ST. LOUIS — A southern Illinois man was ordered jailed on $5 million bond Wednesday on charges he slashed and stabbed his 7-year-old niece after claiming, according to prosecutors, that she fell and pierced her neck on a stick and needed to be put “out of her misery.” Justin DeRyke, 22, faces three counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors allege he stabbed Willow Long in the chest with a knife Sunday.

Suicide is a major public health problem. In fact, it is a leading cause of violent death in the United States; accounting for over 34,000 deaths in 2007, the latest year for which the Centers for Disease Control has statistics available. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is not immune to the problem of suicide. At CBP, we care about our workforce. We believe that the loss of even one member of our CBP family to suicide is one too many.

A Charleston, South Carolina family credits the family dog with “sniffing out” an abusive babysitter hired to care for their 7-month old son. Benjamin and Hope Jordan took all the right steps in finding a babysitter for their son, 7-month old Finn. After interviewing several prospects and running criminal background checks, Alexis Kahn seemed like a good fit. The young couple hired Kahn to babysit their son in the family home while they worked during the day.

A 67-year-old who was convicted by a jury last month of having raped his son’s prom date was sentenced Monday to 35 years in prison. Ismael Cruz faced a minimum 25-year term because of two prior trips to prison for driving while intoxicated. His attorney asked state District Judge Ray Olivarri for the minimum.

A Galveston man and his girlfriend are facing serious jail time if convicted of sexually abusing his 14-month-old granddaughter. According to FOX 26 in Houston, prosecutors said 34-year-old Jason Michael Grant told his girlfriend, 24-year-old Alisha Drake, to videotape him having sex with the baby.

Convicted killer Debra Milke walked free after serving nearly 23 years on death row for the murder of her 4-year-old son. Police say the mother lured her little boy to a desert by telling him he was going to see Santa, and then had him executed, but her conviction has since been overturned and she was granted a new trial.

After then-Rev. Carlos Rodriguez confessed to molesting a minor to church officials in Los Angeles, they worked to shield him, frustrating police efforts to investigate the incident after the family of the victim reported it. Rodriguez continued to work in parishes, eventually being accused again of molesting other minors. His account of how the church handled the abuse allegations against him are part of a 330-page confidential personnel file on the priest that was released Monday along with files for five other priests who were also accused of molesting children while working for their Roman Catholic religious orders — the Vincentians, the Norbertines and the Augustinians — while assigned to parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

THURMONT, MD — The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office has charged a Thurmont man with child abuse and is investigating the death of a 2-year-old boy. The sheriff’s office says the child, Robert Watkins, was taken to the Frederick Memorial Hospital emergency room last week. He was later transferred to Children’s Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he died Sunday.

A Washington state couple were convicted of manslaughter Monday in the gruesome starvation and hypothermia death of a teenage girl they adopted from Ethiopia. A jury found Larry Williams, of Sedro-Woolley, guilty of first-degree manslaughter, while his wife, Carri Williams, was found guilty of homicide by abuse as well as manslaughter. The jury also convicted them both of assault and each faces a possible life sentence. Hana Williams died in May 2011 the backyard of the couple’s home, where she was forced to stay as part of a strict system of child-rearing outlined in a Christian parenting book.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —Albuquerque police are conducting an investigation into a battery that left a man in critical condition in the southwest part of the city. A caller said the man beaten was naked. The man was left near the intersection of Corriz Drive and Garnet Avenue SW, according to Albuquerque Police Department’s Violent Crimes Detectives.

REDSTONE TOWNSHIP — A 27-year-old Fayette County man, who works delivering ice cream, is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a minor. Ronald Burwell III, 27, of Smithfield, is accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl who was working in his truck. The child and her mother came to the Uniontown Police Station to tell their story.

Sibling abuse is any form of verbal emotional, physical, or sexual abuse of one child by a sibling. Most instances of sibling abuse are disregarded by adults or go unnoticed. It is typically only the most extreme cases requiring medical attention or police intervention that are reported. Many cases of sibling abuse occur “under the radar” on without parental or adult intervention. Even when sibling abuse is observed by a a parent or another adult, it is often disregarded or written off as a normal part of growing up. This tends to lead to chronic abuse problems where the victim has no recourse or refuge. However, sibling abuse is just as serious as parental child abuse and causes a great deal of harm to a victim. The damaging effects often extend long into adulthood.

MT. PLEASANT, MI — The gut-wrenching feeling of not knowing is tormenting Sarah Kiley and Ed Wood. Their son, Braxton Wood, has been missing since Monday, and they haven’t slept since. “It’s tough. It’s kind of crazy. You just can’t imagine not having your child in your house,” said Ed Wood. “Or imagining life without your child,” said Sarah Kiley. Early Monday morning, their 14-year old son took the family’s 2005 black Ford Explorer from their Mt. Pleasant home. It’s believed he drove north to pick up his 13-year-old girlfriend, Jayden Thomas, who lives in Clare. Now, the two are on the run.

A teenager ran over his girlfriend and left her lying in the road after finding out she was expecting his first child. Shaun Ruane, 19, had been in a relationship with Hayley Truelove for three months when she found out she was ten weeks pregnant and announced she wanted to keep the child. Bricklayer Ruana said he would stand by her but the next day erupted into a rage and ran over Miss Truelove, also 19, before driving off.