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By now, everyone knows of the sad end to the search for Annie Le.  Her body was discovered earlier this week in the walls of a Yale campus research building.  Many hoped her disappearance would lead to her safe return to her family and fiancé.  The 24 year old went missing a week ago,  and less than seven days before her wedding was to take place.

An arrest was made on Wednesday.  Raymond Clark, III, a custodian on Yale’s payroll, has been charged with murder.  Unlike other well-publicized American homicide cases, the authorities involved with this case have remained tight-lipped.  In a peculiar statement that was released by police that reads, in part, “…charges will be filed against anyone whose DNA matches evidence found at the crime scene”, it almost appears as though there might be other persons of interest.  Still, these same authorities insist they’re nearly certain Clark is the only suspect.

The irony is that Clark is described as a control freak who complained to the victim that he didn’t like the way she handled the lab mice.  His duties included cleaning cages and other custodial work.  In an email that hasn’t been released, it’s said Le apologized and assured Clark she would take his complaints into consideration.  If he’s found guilty, his control issues will only serve as a hindrance as he attempts to adjust to life in prison.  He didn’t enter a plea during his arraignment in Connecticut on Thursday and only replied when the judge asked him if he understood his Miranda rights.  He remains in jail on a $3 million dollar bond and will most likely remain there since he doesn’t have the financial resources to meet the obligations of posting bail.

The police chief in this case stated this case had little to do with university crime, domestic crime or urban crime, but rather it’s a clear cut example of workplace violence.  He then goes on to say it’s a growing concern in this country.

Just as Le had a fiancé who now must pick up the pieces, Clark too has left behind a stunned fiancé who surely must be trying to figure out how someone she loves could be accused of such a heinous crime.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention month.  As we’re nearing the end of the month, it seems as though there are more stories about society’s most vulnerable who are suffering, or worse, dying at the hands of those they trust most. 

Shylae Thomas

This nine-year old quadriplegic girl was found stuffed into a plastic bin nearly 100 miles from the only home she’s ever known.  Her adoptive mother, who’s also her aunt, has been charged with not only her murder, but a myriad of child abuse charges as well.  Seven other children were removed from her care just prior to her arrest. 

The medical examiner in Flint, MI determined Shylae weighed only 33 pounds when she died and will testify this child was starved to death.  Her murder caps the end of a tragic and short life.  Her own mother lost custody of her when she was a baby for many of the same accusations her adoptive mother’s now been charged with, including medical neglect.  The murder trial is slated to start next month.

Enrique Gonzalez

A California gang member, Enrique Gonzalez, is on the run for tattooing his seven year old son with a gang tattoo.  The boy didn’t want the tattoo and was adamant enough that his father (and I use that term loosely) had to call in back-up to hold this child down while he was tattooed.  Gonzalez has been charged with child abuse, false imprisonment, committing a crime for the benefit of a gang and other charges.  He’s yet to be captured and the boy is in protective custody.

Keyuna Thomas

The prime witness against a man who’s been charged with murdering his girlfriend is the couple’s now 13-year old daughter.  She’s expected to testify she was forced to help dismember her mother and watch as her head fell to the floor.  There are few things more horrifying.  Her father, James Hawkins, who was on parole at the time of the murder in 2008, has denied through his lawyer of committing the murder.  At one time, he admitted to dumping her body in north Mississippi, but has since emphatically denied having made any such statement.  He was recently found competent and as a result, will stand trial and be forced to watch his own daughter relive what will be the most devastating event she will ever know in her life.

With these and so many other stories in the news about the endless ways children are being abused, it gives every parent in this country reason to keep their own children close, whether they’re 5, 25 or 105.

What do you do with a little boy, who’s eleven years old and in the fifth grade, when he’s been accused of shooting his father’s girlfriend?  That’s the million dollar question in Pennsylvania tonight.  Jordan Brown, who, although is a minor, now has his name and picture posted all over the internet due to his being charged as an adult, sits in a Lawrence County, PA prison cell as he awaits a hearing to determine where to house him.  The sheriff is concerned due to the lack of accommodations for this baby-faced accused murderer and his attorney, Dennis Elisco, wants him released on bail so that he can get back to school and “daily living”.  This kid won’t know daily living, at least in the way he’s known in his short eleven years, for a very long time. 

No one is certain why he would shoot Kenzie Houk, who was eight months pregnant with the boy’s half-sibling.  Many family members say jealousy probably played a role in this tragic choice and he could’ve been trying to prevent a new baby from taking anymore attention away from him.  Clearly, this isn’t a typical case of what’s considered normal childhood jealousy.  For whatever reasons that even this boy can’t understand, he chose to end two lives (doctors say the fetus could’ve survived outside the womb, making it likely he will be charged with not one, but two murders).  Even more tragic is the two young girls, daughters of Houk, who were in the house.  The oldest girl, not suspecting her mother had just been shot, left the house with the boy as they headed to meet the bus for school.  It wasn’t until the youngest girl ran for help to utility personnel who were working in the area that her mother’s body was found. 

When the police found the boy at the school, he told them of a mysterious truck in the driveway and a man who could’ve been the one who shot his dad’s girlfriend.  This statement will most likely come back to bite both him and his attorney.  Pennsylvania allows kids as young as ten to be tried as adults.

Now a father is grieving the death of his girlfriend and child, both of whom were most likely killed by his son.  He’s expected to testify that he can ensure his son’s court appearances should the court allow bail.  A preliminary hearing is set for late this week with his attorney arguing for a move to the juvenile court.

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What does a convicted cop killer, several sheriffs and district attorneys have in common?  They’re all endorsing a Jefferson County, WI judge as he pursues a position on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  Judge Randy Koschnick served fourteen years as a public defender and during that time, was assigned a case that meant having to defend an accused cop killer.  Part of his defense of Ted Oswald, who was convicted in

Judge Randy Koschnick

1995 for murder, was that his father brainwashed him and forced him to play a role in a bank robbery that led to the killing of a police captain who pulled the pair over immediately following the bank heist.

Traditionally, law enforcement won’t endorse a former public defender due to the belief they undermine the efforts of the police and the work they do when collecting evidence in a crime.  This hasn’t necessarily been the case with Judge Koschnick.  He’s received support from both area police departments as well as the district attorney’s office.  What the judge hadn’t anticipated, however, is the support from a former client.  He’s not exactly pleased with it, either.  In a statement, he says, “He is free to say whatever he wants, but his endorsement is no honor to me.”

Oswald sent a letter to the Associated Press and said Koschnick was both productive and that he provided “good work” on his case.  He’s now in his mid-thirties and besides his conviction for murder, he was also convicted of kidnapping and the injury of two other police officers and of course, the bank robbery.  He’s serving a life sentence.

So is it possible for a former public defender who was elected as a county judge to switch gears and remain objective?  Some say no; however, the argument could be made that those with such backgrounds are excellent candidates.  After all, they know the problems and challenges from both sides in a courtroom.  Their unique position could be advantageous in a country that built its legal system based on fairness and a level playing field. 

The April 7 election will tell the tale on whether a convicted killer has any political pull from behind bars.

Saturday marks the 53^rd anniversary of the controversial confession by two racist murderers to a writer for Look magazine.  In 1955, a fourteen year old African-American boy was taken in the middle of the night from his great uncle’s home.  Those who took him were white men.  And this happened in Mississippi.  Emmett Till was never seen alive again, but his body was recovered three days later in the Tallahatchie River.  The two men who were accused, arrested, tried and later acquitted were Roy Bryant and his brother, J.W. Milam. 

This all began when Emmett went into a store for groceries and complimented the wife of the store owner.  The woman told the story to her husband and it went from there.  A few days later, the boy disappeared.  At his funeral, his mother insisted on an open casket in an effort to shock the segregated South and bring

Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Bradley

attention to the hatred of those who killed her son.  Jet magazine took photos at the funeral and then published them. 

In the meantime, Bryant and Milam were arrested. Their trial began less than a month later.  And if you think that’s fast, the all white, all male jury deliberated for an hour before returning a not guilty verdict.  These jurors, in some twisted attempt to further injure an already devastated family, joked that had they not stopped deliberations to drink a Coke, their verdict would have come back sooner.  Ordinarily, in the late 1950s and in the deep South, this would have been the end of the story.  This is where it becomes even more disturbing.

Three months after having been found not guilty, these men gave that interview to Look magazine and confessed to the journalist.  Not only that, but they gave the details of every move they made as they committed this murder.  They beat this child with a gun, shot him and then tied his body with a cotton-gin fan before throwing him into the river.  Further, they were paid for this interview.  Look was unable to rescind its offer of payment to two murderers, regardless of how sickening the final story was.

This was one of those cases that was so outrageous as to cause international rage and has been credited as one that helped kick the civil rights movement into high gear.  Both Milam and Bryant are dead, courtesy of cancer.  The FBI exhumed Emmett’s body in 2005, but there have been no reports in the recent past of further attempts to charge others who might have played a role and who are still living.

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In a documentary that’s planned to air Sunday night, a video is expected to be played that shows Joran Van Der Sloot negotiating the sale of and making arrangements for the transport of Thai prostitutes to a supposed sex industry big wheel. He believes he will receive $13,000 for each woman and goes on to say the women will be expected to receive around $300 a month. What next? The Aruban poster boy for wasted oxygen just keeps displaying a lack of respect for women in general. I would go so far as to say he has a deep hatred towards women.

He, along with two of his friends, is believed to have murdered Natalee Holloway in 2005 while she was on her senior trip in Aruba. In fact, Joran has all but confessed. His father hasn’t been exactly the model parent throughout this ordeal and has actually shielded him from those wishing to interview his son. All the while, Natalee’s parents have waited over three years for answers to their daughter’s disappearance. Despite a major investigation that included efforts being sabotaged for those travelling to the island to look for this girl, no one has ever stood trial, let alone convicted for this crime. Just when it seems the main player in this story will continue to lead his charmed life, this newest tape surfaces. What becomes of it remains to be seen. No one is really sure what charges he could face for this latest display of vulgarity, but I would think the sale of humans would be a universal no-no, even if prostitution laws vary greatly from one country to another.

You can’t help but wonder what his parents must be thinking. They’re either horrified their son is capable of such vile actions or they’re horrified that the whole world now knows what they’ve known for years. Either way, they have to be wondering what their son is made of, or rather, what’s lacking that would let him believe this is acceptable behavior on any level. And too, you can’t help but wonder if this will eventually come to a close much in the way O.J. Simpson finally got a small taste of what he deserved. Both of these men most likely got away with murder, only to find themselves in hot water yet again and if O.J.’s history is any indication, Joran will have a wall of bars protecting society from his narcissistic and entitled mindset just as O.J. has. And another twist of irony is that there is both video and audio memorializing every syllable they spoke during their crimes, or rather, all of the crimes committed with the exception of murder.

The two brothers who supposedly participated in at least a part of Natalee’s disappearance have managed to stay out of the limelight to some degree. At least they have the good sense to not flaunt themselves in any way that could come back to bite them; not that we know of anyway. You would think Joran would’ve figured out by now that it’s a safe assumption he’s being recorded. This is the second hidden video that’s popped up that casts him in a very bad light. The first, of course, was his near-confession regarding the Holloway disappearance. We’ll have to wait to see what’s in this video, but maybe it’s damning enough to put him behind bars, if only for a fraction of what he truly deserves.

If anyone has even remotely been following the catastrophe better known as Casey Anthony, then you’ve surely become familiar with Tim Miller and his plight to find a missing girl in Florida. Casey Anthony, the little girl’s mother, is currently in jail and expected to stand trial in early January. She’s

Tim Miller

accused of killing her only child and taking huge measures to hide the body. Her family has been less than helpful, especially her brother. He seems to go from distancing himself to becoming a major ally for his sister. His most recent stunt, though, has a lot of people scratching their heads and thinking to themselves, ‘Huh?’

He has made it his personal mission to discourage every person he comes across from supporting Tim Miller’s efforts to locate his missing niece’s body. Tim Miller is the founder and director of EquuSearch, an organization that volunteers time and resources to locate missing people across the country. Incorporating horses, boats and any other means available, he and a team of volunteers selflessly donate their time and resources to locate missing children and adults. It should be noted that Tim Miller is a victim of crime himself. His daughter, Laura, was kidnapped and murdered in 1984. Her memory is the inspiration for his tireless efforts as well as the creation of EquuSearch.

For some reason, he and his team are a major threat to the Anthony family. They say they won’t support his efforts because he is searching for a body, while they contend their search is for a live Caylee. There’s definitely a “Paul Harvey” to this - a “rest of the story” that none of us are privy to. Yet. Despite being treated less than kind by the Anthony family during his several trips to Florida, he remains committed to finding this child’s remains and as such, has returned to Florida once again to resume the search. I absolutely believe there is another reason this family is so resistant to EquuSearch’s efforts. I can understand the resistance to believe a loved one is no longer alive, but what I can’t understand is why help, regardless of how the search is defined - whether as a recovery or as a rescue - is resisted. I wouldn’t care if I was told help was coming, but that it simultaneously included a search for Michael Jackson’s lost career. My interest would be only to find my loved one.

While on the EquuSearch webpage, I realized this is a huge operation that many dedicate their hearts to - and with absolutely no pay. They have 350 plus volunteers, not to mention those who volunteer their time and efforts for specific searches, such as the Caylee Anthony search. Many are found alive, but still, there are those stories that end with the discovery of a body. Statistics on their site reveal:

• 53% of child abductions are by strangers
• The typical victim is an eleven year old white female
• In 58% of abductions, the initial contact between abductor and victim is within a quarter mile of the victim’s home
• Partial profile of an abductor is a 27 white male who is unmarried

Despite the hostility Tim Miller’s group of volunteers are bound to experience, they’re back and they’re more determined than ever to locate this child, whether the Anthonys’ like it or not. In the meantime, this baby’s mother is in jail and will remain so until her trial begins. She has been charged with murder as well as the previous charges that include theft due to her shopping sprees on her best friend’s dime.