Man arrested in beating of child who ‘ate Santa’s cookies’

Authorities said 37-year-old William R. Cramer became enraged when a boy peeked at Christmas gifts

NEW CASTLE — Thanks to the efforts of William R. Cramer, a 7-year-old New Castle boy likely will never forget Christmas 2011. But be advised this is anything but a feel-good holiday story. Cramer, a 37-year-old felon, was arrested on Christmas Eve after authorities determined he had beaten the youngster with a belt after finding the boy trying to sneak a peek at Christmas gifts.  READ MORE HERE

NEW DORP, STATEN ISLAND, NY–Amanda Cummings, 15, a Staten Island high school sophomore who committed suicide, clearly indicated on Facebook weeks beforehand that she was contemplating taking her life, possibly because of bullying at her school . Intimidating postings on Cummings’s social media page from others may have also been part of the cause for her suicide, and now that she has passed away, the same page on which she posted her contemplations of suicide is the same place where dozens of friends, family members and well wishers are leaving messages of loving support. READ MORE HERE

AMANDA CUMMINGS MEMORIAL PAGE ON FACEBOOK

Police say the school was immediately placed on lockdown and no one else was injured

BROWNSVILLE — Police shot and killed an armed teenage student in his Texas school hallway on Wednesday. Brownsville police Detective J.J. Trevino said police received a call at about 8 a.m. that someone had a weapon at Cummings Middle School. Police found the 15-year-old with a handgun in a hallway and shot him, Trevino said.  READ MORE HERE

West Virginia State Police say they have taken a father and his girlfriend into custody after a child was found with head trauma and scars all over his body. The father of a three-year-old child told a trooper that he called 911 after discovering that his child was not breathing. According to state police, James Mauldin told the trooper that the child was in his bedroom and collapsed.  READ MORE HERE

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A woman claiming to be God stabbed her 8-year-old son in the neck with a screwdriver Friday morning, police said.Neighbors said they called police after the boy stumbled into their apartment.Police said Liesha Henderson, 31, admitted she was high on meth when she drove a screwdriver into the neck of her son, Elijah Jackson.”He was just crying and saying he didn’t want to die today, that we should not to let him die today,” neighbor April Wilie said.  READ MORE HERE

Man who inflicted 19 fractures on baby over two-week period jailed for 13-years

A man who inflicted a series of agonising injuries on a baby in a ‘ghastly and terrifying’ campaign of abuse has been jailed for 13 years. Stephen Gosling inflicted the horrific injuries over a two-week period by yanking at the youngster’s legs and squeezing them so hard he broke their ribs. When the mother took her child to hospital, the full extent of the abuse came to light. The baby had fractures all over its body, including 12 to the front and back of several ribs, the right shoulder bone, left leg, right leg and left foot. In all the child suffered 19 fractures.  READ MORE HERE

Former UFC light heavyweight Houston Alexander was recently ticketed for forcing his 16-year-old son to box with him. He was apparently upset about his son’s actions on Facebook. KMTV Omaha has the story.  READ MORE HERE

Missing and murdered children cases seem to have been popular in 2011, and as the year ends it’s time to recap some of the more prominent and heartbreaking cases. From missing Baby Lisa Irwin and the attempted copycat/homicide case of Tyler Dasher to the disappearances of Ayla Reynolds and Jhessye Shockley, the past year has been heartbreaking and disturbing for many people.  READ MORE HERE

BILLINGS – A Northern Cheyenne woman in her 60s filed a lawsuit Friday in which she says she was repeatedly molested and raped as a young girl by the Rev. Emmett Hoffmann, a revered and popular priest at the St. Labre Mission School in Ashland. The woman, who is not named in the suit, filed the action Friday in Cascade County District Court in Great Falls, home of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls-Billings, which has jurisdiction over the St. Labre Mission.  READ MORE HERE

CRESTVIEW  –  A father and his fiancé are behind bars accused of criminal child abuse that led to the death of a two year old boy. Crestview police say the autopsy of Logan Sherwin shows obvious signs of abuse across the child’s body. Bill Pearson explains how angry local parents are by this case of alleged neglect and abuse.  READ MORE HERE

TUCSON, Ariz. — A father is in trouble after his three young children were found abandoned along a Tucson road. Police say a resident called 911 Thursday evening after she heard crying coming from her front yard. She discovered two boys and a girl, who ranged in age from 6 months old to 2 ½ years old. The smallest child was in a car seat and a diaper bag had been left with the children.  READ MORE HERE

An Oklahoma Cityman was charged Friday with child abuse after doctors treating his 7-month-old son for malnourishment found multiple injuries, including broken ribs and bleeding on the brain. Samuel Keith Webber III, 24, is accused of abusing the child between April 1 and 21, according to a probable cause affidavit.  READ MORE HERE