Body May have Been Found of 23 Year Old Theresa Burke Missing Since 11/10/13 Last Seen in Pittsfield, MA
23 year old Theresa Burke has been missing since early Sunday morning, November 10, 2013. The young Dalton woman was last seen about 3 a.m. Sunday after she attended a show at Chameleon’s in Pittsfield on Saturday night that included a fundraiser for the Berkshire Band-Itz roller derby team of which she was a member. Authorities are reporting that a body of a woman was found near the American Legion on Monday morning and is believed to be that of Theresa Burke. The body was found in a wooded area near 258 North St. (Rt.9).
23 Year Old Theresa Burke
Burke’s family and friends began posting on Facebook that she was missing on Sunday and her mother, Catherine Burke, contacted police. They also searched the neighborhood and passed her picture and information to convenience stores and other places. She was believed to have her cell phone but did not respond to anyone.
According to Facebook posts, she was last seen in Dalton wearing gray yoga pants, black combat boots and a possibly a gray hooded sweat shirt, and that it would be unusual for her not to contact her mother.
Burke, who has a 5-year-old daughter, Madison, would have been 24 on Thanksgiving Day, according to her Facebook page. She was described as a loving mother and daughter, a cheerful person and a good friend.
Body believed to be that of missing Dalton woman.
On Monday around 9 a.m., Dalton Police were called to the vicinity of American Legion Benjamin Sullivan Post 155 at 258 North St. (Route 9), where they found a woman’s body in a wooded area adjacent to the playground.
“We believe it to be Theresa Burke,” Dalton Police Sergeant Christopher Furlong said Monday.
State police detectives with the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office and the local medical examiner’s office are now investigating the cause of death.
Posted November 11, 2013 by Scared Monkeys Crime, Found Deceased, Missing Persons, Murder | no comments |
Former Texas District Attorney Ken Anderson Gets 10 Jail Sentence For Prosecutorial Misconduct for Withholding Evidence that Sent Michael Morton to Prison for 25 Years for Murdering his Wife
Hmm, a sentence for 10 days vs. 25 years or 9125 days … doesn’t quite seem like justice, does it?
The NY Times has an interesting editorial regarding prosecutor misconduct. Now although we have always been a victim’s rights advocate and pretty much side against defense attorneys, their sleazy tactics, and their even worse clients, it has to be said that to maintain justice and our legal system prosecutors need to be help to a high standard. Thus we are presented with the situation where former Williamson County, TX District Attorney Ken Anderson was found guilty of prosecutor misconduct. Anderson “intentionally” failed to turn over evidence, even after the judge had ordered so, of a transcript of a phone conversation revealing that the Mortons’ 3 year old son had described his mother’s killer as a “monster” who was not his father. Michael Morton was found guilty of beating his wife to death and sentenced to life in prison. However, in 2010 DNA testing confirmed that Morton was not the killer, but not after he spent almost 25 years in prison. However, for his act of “prosecutorial misconduct” that sent a man to prison for nearly 25 years, Anderson got 10 days in jail. HUH? I guess the public can take solace in the fact that he can never practice law again, but 10 days, really?
For what may be the first time on record, a former prosecutor in Texas is going to jail for failing to turn over exculpatory evidence in a murder trial. The 10-day jail sentence for the prosecutor, Ken Anderson, is insultingly short — the victim of his misconduct, Michael Morton, spent nearly 25 years in prison. But because prosecutors are so rarely held accountable for their misconduct, the sentence is remarkable nonetheless.
In 1987, Mr. Morton was convicted of beating to death his wife, Christine, and sentenced to life in prison. He maintained his innocence, and in 2010 DNA testing confirmed that he was not the killer.
Even before a Texas court vacated Mr. Morton’s conviction, his lawyers alleged that Mr. Anderson, the prosecutor in his case, had deliberately withheld evidence that would have exonerated him. During Mr. Morton’s trial, the judge had ordered Mr. Anderson to turn over any such evidence and received only a few documents in return. In fact, Mr. Anderson possessed many documents he did not turn over, including a transcript of a phone conversation revealing that the Mortons’ 3-year-old son had described his mother’s killer as a “monster” who was not his father.
The sentence for form DA Ken Anderson.
Anderson resigned his office of district judge in September, a job he’d held since leaving his post as Williamson County’s top prosecutor in 2002. Faced with a civil lawsuit and criminal charges stemming from the Morton case, he accepted a deal to satisfy both issues Friday.
As part of the deal signed off on by District Judge Kelly Moore, Anderson pleaded no contest to a 1987 criminal contempt of court charge for lying about evidence that could have cleared Morton. He’s ordered to serve 10 days in jail, pay a $500 fine and complete 500 hours of community service over the next five year.
Anderson has also volunteered to resign from the state bar and give up his ability to practice law. As a result of the deal, he will not be charged with any criminal offense.
As we said above, it is important for prosecutors to be held to a high standard, our legal justice system counts on it. Unfortunately prosecutorial misconduct occurs far too often as some DA’s lose sight of legal ethics to a must win at all cost. Just recently during the George Zimmerman murder trial in the death of Trayvon Martin, we saw that the defense, Mark O’Mare and Don West, were accusing the prosecution of withholding evidence.
Posted November 9, 2013 by Scared Monkeys Bizarre, Crime, Ethics, Guilty, Legal - Court Room - Trial, Murder, WTF, You Tube - VIDEO | 2 comments |
Shots Fired at LAX … TSA Agent Killed … People Run for their Lives, Gunman Shot and Down, but Alive … (Update: Gunman ID’d as Paul Anthony Ciancia) (Update: Ciancia Charged with Murder)
SHOTS FIRED AT LAX …
Shots were fired at Los Angeles International Airport Friday morning at 9:20 am local time at terminal 3. The gunman took a semi-automatic rifle with a reported 150 rounds of ammunition from out of a bag and starting firing in the area just before the TSA screening area. At the TSA check point, unarmed TSA officers were shot. It is reported that one TSA officer has been killed. The gunman then pursued past the TSA check point down into the secured area of the airport as terrified airport travelers ran for their lives. There was complete panic as people were screaming as they ran to get away and hide from the gunman. Passengers actually ran onto the airport tarmac to protect themselves and get away.
VIDEO of passengers running for lives from CNN via TMZ
After making it hundreds of feet into the terminal, the gunman is shot multiple times. Gunman down, but alive. The suspect has been arrsted and is in police custody. It is not known what the gunman’s motive was. Of course we will most likely later find out that insanity and mental issues don’t have a motive. In all, six other people were injured, including three TSA officers, and taken to nearby hospitals. However, one TSA officer was killed during the mass shooting. He has been identified as 39 year old Gerardo I. Hernandez, who has been with the TSA since 2010. Our heart felt condolences to his family. According to the TSA, Hernandez is the first officer to have been killed in the line of duty in the agency’s 12-year history.
UPDATE I: The gunman has been identified as 23 year old Paul Anthony Ciancia.
Ciancia, 23, is believed to be from Pennsville, N.J., however authorities said he has a residence in Los Angeles.
Witnesses described Ciancia as a short, young, white man, carrying a long-rifle.
One of the shooting victims was a TSA officer who died of his wounds. The officer was a behavioral detection officer, assigned to identify passengers acting strangely, said J. David Cox, president of the AFGE, the officers’ union.
The TSA confirmed the identity of the officer killed as Gerardo I. Hernandez, 39, who has been with the TSA since 2010.
23 year old Paul Anthony Ciancia
UPDATE II: LAX shooting spree: TSA worker dead after assault-type rifle rampage inside Los Angeles International Airport Terminal 3.
UPDATE III: From CBS News, Ciancia had anti-government views & AP reporting gunman had a hand-written note with him that said he “wanted to kill TSA and pigs.”
CBS2′s David Goldstein reports that Ciancia sent a text message to a family member in New Jersey early Friday in which he threatened to kill himself. His father called local police in New Jersey, who called Los Angeles police. According to the local police chief, the LAPD sent a car to his apartment. His two roommates said they hadn’t seen him since Thursday and that he was fine
UPDATE IV: Suspect in LAX shooting apparently had suicidal thoughts before attack.
The man suspected of killing a Transportation Security Administration employee and injuring at least six people in Friday’s shooting at Los Angeles International Airport apparently had suicidal thoughts before the attack, authorities said.
The family of Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, told Pennsville, N.J. Police Chief Allen Cummings early Friday afternoon that Ciancia had mentioned taking his own life in a text message to his younger brother, the chief told The Associated Press.
UPDATE V: Paul Anthony Ciancia Charged with Murder …
The unemployed motorcycle mechanic suspected in the deadly shooting at the Los Angeles airport set out to kill multiple employees of the Transportation Security Administration and hoped the attack would “instill fear in their traitorous minds,” authorities said Saturday.
Paul Ciancia was so determined to take lives that, after shooting a TSA officer and going up an escalator, he turned back to see the officer move and returned to finish him off, according to surveillance video reviewed by investigators.
[...]
Federal prosecutors filed charges of first-degree murder of a federal officer and committing violence at an international airport. The charges could qualify him for the death penalty.
Posted November 2, 2013 by Scared Monkeys Arrest, Crime, Death Penalty, Deceased, Homicide, Murder, Travel, TSA, You Tube - VIDEO | 3 comments |
Mother and Four Children Dead after Mass Stabbing in Brooklyn, NY … Suspect Arrested and in Police Custody (Update: Victims ID’d, Suspect Possibly Related to Deceased)(Update: Suspect Mingdong Chen Implicated Himself in the Deaths)
Mass stabbing results in 5 dead and one still in critical condition.
New York City police are investigating a mass stabbing in Brooklyn that has left a woman and four children dead. Authorities arrived at the crime scene at 11 pm Saturday night in the Sunset Park neighborhood and found 5 victims unconscious and unresponsive. A 1 year old boy and two girls, ages 7 and 9, were pronounced dead at the scene. A boy, 5, and a 37 year old woman were taken to Brooklyn hospitals where they were pronounced dead. The suspect was arrested and is in police custody. Police believe there are no other suspects to these grisly murders.
New York City police pressed forward Sunday in investigating the deaths of four children and a woman who were stabbed at a Brooklyn residence, saying a person of interest had been taken into custody.
A barefoot man was taken from the house in handcuffs after the incident, his feet covered in blood, reports WCBS in New York. He was brought to Brooklyn’s 66th Precinct at around 11 p.m. on Saturday night.
In addition to the five dead, a sixth person is in critical condition, reports WCBS.
Officers arrived at the scene and found all five victims unconscious and unresponsive, police said. A 1-year-old boy and two girls, ages 7 and 9, were pronounced dead at the residence by emergency responders.
A boy, 5, and the 37-year-old woman were taken to two Brooklyn hospitals where they were pronounced dead, police said.
UPDATE I: Identities provided of stabbing victims:
William Zhuo, 1, Amy Zhuo, 7, and Linda Zhuo, 9, were pronounced dead at the scene when officials arrived just before 11 p.m. ET, New York City police said in a statement released on Sunday. Paramedics rushed 37-year-old Qiao Zhen Li and 5-year-old Kevin Zhuo to local hospitals but the two died, police added.
UPDATE II: The New York Daily News is reporting that the unidentified suspect, who sources said may be related to the children, was reportedly found inside the apartment when cops burst in on the grim scene.
UPDATE III: 25 year old Mingdong Chen has implicated himself in the murders.
Chen, the cousin of the children’s father and had been staying at the home for the past week, has been arrested on 5 counts of murder and has implicated himself in the savage stabbing deaths. According to reports he used a kitchen knife in the gruesome murders.
A Chinese immigrant has been arrested on five counts of murder in the deaths of his cousin’s wife and her four children in a late-night stabbing rampage in their Brooklyn home.
The New York Police Department said Sunday that 25-year-old Mingdong Chen has implicated himself in the deaths.
Posted October 27, 2013 by Scared Monkeys Arrest, Crime, Deceased, Homicide, Mass Murder, Murder, You Tube - VIDEO | no comments |
In 1999 Grand Jury Sought to Indict JonBenet Ramsey’s Parents, Patricia Paugh Ramsey & John Ramsey on Charges of Child Abuse Resulting in Death & Accessories to a Crime
After 17 years, Colorado courts have released the previously sealed court documents of the grand jury indictments against the parents of murdered 6 year old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, Patricia Paugh Ramsey and John Ramsey. The Colorado grand jury looked to bring identical charges against both Patsy and John Ramsey of child abuse resulting in death and accessories to a crime. However, the indictments were never pursued by the prosecutor stating there was insufficient evidence.
Both John and Patricia Ramsey charged with felonious child abuse resulting in death
Both John and Patricia Ramsey charged by grand jury with felonious accessory to a crime
Colorado court ordered the release of the previously sealed court documents, putting new attention on the unsolved 1996 death of JonBenet Ramsey, a girl who won child beauty pageants and whose murder shocked the nation. The pages were sealed in 1999, after the grand jury in the case dispersed without charges being filed.
The court documents show how the grand jury sought to charge each parent with two identical counts.
The grand jury had alleged that Patricia Paugh Ramsey, who died from ovarian cancer in 2006, and husband John Bennett Ramsey “did … permit a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation which posed a threat of injury to the child’s life or health which resulted in the death of JonBenet Ramsey.”
The grand jury also had alleged that each parent “did … render assistance to a person, with intent to hinder, delay and prevent the discovery, detention, apprehension, prosecution, conviction and punishment of such person for the commission of a crime, knowing the person being assisted has committed and was suspected of the crime of murder in the first degree and child abuse resulting in death.”
Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner said Friday that the murder case is now considered “open,” but it’s a cold case that’s not being actively investigated.
UPDATE I: Grand jury prepared child abuse indictment against JonBenet Ramsey’s parents, newly released documents show.
Fourteen years later, a local newspaper reporter who learned through sources that the grand jury had voted on an indictment convinced a judge to unseal part of it.
There were four pages released, two John Ramsey and two for Patricia, who died of cancer in 2006. Both were indicted on two counts: child abuse resulting in death and accessory to a crime.
But the documents were short on details, raising perhaps more questions than they answered.
Although the Boulder DA had earmarked 18 indictment pages for possible release, the judge only put out those that were signed by the grand jury foreperson.
It’s unclear if the other pages contained more details about the Ramseys’ actions or named someone as the killer.
Posted October 26, 2013 by Scared Monkeys Bizarre, child abuse, Child Endangerment, Child Welfare, Crime, Deceased, endangering the welfare of a child, JonBenet Ramsey, Legal - Court Room - Trial, Murder | no comments |