Free Republic

Mother shot 13-month-old boy in stroller for insurance money, say defense attorneys for teen charged in murder Jury selection in the trial of De'Marquise Elkins, 18, begins Monday, but his lawyers say Sherry West had 'financial interest in the death of her son,' Antonio Santiago. By Nina Golgowski / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Sunday, August 18, 2013, 12:04 PM Attorneys are set to pin a Georgia mother who witnessed her 13-month-old son heartlessly shot between the eyes as the real killer behind his death. Defense attorneys say Sherry West had "financial interest in the death of her son," Antonio Santiago,...

A 10-year-old girl was arrested for the alleged rape of a 4-year-old boy in Houston, but the mother of girl says the incident was innocent. “She was just being a child, having fun and playing,” the mom told KHOU. “She didn’t know she was doing anything wrong.”

An unusual case in Tennessee shows the utility of guns for home defense, as well as the danger of pursuing criminals alone.  A 16-year-old girl used her mothers pistol to prevent a criminal from entering the house. From  WKRN: Harvell eventually tried entering through one of the home's windows, that's when Davasha Chambers, 16, grabbed her mother's pistol and pointed it at him as he was halfway through the window.   The criminal left, and then is when the young woman made a tactical error.  She not only pursued the home invader, but she allowed him to get too close...

A hospital had to emphatically ask people to stop sending pizza after a child being treated for cancer received more than 20 pizzas from Internet strangers in one day. Reddit user “ashortstorylong” posted a photo of a sign in the window of a hospital that said: “Send Pizza RM 4112″ with the headline: “Photo taken outside Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. Smart Kid.” The post reached the front page of Reddit, and other Reddit users later commented and said they’d taken the liberty to send pizza to the hospital room. On Saturday, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles posted a picture of...

According to Syrian Truth’s Facebook page, the above photo is of a toddler living in the Deir ez-Zor Governate in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. She was tied up by members of the U.S.-supported “Free Syrian Army” — which is dominated by foreign, Sunni jihadis — and made to watch as her mother and father were killed for being Shia. Here is how the Obama administration is using your tax dollars — mockingly in the name of “freedom.”

Two women are in jail following a bizarre child abuse case that started with violent cell phone pictures. Cecile and Meleny Kranwinkle are charged with felony child neglect and threats by phone. Charleston Police said this started after they got a 911 phone call from a man in New York. The man said his children were being held hostage here in Charleston. He told police someone was texting him violent pictures of his 4-month-old-baby. He said in the pictures, someone was holding a knife to the baby's throat and there appeared to be blood on the baby's clothes.

A parent contacted 13 News reporter Jessie Shafer Wednesday evening, saying his son had turned himself in for the vandalism to 30 Braxton County school buses. That suspect is underage, and as a result, his name will not be released. The father said he is extremely disappointed in his son, and asked for privacy following the confession. We have numerous calls into the Braxton County detachment of the West Virginia State Police and the Braxton County Sheriff's Office, and will update this story as new details arise.

DETROIT (AP) — A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday after jurors failed to reach a verdict in the trial of a Detroit police officer who fatally shot a 7-year-old girl during a chaotic search for a murder suspect that was recorded by a reality TV crew. Loud voices could be heard in the jury room a few hours before jurors threw in the towel and were dismissed. They sent three notes, the last one indicating they still couldn't reach a unanimous verdict on the third day of deliberations, despite encouragement from Wayne County Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway. Joseph Weekley, a...

CALEDONIA - The Caledonia Police Department says that a 15-month-old child has been hospitalized with severe facial tears, puncture wounds and missing teeth after being attacked by a pit bull. The attack happened Wednesday night at about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday at a home on the 3400 block of Ivy Lane. According to police, the child was sitting on the floor when the pit bull, known as Mary Jane, attacked. The dog reportedly bit the child so she could get a cookie from the child's mouth. A humane society in Racine has seized the dog. Her owner says she wants the...

In a shocking case of child neglect, a Washington man appeared in court in Tacoma on Tuesday accused of putting his six-week-old daughter in a freezer to stop her crying and then falling asleep. Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist told the court that Deutsch fell asleep after putting the child in the freezer on Saturday, then awoke after an hour and was removing the baby when the horrified child’s 22-year-old mother returned. He’s accused of taking the phone away when the mother tried to call for help from their trailer in Roy, Washington. The mother took the child and got...

If Sarah Murnaghan were 12 years old, she would be at the top of the adult lung transplant list because she only has weeks to live and a lung transplant would as-good-as cure her of cystic fibrosis. But she's not 12, and if she doesn't get new lungs, she might not even make it to 11. "We are not asking for preference for Sarah, we are asking for equality," Sarah's mother, Janet Murnaghan, said in a press release. "We strongly believe Sarah should be triaged based on the severity of her illness, not her age." Organ Donation: Should Younger Patients...

FULL TITLE: Three Chicago teens accused of raping a 12-year-old girl and putting the video on Facebook charged as adults CBS) CHICAGO -Three teenagers accused of raping a 12-year-old girl at gunpoint and posting the video of the assault on Facebook were charged with sex assault as adults on Friday, said the Chicago Tribune. According to the paper, the three boys were held in custody in lieu of $900,000 bail. The Tribune reported prosecutors say that on December 15, 2012, the girl went to 16-year-old Scandale Fritz's Chicago home to speak with him, and that when she arrived at the...

CHICAGO, IL - Muslim leaders in Chicago are criticizing a greeting card sold in stores all over the country that portrays a child´s doll as a terrorist. The card depicts a doll in traditional Muslim dress, with packaging that says "She´ll blow your brains out!" and "Pull string for message if you dare!" It´s a photoshopped version of a real doll, meant for children. The "Aamina, the Muslim Doll, in its original packaging, quotes religious greetings and sayings in Arabic, with messages like "Assalamu Alaikum,"

U.S. Marshals are looking for a man charged in the rape of a pre-teen girl, and they are asking the public to help find him. Arlington County police said that on April 6, 20-year-old Douglas Guillen-Vargas was left in charge of the victim and other children while their parents went to church. Guillen-Vargas took the 12-year-old into the bathroom and sexually assaulted her, police said. When the parents returned home, the girl told them what had happened. Guillen-Vargas has not been seen or heard from since, authorities said. Police issued an arrest warrant for Guillen-Vargas charging him with rape, and...

In a chilling image obtained by the FBI, one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects can be seen standing behind the young boy who was killed by one of Monday’s terror blasts, The Smoking Gun has learned.

<p>The father of Martin William Richard today said he is trying to both grieve the death of his 8-year-old son, who was killed at the Boston Marathon bombings, and help his wife and daughter recover from injuries they suffered during the terrorist attack on Monday.</p>

Two Victory Christian Center staff members who were sentenced to 30 days in jail last month for failure to report the rape of a 13-year-old girl for two weeks are out early, jail records show. Paul Howard Willemstein and Anna Alisa George have returned to work at the church and issued a statement to the Tulsa World through their attorney, Matthew Chesbro. "I spoke with my clients and they asked that I tell you they are 'grateful for the completion of this part of the process and hope healing can continue for everyone affected,' " Chesbro said in an email...

Cameron Serafin, 5 years old. Contact Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131. (CNSNews.com) – Police in Fairfax, Va., are searching for 5-year-old Cameron Serafin, who may be in danger and whose hair apparently has been dyed dark brown (from natural blond) to change his appearance. A felony arrest warrant for his mother has been issued and it is believed that she is traveling out west with the boy. Cameron Serafin, who is 3-feet-5-inches tall and weighs 40 pounds, was supposed to have been returned to his father on Monday, Apr. 8, and police believe he is in the company of...

Two boys allegedly kidnapped in Florida by their father turned up with their parents in Cuba Monday, officials said... ...the boys were taken by their parents, Joshua Hakken, 35, and his wife, Sharyn Hakken, 34, who had lost custody of the children after Joshua's drug-possession arrest in Louisiana.

- Organist told police 'I know I like boys and it has cost me everything' - Priest climbed into a bath with one of the boys while aroused - He got into bed and pressed himself against a 13-year-old boy - One victim reported the abuse to another vicar but nothing was done - He told police last year when he realised priest still had contact with children Guilty: Father Keith Wilkie Denford groomed two teenage boys over 18 months A former Church of England priest and a retired organist were found guilty today of a string of child sex...