Candler death ruled a homicide

11-28-2012 North Carolina:

CANDLER — Buncombe County investigators have determined that a man found dead in a wooded area last week is the victim of a homicide, Lt. Randy Sorrells said Tuesday.

The Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in learning more about the death of Thomas Curtis Reese, 29, who was visiting the Asheville area from Florida.

“Sheriff’s investigators have talked with witnesses who saw Reese and companions in the West Asheville and Candler area prior to his death,” Sorrells said. “The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone who had any contact with Thomas Reese or may have seen him in the Asheville area to please call investigators.”

Residents cleaning up their property on Carrion Lane in Candler found the body around 11:45 a.m. Friday near the edge of their property line and called authorities. The Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and later deemed it a “a suspicious death investigation,” but declined to discuss the condition of the body when it was found.

Family members of Reese could not be reached for comment.

An autopsy was performed Monday, but Sorrells declined to release the cause of death. He also declined to talk about other details of the investigation, including whether authorities had a suspect. He said investigators were not aware of any disturbance in the area before the call from residents.

Seeking info

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Walt Thrower at 250-4449 or Crimestoppers at 255-5050.

Reese had a criminal history. He was a registered sex offender in Florida. He was convicted of sexual battery on a girl younger than 16 in June 2001, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

He committed burglary and grand theft in November 1999, according to online records from the Florida Department of Corrections. He was also charged with resisting an officer with violence in September 2000 and attempted burglary in January 2001.

He was incarcerated twice, according to online records. He was in prison from July 2001-January 2003 and again from December 2003-May 2010. ..Source.. by Citizen-Times.com

2 arrests in sex assault suspect murder

12-2-2010 Missouri:

(KMOV) -- News 4 sources confirm a man found shot to death Tuesday at Route 66 State Park near Eureka was the owner of a south St. Louis comic book store and suspect in the rape of a 13-year-old.

Police found the car owned by Kenneth McClure, 57, Wednesday morning in south St. Louis.

That car was seen in the area of where McClure's body was discovered.
McClure was supposed to be in court Tuesday morning for a hearing related to his rape charge, but he did not show up.

A State Park Ranger found McClure's body on the ground in an area near where Highway 44 and the Meramec River meet at Route 66 state park. He was shot in the back of the head.

Police are still looking for the shooter. ..Source.. by KMOV News4

UPDATE 12-2: News 4: 2 arrests in sex assault suspect murder

(KMOV) -- News 4 has learned 2 suspects have been arrested in the murder of Kenneth McClure.

His body was found Tuesday at Route 66 State Park near Eureka. McClure, 57, was the owner of a south St. Louis comic book store and suspect in the rape of a 13-year-old.

St. Louis County police say the two suspects were arrested Wednesday morning and booked on 1st degree murder charges and armed criminal action. The charges were taken under advisement by the St. Louis County Prosecutor's office and the suspects were released from custody.

McClure was supposed to be in court Tuesday morning for a hearing related to his rape charge, but he did not show up.

A State Park Ranger found McClure's body on the ground in an area near where Highway 44 and the Meramec River meet at Route 66 state park. He was shot in the back of the head.

Man found dead in St. Louis County was arrested for rape in October

ST. LOUIS • A man found dead in St. Louis County Tuesday was charged earlier this year in a statutory rape case and had been arrested after a standoff with police in October, a relative said.

The man's nephew identified the shooting victim found by St. Louis County police at Route 66 State Park as Kenneth McClure, 57, of St. Louis. His body was found a few hours after he missed an appearance in the court case against him.

McClure was involved in a standoff with police Oct. 28 after they showed up at the comic book shop he operated to arrest him on charges of statutory rape, assault and unlawful use of a weapon. He was accused of sex with a 13-year-old girl.

McClure had a weapon when police showed up at Legends Comics and Sports Cards, in the 5800 block of Hampton Avenue. He put the gun to his head at one point but later surrendered to police. He was charged with resisting arrest.

St. Louis County Police on Wednesday afternoon confirmed Kenneth McClure was the man found at the state park.

St. Louis police said a car seen leaving the park and found later in the city is linked to McClure. They said the license plate belonged to McClure, though they said it didn't appear the plate matched the car. McClure's nephew said McClure had recently put the plate on the Camaro to move the car from storage.

Police found the body at Route 66 State Park, near the Meramec River and Interstate 44, while responding to a call of shots fired about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The area is at the entrance of the old Times Beach community. A ranger saw the older-model, dark-colored Chevrolet Camaro leaving the area. St. Louis County police said the car was the victim's.

The man, who appeared to be in his 50s, had been fatally shot. A ranger found the body under a bridge on the north outer road, according to Rick Eckhard, spokesman for the St. Louis County police.

Police on Wednesday morning recovered the Camaro. The car was discovered after 6 a.m. Wednesday at Juniata Street and Ohio Avenue.

McClure posted bond and was released from jail Nov. 4. He was scheduled to appear in Judge Michael Stelzer's court Tuesday morning on the charges against him.

Just before the 9 a.m. hearing, McClure called his attorney, Jim Pree, and said he had car trouble, Stelzer said. They waited, but when he still didn't show up, Stelzer issued a warrant for his arrest.

"This is the first time I was waiting for a client and I found out he was murdered while I was waiting," said Pree.

McClure was the "nicest guy you'd want to meet," Pree said, and professed his "absolute, complete innocence," in the sex case.

His nephew, Everett "Sonny" McClure III, 30, said the last time he spoke to his uncle was shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday, when his uncle called him telling him to go to the comic book store to check on the alarm system that had been tripped. Everett McClure said he assumed his uncle was calling from the courthouse. When Everett McClure arrived at the store, he found a note from his uncle instructing him on how to sell the Camaro. The salutation in the note said, "Love you stay strong for me."

He said he found out later Tuesday afternoon that his uncle was likely the man found dead in the state park near Eureka.

"I feel like I got cheated out of my goodbye," Everett McClure said. "To get the last chance to say goodbye, to say how I felt."

Everett McClure said police questioned him at St. Louis County Police headquarters for nine hours before releasing him.

The charges against McClure in the case stem from incidents between June 2008 and June 2009, according to court documents. He was accused of sex with the girl, pointing a gun at her, and hitting her with a back scratcher and a fly swatter, all in the 5800 block of Hampton. That's where the comic shop is located and also where McClure lived. ..Source.. by FROM STAFF REPORTS

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[UPDATE] Kenneth McClure: Man Killed at Route 66 Park Was Comic Shop Owner Accused of Raping Teen

12-2-2010:

Update: St. Louis County police have questioned two people on suspicion of killing McClure. Otis Richmond, 32, and Angel Scheibel, 25, live in the 3400 block of Juniata in south St. Louis, just down the street from where McClure's Camaro was discovered yesterday.

The two were arrested and booked early Wednesday and later released. The St. Louis County prosecutor's office is determining whether or not to file charges of first-degree murder and armed-criminal action. Their mugshots appear below. ..Source.. by Chad Garrison

Court documents: homicide victims found lying in bed, shot in head

Posted in Related Deaths

11-8-2012 North Carolina:

Clyde and Ida Valentine were found lying in the bed of a back bedroom of her northern Charlotte home last week, dead from gunshot wounds to the head, according to a search warrant obtained by the Observer on Thursday.

Still, police have not said who they believe is responsible for the deaths. Clyde Valentine had tape over his mouth. Police say the case is classified as a death investigation and spokeswoman Officer Jessica Lawrence said investigators were not looking for a suspect.

Authorities said a man called police on Nov. 1 and said he’d found his parents’ bodies in the home on Swift Arrow Lane. The search warrant identified that man as Malcolm Valentine, who came to his the house after his girlfriend said she couldn’t get anyone to come to the door.

Records show the Valentines had divorced in 2004, and Clyde Valentine had remarried three years ago.

Officers at the scene told reporters they believe the deaths were domestic-related. But they would not comment about whether the deaths were related to child sex charges filed against Clyde Valentine earlier this year.

Clyde Valentine was arrested in June on three felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a child. In September, he was charged with one count of statutory rape. He was expected to appear in court Nov. 13 on the charges.

Detectives said during the summer that the charges against Clyde Valentine involved a relative, and not a student at Phillip O. Berry Academy where he once taught electronics. ..Source.. by Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

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Man found dead with wife had protection order against family member

A day after Clyde Valentine and his wife Ida were found in their home neighbors are still wondering what happened.

"It gave me goose bumps just to hear about it," said neighbor Darcy Farman.

The bodies were found Thursday inside the home on Swift Arrow Lane by the couple's son.

Details of trouble inside that home are starting to unravel.

A source confirmed to Eyewitness News that Clyde Valentine had a domestic violence protection order against a family member who was not his wife Ida.

Channel 9 also learned the protection order is probably related to an ongoing criminal case against Clyde Valentine.

Clyde Valentine was facing charges and accused of sex acts against a child.

Eyewitness News discovered the list of accusations against him dated back to 2003. He was fired, just Tuesday from his teaching job with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

A source told Eyewitness News the domestic violence protection order was issued after a family member was accused of assaulting Clyde Valentine. Channel 9 learned the fight may have been linked to the child sex allegations against him.

Police are not calling that family member a suspect in the deaths of Clyde and Ida Valentine.

Police are not saying how the Valentines died and they aren’t naming any suspects.

Neighbors said they want answers for the sake of the family and to make sure they are safe as well. ..Source.. by Tina Terry

Neighbors, family shocked at shooting death of 92-year-old Flint man

10-30-2012 Michigan:

FLINT, MI -- Police continue to investigate the shooting death Oct. 30 of a man believed to be the oldest homicide victim in recent memory.

Iris Gardner, 92, heard a knock on his door around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday at his home on Race Street near Myrtle Avenue, police said. When he opened the door, someone shot him once in the torso and fled the scene, police said. Police have no suspect information.

Flint Police Capt. T.P. Johnson said he can't remember an older homicide victim in his 27 years with the department.

"Obviously he was no threat to anyone," he said. "This was a random act of violence that did not have any rhyme or reason to it."

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said Gardner was one of the older homicide victims he's heard of during his time as prosecutor.

"It's terrible, just terrible," Leyton said. "It's very difficult to imagine how a 92-year- old was a threat to anyone."

Gardner's niece, Joann Cooper, 55, of Flint, said her family is shocked that her uncle would die that way.

"I never figured he would get gunned down in his own house," she said. "One part is anger, and the other part is grieving. It's like two emotions wrapped into one."

Detective Robert Dunham said police have very little information to go on and that the crime is disturbing.

"The worst thing about the whole thing is the people that did it aren't talking," he said. "They are out running the streets. If they are willing to kill a 92-year-old, who wouldn't they kill?"

Cooper said her uncle grew up during the Great Depression in a small town in Georgia. He would talk about being so poor that he had to walk to school in his bare feet during the winter, she said.

He came to Flint in the 1950s or 1960s and worked as a supervisor at a junkyard for 30 years, Cooper said. In his older age, he still remained active, continuing to drive, walk around in the neighborhood and do yard work, family said.

"If you would have saw him, you would have thought he was still 78," Cooper said.

He was a World War II veteran and a big fan of the Detroit Tigers who was excited about the team's recent playoff run.

Gardner did have a brush with the law. He was on the state sex offender registry for a 1993 conviction of misdemeanor criminal sexual conduct, fourth degree, according to records. He served 90 days in the Genesee County Jail. Cooper said his family maintains that he was innocent, and his accuser later recanted her story.

Neighbor Elois Thames, 26, said Gardner was a friendly man. She was upset that he would die in a violent manner.

"It's just senseless, he didn't bother anybody," she said.

Cooper said Gardner did not have any children and was the last surviving member of his siblings. Funeral arrangements are being handled at Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home.

In the meantime, his family will continue to grieve his death.

"It's like somebody ripped out your heart and took it," Cooper said. ..Source.. by David Harris

Death Of Convicted Sex Offender Under Investigation In Otero County

10-14-2012 Colorado:

The body of a registered sex offender was found inside a home outside La Junta Friday night, prompting officials to begin an investigation into the circumstances around his death.

Byron Griffy, 76, was a funeral home director in Fowler, Colo. prior to his 2011 arrest for sexually assaulting a child. Court records indicate Griffy pleaded guilty to the charge, and was sentenced in May of this year. He was put on strict sex offender probation.

The Otero County Sheriff's Office is investigating Griffy's death as suspicious, but will not say if they believe his death is related to his sex assault conviction. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation assisted in processing the scene.

The Sheriff’s Office says an autopsy is scheduled for early next week by the El Paso County Coroner's Office. ..Source.. by KKTV.com

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Cause of death released, family of Byron Griffy want him remembered for his lifelong kindness

New details today in the death of a Fowler man.

We've learned that Byron Griffy died from a gunshot wound to his head.

We spoke to those at the Otero County Sheriff Office who are investigating along with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Family members found Byron Griffy dead in a home on his farm one day before his 76th birthday.

"The circumstances surrounding the gunshot wound are still pending," said Otero County Sheriff Chris Johnson.

Griffy did plead guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child several months ago, but his family says too much focus has been placed on that.

"My sisters and I would like you to know that our father was a caring, compassionate, love man who spent his life taking care of others in their time of need," said Amy Griffy, Byron Griffy's youngest daughter.

Many in Fowler told us they always admired Griffy and do not believe he was guilty.

"God knows it," said JH McCuistion, a close friend of Griffy. "He knows the truth of this whole thing, and I feel the same way God does."

Close friends believe he only pled guilty for a lesser charge, so he would be able to see his family more often.

"There will never be anybody to change my mind that Byron Griffy was one of our greatest men to help in our community of Fowler," said McCuistion.

Griffy was described around town as a funeral director who was so giving, those who couldn't afford a funeral had one for free.

He was also President on the school board for many years and always sent a lot of flowers to people in town.

"I had a little surgery a time or two," said McCuistion. "You know, I didn't even tell him I was going to have it, but he found out and he brought me a plant."

Sheriff Johnson says nothing at this time connects Griffy's death to his recent plea.

"We're still investigating," said Sheriff Johnson. "It's still early in the investigation. We're talking to a lot of people." ..Source.. by Lacey Steele

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Man Pleads Not Guilty In Murder Of Convicted Sex Offender

5-3-2014:

A Canon City man has pleaded not guilty in death of a convicted sex offender.

Anthony Wright, 43, will go to trial in September for the 2012 death of former funeral home director Byron Griffy. An autopsy showed Griffy died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Griffy, 76, was a funeral home director in Fowler, Colo. prior to his 2011 arrest for sexually assaulting a child. Court records indicate Griffy pleaded guilty to the charge, and was sentenced in May the following year. He was put on strict sex offender probation.

He was found shot to death five months later.

Wright has maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty to first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder on Thursday. He is out on a $250,000 bail. Wright will go to trial in September.

Wright and Griffy knew each other through the funeral home business. ..Source.. by KKTV.com

Sheriffs office releases name of homicide victim

9-24-2012 New York:

KILL BUCK — The Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office late Sunday morning released the name of the deceased in a Friday night shooting at a Route 417 residence in the Hamlet of Kill Buck.

Henry Francis Ackley, 58, of 6263 Route 417, was killed around midnight Friday at the hands of a still-unidentified gunman. Cattaraugus County Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb told the Times Herald his department was following up on leads around the Olean area on Sunday.

It was unclear if a motive or any other circumstances surrounding the alleged shooting had been determined.

“We’ll be looking into persons of interest in (Olean) here Sunday — around the city I should say,” Sheriff Whitcomb said outside the New York State Troopers Barracks in Olean around 11 a.m. Sunday. “But we are releasing the identity of the victim.”

The sheriff formally announced the wrongful death was indeed a homicide involving a firearm. He was unable to provide further details, however, as they could potentially compromise the investigation.

“We’re just confirming there was a homicide at that address sometime before midnight on Friday night,” Sheriff Whitcomb said. “We’re aggressively pursuing leads.

“Any of the other details of what exactly we’re working on, we’re keeping those close to the collar right now. Just for the continuity of the investigation, we’re being careful about what we release.”

When asked if he could say how close law-enforcement agencies were to making an arrest, Sheriff Whitcomb wouldn’t venture a guess.

“I hope we’re close,” he said. “I’m optimistic.”

Mr. Ackley’s neighbor told a Times Herald editor Saturday afternoon the deceased was a helpful neighbor who often kept to himself.

“He would do anything for you,” said the neighbor, who spoke on a condition of anonymity. “If I needed help with anything, he’d help.”

Authorities said the homicide is not believed to be connected to Mr. Ackley’s 1986 conviction for a sex offense.

According to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Mr. Ackley was convicted of first-degree sodomy, a class B felony, in 1986. He was released from Orleans Correctional Facility in 1991 on parole. He is not listed on the state Sex Offender Registry, which is reserved for Level 2 and 3 offenders — those considered a higher risk to the community.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office at (716) 938-9191. ..Source.. by Kelsey Boudin Olean Times Herald

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Homicide victim was a registered sex offender

The man shot and killed late Friday in this Cattaraugus County hamlet has been identified as 58-year-old Henry F. Ackley, sheriff's officials reported.

The shooting death occurred shortly before midnight at a home on Route 417.

Sheriff's officials have released no other information on the killing but The Buffalo News confirmed through state prison records that Ackley served about six years at the Orleans Correctional Facility for a 1985 first-degree sodomy conviction in Cattaraugus County.

Because of that conviction, Ackley was a state-registered sex offender who had to alert police agencies about his home address and if he planned to move. Whether his killing was related to his criminal history was a topic the Sheriff's Office would not discuss.

Ackley's last obligations to the state prison system over his conviction expired in December 1994, records show. ..Source..

Paralyzed Chicago Heights man shot, killed during argument

7-31-2012 Illinois:

A paralyzed Chicago Heights man who was a registered sex offender and had an extensive criminal record was shot and killed Monday night during an argument at his home, police said.

Kevin Allison, 42, was found slumped in his wheelchair in the driveway of his home in the 500 block of Concord Court with a single gunshot wound in his head, police said.

Allison was pronounced dead at 9:44 p.m. at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

A source said Allison had been arguing with people when someone shot him.

No one was in custody as Tuesday. The South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force is assisting in the investigation.

According to the Illinois State Police sex offender information website, Allison was convicted of aggravated criminal sex abuse/bodily harm in Cook County when he was 27. His victim was 38 years old.

And court records show he had an extensive criminal record dating to 1991.

Some of the past charges included aggravated battery, aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, battery, resisting a police officer, criminal trespassing, assault and robbery. He served time in jail for several offenses, according to court records. He was charged with battery and resisting arrest June 25.

Neighbors on Tuesday didn’t deny that Allison had his problems and, as one said, “a tough life.”

But several agreed with neighbor and friend Emma Edmond, who called Allison “a good man and didn’t deserve this.”

Edmond said Allison was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot about 15 years ago. She’s floored someone would shoot a man in a wheelchair.

“This should have never happened,” she said.

Allison, nicknamed Kevo, moved into the Beacon Hill neighborhood from Harvey three years ago, she said.

“He brought a lot of joy to Concord,” she said. “Kevo, there was something special about him. You know, he talked a lot of (trash) but he didn’t mean no harm.”

“I used to take him to the medical supply place to get him things for his wheelchair. I used to go grocery shopping for him. I used to cook for him. I used to give him cold water when he’d be riding through here. He called me Mama Emma,” she said.

“I don’t know why, but I took to him. If he was out here getting into it with some person, I could tell him, ‘Kevo, shut your ... mouth. Get your [butt] home.’ And he would listen to me,” Edmond said. “But I wasn’t there (Monday) night. I was in the house watching TV.”

Latrisha Bell said she last saw Allison shortly before he died.

“I walked him down (to his house) and 15 minutes later, I heard one pop and I saw all the cops flying down the street,” Bell said. ..Source.. by y STEVE METSCH Sun-Times Media

Arlington death investigated as manslaughter

7-12-2012 Washington:

ARLINGTON -- Detectives believe the death of an Everett-area man in Arlington last month could be a potential case of manslaughter.

Martin Pickett, 48, died after some kind of altercation in a parking lot in the 16800 block of Smokey Point Boulevard, police said.

A passerby spotted Pickett's body about 5:30 a.m. June 30.

He was lying in a pool of blood, and appeared to have a serious head wound, according to a search warrant filed recently in Cascade District Court.

Pickett and two other homeless men had been hanging out in the lot the night before he was found, court papers show.

Police dispatchers received a 911 call for a noise complaint in the area about 11 p.m., Arlington city spokeswoman Kristin Banfield said Wednesday.

A patrol officer responded and told the men they could not drink in public and that they needed to quiet down. The men agreed to do so, and the officer left.

Detectives have interviewed the two other men who were there that night, Banfield said.

They believe Pickett had been involved in some sort of struggle with one of them, Nial G. Harris, 52, shortly before Pickett died.

No arrests have been made in the case. Investigators are awaiting autopsy and toxicology reports from the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office. Those reports likely will shed light on the circumstances surrounding Pickett's death.

Pickett had significant criminal history in Snohomish County dating back to 1982.

As an adult, he had seven felony and 27 misdemeanor convictions. Most of the misdemeanors were for unlawful camping, trespassing and possessing drug paraphernalia.

He also was supposed to register as a sex offender for a first-degree rape conviction in 1987.

Pickett had been arrested in Marysville as recently as April, when prosecutors alleged that he assaulted a woman after they were drinking together underneath a bridge.

They alleged that Pickett struck the woman in the head with a rock after she declined his sexual advances. ..Source.. by Rikki King, Herald Writer

Daughter fears sex offender's killing was a case of vigilante justice

6-10-2012 Virginia:

DINWIDDIE - When Donald Olynn Cook, a repeat sex offender who twice pleaded guilty to assaulting teenaged boys, asked his daughter for another chance this year, she said yes.

Weeks later, the 23-year-old finds herself mourning the loss of a father shot dead before she could re-learn how to love him.

"I was trying to get back to that faith I had in him when I was growing up, but here we are," said Anna Cook, sitting beside a wilting white rose bush that he gave her for her birthday last month.

The gift would become Cook's last grand gesture, given in a fleeting moment of calm between two tragedies that befell the 53-year-old McKenney man this spring. The first destroyed his home. The second ended his life.

It was a life that his daughter says he had been working to reclaim after spending decades in the shadow of actions that she fears may have emboldened a vigilante.

"He made his mistakes, yes, but he paid for it," Cook said. "He was a human, he didn't deserve to be gunned down like a dog."

Donald Cook was found shot to death beside his vehicle on a remote stretch of Cherry Hill Road near the Brunswick County line on May 22. He was pronounced dead at the scene when Dinwiddie County deputies arrived just after 4 a.m. He had just moved to a home in Dewitt after lightening struck his longtime residence on Cutbank Road in McKenney, minutes from where he was killed.

The Richmond native had lived in Dinwiddie for 25 years, but electrical contract work took him out of state on a regular basis. The last time he came home from a job, he called his daughter and offered to help her out around the house. Cook uses a wheelchair and said that she was grateful for his assistance.

They spoke several times in the weeks leading up to his death. The last time she saw him, he appeared to be troubled, which was not uncommon.

"He was in an unsettled mood like he gets sometimes and I told him that if he needed anything to just give me a call," she said. "He never did."

Cook was waiting on a return call from him when her grandmother told her that he was dead. She dropped the phone.

"My first thought was that he must have had a heart attack," she said. "He weighed 260 pounds and didn't take good care of himself."

As more details emerged, Cook vowed not to cry until he has been laid to rest and his killer has been apprehended. She said that she wants to be strong for him and plans to keep fighting until his murder has solved.

"It wasn't right for someone to try and take justice into their own hands," she said.

Cook's penance for past crimes ended in April 2009 in the eyes of the law, when he was released from probation after completing court-ordered sex offender treatment with Scott Huisman at the Center for Psychological Assessment and Therapeutics. Cook was ordered to check in for roughly three years following the completion of a two-year active prison term at the Lawrenceville Correctional Center, according to court records.

He was sentenced in 2005 to serve 15 years with 13 suspended after pleading guilty to the aggravated sexual battery of a boy between the ages of 13 and 15. Court records show that Cook admitted himself to the psychiatric wing of CJW Medical Center in Richmond less than 48 hours after the assault.

He was sentenced to five years in prison with four years, four months suspended in 1998 after pleading guilty to taking indecent liberties with a 15-year-old boy. Case records from the assault cite a previous conviction for sexual battery.

Cook's daughter says that she does not want her father's past crimes to undermine the investigation into his slaying.

"I don't want him to become just another statistic, because he's not a name on the list. He was someone's father. He was my father," she said.

Dinwiddie Sheriff's spokesman Maj. William Knott declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation. ..Source.. by K. BURNELL EVANS (STAFF WRITER)

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Investigators search for clues in Dinwiddie’s first homicide of 2012

5-23-2012:

DINWIDDIE, Va. (WTVR) – Officials have released the name of a man found dead in the road near the Nottoway River in Dinwiddie County.

According to the Dinwiddie County Sheriff’s Office, 53-year-old Donald Olynn Cook, of the 15000 Block of First Street in Dewitt, was found Tuesday around 4:15 a.m. on Cherry Hill Road and the Brunswick County line.

Investigators said gunshot wounds were found on Cook’s body and that his death is being investigated as a homicide.

Cook’s death marks the county’s first homicide of 2012.

The man’s daughter, Anna Cook, talked with CBS 6 News senior reporter Wayne Covil Wednesday.

Cook said that her father lived within a few miles of where he was found dead until a few months ago. That was when he was forced to move after a lightning strike destroyed his home.

“Despite the fact he had his own problems… he was a human and he was a good man,” said Cook. ..Source.. by Wayne Covil and Nick Dutton

Few details released in homicide probe

6-8-2012 Ohio:

STEUBENVILLE - City Police aren't releasing many details about a homicide inside an apartment off Sunset Boulevard.

Police reported officers were called to Apartment 9, 2518 Sunset Blvd. Thursday morning and found the body of Travis M. McIntyre, 31, who had recently moved to the apartment. The call came in as a possible drug overdose.

Police Capt. Joel Walker said police aren't sure how long McIntyre had been dead.

"This is an ongoing homicide investigation," he said.

County Coroner Dr. Michael Scarpone was called to the scene. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation also was at the apartment checking for evidence. Jefferson County Prosecutor Jane Hanlin also was present.

The body was taken to the Cuyahoga County coroner's office for an autopsy.

McIntyre was sentenced to two years in prison in 2009 for two counts of having a weapon under disability in connection with a shots fired call on Franklin Avenue.

City Police were investigating a report of shots being fired from a moving vehicle in September 2008 on Franklin Avenue. Officers were given a description of the vehicle and stopped it on North Fourth Street and two men took off running through yards. One man was caught, but McIntyre initially escaped.

Officers found four shell casings in the area of the shooting.

The county prosecutor's office dismissed the felonious assault charge.

McIntyre wasn't allowed to have a gun because of a 1998 gross sexual imposition conviction in Athens County. As a result, McIntyre was a registered sex offender.

McIntyre registered the new address with the county sheriff's department on May 30. ..Source.. by MARK LAW - Staff writer

Mentally ill man shot to death in east Bakersfield Tuesday

4-24-2012 California:

Relatives said a man who was gunned down on Irene Street Tuesday night was mentally ill and never bothered anyone as he strolled the east Bakersfield neighborhood.

Bobbie Hawkins said her son, Telon Hester, was shot shortly after they left a recycling business that was closed. Hawkins went to a relative's house on King Street and Hester went to look for more cans, Hawkins said. She was at the house with a friend when she heard three gunshots.

"When I came, I didn't see nothing but my son just laying there," Hawkins said. She said she stayed at the other end of the street because she couldn't bear to go closer to her son.

Hawkins said Hester's death comes just about three weeks after her other son, Donte Hester, died. Hawkins and her sister, Carolyn Cooper, said Donte Hester was shot about a year and a half ago in the same neighborhood where his brother was killed, resulting in health complications. Hawkins said the shootings were not connected as far as she knew.

"Ain't too much I can do, you know, but try to be strong," Hawkins said.

The Kern County Sheriff's Department was called to the 700 block of Irene Street for a report of a victim of a shooting just before 5 p.m., sheriff's department spokesman Ray Pruitt said.

Deputies found Telon Hester, 33, lying in the road with major injuries from several gunshot wounds, deputies said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives are investigating the shooting as a homicide and were looking for witnesses Tuesday night, Pruitt said.

"At this point we don't know or have a motive for the shooting," Pruitt said. Deputies did not have any suspects and did not know if the killing was gang-related, he added.

Hester lived in an apartment on Knotts Street with his mother and other family members, according to Hawkins. She asked neighbors to look out for Hester because he had a mental problem, Hawkins said. He would get out in the street and "yell and holler" and talk to himself, his mother recalled, but she said he didn't have problems with anyone.

"He just stayed at his house (and) looked for cans," Hawkins said.

Kern County Superior Court records list more than a dozen cases under Telon Hester's name and year of birth. The court records showed Hester had been convicted of charges including obstructing/resisting a public officer, peace officer or emergency medical technician, failure to register as a sex offender and possession of a controlled substance. ..Source.. by Bakersfield.com

Man shot to death in Beaufort County

4-10-2012 South Carolina:

BEAUFORT, S.C. Sheriff's deputies are investigating the shooting death of a man about 10 miles northwest of Beaufort.

Deputies were called to a home in the Seabrook community about 2 p.m. Tuesday and found 23-year-old Octavis Moultrie of Beaufort. He was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Deputy Coroner David Ott says an autopsy is planned at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Beaufort County sheriff's Sgt. Robin McIntosh says investigators don't know what led to the shooting. McIntosh said officers are not getting much cooperation from those who live in the area.

No suspects have been identified. ..Source.. by The Charlotte Observer.

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Seabrook shooting victim once among county's most wanted

4-11-2012 South Carolina:

A 23-year-old Burton man shot to death Tuesday outside a home in Seabrook had several previous run-ins with local law enforcement and was once among the county's "most wanted," according to authorities.

Octavius Moultrie, known to his friends and family as "Tavis," was arrested three times in the past five years and accused of crimes ranging from attempted murder to misdemeanor drug possession. Included is a 2007 rape charge that landed him on the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office's "most wanted" list, county court records show.

Moultrie was charged with rape and kidnapping in 2007 after a Varnville woman accused him of sexually assaulting her at knifepoint. A jury found him not guilty in 2009, according to court records.

Moultrie was charged last year with attempted murder after witnesses said he fired a shotgun toward a man in a car in 2010 on Poppy Hill Road in Burton. No injuries were reported. The charge was dismissed after a grand jury did not indict him, according to court records.

In January, Moultrie pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor drug offenses and was sentenced to probation.

Moultrie was found shot Tuesday outside a home on Fawnwood Lane and later died at Beaufort Memorial Hospital, according to the Beaufort County Coroner's Office. Authorities have declined to say where and how many times Moultrie was shot. ..Source.. by PATRICK DONOHUE

Coloorado Sex Assault Suspect Killed

6-3-2009 Colorado:

Sometimes all we have is a News Video which is the case here. So we post it and hopefully someday find further information on the person mentioned. This one has been very elusive, so if anyone can find anything please let us know where.



Colorado authorities say a man found shot to death in a park earlier this week was facing child sexual assault charges. Investigators say they haven't ruled out his accuser or her family as suspects in the case. (June 3)

Murdered Libby man was a registered sex offender

Why would the Sheriff make that comment, esp. when it is unknown who did kill him and why?

3-22-2012 Montana:

LIBBY- The Libby man found who authorities say was murdered in his van in the lower Yaak River area over the weekend was a registered sex offender in Lincoln County.

Ernest Judd, 69, was convicted of one count of sexual assault to a 10-year-old female in 2006 and was designated as a Level 2 offender, meaning there was a moderate risk of a repeat sexual offense.

His body was found in his van in the lower part of the Yaak River area on Sunday and the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department says he suffered fatal injuries from blunt force trauma to his body.

Sheriff Roby Bowe says at this time there seems to be no connection between the murder and Judd's sex offense. ..Source.. by KAJ18.com

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Yaak Valley Murder Victim Identified, Was A Registered Sex Offender

The death of a Libby man in Northwest Montana's Yaak Valley over the weekend has sent the tight-knit community into a state of disbelief.

"We had no idea that this guy had gotten killed up there," said Libby resident Kevin Martin.

69-year-old Ernest Judd was found in his minivan on Sunday and had been beaten to death.

"I have known Ernest for little over a year now and he's come in and out of the store," explained fellow resident Lisa Block, "He was always quiet when he came in, kept to himself. I don't... I'm just kinda shocked with what has happened."

But Judd had a tainted past - court documents reveal that he pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl in 2006 and was released from Montana State Prison after serving only 6 months of a 10 year sentence. Locals who knew him say his past did not matter.

"I'm not gonna judge him," continued Block, "he served what was put down by the judge as far as I know, I'm not gonna judge him. It's not my place."

Sheriff Robe Bowe says there's no obvious link between Judd's criminal past and the murder, but locals say they hope justice is served.

"That'll definitely be up to the judge and the jury to decide," said Martin, "all that and questions and everything. And hopefully we'll get some answers and know exactly what happened."

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Department says the homicide is currently under investigation. ..Source.. by Rebecca Vogt, KCFW Reporter

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Suspected murder victim identified

The 69-year-old man found dead of blunt force trauma in his minivan in Lincoln County has been identified as Ernest Cleon Judd of Libby.

Judd and his vehicle were found by a passing driver at about 2 p.m. Sunday in the lower part of the Yaak River area on a gravel U.S. Forest Service road. Initially investigated as a suicide, Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe reported Tuesday that the department now believes Judd was murdered.

According to the Montana Department of Justice’s Sexual or Violent Offender Registry, Judd is a tier 2 registered sex offender. He was convicted in 2006 of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl the year before.

His tier 2 assignment means he was deemed to have a moderate risk of being a repeat sexual offender.

Bowe said his department is aware of Judd’s history, but that there is currently no indication that it has anything to do with his death.

Bowe also addressed a rumor that Judd had recently won a sizable amount of money at a casino, which could have been a possible factor in a murder.

“We’re following all those leads, and as of right now we can’t pin that as a motive either,” Bowe said. “We’ve heard the same rumors, and all they are right now are rumors.” ..Source.. by JESSE DAVIS, The Daily Inter Lake

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Lincoln County death investigated as murder; victim identified

Authorities in Lincoln County have released the name of a man whose body was found in a minivan along the Yaak River last weekend, and continue to investigate the death as a homicide.

Ernest Judd, 69, of Libby, died of blunt force trauma, Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe said Friday. His body was found March 18 in a minivan parked on a Forest Service road in the lower Yaak River area.

The death was originally thought to be a suicide, but Bowe said further investigation revealed that it was a murder.

“As of right now, we don’t have any motive,” Bowe said. “We don’t have any inclination at all why this person or persons did this to him.”

Bowe said investigators have spoken with people who knew Judd, and who reported that the man recently won a substantial amount of money at a casino. However, the amounts have varied between $700 and $1,700 and Bowe has not verified the winnings.

“There is speculation that he won money at the local casino, and we are following up on all those leads right now,” Bowe said. “Right now we haven’t confirmed anything, and we are just trying to determine what is true and what’s not.”

Investigators have also taken into account the fact that Judd has a criminal history, but Bowe said nothing so far indicates the murder is connected to the victim’s past legal troubles.

The state Sexual or Violent Offenders Registry lists Judd as a tier-2 registered sex offender. He was convicted in 2006 of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl the year before.

“There is no indication right now that his criminal past has anything to do with this,” Bowe said.

The Montana Department of Criminal Investigations is assisting with the case, and Bowe said the Montana State Crime Lab is processing forensic evidence. So far, there are no suspects.

Judd’s death marks the fourth murder investigation by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in four months, and the only one without an arrest or a suspect.

In December, Kristina Lynn Welch was arrested for the shooting death of her husband, Charles Welch. Then in January, Dale Kinniburgh Jr., 51, killed himself after reporting to police that he had murdered his wife, Catherine Kinniburgh, 55.

Days later, James Bonifas, 75, was arrested for the death of his daughter, 41-year-old Suzanne Campbell.

Bowe said the string of deaths has kept the department busy, but detectives are fully committed to solving the most recent homicide case.

“We are going to take it slow and careful and find out who did this,” he said. ..Source.. by Tristan Scott

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Man, 69, killed; identified; was known sex offender

The Western News on Tuesday learned the identity of the 69-year-old man who was found dead in a vehicle in the lower Yaak is Ernest Cleon Judd of Libby.

Earlier Tuesday, a press release from Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe confirmed the death was determined to be a homicide. However, Bowe did not confirm Judd as the victim, whose body was found about 2 p.m. Sunday.

The Western News learned Judd’s identity independently.

Bowe’s updated statement about the investigation revealed the deceased died of blunt-force trauma to the back of the head. The deceased was found in his minivan.

“The problem is we have not been able to notify his next of kin,” Bowe said. “Sometimes, families are tough to locate, and I don’t know when we might be able to do that.”

Conceding to next-of-kin concerns, The Western News has agreed to not post the news of Judd’s slaying on its Website www.thewesternnews.com until the geographically distant family members are notified by the Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff Bowe was asked whether he could confirm the deceased recently won a sizeable amount at a casino.

Bowe, who stated his department is continuing its investigation, is looking into reports that the deceased boasted about recent winnings — talk that could have made him a target.

“… We’ll be pursuing that,” Bowe said.

The deceased’s body was taken to the Montana State Crime Laboratory where the cause of death was determined, clearing the way for the homicide investigation.

Judd’s slaying is the fourth such homicide in recent months, dating back to December when Kristina Welch allegedly shot her husband, Brian Charles Welch, in their home. Subsequent deaths of Dale and Catherine Kinniburgh, in a murder-suicide in which Dale killed his wife on Jan. 3 before turning the gun on himself.

Three days later, James Bonifas alledgedly shot his daughter, Susanne Campbell, in their home.

In those cases, police had immediate suspects.

Judd’s alleged killer or killers is still at large.

According to the Montana State Web site, Ernest Cleon Judd is a registered sex offender. Judd’s physical description listed him as a 5-foot, 9-inches tall, with blue eyes and white hair. He reportedly weighed 295 pounds. ..Source.. by Western News

Sex Offender Found Shot Dead In Car

3-7-2012 North Carolina:

EDWARD -- A convicted sex offender was found dead in Beaufort County, and deputies there are treating it as a homicide.

Bobby Ray Buck, 33, was found shot at what was at first believed to be the scene of a car accident.

Buck is listed in the N.C. Department of Corrections website as a convicted and registered sex offender. Buck was convicted of indecent liberties with a minor in 2004, according to records.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call early morning Wednesday reporting a motor vehicle accident on Minor Run Road in the town of Edward. First responders from Aurora Fire and EMS responded to the scene and discovered a man in a car with what appeared to be a gunshot wound. Deputies responded to the location and secured the scene with the assistance of the Aurora responders.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office at (252) 946-7111 or Beaufort County Crime Stoppers at (252)974-6400. ..Source.. by WCTI Staff

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Man Murdered In Beaufort County

3-7-2012 North Carolina:

A man is dead after deputies say they found his body inside a vehicle early this morning. The victim had a criminal record dating back to 1998 and was due in court this week on misdemeanor drug charges.

A man is dead after deputies say they found his body inside a vehicle early this morning.

The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office says they were called to Minor Run Road in the Edwards area at 12:15 a.m. Wednesday for a traffic accident. When they arrived they found an Aurora man dead in a vehicle on the side of the road.

Lawmen say Bobby Buck had a gunshot wound. The 33-year-old man has been a registered sex offender since 2005.

Buck was convicted in Beaufort County in 2004 for taking indecent liberties with a child and he spent just over two years in prison for that crime. His criminal record dates back to 1998, including several B&E convictions.

Buck was supposed to appear in court Tuesday on pending misdemeanor drug charges.

Deputies say they have now identified a suspect in the Buck's murder, but have not released any information about an arrest. They are asking anyone with additional information to call them at 252-946-7111. ..Source.. by WITN.com

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911 call uncovers homicide

3-7-2012:

Deputies investigate after victim discovered with gunshot wound

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a homicide that occurred Tuesday night on Minor Road in the town of Edward.

At 12:15 a.m. the Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a passing motorist who had seen a vehicle off-road, in a ditch and stopped to investigate. According to Major Kenneth Watson, Aurora Fire and EMS arrived at the scene and found a deceased male with what appeared to be a gunshot wound. The victim was identified as Bobby Ray Buck, 33, a resident of Hall Avenue in Aurora, and formerly of Tranquility Lane in Blount’s Creek.

The motorist called in what looked to be a car accident.

“(He) saw the vehicle, checked the driver and reported a vehicle accident with an injury,” Watson said, referring to the initial 911 call.

Sheriff’s Office investigators have identified a suspect in Buck’s homicide, but because of the ongoing investigation, are unable to release any information as to whom Buck was with or why he was at the location, Watson explained.

“We’re following up on a lot of information. We’ve identified a suspect and hope to have additional information to release soon,” he said.

Buck attended Aurora High School and received his G.E.D. from Beaufort County Community College. According to Lt. Jamie Cahoon of the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations unit, Buck was unemployed, but “did odds and ends jobs for people in the community.”

Buck’s run-ins with law enforcement date back to 1998 when he was charged with the first of five DWIs. He served 22 months in prison for a 2004 conviction of indecent liberties with a minor. Buck’s most recent arrest was on Jan. 29 of this year, in which he was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and simple possession of schedule IV controlled substance. His court date had been rescheduled to April 3.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office at (252) 946-7111 or Beaufort County Crime Stoppers at (252) 974-6400. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest in this case. ..Source.. by Vail Stewart Rumley

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Deputies investigating homicide of sex offender

6-8-2012 North Carolina:

WASHINGTON, N.C. - Deputies say they have a person of interest for a Beaufort County homicide.

Deputies responded early this morning to a 911 call on Minor Run Road in Edwards.

They say they found a man shot to death in a car.

The victim has been identified as 33-year-old Bobby Ray Buck from Aurora. We checked and found out he’s a registered sex offender according to the state's registry.

Deputies say their investigation is on-going. They are willing to pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest. ..Source.. by WNCT Staff

Victim of shooting caught on video ID'd

2-25-2012 Texas:

A man found shot to death in his pickup on U.S. 90 Thursday afternoon has been identified as George Munoz, 49.

Police Chief William McManus said the man was shot several times by a passenger in an SUV. He was found dead in the westbound lanes of U.S. 90 near the Southwest Military Drive exit.

The shooting was not random and the entire incident was captured on video, police said.

Police Sgt. Chris Benavides said authorities don't want to disclose the origin of the video for fear of compromising the investigation. ..Source.. by Michelle Casady

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Victim ID'ed in Hwy. 90 shooting death

2-26-2012 Texas:

The man killed in last Thursday's Hwy. 90 shooting has been ID'ed, and his criminal history is now clear.

The medical examiner says the man was 49 year-old George Munoz.

And his rap sheet includes a child sex assault, and failing to register with the state for that sex crime.

Munoz also had DWI and driving with a suspended license convictions.

And he'd been convicted of assault and drug possession.

Police say someone shot at Munoz' truck as he drove along the Hwy. 90 access road.

Police Chief Bill McManus said Munoz' shooting death does not appeared random.

Investigators say they have obtained video surveillance of the area, and hope to use that to identify Munoz' killers. ..Source.. by KSAT.com

UPDATE: Investigators scramble for answers in Caldwell man's death

12-29-2011 North Carolina:

LENOIR -- The Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office is staying tight-lipped about the circumstances surrounding the death of Matthew Jason Carter, 32, of Lenoir.

“We’re working this as a murder investigation,” said Sgt. B.J. Fore of the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office, “We’ve got the SBI helping us out on it.”

The sheriff’s office announced on Dec. 22 that Carter had been reported missing from his home on Walnut Drive where he was last seen on Dec. 15. Five days later, deputies found Carter dead in a wooded area off Crump Rd. in Lenoir.

Several of the investigators working on the case were present at the autopsy performed Thursday.

“We’re hoping that will give us a little more information,” Fore said.

He wouldn’t discuss any possible suspects in Carter’s death, how he died or what motive there may have been for murder. Fore said his reluctance to talk stemmed from the fact that investigators don’t have all the answers. They’re asking the public to come forward with new information – not wild theories based on what they’ve read in the media’s coverage of the crime.

“Crime Stoppers pays up to $1,000 for information and you don’t have to give them your name,” Fore said.

The photo the sheriff’s office distributed when they announced Carter was missing was a mugshot.

Fore said it was taken when Carter, a registered sex offender, was arrested for pornography – not a crime directly against a person.

“He doesn’t have a history of arrest since then. He’s never been involved with anything violent,” Fore said. “We don’t think that played any part in his death.

Anyone with information about Carter’s death is asked to call the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office at 758-2324 or Crime Stoppers at 758-8300. ..Source.. by Tim Southers | Hickory Daily

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Cause of death determined for Lenoir man found earlier this week

12-30-2011 North Carolina:

The cause of death for a Lenoir man who was found dead earlier this week has been determined. The autopsy performed on 32-year-old Matthew Jason Carter determine that he was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest.

Carter was reported missing last week and was found dead Tuesday in a wooded area near Crump Road in the Gamewell Community. The Caldwell County Sheriff's Office is investigating the case, at this time they are releasing little information.

Authorities are asking for the public's help in determining what happened to Carter. Anyone with any information in in this case is asked to contact the Caldwell County Sheriffs Office at Officials at 828-758-2324 or call Crimestoppers at 828-758-8300. ..Source..

Man killed at 26th and Jefferson identified as Shaun Harris, 43

9-26-2011 Washington:

The man apparently beaten to death at 26th and Jefferson September 22 has been identified as Shaun Ansar Harris, 43.

Police were called to the scene just after 6:30 a.m. after someone reported an altercation inside a vehicle. Harris was found outside a red Mercedes-Benz convertible with a fatal head wound. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he died.

At the September 22 meeting of the East Precinct Advisory Council (EastPAC), precinct commander James Dermody said police do not believe the killing was related to the neighborhood or Garfield High School, which is one block away from the site of the attack.

According to the King County sex offender website, Harris was convicted of third degree rape in 1995. He also has a lengthy list of aliases. ..Source.. by Tom Fucoloro

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Man beaten to death near Central Area school

9-22-2011 Oregon:

A man was fatally beaten in Seattle's Central Area early Thursday, and homicide detectives are working to identify a suspect, according to police.

Several people called 911 to report an assault shortly after 6:30 a.m. at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue East and 26th Avenue, department spokesman Mark Jamieson said.

When officers arrived, they found the victim with obvious head injuries lying on the ground near a red Mercedes-Benz convertible, he said.

The man was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he died, Jamieson said.

Crime-scene investigators spent much of the morning processing the scene, located a block east of Garfield High School. Seattle police said there was no connection to the high school.

Jamieson said he could not say whether the assault occurred inside the vehicle or outside on the street.

The victim's name was not released Thursday by the King County Medical Examiner's Office. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.

"We believe the victim knew the suspect," said Renee Witt, a police spokeswoman. "We don't think this is some random act." ..Source.. by Seattle Times staff

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Part of a larger article on 9-22-2011:

Harris, a 43-year-old sex offender, was found unresponsive and bleeding from the head in the Central District. Hours before his death, police contacted Harris on a suspicious circumstances call.

At 4:06 a.m. that morning, police contacted Harris in a red Mercedes-Benz. A woman also was inside. Police questioned then, but released the pair because there was no evidence of a crime. Two and a half hours later, a man was walking his dog on 25th Avenue toward Jefferson Street when he saw what he thought was a silver Cadillac make a fast turn east on Jefferson. When the man got to the intersection, the pedestrian saw a person about a block away, standing outside Harris' red Mercedes, striking a person in the driver's seat.

The man told police the silver Cadillac that passed him was parked with its taillights on directly across from the Mercedes-Benz. East Precinct officers found Harris on the ground outside the Mercedes about a block from Garfield High School. He was rushed to Harborview Medical Center, where he died about 7:30 a.m.

The woman who had been with Harris told homicide investigators that after being released, she and Harris drove around until he eventually pulled over at 26th and Jefferson and tried to have sexual relations with her, which she didn't want. She told detectives she left after calling her sister, and left Harris sitting in his car.

Detectives noticed a possible blood stain on the lower portion of the woman's pants, according to a search warrant affidavit. In late September, investigators searched the Infinity she drove and recovered clothes, shoes and paperwork. But police not named anyone as a suspect.

....

'Partial body' identified as 53-year-old Seattle man

7-16-2011 Washington:

SEATTLE - A "partial body" that was found at a recycling business in the SoDo industrial area last week has been identified as a 53-year-old Seattle man.

The King County Medical Examiner said Friday that the victim has been identified as Donald S. Meyer of Seattle.

His cause of death was not immediately released.

His torso turned up July 8 at a recycling plant at 7201 East Marginal Way South.

A police spokesman said the body was mixed in with material from a construction site down the street that had been brought in for recycling, and that workers spotted it as it moved down a conveyor belt used for sorting materials.

Detectives determined that the death was not the result of an industrial accident and that the body had been brought to the plant from another location. A homicide investigation was launched immediately.

The 53-year-old victim was a registered sex offender, which may explain why his DNA profile was in the database.

Matt Bazemore says the same day police found the torso, a forensics team showed up in his Ballard neighborhood to sift through this construction zone.

"Three or four police cars showed up all at once trailing the truck back from the recycling plant," he said.

Police won't say whether that search is related to Meyer's murder.

Bazemore made the link based on the questions detectives asked of him and his neighbors.

"I knew that through talking to police that day, that it was recycling, that's where they found it... because I talked to the crew about what they were doing with their garbage and it was being sorted through."

Where or how Meyer was killed is still unclear, but it does appear possible that the killer placed his partial body in a construction debris pile to be hauled away.

Police won't confirm those details, saying only that the case remains an open murder investigation and they are running down all leads.

Meyer was convicted for indecent liberties and had prior arrests for petty theft and drugs. But that sheds little light on what made him a target for murder. ..Source.. by KOMO Staff

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Why an assailant scattered body parts is a mystery for police

4-12-2012:

Human remains found at two separate sites — at a recycling center in Georgetown and underneath the Ship Canal Bridge — have been identified through forensic testing as the body parts of Donald S. Meyer, a 53-year-old Ballard man who was reported missing last year.

Someone went to great lengths to dispose of the body of Donald S. Meyer, a 53-year-old Ballard man who was reported missing last year, police said.

Part of Meyer's body was found at a recycling center in Georgetown a month after his June disappearance. Other remains were discovered in December on a hillside beneath the Ship Canal Bridge.

Police sources said Thursday that Meyer's former roommate, who has been questioned, is considered a person of interest. However, police did not officially confirm that report and no arrests have been made.

Meyer had previous run-ins with the law. In 1991, he was convicted of drug possession and he was charged with second-degree rape the following year. He pleaded guilty to an amended charge of indecent liberties, according to court documents.

Although he was in jail for several years, according to court documents, the state Department of Corrections (DOC) said he did not spend time in prison. He was under DOC supervision for his indecent-liberties conviction, but his case file was closed in 2003, according to agency spokesman Chad Lewis.

Meyer was reported missing in June by three friends, according to court documents. Police said he reportedly sold marijuana.

Several of the people who spoke to police after his disappearance said they were also customers who had gone by his house after failing to reach him on the phone, according to a search warrant filed in King County Superior Court.

Meyer's friends also told police that they'd found his phone, which had not been used for a week.

That in itself was unusual because Meyer used his phone daily in his line of business, police said.

"They kept going to his house and his roommate kept telling them 'he's not here right now, which did not seem right,' " according to a police source.

When police first went to investigate, they found one room in Meyer's home had been stripped bare, the walls repainted and the carpet removed, police sources said.

Crime-scene investigators were called in after small drops of blood were spotted in a corner of the room and more blood that was "not visible to the naked eye" was found with the aid of special chemicals, according to the search warrant.

About a month after Meyer disappeared, a human torso was found on a conveyor belt by employees at a recycling center in Georgetown, police said. Police said the body part was tracked to a commercial recycling bin at a home that was undergoing renovation in Meyer's neighborhood.

In December, a group of people who were attempting to reach out to homeless people in the Eastlake area stumbled across a bag containing a decomposed human leg underneath the Ship Canal Bridge, according to police. More bags of body parts were found scattered across the sloped hill.

Seattle police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said Thursday that police do not believe that there are any additional dump sites.

Not long before Meyer's death, he had asked a roommate to move out, sources said. Police records indicate that Meyers' friends said that the roommate was odd and had a "bad vibe."

The former roommate has been interviewed, according to police sources, and is considered a person of interest. Whitcomb would not confirm whether police had a person of interest in the slaying or if an arrest was imminent.

"It is very much an active and ongoing case," Whitcomb said.

He urged people with information about Meyer or his slaying to call the SPD tip line at 206-233-5000. ..Source.. by Christine Clarridge

46-year-old man killed in drive-by shooting in Jefferson Park

5-20-2011 California:

L.A. police detectives are looking for a car used in the fatal drive-by shooting of a 46-year-old man in Jefferson Park, they said Friday.

Terrence Bevills was shot about 8 p.m. Thursday as he stood outside a building in the 4000 block of Montclair Street, and police believe the crime may have been gang-related.

Police are looking for a Kia Soul that left the scene with two men inside, authorities said.

Bevills, who went by the nickname Tubz, died at a hospital following the shooting.

According to the state’s Megan’s Law database, Bevills is a sex offender convicted of assault with intent to commit a specified sex offense. ..Source.. by Richard Winton