Suspicious death investigation of Elkhart man

8-5-2012 Indiana:

Suspicious. That's how investigators are, so far, describing the death of an Elkhart man, found on Saturday at his home in the 1700 block of Morton Avenue.

The victim is identified as 69 year-old James Grant, who also went by the name Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullins.

He's said to be a registered sex offender, having been convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor going back to the late 1990's.

Right now, the case is under investigation pending an autopsy. ..Source.. by News Talk 95.3 MNC

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elkhart police investigate possible murder

8-5-2012 Indiana:

Elkhart police are investigating a possible murder.

Officers were called to a home on Noble St., near Morton Ave. late Saturday morning. Police were called to this home on Noble Street, near Morton Avenue just after 11:00 a.m.

Inside the home, they found a man dead.

He’s identified as Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullins.

Neighbors say the man who lived there was a convicted sex offender and they stayed away from him.

“It's scary not knowing if there's somebody out there that's doing something, breaking into homes or if it's just a random act, or if it's just was somebody who knew him,” said neighbor Deb Fay.

Neighbors also told WSBT that teenagers were constantly coming and going from that house. ..Source.. by WSBT-TV Report

----------------------------------------------------------------

Elkhart County Coroner: Autopsy determined T-Rex was murdered

ELKHART, Ind. -- We have an update on the death investigation of an Elkhart County sex offender.

The Elkhart County Coroner's Office just told us that "Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens'" death has been determined to be a homicide.

The coroner also said that Mullens died of "multiple sharp force trauma". He would not confirm whether or not T-Rex was stabbed.

The 69-year-old man's birth name is James E. Grant.

Police found his body on Saturday morning at a home on Morton Ave. ..Source.. by Jenny Dolph

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Coroner: Man was victim of homicide

8-10-2012:

ELKHART -- The Elkhart man found dead last weekend in his home was the victim of a homicide, according to Elkhart County Coroner John White.

White confirmed 69-year-old James Grant was killed by a sharp object, what he described as "sharp force trauma,"

WSBT reported.

Grant was also known as Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullins.

Police were called to 17011/2 Morton Ave. late Saturday morning when they found Grant dead inside. ..Source.. by Staff

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mother says teen accused of murdering convicted sex offender "T-Rex" acted in self-defense

8-22-2012 Indiana:

The mother of 18-year-old Brandon Johnston, who is accused of murdering 69-year-old convicted sex offender James Grant, aka Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens, defended her son on Tuesday saying he acted in self-defense.

Mullens, who was convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor in 1996, was found stabbed to death in his home on the 1700-block of Morton Avenue on August 4. The Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office announced the arrest of Johnston on Monday. Johnston’s mother believes Mullens was a predator who targeted her son for years.

Jessica Dills, Johnston’s Mother, said she, son and her parents lived on Morton Avenue for years and Mullens moved in about five-years ago. Dills claimed that nobody in the neighborhood was notified that Mullens was a sex offender and only found out after they grew concerned about Mullens’ behavior.

"He tried to buy my parents gifts, he tried to buy us stuff because he always tried to get a hold of Brandon…he would call and ask where my son was,” Dills described. “He even showed up at our house before, he showed up at my parent's house, it was just creepy."

Dills claimed she and others made numerous formal complaints and reports to the Elkhart Police Department about Mullens’ behavior, saying that he often had contact with the numerous children in the neighborhood.

"People would see him, supposedly, masturbate in front of their window," Dills explained. “The bus stop is right in front of his house.”

Eight-months ago Dills moved to her current home in Three Rivers, Michigan, in part to get away from Mullens. However, he parents (Brandon Johnston’s Grandparents) remained at their home near Mullens and her son often stayed with them. Johnston was staying with his grandparents when Mullens was murdered and has told his mother that Mullens had gotten him drunk on the night of the murder, but he can’t remember much of what happened.

"I don't know if he slipped something into the drink that he gave my son and that's why my son can't remember some of it, it knocked him out and then he woke up and that's when everything happened,” Dills claimed. “My son tried to get it to stop and he (Mullens) was hitting my son with an object and my son said, ‘I had to defend myself.’"

Brandon Johnston is in the Elkhart County Jail awaiting trial.

"I saw him by myself and when he started crying I just started to lose it, it's not easy to see your kid there," Dill described. "The rest of his life it's going to haunt him, it's going to haunt us…he wanted to join the Army, that's never going to happen, so much is going to be taken away from him just because of this.”

Dills said she believes police should have done more to investigate Mullens before his murder and that the case should serve as a reason for stricter rules about where sex offenders should be allowed to live.

“I’m not saying he (Mullens) didn’t have a right to live anywhere, but in amongst a general population with tons of kids that wasn’t right,” she said. “I don’t want this to ever happen again, this shouldn’t have happened this time.”

Brandon Johnston is scheduled to be in court for an initial hearing on August 23. ..Source.. by Tony Spehar

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Teen pleads guilty to Elkhart man's murder

12-13-2012 Indiana:

18-year old Brandon Johnston pleaded guilty to murder Thursday morning in Elkhart County.

He's accused of killing James Grant – Also known as Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens – back in August.

Police say Grant was stabbed several times in his head, neck, and chest in his Morton Avenue home in Elkhart.

Johnston is scheduled to be sentenced next month. ..Source.. by WSBT.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teen sentenced on murder charge said victim gave him drugs

1-31-2013:

GOSHEN — What exactly happened the early morning of Aug. 2, 2012, may never be known. But what came out of the incident was the death of a 69-year-old man —a registered sex offender,— and the sentencing of an 18-year-old on charges of murder.

Brandon Johnston pleaded guilty in December to the charge of murder in connection to the death of James Grant, also known as Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens. He was sentenced to 51 years in prison Thursday morning in Elkhart Circuit Court. He also will serve four years on probation.

Grant was killed in the early hours of Aug. 2. His body was found two days later in his home located at 1701 ½ Morton Ave., Elkhart. According to the probable cause affidavit for Johnston’s case, during their investigation police found a witness who said Johnston had said he “stabbed Rex in the head.”

Police also interviewed another person who said Johnston had told them “he had hurt someone and he thought he had killed them.” Johnston had told the witness he was going to “Rex’s house” to drink some beer. According to the witness, “Rex” was known as a person who lived on Morton Avenue and frequently spent time with Johnston.

Johnston was arrested Aug. 17.

An autopsy revealed that Grant died of multiple sharp force injuries to the chest, neck and head. During the sentencing hearing in Elkhart Circuit Court, Deputy Prosecutor Vicky Becker said Grant received a total of 23 stab wounds. She added that Grant, who used a wheelchair to move around, had stab wounds on his forearms, which indicated he was trying to shield himself from Johnston.

Becker said Johnston had committed acts that sent red flags with his constant use of alcohol and drugs since the age of 15, which he admitted to in his pre-sentence report.

“The choices that he was making led him down the path that resulted in the death of Mr. Grant,” Becker said.

Judge Terry Shewmaker said Johnston’s case was one he had given much thought to.

A few letters filed to the court by Johnston’s mother, Jessica Dills, and other members of Johnston’s family, asked the judge for leniency in his sentencing.

In one of her letters, Dills said her son, as other children in the neighborhood, had been targeted by Grant. Dills said in her letter that several phone calls were made to police about possible ongoing molestation the last few years.

Grant was a registered sex offender who in 1996 was found guilty on two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor.

Those letters were brought up during the hearing. Shewmaker asked Johnston if it was true he had received alcohol and drugs from Grant.

Johnston admitted that he had received marijuana, synthetic marijuana, alcohol and pills from Grant on multiple occasions.

Johnston, whose address is listed in Three Rivers, Mich. said that on the day of the incident he was in Elkhart to visit family. He said he had gone to Grant’s house, which he described was just around the corner from where his family lives, to get alcohol.

The fact that Johnston was receiving drugs and alcohol from the victim was considered as a mitigator at the time of the sentence, Shewmaker said. Johnston’s acceptance of responsibility and his arguments at the sentencing hearing were also taken into consideration.

“I’m not going to make an excuse or try to justify what I did,” Johnston told the court. “I don’t want people to think I’m a psychopath or a monster.” ..Source.. by Sharon Hernandez

Jerry Sandusky case may have led Sussex man to kill ex-Scout leader

6-27-2012 New Jersey:

The prosecuting attorney is investigating whether the man accused of killing an elderly, well-known member of a small Sussex County community was spurred to the act, at least in part, by the sex abuse trial of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

"I’m mindful that the Sandusky trial started one day before this murder," Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Mueller said. "Whether this was a triggering event is part of the investigation."

Clark Fredericks, 46, of Fredon, was arrested just hours after State Police found the bloodied body of former Sussex County corrections officer Dennis Pegg, 68, in the living room of his Stillwater home on June 13. Pegg was stabbed 20 times and his throat was slit.

A friend of Fredericks, Robert A. Reynolds, 47, of Hackettstown, was also arrested.

Pegg, according to officials from the Boy Scout’s Patriots Path Council, was a former troop leader and Fredericks, according to his mother, Joan, and sister-in-law Carol, was once a Scout in Pegg’s troop.

Both women contend Fredericks was molested by the older man decades ago.

In the tiny town of Stillwater, where signs saying "In God we Trust" sprout from lush green lawns and tangles of orange daylilies grow wild by the side of the road, people are still talking about the murder of one of their own.

Many people say Dennis Pegg was devoted to children and a pillar of the community, a man who taught a survival course for park rangers in the 1990s, hand-fed deer in his front yard and was known as a "trail angel" for helping hikers along New Jersey’s branch of the Appalachian Trail.

No sex abuse charges were ever brought against Pegg. In 1998, according to the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, criminal accusations were made claiming he’d made terroristic threats and engaged in coercion, or the restraining of someone’s movement, but those accusations were dropped two months later.

Mueller said the complaints did not appear to be sexual in nature nor did they seem to support the molestation accusations.

Tuesday, Carol Fredericks declined to speak further on the matter, saying her brother-in-law had retained a defense lawyer, Dan Perez, a civil rights attorney who once represented one of the victims in the famous Bernard Goetz, "Subway Shooter" case in New York City.

"The investigation into the death of Dennis Pegg is active and ongoing," Perez said. "My understanding is that the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey State Police are pursuing a number of leads. When the investigation has been concluded, the case will proceed to court."

Mueller, the assistant prosecutor, said he was "aware that allegations against the victim have been made," and added, "You want to separate what is real and what is rumor. We want to know the accuracy of the allegations before we comment on them."

Fredericks and Reynolds are being held in the Sussex County jail with a bail of $350,000 each. Fredericks was charged with first-degree murder and Reynolds with being an accomplice to murder, conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence. He is being represented by David Nufrio, a public defender.

Pegg, like Fredericks, was a longtime resident of Sussex County. He was a Vietnam veteran, according to his sister, Nancy Pegg, 74, of Carbondale, Pa., and was unmarried. An avid fisherman and hunter, he was also a firearms expert, say those who knew him, and retired from his job in county corrections 15 years ago.

Nancy Pegg said she was taken by surprise by the accusations against her brother, and John M. Broda, a nephew of Pegg’s, said by email: "At this time, I do not care to comment since there is an ongoing investigation. The motive is irrelevant; no one has the right to violently murder another member of our family, this community, and our society."

In the 1962 edition of Aurora, the Newton High School yearbook, Dennis Pegg is a handsome, strong-chinned teenager with light brown hair. The yearbook says he was a member of the Rifle Club, his homeroom representative and a singer with the concert choir. He was also "noted" for his "loyalty to friends," and his secret ambition was "To be a state policeman." ..Source.. by Seth Augenstein and Amy Ellis Nutt/The Star-Ledger

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspect's family says years of anger led to attack on retired Sussex County corrections officer

Four days after Dennis Pegg was killed, splatters of dried blood still clung to the cement step in front of his small white cottage in Stillwater — the only evidence that something horrible had happened in this quiet Sussex County community.

Sometime on Tuesday, Pegg, 68, a retired county corrections officer and former Boy Scout leader, was stabbed more than 20 times and his throat was slit, authorities said. Within hours, Clark T. Fredericks, 46, of Fredon and Robert A. Reynolds, 47, of Hackettstown were arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Fredericks, according to his mother and sister-in-law, was a member of Pegg’s Scout troop decades ago.

"While it doesn’t appear the defendants were invited guests, it doesn’t appear they broke down the door," said Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Mueller. "Robbery does not appear to be the motive."

Fredericks’ relatives believe the motive was anger and revenge. Joan Fredericks, 82, said her son was molested by Pegg when he was a Boy Scout, but it took decades for him to open up to her about it.

"Young boys don’t like to confess these things to their mothers," Joan Fredericks said. "They hold it in, hold it in, hold it in."

The executive director of the Boy Scouts’ Patriots Path Council, Dennis Kohl, confirmed that Pegg, whom he did not know, was a Boy Scout leader in the 1970s.

Pegg, unmarried and living alone, was well known in Stillwater, a 28-square-mile township in northwestern New Jersey with a population of 4,300. He was president of the Sussex County Historical Society and a founding member of the Sussex County Bird Club.

On Thursday, a message was posted online from the Historical Society of Stillwater Township: "Due to the passing of Dennis Pegg, beloved officer and long-term member of HSST, the events scheduled for this week — the Deserted Villages program and the Strawberry Festival — have been cancelled.

Though Dennis would have loved for us to persevere for the sake of the organization, it would be very difficult for our members to carry out hosting the events given the sudden loss of such a dear friend and colleague."

"He was the most careful, deliberate person you’d want to know. Absolute integrity," said Ed Szabo, secretary of the Stillwater Township Taxpayers Association.

Pegg’s sister, Nancy, who lives in Carbondale, Pa., said Saturday she was horrified by the molestation accusations.

"If it’s true, it would be a shock to the family," she said. "I know he was devoted to children, but I never heard anything like that."

Nancy Pegg, who is 74, said Dennis was the fourth of five children in the family growing up in Newton. Their mother left and moved to Florida when Dennis was 5, she said.

"He was my baby brother — I helped raise him," she said.

Nancy Pegg said she chatted online with her brother after midnight the day he was killed. He mentioned he was looking forward to a trip to Europe in October. Because of problems with his knees and pending surgeries, it would be his "last hurrah," he told her.

Kurt Eliasson, a neighbor of Pegg’s, was also in the Boy Scout troop, though not at the same time as Fredericks.

"He was pretty quiet; he kept to himself," Eliasson said of Pegg, adding he’d never heard about abuse allegations.

Wayne McCabe, the Sussex County historian, also was surprised.

"I find it hard to believe with Dennis," he said.

But Fredericks’ sister-in-law, Carol Fredericks, did not.

"It’s rage, the way this was done," she said. "There’s a lot more to this story that people don’t even know."

When assistant prosecutor Mueller was asked about the claims made by Joan and Carol Fredericks, he responded, "The motive is under investigation. That’s all I can say at this time. We’re spending a lot of time trying to find out why this occurred."

On Tuesday evening, when Fredericks returned to his parents’ home, where he was living, covered in blood, a family member contacted a counselor who then called the New Jersey State Police.

Troopers found Pegg’s body about noon Wednesday on the floor of his living room a short distance from the front door. A short time later, Fredericks and Reynolds were arrested and two knives were confiscated from Fredericks’ garage.

When he made his first court appearance Thursday, Fredericks’ hand was in a cast and his arm in a sling.

"He stabbed himself in the process of killing Mr. Pegg," Mueller said of the severe laceration on Fredericks’ left hand.

Fredericks met Robert Reynolds about eight years ago, according to Mark Pillion, who has been a friend of Reynolds’ since they were 6 years old. Pillion said Reynolds and Fredericks became acquainted through their mutual interest in Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

"There was nothing in Bob’s past to make him want to kill that person," Pillion said. "I can’t believe Bob would be involved in this."

Pillion said Reynolds has been living with him and his family for the past two years. Reynolds had been unemployed for several months and had a falling out with his family, according to Pillion.

Pillion said it was his van that Reynolds and Fredericks borrowed to drive to Pegg’s house on Tuesday.

"I guarantee he didn’t know what was going to happen," said Pillion. "He would have walked away."

As of Saturday evening, Fredericks and Reynolds were being held in the county jail in lieu of $350,000 bail each.

"We will find out what led to this," said Mueller. "I expect the suspects’ motive will be a large part of the trial."

Almost none of the townspeople were willing to speculate on that motive Saturday. Under blue skies they gathered at Veterans Field to celebrate the annual Stillwater Day with colorful tents, inflatable rides, a dunk tank and a talent show. In the afternoon, children ran back and forth chasing Frisbees and playing in the hot June sun. When several adults were asked about the slaying of one of their own just days earlier and two miles up the road, their faces clouded over.

"This town is like ‘Cheers’ — everyone knows everyone," said Anita Straway, a township committeewoman. "These are our friends and neighbors — it’s a tragedy for everyone."

"Everybody’s sad," said Bob Fritsch, an organizer of the town day. "We’ll find out what happened sooner or later." ..Source.. by Seth Augenstein and Amy Ellis Nutt/The Star-Ledger

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

No child pornography found in home of Stillwater stabbing victim, investigators say

A box containing pictures of young boys was found by investigators in the home of Dennis Pegg, but they weren’t the nude child photos being sought by the attorney representing one of Pegg’s accused killers, a Sussex County prosecutor said Tuesday.

Last week a man came forward to authorities alleging he’d been abused by Pegg decades ago and that the murdered man had owned a box of salacious photographs.

"What the witness described was definitely pornographic," First Assistant Sussex County Prosecutor Gregory Mueller said during a hearing Tuesday before Superior Court Judge N. Peter Conforti in Newton. The judge had ordered Pegg’s assets frozen and an inventory made before they were distributed to his heirs.

As to the box found in the house where Pegg was stabbed to death on June 12, Mueller said, "We have young boys in photographs, but they’re definitely not pornographic."

Daniel Perez, who represents accused killer Clark Fredericks, 46, of Fredon, said, "Look, the one thing we’re all looking for is a box of child porn. It existed at some point. It raises the question of where it is and who has it."

Two members of Fredericks’ family have claimed Fredericks was also molested by Pegg decades ago when he was a Boy Scout and Pegg a troop leader. The killing was a result of years of rage over the assault, they said.

Mueller had not yet seen the pictures unearthed by investigators, but said, "There was nothing remarkable about the photos. It wasn’t nudity."

However, Perez said, "evidence that may not be relevant today may become relevant somewhere down the road."

Pegg, 68, didn’t leave much to his heirs, said attorney William Haggerty, who spoke during Tuesday’s half-hour hearing. Clothing, furniture and a few personal effects, including a family Bible, have already been given to Joshua Orinowski, a co-executor of the estate, said Haggerty, who prepared Pegg’s will.

Pegg was killed inside a modest rental house on Millbrook Road the night of June 12. Unmarried and living alone, he had paid the rent until July 15, said Haggerty, who expects to hand over the keys of the now-empty rental to the landlord Thursday.

Fredericks has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly slitting Pegg’s throat and stabbing him more than 20 times. He was arrested a day later, telling authorities Pegg "got what was coming to him" and had been a "child molester for years," according to the arrest affidavit.

Robert Reynolds, 47, of Hackettstown, a friend of Fredericks, has been charged with helping him kill Peg and hiding evidence.

Fredericks and Reynolds, both shackled and wearing orange jail jumpsuits, attended Tuesday’s hearing flanked by four sheriff’s officers.

Fredericks, his left hand still heavily bandaged from injuries he allegedly suffered while attacking Pegg, and his co-defendant did not speak during the 30-minute court session.

Superior Court Judge Edward Gannon is expected to decide Thursday on the disposition of 14 letters left by Pegg that were found in a safe deposit box he rented at a bank in Stillwater.

Fredericks and Reynolds are being held in the Sussex County Jail on $350,000 bail each with no 10 percent option.

Lee Liddy, an investigator with the sheriff’s office, said Fredericks is being held in a "medical watch" cell separate from the general jail population due to his hand injury. Reynolds is being held with the general population, he said.

Liddy said he did not know if the other inmates were supportive of the two murder suspects.

"We only get reports of ‘hot activity’ if they’re having a problem," he said. "They’re not having problems with the other inmates." ..Source.. by Joe Moszczynski/The Star-Ledger

Body found in cemetery identified as sex offender

6-14-2012 Michigan:

We now know the identity of a man found dead Thursday morning in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Around 7:15 a.m. a person walking along a path through the cemetery found the body near the intersection of Eastern and Hall Street SE.

Tracing a license plate of a vehicle near the body, WZZM 13 has learned the man is Robert Shields, 67. He was a registered sex offender living in Omega Life Alternatives, a halfway house on Eastern Avenue about half a mile north of the cemetery.

Records show Shields was convicted of first-degree sexual assault in Newaygo County in 1981. In 1999, Shields was convicted in Kent County of one count of second-degree sex assault involving a victim younger than 13. He was released from jail in January 2011.

Police say Shields was lying next to a grave stone and they also found a van registered in his name near his body. The scene was marked off with crime tape Thursday morning and investigators used several cones marking evidence of some sort.

Authorities have yet to confirm the body's identity to the media or release the circumstances surrounding his death. They tell WZZM 13 the death is "suspicious." ..Source.. by Chris Zoladz, Multi-Media Producer, WZZM 13

------------------------------------------------------------

Police: Man found dead in Oak Hill Cemetery died of multiple stab wounds

Robert Louis Shields, the man found dead this morning in Oak Hill Cemetery, died of multiple stab wounds and police are investigating the case as a homicide.

Shields, 67, was found by a walker in the cemetery about 7:15 a.m. and police found his van parked on the south side of the grounds this morning.

In a release issued late today, police named Shields as the victim. But he was identified earlier in the day as the victim by officials at Omega Life Alternatives, a halfway house at 722 Eastern Avenue SE where Shields had lived for a little more than a month.

Shields is a registered sex offender and was released from prison in January 2011 after spending several years behind bars for a 1999 sex assault against a 7-year-old.

Oak Hill Cemetery, at Eastern Avenue SE and Hall Street, is not far from the halfway house.

Eric Price, a manager at Omega Life Alternatives, said he believed Shields had been out with his girlfriend Wednesday evening.

He was supposed to return for an 11 p.m. curfew, but did not.

Price was told that Shields' girlfriend was in the hospital, but it was unclear why.

Police released no other details about who may have stabbed Shields or how the van ended up in the cemetery. ..Source.. by John Tunison

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Body found in cemetery identified as sex offender

We now know the identity of a man found dead Thursday morning in Oak Hill Cemetery.

The Executive Director of Omega Life Alternatives says the victim is 67-year old Robert Shields. A resident at the transitional home. "Last night was the first night he broke curfew, we knew something was wrong," says Price. He says Shields moved-in a month ago. "We mentor guys who have been in trouble with the law or they don't have family or may have made mistakes in general."

Sheilds had been in prison off and on for criminal sexual conduct since 1981. He was released early last year and had been working as a maintenance man before he moved to Omega Life. "And everything he put his hand to, he saw that needed fixed-up, he did it, so he was kind and generous."

Just after 7am someone walking at Oakhill Cemetery discovered shields body near a grave. Grand Rapids police taped off a large portion of the cemetery and marked potential evidence with cones.

Captain Eric Payne says, "Well, just because of the size of the cemetery, we want to make sure we're not missing anything. it's a large area to process."

Because of the injuries to shields body, police are investigating the death as a suspicious death. At Omega Life, Price says although he didn't know Shields very long, it's sad to hear. "No matter what they've done in the past, you hate seeing tragedy like that." ..Source.. by Chris Zoladz

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Girlfriend held in GR cemetery stabbing

6-14-2012:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A woman is being held in the stabbing of a 67-year-old man found dead early Thursday morning by a jogger along a path through Grand Rapids' Oakhill Cemetery.

On Thursday evening, Grand Rapids police announced they had ruled the death of Robert Louis Shields a homicide.

Authorities said he was stabbed multiple times.

Christina Miller is being held in the Kent County Jail in connection with the case, 24 Hour News 8 confirmed.

Jail records indicate Miller was charged on two counts of obstructing police, one count of providing false information, and one count is failure to obey instructions on Friday.

No arraignment has been set yet.

Sheilds's brother told 24 Hour News 8 earlier Thursday that Miller was Shields's girlfriend. He also said she is mentally unstable.

"He may have had some enemies I didn't know about," older brother Bill Shields told 24 Hour News 8 before becoming aware of the arrest. "It's hard to say because I don't know."

Bill Shields said he didn't know why his brother was in the cemetery. He said no one in their family is buried there.

"It hurts me, but what can I say or do?" he said. "It's not going to change the fact. He's dead. He's gone. All we can do is live with his memories. And I believe my brother's had a very rough life."

Shields had an extensive criminal record, including convictions for felonies and criminal sexual conduct. He was listed on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry.

Shields lived for six months at Omega Life Alternatives in Grand Rapids. The pastor there, Eric Price, said Shields made his mark in more ways than one. He mowed the lawn and fixed things around the house.

"He came here with a willing heart, not just to hold a bed for him, but he came with a willing heart to really work and to serve. ... Whatever he can to help out things around here," said Price. "Robert tried to live a good life and I'm sorry that this had to happen."

Like Price, Bill Shields remembered his brother as a hard worker.

"He was a hard-working boy, I'll tell you that. He worked all the time," said Bill Shields. "I don't think he's hardly ever missed a day of work."

But Price he said he was aware there was another side to Shields.

"It came as a shock, but the company he was keeping, I've seen it happen before," said Price.

Price said he thinks Shields's friends may have been involved in drugs and perhaps that had something to do with his suspicious end, which he called a tragedy.

"He definitely didn't deserve this tragedy upon this life, no matter what he's done," Price said. "I wouldn't want anybody to suffer that way."

About a dozen officers and a K-9 unit were sent to the cemetery near Hall Street and Eastern Avenue around 7:15 a.m. They taped off a large section of the property and placed several evidence markers throughout the area as they searched for clues.

Police continue to figure out how Shields died and why he ended in the cemetery.

"It's a very large area. We want to be thorough and make sure we check the entire area to see if there's any evidence out there if in fact it is foul play," Grand Rapids Police Capt. Eric Payne told 24 Hour News 8 before the announcement that the death was homicide.

"It doesn't happen every day to have a body discovered in a cemetery, but we're processing it and we'll wait and see on the determination of the medical examiner whether or not it's foul play," he added at the time.

Police towed a van from the scene that family members confirmed to 24 Hour News 8 belonged to Shields. ..Source.. by Amanda Jarrett and Dani Carlson

Apartment Manager Found Dead In National City

5-15-2012 California:

Tenant Called Police After Finding Body

NATIONAL CITY, Calif. -- The manager of a small apartment complex in National City -- a man said to have been a child molester -- was found dead early Tuesday on his door step, with multiple signs of trauma to his upper body, police said.

A tenant of the complex in the 300 block of Norton Avenue told investigators he was walking by and found the victim about 1 a.m., according to National City police.

10News reports the man was found naked with multiple injuries to his upper body.

The victim's 1998 Chevy Suburban was missing, National City police Lt. Jose Tellez told reporters. He described the vehicle as possibly silver, with a California license plate No. 4ANE923.

Police withheld the victim's name, describing him only as being "middle-aged."

Neighbors told 10News the victim was a registered sex offender, picking out the man's photo on the Megan's Law website. Police did not immediately confirm the report.

Megan's Law shows a 54-year-old registered sex offender lives at 319 Norton Ave. According to the website, the man committed a lewd or lascivious act with a child under 14.

The suspect is considered armed and dangerous.

At this time, police do not have a motive for the murder. ..Source.. by 10News.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Slain man found naked in doorway of apartment

5-15-2012:

NATIONAL CITY — Police are investigating the stabbing death of a man who was found lying naked in the doorway of his National City apartment early Tuesday.

The apartment belongs to a registered sex offender, Enrique Atilano, 53, but police have not said if he was the slaying victim.

A tenant at the four-unit complex on Norton Avenue off East Fourth Street discovered the body about 1 a.m., said police Lt. Jose Tellez.

The man, who tenants said had been managing the building for the past few weeks, had multiple stab wounds to his upper back and was lying face down in a pool of blood, Tellez said.

Atilano’s 1998 Chevy Suburban was missing from the apartment. It was located in Paradise Hills about 1:30 p.m. on Dissinger Avenue near Kausman Street, Tellez said.

The SUV had been set on fire. Witnesses reported seeing two men hurriedly leaving the vehicle and getting into a white truck, Tellez said.

No further description of the truck nor the men has been released.

Tellez said there were signs of a struggle inside the National City apartment where the victim was found along with bloody clothes and a knife that may have been the murder weapon. Blood was found in every room and smeared on some walls.

Detectives were going door to door in the neighborhood, a mix of single-family homes and apartments, and talking to residents.

About mid-morning, a Toyota sedan was towed away from the apartment.

A woman believed to be the victim’s girlfriend arrived at the apartment just before 7 a.m. and ran past officers and under the yellow police tape to the apartment. Visibly distraught, she was escorted back outside by officers and taken to the police station to be questioned.

Tellez said police had no suspect information and no motive for the killing.

Atilano is listed on the Megan’s Law website as having been convicted of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14. No other information about him was immediately available.

Police have tentatively identified the man who was killed, but his name was being withheld until family could be notified. ..Source.. by Debbi Baker

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Man Accused of Killing Sex Offender Roommate Due in Court

5-29-2012:

CHULA VISTA (CNS) - A National City man accused of stabbing his sex offender roommate to death is scheduled to be arraigned at the South Bay Courthouse Monday.

Joel Gutierrez, 28, is charged with murder in the death of 53-year-old Enrique Atilano, who was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14.

A passerby found a wounded Atilano on his door step in the 300 block of Norton Avenue around 1 a.m. May 15, according to National City police. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Atilano and Gutierrez shared a unit in a four-unit apartment complex, police said. Gutierrez was arrested the next day. The motive for the slaying was unclear. ..Source.. by SanDiego6.com

Lawyer accused in neighbor’s fatal stabbing

8-31-2006 Connecticut:

Connecticut attorney suspected of killing over child-molestation suspicions

A lawyer climbed through a neighbor’s bedroom window and stabbed him to death after being told by a family member that the man had molested his 2-year-old daughter, authorities say.

Barry James, 58, was stabbed in the chest nearly a dozen times Monday. The lawyer, Jonathon Edington, 29, was charged with murder and burglary and was released on $1 million bail Wednesday.

Capt. Gary MacNamara said that police had not received a complaint about the child being assaulted before the killing, and “we have no indication it’s true or not true.”

Edington’s attorney, Michael Sherman, said the information came from Edington’s wife. “The daughter gave the mother information which was alarming and disturbing. The mom relayed it to her husband. That was the spark,” Sherman said.

James’ 87-year-old mother discovered his body. When officers went to Edington’s home, they found him standing by his kitchen sink with what appeared to be blood on him, and a large kitchen knife next to him on a counter, authorities said

“He’s in shock,” Edington’s attorney said. “This is the most unexpected turn of events one can imagine with this young man’s background.”

Police had gone to the neighborhood before, when Edington called to complain that he could see James through a window, police said. “Either he was partly clothed or revealed parts of his anatomy that were inappropriate,” MacNamara said.

Edington, a graduate of Syracuse University and Fordham University Law School, has been practicing patent law, Sherman said. Police said Edington has no criminal record.

Rita James declined to comment on her son’s death.

James served two days behind bars in 2001 on a drunken driving charge, according to the state Correction Department.

“He had some bizarre behavior over the last month,” said Darrell Maynard, a neighbor. “He drove his car through his garage, hit the other neighbor’s building.”

Another time a neighbor found James intoxicated on the street, Maynard said. James shouted obscenities at children, he said.

As for Edington, Maynard said: “Something had to happen that was terrible for this to have occurred.” Edington “seemed like a computer geek or something. He was not anybody you would ever feel you were threatened by.” ..Source.. by MSNBC

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lawyer gets 12 years for killing suspect

8-31-2007 Connecticut:

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A lawyer who stabbed his neighbor to death because he thought the man had molested his 2-year-old daughter was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter.

"It's a Shakespearean tragedy brought into the real world," Superior Court Judge Richard F. Comerford Jr. said at the sentencing. "Something was set into motion in this man's mind -- real or perceived. It was very real to him."

Jonathon Edington, 30, attacked neighbor Barry James, 58, in James' bedroom last year after his wife told him she thought James had molested their daughter. Officers said they found Edington washing the victim's blood off in a kitchen sink.

Fairfield police also investigated the molestation allegation and said they found no evidence to back it up. They said Edington's wife, Christina, refused to cooperate with the investigation of the slaying, and prosecutor Jonathan Benedict has said a defense psychiatrist determined she suffered from postpartum depression.

Jonathon Edington's attorney, Andrew Bowman, said Edington was not in his right mind when he cut through a window screen, climbed into the room and stabbed James 11 times.

"He is a good and decent man who suffered such a traumatic event in his life that he lost control," Bowman said, urging a more lenient sentence of five to eight years in prison.

Edington, a patent attorney, and his wife entered court holding hands. After the sentence was read, Edington, who had been free on bond, was handcuffed and led away as Christina Edington fell to her knees. The judge issued a 20-year sentence in a plea bargain, but suspended eight years of that, leaving 12 years to serve, plus five years' probation.

"He is extremely remorseful and takes responsibility for his actions as he has always done," Bowman said after sentencing.

James' parents, Rita and Charlie James, filed a victims' statement with the court saying, "We will never be the same." Rita James witnessed her son's stabbing.

"A terrible tragedy has happened for nothing, but it has destroyed all that we have," they wrote.

Also Friday, an attorney for the Jameses served Christina Edington with a wrongful death lawsuit, accusing her of triggering the stabbing and making up the abuse claim. A similar lawsuit is pending against Edington.

Christina Edington did not comment as she left the courthouse.

Benedict had asked the judge to impose the maximum 20-year prison sentence.

"I'm a bit disappointed," he said after the hearing. "To the judge's credit, it was a very difficult case, a tough call."

James' family also wanted the full 20 years.

"Many lives have been destroyed here," said Charlene Benoit, James' sister. "Twelve years is not nearly enough. I think it's a terrible injustice for my brother."

James' relatives said he was a good person who was kind to others and devoted to his elderly parents. They said the molestation claim was an outrage.

"As if taking his flesh was not enough, you went after his good name with your twisted accusations," Benoit said at the hearing, directing her comments toward Jonathon Edington. ..Source.. by Dave Collins

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Man guilty in Fairfield homicide offers no explanation

10-29-2010:

After stabbing his neighbor on a quiet Fairfield street 13 times after his wife told him the neighbor molested their young daughter, Jonathon Edington walked back to his house and calmly called 911.

"You need to send an ambulance to 101 Colony St.," Edington is heard calmly telling the emergency dispatcher on the 4-year-old recording that was played Thursday to a Bridgeport Superior Court jury. "You need to send police, too ... there has been a stabbing."

When the dispatcher pressed Edington to tell him who did the stabbing, Edington hung up.

But at the home next door, it was anything but calm.

"A man just stabbed my son!" screamed Charles James on the 911 tape when he found 59-year-old Barry James lying in a pool of blood on the floor. "It was some neighbor. What did he do this for?"

The 33-year-old Edington, a patent lawyer, later pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing Barry James on Aug. 28, 2006. However, he now is facing trial before a civil court jury as the James' family seeks to clear the victim's name.

Edington, a lawyer who despite evidence to the contrary, maintains that James molested his 2-year-old daughter, is representing himself and plans to testify before the six-member jury when the trial resumes Friday morning.

In opening arguments Thursday, Edington told the jury he has no explanation for stabbing his disabled neighbor to death.

"I wish I had an explanation of what happened. I have no explanation for you or for the James family," he told the jury in his opening statement.

But Richard Meehan Jr., who represents the family of Barry James, had no trouble explaining to the jurors why the plaintiffs feel they should find Edington responsible for the victim's death and order him to pay damages to the James' family.

"Barry James died at the age of 59. This man had no right to take his life," Meehan argued.

Meehan presented four witnesses in his case Thursday, Fairfield police Officers Gregory Gunter, Robert Chaisson and Frederick Hine, and James' sister Charlene Benoit.

Gunter said when he arrived at the Edington home, he saw Edington standing at the kitchen sink washing James' blood off his hands. "He was unemotional, as well as cool, calm and collected," the officer testified.

In addition to investigating James' death, Hine also said he investigated Christine Edington's claim that James molested their daughter.

Hine said they tested the little girl's bedding, her clothing and checked her bedroom window for James' fingerprints and turned up nothing. "No evidence of a sexual assault was found," he added.

Benoit testified her brother suffered from a heart condition and Type Two diabetes, and needed help to walk up stairs.

Meehan ended his case showing the jury a videotaped deposition or questioning session with James' 91-year-old mother, Rita.

In it, Rita James recalls walking into her son's bedroom to see Edington confronting him.

"He was saying something to Barry about his daughter," the frail woman recalled. Her son responded: "I don't even know your daughter," and then Rita James said she saw Edington pounding his fist over and over into the victim's chest. It wasn't until seconds later that she realized Edington was holding a knife in the fist. ..Source.. by Daniel Tepfer, Staff Writer

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Insurer won't cover Fairfielder who fatally stabbed neighbor

Oct. 27--BRIDGEPORT -- A Superior Court judge on Monday ruled a Fairfield lawyer, who fatally stabbed his disabled neighbor three years ago because he erroneously believed the man had molested his daughter, won't get help from his insurance company in the lawsuit filed against him by the victim's family.

Judge Richard Arnold, in a 19-page decision, stated USAA Casualty Insurance Co. is not responsible for any civil verdict against Jonathan Edington because of his policy's exclusion against intentional or criminal acts.

In August 2007, Edington pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, suspended after he serves 12 years, followed by five years probation, for fatally stabbing 59-year-old Barry James in his Colony Street home on Aug. 28, 2006.

Richard Meehan Jr., who represents the James family, said their lawsuit against Edington will head to trial in Superior Court next month.

"Judge Arnold's decision does not affect our lawsuit against Jonathan Edington, it just means his insurance company will not cover him" for any damages, Meehan said.

James, stabbed by Edington nearly a dozen times in the chest, was found by his 87-year-old mother, Rita, lying on the floor of his bedroom at 101 Colony St. in Fairfield, police said.

A short time later, officers went next door to the Edington house at 111 Colony St. and found the suspect at the kitchen sink, his hands and arms covered in the victim's blood.

Rita

Barry told police she was in her kitchen when she heard an argument erupt in her son's bedroom. She entered the room and saw a man climb in through the window, push her son to the floor and stab him repeatedly.

After the attack, the intruder jumped out the window, Rita James told police, adding that she saw the man run to the house next door.

The Edingtons, who were renting the Colony Street house, were vacationing in Rhode Island with family on Aug. 28, 2006, but Jonathan Edington returned home before his wife and two children. Police said when Edington got home, he received a call from his wife who told him their daughter, who was 2 years old at the time, had just told her that she had been abused by Barry James in their home and in his car.

Edington, apparently enraged by the call, ran to the James home and leapt through the window of James' first-floor bedroom and stabbed him to death.

Christina Edington had previously complained to Fairfield police that she could see James walking around the bedroom in his underwear from her kitchen window. Police went to the James home, and Barry James agreed to keep the blinds down in his room when he was undressed. After James' death and her husband's arrest, Christina Edington filed a complaint with police in which she claimed James had molested their daughter.

Fairfield police conducted an intensive investigation into Christina Edington's claims and determined it was improbable that James, who was diabetic and couldn't walk without leg braces, could have pulled himself up the 4 feet to the Edington daughter's window, crawl inside and molest the girl while her parents were home, as Christina Edington had claimed.

James' family later filed the lawsuit against Christina Edington, contending that her false accusations against James contributed to her husband's attack, but a judge threw out that suit. ..Source.. by AllBusiness.com

Police ID man killed on Santa Ana River Trail

12-30-2011 California:

ANAHEIM – A man stabbed to death on the Santa Ana River Trail, near the 91 freeway, has been identified as 42-year-old Lloyd Middaugh, police said Friday.

About 6:15 a.m. on Wednesday, a person exercising on the trail called police to report a person down between Tustin and Lakeview avenues, Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn said.

Police and paramedics responded to the trail and found a man, later identified as Middaugh, suffering from at least one stab wound, Dunn said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

"There is information that he lived under the freeway overcrossing but we are not certain," Dunn said, adding that there was no indication that Middaugh, who was about 6 foot 4 inches tall and about 300 pounds, had been moved.

The motive for the stabbing is under investigation, Dunn said, and the weapon was not found.

Detectives are investigating whether the incident is related to another fatal stabbing involving a transient on Dec. 21 at a shopping center in Placentia.

Middaugh was a registered sex offender, according to the Megan's Law online database. Police indicated that he was required to register after a crime that occurred more than 20 years ago in San Diego.

The popular Santa Ana River Trail stretches 30 miles along the Santa Ana River, from Huntington Beach to the Orange-Riverside county line.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on the stabbing to call 714-765-1900. ..Source.. by DENISSE SALAZAR / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arrest Made in Slaying of SoCal Homeless Men

1-15-2012 California:

Alert citizens chased a man down and led police to him in a Friday night attack of a homeless man in Anaheim

The man arrested in connection with the Friday night killing of a homeless man in Anaheim is being held as the main suspect in a month-long string of transient murders in Orange County.

"We are extremely confident that we have the man who is responsible for the killing of four homeless people," Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters said in a press conference Saturday afternoon.

Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, of Yorba Linda, is being held at the Anaheim Jail without bail, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Bob Dunn, a department spokesman.

Friday's stabbing was the fourth such killing of a homeless person in OC.

Officials will ask the District Attorney to pursue four counts of murder against Ocampo, Walter said during the press conference.

"This is great news to know that's been caught," Brad Olsen, brother-in-law of victim Lloyd Middaugh, told NBC 4. "Prayers have been answered. We feel blessed that it's over."

Middaugh was one of four homeless men killed in the area since December. James McGillivray, 53, was stabbed to death Dec. 20 near a Placentia shopping mall. Lloyd Middaugh, 42, was found on the Santa Ana River trail in Anaheim on Dec. 28. Paul Cornelius Smit, 57, was killed outside a Yorba Linda library on Dec. 30.

The latest victim, John, was killed after 8 p.m. Friday behind a Carl's Jr., at 3110 E. La Palma Ave.

The victim has not been identified, but locals called him “John” and believe he is a Vietnam War vet in his mid-60s.

Anaheim Deputy Chief Craig Hunter said the man arrested fits the description of a man wanted in three stabbing deaths - in Anaheim, Placentia and Yorba Linda - dating to Dec. 20.

“I saw (John) at CVS about a week ago and I started crying when he said he wanted to leave the area and I hugged him,” a woman told NBC4. “But then I saw him and I was so happy he was still here, but I've been busy and I didn't have time the last couple of days to say 'hi.'”

The suspect, chased away by some people who saw him running, was caught on La Palma about a quarter-mile away in next-door Yorba Linda.

Police were believed to be questioning more than two dozen witnesses, whom they recognized as "brave citizens" during the public meeting Saturday.

A task force of local police and the FBI had been set up to investigate three homeless men who were killed in December at the hands of what police believed was a serial killer.

A surveillance camera in Placentia captured images of the suspect, a thin man wearing a dark-hooded sweater, who may have been driving a four-door Toyota Corolla. ..Source.. by Jason Kandel and Samantha Tata

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Former Marine pleads not guilty to 6 murders

2-21-2012 California:

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Itzcoatl Ocampo, the former Marine accused of killing four homeless men and two other people, pleaded not guilty to charges on Tuesday.

During the hearing, Ocampo mumbled to himself and at times appeared to smirk. His own defense attorney said his client is mentally ill.

"He's cracked. He's ill. He's got a mind that is wounded. His mind is so fractured that I think it's hard for him to understand not only the gravity, but even where he is right now," said defense attorney Randall Longwith.

The 23-year-old is charged with stabbing four homeless men to death. The murders took place in Orange County over a three-week period starting in December. It ended with Ocampo's arrest as he ran from the scene of the fourth murder in Anaheim.

Ocampo is also charged with stabbing to death a mother and son in Yorba Linda last October. Unlike the homeless victims, authorities allege Ocampo knew 53-year-old Raquel Estrada and her 34-year-old son Juan Herrera through Estrada's younger son.

Family members of one of Ocampo's homeless victims, 42-year-old Lloyd Middaugh, came to court to see the suspect. Middaugh was found stabbed more than 40 times along the Santa Ana River Trail in Anaheim.

"I'm kind of sick to my stomach," said Marie Middaugh, the victim's mother. "I can't wrap my head around it. It just doesn't seem possible."

Longwith said he has not yet decided whether to use an insanity defense, but stressed that Ocampo was affected by his eight months in Iraq. While he did not see combat, his attorney said Ocampo drove a truck and would have to deal with wounded and deceased people.

Prosecutors have not yet said whether they will seek the death penalty. Ocampo is due back in court on March 9. ..Source.. by Eileen Frere

Authorities say woman stabbed Diamond Bar man to death before dismembering him

6-2-2011 California:

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A prosecutor said Thursday that the head and arms of a slain Diamond Bar man were recovered by police Wednesday in two large flower pots at a Bell Gardens house.

The victim, 63-year-old Samuel Wiggins Jr., was allegedly stabbed to death by his girlfriend, Carmen Montelongo of Riverside, then dismembered, authorities said.

Authorities believe both the killing and the dismemberment may have occurred at Wiggins' Diamond Bar home in the 23700 block of Meadow Falls Drive.

"Probably, but we can't be sure," said David Hidalgo, a supervising deputy district attorney in San Bernardino County.

Montelongo is accused of hiding Wiggins' head and arms in two separate flower pots that she delivered to a relative's home in Bell Gardens. She allegedly buried the rest of his body in the backyard of a relative's home in Ontario.

An autopsy was performed Thursday on Wiggins' remains. Based on the examination, a medical examiner found that Wiggins likely died from multiple stab wounds, said Deputy District Attorney Erica Gallegos, who attended the autopsy.

It also confirmed the body's identity through fingerprints, dentures and unique surgical scars, Gallegos said.

Montelongo was arrested Sunday in Ontario after she allegedly exhumed Wiggins' body in the backyard of a relative's home in the 700 block of North Holmes Avenue, then loaded the remains into a trash can.

Police arrested her after she wheeled the container about 200 yards through residential streets.

A cousin who lives at the Holmes Avenue address said this week that Montelongo may have buried the body about a month ago during what she said was a gardening project.

Hidalgo said police aren't certain of Montelongo's motive in her alleged killing of Wiggins. But he said it may have been for financial gain.

Montelongo used Wiggins' credit cards after his disappearance and was also in possession of his car, Hidalgo said.

When she was arrested, Montelongo told an officer that the body in the trash can was that of a man who assaulted her, according to a declaration from Ontario police Detective Al Parra contained in Montelongo's court file.

Montelongo's son and daughter were arrested at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of being accessories to Wiggins' killing.

Daniel Ortiz, 25, and Chanel Alicia Ortiz, 26, have not yet been charged by the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office, but they may be after police deliver reports to prosecutors about the siblings' alleged crimes, Gallegos said.

Daniel Ortiz allegedly helped his mother deliver the flower pots in early May to a relative's home in the 6700 block of Foster Bridge Road in Bell Gardens. One of the pots contained Wiggins' head, and the other contained his arms, Gallegos said.

Gallegos said she did not know Chanel Alicia Ortiz's alleged involvement.

At Wiggins' home on Thursday, his son, daughter-in-law and neighbors were loading a moving truck with the man's possessions.

His daughter-in-law, Michelle Wiggins, said Wiggins' landlord asked his family members to clear out the home as soon as possible.

Michelle Wiggins said that Samuel Wiggins was retired, and a former serviceman who fought in the Vietnam War.

"He was a good man that didn't deserve this," she said. "He was a great father and father-in-law. He's going to be greatly missed."

Wiggins lived in the Meadow Falls Drive home for at least 10 years, neighbors said.

A woman who lives in the neighborhood said she believes Samuel Wiggins and Carmen Montelongo met through the Internet. She said she was unsure how long they dated, though she said she believed it was a short time.

The neighbor, who asked to remain unnamed, said Montelongo and her daughter also lived in Wiggins' home for a brief period.

Montelongo appeared in West Valley Superior Court on Thursday for a brief hearing in which Deputy Public Defender Rebecca Taft was confirmed as her attorney.

Montelongo's only statement during the hearing was "correct," which she said in response to a question from Judge Michael Libutti about whether she wished to be represented by Taft.

Montelongo is in custody in lieu of $1 million bail. She was handcuffed during the hearing and her legs were shackled.

She wore orange scrubs, which indicate she's being housed in the general population area of West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Taft said during the hearing that she plans to visit Montelongo today. Taft withdrew Montelongo's request at her arraignment Tuesday for reduced bail.

Montelongo is set to return to court Monday. Her children may also be arraigned today or Monday if they are charged in the case, Gallegos said.

Authorities have given conflicting statements as to Montelongo's true name and age.

Montelongo has been identified in some police news releases as Montenegro, but a police spokesman said Wednesday that Montelongo is her true name and Montenegro is an alias.

In mail scattered in the suspect's frontyard in the 6200 block of Indian Camp Road in Riverside, she is identified as Carmen Montelongo. She is also a plaintiff in a lawsuit in San Bernardino County under that name.

Parra identified her as Montelongo in his declaration of probable cause.

Montelongo also uses two different dates of birth - one that makes her 51, and another that makes her 44 - and authorities have given conflicting statements about which they believe is her true age. ..Source.. By Will Bigham Staff Writer

------------------------------------------------------------------

Money, sex abuse possible motives in trash can body case, says San Bernardino County DA

6-3-2011 California:

Money and sexual abuse are two possible motives investigators are probing in the bizarre case of a Southern California woman charged with stabbing her ex-boyfriend to death, dismembering him and pushing his body parts down the street in a trash can, authorities said.

The San Bernardino County district attorney's office said Carmen Montenegro might have acted for financial gain in the killing of Samuel Wiggins Jr.

Investigators have surveillance video showing Montenegro, 51, using credit and ATM cards belonging to Wiggins after he disappeared on April 20, said David Hidalgo, supervisor of the district attorney's family violence unit. Montenegro also used the 63-year-old Wiggins' car in the days after his disappearance, he said.

Montenegro also told police that she had been sexually abused and authorities are also considering that as a possible motive, Hidalgo said.

Her public defender, Rebecca Taft, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Montenegro has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder and is being held on $1 million bail.

Authorities said she also has a criminal history under the name Carmen Montelongo, but charging documents in the current case list her last name as Montenegro.

An autopsy performed Thursday on Wiggins' remains determined he likely died from multiple stab wounds, Deputy District Attorney Erica Gallegos told The Sun of San Bernardino.

It also confirmed the body's identity through fingerprints, dentures and unique surgical scars, Gallegos said.

Montenegro was arrested Sunday at a house in Ontario, a San Bernardino County city 40 miles east of Los Angeles, after neighbors called police to say a woman was dragging what appeared to be body parts down the street in a 30-gallon trash bin.

Police found a torso and legs at the address, which was the home of some of Montenegro's relatives, and later discovered a head and arms in two large flower pots that Montenegro and her son delivered on Mother's Day to another relative's address in Bell Gardens, near Los Angeles.

The body parts all have been identified as Wiggins' and an autopsy was under way Thursday to determine how Wiggins was killed, authorities said.

Montenegro's two adult children were arrested late Wednesday on suspicion of helping their mother dispose of the remains.

Daniel Ortiz, 25, and Chanel Alicia Ortiz, 26, both of Riverside, were stopped in Rancho Cucamonga and could be charged as early as Friday, Hidalgo said.

It was not immediately clear if they had retained attorneys.

"It's hard to comprehend that someone could be so callous and pushing body parts down the street in a trash can like it was nothing," Hidalgo said. "She was desperate and she was looking for people to help her dispose of the body."

Authorities believe Montenegro killed Wiggins at his home in Diamond Bar, in Los Angeles County, and then transported the remains to her relative's home in Ontario, where she buried the body parts. She dug several deep holes and told relatives she was re-doing the garden, Hidalgo said.

Investigators have also discovered carpet at a home in Riverside where Montenegro was renting storage space, Hidalgo said. The carpet was in a large cardboard box that was used to deliver a sofa and is believed to have come from the victim's house, he said.

At some point, Montenegro uncovered the body and put the head and arms in flower pots that were delivered to the Bell Gardens address, he said.

A family member of Montenegro's, Matthew Bell, told The Sun that he saw Montenegro in a hole in the backyard of his grandmother's house on Sunday. He said he also saw her throw body parts in the trash can and that she offered him $5,000 to help dispose of the remains.

Bell said he instead went to call police and that Montenegro followed him with the trash can, still pleading for help.

She was arrested about 200 yards from the home. ..Source.. by Gillian Flaccus

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Money possible motive in US trash can body case

6-3-2011 California:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Money and sexual abuse are two possible motives investigators are probing in the bizarre case of a Southern California woman charged with stabbing her ex-boyfriend to death, dismembering him and pushing his body parts down the street in a trash can, U.S. authorities said.

The San Bernardino County district attorney's office said Carmen Montenegro might have acted for financial gain in the killing of Samuel Wiggins Jr.

Investigators have surveillance video showing Montenegro, 51, using credit and ATM cards belonging to Wiggins after he disappeared on April 20, said David Hidalgo, supervisor of the district attorney's family violence unit. Montenegro also used the 63-year-old Wiggins' car in the days after his disappearance, he said.

Montenegro also told police that she had been sexually abused and authorities are also considering that as a possible motive, Hidalgo said.

Her public defender, Rebecca Taft, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Montenegro has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder and is being held on $1 million bail.

Authorities said she also has a criminal history under the name Carmen Montelongo, but charging documents in the current case list her last name as Montenegro.

An autopsy performed Thursday on Wiggins' remains determined he likely died from multiple stab wounds, Deputy District Attorney Erica Gallegos told The Sun of San Bernardino.

It also confirmed the body's identity through fingerprints, dentures and unique surgical scars, Gallegos said.

Montenegro was arrested Sunday at a house in Ontario, a San Bernardino County city 40 miles east of Los Angeles, after neighbors called police to say a woman was dragging what appeared to be body parts down the street in a 30-gallon trash bin.

Police found a torso and legs at the address, which was the home of some of Montenegro's relatives, and later discovered a head and arms in two large flower pots that Montenegro and her son delivered on Mother's Day to another relative's address in Bell Gardens, near Los Angeles.

The body parts all have been identified as Wiggins' and an autopsy was under way Thursday to determine how Wiggins was killed, authorities said.

Montenegro's two adult children were arrested late Wednesday on suspicion of helping their mother dispose of the remains.

Daniel Ortiz, 25, and Chanel Alicia Ortiz, 26, both of Riverside, were stopped in Rancho Cucamonga and could be charged as early as Friday, Hidalgo said.

It was not immediately clear if they had retained attorneys.

"It's hard to comprehend that someone could be so callous and pushing body parts down the street in a trash can like it was nothing," Hidalgo said. "She was desperate and she was looking for people to help her dispose of the body."

Authorities believe Montenegro killed Wiggins at his home in Diamond Bar, in Los Angeles County, and then transported the remains to her relative's home in Ontario, where she buried the body parts. She dug several deep holes and told relatives she was re-doing the garden, Hidalgo said.

Investigators have also discovered carpet at a home in Riverside where Montenegro was renting storage space, Hidalgo said. The carpet was in a large cardboard box that was used to deliver a sofa and is believed to have come from the victim's house, he said.

At some point, Montenegro uncovered the body and put the head and arms in flower pots that were delivered to the Bell Gardens address, he said.

A family member of Montenegro's, Matthew Bell, told The Sun that he saw Montenegro in a hole in the backyard of his grandmother's house on Sunday. He said he also saw her throw body parts in the trash can and that she offered him $5,000 to help dispose of the remains.

Bell said he instead went to call police and that Montenegro followed him with the trash can, still pleading for help.

She was arrested about 200 yards from the home. ..Source.. by WFAA.com

Corpus Christi police make arrest in Thursday night killing

3-29-2011 Texas:

Man found dead Thursday night identified

CORPUS CHRISTI — A Corpus Christi man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder related to the death of a man last week.

Alfonzo Lee Soliz, 30, was arrested in San Antonio by U.S. Marshals working with the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force. Soliz also is known as Alonso Soliz.

He is accused of killing 41-year-old Barry James Holland, who was found Thursday night laying between two houses on Mestina Street.

Police announced the arrest in a news release. Soto’s bail was set at $100,000, according to Lt. Isaac Valencia.

No other details were released because of the ongoing investigation.

The Nueces County Medical Examiner has not ruled on a cause of death and police are investigating the case as a homicide.

Witnesses who found the body said he appeared to have been stabbed.

Court records show both men have criminal records that include convictions for child sex crimes.

Holland was sentenced in 1997 to five years in prison for sexual assault of a child.

At the time of his death, Holland was free on $50,000 bail related to a felony charge that accused him of failing to register as a sex offender.

His trial was set for next week.

Soliz’s record includes a 2000 conviction for sexual assault of a child along with aggravated robbery and burglary cases. ..Source.. by John Allen

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Soliz Given 30 Years for Mestina Street Murder

4-18-2012:

CORPUS CHRISTI - The man who stabbed another man to death by Corpus Christi City Hall last year is headed to prison for 25 years.

Alfonso Lee Soliz, 31, stabbed Barry Holland, 41, several times on Mestina Street in March 2011. Investigators say the two men were in a fight three days before Holland's murder.

Authorities had to track Soliz down in San Antonio afterwards. He recently entered a guilty plea and will be credited for time served. ..Source.. by KRISTV.com

Police: Man found stabbed was sex offender

9-17-2010 California:

San Bernardino police are probing whether this week's fatal stabbing of a transient had any connection to his status as a registered sex offender.

"We have nothing verifiable at this point," said Lt. Jarrod Burguan, "but we'd be remiss if we weren't at least looking into the possibility."

Javier Jesus Gonzales, 53, was found wounded inside his truck at Evans and F streets just before 7 p.m. Wednesday. He later died at local hospital.

Detectives determined that Gonzales had been fighting with two men in front of a home near 13th and F streets, about four blocks away, minutes earlier. Witnesses reported seeing one of the men stab Gonzales in the upper body, causing him to flee in his truck.

No arrests have been made. Gonzales is registered with the state as a result of a 1987 conviction of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, records show. He was required to check in with authorities once a month. ..Source.. by PE.com

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

---

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

---

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

Linda man's death ruled a homicide

7-29-2009 California:

Malmstrom died from stabbing, sheriff says

A Linda man whose body was found in his North Beale Road apartment was a homicide victim, Yuba County Sheriff Steve Durfor said Wednesday.

The body of Scott Dana Malmstrom, 47, was found Saturday at the Beale Star Apartments.

An autopsy Tuesday showed Malmstrom was stabbed with a sharp instrument, Durfor said.

The state Department of Justice positively identified the decomposed body through fingerprints.

"Investigators consider the case a homicide and believe there are additional witnesses who have not come forward," Durfor said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Tip Line at 530 749-7930. Callers may remain anonymous.

Department of Justice investigators are still processing evidence found at the scene, Durfor said.

Department spokeswoman Melanie Oakes said she could not comment on a possible motive or suspect in the case.

A Beale Star Apartments resident, Noreen Weems, said she saw Malmstrom uncharacteristically arguing with a man about five days before he was found dead. The other man, who had long, braided hair and appeared to be in his 40s, had been seen at the complex a couple of times before, she said.

The argument may have been over something in a brown paper bag that Malmstrom had just bought at a nearby liquor store where he was a frequent customer, said Weems.

Weems said Malmstrom once fixed her vacuum cleaner and used to walk her dog for her. He did not work and apparently received some type of public assistance, she said.

According to a California Megan's Law Web site, Malmstrom was also a registered sex offender who'd been convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 by force. ..Source.. by Rob Young

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Murder trial starts in 2009 Linda stabbing

7-13-2010 California:

Jury selection began today in the trial of a Marysville man charged with the July 2009 fatal stabbing of Scott Dana Malmstrom at a Linda apartment.

Todd Allen Cole Jr., 26, allegedly stabbed the 47-year-old Malmstrom 17 times. He is charged with first-degree murder.

Malmstrom's neighbors at the Beale Star Apartments, 1485 North Beale Road, called authorities after noticing a foul odor. According to testimony at Cole's preliminary hearing in December, Malmstrom's body may have been in his apartment for as long as five days in 90-degree-plus heat. ..Source..


Mistrial declared in Yuba County murder trial

7-23-2010 California:

A Yuba County judge declared a mistrial Friday in the second-degree murder case of Todd Allen Cole Jr. after jurors said they were "completely torn."

A prosecutor called the evidence against Cole "pretty compelling," but jurors deliberated two days without reaching a verdict.

Cole's fingerprints and footprints were found in the blood of victim Scott Malmstrom, whose decomposed body was found July 25, 2009, in his North Beale Road apartment.

Asked by Judge Kathleen O'Connor what the vote breakdown was without saying which way jurors voted, the jury forewoman said before O'Connor cut her off that there were 10 votes to convict Cole.

The forewoman declined comment as she left the courthouse, as did other jurors.

The lead prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney John Vacek, said Cole will be retried. A trial date is scheduled to be set Wednesday.

Cole's attorney, Chief Deputy Public Defender Brian Davis, and Deputy District Attorney Shiloh Sorbello met with jurors behind closed doors to discuss their votes.

Davis asked an Appeal-Democrat reporter to leave at the request of some of the jurors.

Jurors had the option of finding Cole guilty of voluntary manslaughter instead of second-degree murder, an option opposed by prosecutors, Sorbello said. But the issue that led to the hung jury was more of "who done it," he said.

The two jurors who voted not to convict apparently were not sure beyond a reasonable doubt that it was Cole in Malmstrom's apartment, not someone else, even though they didn't seem to have any particular person in mind, Sorbello said.

One witness said that shortly before Malmstrom's death, she saw him having an argument with a lanky, ponytailed Hispanic man. Cole told a fellow inmate in Yuba County Jail that he and his brother had stabbed a child molester.

Malmstrom was convicted of child molestation in Placer County.

Sorbello credited Davis with planting enough reasonable doubt in the minds of some jurors to cause the hung jury.

"He did what he needed to do," Sorbello said.

In his closing argument to jurors, Davis said state Department of Justice investigators should have taken more blood samples from the apartment. Some of the blood could have come from someone else, he said.

"Everything seemed obvious to them, so why go to the bother?" Davis said.

Malmstrom was stabbed or slashed 17 times. Blood was on the floor, walls and ceiling.

"No one knows beyond all doubt that happened in Scott Malmstrom's apartment. There are other ways this reasonably could have happened," Davis said.

The prosecution's case consisted entirely of circumstantial evidence — no witnesses, no videotape, he said.

Davis called one prosecution witness, Brian Brand, a white supremacist gang member, "a snitch. He didn't even have the guts to sit here in front of you and tell you what he has to stay," Davis said.

At a December preliminary hearing, Brand testified Cole talked to him in jail about stabbing a child molester. In the trial, he said he couldn't remember.

Vacek said Brand feared retaliation for being a snitch.

By talking to Brand, Cole may have been stupid or bragging or "a punk sucking up to the real deal" whose white supremacist gang, the Peckerwoods, might protect him in prison, Vacek told jurors.

Vacek acknowledged that evidence was largely circumstantial, including forensic evidence such as Cole's fingerprints and footprints in Malmstrom's blood.

"But it's a pretty compelling circumstantial case when you look at it," he told jurors.

Cole's fingerprints in Malmstrom's blood were found on the control rod for vertical blinds on the living room window, evidence that he didn't want anyone to see what had just happened, said Vacek.

"What other reasonable explanation is there" for the bloody prints, Vacek asked. "What reasonable person goes inside and wades in blood? Who sees this and doesn't call the cops?"

The struggle apparently was the most violent near the window and door, with blood spurting from Malmstrom's severed carotid artery, Vacek said.

A bloody knife blade, broken from its handle, was found near the window. That apparently happened when Malmstrom was stabbed in the back of the neck and the blade hit bone, he said.

When Malmstrom's body was found, the left pants pocket was turned out and he had no wallet. Malmstrom liked to flash a roll of cash, a Yuba County detective testified earlier. ..Source.. by Rob Young

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No retrial, defendant pleads no contest in East Linda slaying

8-25-2010

Facing retrial on a second-degree murder charge, Todd Allen Cole Jr. has pleaded no contest to the voluntary manslaughter of an East Linda man.

Scott Malmstrom was found stabbed and slashed to death July 25, 2009, at the Beale Star Apartments on North Beale Road.

Cole entered the plea Monday before Yuba County Judge Kathleen O'Connor and faces a 14-year prison sentence, said the lead prosecutor in the case, Deputy District Attorney John Vacek.

Vacek said Cole's knowledge that 11 jurors voted to convict him "may have softened him up a bit."

At the end of the July trial, a jury foreperson told the judge that 10 jurors had voted to convict.

"We were ready for a retrial when this came up" on Monday, Vacek said about the plea.

Malmstrom was killed "in the heat of passion," Vacek said.

"I never thought (Cole) went into the apartment with the intent of killing Scott Malmstrom. Something happened to set him off," Vacek said.

A pathologist testified that Malmstrom had 17 wounds on his body, including a slashed carotid artery. Blood was found on the floor, walls and ceiling.

Cole's fingerprints and footprints were found in Malmstrom's blood.

Jurors in the July trial had the option of convicting Cole of either second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter but deadlocked after two days of deliberation.

Some jurors thought someone else may have been involved in Malmstrom's death, Deputy District Attorney Shiloh Sorbello said at the time.

Earlier on the day he is believed to have been killed, Malmstrom, a convicted child molester, mentioned to Cole that they shared the same parole agent. Cole became angry, according to testimony.

A white supremacist gang member testified that Cole bragged in jail about killing a child molester.

Malmstrom was known to carry a roll of cash. His pants pocket was found turned out on the day his decomposed body was found.

The day after Malmstrom apparently died, Cole and his girlfriend had enough cash to move into an East Marysville apartment. The girlfriend and Cole's brother testified the cash came from other sources.

Cole is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 20. The 14-year sentence includes time for two prior convictions and for using a knife in Malmstrom's killing, Vacek said. ..Source.. by Rob Young