Man who killed elderly woman years ago gets life for murder of St. Louis man

October 6, 2011
ST. LOUIS • A man convicted of suffocating an elderly woman 25 years ago was sentenced this morning to life in prison without the possibility of parole for another murder in St. Louis.

Danny C. Smith, 48, of the 4700 block of Martin Luther King Drive, was found guilty in St. Louis Circuit Court in July of first-degree murder, robbery and two counts of armed criminal action for an April 27, 2009, killing and robbery. He was sentenced by St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy J. Wilson.

Police said Smith knocked on the door of a home in the 4600 block of Natural Bridge Avenue about 10:40 p.m., then held four adults and two young children inside at gunpoint. Smith forced Kenneth Isbell, 25, to the floor, took money and guns, then fatally shot Isbell twice in the head.

Smith had served part of a 30-year-sentence after being convicted of second-degree murder for the 1986 death of 82-year-old Mary Henderson inside her apartment in the 3600 block of Cottage Avenue and was paroled in February 2008.

The jury in the most recent case did not hear about the 1986 murder.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_bb855a88-f031-11e0-bde9-0019bb30f31a.html


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He must have missed the flat screen TV or something....

Paroled killer guilty of clerk’s murder

September 28, 2011
The Suffolk district attorney blasted the former state Parole Board members who released Edward Corliss in 2006, after Corliss was convicted yesterday in the cold-blooded murder of a Jamaica Plain store clerk the day after Christmas 2009.

“Edward Corliss is a career criminal,” Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said yesterday. “He never should have been out of custody.”

A Suffolk County jury deliberated for just one day before finding Corliss, 65, guilty of first-degree murder, armed masked robbery and illegal possession of a handgun in the slaying of Tedeschi’s clerk Surendra Dangol. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley hailed the verdict, saying he’s “not sure if I’ve ever seen a better investigated case.”

At the time of the shooting, Corliss was on parole after being convicted of murder and sentenced to life in 1973 for the slaying of a Salisbury store clerk in a robbery that netted him $17. During his decades behind bars, he escaped twice but was caught both times.

Courtroom 906 was packed yesterday with police and members of the DA’s office in a show of law enforcement might. Family members were said to be too distraught to attend.

Dangol was a 39-year-old Nepalese immigrant, a husband and a father who was working the day shift when Corliss entered the store the day after Christmas in 2009. Dangol gave Corliss $742 from the cash register, then Corliss shot and killed him.

Corliss, who had hardly any reaction to yesterday’s verdict, now faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Judge Diane Kottmyer will sentence Corliss at 2 p.m. tomorrow, after Dangol’s relatives deliver victim impact statements.

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_0928paroled_killer_guilty_of_clerks_murder/

Jail inmates in Pittsburgh get new 42in flat screen TVs   

Sep 27, 2011
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - They're top of the line flat screen TVs and right now, inmates at the Allegheny County Jail are likely watching them.

The County Jail Oversight Board recently approved the purchase of 40 Sony Bravia televisions for viewing in the jail common areas.

If a judge sentenced you to the Allegheny County Jail, you'd be provided three hot meals and a bed to sleep in, but in common areas, you'd also be able to watch cable shows on 42-inch Sony flat screens.

The County Jail Oversight Board recently approved the purchase of 40 sets for $16,000 or $395 a piece.

"If our families in Allegheny County can't afford 42-inch Sony Bravia TVs, the prisoners certainly shouldn't be able to be watching them in jail," he said.

The money comes from the "Inmate Welfare Fund" - proceeds from the jail commissary used by the inmates.

Onorato administration officials who wouldn't be interviewed on camera or allow the televisions to be photographed, argued in a statement that it's not the public's money.

"No taxpayer dollars or county funds are being used to purchase the televisions. The inmates are purchasing the televisions to replace old or broken sets. The decision to purchase the TVs was made by a committee that consists of jail personnel and inmate advocates."

"The point of being in jail is not to mistreat people or make them feel worse and resentful," Marion Damick, a committee member, said.

She told KDKA-TV the inmates are not being rewarded for bad behavior.

While the debate may rage on, the TVs have already been purchased. They're arriving and being hooked up just in time for Steeler season.


http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/212681/81/Jail-inmates-in-Pittsburgh-get-new-42in-flat-screen-TVs

Oklahoma appeals court affirms death sentence in Montana man's stabbing at Oklahoma City motel

October 05, 2011
OKLAHOMA CITY — A man convicted of stabbing a 19-year-old Montana man to death in a motel room on New Year's Day 2002 has lost his appeal to have his death sentence overturned.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the death penalty given to Tremane Wood by an Oklahoma County jury that convicted him of first-degree murder for the Jan. 1, 2002, death of Ronald Reuben Wipf. Wood, 31, also was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for armed robbery and conspiracy to commit a felony in the case.

In its nine-page opinion, the appellate court rejected Wood's claims that he has received ineffective legal assistance since appealing his conviction and sentence. Wood claims his appellate counsel has not alleged that the defense attorney at Wood's trial was ineffective for not hiring a forensic pathologist to challenge the victim's autopsy report.

The court said it rejected Wood's appeal "because he cannot show a reasonable probability that the outcome of his trial would have been different had post-conviction counsel done so."

Wood's post-conviction attorney, James T. Rowan, said Wednesday he was disappointed in the ruling. "But it's only one hurdle in a long train of hurdles," Rowan said.

The appeals court ruling states that Wood's first name has sometimes been misspelled Termane in the state court record. It also says Wood has a separate appeal pending in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City.

Prosecutors alleged that Wood and his brother, Zjaiton Wood, 34, robbed Wipf and another Montana man, Arnold Jonathan Kleinsasser, before the stabbing. Zjaiton Wood was sentenced to life in prison without parole and an additional 120 years for the robbery and killing.

Wipf and Kleinsasser were working on a harvesting crew at a farm in Chickasha. The two men were members of the Hutterites of the Riverview Colony, a religious sect in Montana, and had returned to Oklahoma after spending the holidays with their families.

Prosecutors allege that Kleinsasser and Wipf met two women, Lanita Sue Bateman and Brandy Lynn Warden, at a restaurant on New Year's Eve 2001 and that they offered to have sex with the pair for $210. But prosecutors alleged that the women were setting the men up to be robbed.

Bateman, 29, was sentenced to life in prison plus 101 years for her role in the crime. Warden, 30, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and testified against Bateman in exchange for a 45-year prison sentence.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/a38ef438a7b8444fa622424ac9529b72/OK--Motel-Murder-Appeal/

Exonerated death row inmate charged with retail theft
In 1998, man came within days of being executed

September 25, 2011
A former death row inmate whose release from prison in 1999 provided a crucial spark in the push to abolish Illinois' death penalty was back behind bars Saturday, accused of stealing deodorant from a South Side store, Cook County prosecutors said.

Anthony Porter, 56, was arrested just before noon Friday after an employee at Walgreens, 6330 S. King Drive, reported seeing him take four Dove deodorants from a shelf, tuck them in his waistband and walk past the cash registers toward the exit, according to court documents. Porter, who lives about five blocks from the store, was charged with felony retail theft.

Porter has had some minor legal troubles — including domestic disturbances — since he was exonerated 13 years ago of murdering a couple in the Washington Park neighborhood in 1982.

He had been just 50 hours shy of being executed in 1998 when his attorneys won a stay of execution by raising concerns about Porter's mental competence at the time of the murder trial.

Porter was released from prison the next year after Northwestern University journalism professor David Protess, his students and a private investigator obtained a statement from another man who said he killed the couple.

That victory helped lead to the creation of the Medill Innocence Project, which contributed to the exoneration of 11 wrongfully convicted men, including five who were on death row. Protess recently retired amid controversy over the Innocence Project's techniques in another recent case.

Former Gov. George Ryan has said Porter's release was the primary event that focused his attention on Illinois' flawed capital justice system. Ryan, now in federal prison for corruption, declared a moratorium on executions the next year and cleared death row in 2003 by commuting to life in prison the death sentences of more than 160 inmates.

Gov. Pat Quinn abolished Illinois' death penalty in March.

Porter received $145,875 in restitution from the state in 2000, but five years later a jury rejected his claim for $24 million in a lawsuit alleging Chicago police conspired to wrongfully charge him in the slayings.

On Saturday, as a prosecutor detailed Porter's criminal history, Porter quietly urged his attorney to clarify that he had been exonerated of the double-homicide.

Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered Porter held in lieu of $10,000 bail.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-anthony-porter-arrested-0925-20110925,0,4976099.story

Jury selection starts in capital murder trial

September 12, 2011
AMITE, La. (AP) — Attorneys say jury selection could last a week in the capital murder trial of a man accused of killing his girlfriend and her two children.

The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/oeiSKn) state Judge Wayne Ray Chutz ordered 500 people summoned for jury duty Monday in Amite.

That's about 200 more than normal, said Clerk of Court Julian Dufreche, whose office sends out jury notices.

Jury selection could take anywhere from a couple of days to a full week, the attorneys said.

"Anyone that has heard about the case, we are going to be very suspect," said defense attorney Michael Thiel. "We are looking for people who can consider mitigating factors and come in with an open mind."

The trial could last from four days to a week, said Assistant District Attorney Don Wall.

Michael Varnado, 33, is accused of the Feb. 16, 2007, smothering death of his girlfriend, Juana Quantrell Roberts, 20, of Hammond; setting her Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer on fire; and leaving her infant and toddler behind in the burning trailer.

The children died of smoke inhalation, investigators have said.

If Varnado is convicted of first-degree murder, a second trial would begin to determine whether he would receive the death penalty or life in prison, Wall said.

Varnado also has been indicted on a charge of aggravated kidnapping, Wall said.

In that case, Varnado is accused of kidnapping an elderly woman in Mississippi and forcing her to accompany him as he drove to Hammond after the fire which killed Roberts and her children, Wall said.

Varnado's trial originally was scheduled for Aug. 19, 2008, but was delayed due to scheduling conflicts from Assistant District Attorney Don Wall and defense attorney Mike Thiel.

It was postponed again in July and August of 2010.

Those delays were caused by a strand of hair that was lost at the State Police Crime Laboratory and then found months later.

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Jury-selection-starts-in-capital-murder-trial-2166206.php

S.C. Upholds Death Sentence for Murder of Fresno Teenager
 
The California Supreme Court yesterday unanimously upheld the death sentence for a Fresno man convicted of the murder and attempted rape of a 14-year-old girl and the attempted murder of her best friend.

In an opinion spanning nearly 200 pages, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye cited a half-dozen instances in which Fresno Superior Court Judge John Fitch clearly or arguably erred. But defendant Royal Clark Jr. was not prejudiced in the guilt, sanity, or penalty phases of his lengthy trial, the chief justice said.

“Given the strong evidence of defendant’s guilt of first degree murder and the aggravating circumstances attending that crime, we further conclude that none of the trial court’s missteps amounted to substantial error and there was no prejudicial cumulative effect warranting reversal,” Cantil-Sakauye wrote.

Clark was sentenced in 1995 for the killing of Billie-Jo Laurie Farkas, whose body was found on a rural road in Madera County in January 1991. Her friend Angie Higgins, then 15, was found badly beaten in a rural area of Fresno County.

Higgins testified that Clark, whose girlfriend Donna Kellogg was a cousin of the murdered girl, drove the two Fresno High School students to Lost Lake Recreation Area to look for a party, then became angry when Farkas refused to have sex with him. Others testified that Clark had shown a longstanding sexual interest in the victim.

The prosecution presented evidence that Clark tied up Higgins in one restroom, then took Farkas to another and strangled her with a rope. Higgins said Clark told her Farkas had run away, then put her in his car and drove towards the area of southwest Fresno called “Chateau Fresno.”

Higgins was choked with a rope, then left by the roadside at about 3 a.m. She was found by a passing motorist and hospitalized.

Defendant Confesses
Clark confessed to assaulting Higgins and killing Farkas, whom he said was like a sister to him. He pled not guilty by reason of insanity, and a defense expert testified he became insane at the point he assaulted Higgins and that he remained in that state during the next four to six hours until he returned home, but jurors found him sane.

He was found guilty of eight felonies—the first degree murder and attempted rape of Farkas, the attempted murder, felonious assault, false imprisonment, and kidnapping of Higgins, and the robberies of both girls, based on the taking of small amounts of money they had in their pockets.

The jury also found three special-circumstances—murder in the commission of robbery, murder in the commission of attempted rape, and murder with intent to prevent the victim from testifying in a criminal proceeding. The last special circumstance was based on evidence Clark killed Farkas, in part, because he feared she would tell police he had assaulted Higgins.

In the penalty phase, the prosecution portrayed Clark as a violent man, presenting testimony from two witnesses from Texas that he once slit a man’s throat and stole his money on a train. Clark, who was convicted of robbery in that incident and imprisoned, later assaulted two fellow inmates, and committed two batteries and a robbery in California after his release, the evidence showed.

The defense urged jurors to spare Clark, citing his mental problems and abusive childhood, and the fact that he was a father of five children, three of them with Kellogg. But jurors, who deliberated for about five hours, according to a Fresno Bee account, retuned a death penalty verdict.

Jurors told the newspaper that the deliberate nature of the murder, the fact that the victim trusted Clark, and his lack of remorse led them to their verdict.

The defense argued on appeal that the penalty verdict was flawed by an inconsistency in the special-circumstance verdict. The sequence of events, they argued, precluded a finding that Clark killed the victim in the course of attempted rape and robbery and also to prevent her from testifying about what he had done to Higgins earlier.

Fair Determination
It was also argued that Clark’s right to a fair determination of penalty was violated because the court ordered his lead lawyer, who was ill, replaced during a months-long recess prior to the penalty phase, and that jurors may have forgotten testimony or been exposed to prejudicial publicity during the interim.

Cantil-Sakauye said there was nothing in the law that precludes different special-circumstance findings based on multiple intents.

“That defendant’s plan to engage in sexual intercourse with Laurie preceded his decision to silence her as a witness to Angie’s assault by killing her meant only that he had more than one reason for killing her,” the chief justice explained. “There is no inconsistency in the application of both special circumstances here.”

With respect to the replacement of counsel, Cantil-Sakauye said Fitch acted within his discretion when Deputy Public Defender Barbara O’Neill, the lead counsel in the guilt phase, underwent cancer treatment and reported that she did not know when, if at all, she would be able to resume representing Clark. Under the circumstances, the chief justice said, the judge was not obligated to wait for the results of O’Neill’s scheduled surgery before taking her off the case.

The chief justice also approved of Fitch’s handling of the delay prior to the penalty phase.

Publicity Issue
The publicity issue, she said, was adequately handled by asking jurors if they had been exposed to the media coverage. Since none indicated that they had, nothing further was required, Cantil-Sakauye said.

And “even if the lengthy delay caused jurors to forget evidence presented at the guilt or sanity phase, their memories could be restored by referring to their notes, requesting readbacks of testimony, and relying on counsel’s review of the guilt and sanity phase evidence during closing arguments,” she wrote.

The chief justice was joined by Justices Marvin Baxter, Ming Chin, and Carol Corrigan, and by Court of Appeal Justice Sandy Kriegler, of this district’s Div. Five, sitting on assignment.

Justices Joyce L. Kennard and Kathryn M. Werdegar, in separate opinions, disagreed with the majority as to the sufficiency of the evidence that Farkas was killed to prevent her from becoming a witness.

The dissenters argued that the prosecution did not prove that Farkas “witnessed a crime prior to, and separate from, the killing,” an essential element of the special circumstance. But the error was harmless, they said, because the other two special circumstances were sufficient to impose the death penalty, and the evidence presented as to the circumstance of witness killing was admissible in any event because it was relevant to the circumstances of the crime.

The case is People v. Clark, 11 S.O.S 4802.

http://www.metnews.com/articles/2011/clar083011.htm




SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA
08/29/11
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S045078.PDF
 

SACRAMENTO- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced it has begun reporting Facebook accounts set up and monitored by prison inmates to the Facebook Security Department.
Facebook accounts set up and/or monitored on behalf of an inmate will be removed, as it is a violation of Facebook’s user policies.

“Access to social media allows inmates to circumvent our monitoring process and continue to engage in criminal activity,” CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate said. “This new cooperation between law enforcement and Facebook will help protect the community and potentially avoid future victims.”

The Federal Bureau of Prisons National Gang Intelligence Center has reported increasing instances of inmates with active Facebook accounts. These active accounts are either maintained illegally by inmates or are administered by an outside person on behalf of the inmate.

As part of its ongoing efforts to ensure public safety both inside and outside the state’s prisons, CDCR has been actively monitoring Facebook for accounts administered by inmates or on behalf of an inmate. The department has seen numerous instances in which inmates, using their Facebook accounts, have delivered threats to victims or have made unwanted sexual advances.

Last year, CDCR received a call from a mother of a victim of a child molester. The family had just returned from vacation to find several pieces of mail from the offender who was in state prison. The mail contained accurate drawings of the woman’s 17-year old daughter, even though it had been at least seven years since the offender had been convicted and sent to prison. Details of the victim, such as how she wore her hair and the brand of clothes she wore were accurate. An investigation revealed the inmate had used a cell phone to find and view the MySpace and Facebook web pages of the victim. With access to the pages, the offender was able to obtain current photos, which he used to draw his pictures.

Inmates are allowed to have Facebook profiles created prior to incarceration. If any evidence shows the account has been used while in the facility, Facebook Security will disable the account.

Over the past few years CDCR has seen a massive influx in the number of cell phones being used by prisoners. In 2006, correctional officers confiscated 261 devices, while in the first six months of this year, more than 7,284 were confiscated.

To report a Facebook account that you suspect is being administered by an inmate, or an outside party on behalf of the inmate, please contact CDCR’s Office of Victim and Survivor Rights & Services, call toll free 1-877-256-OVSS (6877) or e-mail victimservices@cdcr.ca.gov

Law enforcement representatives and members of the public can notify Facebook security of accounts administered by registered sex offenders. To report a registered sex offender’s Facebook account To report a registered sex offender’s Facebook account visit: http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=15160#!/help/contact.php?show_form=wos_sex_offender

http://cdcrtoday.blogspot.com/2011/08/cdcr-and-facebook-security-will.html

Police: Mom admits hiding girl's body, gives conflicting versions of death

July 21, 2011
BENTON -- Franklin County State's Attorney Evan Owens announced Thursday morning that formal charges have been filed against Mary Zumwalt-Jophlin of West Frankfort in connection with the death of her 8-year-old daughter.

Zumwalt-Jophlin, 28, has been charged with concealment of homicidal death and obstructing justice. Other charges may be filed, pending final results of an autopsy that was performed in Bloomington.

The West Frankfort mother rocked slowly back and forth during a hearing Wednesday in Franklin County Circuit Court as she listened to testimony that took away, at least temporarily, one of her other children.

Head hanging down, her long brown hair obscuring her face, Zumwalt-Jophlin was in court for a shelter care hearing regarding care of her 6-year-old daughter who was taken into protective custody when police discovered the body of her sister, Alexus Smothers, in a crawl space in the basement of the family's house Tuesday in West Frankfort.

Testimony from a West Frankfort police officer and an investigator with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services established cause to place the child in DCFS custody pending further juvenile court proceedings.

Under questioning by Franklin County Assistant State's Attorney Phillip Butler, the officer said police responded to the Zumwalt-Jophlin residence after receiving a 911 call reporting a missing child. The child's body was quickly located in the crawl space.

Zumwalt-Jophlin told police she placed the child in the crawl space, the officer testified, and gave conflicting versions of how the child "passed."
One version attributed the child's death to "somewhat accidental" circumstances, while other versions were "not accidental," the officer testified.

An autopsy on the child was performed Wednesday in Bloomington by a forensic pathologist specializing in child cases. Results of the autopsy, as well as the cause of the child's death, have not yet been revealed.

However, the DCFS investigator said the agency is investigating an allegation of abuse and neglect in the case. DCFS had prior contact with the family in 2004, when a previously indicated allegation of neglect resulted in the removal of children from Zumwalt-Jophlin's home.

The family was reunited when the court case was closed in November 2005. A relative retained guardianship of Zumwalt-Jophlin's son, who has lived with her and not Zumwalt-Jophlin since the initial DCFS intervention.

DCFS spokesman Jimmie Whitelow said he could not comment on the basis for the children's return to Zumwalt-Jophlin's care back in 2005 but did say that the decision was made by the courts along with DCFS.

"The case was closed by the courts in November 2005. DCFS does not return (children) to home without court approval," Whitelow said.

The agency had no contact with the family after November 2005 because once a court releases DCFS from a case, there is no further DCFS action, he said.

West Frankfort Police Chief Jeff Tharp said the investigation into the death continued Wednesday.

"We're dotting our i's and crossing our t's, going over evidence and finishing up interviews with people who had firsthand knowledge of the family," he said. "When we are finished, we will present our findings to the state's attorney."

Police wrapped up their examination of the family's house at 1704 E. Oak St. on Wednesday, he said.

"We have taken down the crime scene tape and released the house back to its owners," Tharp said.

Zumwalt-Jophlin is being held in Franklin County Jail on a preliminary charge of concealment of a death pending an appearance before a judge and the filing of formal charges.

As she was escorted from the courthouse to the squad car that would take her back to jail after the hearing, an unidentified woman, apparently overcome with emotion, cursed Zumwalt-Jophlin.

She screamed obscenities before court security intervened.


http://www.pantagraph.com/news/state-and-regional/illinois/article_f102d732-b38f-11e0-aab5-001cc4c03286.html


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Video of Aunt to little girl gives details of murder
http://www.kmov.com/video?id=125896568&sec=549692

Jurors being selected for Patterson murder trial

Thursday, July 28, 2011
CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- The Pemiscot County jury that will decide the fate of Ryan Patterson is expected to be finalized today, with the 12 jurors and two alternates scheduled to begin hearing opening statements in Jackson on Monday.

Patterson is the accused trigger man in the October 2009 murder of Jamie Orman, her 15-year-old son Derrick and her unborn child. If convicted, Patterson faces the death penalty.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys whittled the potential jury pool of 93 to 43 on Thursday, according to Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle. On Wednesday, potential jurors answered a six-page form asking their views on several topics, including the death penalty, he said. That made questioning on Thursday easier, he said.

The lawyers will spend Friday getting the remaining 43 slimmed down to 12, with two alternates, Swingle said.
Authorities say Patterson and his accomplice, Samuel Hughes, went to the home of John Lawrence at the urging of Lawrence's estranged wife, Michelle Lawrence. The two were there to kill John Lawrence and burn down the house, according to the prosecution's version of events, but when John Lawrence wasn't home, Patterson instead shot his girlfriend, Orman, and her children.

Hughes pleaded guilty to being the lookout in the murder in exchange for testimony against Patterson. Michelle Lawrence pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy to commit murder.

Following Friday's proceedings, Swingle said the finalized jury will be excused until Sunday night, when they will be brought to Cape Girardeau County in preparation for the five-day trial to start at 9 a.m. Monday. Swingle said he expects the trial to be concluded by Friday.

http://www.semissourian.com/story/1748104.html?response=no


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Earlier Story below

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Third suspect named in Cape triple murder
Pregnant mother, oldest son shot to death

10/29/09
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO - Cape Girardeau Police have named Samuel Ray Hughes, 25 of Cape Girardeau, MO, as a third suspect in a triple murder in the 1200 block of N. Missouri Ave. that happened early Tuesday morning.  Hughes is charged with three counts of Second Degree Murder in the shooting deaths of Jamie Orman, 30, her son, Derrick Orman, 15, and her unborn 7-month-old fetus.  Hughes is also charged with one count of First Degree Burglary.

The Cape Girardeau/Bollinger County Major Case Squad says Ryan Terell Patterson, 28, and Michelle Renee Lawrence, 39, both of Cape Girardeau, MO, are charged in connection to multiple homicides at a home in the 1200 block of N. Missouri Ave. early Tuesday morning.  Investigators say Michelle Lawrence was estranged but still married to the homeowner.
The homeowner was at work when the deadly shootings occurred, but his girlfriend and her three sons were home at the time.  Investigators say Jamie Orman, 30, and her oldest son, Derrick Orman, 15, were shot and killed just before 5 a.m. Tuesday.  Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton says Jamie Orman was also pregnant and in her third trimester.  Killing an unborn child can be considered murder in the state of Missouri.
Relatives tell Local 6 Orman's 14-year-old son called 911 after finding both shot in the living room of their home.

Prosecutors say the Lawrence and Patterson were co-workers.  Police they arrested the pair early Wednesday morning.  Court documents claim the children in the house at the time of the shootings usually stayed with their father in Perryville, MO, but had permission to stay with their mother the night before the shootings.

Ryan Patterson is charged with three counts of First Degree Murder, one count of First Degree Burglary and three counts of Armed Criminal Action.  He is on $750,000 cash bond.

Michelle Lawrence is charged with one count of Conspiracy to Commit 1st Degree Murder.  She is on a $250,000 cash bond.

Cape Girardeau/Bollinger County Major Case Squad arrested two people in connection to Tuesday's double homicide in Cape Girardeau. Those people's names have not been released. They are currently in custody at the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Formal charges are expected later today.

Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton says both Jamie and Derrick Orman died of a gunshot wound.  Coroner John Clifton says Jamie Orman was also pregnant and in her third trimester.

Police spent most of the day combing a Cape Girardeau home for clues.
Rick Broniste lives just across the street, and still struggles with the double homicide that happened without catching anyone's attention.

"I even woke up at 3am and the neighborhood was quiet. there is all kinds of dogs that bark. Nothing indicated an intruder had gotten into the area," says Broniste.

Broniste has gotten to know his neighbors well. He says Jamie Orman lived in the home with her three sons and boyfriend. They were expecting a new baby soon.
"They were so looking forward to that baby coming. Now that whole thing is just over and gone," continued Broniste.

Cape police say a broken screen led them to believe the person who killed Jamie and Derrick Orman broke into the home. However, police aren't sure why someone shot the two.

 "There is no indication of anything like that at this time. Like I said, we are still gathering information. We don't have a motive that I can say this is why it happened," says Cape Girardeau Police Sergeant. Jason Selzer.

Unsettling news for neighbors like rick broniste, who wonder if the killer will return.

"I think us and many other neighbors are going to be securing their homes a lot more now," says Broniste.

Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton has released the names of the two bodies found at 1224 North Missouri, in Cape Girardeau.  The victims were identified as Jamie Lynn Orman, 30, and Derrick Joseph Orman, 15.  WPSD will continue to bring you updates as they become available.

http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/66418012.html


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Probable Cause Report for Patterson
http://wpsd.bimedia.net/content/pc1.pdf


Probable Cause Report for Lawrence
http://wpsd.bimedia.net/content/pc2.pdf

Probable Cause Report for Hughes
http://wpsd.bimedia.net/content/pc3.pdf

Inmate serving 60 years for abusing an infant dies

May. 3, 2011
A 66-year-old inmate, convicted in 1985 of physically abusing a 5-month-old boy, died Sunday following a lengthy illness, prison officials said Monday.

William R. Reed, formerly of Middletown, died shortly before 7 a.m. at Kent General Hospital, said Department of Correction spokesman John Painter.

No foul play is suspected.

Reed was serving a maximum 60-year prison sentence after being convicted on three counts of second-degree assault in what prosecutors described at the time as "one of the most shocking Delaware child-abuse cases in recent memory."

According to a report in The News Journal, Reed "tore the flesh of the baby's genital area, repeatedly beat the infant over a monthlong period, sprayed him with ant and roach killer, burned the boy with cigarettes and stuck his head in a bucket of water."

The child, the son of his 22-year-old girlfriend, suffered a fractured skull, pelvis, leg and arm.

Reed was arrested in August 1984.

His body was turned over to the state Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110503/NEWS01/105030343/Inmate-serving-60-years-abusing-an-infant-dies?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Home|s

State prisons remain in lockdown following homicide, other violent incidents

May 3, 2011
UTAH STATE PRISON — Both Utah state prisons in Draper and Gunnison remained on lockdown Monday, five days after an inmate was allegedly killed by his cellmate.

Alfonso Lopez, 27, was killed April 27 after getting into a fight with his cellmate, Jacob Ecker, 23. The cause of death had not been released as of Monday.

The killing marked the the third violent incident at the prison in three weeks.

On April 19, a 25-year-old inmate was stabbed by his cellmate in the area of the prison that typically houses gang members. That inmate survived.

On April 10, a 29-year-old man was stabbed two to three times in the torso with an unknown weapon in a commons area of the prison.

Department of Corrections spokesman Steve Gehrke said there was no evidence Monday that any of the incidents are related. But he said the department's investigations bureau wanted to make sure it fully understood what was going on before reopening the prisons.

"We want to be as confident as we can that the institution is secure for inmates, staff, volunteers and visitors before we return to normal operations," he said.

It was difficult to say when the lockdowns would be lifted, Gehrke said. The situation would be evaluated on a daily basis, so the lockdown could end tomorrow or a week from tomorrow, he said.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705371853/State-prisons-remain-in-lockdown-following-homicide-other-violent-incidents.html

http://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw/

Inmate's early release puts focus on Barbour

March 25, 2011
The early release Friday of a Mississippi man convicted of manslaughter has drawn attention because Gov. Haley Barbour, a possible Republican presidential candidate, had signed an order that gave time off to the man and other prisoners.

The convict was one of 287 inmates who got a few months off prison sentences for helping clean up after hurricanes Katrina and Rita under Barbour's 2006 order.

Joseph Michael Goff, 28, was sentenced in 2003 to 20 years in prison in a former classmate's death. The Sun Herald newspaper reported on his release Friday and the order's 130-day reduction.

Barbour spokeswoman Laura Hipp says he had nothing to do with most of the time taken off Goff's sentence _ more than eight years. That came from laws allowing reductions for working in prison, going to classes and other activities. The biggest reduction, seven years, came from working in the prison. Those decisions are made by prison officials.

"The Governor did not pardon or release him from prison," Hipp said in an email.

The release angered some on the Mississippi coast, where the crime got significant attention when it happened.

"This is just unbelievable, to give a murderer 130 days off because he cleaned up after a storm, which is what an inmate should be doing anyway," state Sen. Michael Watson, a Republican from Pascagoula, told the Sun Herald. "It's beyond me, to be honest with you. I'm almost at a loss for words.

Goff was a junior at Gautier High at the time of the Dec. 8, 2001 shooting. He was convicted of manslaughter in the death of Kyle Paul Todd.

Authorities said the shooting occurred at the Gautier home of Goff's mother and may have stemmed from an argument over a girl the two had dated. Todd was valedictorian of Gautier's 2001 graduating class and was attending Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

Hipp said Goff was given early release, which is similar to parole in that he could be sent back to prison to complete the sentence if he breaks the law.

Many people on the Mississippi coast were also angered in 2008 when Barbour suspended the sentence of Michael Graham, who was serving a life sentence for murder in the 1989 death of his ex-wife. Graham had worked at the governor's mansion as a prison worker in a tradition that dates back generations in Mississippi.

The governor's mansion jobs typically go to convicted murderers because they're the ones who have served enough time to gain the trust to do it, prison officials say.

At the time, Barbour said it was also tradition for governors to pardon the inmate workers at the governor's mansion.

Barbour's three predecessors, dating back to 1988, had given some type of early release or pardon to a total of 12 such prisoners, according to prison officials. All but two of them had been convicted of murder. One was serving time for forgery and another for armed robbery and aggravated assault.

http://www.dailyjournalonline.com/news/national/article_3a8c5c24-cb1f-5b99-a920-d4eec7b57a6c.html

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damn liberals

Farmington Correctional Center inmate dies

March 24, 2011
A Farmington Correctional Center inmate died Wednesday morning at the University of Columbia Medical Center in Columbia.

Markese Lewis, 31, was serving a 20-year sentence from St. Louis for second-degree murder and armed criminal action. He was received into the Missouri Department of Corrections in 1998.

He died of apparent natural causes.

http://www.dailyjournalonline.com/news/local/article_6a2e20aa-5614-11e0-9bb4-001cc4c03286.html

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This was all that I could find out about him.  At least the murderer is dead.  Makes me glad even if it was of natural causes, hope it was AIDS or cancer.

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St. Louis: The body of Tyrone West, 16, was found about 7:30 a.m. Sunday in an alley near his home in the 4400 block of Clarence Avenue. He had been shot several times, probably about 10 p.m. Saturday, shortly after he had left his home. Homicide detectives believe the killing may be gang-related.