ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- There are five big lies investigators said Casey Anthony told them. Even seasoned detectives were astounded over how she kept up the charade for so long at Universal Studios, where she said she works, but it was all part of a pattern of lying.
Lie #1: Casey Anthony told detectives that she last saw 2-year-old Caylee after dropping her off at Sawgrass Apartments #210 on South Conway Road (see map) on June 9, but the apartment has been vacant since February.
Lie #2: Casey told detectives that she's an event planner at Universal Studios. They brought her to the park telling her they were hoping to find clues in her locker. She told security she had lost her identification and then led investigators on a long walk through the park until she finally admitted she was fired two years ago.
Lie #3: Casey told detectives Caylee's babysitter had once lived in an apartment building in Orlando, which they found is for seniors only. It is across the street from her friend's home, where she even stayed after Caylee disappeared."I am very, very close to the family. I was close to Casey," Amy Huizenga told Eyewitness News.They were close, she said, until she recently accused Casey of stealing more than $700."I'm very worried for the child. Why not? She's been missing for a month. There's no reason not to be worried for this kid. I love her a lot. She's a great girl," she said.
Lie #4: Casey claims a woman named Zenaida Gonzalez is Caylee's longtime babysitter. When investigators talked to Gonzalez, she told them she doesn't know the Anthonys and has never been a babysitter.
Lie #5: Investigators say, during the time after Casey claims Caylee disappeared with the babysitter, she told her boyfriend Caylee was with the "nanny" at Disney.According to the police report, Casey admitted up to lying about working at Universal and to everything else except one. She still insists she dropped Caylee off at the Sawgrass Apartments unit for the babysitter.
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THE BABY IS DEAD. THE MOM DID IT AND KNOWS WHERE SHE IS. MAKE HER TALK. STOP PLAYING THESE BLEEPING GAMES WITH HER AND MAKE HER BLEEPING TALK. REVOKE THAT BOND AND PUT HER LYING, MURDERING FANNY BACK IN THE POKEY WHERE SHE BELONGS.
Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Report: Children Left Mom's Body To Rot
MIDDLEFIELD, Conn. -- A brother and sister who left their mother's corpse to rot in her ramshackle house may not be charged with a crime for keeping her death a secret for more than seven years.
While John and Diane Simmeck acknowledged they allowed Ann Simmeck's body to decompose and did nothing about it, the state law that makes failing to report a death a crime does not require private citizens to contact officials when a relative is discovered dead.
The statute only applies when a body has been officially reported dead.
"I'm not aware of any crime that would clearly apply to their conduct," Todd Fernow, a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law.
"There really isn't anything that requires a regular citizen to report a death or dispose of a dead body in accordance with a procedure," Fernow told The Hartford Courant, in an article published Sunday.
A 100-page state police case file, recently released to the newspaper, details how the brother and sister made biannual trips to their mother's Middlefield home, stepping over her mummified remains on the floor.
Police believe Ann Simmeck died in late 1999 or early 2000. They discovered her body in June 2007 after an estranged son, Michael Simmeck, had grown worried about his mother's well-being. She was probably 72 when she died of natural causes.
Her remains were so badly decomposed that she was identified by comparing her DNA to Michael Simmeck's DNA.
After spending six months investigating the elderly woman's death, investigators applied for warrants charging John and Diane Simmeck with failing to report a death and improper disposal of a body. But Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford refused to sign them because he did not feel their actions "fit within the parameters of the crimes," according to state police reports.
"It's an odd set of facts," Fernow said. "I don't see the legislature doing a lot to create a statute for something like this because people don't expect this to happen every day."
John Simmeck Jr., in interviews with state police, said he didn't report his mother's death because "he was scared and in trouble with the law in both New Hampshire and Connecticut," according to police documents.
He is facing an identity theft charge in connection with his alleged use of his father's identity in 2003 to set up a cell phone account.
To protect the secret of his mother's death, Simmeck continued for years to pay property taxes on the house and the electric bill because the freezer was stuffed with food. Water was cut off to the house.
His sister, Diane Simmeck, could not provide police with a reasonable explanation for her actions.
___________________________________________________________
I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY HERE. THIS IS DISGUSTING AND SHOULD BE A CRIME.
While John and Diane Simmeck acknowledged they allowed Ann Simmeck's body to decompose and did nothing about it, the state law that makes failing to report a death a crime does not require private citizens to contact officials when a relative is discovered dead.
The statute only applies when a body has been officially reported dead.
"I'm not aware of any crime that would clearly apply to their conduct," Todd Fernow, a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law.
"There really isn't anything that requires a regular citizen to report a death or dispose of a dead body in accordance with a procedure," Fernow told The Hartford Courant, in an article published Sunday.
A 100-page state police case file, recently released to the newspaper, details how the brother and sister made biannual trips to their mother's Middlefield home, stepping over her mummified remains on the floor.
Police believe Ann Simmeck died in late 1999 or early 2000. They discovered her body in June 2007 after an estranged son, Michael Simmeck, had grown worried about his mother's well-being. She was probably 72 when she died of natural causes.
Her remains were so badly decomposed that she was identified by comparing her DNA to Michael Simmeck's DNA.
After spending six months investigating the elderly woman's death, investigators applied for warrants charging John and Diane Simmeck with failing to report a death and improper disposal of a body. But Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford refused to sign them because he did not feel their actions "fit within the parameters of the crimes," according to state police reports.
"It's an odd set of facts," Fernow said. "I don't see the legislature doing a lot to create a statute for something like this because people don't expect this to happen every day."
John Simmeck Jr., in interviews with state police, said he didn't report his mother's death because "he was scared and in trouble with the law in both New Hampshire and Connecticut," according to police documents.
He is facing an identity theft charge in connection with his alleged use of his father's identity in 2003 to set up a cell phone account.
To protect the secret of his mother's death, Simmeck continued for years to pay property taxes on the house and the electric bill because the freezer was stuffed with food. Water was cut off to the house.
His sister, Diane Simmeck, could not provide police with a reasonable explanation for her actions.
___________________________________________________________
I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY HERE. THIS IS DISGUSTING AND SHOULD BE A CRIME.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
CHILD MOLESTER DOES NOT SERVE TIME
(CNN) -- For nearly two years, the South Florida middle school art teacher forced the boy to have sex in a classroom supply closet.
Aaron Mohanlal, here in his sex offender registration photo, was allowed to stay out of prison on bond.
Sometimes, Aaron Mohanlal would call in sick to work, take the boy to his home for sex and drop the seventh-grader back off at school at the end of the day.
To keep the abuse secret, Mohanlal bought the 13-year-old a cell phone and created nicknames for their genitalia. When police arrested him, the teacher was caught on hidden video trying to destroy letters threatening the boy if he ever told.
Last summer, a Broward County jury convicted Mohanlal of 13 counts, including child abuse, molestation and lewd battery, and a judge sentenced him to 43 years.
But a year later, Mohanlal has yet to spend a day in prison.
"I can't understand why he isn't behind bars," said the victim, now 18. The network is not disclosing his name because it doesn't identify sexual assault victims.
"I want to move on with my life. I'm trying to graduate high school and forget about this," he said. "I try not to think about it, but it's hard, because all I can think about is, what if he's out there around other kids?"
Weeks after the trial, Broward Circuit Judge Marc Gold, who presided over the trial and sentenced Mohanlal, granted the teacher a rare bond that allows him to remain free while his case is tried on appeal, a process that could take years.
During the two months CNN has investigated this story, Mohanlal has been working a construction job in Broward County and spending time at a house in Sunrise, Florida, 15 miles from where the boy and his family live, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.
He resigned from his teaching job in 2005 after his arrest.
"The idea of that monster being that close to my family again is outrageous," said the boy's father, who is often so overwhelmed with rage and sadness that he drives to a park, leans against a tree and sobs.
"What did we go through a trial for?" he said.
A man who identified himself as Mohanlal hung up on a CNN reporter who called his home in Port St. Lucie, Florida, his address on record with the state's sex offender registry.
Mohanlal's appellate attorney, Tom Odom, refused to comment on the case beyond saying, "Everyone has a right to a first appeal."
Gold gave Mohanlal the right to live, work, travel and attend church in South Florida, according to numerous interviews and documents CNN has obtained. The judge ordered Mohanlal to wear a GPS device, register as a sex offender and surrender his passport.
He stipulated that Mohanlal cannot contact the boy and his family but did not order him to stay away from children, according to a transcript of the July 2007 bond hearing. Read the entire bond hearing
Mohanlal was allowed to post the $610,000 bond using his relatives' properties as collateral, the transcript shows.
Post-conviction bonds are rarely given in criminal trials, but judges occasionally grant them if there was a procedural error during trial that would make a conviction reversal at the appellate level likely, legal experts say.
But there were no procedural mistakes during Mohanlal's trial, both prosecutor Anita White and defense attorney Steve Rossi said.
Under Florida statute, defendants without prior felonies are eligible for post-conviction bond unless they have committed first-degree murder or sexual battery. Mohanlal wasn't convicted of first-degree sexual battery. He was convicted of second-and third-degree felonies, and he had no prior felony record.
Gold refused to talk on record about why he granted the bond. He would only give this statement: "The simple truth is that I had to rule based on what was presented to me during that hearing. And I took everything into consideration and felt a bond was appropriate."
"For a judge to delay jail is highly unusual, but it's especially unusual when you have someone convicted of a serious crime like sexual molestation of a child," said CNN legal analyst and criminal attorney B.J. Bernstein. "One of the concerns is that you have someone who commits a sex offense who, by their employment, seeks to be around children. They have abused that trust between a student and teacher."
A dozen legal experts, including criminal attorneys based in Florida, said they agree with Bernstein. None could recall a single case of a violent offender receiving the same kind of treatment.
Information on how many offenders are out on post-conviction bonds in Florida is difficult to find. There is no entity in the state, including the Florida Department of Corrections, that keeps track.
Last year, the boy's family won $300,000 from the school district after a civil claim that the district failed to protect the student.
Other students in Mohanlal's class testified that their teacher handed them fliers, with the boy's picture and phone number, that falsely accused the teen of having sex with animals. Caught on surveillance camera at a grocery store copying the fliers, prosecutors say Mohanlal had become a disturbed lover scorned when the boy entered high school and began rejecting his advances.
And there was evidence that Mohanlal was grooming other children. One middle-schooler told police that Mohanlal rubbed his arms and back during class; another testified at trial that his teacher gave him his cell phone number, money and hair conditioner.
"This was one of the most disturbing cases I've ever worked on, and there's no doubt in my mind that Aaron Mohanlal is a dangerous person," said Miramar Police Sgt. Jeff Armiento.
The investigator learned that Mohanlal was released on bond when he randomly searched for him on the state's correctional Web site.
"I was astonished, flabbergasted," Armiento said. "I called the state attorney's office to see if it was some kind of mistake. I don't see what would stop him from doing this to other kids."
Mohanlal's GPS device is monitored 24 hours a day by the Broward County Sheriff's Office, meaning his location appears on a computer screen. Otherwise, there is no police agency watching him.
Kristina Gulick, who oversees the electronic monitoring system, said Mohanlal gives the agency weekly itineraries to help police follow his whereabouts.
But 70 days of itineraries from March to June that CNN obtained from the Broward Sheriff's Office are not detailed; for example, some say Mohanlal intends to leave his home at 6:30 a.m. and return at 9:30 p.m. but do not say where he will be or what his plans are.
"We are confident that he is doing what he's supposed to be doing," Gulick said. "We have had no reason to think otherwise."
Because Mohanlal was required to register as a sex offender, he must provide the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with his home address. That home is in Port St. Lucie, about two hours from Broward County. See Mohanlal's sex offender registration
The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Department is required to make four visits to the home each year and verify that Mohanlal is living there based on what he tells deputies, according to department spokesman Mark Weinberg.
"This guy has all the reason in the world to take off," said Florida state criminologist Tom Blomberg, who conducted a 2006 study of sex offenders who are monitored by wearable GPS devices. "He's looking at prison for the rest of his life, and child molesters are almost always victimized in prison. He has to know that.
"This is not effective monitoring. In fact, it's a little bit beyond imagination what's going on here," Blomberg said. "The [GPS] technology works; that's not the problem. Police can only do so much. The question is whether this guy should be out of prison.
"This seems like a system failure on down."
__________________________________________________________________
THIS IS OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM AT IT'S BEST. WHY BOTHER GOING TO TRIAL? WHY BOTHER PUTTING THE VICTIM THROUGH IT? PUT THE ASSHOLE IN JAIL WHERE HE BELONGS.
Aaron Mohanlal, here in his sex offender registration photo, was allowed to stay out of prison on bond.
Sometimes, Aaron Mohanlal would call in sick to work, take the boy to his home for sex and drop the seventh-grader back off at school at the end of the day.
To keep the abuse secret, Mohanlal bought the 13-year-old a cell phone and created nicknames for their genitalia. When police arrested him, the teacher was caught on hidden video trying to destroy letters threatening the boy if he ever told.
Last summer, a Broward County jury convicted Mohanlal of 13 counts, including child abuse, molestation and lewd battery, and a judge sentenced him to 43 years.
But a year later, Mohanlal has yet to spend a day in prison.
"I can't understand why he isn't behind bars," said the victim, now 18. The network is not disclosing his name because it doesn't identify sexual assault victims.
"I want to move on with my life. I'm trying to graduate high school and forget about this," he said. "I try not to think about it, but it's hard, because all I can think about is, what if he's out there around other kids?"
Weeks after the trial, Broward Circuit Judge Marc Gold, who presided over the trial and sentenced Mohanlal, granted the teacher a rare bond that allows him to remain free while his case is tried on appeal, a process that could take years.
During the two months CNN has investigated this story, Mohanlal has been working a construction job in Broward County and spending time at a house in Sunrise, Florida, 15 miles from where the boy and his family live, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.
He resigned from his teaching job in 2005 after his arrest.
"The idea of that monster being that close to my family again is outrageous," said the boy's father, who is often so overwhelmed with rage and sadness that he drives to a park, leans against a tree and sobs.
"What did we go through a trial for?" he said.
A man who identified himself as Mohanlal hung up on a CNN reporter who called his home in Port St. Lucie, Florida, his address on record with the state's sex offender registry.
Mohanlal's appellate attorney, Tom Odom, refused to comment on the case beyond saying, "Everyone has a right to a first appeal."
Gold gave Mohanlal the right to live, work, travel and attend church in South Florida, according to numerous interviews and documents CNN has obtained. The judge ordered Mohanlal to wear a GPS device, register as a sex offender and surrender his passport.
He stipulated that Mohanlal cannot contact the boy and his family but did not order him to stay away from children, according to a transcript of the July 2007 bond hearing. Read the entire bond hearing
Mohanlal was allowed to post the $610,000 bond using his relatives' properties as collateral, the transcript shows.
Post-conviction bonds are rarely given in criminal trials, but judges occasionally grant them if there was a procedural error during trial that would make a conviction reversal at the appellate level likely, legal experts say.
But there were no procedural mistakes during Mohanlal's trial, both prosecutor Anita White and defense attorney Steve Rossi said.
Under Florida statute, defendants without prior felonies are eligible for post-conviction bond unless they have committed first-degree murder or sexual battery. Mohanlal wasn't convicted of first-degree sexual battery. He was convicted of second-and third-degree felonies, and he had no prior felony record.
Gold refused to talk on record about why he granted the bond. He would only give this statement: "The simple truth is that I had to rule based on what was presented to me during that hearing. And I took everything into consideration and felt a bond was appropriate."
"For a judge to delay jail is highly unusual, but it's especially unusual when you have someone convicted of a serious crime like sexual molestation of a child," said CNN legal analyst and criminal attorney B.J. Bernstein. "One of the concerns is that you have someone who commits a sex offense who, by their employment, seeks to be around children. They have abused that trust between a student and teacher."
A dozen legal experts, including criminal attorneys based in Florida, said they agree with Bernstein. None could recall a single case of a violent offender receiving the same kind of treatment.
Information on how many offenders are out on post-conviction bonds in Florida is difficult to find. There is no entity in the state, including the Florida Department of Corrections, that keeps track.
Last year, the boy's family won $300,000 from the school district after a civil claim that the district failed to protect the student.
Other students in Mohanlal's class testified that their teacher handed them fliers, with the boy's picture and phone number, that falsely accused the teen of having sex with animals. Caught on surveillance camera at a grocery store copying the fliers, prosecutors say Mohanlal had become a disturbed lover scorned when the boy entered high school and began rejecting his advances.
And there was evidence that Mohanlal was grooming other children. One middle-schooler told police that Mohanlal rubbed his arms and back during class; another testified at trial that his teacher gave him his cell phone number, money and hair conditioner.
"This was one of the most disturbing cases I've ever worked on, and there's no doubt in my mind that Aaron Mohanlal is a dangerous person," said Miramar Police Sgt. Jeff Armiento.
The investigator learned that Mohanlal was released on bond when he randomly searched for him on the state's correctional Web site.
"I was astonished, flabbergasted," Armiento said. "I called the state attorney's office to see if it was some kind of mistake. I don't see what would stop him from doing this to other kids."
Mohanlal's GPS device is monitored 24 hours a day by the Broward County Sheriff's Office, meaning his location appears on a computer screen. Otherwise, there is no police agency watching him.
Kristina Gulick, who oversees the electronic monitoring system, said Mohanlal gives the agency weekly itineraries to help police follow his whereabouts.
But 70 days of itineraries from March to June that CNN obtained from the Broward Sheriff's Office are not detailed; for example, some say Mohanlal intends to leave his home at 6:30 a.m. and return at 9:30 p.m. but do not say where he will be or what his plans are.
"We are confident that he is doing what he's supposed to be doing," Gulick said. "We have had no reason to think otherwise."
Because Mohanlal was required to register as a sex offender, he must provide the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with his home address. That home is in Port St. Lucie, about two hours from Broward County. See Mohanlal's sex offender registration
The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Department is required to make four visits to the home each year and verify that Mohanlal is living there based on what he tells deputies, according to department spokesman Mark Weinberg.
"This guy has all the reason in the world to take off," said Florida state criminologist Tom Blomberg, who conducted a 2006 study of sex offenders who are monitored by wearable GPS devices. "He's looking at prison for the rest of his life, and child molesters are almost always victimized in prison. He has to know that.
"This is not effective monitoring. In fact, it's a little bit beyond imagination what's going on here," Blomberg said. "The [GPS] technology works; that's not the problem. Police can only do so much. The question is whether this guy should be out of prison.
"This seems like a system failure on down."
__________________________________________________________________
THIS IS OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM AT IT'S BEST. WHY BOTHER GOING TO TRIAL? WHY BOTHER PUTTING THE VICTIM THROUGH IT? PUT THE ASSHOLE IN JAIL WHERE HE BELONGS.
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