MIAMI -- One of two men accused of hijack and murder aboard a Miami Beach fishing charter has pleaded guilty.
In Miami federal court Thursday, Kirby Archer -- absent without leave from the military and wanted by authorities in Arkansas -- exchanged his guilty plea for a life sentence with no chance of parole. He was facing a possible death sentence.
"Did you, in fact, do what the government said you did in this case," Judge Paul Huck asked. "How do you plead?"
"Guilty," Archer replied.
Prosecutors have no witnesses and no bodies as evidence in the deaths of Jake Branam, captain of the fishing vessel, "Joe Cool;" his wife, Kelly Branam; crewmember and Jake Branam's half-brother, Scott Michael Gamble; and first mate Samuel Kairy.
The victims' families begrudgingly agreed to the plea so as not to chance a jury trial in a case without witnesses or bodies.
"We all came to the realization that no one's going to come back," said Jonathan Branam, Jake's cousin. "It is what it is. We'd rather have him spend his life in jail than walk."
Kirby's attorney said the plea deal was a best-case scenario for his client.
"We were able to save his life and he pled guilty to do so," said Allan Kaiser as he left the courthouse.
Archer and Guillermo Zarabozo, a then-19-year-old Hialeah resident, initially claimed pirates commandeered the "Joe Cool" and killed the crew.
In open court, prosecutor Karen Gilbert detailed the events of September 2007, beginning with Archer's intended flight from the law. He convinced Zarabozo, whom he had met while stationed in the Cuban refugee tent camp at Guantanamo Bay, to escape with him to Cuba, Gilbert alleged.
They scouted marinas for a charter they could commandeer and offered the crew of the "Joe Cool" $4,000 for a purported one-way trip. At sea, when Archer gave the signal, he shot the Branams on the fishing bridge as Zarabozo shot Kairy and Gamble on deck, Gilbert claimed.
Those were among the details the victims' family members had not yet learned.
"I wasn't aware that, according to Archer, Archer shot Jake and Zarabozo supposedly shot Scott," said Scott's sister, Amie Gamble, who is also half-sister to Jake Branam.
Zarabozo has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty in his case.
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WHAT BURNS ME UP ABOUT THIS CASE IS THAT THE FAMILY IS PROBABLY RIGHT. WITHOUT BODIES, IT WILL BE HARD TO PROVE THE CASE. LIFE IN PRISON IS TOO GOOD FOR THESE MURDERERS, BUT AT THIS POINT, IT IS THE BEST TO HOPE FOR.
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Friday, July 25, 2008
CPS: Protocol Not Followed In Slain Boy's Case
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A social worker did not follow protocol in the case of a boy who was allegedly killed at the hands of his mother's boyfriend, the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday.
The department's director, Lynn Frank, said Jahmaurae Allen, 4, was the subject of a Child Protective Services case that was opened on June 16, 2008.
Frank said the social worker affiliated with the case did not follow established department procedures and has been put on administrative leave pending further review of the circumstances.
She released the following statement Thursday:
"Although Child Protective Services intervened in this case and did take some steps to protect Jahmaurae, we could have -- and should have -- done more," Frank said. "In the majority of cases, records show our workers make the right decisions. In the case of Jahmaurae Allen, we did not adhere to our own high standards."
Frank said the social worker did take some steps to ensure the boy's safety, but it wasn't enough.
"I'm really horrified by the situation and by the death of this child. I don't understand how with the focus that we've had, how this could have happened again," Frank said.
CPS said it would implement immediate changes. It will now review all 921 current investigations of children ages 5 and younger; have supervisors accompany social workers over the next 30 days to assess their skills; reach out to law enforcement and other experts to improve the system and accountability of employees; and increase quality assurance reviews from quarterly to monthly.
The Sacramento County Coroner's Office said Allen died of blunt-force head and stomach injuries.
Jonathan Lamar Perry, 26, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of murder and child endangerment.
Perry was supposed to be arraigned Thursday but did not appear in court because of a psychological condition. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon.
He is facing murder and assault charges.
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THIS IS A SAD STORY. HOWEVER, IT IS IGNORANT TO BLAME DCS. HAVE YOU ANY IDEA OF THE CASE LOAD THESE WORKERS MAINTAIN? NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOUR SERVICE IS, SOMEONE IS GOING TO SUFFER. IT IS A FACT OF LIFE. PEOPLE NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS. NAMELY, THE MURDERER WHO KILLED THIS BABY. END OF STORY.
The department's director, Lynn Frank, said Jahmaurae Allen, 4, was the subject of a Child Protective Services case that was opened on June 16, 2008.
Frank said the social worker affiliated with the case did not follow established department procedures and has been put on administrative leave pending further review of the circumstances.
She released the following statement Thursday:
"Although Child Protective Services intervened in this case and did take some steps to protect Jahmaurae, we could have -- and should have -- done more," Frank said. "In the majority of cases, records show our workers make the right decisions. In the case of Jahmaurae Allen, we did not adhere to our own high standards."
Frank said the social worker did take some steps to ensure the boy's safety, but it wasn't enough.
"I'm really horrified by the situation and by the death of this child. I don't understand how with the focus that we've had, how this could have happened again," Frank said.
CPS said it would implement immediate changes. It will now review all 921 current investigations of children ages 5 and younger; have supervisors accompany social workers over the next 30 days to assess their skills; reach out to law enforcement and other experts to improve the system and accountability of employees; and increase quality assurance reviews from quarterly to monthly.
The Sacramento County Coroner's Office said Allen died of blunt-force head and stomach injuries.
Jonathan Lamar Perry, 26, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of murder and child endangerment.
Perry was supposed to be arraigned Thursday but did not appear in court because of a psychological condition. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon.
He is facing murder and assault charges.
__________________________________________________________
THIS IS A SAD STORY. HOWEVER, IT IS IGNORANT TO BLAME DCS. HAVE YOU ANY IDEA OF THE CASE LOAD THESE WORKERS MAINTAIN? NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOUR SERVICE IS, SOMEONE IS GOING TO SUFFER. IT IS A FACT OF LIFE. PEOPLE NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS. NAMELY, THE MURDERER WHO KILLED THIS BABY. END OF STORY.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Killer Granny
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) -- Jeff Carstensen was spooked when he learned his grandmother planned to buy him a $100,000 life insurance policy -- and name herself the beneficiary.
Betty Johnson Neumar is shown at her booking. She is being held in a North Carolina jail on $500,000 bond.
Betty Johnson Neumar is shown at her booking. She is being held in a North Carolina jail on $500,000 bond.
"She told me that people of our stature have insurance policies on each other," he said. "That way, if something happens to you, you take care of me, and if something happens to me, I take care of you. It was all too suspicious. So I got out of there any way I could, as soon as I could."
As he and everyone else who came into Betty Neumar's orbit have learned, he apparently had good reason.
The 76-year-old Georgia woman sits in a North Carolina jail, accused of hiring a hit man to kill fourth husband Harold Gentry.
Authorities are re-examining the deaths of her first child and four of the five men she married, including Gentry.
No motive has been discussed, but records and interviews with relatives and police officials paint Neumar as a domineering matriarch consumed by money.
Said Al Gentry, who pressed North Carolina authorities for 22 years to reopen their investigation of his brother's death: "You can't trust her. You can't believe a word she says."
She collected at least $20,000 in 1986 when Harold Gentry was shot to death in his home. A year earlier, she had collected $10,000 in life insurance when her son died.
She also had a life insurance policy on husband No. 5, John Neumar, who died in October. The official cause of death was listed as sepsis, but authorities are investigating whether he was poisoned.
Betty Neumar's attorney has declined requests for comment. A North Carolina judge on Monday refused to lower Neumar's $500,000 bond at a hearing in Stanly County, about 40 miles northeast of Charlotte. Prosecutors called her a flight risk and said other jurisdictions were ramping up their investigations into her past.
To the outside world, family members said, she was Bee -- a friendly woman who operated beauty shops, attended church and raised money for charity.
But Carstensen saw another side: fist fights at family functions, use of obscenities and belittling of relatives, how she would act "one way in public -- especially church -- and another behind closed doors."
Police in Ohio are looking into the death of Carstensen's stepfather, Neumar's son Gary Flynn, who was found shot to death in his apartment in November 1985. It was ruled a suicide, but his family has questions. A decision on whether to formally reopen the case is pending.
Law enforcement authorities told The Associated Press they have struggled to piece together details of Betty Neumar's life because her story keeps changing. But interviews, documents and court records provide an outline of her history in North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Georgia, the states where she was married.
'We trusted her'
She was born Betty Johnson in 1931 in Ironton, a hardscrabble southeastern Ohio town along the West Virginia border. She graduated from high school in 1949 and married Clarence Malone in November 1950. She was 18, he was 19.
In December 1951, she claimed in court papers that Malone abused her. It's unclear what happened to that complaint or when the marriage broke up. Their son, Gary, was born March 13, 1952.
Malone remarried twice. He was shot once in the back of the head outside his auto shop in a small town southwest of Cleveland in November 1970. His death was ruled a homicide, although police said there were no signs of robbery.
Gary was eventually adopted by Betty Neumar's second husband, James A. Flynn, although it's unclear when she met or married him. She told investigators that he "died on a pier" somewhere in New York in the mid-1950s. She and Flynn had a daughter, Peggy, and his death is the only one officials are not reinvestigating.
Records from Florida show she was living in Jacksonville when she enrolled in beauty college in 1960 under the name Betty Flynn.
At some point, she met her third husband, Richard Sills, who was found dead in his apartment in the Florida Keys in 1965. Neumar told police they were alone in a room arguing when he pulled out a gun and shot himself. Authorities who ruled it a suicide are now reinvestigating.
Three years later, Neumar married Gentry. Five years after he died, she married John Neumar.
It was while living with him in Augusta, Georgia, in the mid-1990s that, former friends and family members said, she persuaded more than 200 people to invest in a get-rich-quick scheme.
She told them they would receive up to $100,000 for every $100 they put toward the legal expenses of a rich European family that had died with no heirs.
Word spread, and people brought money to her beauty shop near Belvedere, South Carolina, near the Georgia border. Her husband's son, John K. Neumar, invested $1,000.
Months later, more than 200 antsy investors met with Betty Neumar at the Augusta Civic Center. She said lawyers in Europe needed more time and their money was safe. It wasn't true. Seven ringleaders in the scam pleaded guilty in 1997, but Neumar was never charged.
"We were rather stupid. I know," said Mary Miller, an investor who lost $500. "But we believed her. We trusted her."
It appears they weren't the only ones.
John Neumar was worth more than $300,000 when he and Betty married in 1991. But nearly 10 years later, they filed for bankruptcy and listed more than $206,000 in debts on 43 credit cards. It's unclear where the money went.
"Before he met her, he always saved his money," said John K. Neumar. "That's what he taught us. So it was a big surprise when I found out he was having financial trouble. It wasn't like he bought anything. She just took all his money."
__________________________________________________________
I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. DAMN GRANDMA. EYE FOR AN EYE. ANOTHER ONE WHO DESERVES THE NEEDLE.
Betty Johnson Neumar is shown at her booking. She is being held in a North Carolina jail on $500,000 bond.
Betty Johnson Neumar is shown at her booking. She is being held in a North Carolina jail on $500,000 bond.
"She told me that people of our stature have insurance policies on each other," he said. "That way, if something happens to you, you take care of me, and if something happens to me, I take care of you. It was all too suspicious. So I got out of there any way I could, as soon as I could."
As he and everyone else who came into Betty Neumar's orbit have learned, he apparently had good reason.
The 76-year-old Georgia woman sits in a North Carolina jail, accused of hiring a hit man to kill fourth husband Harold Gentry.
Authorities are re-examining the deaths of her first child and four of the five men she married, including Gentry.
No motive has been discussed, but records and interviews with relatives and police officials paint Neumar as a domineering matriarch consumed by money.
Said Al Gentry, who pressed North Carolina authorities for 22 years to reopen their investigation of his brother's death: "You can't trust her. You can't believe a word she says."
She collected at least $20,000 in 1986 when Harold Gentry was shot to death in his home. A year earlier, she had collected $10,000 in life insurance when her son died.
She also had a life insurance policy on husband No. 5, John Neumar, who died in October. The official cause of death was listed as sepsis, but authorities are investigating whether he was poisoned.
Betty Neumar's attorney has declined requests for comment. A North Carolina judge on Monday refused to lower Neumar's $500,000 bond at a hearing in Stanly County, about 40 miles northeast of Charlotte. Prosecutors called her a flight risk and said other jurisdictions were ramping up their investigations into her past.
To the outside world, family members said, she was Bee -- a friendly woman who operated beauty shops, attended church and raised money for charity.
But Carstensen saw another side: fist fights at family functions, use of obscenities and belittling of relatives, how she would act "one way in public -- especially church -- and another behind closed doors."
Police in Ohio are looking into the death of Carstensen's stepfather, Neumar's son Gary Flynn, who was found shot to death in his apartment in November 1985. It was ruled a suicide, but his family has questions. A decision on whether to formally reopen the case is pending.
Law enforcement authorities told The Associated Press they have struggled to piece together details of Betty Neumar's life because her story keeps changing. But interviews, documents and court records provide an outline of her history in North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Georgia, the states where she was married.
'We trusted her'
She was born Betty Johnson in 1931 in Ironton, a hardscrabble southeastern Ohio town along the West Virginia border. She graduated from high school in 1949 and married Clarence Malone in November 1950. She was 18, he was 19.
In December 1951, she claimed in court papers that Malone abused her. It's unclear what happened to that complaint or when the marriage broke up. Their son, Gary, was born March 13, 1952.
Malone remarried twice. He was shot once in the back of the head outside his auto shop in a small town southwest of Cleveland in November 1970. His death was ruled a homicide, although police said there were no signs of robbery.
Gary was eventually adopted by Betty Neumar's second husband, James A. Flynn, although it's unclear when she met or married him. She told investigators that he "died on a pier" somewhere in New York in the mid-1950s. She and Flynn had a daughter, Peggy, and his death is the only one officials are not reinvestigating.
Records from Florida show she was living in Jacksonville when she enrolled in beauty college in 1960 under the name Betty Flynn.
At some point, she met her third husband, Richard Sills, who was found dead in his apartment in the Florida Keys in 1965. Neumar told police they were alone in a room arguing when he pulled out a gun and shot himself. Authorities who ruled it a suicide are now reinvestigating.
Three years later, Neumar married Gentry. Five years after he died, she married John Neumar.
It was while living with him in Augusta, Georgia, in the mid-1990s that, former friends and family members said, she persuaded more than 200 people to invest in a get-rich-quick scheme.
She told them they would receive up to $100,000 for every $100 they put toward the legal expenses of a rich European family that had died with no heirs.
Word spread, and people brought money to her beauty shop near Belvedere, South Carolina, near the Georgia border. Her husband's son, John K. Neumar, invested $1,000.
Months later, more than 200 antsy investors met with Betty Neumar at the Augusta Civic Center. She said lawyers in Europe needed more time and their money was safe. It wasn't true. Seven ringleaders in the scam pleaded guilty in 1997, but Neumar was never charged.
"We were rather stupid. I know," said Mary Miller, an investor who lost $500. "But we believed her. We trusted her."
It appears they weren't the only ones.
John Neumar was worth more than $300,000 when he and Betty married in 1991. But nearly 10 years later, they filed for bankruptcy and listed more than $206,000 in debts on 43 credit cards. It's unclear where the money went.
"Before he met her, he always saved his money," said John K. Neumar. "That's what he taught us. So it was a big surprise when I found out he was having financial trouble. It wasn't like he bought anything. She just took all his money."
__________________________________________________________
I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. DAMN GRANDMA. EYE FOR AN EYE. ANOTHER ONE WHO DESERVES THE NEEDLE.
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