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Tag: manslaughter

  • Manslaughter Charge in Arkansas Missing Persons Case

    The bodies of an Arkansas man and his 10-month-old son were discovered in a remote area of the Ouachita Mountains on July 29, concluding a four-day search. Now the mother of the infant has been charged with manslaughter.

    Brian Floyd, 33, and his son Harper Floyd were last seen on the morning of July 25 with Brooke Floyd. Brooke was found hours later, walking alone down a rural road in the area, which is situated roughly 80 miles west of Little Rock. Yell County Sheriff Bill Gilkey commented that Floyd appeared to be “cut up and scarred as if she had been in a wooded area.”

    Floyd was initially detained on the charge of endangering the welfare of a minor, as she was uncooperative regarding the search effort for her husband and child. Her bond was set at $50,000, and she was able to make bail.

    Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the Floyd couple had both been hallucinating after ingesting methamphetamine, and believed that they were being chased. Capt. John Foster Jr. wrote in an affidavit, “I asked her if she was taking any medication because she appeared to be hallucinating many of the events she described.” Floyd explained that she added anti-seizure medication to the meth.

    Floyd added that her story was an amalgam of mutual hallucinations she and her husband were experiencing. Foster Jr. commented, “She seemed to be indicating that they would tell each other what they were seeing or experiencing as they were hallucinating and then the other would believe they also saw or experienced the same thing.”

    Preliminary autopsy reports indicate that infant Harper died of “exposure and abandonment.” The cause of the Brian Floyd’s death is awaiting toxicology results.

    Floyd’s lawyer, Bill James, said he does not believe she is guilty. Floyd is set to appear in a Danville, Arkansas court on Thursday.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Alix Tichelman Had a Long History of Drug Abuse

    Alix Tichelman Had a Long History of Drug Abuse

    A former housemate of Alix Catherine Tichelman, who police say injected a fatal dose of heroin to a Google executive who repeatedly paid her for sex, had a drug habit that had likely progressed into full-scale dependence.

    Google executive Forrest Hayes was found dead on his yacht in Santa Cruz, California last November, and authorities initially concluded that it was due to his overdosing on heroin. Seven months later, police have uncovered new video evidence taken from Hayes’ yacht, “The Escape,” which reveals he may have been murdered by Tichelman.

    Mariya Armario, Tichelman’s former housemate in San Francisco, said she saw a pattern of drug abuse begin to advance years ago. “She clearly was likely way gone in her addiction,” Armario said.

    Tichelman, 26, a high-priced call girl, was seen injecting Hayes with heroin in the footage obtained by police, before Hayes fell unconscious after his overdose. Santa Cruz Police Department Deputy Chief Steve Clark revealed that Tichelman did nothing to help Hayes, and commented that she was “so callous that in gathering her things, she was literally stepping over the body and at one point stepped over the body to grab a glass of wine and finish the glass of wine.”

    Hayes, 51, a married father of 5, had met Tichelman on a sugardaddy website called SeekingArrangement. The night of Hayes death was not the first time he and Tichelman had met; the two had an ongoing prostitution arrangement.

    Armario said Tichelman used the internet to find clients, and commented, “She said they would just pick her up on dates and buy her things and give her money. I asked her if she had to sleep with them and she said she never did … but that’s what they all say.”

    The state of California is currently preparing to formally charge Tichelman with manslaughter for Hayes’ death.

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  • Blackwater Shootings: Killers Hiding Behind The Military

    On September 16, 2007, employees of military contractor Blackwater USA opened fire in a Baghdad traffic circle called Nisoor Square. They killed 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including a 9-year-old boy who was riding with his father. Many more were injured.

    New evidence is expected to be introduced by U.S. prosecutors in the upcoming trial of the Blackwater security guards, who are facing charges of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and gun violations.

    The guards’ defense is that they believed they were under hostile fire at the time. The trial is scheduled to begin in June.

    Friday, in a court ruling, the Justice Department prosecutors stated they must be allowed to introduce further evidence that establishes the defendants’ motivation for the shootings.

    “In the year leading up to the events of Sept. 16, 2007, several of the defendants harbored a low regard for and deep hostility toward the Iraqi civilian population, which they openly expressed to other Blackwater personnel,” the Justice Department filing stated.

    “This evidence tends to establish that the defendants fired at innocent Iraqis not because they actually believed that they were in imminent danger of serious bodily injury … but rather that they unreasonably and recklessly fired at innocent Iraqi civilians because of their low regard for and hostility toward Iraqis,” the filing added.

    What the prosecutions court filing indicates is that Blackwater guard Nicholas Slatten stated he wanted to kill as many Iraqis as he could as “payback for 9/11.” He allegedly boasted about the number of Iraqis he had already shot, including an old Iraqi woman who was holding a knife. That incident occurred while Slatten was in the Army, the filing stated.

    In many areas in Baghdad, Slatten intentionally fired his weapon to initiate return fire, thereby establishing gun battles in a manner that was against policies that governed Blackwater personnel in Iraq, the court filing said.

    Four months prior to the Nisoor Square shootings, prosecution alleged that defendants Evan Liberty and Paul Slough had intentionally fired automatic weapons from a Blackwater armored vehicle without taking aim, and with disregard for who might be hit by the shots.

    This blatant disregard for human life should be punished. This bloody incident illustrates the lack of proper oversight by the government in many military contracts and the difficulties associated with holding the companies and their employees accountable when crimes or misdeeds occur.

    There have been many other allegations of abuses and illegal activities by Blackwater. Several of these examples follow the description of the Nisoor Square shooting incident.

    Image via YouTube

  • “Affluenza” Teen Still Gets No Jail Time After Killing 4

    On Wednesday, judge Jean Boyd ordered Ethan Couch to rehab in addition to his 10-year probation sentence. Couch is the 16-year-old Texan who killed four people and injured two with is father’s Ford F-350 pickup truck on June 15. The teenager had been driving drunk after being video taped stealing 2 cases of beer from a nearby Wal-Mart. At the time of the incident, Couch’s blood alcohol level was revealed to be 0.24, three times the legal limit in Texas. Couch also tested positive for valium. Despite this, he received zero jail time.

    As you can image, there has been intense public outrage regarding the outcome of the trial. The public anger intensified when the defense’s expert witness diagnosed Couch as having “affluenza” — a term used to claim that his family’s wealth impaired his ability to take responsibility for his actions.

    On Wednesday, prosecutors asked judge Boyd for 20 years in state custody on charges related to the two injured people. They were unsuccessful.

    Is Ethan Couch receiving special treatment because he comes from a wealth family?

    Fred Couch, Ethan’s father, is a multi millionaire and owner of a very successful metal works company in Fort Worth. His son received what amounts to a slap on the wrist for a crime that many believe would have  sent the “average Joe” to prison.

    Last year, CNN reported that judge Boyd sentenced an African American teenager to 10 years in juvenile detention after punching a man in the face. The blow inadvertently resulted in the man’s death. This is a stark contrast to sentencing Ethan Couch to probation and rehab for killing 4 people and injuring 2.

    Defence attorney Reagan Wynn said the judge did not use “affluenza” to make her decision. “She (Boyd) heard all the evidence and she made what she thought was the appropriate disposition,” he said.

    Eric Boyles lost his wife, Hollie Byles, and daughter, Shelby after both were mowed down by Couch’s truck. He remains convinced that money played a role in the outcome.

    “Had he (Couch) not had money to have the defense there, to also have the experts testify, and also offer to pay for the treatment, I think the results would have been different,”  Boyles said after the trial.

    Here’s happened on the night of the incident.

    Image via YouTube

  • Randall Kerrick: NC Police Officer Charged with Manslaughter

    Around 2:30 AM Saturday, 24 year old Jonathan Ferrell approached the nearest house and started knocking on the door “viciously”. Ferrell had wrecked approximately .5 miles down the road and stopped at the nearest house to ask for help. The woman at home approached the door, expecting her husband to be returning home from work. When she saw Ferrell, the woman panicked and called police.

    When the police arrived on the scene, Ferrell ran toward them, presumably to tell them what had happened. The police officers told Ferrell to stop, and when he did not, one officer fired a taser toward Ferrell and missed. Cue Randall Kerrick. Upon his fellow officer’s failure to bring down the suspect, police officer Randall Kerrick decided now would be a good time to become a hero and fire 12 bullets at Ferrell – 10 of which struck home. Ferrell was pronounced dead at the scene.

    It took a total of 19 hours for police to investigate and hand down a sentence. Kerrick has been charged with voluntary manslaughter. Lance LaRusso, a current attorney and former police officer, says that the quick turnaround for the sentencing of a police officer is unusual: “There are a couple of reasons why police take their time. First of all, it takes time to develop things like the toxicology report to determine what happened. You have to wait until daylight to reconstruct the crime scene. You have to interview all the people involved. And the officer is given the opportunity to decompress before making a statement.”

    However, Charlotte police say that there is good reason for the quick sentencing: “The fact that Officer Kerrick discharged his weapon and that Mr. Ferrell was unarmed were some of the factors included in the decision to charge Officer Kerrick with voluntary manslaughter.” The Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department also released a statement in which they stated “The shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive. Our investigation has shown that Officer Kerrick did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter.”

    Despite their apparent cooperation and expediency in regards to giving Kerrick his just due, the NAACP and Ferrell’s attorney, Chris Chestnut, believe that the only reason for such diligence is due to the recent events surrounding Trayvon Martin: “Trayvon Martin was a recipe for what not to do,” stated Chestnut.

    Chestnut and the NAACP also believe that the events transpired because of the inherent racism which still exists in the United States.”Any day in this country, an African-American man can be killed for no reason by the people who are supposed to be protecting him. That’s not an anomaly in this country. They’re never given the benefit of the doubt, and that has to change,” stated the Charlotte chapter of the NAACP. Chestnut also released his own statement concerning the issue of race in this case: “The officer is white, Mr. Ferrell is black. This might be more of a reflection of where we are as a country.”

    Racism has seemed to be a hot-button issue this year, which is ironic considering this is the 50th anniversary of MLK Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. First, we had the issue concerning Trayvon Martin. We then had the issue in which Riley Cooper made some racist statements at a concert. This weekend, we had the controversy surrounding Miss America being of Indian descent. And now this atrocity. Now seems to be the time for us to all sit down and have a national discussion concerning race, but America still seems to believe that race isn’t an issue. However, we all know that the only colorblind person is Stephen Colbert.

    Image via YouTube