IN- Inmate faces death penalty in cellmate's death

8-27-2008 Indiana:

CARLISLE, Ind. (AP) — A prosecutor says he intends to seek the death penalty for a man serving a life sentence who is accused of killing his cellmate.

Thirty-year-old Zachariah Melcher of Jeffersonville is charged in the strangulation death of 28-year-old Nicholas Roman at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Carlisle in March.

Melcher is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 2006 murders of his infant son, wife and unborn child.


At a court hearing in June, Melcher told the judge he wanted to represent himself, but the judge appointed two attorneys to represent him. Sullivan County Prosecutor Robert Springer said this week he still pushing for a death sentence.

Melcher's trial is scheduled to begin in February. ..News Source.. by AP

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Jeffersonville murderer may have strangled cellmate

3-9-2008 Indiana:

Authorities believe Melcher killed fellow prisoner at Wabash Valley state prison

CARLISLE — A convicted murderer at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility is under investigation for allegedly strangling his cellmate Friday night.

Nicholas Roman, 28, was pronounced dead at 11:12 p.m., according to a Correctional Facility news release. Authorities allege Zachariah Melcher strangled Roman shortly before 10:30 p.m. Investigators are still determining what caused the incident, said Rich Larsen, the facility’s public information officer.

Larsen said Melcher was cooperating with investigators.

Facility staff provided immediate emergency medical care to Roman before he was transported to Sullivan County Community Hospital.

Melcher, 30, was already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for killing his infant daughter, wife and unborn child in Clark County, a news release stated.

The homicide case will be turned over to the Sullivan County Prosecutor by the Indiana State Police early next week.

An autopsy is scheduled to determine Roman’s exact cause of death.

Since his incarceration, Roman had multiple major conduct offenses. He was serving time on Vanderburgh County convictions for performing sexual conduct in the presence of a minor, distribution of matter harmful to a minor and theft/receiving stolen property. ..News Source.. by CNHI News Service

AU- A MAN fatally beat another - who he believed to be a pedophile - to protect his fiancee from sexual assault, a court has heard.

8-26-2008 Australia:

Duane Matthew Simpson today told the Supreme Court he "lost control" and killed Robert Albert Gardiner only after "extreme and grave provocation".

The court was told Simpson attacked Gardiner after walking in on the attempted assault of Tiahn Louise Lovell - who is charged with assisting her fiance's crime of manslaughter.

Gilbert Aitken, for Simpson, said Gardiner's actions mitigated his client's conduct.

"Simpson's first reaction was to go to the aid and protection of his fiancee, and all sorts of things were going through his head," he said.

"He saw a man trying to grope his fiancee, trying to touch her breasts, and he knew Gardiner was a sex offender who had been jailed for offences of violence.

"It was extreme and grave provocation, and he lost control."

Simpson, 27, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Lovell, 31, and their friend Brenton James Grosser, 44, have admitted assisting an offender.

Simpson killed Gardiner, whose badly beaten body was found at a property at Wandearah East, near Port Pirie, on Australia Day last year.

His ankles were bound by red tape, his shorts pulled down around his ankles and his T-shirt was stuck around his neck.

A broken piece of a whisky bottle was found wedged inside Gardiner's mouth and one of his legs was broken after his death.

In sentencing submissions today, Mr Aitken said Gardiner liked to get drunk and incite fights by claiming he was a pedophile.

He said Lovell had shared with Simpson her long history of sexual abuse and domestic violence.

It was these factors, he said, that prompted Simpson's actions.

"My client is now absolutely shocked by the gravity of his actions, and is genuinely remorseful," he said.

Justice Trish Kelly will sentence all three offenders next month. ..News Source.. by SEAN FEWSTER, COURT REPORTER

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Three people accused of murdering a man at Wandearah East, near Port Pirie, have changed their pleas in the Supreme Court at Port Augusta.

7-23-2008 Australia:

Duane Matthew Simpson, 27, Brenton James Grosser, 44, and Tiahn Louise Lovell, 31, each pleaded not guilty to bashing Robert Albert Gardiner to death, in January 2007.

Their trial began this month but was stopped when Simpson pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Lovell and Grosser have admitted to assisting an offender.

There will be a sentencing submissions hearing in Adelaide next month. ..News Source.. by ABC North and West

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Man jailed for killing sex offender

9-23-2008 Australia:

A SOUTH Australian man kicked and bashed a convicted sex offender to death after the man tried to grope his girlfriend, a court has been told.

Duane Matthew Simpson, 27, was today jailed for at least six years after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Robert Gardiner on Australia Day last year.

SA Supreme Court justice Trish Kelly said a post-mortem examination showed Mr Gardiner suffered 10 to 15 blows to the head, consistent with being hit, kicked and stomped on.

His body also showed signs of being run over and he was found to have a broken cheekbone and part of a broken bottle wedged in his throat.

"Basically you kicked and beat Mr Gardiner to death in a sustained and violent attack," the judge told Simpson.

She said Simpson had admitted losing control after he saw the victim making sexual advances to his girlfriend, Tiahn Louise Lovell, at a house they all shared near Port Pirie, north of Adelaide.

The judge said Simpson had problems with anger management and abused both drugs and alcohol.

He also was aware that Mr Gardiner was a convicted sex offender.

After the bashing Simpson, and another occupant of the house, Brenton James Grosser, bound the dead man's ankles with tape and moved his body out of the house.

Simpson, Grosser and Lovell then fled the scene but were tracked down by police.

Justice Kelly said she accepted that Simpson had been provoked by Mr Gardiner's action but described his response as out of proportion.

She imposed a sentence of nine years and four months with a non-parole-period of six years.

Grosser, 45, was jailed for a minimum of six months after pleading guilty to assisting an offender while Lovell, 31, was given a six-month suspended sentence also for assisting an offender.

..News Source.. by The Australian

TN- NEW INFORMATION: Sex Accusations Against Dead Pastor

8-25-2008 Tennessee:

Earle, AR -- Eyewitness News Everywhere is uncovering new information about rape and molestation accusations against an Earle pastor who was killed in Memphis, including claims of a cover-up by the COGIC church.

Stories about Pastor Ronald Paige's sexual involvement with teenage boys started surfacing after a confession by his accused killer that aired Tuesday on the cable TV documentary, "First 48".

In the confession, 21 year-old Andre Harris told Memphis homicide detectives that Paige tried to rape him after taking him in off the street. Harris said he stabbed the 50 year-old pastor while fighting him off.

Since the episode aired, the Memphis Police Department and Eyewitness News Everywhere have been in contact with people who claim Paige was molesting young boys at Earle Church of God in Christ as far back as 1984.

Earley Wallace says Paige tried to fondle her son when he was 15 and she accuses the COGIC church of covering it up. Wallace says she spoke with Jurisdictional Bishop L.T. Walker after her son was assaulted and that nothing was ever done. She thinks if the church had done something, Harris wouldn't be up for murder and Paige would still be alive. "I don't think that young man needs to get a whole lot of time for something that could have been avoided," Wallace says.

Eyewitness News Everywhere has made numerous attempts to get a response from high ranking COGIC officials, including Bishop Walker. So far, the calls have gone unanswered. ..News Source.. by My Eyewitness News

UT- Logan woman arrested for allegedly killing husband

8-22-2008 Utah:

A Logan woman accused of stabbing her husband in the back with a knife and killing him has been arrested, according to police.

Officers were called to a report of domestic violence between a husband and wife near 200 West and 200 North in Logan just before 9 p.m. Thursday. Investigators were unsure today how long the dispute had been going on but believe a neighbor was the one who called police, said Logan police Capt. Eric Collins.

When officers arrived, they found James Harper, 48, with a stab would to his back. He was taken to Logan Regional Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Shortly after, Harper's wife, Bonnie Harper, 57, was arrested for investigation of homicide and intoxication.

"She had evidence on her person. The murder weapon was in proximity to her," Collins said. "Neighbors heard (James Harper) make utterances of being stabbed by his wife."

What started the fight and led up to the stabbing was still being investigated today.

"We're not releasing any information about the motive," Collins said while noting, "We'll look at the history (of the couple) and what contributed to last night's tragic ending to his life."

Collins said officers had, "responded there in the past and have had dealings with both individuals," but declined to release details.

Court records, however, outline what appears to have been a turbulent relationship for more than a decade between the couple.

In March, Bonnie Harper filed a restraining order against James Harper, according to 1st District Court records, claiming cohabitant abuse. She did the same in 1995 in Washington County, according to court documents, but requested the petition be dismissed less than 10 days after filing it.

James Harper was a registered sex offender, convicted in 1997 of second-degree felony sex abuse of a child. He was charged on Tuesday in Cache County's 1st District Court with two counts of DUI, failing to remain at the scene of an injury accident and driving on a suspended license, according to court documents.

Harper was charged in 1995 and 1996 with simple assault, court documents state.
..News Source.. by Pat Reavy

Media Information

To The Media:

Questions about this blog compilation are frequently raised. The compilation is explained below, these are stories written by journalists and in all honesty we have nothing to add. The only credit due, if anyone, is due the journalists that wrote the original stories and they are listed at the end of each story.

We do not do interviews simply because we want no credit, the topic of the compilation is most difficult for anyone to handle. We have a great respect for what the media does and this is a philanthropic work for legislatures and public servants who may be able to save lives.

Thank you, have a great day and a better tomorrow.

With that said:

The Consequences, of sex laws, sex crimes and accusations!
Suicides, Deaths, Murders, and Revenge.

This compilation is a legislative and public servant reminder, that something needs to be done; this is not a memorial. The consequences that sometimes occur need to be addressed as strongly as prevention, prosecution and punishment of sex offenses. When lives hang in the balance, ignoring the issues and consequences -even subtly-, is not an answer. Ignorance, of laws and issues, is not permitted for an offender, nor should it be for legislatures or public servants. We are quite sure this is not a complete list, but just those we have been advised of.

NY- Sex offender found dead in Gloversville

8-15-2008 New York:

GLOVERSVILLE - Police think a convicted sex offender may have been murdered.

The body of 63-year-old Raymond Pike was found near his Gloversville apartment Friday morning.

Pike was found around 5 a.m. on what's known as the Rail Trail.

Pike's former roommates say he had become a marked man in the Montgomery Street neighborhood where he used to live. They say neighbors circulating petitions and called police frequently until Pike eventually relocated just a month before he was found dead.

Police say Pike was found dead along the Rail Trail near Foster Street between Eight and Tenth avenues. Nearby leather workers are said to have made the discovery.

Police won't say how Pike died until an autopsy is performed.

They also didn't mention that Pike was a Level 3 sex offender -- listed for the rest of his life after his 1990 sodomy committed on a 13-year-old boy. He served a two-to-six-year prison sentence.

Although that would appear to be an obvious motive to investigate, police are being tight-lipped.

Several residents voiced safety concerns about the Rail Trail, which is a paved linear park along the former F,J & G Railroad. Police say they don't think there is any increased level of danger there.

This was the first murder in Gloversville in about five years. ..News Source.. by

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Man arrested in Rail Trail slaying

GLOVERSVILLE - A city resident was arrested today in connection with the stabbing death of a registered sex offender, whose body was found on the F,J&G Rail Trail this morning.

Randy L. Green, 26, of 19 Wilson St., was arrested this afternoon by city police and charged in the murder of Raymond W. Pike.

Police said it appears Pike died of multiple stab wounds suffered around his upper torso.

After an autopsy is completed Saturday, an official cause of death will be determined and released, police said.

Police said Green and Pike knew each other and may have argued Thursday evening before seeing each other on the Rail Trail. Police said while the men were on the trail, another argument ensued and led to Green stabbing Pike several times. Green fled and left Pike's body on the trail near Foster Street, police said.

Green was being held tonight pending his arraignment at 9 a.m. Saturday in City Court.

Pike, 63, formerly of 51 Montgomery St., was found on the trail near Foster Street, Police Capt. Jim Lorenzoni said.

According to the state Sex Offender Registry Web site, Pike was arrested by Johnstown police in 1990 and later convicted of second-degree sodomy. Pike was sentenced to two to six years in state prison for the crime, which involved a 13-year-old male victim, according to the Web site.

The Web site says Pike's address, as of July 1, was 247 Bleecker St., Apartment 2. ..News Source.. by RODNEY MINOR, The Leader-Herald

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Child porn claim tied to slaying

8-20-2008 New York:

GLOVERSVILLE - The argument that ended in the death of Raymond W. Pike involved the alleged killer's suspicion the registered sex offender had child pornography, city police said.

Police Capt. Jim Lorenzoni said the man charged with murdering Pike, Randy L. Green, told investigators after his arrest that part of their argument was he suspected Pike had a stash of child pornography.

Green, 26, of Wilson Street, was arrested by police Friday and charged with second-degree murder after Pike's body, with multiple stab wounds, was discovered earlier in the day on the FJ & G Rail Trail between Eighth and 10th avenues.

Green subsequently pleaded innocent in City Court.

Lorenzoni said Green implicated his own involvement in the crime after being arrested. At this time, police expect to make no more arrests in the case, he said.

Police searched Pike's Bleecker Street apartment and seized materials that authorities will examine to verify or refute Green's claim, Lorenzoni said.

Police cannot confirm or deny the material is child pornography at this time, he said.

Robert Abdella, Green's attorney, said Pike's history will be an issue in his client's case.

"I do not believe [Pike's criminal past] to be as remote as some have stated," he said.

Pike was arrested by Johnstown police in 1990 and later convicted of second-degree sodomy. He was sentenced to two to six years in state prison.

Green has a criminal history as well.

In 2004, Green pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted assault and was sentenced to two to four years in state prison. Green stabbed a man during a street fight the year before.

Lorenzoni said Pike's killing occurred after some heavy drinking in Pike's apartment Thursday night. Pike, Green and an unidentified third person were in the apartment. Police are not revealing the third person's identity for security reasons, Lorenzoni said.

An argument started in the apartment, resulting in Green

hitting Pike with a board, Lorenzoni said.

Pike apparently was not seriously injured by the blow because the three decided to walk on the Rail Trail to the Price Chopper on North Main Street.

Lorenzoni said while walking on the trail, Green and Pike began arguing again, which police said ended with Green stabbing Pike.

Green returned to Pike's apartment, Lorenzoni said, before leaving with the unidentified third person in a taxi for a campsite at Vandenburgh Point on the Great Sacandaga Lake in Mayfield.

Lorenzoni said Green made a fire at the campsite and tried to burn his clothing and the knife used in the killing.

Green was unsuccessful in his alleged attempt to burn the knife because police were able to recover it. Lorenzoni described it as a hunting-style knife with a 4- to 6-inch blade.

Green was back in Gloversville the next morning when police interviewed him on the porch of Pike's apartment. Green must have realized he was not thorough enough in trying to dispose of the evidence, Lorenzoni said, because he rode a bicycle back to Vandenburgh Point to recover the murder weapon.

By that time, police had already received information about the fire and were at the scene when Green appeared, Lorenzoni said.

Green is being held in the Fulton County Jail without bail. ..News Source.. by RODNEY MINOR, The Leader-Herald

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NY- Upstate man arrested in sex offender's fatal stabbing

12-3-2008 New York:

JOHNSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) - An upstate man is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of another man in Gloversville.

Registered sex offender Raymond Pike was found dead on a bridge on the Rail Trail on August 15th. He'd been stabbed multiple times.

Randy Green was arrested later. On Monday, he was indicted on six counts.

Police say Green, Pike and another man were walking on the trail when Green pulled out a hunting knife and stabbed Pike. The two had been arguing throughout the day and police say Green claims the argument was over a stash of child pornography Pike allegedly had. Investigators found no evidence of child porn in Pike's home.

After the stabbing, authorities say Green went to a camp on Great Sacandaga Lake and tried to burn his clothing and the hunting knife. ..News Source.. by WTEN TV