Ohio NBC 4 Contines Updates on Fathers 4 Justice Crane Protest. There have been unconfirmed reports that police agencies may be mobilizing to take the crane by force to remove Donald Tenn, the last remaining father from a Crane in Columbus Ohio.
Paul Fisher was arraigned earlier this morning after climbing down from the Crane Monday evening for Felony Vandalism, under the accusation that bolt cutters may have been used to gain entry to the crane site where two Fathers 4 Justice members climbed atop a 100ft Crane.
According to Ohio Revised Code 2909.05 under Section (E) the applicable Felony could a be fourth or fifth degree offense brought against the protesters. These technicalities affect the severity of punishment. Along with other overriding provisions of ORC 2929.11 there can be a fine of up to $2500.00.
According to Ohio Revised Code 2909.11 pertaining to felony sentencing ..."The overriding purposes of felony sentencing are to protect the public
from future crime by the offender and others and to punish the offender. To achieve those purposes, the sentencing court shall consider the need for incapacitating the offender, deterring the offender and others from future crime, rehabilitating the offender, and making restitution to the victim of the offense, the public, or both."
Additionally, no matter the outcome of either trial, a conviction, or restitution assignment, nothing in these statutes prohibit the bringing of a civil action for additional damages against any of the alleged suspects or their associates which has been expressly preserved in the Ohio Revise Code under pertinent and numerous sections.
Two quotes come to mind immediately after reading some of the information are these: "In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act" according to George Orwell, but that is quickly followed up by the philosophy of Voltaire in his statement that "It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong."
Stay tuned at Family Court Reports as more official information is released. There is no question that we need investigations into how our government has been conducting themselves at various levels and where the government fails to act hopefully our press steps up to the challenge.
WDEF confirms and gets the story right. "Two superheroes protest for PARENTAL RIGHTS." After confirming this story WDEF (CBS) briefly covers the story that NBC 4 covered earlier. The also have some video exerpts that aired earlier today.
You can view the story and the video with WDEF (CBS Ohio) by visiting the links below:
CBS News in the Tennessee Valley is a CNN Affiliate and if people contact the tipline at CNN and let them know, there is a possibility that it will get a blip on National Media. Act quick. Time is short for our superheroes.
Send thank you notes to the CBS Tennessee:
Phone: (423) 785-1200 Fax: (423) 785-1271
WDEF News 12 3300 Broad Street Chattanooga, TN 37408
NBC 4 in Ohio recently covered a developing story with Fathers 4 Justice. Two Fathers 4 Justice members are camped on top of a 100ft crane near Ohio State University with a banner that states "Stop the War on Fatherhood."
"The fathers said they will come down when the governors from both
states agree to a non-partisan investigation into the family court
system in their respective states."
In the words of my father "I hope they packed a lunch." Groups and even some legislators have been calling for investigations in the improprieties of family courts for years.
If you have additional information about the developing story or want to convey your personal comments to Ohio NBC 4, you can contact them directly.
Newsdesk: stories@nbc4i.com and Laurie Omness:lomness@wcmh.com. If you would like your comments heard, you can submit your statements to laryholland@laryholland.com and they will be added to this alert.
Listen to Wednesday's Episode: Judge Orders Man to Jail After His Adult Daugther Fails to Get GED
There was a call, leading up to Brian Gegner's Motion for Reconsideration on Friday, for nationwide protests from men and women around the country. Phone calls were made and several news outlets picked up the story, all indicating how outrageous of an order that was issued against the parent. Keith Owen of Families 4 Justice (F4J) indicated that "three representatives from our organization appeared for a small demonstration in front of the Juvenile Justice Center which made alot of employees give us the evil eye. I don't think government is used to citizens speaking out against bad family court policy."
The positive news is that Brian Gegner has been released from jail and the remaining balance of his ridiculous sentence was suspended as long as his daughter remains in the program to get her GED. The ruling again, bases Brian Gegner's freedom on someone else's performance which I certainly disagree with, but at this point the court is probably trying to save face at this point for the bad publicity that has been generated. Hopefully Brian Gegner joins the ranks of court reform to prevent unnecessary intrusion into other parents' lives.
For those of you familiar with other campaigns in the Butler, Ohio area... this should be a great reminder:
It is looking about time for Cynthia Brown and several of her co-workers to probably find new jobs. Hopefully she and several of her co-workers are some of the 20 layoffs that are coming down the pipe with Butler County Government looking to consolidate several of their bloated "agencies."
UPDATE: GET OFF THE BENCH EPISODE 76:Family Court Is a Deadly Business
The Family Court System has its' fair share of problems, but one of those problems that has not had a very thorough review is that it is an ever-increasing "Deadly Business." In fact, I didn't even start thinking about the effects of our country's public policies regarding single-parent custody awards and "unilateral divorce" until my recent involvement and trip in Frederick, Maryland. For the most part, I only looked at the effects inside the courtroom specifically, not outside.
There should be substantial concern over the instant murder-suicides, premeditated murders, attempted murders, murders-for-hire, and drastic number of suicides that are occurring in families that are involved with domestic relation suits or family courts around the nation.
In Frederick Maryland, several families over a six month period of time were reported as having ongoing child custody disputes that resulted in death. There are other reports of attempts at murder-for-hire and attempted murders as well. The most recent eye-opener which drew my attention regarding the Thanksgiving Holiday "massacre" that occurred in Frederick County, Maryland is what prompted me to start searching out other occurrences. Information was indeed easy to find and too numerous to list all of the occurrences.
"On Thanksgiving night, police found five dead bodies in the town of Laytonsville, Maryland at 1.5 acre Unity Park. It is believed to have been a murder-suicide with a domestic related motive. Laytonsville, Maryland is a small town that is located about twenty-five miles away from Washington." (Thanksgiving Murder-Suicide in Laytonsville, Maryland; Associated Content, November 24, 2007)
"A man shot and killed his ex-wife, their three children and himself in a small-town park where they had met for the woman to hand over the youngsters for a visit, investigators said Friday." (Police: 5 Dead in Murder-Suicide in Md; Associated Press, November 23, 2007)
The above is not the first of these type of murder-suicides in the Frederick County, Maryland area. The above Associated Press article also reported in the same article that:
"In April, a father hanged his two young children before committing suicide in rural Boyds, in Montgomery County. In March, the remains of four young children were found in a town house in neighboring Frederick. The father's body was found hanging from a bannister, and the mother remains missing. "
"There is a trend that demonstrates that custody and family court litigation has dire consequences when allowed to continue as adversarial proceedings. One party often finds themselves at the tail-end of a powerstruggle that results in a level of hopelessness. When someone feels that they have nothing else to lose, they can become unpredictable," states Lary Holland, Host of Get Your Justice Live and author of this document.
Looking through the various newspapers there are demonstratively a large number of articles that support that ongoing adversarial child custody disputes are resulting in disastrous conseqences. Pro Wresler, Chris Benoit, is one of those cases that resulted in a murder-suicide, along with the high-profile case of Darren Mack who was involved in the shooting of a family court judge and the slaying of his ex-wife.
Annie Gowen of the Washington Post on February 20, 2002 in her article, Custody Battle Probed in Double Slaying:
In the cold pre-dawn hours Friday, Alan G. Bates left his Frederick town house to fly to Birmingham for a deposition in a bitter child custody battle with his ex-wife.
Later, in Birmingham, Bates and his ex-wife, Jessica McCord, faced off over a conference table in a downtown law office.
Bates had planned to pick up his two daughters for the weekend that night. Instead, his body and the body of a woman [were discovered].
Nelson Hernandez also of the Washington Post on September 28, 1005 in his article, 2nd Trial of Lawyer Accused in Plot to Kill Husband Opens; Prosecutors Cite Lost Custody Battle states:
The Bethesda lawyer accused of conspiring with her best friend to kill her estranged husband as a way of resolving a bitter child custody battle went on trial in Frederick County yesterday, nine months after Maryland's highest court threw out her conviction by a Montgomery County jury.
The Wichita Eagle on April 4, 2003 reported in the article Child Custody At Heart of Murder-Suicide that:
When Eric Leckenby confronted his girlfriend's ex-husband with a gun Wednesday, he had already decided neither man would leave alive.
The Miami Herald reported on December 5, 2007 in an article entitled Tragic Couple Went to BSO Before Dying, "A Weston man and his wife visited the Broward Sheriff's Office the day before they perished in a murder-suicide" and further stated that:
"Her husband, Frank, was with her and, according to the BSO report, they were there to discuss ''a child custody'' dispute.
The BSO log, obtained by The Miami Herald, indicates the couple, who were in the midst of a bitter divorce, arrived about 5:30 p.m. and stayed in the lobby of BSO's Weston office for 45 minutes."
The Fresno Bee reported on December 4, 2007 in an article carrying the title Dead Couple Fought Over Custody, "Pair in Tulare murder-suicide sought court orderes" and further stated that:
"TULARE -- A bitter dispute over custody of a 17-month-old daughter may have factored into a late-night murder-suicide in a dark cemetery."
Some of the most recent deaths also have occured in Michigan, where two families in as many weeks have had custody disputes surrounding plots to murder other family members. "The issue of post custody hearing slayings goes beyond the simple issue of domestic violence and is indicative of a larger problem with the system itself," states Holland.
"PULLMAN -- Investigators believe the death of a 19-year-old woman Tuesday at a house in Allegan County's Casco Township may have been linked to an ongoing child-custody issue, police said."
Other papers covering the aforementioned story in Alleghan county slated the story as being the second tragic incident in the past week, which should raise significant pressures on the local family court to explain what some of the possible factors are in the most recent tragedies. One of the tragedies involved an ex-wife allegedly using her current husband to kill her ex-husband which was widely reported in Western Michigan.
Similar plots and outcomes were involved in at least four known cases of domestic dispute slayings in the past year around Michigan involving Pro Wrestler Chris Benoit, a mutilation story, and now the two Alleghan incidents.
Given that the divorce rate is certainly not on the decline and no expectation of a decline over couples fighting over money, power, and children in the future, there should be a reasonable prediction that there are more tragedies to come. "A serious review of the family courts nationwide should be placed as a high priority when selecting candidates for the upcoming election because the current social institution has definitely failed the families listed in this article," states Holland.
For more information about Lary Holland, visit his website at http://www.laryholland.com.
You can contact him at 800-883-9619 x2 for further comment.
UPDATED (2-11-2008) Stories Continue to come in and will be updated under this topic line.
The authorities say he killed her - perhaps by choking her -- to end an acrimonious divorce and child custody battle. (Last Prosecution Witness to Take Stand in Hans Reiser Murder Trial; Defense to Get Case, February 11, 2008, Wired Blog Network)
UPDATED (2-12-2008) Closing Arguments in Ex-Officer's Trial: More Family Court Death
CANTON, Ohio (AP) — A former police officer intentionally killed his pregnant lover to get out of child support payments, a prosecutor told jurors during his closing argument Tuesday. (Closing Arguments in Ex-Officer's Trial; Associated Press, February 12, 2008)
UPDATED (3-18-2008) Geary man accused of attempted murder-for-hire.
CALUMET, Okla. (AP) - A Geary man is behind bars after authorities say he tried to hire someone to kill his wife and her parents.
David Phillips was arrested outside a Calumet restaurant Sunday after the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation monitored a conversation between him and a private investigator he hired during a child custody battle with his wife. (Geary man accused of attempted murder-for-hire; Associated Press; March 18, 2008 Orig.)
UPDATED (3-11-2008) Wife Stabs Husband in Phoenix during talk about divorce
A Phoenix woman stabbed her husband with a knife then pepper sprayed him on Monday during an argument about divorce proceedings. (Wife stabs husband in Phoneix during talk about divorce; March 11, 2008 Orig)
UPDATED (3-19-2008) Father and son, 10, dead in apparent murder-suicide
FORT STEVENS STATE PARK, Ore. - Clatsop County officials are investigating an apparent murder-suicide involving a Portland man and his 10-year-old son.
Investigators say the father, 49-year-old Rockland Stephens, ran a hose from the tail pipe into the cab of the vehicle. They said the man and boy both likely died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The deaths reportedly come shortly after events connected to a child custody battle. (Father and son, 10, dead in apparent murder-suicide; Katu.Com; March 19, 2008 Orig)
UPDATED (3-29-2008) Clark County man sentence Friday to more than 53 years in prison
A Clark County man was sentenced Friday to more than 53 years in prison for offering to pay four men to beat or kill his estranged wife last year during contentious divorce and child custody proceedings.
(Reported in the Oregonian. March 29, 2008. Link not available.)
UPDATED (6-29-2008) Shooter kills 2, self in Cambria Township
EBENSBURG — A child-custody dispute led to an exchange of gunfire between a divorced couple and ended in a double murder and suicide.
Cambria Township police were dispatched just before 3 a.m. Sunday to the 1200 block of Allie Buck Road in Cambria Township after reports of a break-in.
Instead, they found themselves in a standoff with David Gerlach, 42, of Ebensburg.
Gerlach allegedly became agitated late Saturday or early Sunday with his ex-wife, Debra Gerlach, 41, who was living in the Cambria Township residence, which was in the process of being sold.
According to Cambria County Coroner Dennis Kwiatkowski, David Gerlach went to the residence with his handgun.
"There were two guns in the residence,” Kwiatkowski said. “One was Debra’s and one was the shooter’s. They exchanged gunfire at some point.” (Shooter Kills 2, self in Cambria Township; The Tribune-Democrat; June 29, 2008 Orig.)
UPDATED: (7-07-2008) Convicted Husband leads Calif. Police to a body (ReiserFS inventor convicted of killing as a result of adversarial child custody proceedings.)
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A prominent software programmer who had denied having anything to do with his estranged wife's disappearance even after he was convicted of her murder led police Monday to what is believed to be her body, defense attorneys said.
The two were involved in a bitter custody dispute, traces of her blood were found in his home and car and witnesses testified she would never have left her children. (Convicted Husband leads Calif. Police to a body; Associated Press; July 7, 2008; Orig)
UPDATED: (7-07-2008) Police hunt man accused of shooting estranged wife
PORTOLA HILLS - The couple had hostile encounters when exchanging custody of their 9-year-old son in the past, and on Wednesday eveningauthorities said, 46-year-old Lonnie Ramos grabbed a 9mm and shot his estranged wife in the face.
After she filed for divorce in May 2003, Gynnae Ramos sought to reduce the amount of time that Lonnie Ramos had custody of their son, stating she had been threatened by Ramos and she was afraid he would take out his anger on their child. (Police hunt man accused of shooting estranged wife; OC Register; July 3, 2008 Orig.)
UPDATED: (7-17-2008) Holland martial-arts instructor tried to hire undercover cop as hit man
Police arrested Ung, 42, of Holland, at his school Wednesday night, apparently while students were in the building. Court documents show he tried to hire a man to kill Linda Siripanya, a woman with whom he has battled in court since 2003 over custody of their daughter.
Holland Police would not divulge a motive, but Ottawa Count Circuit Court documents reveal a contentious court struggle between Ung and his former girlfriend, with each firing accusations against the other. Each had tried more than once to get judges to issue personal protection orders against the other, and both claimed threats by the other. (Holland martial-arts instructor tried to hire undercover cop as hit man; Grand Rapids Press; July 17, 2008 Orig.)
UPDATED: (8-5-2008) Richmond Woman Charged in Murder-For-Hire
A Richmond woman who runs an advocacy group for parents in child-custody battles faces two attempted capital murder charges for reportedly arranging a double-killing in a custody battle of her own. (Richmond Woman Charged in Murder-For-Hire; Richmond Times-Dispatch; August 5, 2008 Orig.)
UPDATED: (8-6-2008) Child Custody Trials Can Bring Out the Worst in Parents
So it's with little surprise that I read Tuesday about a woman accused by authorities in Williamsburg-James City County of trying to hire a hit man to kill her ex-boyfriend.
Over a bitter child custody battle. (Child Custody Trials Can Bring Out the Worst in Parents; DailyPress.Com; August 6, 2008; Orig.)
UPDATED: (8-8-2008) Maryville man accused of beating child's 70-year-old grandfather
A custody battle turned violent Monday when a 36-year-old man beat the grandfather of his child, police said.
Brian C. Moad, of 2710 Keebler Road in Maryville, was charged with aggravated battery after police responded to a 911 call Monday morning from the 100 block of Maryknoll Drive.
"When they got there, officers found (the victim) sitting on the street bleeding from the head," Police Chief Rich Scharden said. (Maryville man accused of beating child's 70-year-oldgrandfather; Belleville News Democrat; August 8, 2008; Orig. )
UPDATED: (10-9-2008) Ash Flat Official Pleads Guilty
ASH FLAT — Carolyn Stewart Estes of Ash Flat pleaded guilty this morning to conspiracy to commit capital murder in a negotiated plea deal that lasted only 10 minutes.
According to court documents and information from the negotiated plea,
Estes conspired with Gary “Crowbar” Russell in an attempt to cause the
death of her ex-husband, Tony Stewart.
Estes talked to Russell
for several months, stating “how she would like to have Stewart
killed,” and referred to his murder as “Plan B and/or Plan C.” (Ash Flat Official Pleads Guilty; The Batesville Daily Guard; October 9, 2008; Orig. )
UPDATED: (10-29-2008) Deputy Says Woman Wanted Him To Kill
A 28-year-old Sumner woman tried to hire an undercover King County sheriff's deputy last week to kill her daughter's father, the child's stepmother and the child's grandparents, according to a police report filed in King County District Court.
The undercover officer videotaped the solicitation, in which the woman reportedly requested that he either shoot, stab or bludgeon the intended victims. She offered the deputy $500 for the slayings, the police report said.
The deputy got involved in the case after an Arizona man called Auburn police on Oct. 20 to report that his friend had asked him to kill the four people. The man said the woman's anger stemmed from a child-custody agreement, the report said. (Deputy Says Woman Wanted Him To Kill; Seattle Times; October 29,2008; Orig. )
UPDATED: (12-02-2008) Man pleads guilty, receives two life sentences
RANKIN COUNTY (WLBT) - A Rankin County
man was sentenced to two life sentences in the shooting death of his
stepdaughter and her husband in a 2007 child-custody dispute.
...
The shooting occurred June 7, 2007, as
the McGuffees tried to pick up their 10-year-old son, who had been
living at Tackett's home. A Hinds County Chancery Judge had given the
McGuffee's custody of their child. (Man pleads guilty, receives two life sentences; WLBT 3; December 2, 2008; Orig.)
