Midwife hanged in 1896 was probably Britain’s most prolific serial killer

The advertisement in the “Miscellaneous” column of the Bristol Times & Mirror newspaper was poignant. “Wanted,” it read, “respectable woman to take young child.” It was a sadly common request in Victorian Britain, where life was particularly hard for unmarried mothers. The ad had been placed by 25-year-old Evelina Marmon, who two months earlier, in January 1896, had given birth in a boarding house in Cheltenham to a little girl she named Doris. Evelina was a God-fearing farmer’s daughter who had gone astray, left the farm for city life and resorted to work as a barmaid in the saloon of the Plough Hotel, an old coaching inn. READ MORE HERE
Harold Shipman is generally considered to be Britain’s worst serial killer, with more than 250 murders ascribed to his name. But hidden among the tales of habitual drunks, petty thieves and small-time fraudsters published online last week sits the file of a little-known Bristol-born woman who may well have killed more. While largely forgotten today, Amelia Dyer’s crimes paved the way for one of the most sensational trials of the Victorian era – and spotlighted the pandemic problem of infanticide in 19th century Britain. Her Prison Commission file, now visible online, logs Dyer’s final moments on the scaffold at Newgate Gaol on June 10, 1896, and records her hanging with characteristic Victorian efficiency: “On account of her weight and the softness of the textures, rather a short drop was given. It proved to be quite sufficient.” READ MORE HERE

Abduction Reward Donors May Consider Victim as Recipient

More than $105K in reward money is sitting, waiting to be handed out to the person that helps bring those who allegedly abducted and raped a 5-year-old Cobbs Creek girl to justice. After enduring what investigators called an “unspeakable experience,” the girl assisted police in their investigation. She met with experts who worked to recover her memories, was questioned by detectives and even took three walks through the neighborhood where she was allegedly held. READ MORE HERE

The Toledo mother whose baby was found dead in a freezer at an East Toledo house pleaded guilty today to aggravated murder. At an emotionally charged hearing in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, Kenisha Pruitt, 21, of 2631 Scottwood Ave., was then sentenced by Judge Linda Jennings to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years. Two other charges — abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence — were dropped as part of the plea agreement. READ MORE HERE

Kids stabbed by mother’s boyfriend

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A funeral for two El Paso County children stabbed to death in a murder-suicide last week will be held Friday. Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Jeff Kramer said  22-year-old Ethan Courrau stabbed 1-year-old Scarlett Gallagher and 3-year-old Ryan Willhite in a mobile home before stabbing himself, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported. Scarlett was found dead at the scene, while Courrau and Ryan died at a hospital. Courrau was dating the children’s mother, police said. READ MORE HERE

An Ocean Isle Beach man released on bond last month after being charged with six counts of sexually exploiting a minor has been re-arrested on new allegations of criminal conduct involving children. Enrico Frank Milazzo was booked Friday into the Brunswick County jail on counts of first-degree child rape and taking indecent liberties with a minor, crimes he allegedly committed while free on bond for the sexual exploitation charges. READ MORE HERE

SEATTLE — A minister and former foster parent who sexually abused at least 10 young boys was sentenced Friday to 22 years in prison. Timothy L. Dampier, 39, pleaded guilty to a total of 22 counts involving ten victims between the ages of nine and 17 years old, according to prosecutors. Dampier had been involved in a number of Seattle-area youth programs at the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, New Hope Baptist Church, Ruth Dykeman Children’s Center, Ruther Child Center, Samuel House, Union Gospel Mission and Seattle Parks and Recreation. He also works as a minister at several Seattle churches, detectives said. READ MORE HERE

Doctors are supposed to save people, not kill them. Ohio doctor, Ali Salim, was charged on Wednesday for drugging, raping, and murdering a 23-year-old soon-to-be mom, Deanna Ballman. The woman’s body was found stuffed in the back of her own vehicle.  Ballman was 9 months pregnant at the time of her murder, with two young children, ages 1 and 3. READ MORE HERE

• Aaron Ledean engaged in sexual activity with boy in a visit to the cinema
• He was convicted of three indecent assaults on the teenager in the 1990s
• Ex-teacher had convictions for downloading child abuse images

A former school teacher is facing jail after carrying out repeated sexual assaults on an underage boy.   A jury unanimously convicted Aaron Ledean of three indecent assaults on the teenage boy in the 1990s. The ex-science teacher already had convictions for downloading almost 4,000 child abuse images.   Jurors heard how the victim of the assaults – who cannot be named for legal reasons, now an adult – felt ‘euphoria’ as he developed a strong crush on the affable, well-liked and openly gay Ledean.   READ MORE HERE

A cult leader who used his influence to rape several minors has not changed his behavior and should not be granted parole, the NSW State Parole Authority says.  William Kamm, a 62-year-old self-proclaimed prophet who claims to receive divine instruction from the Virgin Mary, was jailed in 2005 for at least three-and-a-half years for raping and assaulting a teenager in 1993. In 2007, a seven-and-a-half-year non-parole period with a maximum of 10 years was added to his sentence for other sex offences. READ MORE HERE

Hockey pedophile Graham James receives longer sentence from appeal court

Canadian National Hockey League star Theo Fleury, winner of a Stanley Cup ring and an Olympic gold medal does not mince words. He says that Canada is a “Disneyland for pedophiles” and I think he’s right. Fleury was yet another victim of Graham James, the now infamous hockey coach and mentor, who sexually abused young boys under his tutelage, ruining their lives in the process. Convicted in 1997 for sexually abusing professional hockey player Sheldon Kennedy, he was then sentenced to a mere three and a half years in prison for multiple criminal counts involving Mr. Kennedy and another young man. He served only eighteen months. READ MORE HERE

ONCORD – Former special needs school bus driver John Allen Wright will serve 160 years in federal prison for raping three “voiceless and vulnerable” autistic young boys onboard his bus while videotaping his exploits, the state’s top federal prosecutor said Friday in asking for the maximum sentence. “Rather than be their custodian, he was their predator. He was their pornographer and their tormentor,” U.S. Attorney for the District of New Hampshire John P. Kacavas said. READ MORE HERE

The stepmother of a 13-year-old boy who died after he was beaten and kept in a dog cage has been sentenced to 35 years in jail. Kimberly Kubina, 47, pleaded guilty to felony neglect over teenager Christian Choate’s death, whose severely malnourished body was found in a shallow grave at a mobile home park in Gary, Indiana shortly after he was reported missing in May 2011. Kubina’s former husband Riley Choate, 40, of Hammond, Indiana was also sentenced to 80 years in prison last month. READ MORE HERE

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FBI seeks public’s help identifying child porn suspects as well as victim’s t-shirt pictured in photographs

The FBI is asking for the public’s help in identifying two men wanted for their alleged involvement in the production of child pornography. The federal agency is circulating photographs of the suspects as well as other images grabbed from a child pornography video, including a child’s yellow t-shirt and the rear of what appears to be a one-story home with an above-ground pool in the backyard. The yellow t-shirt features an illustration of a basketball under the words, ‘New Market.’  READ MORE HERE

DNA tests show SKULL found in the woods IS that of disabled girl murdered and dismembered by her stepmother in 2011

A skull found a year ago by hunters in a North Carolina forest has been confirmed to be that of a girl who was murdered by her stepmother, it was revealed today.  Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins said Thursday that DNA tests show it was Zahra Baker. But he added that police are still unable to say how the 10-year-old girl died. Elisa Baker is serving up to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to a second-degree murder charge in connection to the killing and dismembering of her disabled stepdaughter. The girl was reported missing in October 2011 from her home in the western North Carolina town of Hickory. Parts of Zahra Baker’s remains were found in multiple sites around Hickory shortly after her reported disappearance. READ MORE HERE