be transferred for court dates in Lafourche Parish but deputies do not have plans to return him to the parish jail once he recovers.

Hinton tried to hang himself from jail bars with a torn bed sheet in his cell inside Lafourche Parish Detention Center in Thibodaux, deputies said. The sheet did not support Hinton’s weight.

He was served with divorce papers a day before the suicide attempt and had not expressed suicidal thoughts or intentions beforehand, deputies said.

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Hulk Hogan reveals suicide attempt

The New York Daily News has published excerpts from Hulk Hogan's new book "My Life Outside the Ring" revealing that the WWE legend had his finger on the trigger of a gun and planned to kill himself.

This followed Hogan's suicide attempt with a cocktail of rum and the anti-anxiety medication Xanax.

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Mother shot in murder-suicide filed for divorce, had restraining order

(NECN: Lauren Collins, Manchester, NH) -

Police say Melissa Charbonneau of Manchester, New Hampshire was shot and killed at the hands of her estranged husband, who later took his own life.

Melissa Charbonneau thought her estranged husband was at work when she and her dad went to the Jewett street home Thursday afternoon. "I's unclear why she went to the house," says New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin, "although it appears she and her father went to the home thinking the defendant would not be there."

The six hour standoff that followed ended with Melissa murdered, her father seriously wounded, and Jonathan Charbonneau dead of his own hand.

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After 14 years, James Kelly free

After 14 years in prison, James J. Kelly Jr. is a free man.

Kelly is expected to be paroled Monday after serving part of a 35-year term for soliciting the murder of his ex-wife, Jayne, found stabbed in her Naperville townhouse Sept. 3, 1991, amid a bitter custody battle.

Now 63, Kelly likely will return to Chicago to reside with his longtime girlfriend. He must wear an electronic-monitoring device while serving three years of supervised release. He also is barred from having contact with his three children, now grown, who haven't spoken to their father in years.

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Plummer pleads guilty to murder, sentenced to life without parole

The gunshots that took Kimberly Ware’s life continued to resonate months later as her father returned to work.

Stepping through the doors of the West Rome Post Office where he worked with his daughter, Nathaniel Ware found he still unconsciously looked for her bright personality even after her death.

“I really miss going to work every day, and I’d hear ‘daddy,’” he said. “It’s kind of hard going to work at the post office — it became a chore.”

The story culminated Wednesday with Theron Plummer entering a guilty plea to the May 25, 2008, murder of his estranged wife, Kimberly Ware. He was sentenced to life without parole in Floyd County Superior Court.

But the story began long before the killing. The family had long been dealing with a marital situation gone terribly wrong.

“The one thing that I’ve learned is that when you confront that person, they’ll say ‘I’ll do better,’” Nathaniel Ware said.

But Plummer didn’t do better. Kim took out a restraining order and filed for divorce. But working through the system wasn’t fast enough to save her life, her father said.

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Prosecution presents case in Swain murder trial

TORTOLA, BVI — It has been almost two years since David Swain was extradited to the British Virgin Islands from his dive shop in Jamestown, R.I., accused of murdering his wife, Shelley Arden Tyre.

Originally ruled an accident by BVI authorities, the mysterious events surrounding Tyre’s death have since rekindled interest within the British jurisdiction’s judicial system, and Swain’s fate now rests in the hands of a nine-person jury in Tortola’s high court.

If convicted, Swain would face a mandatory life sentence in prison, under BVI law.

While the case has become amplifi ed by international media outlets,

the mood in the quiet territory of less than 30,000 residents has remained constant, with locals concerned more about gearing up for cruise ship season than a stranger’s fate.

But to family members currently on Tortola to support opposing sides of the argument, the case means either vindication or justice for Swain or Tyre.

Since Oct. 7, jurors have been introduced to a man described by the prosecution as a murderous husband, fueled by two motives: “money and the chance to explore a new love life with a new lady.”

In his opening statement, Direc- tor of Public Prosecution Terrence Williams painted the picture of a man who was similarly portrayed to a U.S. civil court judge three years ago, resulting in Swain’s wrongful death conviction.

“This is a case which starts in a marriage and – we say – ends in murder,” the DPP said in his opening statement last week.

The prosecution’s case, he further alleged, would tell the story of a scuba dive that would place Swain at the scene of a crime, causing his wife’s death.

Williams continued, informing jurors that over the course of the next few weeks, they’d be introduced to several scuba industry professionals who would testify that the state of Tyre’s equipment and the arrangement of her snorkel, mask and fin would point to a struggle – and Swain’s behavior, he alleged, would point to his guilt.

Acknowledging that some in the jury box would have no experience with scuba equipment and the recreation of diving, Williams assured jurors they would receive ample schooling throughout the course of the trial.

“This is a case where we will present to you certain facts and opinions of experts in the field,” he said. “I would like you to have regard particularly to the quality of these experts.”

Williams also told jurors they would hear from Mary Basler, who he said would testify about her relationship with Swain before and after his wife’s death.

Two letters would be presented as evidence, Williams added, which would depict Swain’s desire to end his marriage and pursue another relationship.

Since Swain signed a pre-nuptial agreement barring him from collecting money in a divorce, Williams alleged that for Swain to pursue a life and lucrative future with Basler, he decided to kill his wife.

“That dive was for this new woman – the fare of the change of lifestyle – the knowledge that if he divorced he’d get nothing, and the anxious expectation of the great wealth that would come of her death,” Williams said in his opening statements.

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North Naples man indicted on six counts of murder

Detectives say that Damas told an FBI agent while he was being held in Haiti that he killed his wife and children because she said she was going to divorce him.

Damas, according to a statement by Collier County sheriff’s Det. Andrew Henchesmoore, told FBI special agent Peter Kolshorn that on the night of Sept. 17, Guerline said again “that she was going to leave him and he became angry.”

Damas, said Henchesmoore, grabbed a knife, got a rope and tied up his wife and put tape over her mouth.

Guerline, said Henchesmoore, motioned she wanted to speak to her husband, so he removed the tape.

“Guerline told Mesac that she loved him and begged him not to hurt the children,” Henchesmoore said.

Damas said he had second thoughts but then “bad spirits” took over.

Damas told the FBI agent that he killed Guerline with the knife because he knew she would call the police if he let her go, Henchesmoore said.

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Murder/Suicide Claims Lino Lakes Board Member

LINO LAKES – A city volunteer is dead following an apparent murder/suicide that took place at a couple’s home in Lino Lakes on October 1.

Investigators believe that Pamela Taschuk’s husband, Allen Taschuk, killed her first and then himself, less than a week after his wife filed for divorce in Anoka County. Both individuals were found dead of a single gunshot wound each.

Taschuk, 48, a social worker and member of the Lino Lakes Park Board, had recently told a Lino Lakes police officer that her husband fit the mold of those men who kill their wives after the women leave an abusive relationship. “I am scared that the next time he gets mad and hits me that it could be the last time,” she told police.

This past August, an altercation at the family home led Taschuk to report her husband for domestic abuse and false imprisonment, for which he was arrested and charged. He was released two days later after posting bail.

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Post-Divorce Murder-Suicide Thought to Be Over Valuable Real Estate Transferred to the Former Wife

Posted by Janet Langjahr.

Fatal domestic violence incidents, particularly murder-suicides, are becoming an epidemic, according to a representative from one central Florida shelter for domestic abuse victims.

In 2008, there were two murder-suicides in Orange County, Florida. In 2009, ten. Orange County reportedly has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in Florida.

The most recent area incident was the killing, allegedly by an ex-husband, of his ex-wife and her new husband. Twelve years after the divorce.

The couple had five children together, but there also appears to have been a history of domestic abuse.

The former husband allegedly just began shooting at the door of his ex-wife’s home one morning.

The suspected motive: the former husband had been $200,000 behind in his child support payments, so the court had awarded the former wife a rental property that was worth over $1 million. When the former wife sold the property, she collected the entire net sales proceeds.

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Trial starts for man accused of wife’s 1983 death

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Trial has begun for a family photographer accused of killing his estranged wife 26 years ago to avoid losing custody of his daughters.

William Mordick faces life in prison if convicted of killing Katherine O’Connell Mordick at her Southern California home in 1983. New DNA testing led to his arrest last year in Spokane, Wash., where he owns a photography business known largely for family portraits and wedding pictures.

During opening statements Wednesday, his lawyer told jurors that the 63-year-old defendant is innocent. The lawyer discounted DNA evidence that William Mordick’s blood was at the death scene.

Prosecutors claim he left his daughters, then 2 and 4, in his car while he slashed her throat five days before a divorce hearing.

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Man helped brother beat ex-wife’s family to death

LINCOLN, Ill. — An Illinois man has been charged with helping his older brother beat to death members of his ex-wife’s family, less than a week after the younger sibling insisted his brother was innocent of the crime.

Jason Harris, 22, of Armington, was charged Thursday with five counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, Logan County Sheriff Steve Nichols said. Identical charges were filed Oct. 2 against Harris’ brother, Christopher Harris, whose former father-in-law, Raymond “Rick” Gee, Gee’s wife, Ruth, and three of their children were found bludgeoned to death in their home in the tiny central Illinois town of Beason on Sept. 21.

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Aiken County Woman Pleads Guilty in Murder for Hire Plot

(Media-Newswire.com) - COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins stated that Judy W. Dickson, age 42, of Salley, South Carolina, plead guilty to an Indictment charging her with hiring a man to murder her estranged husband and his son. United States District Judge Margaret B. Seymour accepted the guilty plea late yesterday, one day before jury selection was scheduled for the case.

According to an FBI Agent’s testimony during the guilty plea hearing, Ms. Dickson agreed last May to pay David Hutto, her boyfriend at the time, a large sum of money plus expenses to burn the Shallote, North Carolina, home of her estranged husband, Raymond Dickson, and his son, Ryan “Bugaboo” Dickson, while they slept inside. Ms. Dickson was concerned about her divorce settlement and wanted the proceeds of her husband’s life insurance policy. Hutto told Ms. Dickson he would carry out the plan, but instead alerted the victim, Raymond Dickson, and later went to the FBI.

Prior to contacting the FBI, Hutto and Raymond Dickson made three taped calls to Ms. Dickson, wherein Hutto and Ms. Dickson discussed the plans to kill her husband, including Hutto starting a fire in the crawl space of Raymond Dickson’s home with pine straw and gasoline. The FBI also monitored one taped call wherein Ms. Dickson again approved the plan to murder her husband.

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Brownsburg man sentenced to 55 years in wife's murder

Cat Andersen/Eyewitness News

Danville - After pleading guilty to stabbing his wife to death in front of their children, a Brownsburg man was sentenced Friday.

Joseph Warnock, 41, was sentenced to 55 years in prison for killing his 38-year-old wife Angela in June. The couple's two daughters witnessed the crime and called 911.

Investigators say Warnock, in a drug-induced rage, stabbed his wife over 50 times in front of their 12- and 8-year-old daughters.

"On Father's Day, he butchered their mother," said Larry Miller, Angela Warnock's father.

According to family members, the couple was going through a divorce and Angela Warnock was planning to take her daughters to Hawaii, her home state. She refused to let her husband see the girls on Father's Day. Warnock was accused of breaking into the home and attacking Angela Warnock.

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Tape Of Confession Played In Father's Killing Of Children

October 08, 2009|By Tricia Bishop | Tricia Bishop,tricia.bishop@baltsun.com

Mark Castillo and his three children spent the day downtown, at the Maryland Science Center, before he checked into the Marriott Inner Harbor hotel at Camden Yards about 5 p.m. March 29, 2008, according to a statement he gave police at Maryland Shock Trauma Center a day later.

By then, the children were dead, and Castillo was recovering from self-inflicted stab wounds to his neck.

"My plan," he said on the tape, "was after [we] had a good day, to, uh, take their lives."

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More details emerge in Perry County homicide case

A Perry County man who has been charged with criminal homicide in his wife’s death had recently lost his job, contemplated suicide and planned to get a divorce from her, according to arrest papers state police at Newport filed yesterday.

Police wrote that they found the body of Sherie Deardorf-Buck, 47, under brush about 200 feet from her home in the 1900 block of Honeysuckle Hollow Road in Saville Township Wednesday. She had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, they wrote.

George Edward Buck, 47, was arrested at the home Wednesday and is being held in Perry County Prison without bail pending a preliminary hearing in November.

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Lawsuit was part of motive for killing his wife.

By James Romoser

JOURNAL RALEIGH BUREAU

Published: October 5, 2009

RALEIGH - In courtrooms, it's called "alienation of affection" or "criminal conversation."

In love, it's called cheating.

Whatever you call it, the opportunity to sue over it just got narrower.

A new state law, which went into effect last week, limits the circumstances in which a spouse's extramarital lover can be sued.

Under the new law, if a married couple is separated, any extramarital affair that goes on during the period of separation is no longer grounds for a lawsuit.

Critics of the change say that it removes a deterrent to adultery and weakens a long-established public policy meant to protect the sanctity of marriage.

Supporters say that the concept of "alienation of affection" is a relic of a time when women were considered the property of their husbands. Nowadays, these lawsuits are often used by one spouse to harass the other spouse through the court system or to try to gain leverage during a messy divorce.

One such lawsuit was at the heart of the case of Dr. Kirk Alan Turner, the Clemmons dentist who was accused of murdering his wife. Turner was acquitted in August by a Davie County jury, which found that Turner stabbed his wife to death in self-defense.

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Charges added in murder-for-hire case

By Rob Young/Appeal-Democrat

Jonathan Scott Franklin, the Marysville man who allegedly plotted to have his estranged wife murdered, also tried to have the wife's boyfriend killed, according to an amended criminal complaint filed Wednesday in Yuba County Superior Court.

Franklin, 36, allegedly paid $1,000 to an undercover Marysville police officer posing as a hit man.

Deputy District Attorney Mechele Cook filed the new complaint, which identifies the boyfriend as "A.H." and includes a new, misdemeanor charge of possessing pornography — an image of a child engaged in a simulated sex act.

Franklin, who is being held in Yuba County Jail on $2 million bail, pleaded not guilty to the new charges.

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Attorney: Wife feared for her safety before murder-suicide

Deerfield, Oneida County (WSYR-TV) -

The attorney for Kristin Longo says Wednesday his client feared for her safety just days before she died.

Kristin Longo was stabbed to death in her Oneida County home on Monday. State police say she was killed by her husband Joseph Longo.

The Utica police detective then stabbed himself and later died.

Kristin Longo filed for divorce on September 18th. The couple was in court just four hours before the attack.

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Ex-HSBC Banker’s Wife Had 45 Injuries, Pathologist Tells Jurors

By James Lumley

Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The wife of former HSBC Holdings Plc chief investment officer Neil Ellerbeck had 45 injuries on her body when she was found strangled, a government pathologist told a London jury.

Bruises and abrasions to Katherine Ellerbeck’s face, neck and jaw might have been caused by fingernails, Ashley Fegan-Earl testified yesterday at Ellerbeck’s murder trial at London’s Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey.

“They are not the sort of injuries one sees in a fall down stairs,” Fegan-Earl said.

Ellerbeck, who worked in HSBC’s global liquidity unit in London, was charged with murder on Nov. 17, days after his wife’s body was found in their London home. Prosecutors claim he strangled her after she asked for a divorce. Ellerbeck, 46, denies murder. His defense lawyers will present their case later in the trial.

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So-called 'Drew' law upheld in Peterson case

Peterson is charged with murdering Savio, 40, who drowned in her bathtub in March 2004. He has remained in the Will County jail on a $20 million bond since his May 7 arrest. Prosecutors said Peterson killed Savio because he faced financial devastation from the couple's ongoing divorce as he tried to begin a new life with his fourth wife, Stacy - with whom he had an extramarital affair - and their baby. They said Peterson even offered a state witness $25,000 to kill Savio months before her death.

The media fervor grew after Stacy vanished in October 2007 amid their marital troubles. Stacy has never been found. Peterson has not been charged with her disappearance, which sparked authorities to reinvestigate Savio's death.

Peterson, who maintains his innocence, is due back in court Oct. 29.

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Surprise testimony in murder trial

After the first time Michelle Hall visited her husband's grave, she reportedly told Mathis that she'd become "very angry" and "dug her heels" into the dirt because she was "very, very mad at him for leaving her here to deal with everything."

Both of Michelle Hall's ex-husbands -- Steve Davis and Rusty Hart -- testified about instances of physical violence at the hands of the defendant.

Davis described an instance in February 2001 in which Michelle physically attacked him for forgetting to bring home ice for his daughter's first birthday party. He described a similar incident in spring 2001. That attack was corroborated by another witness, Andy Binion.

Hart testified that Michelle found out he was acting romantic toward another woman -- Britt's first wife -- and she punched him in the nose. After their divorce, according to Hart, Michelle hit him in the back of his head with a cordless phone while he was at their home retrieving his belongings.

Thursday began with testimony from Lt. John Lewis of the Coweta County Sheriff's Office. He testified that the night of the shooting, Michelle Hall told him that her husband shot at her and then killed himself. Lewis examined the victim's body and concluded that the gunshot to his chest was "inconsistent with a suicide wound." In fact, he later concluded from the soot ring on the victim's shirt that it was a close contact gunshot, probably fired from 18-24 inches away.

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Male Suicide and the Family Court System

“I know my father was a good man and a good father. … He obviously reached a point where he could see that justice was beyond his reach and for reasons that only God will know, decided that taking his life was the only way to end his suffering,” Ashlee White wrote. Ashlee signed the letter “In Memory of My Loving Father.”

Those are the words of a 14-year-old Canadian girl writing to that country’s prime minister. Her father had been denied access to her because he was unable to pay child support that was set at twice his take-home pay. Darrin White’s anguish at losing contact with his daughter, and the frank indifference of the Canadian family court system to either his or her welfare led him to hang himself. As Ashlee said, justice was indeed “beyond his reach.”

That justice is beyond the reach of many fathers is one of the main reason this blog exists; it’s one of the reasons for the astonishing growth industry called ‘fathers’ rights.’ Here and in many other places are chronicled the countless injustices done to children and their fathers in the name of a mythology created over the past forty years. That mythology holds that fathers are indifferent to their children at best and dangerous to them at worst. It holds that even the most caring father is incompetent to do the simplest task relating to children.

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Man Who's "Too Fat To Kill" Gets Life In Prison

HACKENSACK, N.J. (WPIX) - A Florida man who did not have much luck convincing a jury last month that he was just "too fat to kill" his former son-in-law, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for the 2006 murder.

62-year-old Edward Ates was given the maximum sentence allowable for the brutal murder of Paul Duncsak. Judge Harry Carroll, who handed down the sentence, called the killing "a cold and calculated execution."

Before the decision was announced, Ates addressed the courtroom that was crowded with relatives of the victim as well as several of the jurors who convicted him.

"All I can say is, I'm innocent," Ates said. "The jury got it wrong. This is a terrible miscarriage of justice."

During the six-week trial, Ates' lawyer told jurors his client, who weighed a whopping 285 pounds at the time of the killing, wouldn't have the energy to actually shoot Duncsak and escape to Louisiana.

Ates' weight has caused a myriad of health problems including asthma, sleep apnea and other ailments, his lawyer had said.

However, prosecutors claim Ates drove from Florida to Duncsak's home in Ramsey, New Jersey, climbed a staircase and shot the 40-year-old.

When the shooting occurred, Duncsak and Ates' daughter were reportedly involved in a bitter custody dispute following their divorce.

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Woman blocked cop just before Clemente shooting

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (KABC) -- New details are emerging about the moments leading up to the massacre inside a San Clemente home that left four family members dead, including two young girls.

An Orange County Sheriff's deputy arrived at the San Clemente home shortly before the shots rang out.

When the deputy entered the home, she found the bodies of two young girls, their mother and grandmother.

The deputy was called to the home to perform a welfare check. When she heard the shots fired, she took cover, thinking the shots were aimed at her.

Seconds before the shots were fired that killed 4-year-old Catherine Fontaine, her 2-year-old sister, Julia, their mother, Elizabeth Fontaine, and their grandmother, Bonnie Hoult, an Orange County Sheriff's deputy was trying to get in the door of the San Clemente home.

"She did see the grandmother, Bonnie, with the 4-year-old child holding her hand," said Orange County Sheriff's Spokesman Jim Amormino. "Once the grandmother saw the deputy, she began walking briskly toward the open garage door. The deputy tried to catch up with her. She put her foot in the door but the grandmother was able to slam the door, then lock it."

The deputy then heard four gunshots.

Authorities were first called to the house by Kevin Herbert, who lives at the home, and had allowed the four to stay there while they were visiting.

Herbert didn't want to talk about what happened on camera. Authorities say he didn't see a gun, but he was worried enough to grab his own family and leave.

Seven minutes later, the deputy showed up at the house to do the welfare check.

"I don't think anything could have been done differently," said Amormino. "It wasn't a case where a gun was seen and it was imminent. There's no reasonable cause to use force."

Authorities are waiting for further test results to determine who fired the gun. It was registered to the 67-year-old Hoult.

Hoult's daughter, 38-year-old Elizabeth, filed for divorce from her husband, Jason Fontaine, last year. Elizabeth accused him of molesting their oldest daughter. Charges were never filed. Jason's attorney says experts found the allegations were not true.

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Crossroads attempted murder suspect arrested

Mahwah — Police arrested a Spring Valley, N.Y., man on a host of charges including attempted murder following a three-month investigation by local and county officials.

Allan O. Pelcak, 41, was arrested in connection with an alleged Sept. 18 attack of his ex-wife, which occurred in the parking lot of the Sheraton Crossroads Hotel, 1 International Blvd.

According to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Pelcak’s ex-wife was found in the parking lot of the hotel with multiple stab wounds in her torso, and "severe crushing injuries" to her pelvis, abdomen and left hand.

Subsequent investigation of the incident determined the woman had been stabbed repeatedly, and was struck and run over by an unknown vehicle as she tried to escape her assailant.

Witnesses say the vehicle that hit the victim fled the parking lot after the attack.

The victim was transported to Hackensack University Medical Center, where she underwent life saving surgery. She remained in a coma for several weeks. Since the attack, she has made "great strides" toward recovery, and has had numerous surgeries and extensive rehabilitation.

When the matter was investigated, it came to light that the victim and Pelcak were engaged in a contentious divorce and a bitter custody dispute over their two children.

Searches were conducted in Pelcak’s vehicle and known residences, resulting in his arrest on Dec. 18.

Pelcak faces charges including attempted murder, aggravated assault, various weapons offenses, tampering with evidence, possession of a stun gun and possession of child pornography.

He was arrested in front of his home by members of the Mahwah Police and Bergen County Detectives with assistance from the Ramapo Police Department.

He is being held without bail in the Rockland County Jail pending extradition to New Jersey.

The vehicle which allegedly struck Pelcak’s ex-wife has not yet been recovered. It is requested by the prosecutor’s office that any individuals with information regarding any vehicle used by Pelcak to contact the Mahwah Police Department, Det. Kevin Hebert at 201-529-1000, or the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, 201-226-5500.

Allan O. Pelcak, 41, was arrested in connection with an alleged Sept. 18 attack of his ex-wife, which occurred in the parking lot of the Sheraton Crossroads Hotel, 1 International Blvd.

According to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Pelcak’s ex-wife was found in the parking lot of the hotel with multiple stab wounds in her torso, and "severe crushing injuries" to her pelvis, abdomen and left hand.

Subsequent investigation of the incident determined the woman had been stabbed repeatedly, and was struck and run over by an unknown vehicle as she tried to escape her assailant.

Witnesses say the vehicle that hit the victim fled the parking lot after the attack.

The victim was transported to Hackensack University Medical Center, where she underwent life saving surgery. She remained in a coma for several weeks. Since the attack, she has made "great strides" toward recovery, and has had numerous surgeries and extensive rehabilitation.

When the matter was investigated, it came to light that the victim and Pelcak were engaged in a contentious divorce and a bitter custody dispute over their two children.

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Winters Man Convicted In Wife's Murder

WINTERS, Calif. --
A unanimous jury has convicted a Winters man of murdering his wife, even though investigators never found the woman's body.

Leticia Ramos, 28, disappeared in April after filing for divorce from her husband, Felipe Hernandez.

Prosecutors said they'd found DNA evidence under a cleaned rug and a receipt from a carpet cleaning business.

Based on that evidence, a Yolo County jury found Hernandez guilty of second-degree murder.

He's scheduled for sentencing next month.

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Hulk Hogan Considered Suicide After Divorce

Hulk Hogan was so distraught when his 24 year marriage to Linda Bollea fell apart, he actually considered taking his own life!

In his new autobiography, My Life Outside the Ring, Hogan admits he picked up a loaded gun to shoot himself after she filed for divorce, but luckily he soon came to his senses.

He wrote: “There were times when I thought that a whole bottle of pills would go down easy. Then I noticed the gun in my hand. I was careless with it… I kept my finger pressed right to that trigger… and if I moved that finger an inch in the right direction I would have blown my brains out.”

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Alleged killer to go on trial in September

The trial of a man accused of killing his ex-wife in Ridgefield is scheduled to begin in September.
David Harris, 57, of Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., will go on trial for killing Simone Harris at her home on Danbury Road in Ridgefield April 11, 2003.

The 57-year-old woman was strangled and suffered blows to the head. She was found dead in her kitchen. Prosecutors say Harris, a former computer programmer who remarried, killed his ex-wife because he didn't want to pay child support and alimony. Shortly before she was killed, a Westchester County Court judge ruled in her favor in the alimony case.

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Women: It's O.K. to Kill Your Husband and Go Free

The Female Sentencing Discount--Woman Kills Husband, Is Convicted of 1st Degree Murder, Is 'Sentenced' to...
December 18th, 2007 by Glenn Sacks, MA for Fathers & Families

Probation. Yup, probation. It makes poor Mary Winkler's 67 day jail stint for shooting her husband in the back as he slept seem positively cruel...

She was found guilty of murder but received no jail time.

On Thursday, several people reacted negatively to 37 year old Traci Rhode's 10-year probation punishment.

Rhode (pictured) was convicted of First-Degree Murder on Monday and after two days of deliberation, the jury handed down what police and the prosecution team described as a "very" disappointing sentence.

"No amount of jail time assessed will bring back Mr. Rhode," said Brownsville Police Chief Carlos Garcia. "She's going to have to live her life knowing she was convicted of murder."
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Man Charged With Killing His Wife Who Was Going To Divorce Him

A jury heard a taped telephone conversation on Thursday of Jane Mathisen making plans to get together with the man with whom she was having an affair.

The tape was seized on Oct. 18, 2001, from Jane Mathisen's desk at her King George Road real estate office. Insp. Geoff Nelson testified that he took the cassette tape, found inside a folder labelled "Peter's recordings," from a file cabinet beside Jane Mathisen's desk.

Nelson told the jury he recognized the male voice on the tape as that of William, or Bill, Peloza.

Peloza testified earlier in the trial that he and Jane Mathisen had another telephone conversation just hours before her death. At that time he said she told him she had a tape that may contain phone conversations between the two of them and that she was going to her office to listen to it.

Jane Mathisen's husband, Peter Mathisen, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection to her death in their home at 59 William St. shortly after midnight on Oct. 12, 2001. She was 49.
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3 dead in Thousand Oaks murder-suicide

Two children found dead by their mother in a Thousand Oaks apartment were murdered by their father, who later committed suicide, according to authorities.

Jason Mulvaney, 12, and Jennifer Mulvaney, 7, were allegedly killed by their father in their bedrooms. Their bodies had multiple stab wounds from a large knife that was found inside the home. Their murders probably occurred sometime during the night of Tues., Sept 15 or early the following morning while they were sleeping, said Capt. Ross Bonfiglio of Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Their father, James Mulvaney, 52, was found dead in the apartment’s living room area. He is thought to have committed suicide after 2 p.m. Sept. 16, Bonfiglio said.

“It is believed James Mulvaney overdosed on prescription medication, but we will have to wait three to four months for the toxicology reports to verify that,” said deputy medical examiner Michael Tellez.

Jennifer Mulvaney Jennifer Mulvaney The children’s parents had recently been divorced and were fighting a custody battle, according to court records. Court documents also show that James Mulvaney had lost his job two weeks ago. He was seeking spousal support from his exwife who, according to court records, made more money than he did when he was working.
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