Shootout kills three

Posted in Related Deaths

8-28-2010 Georgia:

DALTON, Ga. — What started as a 4-year-old girl’s birthday celebration Thursday ended with little children cowering in an attic for safety as family members died below in a hail of gunfire.

The girl’s mother, Mindy Bullard, 35, was shot twice while begging for mercy and fleeing across the family’s roof. On the ground, her ankles broken, she dragged herself toward a neighbor’s yard.

She survived, and her injuries are not life-threatening, authorities said, but three men died in the exchange of gunfire, including the alleged perpetrator, David Hartline, a 41-year-old convicted child molester from Summerville, Ga., who deputies believe was drunk and full of jealousy.

Bullard’s father, Edward H. Manz III, 61, of Chattanooga, and her ex-husband, Kenneth Simonson, 41, of Cleveland, Tenn., also were killed but not before Manz fired at least two deadly rounds at Hartline.

Bullard had been trying to end a tumultuous six-month relationship with Hartline when she told him not to attend the family birthday party Thursday afternoon.

He showed up anyway. Shunned a second time, he grabbed a gun, and started on a deadly attack, Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood said.

Bullard, a mother of seven children ranging in age from 4 to 16, begged for Hartline’s mercy moments after hoisting her children to safety in the home’s attic, 911 calls indicate.

“His name is David Hartline. He’s in my house, and he’s got a gun,” Bullard said, after telling a child to get into the attic. Hartline yells an explicative-filled rant with allegations that Bullard had been seeing another man. She denies everything and begs, “Please don’t hurt me, David.”

A voice that is apparently Hartline yells across the line “I’ll ... put this gun to your ... head and pull the trigger right now!”

Seconds later, gunfire echoes across the phone line and the call ends. Bullard was later wounded in the legs as she ran across her home’s roof, the sheriff said.

In other calls, witnesses plead for faster response. Deputies took a little more than 10 minutes to get to the scene, according to an incident report.

“People shot out here on Rainbow Circle, get the ambulances out here quick,” a male voice pleads. “Man is killing people out here, killing people!”

The line goes silent after the caller says, “Oh, here he comes.” And then there are four gunshots.

When Whitfield County sheriff’s deputies arrived at 1751 Rainbow Circle, they found Bullard on the ground behind the house, according to the sheriff’s department incident report.

SHELL-SHOCKED CHILDREN

Six children were in the home for the birthday party Thursday. A family member said it was rare for Bullard and Simonson to have all their children together at one time, but everyone had united for the birthday party.

Four children live in the rural north Whitfield County home and three live with Simonson. A 16-year-old girl did not attend the party. Bullard has children by both Simonson and another man, family and friends said.

Some of the children hid in the attic, but Margaret Manz, Bullard’s aunt and the sister-in-law of Edward Manz, said at least one of Simonson’s sons was found hiding in the woods two hours after the shooting.

“It’s just tragic,” Margaret Manz said. “Mindy feels awful. She’s in terrible pain, and she blames herself.”

Deputies ushered the children to Azalea Thompson’s home two doors down on Rainbow Circle as they sorted out the scene. She’s known the children for years, and had had them over to play her Nintendo Wii on several occasions.

“The kids were quite not themselves,” Thompson said Friday while standing on her porch in the heavily wooded neighborhood with big yards and large homes. “We hugged them, and my daughter made them popcorn and tea and they played the Wii.”

She said the children, who were later taken to stay with a relative, acted as though they were numb. Some knew family members had been shot. One or two of the children may have realized someone died, Thompson said.

FATHER’S COURAGE

Bullard has been complaining to family members for some time that Hartline was causing her trouble.

Her father “had told me that within the last couple months, she had gotten involved with someone who turned out to be a psycho and was making her life miserable,” Margaret Manz said.

Hartline served a seven-year prison sentence for child molestation and was released in 2007, state prison records show.

From her Summerville home, an aunt of David Hartline said the family was still absorbing the shock from the previous night. She said the Hartlines didn’t know Bullard’s family very well.

“It’s just a loss for everybody involved,” Judy Hartline said. “We’re feeling for our loss as well as the other family’s. It’s a tragic event. That’s our family’s comment at this time.”

Deputies theorize that despite being wounded himself in the exchange of gunfire, Manz managed to unload two shots into Hartline before dying himself.

Though Edward Manz, whom friends knew as “Buster,” had a sometimes strained relationship with his daughter, he was always there for her. The large home on four acres of land was owned by Manz, neighbors said, and he often performed odd jobs there.

“They had their ups and downs, Mindy and Buster, but when it comes down to it, blood is thicker than water, and he wasn’t going to let that guy kill his grandchildren,” Margaret Manz said. ..Source.. by Adam Crisp

Officials release identy of Illinois prison inmate shot and killed during hostage incident

8-24-2010 Illinois:

The identity of an prison inmate killed during a hostage-taking incident in Pinckneyville has been released.

His name is Alonje Walton.

Police shot and killed Walton nearly seven hours into a stand-off in which he held a 62-year-old female prison employee hostage at the Pinckneyville Correctional Center in southern Illinois.

Walton, 37, was serving time for the aggravated criminal sexual assault and kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl in 1995.

The exact cricumstances of how he took and held the hostage are under investigation. ..Source.. by Deborah O'Malley

El Paso man dies after alleged sexual assault attempt

8-18-2010 Texas:

EL PASO -- An alleged sexual assault led to the death of a man after he was hit with an aluminum bat.

Albert Aguirre, 46, of the 2900 block of Mobile Avenue in Central El Paso, died Wednesday of injuries he received when he was hit with a bat by another man about 3 a.m. Saturday, police said. The man who hit Aguirre has not been named by police. A woman told the El Paso Times that the man was a relative protecting her from Aguirre.

Police said they were responding to call that morning about a sexual assault in progress when they found Aguirre lying in the 3000 block of Mobile Avenue.

Aguirre had severe injuries to his head, police said. Witnesses told police that Aguirre's injuries were the result of a verbal confrontation that escalated into a physical attack, police said.

Police said Aguirre was taken to University Medical Center. He was on life support until he died Wednesday, police said.

A 27-year-old woman who lived several houses away from Aguirre alleged that he tried to sexually assault her in her bedroom early Saturday morning. The El Paso Times does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

"He was under the influence of alcohol and drugs and was trying to rape me. He put his hands under my skirt and tried to touch my private parts," she said.

The woman said she tried to fight Aguirre off while he was touching her and was eventually able to push him out of her room and into the street.

While they were in the street, Aguirre started punching her, she said.
The woman said a relative came to help her. The relative tried to help her push Aguirre away, which enraged Aguirre, she said. Aguirre grabbed the relative by the neck, she said.

That relative then grabbed an aluminum bat and swung it once -- a blow that was enough to take Aguirre down -- she said.

Aguirre lay in the street until police arrived, she said.

The woman said she knew Aguirre and his relatives socially. They have been harassing her and her family ever since the incident, she said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Aguirre's family members were gathered in his front yard drinking and talking. They were angry and upset when news reporters attempted to speak with them.

The woman said that Aguirre's family had already been to her house once on Sunday and that she was afraid they might try to retaliate against her.

"They're saying that I invited him over, and I'm like, come on. What am I going to do with a 46-year-old man?" she said.

The woman said that her heart goes out to Aguirre's family even though she felt threatened by them. "I am so sorry for what they're going through. I wish this would have been different," she said. ..Source.. by Maggie Ybarra

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Update: Man Killed With Bat Has Criminal History

Albert Aguirre Has Nine Convictions, Served At Least Seven Years In Prison

EL PASO, Texas -- Update:

ABC-7'S I-Team uncovered Albert Aguirre's criminal history. He is the man killed Saturday morning with a bat after he allegedly tried to rape a woman. Court documents show he has spent at least seven years in prison and has nine criminal convictions.

- ROBBERY (convicted, 1986)

- POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA (convicted, 1987)

- EVADING ARREST (pleaded guilty, 1999)

- DWI (pleaded guilty, 2006)

- HARASSMENT (pleaded guilty, 2007)

- POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE (pleaded guilty, 2008)

- DWI (pleaded guilty, 2008)

- BURGLARY OF A BUSINESS (convicted, no date specified)

- DELIVERY OF MARIJUANA (convicted, no date specified)

Previous Story:

An El Paso woman said she would have been just another rape victim if another man hadn't stepped in, grabbed a bat and started swinging at her alleged attacker.

Nearly four days later, that alleged attacker was taken off of life support on Wednesday after suffering severe head injuries. The incident happened just before 3 a.m. Saturday on Mobile Avenue in Central El Paso.

"I feel very bad because I've gone through this before," said the 27-year-old El Paso victim. She did not want to be identified because she said she is afraid of retaliation. She said the attack happened after she left a bar.

The man, whom police have identified as 46-year-old Albert Aguirre forced his way through her front door. Aguirre lived just down the street from the woman. She said he has a violent history, including a previous rape charge.

"I went toward the door and struggled with him as he was trying to take my clothes apart, putting his hand under my skirt, touching my private parts," the woman said. "I could smell the liquor and the alcohol on him and he smelled like marijuana."

She also said the man was covered in vomit and urine as she fought to push him down the driveway and into the street. The woman said a man, whom she did not want to identify, but who lives in the neighborhood heard her screaming for help.

"A person came outside to help me and take him off me," she said. "That person while defending me caused Albert Aguirre injuries so bad that it caused his death."

She said her attacker started choking the man when he grabbed a bat and swung - just once - at her attacker. Police said he suffered severe head injuries.

"I thank that person who helped me because if it wasn't for that person I just would have been another rape victim again and who knows if he has AIDS or if he would have gotten me pregnant again," she said.

Since the incident, the woman said she has been threatened several times by Aguirre's family.

"Knowing that you can't live in your home where home is supposed to be peace and safety and now we can't have that," she said. "I want to say to the family that I am so sorry for what they're going through. But I say to the family to also put themselves in my shoes and put themselves in that person's shoes who defended me and I think any person would have done the same thing."

So far, no charges have been filed in the case but Crimes Against Persons is investigating Aguirre's death. Aguirre's family refused to comment about the incident. ..Source.. ABC-7 Reporter Marissa Monroy

Inmate death at Augusta Correctional Center under investigation

8-11-2010 Virginia:

CRAIGSVILLE — The Virginia Department of Corrections is investigating the death of a 57-year-old inmate at Augusta Correctional Center.

Donald L. Mawyer of Arrington died in late July, according to the VDOC.

Larry Traylor, a spokesman for the VDOC, wrote in an e-mail Monday, "We had an inmate death at Augusta Correctional Center on July 24th. The incident is under investigation and I cannot comment further."

In 1999, Mawyer was released from prison after spending five years behind bars for a rape in Nelson County. In 2003 on Valentine's Day, Mawyer received a 30-year prison sentence in Albemarle County Circuit Court after being convicted of abduction, according to the VDOC. He also had a parole violation in 2000, along with a conviction in 2002 for failing to register as a sex offender. Mawyer was scheduled for release in August 2028 at the age of 75.

Daniel A. Braxton, warden at Augusta Correctional Center in Craigsville, referred all media inquiries to the Department of Corrections. The Medical Examiner's Office in Roanoke said Monday that a cause of death has not been determined.

A phone call placed Monday afternoon to a Mawyer family member was not returned. ..Source.. by Brad Zinn/staff

Teen Charged in Murder of North Ridgeville Man

See UPDATE below:

1-27-2010 Ohio:

NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio - Daniel Kovarbasich is 16 years old and was a student at North Ridgeville High School. But on a day when his classmates were at school, Daniel was being arraigned in Lorain County Juvenile Court on charges that he murdered 55-year-old Duane Hurley at Hurley's home last Friday.

His fellow students are stunned by his arrest. Krissy Buckner says "I can't believe he would do something like that, it doesn't seem like anything he would do."

According to court documents, Daniel Kovarbasich is accused of stabbing to death Duane Hurley.

Those who know Daniel say he was one of several young men who hung around Duane Hurley's home and did odd jobs for the 55-year-old.

Krissy Buckner says "he would just like mow his grass and just walk his dog, wash his car."

The attorney for the 16-year-old tried to convince a judge that he should be released to his father pending a probable cause hearing.

But one of Duane Hurley's neighbors says she is still frightened in her own home by a crime that robbed her of her best friend.

"Denise" says "it hurts me everyday because I have to look out my front window and I see his home. He's not here anymore and it really hurts."

But other neighbors wonder what went on inside the home of Duane Hurley, a former Avon Lake city employee, who was convicted in 2004 of bribery, falsification and theft in office. Prosecutors say Hurley accepted bribes from convicts to reduce the amount of time they had to serve for community service.

And they wonder what brought Daniel Kovarbasich into Hurley's life and what sparked the violence that took Hurley's life.

John Buckner says "I don't know, why would a 16-year-old boy stab a grown man, I mean we can only think."

"Denise" says "that's baloney, that's pure garbage, he was not that kind of man."

The 16-year-old is currently being held in the Lorain County Juvenile Detention Home. A probably cause hearing on the case is scheduled for February 12th. ..Source.. by Staff

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BREAKING NEWS: Daniel Kovarbasich gets five years probation (for killing molester)

8-12-2010 Ohio:

ELYRIA — Daniel Kovarbasich, 16, was sentenced to five years of probation for the Jan. 22 slaying of Duane Hurley inside his North Ridgeville home.

Lorain County Common Pleas James Burge also ordered Daniel remain incarcerated until he can be placed in a treatment program.

Daniel, who was tried as an adult, was convicted earlier this year of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. He had originally been charged with murder in the case.

Daniel did not speak before Burge handed down the sentence, but Jack Bradley, one of Daniel’s lawyers, argued that his client should receive probation.

Bradley said Daniel needed treatment for the sexual abuse he suffered at Hurley’s hands.

During his trial, which Burge decided instead of a jury, Daniel testified that Hurley, 55, had molested him for months before the killing.

Hurley’s niece, Marcy Utlak, called Daniel the “epitome of evil.”

“We saw not one bit of remorse in his testimony or his actions. None,” she said.

Utlak said that Daniel lied about using two of Hurley’s sports cars in exchange for sexual favors. She also said that the pornography found on Hurley’ computer — much of it appearing to feature underage boys in graphic sexual positions — was downloaded by other people who used the computer beside her uncle.

Assistant County Prosecutor Tony Cillo argued for the maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

He said if there was a sexual relationship, it was one where Daniel received things from Hurley in exchange for sex.

On the day that Hurley died, Daniel testified, the older man wanted sex from him. Daniel said he clubbed Hurley once with large pickle jar before a melee between them broke out.

Daniel said he punched, kicked and repeatedly stabbed Hurley until he stopped moving. He then called his father, who picked him up, took him to the hospital and called 911.

Prosecutors said during the trial that Hurley was struck three times with the jar as he lay on his bed, blows that would have been fatal even if he hadn’t been stabbed. He was stabbed 55 times, an autopsy determined. ..Source.. Brad Dicken

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Teen reaches out to millions on Oprah

10-19-2010 Ohio:

CHICAGO — Sixteen-year-old Daniel Kovarbasich had the opportunity yesterday to reach millions of people and tell children to speak out if they become a victim of sexual abuse.

Daniel, his parents, Terry and Donna, and brother, Gregory, were guests on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” where Daniel described to Winfrey the details behind the slaying of 55-year-old Duane Hurley.

Terry Kovarbasich told Winfrey he remembered Jan. 22, the day his son killed Hurley, as a typical day when he dropped his son off at Hurley’s home. About a half-hour after dropping Daniel off, he got a call from Daniel, who was “freaking out,” he told Winfrey. He would soon find out Daniel hit Hurley in the head with a pickle jar and stabbed him repeatedly.

“Daniel told his parents that Duane had attacked him and he was acting in self-defense, but that is not what happened,” Winfrey said. “The real story begins more than three years earlier when Daniel was just 12 years old.”

Donna Kovarbasich, with Daniel’s help, then described for Oprah and her viewers they researched Hurley and thought he was legitimately a nice man and welcomed him into their home. Then, Daniel chronicled how about a year into the friendship, Hurley began using incentives like his cars and money to engage in sexual acts with Daniel.

Kovarbasich told Winfrey he didn’t consider his relationship with Hurley a “sexual relationship” because it wasn’t consensual, but he also didn’t realize he was being molested. Daniel told her he didn’t know how to tell his family and Hurley made him feel like the abuse was his fault.

“So the grooming process is ... if a sexual molester is any good at his job, his No. 1 job is to make the child feel that they are part of it so that they don’t tell, because once you tell, his game is up,” Winfrey said of the sexual abuse. SClBTerry Kovarbasich told Winfrey how he now understands why police almost always assume sexual abuse starts inside the home because it usually comes from someone trustworthy.

“If my son ended up missing, if this went the other way and my son ended up missing, my wife and I would be standing right with (Hurley) looking for our son and would never know that he did anything. That’s how much we trusted him,” Terry said to Winfrey.

Winfrey asked Daniel if he had any remorse and the teen said, “I do on some extent. I mean, I feel — I do know I killed a man, you know. That’s not right. I mean, I don’t feel great for killing someone. I know that’s wrong. I feel — I feel relieved, though, now, if you can understand what I’m saying. I feel relieved because everything is done, but I feel bad to an extent.”

Terry and Donna also gave advice to parents and other children in the world who might be going through a similar situation to know the signs of grooming and abuse and Daniel said for children to “man up” and speak out if they are being abused.

In addition to the Kovarbasich family, Winfrey also spoke with Ellie Nesler, who killed her child’s sexual abuser in a courtroom in 1993. ..Source.. by KELLY METZ

Man Found Dead In Car Was Sex Offender

8-3-2010 Florida:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The man found shot to death Sunday night in a vehicle parked near a Westside park was a registered sex offender who was released from prison less than two years ago.

Police said the body of 35-year-old Isaac Bradley was found in a vehicle in Melvin Park, off Jade Drive West. Homicide detectives have not released details, but did say at the time they did not have a suspect in the case.

Florida Department of Corrections records show Bradley had served three sentences in state prison in the past decade on various crimes, including lewd and lascivious battery on a child in 2005.

Bradley was listed as a sexual predator on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement sex offender database.

As of last month, Bradley's registered address was near the intersection of Lake Shore Boulevard and Park Street -- less than five miles from where his body was found.

Anyone with information about the victim or any suspicious activity in the park Sunday night is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS. Information leading to an arrest could earn the caller a cash reward. ..Source.. News4jax.com

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Man Arrested In Melvin Park Shooting Death

9-29-2010:

35-Year-Old Found Shot To Death Inside Vehicle Last Month

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Police have arrested a man in connection with the shooting death of another man on the Westside last month.

Jacksonville police said Alvoid Hartley shot and killed 35-year-old Isaac Bradley, who was found dead in his car at Melvin Park on Aug. 2.

Police said Hartley met Bradley, robbed him and shot him several times. Police said the two men knew each other.

Investigators said the arrest was made as the result of witnesses coming forward. ..Source.. by News4Jax.com

Grim details emerge in prison death of sex offender

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