Six people have died in an apparent murder-suicide in the coastal south Florida city of Riviera Beach, police said Monday. A police officer was investigating a suspicious car when he heard shots and saw a man walk out of a home shortly after 2 a.m. (ET), the Riviera Beach Police Department said in a statement. The man shot and killed himself when he spotted the officer, the statement said. Authorities identified him as Patrick Dell, 41.

Inside the house, police found the bodies of the man’s 36-year-old estranged wife, Natasha Whyte Dell, and four of his stepchildren, ranging in age from 10 to 14, the statement said. A fifth stepchild was hospitalized with a gunshot wound.

UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio –Two young children and their father are found dead inside their Upper Arlington home Sunday evening, and authorities are calling it an apparent murder-suicide.

Upper Arlington officers were called to a home on the 1700 block of Doone Road at about 7:35 p.m. Sunday on a call for assistance. A woman called 911 for help after finding the three victims inside the home. The victims later were identified as 35-year-old Troy Geller, 8-year-old Solomon and 6-year-old Samson.

At least twice in the past month, sex offenders prompted multi-agency manhunts in the North County when they refused to be monitored by GPS — a responsibility that falls on the offenders when they get out of prison.

One man, who is accused of committing a sex crime the day after being paroled, was caught days later, while the second surrendered to authorities three weeks after going offline.

The cases beg the question: Why aren’t sex offenders strapped with GPS devices before leaving prison?

Amber Dubois, a 14-year-old was kidnapped from an Escondido street in February 2009, and Amber Dubois’ body was found earlier this year. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the “Dubois” bill which outlines three basic measures to bring an abducted or kidnapped child home before he or she falls prey to horrific crimes like rape or child abuse.

The latest victim is a four-year-old found wandering bloodied and bruised near her home in Kuyasa on Tuesday. She had been snatched two days earlier as her grandmother cooked a meal. Police arrested a 30-year-old man this week. Investigators believe he may have committed the spate of harrowing crimes against girls in the area.

A Kodak man was recently arrested on a child rape charge.

On Thursday Sevierville Police Department officers arrested Ivor J. Parsons, 21, with the aggravated rape of a child under three years old. SPD Detective Kevin Bush said that police recently received a tip, leading to an investigation and subsequent arrest of Parsons in Knoxville.

WAREHAM – Police say a convicted sex offender who got out of prison 18 months ago after serving a 12-year sentence for child rape has been charged with trying to abduct a woman. Lance Porter is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges including kidnapping, assault and battery and attempted rape.

PROVO — A real estate auction is coming to the Provo Library this weekend, but you’re not likely to find anything listed as “spacious” or “roomy” — unless you’re Barbie and Ken, that is. It’s the 12th annual Dollhouse Festival, a yearly benefit to raise funds for child abuse prevention and therapy through the Utah County Children’s Justice Center. The weekend event will feature the usual dollhouse auctions, toy boutique, charity dinner and Mad Hatter Tea Party. All cheery and upbeat, despite the grave cause, said festival co-chair Ruth Brasher.

Eight-week-old Saul Castillo, wrapped in a blanket and wearing a green and white hat, died when his tiny 14-gram heart stopped beating, his emaciated body little more than skin wrapped around sunken eyes and protruding bones.

He had starved to death.

His father, charged in his part in the neglect that led to Saul’s 2004 death, absconded and has not been found.

The Choking Game is a misunderstood activity causing death and suffering for thousands of families worldwide. It often begins with high-achieving teens choking each other as a way to get high without the risk of getting caught with drugs or alcohol. It ends with thousands of kids dying or suffering permanent brain damage each year.

It’s not a game at all—just an act of suffocating on purpose.

Adolescents cut off the flow of blood to the brain, in exchange for a few seconds of feeling lightheaded. Some strangle themselves with a belt, a rope or their bare hands; others push on their chest or hyperventilate. When they release the pressure, blood that was blocked up floods the brain all at once. This sets off a warm and fuzzy feeling, which is just the brain dying, thousands of cells at a time.

Indiana continues to increase the number of children it is taking away from families — a fact that bucks the national trend and concerns both state child welfare officials and national experts.

The new federal statistics revealing that trend are especially disturbing because they suggest that either the state’s Department of Child Services is not doing enough to keep families together or that Indiana has a disproportionately high rate of bad parents. Whatever the explanation, it doesn’t bode well for Hoosier children.

NORTH WALES, Pa. – Every now and then I see a picture of a guy attached to a crime story and I immediately think “pedophile.” That includes this story sent to us by our good friends over at Kindertrauma regarding a former vice principle who has been accused of striking up a rather inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old boy. I would’ve bet my gaudy McMansion that 37-year-old Charles Hurst spent a lot of time in the boy’s underwear department at Target purely from this pic of him sporting a creepy smile from underneath his Justin Bieber haircut.

New Iberia, LA – Police say a 1-year-old boy is in critical but stable condition at the LSU Burn Center after suffering severe burns to nearly 60% of his body – burns believed to have been caused intentionally. Though authorities won’t get into specifics, citing the pending investigation, Lieutenant Ryan Turner from the Iberia Sheriff’s Department had this to say: “We’re pretty sure that the baby was scalded by hot water, and detectives have reason to believe that the incident was intentional.”

SIMI VALLEY, CA — A Simi Valley woman is under arrest on suspicion of abusing her 3-year-old girl niece, who authorities found with multiple injuries, including burns to her feet. Sarah Hilton, 29, faces one count of felony child abuse and one count of felony corporal injury to a child. On September 21, Simi Valley Police and Ventura County Children and Family Services launched a joint investigation into the alleged abuse of Hilton’s 3-year-old niece. Hilton is the girl’s legal guardian.