LA HABRA, CA — A judge has ruled that a woman accused of throwing her 7-month-old son from a parking structure is mentally competent to stand trial. Sonia Hermosillo, 31, of La Habra is charged with murder in the death of Noe Medina Jr. Baby Noe was critically injured after falling from the fourth floor of the parking structure at Children’s Hospital in Orange on August 22.  READ MORE HERE

Federal prosecutors charged Eugene Ballantyne, 29, of Running Springs, with receiving and distribution of child pornography this week after an investigation revealed he allegedly exchanged sexually-explicit photos and messages with a 13-year-old New Jersey girl. (Federal Bureau of Investigation)

RUNNING SPRINGS, CA — FBI agents arrested a San Bernardino middle school teacher Tuesday morning, claiming he exchanged sexually-explicit images with a 13-year-old New Jersey girl. Agents arrested Eugene Ballantyne, 29, at his Running Springs home without incident. Federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint Friday in United States district Court, charging Ballantyne with receipt and distribution of child pornography. READ MORE HERE

Caylee Anthony’s Unsolved Death Joins Long List

The recent acquittal of Casey Anthony on first-degree murder charges in connection with the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, has left many wondering what happened. With Anthony’s not guilty verdict, the crime (if there was one) remains unsolved. Caylee Anthony joins a long list of unsolved child deaths. Many of them, like Caylee, have achieved international prominence. These include JonBenét Ramsey, the 6-year-old beauty pageant star killed in her Colorado home in 1996 and Azaria Chamberlain, a 9-week-old Australian girl who disappeared in the Australian Outback (and who may or may not have been eaten by a dingo).  READ MORE HERE

———————————————————————

UNSOLVED Kidnappings, Homicides & Missing Persons

Unsolved means there is not enough evidence to convince a jury, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a defendant is guilty. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one in four homicides remains unsolved each year. Polly Klaas® Foundation is a member of the Association for Missing and Exploited Children Organizations (AMECO), an international association of nonprofit organizations that serve missing and exploited children, their families and law enforcement.

Holly Piirainen, 10, disappeared on Aug. 5, 1993, after she and her brother went to a neighbor’s to play with puppies. Her brother returned without her.

JonBenet Ramsey, 6 —In 1996, the Christmas night murder of JonBenét in her Boulder, CO home shocked America. No arrests were forthcoming. Despite a national obsession with this case, nobody really knows what happened.

Molly Bish, 16, was a high school junior who just started a summer job as a lifeguard. She disappeared in the town of Warren, Mass.

They Unexplained Death of Caylee Anthony— This case being categorized as unsolved is a technicality. Nobody has been found guilty of her murder. Even though her mother claims she died of an accidental drowning.

Casey Anthony Latest News — Case history, documents, transcripts and recent updates by the Orlando Sentinel.

When Caylee vanished — A toddler is missing, and Casey Anthony, her mom, is accused of her murder on Dateline MSN

Casey Anthony Trial Updates — Investigation Discovery

Okfuskee County, OK. Taylor Paschal Placker,13, and Skyla Whitaker,11, were walking on a county road near Taylor’s home in the late afternoon of June 8th, 2008. Numerous shots were fired at the girls from two guns.They died at the scene. The case is open and active. A reward of $160,000 is offered. If anyone has information, they are urged to call the OSBI at 1-800-522-8017

On September 20, 1997, the body of Leah Rochelle Mahseet, a 16-year-old Cheyenne-Arapaho student was discovered on a county road north of Geary, Oklahoma. She was last seen alive at a Geary Conoco gas station, September 14, 1997, at about 9:00 p.m. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Blaine County Sheriff’s Office are handling the investigation. A $15,000 reward is offered.

Elsie Paroubek, a five-year-old daughter of Czech immigrants in Chicago, went missing on April 8, 1911. An intense police investigation covered three states. It was commonly believed she was stolen by Gypsies or Travellers. Her body was found a month later.

The Grimes sisters, Barbara, 15 and Patricia,13, disappeared December 28, 1956, in Chicago, after going to a theater about a mile a way to see Love me Tender, an Elvis Presley movie with a total of $2.15 between them. At around 9:30 pm, they were in the theater’s popcorn line. The movie ended at 11 pm. At 2:15 am, their mother reported them missing, resulting in Chicagos largest missing-persons search. Elvis Presley publicly asked the girls to come home. Their cut, punctured, bruised, nude bodies were found overlapping each other, beside an icy road on January 22, 1957. The bodies were believed to have been there for several days under a snowfall and preserved by low temperatures. The cause of death was ruled exposure. Police were never able to determine what happened to the sisters. Photos | Cook County Sheriff’s Office. There is a current book out on this case: Murder Gone Cold by Tamara Shaffer.

Locate sex offenders using the free FBI national registry.

————————————————————————————————–

HALEIGH CUMMINGS

February 10, 2009
Satsuma, Florida

• VIDEO: La Mirada Substitute Teacher Accused of Molesting Student in Class – Lynette Romero reports

LA MIRADA, CA — Sheriff’s deputies arrested a substitute teacher Monday at Los Coyotes Middle School in La Mirada on suspicion of molesting a female student in a classroom. The girl’s mother reported that her daughter said the teacher, Ted Nishihara, had touched her in a sexual manner during class, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said. The girl is a preteen, according to authorities.  READ MORE HERE

The tyrant sun claimed an innocent victim in Prince William County, VA. Forgotten by his mother, Karen Murphy, in a minivan for seven hours as she facilitated her veterinary practice, 2 yr. old Ryan Murphy succumbed to heatstroke in his carseat. Obviously accidental, the incident has nonetheless brought heartbreak to the Murphy family. READ MORE HERE

Tragedy struck in Little Rock, Arkansas, changing the lives of a young family. A 9-year-old autistic daughter shot her little brother after the two children were left alone briefly as the parents went to sign some papers at the apartments leasing office. According to Huffington Post, originally authorities were told by the girl that two men had entered the apartment and shot her brother.  With no signs of forced entry, and further conversation with the girl, investigators believed the girl was responsible for the shooting. The young boy was rushed to the hospital and later pronounced dead. READ MORE HERE

Crystal Valdez awaits her next court date from a Cook County Jail cell. She’s 28 and accused of murder. Prosecutors say she watched as her boyfriend beat her young son to death. We wrote about this terrible case on Jan. 1. It makes you gasp. Caseworkers for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services knew something was wrong. Months before Crescencio “Christopher” Valdez died on his fourth birthday, an emergency room doctor had reported his suspicion that the little boy was being harmed. Police investigated, but DCFS made little effort to find out the results of the police investigation and quickly closed its own case. The DCFS investigator believed Crystal Valdez’s story about her son’s injuries. She said he fell off a porch. You might be tempted to say that this was a tragic error, but an isolated one. That would be dangerous.  READ MORE HERE

Nigeria: Gory Details of How Ritualists Behead Two-Year-Old Girl

The life of an innocent toddler, Ummul-Khairu Mohammed, was cut short in Minna, the Niger State capital, at the weekend by unknown persons suspected to be ritualists. The brutal murder of the child has however thrown the residents of the area into confusion and apprehension. Fear-that is the word that now pervades the Kafin Tela/Tunga area of Minna, Niger State. The people of the area can no longer sleep with their eyes closed since last week when men suspected to be ritualists invaded the area, snatched a two-year-old girl, beheaded her and disappeared into thin air before the neighbors got wind of what had happened.  READ MORE HERE

An 18-year-old youth has been sentenced to ten years in jail for raping a five-month-old girl with the court expressing anguish at the “ghastly and inhuman act” of the convict. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Kamini Lau said the case “where the five-month-old girl was subjected to unwanted physical contact by a perverted male adult, was a glaring example of the growing menace of sexual abuse of young children.” The court sent north-west Delhi resident Sonu to jail for raping the infant, who was also his distant relative.  READ MORE HERE

TUSTIN, CA– Police arrested a 23-year-old Anaheim man with a juvenile history of sex offenses Friday afternoon after a 13-year-old boy reported being sodomized in the men’s room of the Orange County Public Library in Tustin. The boy fled the library to a police station across the street to report the alleged attack.  Police took the boy to a hospital for treatment and he was later released to his family. READ MORE HERE