Alcohol is no respecter of persons or status. In this story, the murderer was a child actor. Dig deeper and you will see a dad who was a drug dealer and a mother who abandoned him. This is a case where the probability of heavy prenatal exposure to alcohol is so high, the case could be made the probability is fact. His actions are those of a FASD brain. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder does not end when a child reaches the age of 18 or when he or she drops out of school. FASD is lifetime brain damage, played out in courts daily across the nation.
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A jury on Thursday recommended death for a man convicted of murdering a couple by binding them to the anchor of their yacht and throwing them into to ocean off the California coast as they pleaded for their lives.
Skylar Deleon, 29, sat motionless as the jury announced its decision following nearly two days of deliberation in Orange County Superior Court.
Click here for photos.
"He was disappointed," Deleon's attorney Gary Pohlson said afterward. "He was very hopeful he wouldn't get the death penalty."
Deleon was convicted last month of three counts of first-degree murder for the 2003 slaying of Jon Jarvi, who he met in a work furlough program while serving time for burglary, and the 2004 slayings of Tom and Jackie Hawks aboard their yacht.
During the trial's penalty phase, which took six days, jurors heard statements from victims' relatives, attorneys, Deleon's family members and psychiatrists, who offered differing takes on the role child abuse has on a person's development.
Pohlson had pleaded with jurors to help spare his client's life, arguing Deleon was abused by a drug dealing father and abandoned by his mother, leaving him predisposed to violence.
Tom Hawks' son Ryan said he was pleased with the jury's recommendation.
"Skylar is going to be sitting in that jail cell, socializing with his pals for four years before he is going to receive the needle, and my parents are still dead."
Deleon killed the Hawks in 2004 after feigning interest in buying their yacht. Prosecutors say he overpowered the couple on a test cruise, tied them to an anchor and tossed them into the Pacific Ocean as they begged for their lives.
According to prosecutors, Deleon and his then-wife Jennifer Henderson later scrubbed the boat clean with bleach wipes in Newport Harbor.
The Hawkses' bodies were never found.
Henderson was convicted in 2006 of murder and murder for financial gain in the Hawkses' deaths and was sentenced to two terms of life in prison without parole.
Three other men are also charged with the Hawkses' murders, including two allegedly on the boat at the time. They have pleaded not guilty.
Judge Frank F. Fasel will sentence Deleon on Jan. 16.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Don't be Fooled with Flawed Research
British Researchers used flawed data to come to conclusion.
Self-reporting of alcohol use by pregnant women is the least scientific method of gathering accurate data. Using this unreliable data to make conclusions such as the British researchers did is poor research, on the verge of being unethical. This type of poor research, done in the name of science, is then taken up by the alcohol industry to promote use of alcohol. Here is the example on Wine Spectacular Hotline
Study OKs Some Wine During Pregnancy
British researchers find no signs of cognitive damage in children whose moms drank one to two glasses a week
The researchers pulled data on 12,495 3-year-old children from the U.K. Millennium Cohort Study, a project following the health and well-being of children born between 2000 and 2002 in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Families were randomly selected from child-benefit rolls (every mother is entitled to a stipend from the government after each birth).
During pregnancy, the women completed questionnaires on alcohol consumption, among other topics. The Millennium researchers then returned to the households three years later and administered a series of cognitive and behavioral tests on the children. For the current research, Kelly and her team separated the results of those tests according to the patterns of drinking in the mothers.
This study shows the unreliability of self-reporting by pregnant women.
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynocology
Volume 198, Issue 4, Pages 407.e1-407.e5 (April 2008)
One hundred three pregnant women were included in the study. The women completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire, and a urine and hair sample was collected. The urine samples were used for determination of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulfate and the hair samples for EtG and fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE).
Of the 26 who were found to have positive markers for consumption of alcohol, only three self reported drinking. Of the seven where the markers showed heavy alcohol users, only one self reported drinking and only at a light level.
Another study by the University of Boston of Public Health showed that markers indicating alcohol use in the past month were found in 71% of pregnant women who denied drinking.
I believe the peer reviewers did not do their academic duties when allowing the British study to be published.
Self-reporting of alcohol use by pregnant women is the least scientific method of gathering accurate data. Using this unreliable data to make conclusions such as the British researchers did is poor research, on the verge of being unethical. This type of poor research, done in the name of science, is then taken up by the alcohol industry to promote use of alcohol. Here is the example on Wine Spectacular Hotline
Study OKs Some Wine During Pregnancy
British researchers find no signs of cognitive damage in children whose moms drank one to two glasses a week
The researchers pulled data on 12,495 3-year-old children from the U.K. Millennium Cohort Study, a project following the health and well-being of children born between 2000 and 2002 in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Families were randomly selected from child-benefit rolls (every mother is entitled to a stipend from the government after each birth).
During pregnancy, the women completed questionnaires on alcohol consumption, among other topics. The Millennium researchers then returned to the households three years later and administered a series of cognitive and behavioral tests on the children. For the current research, Kelly and her team separated the results of those tests according to the patterns of drinking in the mothers.
This study shows the unreliability of self-reporting by pregnant women.
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynocology
Volume 198, Issue 4, Pages 407.e1-407.e5 (April 2008)
One hundred three pregnant women were included in the study. The women completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire, and a urine and hair sample was collected. The urine samples were used for determination of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulfate and the hair samples for EtG and fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE).
Of the 26 who were found to have positive markers for consumption of alcohol, only three self reported drinking. Of the seven where the markers showed heavy alcohol users, only one self reported drinking and only at a light level.
Another study by the University of Boston of Public Health showed that markers indicating alcohol use in the past month were found in 71% of pregnant women who denied drinking.
I believe the peer reviewers did not do their academic duties when allowing the British study to be published.
Friday, October 31, 2008
How could a mother do something like this? Violence from the FASD brain is more prevalent in males, but the brain damage in a female can lead to violence as well. This behavior fits the profile of a female who does not have the capability to manage her behaviors due to brain damage. Ask the question and there is a high probability you will find this woman is prenatally exposed to alcohol.
chttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,445686,00.html
AUSTIN — A woman has been charged with child endangerment, a state jail felony, for beating her 4-year-old daughter before throwing her into the path of an oncoming vehicle, police said.
The driver of the brown Suburban braked and did not strike the child.
Aurelia Gallardo, 24, could face up to 20 years if convicted. Bail was set at $25,000.
Lt. Dana Brockington with the Austin Police Department told The Associated Press early Friday he did not know whether Gallardo had an attorney.
When the incident happened Tuesday, Gallardo and her three children were waiting for a city bus.
A witness at the bus stop told police he saw Gallardo lift her daughter by the arm so forcefully that he thought the girl's arm "was going to dislocate out of the socket." The witness told police that Gallardo then violently threw the girl into the street and pulled her by her hair before throwing her into a parked vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit.
The witness said Gallardo told her daughter, "You are dead to me" and "You are a slut."
"It's pretty outrageous when a parent loses composure to that degree," said police Sgt. Brian Loyd of the child abuse investigation unit in a story for Friday's online edition of the Austin American-Statesman. "We see some bad stuff on our unit, but this is new for us."
Once Gallardo boarded the bus, according to the affidavit, the bus driver said the woman was "yelling every four-letter word known" at the 4-year-old and was telling the girl that "CPS would take her away and that no one would want her."
Police stopped the city bus and took Gallardo into custody, Loyd said.
Loyd said the three children are in the custody of Child Protective Services.
chttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,445686,00.html
AUSTIN — A woman has been charged with child endangerment, a state jail felony, for beating her 4-year-old daughter before throwing her into the path of an oncoming vehicle, police said.
The driver of the brown Suburban braked and did not strike the child.
Aurelia Gallardo, 24, could face up to 20 years if convicted. Bail was set at $25,000.
Lt. Dana Brockington with the Austin Police Department told The Associated Press early Friday he did not know whether Gallardo had an attorney.
When the incident happened Tuesday, Gallardo and her three children were waiting for a city bus.
A witness at the bus stop told police he saw Gallardo lift her daughter by the arm so forcefully that he thought the girl's arm "was going to dislocate out of the socket." The witness told police that Gallardo then violently threw the girl into the street and pulled her by her hair before throwing her into a parked vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit.
The witness said Gallardo told her daughter, "You are dead to me" and "You are a slut."
"It's pretty outrageous when a parent loses composure to that degree," said police Sgt. Brian Loyd of the child abuse investigation unit in a story for Friday's online edition of the Austin American-Statesman. "We see some bad stuff on our unit, but this is new for us."
Once Gallardo boarded the bus, according to the affidavit, the bus driver said the woman was "yelling every four-letter word known" at the 4-year-old and was telling the girl that "CPS would take her away and that no one would want her."
Police stopped the city bus and took Gallardo into custody, Loyd said.
Loyd said the three children are in the custody of Child Protective Services.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Ask the Question. He fits the profile of brain damage from prenatal exposure to alcohol.
NEW YORK — Prosecutors say a homeless man told them he killed a New York City college student because he was bored and had nowhere to go.
Prosecutors filed a signed statement in court in which Jeromie Cancel admits killing 19-year-old Kevin Pravia in the victim's Manhattan apartment last month. But Cancel pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday on a second-degree murder charge.
The 22-year-old Cancel is being held without bail.
Cancel's statement says he killed Pravia by stuffing a plastic bag in his mouth while holding his nose and choking him with a cord around his neck.
The statement says Cancel was leaving the apartment but didn't have anywhere to go. It says, "I was bored, so I decided to go back into the apartment and kill him."
Prosecutors filed a signed statement in court in which Jeromie Cancel admits killing 19-year-old Kevin Pravia in the victim's Manhattan apartment last month. But Cancel pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday on a second-degree murder charge.
The 22-year-old Cancel is being held without bail.
Cancel's statement says he killed Pravia by stuffing a plastic bag in his mouth while holding his nose and choking him with a cord around his neck.
The statement says Cancel was leaving the apartment but didn't have anywhere to go. It says, "I was bored, so I decided to go back into the apartment and kill him."
The Two Faces of FASD
A headline story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune shows the two faces of FASD. A vulnerable young man, identified as FAS by his adoptive mother, was viciously beat by four men and a woman. The vulnerable FAS man is easily identified because the damage to his brain was clearly evident and his adoptive mother knew and understands the devastation of FASD. The other face of FASD is the violent acts of the five individual who attacked him. While I do not have any evidence of the mothers of these five drinking while pregnant, the acts of violence and other evidence of dysfunction of these individuals all point to the exhibition of brain damage from prenatal exposure to alcohol. Unfortunately, this face of FASD is not easily recognized and, in almost all cases, the mother will not tell the truth about her level of drinking during the pregnancy. Our jails are full of this face of FASD.
Prosecutors: Lie prompted attack on vulnerable man
A teen-age girl allegedly told her boyfriend that the victim from Lakeville had hit her, and then she encouraged the four suspects.
By JOY POWELL and ABBY SIMONS, Star Tribune staff writers
A 16-year-old girl lied to her boyfriend that a mentally disabled Lakeville man had hit her and helped lure the man to a remote location, where she egged on her boyfriend and three other men as they beat and tortured the man, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Natasha Dahn of Lakeville was an instigator of the weekend assaults on Justin Hamilton, which left him with broken ribs, burns, cuts, bruises and other injuries, Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said.
She was charged with kidnapping, aggravated robbery and other crimes Wednesday, when prosecutors also brought additional charges against three of the four men accused in the abduction and beating of Hamilton, 24, of Lakeville. The men are accused of kidnapping Hamilton and taking him to a remote area of southern Dakota County, where he was assaulted over several hours Friday and Saturday nights.
Prosecutors: Lie prompted attack on vulnerable man
A teen-age girl allegedly told her boyfriend that the victim from Lakeville had hit her, and then she encouraged the four suspects.
By JOY POWELL and ABBY SIMONS, Star Tribune staff writers
A 16-year-old girl lied to her boyfriend that a mentally disabled Lakeville man had hit her and helped lure the man to a remote location, where she egged on her boyfriend and three other men as they beat and tortured the man, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Natasha Dahn of Lakeville was an instigator of the weekend assaults on Justin Hamilton, which left him with broken ribs, burns, cuts, bruises and other injuries, Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said.
She was charged with kidnapping, aggravated robbery and other crimes Wednesday, when prosecutors also brought additional charges against three of the four men accused in the abduction and beating of Hamilton, 24, of Lakeville. The men are accused of kidnapping Hamilton and taking him to a remote area of southern Dakota County, where he was assaulted over several hours Friday and Saturday nights.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Another FASD Inmate in Crow Wing County Jail
Please, Brainerd Dispatch, ask the question. You will find out this person was prenatally exposed to alcohol. His behaviors are directly linked to the brain damage he sustained in his mother's womb.
Stabbing leads to man's arrest
By MATT ERICKSON
Staff Writer
Police believe a fight over a woman led to the stabbing of one man and the arrest of another for attempted murder early Saturday in southeast Brainerd.
Brainerd Police officers were dispatched about 1:43 a.m. Saturday to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd after receiving a report of a stabbing victim at the hospital.
The victim, Jeffrey Ryan Bock, 27, Brainerd, suffered numerous stab wounds, police said. He was reported in stable condition Sunday at St. Joseph's Medical Center.
The suspect, Dominic Donald Duane Dubois, 23, Brainerd, later turned himself in at the Brainerd Police Department. He was arrested for attempted murder and first-degree assault and is being held in the Crow Wing County Jail pending formal charges.
Brainerd Police Chief John Bolduc said the stabbing was believed to have happened in a vehicle on the 1200 block of Rosewood Street. Brainerd Police and Crow Wing County Sheriff's deputies located the vehicle involved in the stabbing north of Brainerd.
Bolduc said Bock and Dubois were acquainted with each other.
"It's sounds like it was a domestic type situation," Bolduc said. "The two males had some type of relationship with the same female."
No other suspects are being sought, police said, but the incident is still under investigation.
Dubois' criminal history dating back to 2003 includes charges for DWI in Carlton and Cass counties; disorderly conduct, theft, careless driving, driving with no proof of insurance, underage consumption and driving after license cancellation in Crow Wing County and felony damage to property in Mille Lacs County
Stabbing leads to man's arrest
By MATT ERICKSON
Staff Writer
Police believe a fight over a woman led to the stabbing of one man and the arrest of another for attempted murder early Saturday in southeast Brainerd.
Brainerd Police officers were dispatched about 1:43 a.m. Saturday to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd after receiving a report of a stabbing victim at the hospital.
The victim, Jeffrey Ryan Bock, 27, Brainerd, suffered numerous stab wounds, police said. He was reported in stable condition Sunday at St. Joseph's Medical Center.
The suspect, Dominic Donald Duane Dubois, 23, Brainerd, later turned himself in at the Brainerd Police Department. He was arrested for attempted murder and first-degree assault and is being held in the Crow Wing County Jail pending formal charges.
Brainerd Police Chief John Bolduc said the stabbing was believed to have happened in a vehicle on the 1200 block of Rosewood Street. Brainerd Police and Crow Wing County Sheriff's deputies located the vehicle involved in the stabbing north of Brainerd.
Bolduc said Bock and Dubois were acquainted with each other.
"It's sounds like it was a domestic type situation," Bolduc said. "The two males had some type of relationship with the same female."
No other suspects are being sought, police said, but the incident is still under investigation.
Dubois' criminal history dating back to 2003 includes charges for DWI in Carlton and Cass counties; disorderly conduct, theft, careless driving, driving with no proof of insurance, underage consumption and driving after license cancellation in Crow Wing County and felony damage to property in Mille Lacs County
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
This is criminal!
Another child, another FASD victim. This child was highly likely heavily prenatally exposed to alcohol. If she gave this 18 month old alcohol once, she most likely has done this since the baby was born to put her to sleep. She most likely drank alcohol when pregnant to put the fetus to sleep. This is more common than we want to think.
New Mexico Mother Arrested for Giving Daughter Sippy Cup of Beer
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Associated Press
OJO CALIENTE, N.M. — State police have arrested a woman who filled her 18-month-old daughter's sippy cup with beer and gave it to her in front of undercover narcotics agents, according to court records.
State police Lt. Juan Martinez said Monday that undercover agents with the Region III Narcotics Task Force were at 21-year-old Virginia Neel-Blaker's home in Ojo Caliente to buy drugs from her and her husband, James Blaker.
The agents saw her give her daughter a sip of beer from a can. Then she allegedly filled up the girl's sippy cup with beer and gave it to the toddler to get her to sleep, Martinez said.
"The trafficking case took a back seat to abuse of a child," Martinez said. "It was very disheartening for them to see that happening to a child."
Neel-Blaker has been charged with prostitution, child abuse, distribution of marijuana and two counts of conspiracy to traffic heroin.
James Blaker, 37, was charged with three counts of trafficking heroin, distribution of marijuana, child abuse and promoting prostitution.
The undercover agents had bought heroin and marijuana at the home on three separate occasions. Neel-Blaker also offered twice to have sex with them for $100, a search warrant said.
Martinez says the child was handed over to the state's Children, Youth and Families Department.
The couple is being held at the Rio Arriba County jail in Tierra Amarilla.
New Mexico Mother Arrested for Giving Daughter Sippy Cup of Beer
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Associated Press
OJO CALIENTE, N.M. — State police have arrested a woman who filled her 18-month-old daughter's sippy cup with beer and gave it to her in front of undercover narcotics agents, according to court records.
State police Lt. Juan Martinez said Monday that undercover agents with the Region III Narcotics Task Force were at 21-year-old Virginia Neel-Blaker's home in Ojo Caliente to buy drugs from her and her husband, James Blaker.
The agents saw her give her daughter a sip of beer from a can. Then she allegedly filled up the girl's sippy cup with beer and gave it to the toddler to get her to sleep, Martinez said.
"The trafficking case took a back seat to abuse of a child," Martinez said. "It was very disheartening for them to see that happening to a child."
Neel-Blaker has been charged with prostitution, child abuse, distribution of marijuana and two counts of conspiracy to traffic heroin.
James Blaker, 37, was charged with three counts of trafficking heroin, distribution of marijuana, child abuse and promoting prostitution.
The undercover agents had bought heroin and marijuana at the home on three separate occasions. Neel-Blaker also offered twice to have sex with them for $100, a search warrant said.
Martinez says the child was handed over to the state's Children, Youth and Families Department.
The couple is being held at the Rio Arriba County jail in Tierra Amarilla.
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