Man, 12-year-old daughter found dead

Posted in Related Deaths

5-31-2007 Pennsylvania:

A few weeks ago 12-year-old Mandie Coco told friends her father was molesting her.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mandie and her 41-year-old father, Christopher Coco, were found dead lying on his bed, both shot in the head, in an apparent murder-suicide, Stroud Area Regional police said.

Police said they were looking for a motive, but Mandie's friends and others in the Normal Street public housing development in East Stroudsburg said they always thought her father was an odd man who screamed at children and sported a pistol strapped to his hip.

The father and daughter were found about 2:30 p.m. in the front bedroom of their home at 453 Hill St.

Police went to the apartment to check on Mandie at the request of KidsPeace, where she was enrolled, because she had not been seen at school since Friday, Capt. William Parrish said.

'Morphed' porn found on teacher's Mac

He committed suicide after being accused of inappropriate e-mails.
5-30-2007 Florida:

NEW PORT RICHEY - In February, a tech support worker found a CD file folder marked "Students X" on a middle school science teacher's school laptop.

There, on the disc in Stephan Brown's Apple MacBook, were six of his students' faces superimposed onto 22 pictures of adult pornography, according to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report released Tuesday. Such "morphed" images still constitute child porn, a federal offense, the report said.

The file folder was among four that contained adult pornography as well as nonoffensive photos of Brown's students at Seven Springs Middle School working outside his classroom.

Brown, 47, killed himself sometime between Feb. 17 and 19, before authorities could question him about the pictures. It took three months for the sheriff's office to complete the investigation and release its findings, which shed new light on the teacher's suicide.

"The children weren't victims in the normal sense," sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said Tuesday, explaining why the investigation took so long. "They weren't committing sex acts or being photographed nude."

Detectives interviewed the students in the photos, according to the report. They said Brown never inappropriately touched them, and that Brown was a very good teacher.

In a job evaluation two years ago, principal Chris Christoff called Brown "a force in the science lab," someone who could "inspire even the most withdrawn students to love the scientific process."

Trouble began brewing in early February for Brown, who had taught in Pasco since 1993.

Brown sent e-mails to a 12-year-old student asking whether she had a boyfriend and urging her to share "the juicy details," according to the report. The girl's father found the e-mails Feb. 11 and called authorities.

The next day, Brown was placed on paid leave. The principal sent parents a letter saying the sheriff's office was investigating a complaint of "inappropriate electronic communications" between an employee and a student, offering no more specifics.

Authorities found nothing illegal when they searched Brown's laptop, the report said. But on Feb. 16, a tech support worker at the school found the pornographic photos on the disc. Brown resigned that day.

He was last seen Feb. 17. His wife, Beth Brown, principal at John Long Middle School, reported him missing the next day.

A sheriff's deputy found him Feb. 19 at the YMCA in Trinity. Brown had hanged himself at the ropes course.

If he were still alive, Brown could have be charged with a federal offense of possessing child pornography, said Steven Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa.

That's because the legal definition of child porn includes "morphed" images of children's faces on adult bodies performing sexual acts, Cole said. A person convicted of possessing such images could face up to five years in prison. ..more.. by

Wanted man found dead at I-5 rest stop

5-29-2007 Oregon:
DILLARD — A man wanted by police and reported missing recently out of Lincoln County was found dead of apparent suicide Monday at an Interstate 5 rest area, police said.

Gregory O’Neil Austin, 34, of Rose Lodge had been reported missing Thursday to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, according to a Douglas County Sheriff’s Office report.

A deputy spotted the man’s 2003 Chevrolet Silverado at the southbound rest area at Milepost 112 two days later. The deputy searched the vehicle and found a note on the window indicating Austin was a threat to himself, according to the report.

The deputy was advised that Austin was wanted out of Lincoln County on suspicion of assault and sex-related crimes.

While searching the man’s truck, the deputy found a holster for a small handgun Austin was believed to have been carrying, but the gun was missing. The area was searched, but Austin was not found and the vehicle was towed.

On Monday around 10 a.m., a family member of Austin’s who’d been searching around the rest area found the man dead on a nearby hill. The man appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the report.

The rest area was briefly closed while officials recovered the man’s body. ..more.. by The News Review

Man facing abuse charges apparently kills self

5-27-2007 Alabama:
PRATTVILLE -- A man scheduled to go on trial this week on sex abuse charges apparently committed suicide Thursday night in a Montgomery hotel.

John R. Grover, 58, was charged with sexual abuse of a child younger than 12, according to Autauga County courthouse records.

His alleged victim was a 3-year-old girl, said Heather Dixon, an assistant district attorney.

Grover never showed up for his court case in Prattville earlier this week. He was indicted by the grand jury in October 2006. Officials didn't have a current address for him.

Grover's death was discovered by officers responding to an unrelated domestic violence call Thursday night at a Montgomery hotel, said Capt. Huey Thornton, a spokesman for the Montgomery Police Department.

The officers were at the Hotel 6 on the East Boulevard when they heard a gunshot from another room.

After forcing entry into the room, Montgomery officers found Grover dead with an apparent gunshot wound to his head.

News of the suicide shocked people at the courthouse early Friday morning.

"We contacted the family of the victim, and of course they were taken aback," Dixon said. "We were ready to go to trial this week. We had a strong case. We are relieved that this now-4-year-old victim won't have to go through a trial."

District Attorney Randall Houston was less diplomatic.

"This shows that not all justice takes place in a courtroom," he said. ..more.. by Marty Roney

Standoff ends when suspect kills himself

Stuarts Draft incident began over lost child
5-25-2007 Virginia:
STUARTS DRAFT — A convicted violent sex offender, who authorities said lured a neighbor into his home Wednesday night and tried to sexually assault her, killed himself during an armed standoff, the Augusta County Sheriff's Office said.

Shortly before midnight, the sheriff's office SWAT Team fired tear gas canisters into the home at 169 Sherwood Drive. Authorities found the body of John Aubrey Lee, 45, under the sink in a bathroom located in the rear of the one-story home. Capt. Dwight Wood said Lee killed himself as the SWAT team moved in. Lee died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Wood said.

The sheriff's office said the incident began when a mother looking for her 6-year-old daughter went to Lee's home. He told the woman the child was in a playroom. When the woman checked the room, the daughter wasn't there. An argument ensued and Lee reportedly told the woman the girl was in his bedroom. Upon entering the room, the woman said a pornographic movie was playing on the television. The daughter was not in the room.

Lee, listed as a violent sex offender by Virginia State Police after being convicted of attempted rape in 1992 in Orange County, locked the bedroom door, according to the sheriff's office. He ordered the woman on the bed. The woman managed to escape to her home, where she found her daughter. She called 911.

The sheriff's office said it appears the child was never at Lee's home.

When Lee's girlfriend arrived at the house late Wednesday afternoon, she reportedly found a high-powered rifle missing along with 20 rounds of ammunition. Lee ordered her out of the home. The sheriff's office said Lee pressed the rifle to his chin and threatened to kill himself before the woman left.

The sheriff's office, who deployed snipers around the home, said the standoff began about 6 p.m. For hours, authorities tried to make contact with Lee. At various times, police played what appeared to be a recording on a loudspeaker. One of the messages was from an unidentified woman who pleaded with Lee to give himself up.

"You have so much to live for," the woman said. "We are all here supporting you, John." The woman went on to say, "This is not the end of the road."

Wood said law enforcement never established verbal contact with Lee.

The incident drew dozens of onlookers from the neighborhood, located in the Augusta Farms subdivision, who were kept at least 150 yards from the standoff site. Neighbors living closer to Lee's home were ordered by authorities to stay indoors.

Before taking his life, county authorities had charged Lee with felony abduction with intent to defile and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Waynesboro police, Virginia State Police and Staunton officers also responded.

Lee's body has been sent to the Medical Examiner's Office in Roanoke for an autopsy. ..more.. by Brad Zinn / staff

Ethics: Bad News

February 2007 National:
Haunting. That is the only way to describe the suicide of a person who is the target of unexpected and harmful attention – actual or anticipated – from the news media.

A responsible journalist has an obligation to inform the public of the truth. Regrettably, the decision to tell the whole truth in a news story can sometimes lead to serious harm to a person who is the subject of the report.

Two recent stories bring this problem to mind. After laying out the relevant details of these stories, we will offer a strategy that journalists can use to address the problem of harm when deciding which stories deserve coverage.

For several days last fall, Pittsburgh station KDKA-TV aired promos for an upcoming story about a "month-long investigation into reports of public and illegal sexual behavior" by an area Presbyterian minister. Before the story was broadcast, the subject of the story, Reverend Brent Dugan of Ben Avon, Penn., committed suicide.

Dugans's death came a day after the station canceled plans to air the report, citing concerns that the pastor was a suicide risk.

The story never aired, so the station's allegations against the pastor are unclear. The promos did not identify him by name, but showed a reporter confronting Rev. Dugan about alleged visits to an adult bookstore.

The minister wrote a final letter to his congregation before he killed himself. He apologized for his conduct, explained that he "had struggled with his sexuality all of his adult life" and revealed that he had been engaged sexually with a man for four years. The man cooperated with KDKA in setting up the bookstore meeting where evidence of his sexual liaison with the minister was recorded by the TV station.

The second story also occurred last fall, in Terrell, Texas. A North Texas prosecutor, Louis Conradt, killed himself as police closed in to arrest him on charges of soliciting sex over the Internet from someone he thought was a 13-year-old boy.

An NBC Dateline camera crew had accompanied police to Conradt's home to record his arrest. The arrest was the culmination of a sting operation, mounted by Dateline in cooperation with a self-professed Internet "vigilance committee," Perverted Justice.

The Texas sting employed Dateline's standard methods when doing these stories: a Perverted Justice volunteer, posing as a child, decoyed Conradt into an Internet chat session that was sexual in nature. Once a sufficiently incriminating electronic record was created, police officers, working with the Dateline team, swooped down on Conradt's home to arrest him and seize further evidence.

Clearly, the subjects in these stories each made his own choice to end his life. But each story also contains a set of circumstances that raise questions of journalistic culpability.

The Pittsburgh story revolves around privacy. On its face, it appears to have involved a plan to out a gay minister. The intent of the minister's lover in the story set-up can only be imagined. Further, the fact that the station planned to air the story during sweeps month is troublesome.

The Texas story involves other journalistic values, including creating news and checkbook journalism. Dateline has repeatedly set up these pedophile stings, renting houses as sting sites and paying the Perverted Justice people for help. NBC plans to air footage from its Texas sting operation in February, another sweeps month, according to the Perverted Justice website. We do not know if the network plans to mention the suicide.

As we've stated previously in this column, we believe that pedophile stings may have been initially justified in bringing public attention to the problem of sexual predation over the Internet. And subsequent stings may have been justified in alerting the public if the criminal justice system had failed to do anything about the problem.

But the practice of continually setting up and covering busts for the sake of ratings smells like entertainment and should be billed as such.

Philip Patterson and Lee Wilkins, in their book "Media Ethics: Issues and Cases," offer a way of thinking about news stories that we think might help journalists make better decisions about stories that have the potential to cause harm.

They distinguish between three concepts: the public's right to know, the public's need to know and the public's want to know.

The concept of the public's right to know is associated with legal concepts including open meeting laws and public records.

The public's need to know involves information necessary in managing daily living. Patterson and Wilkins cite "…the health of financial institutions and the character of those who run them…" as one example. Citizens may not have the time or skills to dig out the information. The journalist's task is to provide the details so the audience can make sound economic or political decisions.

Finally, the public's want to know centers around information that some members of the audience may find interesting but have neither a right nor a need to know.

The authors talk about these concepts in relation to privacy, but we believe they can be applied to other situations as well.

The professional journalist weighs and balances the potential harm to the story subject when deciding whether to cover a story. Sometimes the duty to report the complete facts outweighs the potential for harm; if so, the story should be reported in full. At other times the potential for harm tips the scale in the opposite direction and the story need not, or even should not, be told. Or, it might be told in another way that minimizes harm.

Full disclosure is more likely to be morally justifiable, despite potential or actual harm to the subject, if the story is one that the public has a right or need to know. For a story that the public only wants to know, there is less moral support for disclosure and a stronger case to be made for restraint.

We caution journalists not to confuse money-making with the moral principles of avoiding harm or truth-telling. Making money is certainly a consideration in the journalist's professional life but it counts as an economic principle in the cases mentioned above and should not be used as moral justification for going public with a story that may cause harm.

We also urge journalists to carefully consider these issues when deciding whether and how to report a story.

Harm to a fellow human being is always a serious moral matter.

So, too, is harm to the reputation of the journalist and, by association, the reputations of others in the profession, when individuals are injured for the sake of ratings and in the absence of a compelling public interest in knowing the story in all its lurid details. ..more.. by Karen Slattery and Mark Doremus

Karen Slattery is an associate professor in the College of Communication at Marquette University. She teaches courses related to broadcast journalism, media ethics, and qualitative research methods.

Mark Doremus has a Ph.D. in Journalism and Mass Communication and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is now employed as a research administrator. He worked in television news for 13 years in various capacities, primarily as a news reporter-photographer. He still cares deeply about the press, in all its forms, and its practitioners. He met his wife and co-columnist, Karen Slattery, when they were both working in local television news.

Pastor under investigation found dead at Mercer Motel

11-5-2006 Pennsylvania:

A Pittsburgh-area Presbyterian minister who was the subject of a television news probe into reports of “public and illegal sexual behavior” killed himself last week at the Mercer Motel.

A woman who answered the phone at the motel, but wouldn’t give her name, said the Rev. Brent Dugan checked in Wednesday evening at the motel located on U.S. Route 62 in Mercer. She said she didn’t remember if Dugan had stayed at the motel previously.

Dugan’s body was found at about noon Friday and Mercer County Deputy Coroner Dr. David Hoyt told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Dugan died of an overdose of aspirin and alcohol.

Hoyt — who could not be reached for comment Sunday — ruled the death a suicide.

His death came a day after KDKA-TV canceled plans to air an investigation that focused on Dugan’s personal life because the station “received information from someone close to Pastor Dugan that indicated he was considering doing harm to himself,” the Post-Gazette reported.

Forum: Modern shame

It sells, entertains and derails public policy. It does just about everything but serve its intended purpose of edifying and improving its subject because it is amplified into humiliation, writes DENNIS RODDY
11-12-2006 National:

Clergymen are subject to the same passions as other men; and, as far as I can see, give way to them, in one line or in another, almost as frequently. -- Anthony Trollope, "Framley Parsonage"


Trollope alludes to the Rev. Mark Robarts, whose secret shame was a desire to move up in the world, playing one rich sponsor against another. Today, Rev. Robarts would be lauded for allowing the marketplace to work its magic. The thought of the Rev. Robarts disporting abed with a he-partner would have been beyond discussion. This is not to say it would never have occurred in Victorian England; our generation did not invent nor much improve sexuality. But we seem to have invented the uses of its shame for political and commercial advancement.

Last week, in separate instances, shame and sex were put to their respective uses, all by agents less concerned with advancing public morals than in promoting themselves, their ideologies and their market shares.

In Delaware, a judge has sentenced Russell Teeter, 69, a gardener, to wear a T-shirt emblazoned, "I am a registered sex offender." He was convicted of repeatedly displaying himself to young girls.

"This is a unique way to let his customers know that he is a registered sex offender," explains Donald Roberts, the prosecutor in the case. Putting Mr. Teeter in jail, where he would be restrained from displaying himself, might also solve the problem. The T-shirt seems more an exercise in public shaming than public protection. It is likely people will now come to Mr. Teeter's shop just to have a look at the newest monkey in the zoo. Possibly, they will bring their children. Chalk one up for a sentence that seems less to solve something than to satisfy someone.

On the other side of the Great Plains, the Rev. Ted Haggard finds himself unemployed, disgraced, groveling and altogether shown up by revelations that, notwithstanding his foursquare conviction that homosexuality is a veritable finger in God's eye, he ingested both methamphetamine and the man who sold it to him, one Mike Jones, a male prostitute.

After the ritual denials, the Rev. Haggard issued a letter to his congregation about the years he struggled with a dark corner of himself only to "find myself thinking thoughts and experiencing desires that were contrary to everything I believe and teach." Presumably we are to deduce from this that he is gay, and struggled not to be. I share his torment. I have struggled for years not to be bald. Genetics has failed us both.

Until he was caught, Rev. Haggard's most controversial act was to declare an obligation for evangelical Christians to fight climate change. He viewed it as a stewardship issue, a duty to not destroy the Earth.

Had he been caught pouring used crank case oil into the storm sewers of Colorado Springs, it is hard to imagine he would have been forced to exit his ministry in shame. Hypocrisy of that sort would have little entertainment value because, at its core, our fascination with Rev. Haggard's demise has less to do with his being a hypocrite than the pure fun of watching a public man dissolve in the most humiliating of circumstances. Long ago, we had to slow down to crane our necks at the mangled wreckage encasing our neighbors. Now it is provided to us via cable.

In the public arena, shame sells. It entertains. It derails public policy. It does just about everything but serve its natural purpose of edifying and improving its subject because now it is amplified into humiliation. The only defense is the adoption of shamelessness.

Paris Hilton, the wealthy stick figure, became famous because her boyfriend videotaped a tryst and the encounter was put on the Internet. Rather than retreat somewhere in private to heal, Miss Hilton opted to reject feelings of humiliation and has merely folded this horror into her public resume. She now appears frequently without underwear or embarrassment, as if fame and notoriety were indistinguishable. It is not entirely clear whether she did something wrong in her rendezvous with the cad who released the videotape, but it seems clearer that she hasn't even considered the ethical implications of transforming what should be shame into market share. Reducing a shameful act to mere bad manners or worse, luck, simply pretends that anything can be made right by embracing it.

The deletion of shame in certain matters simply to survive has its role. In my childhood, my mother would not say the word "divorce," in proximity to her children, because the estate was so fraught with the aroma of immorality. Permanence in marriage was a religious ideal, if not a practical one. Society made the requisite changes so people could live their lives.

One curiosity of the time was the word "cancer." Dying of it carried some manner of stigma and in my days of writing obituaries I have more than once encountered a funeral director reluctant to part with a cause of death only to finally sigh and whisper "cancer," as if this were somehow a reflection on its victim. A half-generation later, men were sitting atop floats at the Gay Pride parade in American cities next to signs that read "AIDS Sufferer," and others displayed T-shirts printed "HIV+". These men were convinced in the correctness of their choices in terms of sexual conduct but were also baring themselves to scrutiny in an act of courage to make a spitefully reluctant America acknowledge a plague. They also were revealing the intimate aspects of themselves in ways unthinkable to most people. They were risking a public shaming to point out the larger shame in which the public was complicit. They had a choice.

The Rev. Brent Dugan did not. By all accounts a quietly enthusiastic pastor at a suburban Pittsburgh congregation, the Rev. Dugan appeared to have no political pronouncements to make, preached a Gospel of non-aggression, and nobody in his flock seemed concerned about how he spent his bachelor hours. Schooled in theology and divinity, the Rev. Dugan had little understanding of the phenomenon called "sweeps week," when viewership at television stations is measured and, based on those numbers, sets advertising rates.

Stations do much to attract maximum viewership at this time of year, and news teams often unveil their catchiest stuff. KDKA television spent a week promoting what it promised would be revelations about an area minister. What they had in the can was a report that, by all accounts, centered on the discovery that Rev. Dugan visited an adult bookstore in McKeesport. There are more troubling details and tape recordings, which could point either to illegal conduct or a lonely man's sad fantasies. In a less fevered time, Rev. Dugan's situation would have been a matter for police or psychiatry. Today they become the stuff of a sweeps-week promotion for a citizenry addicted to shock. But none of this made it on the air. The Rev. Dugan vanished from his home and, in a gesture of magnanimity worthy of a congressman handing back a bribe, KDKA announced it would not air its report on the "area clergyman" because of fears he might harm himself.

He did. No one is sure if the Rev. Dugan got word that KDKA had decided against broadcasting its revelations about his life. What is clear is that he left a suicide note explaining his shame and horror at what was about to be made public, checked into a motel in Mercer County and overdosed on liquor and aspirin. Marty Griffin, the go-for-broke reporter who worked the story was quoted saying that Rev. Dugan's behavior, if not illegal, might have violated the rules of his church.

While it is gratifying to know that KDKA has taken on the job of enforcing rules for the Presbyterian Church, it might have been nicer to know just what of public interest lay in the decision to pursue a story that turned out to be fatal to a subject who must have surprised everyone by feeling ashamed. KDKA, which presumably thought it necessary for the public to know about Rev. Dugan's sex life, has gone rather mute.

In short, KDKA had a sweeps-week story. I'm sure I would have watched, much the way I cannot resist slowing down at school bus crashes or watching couples fistfight in shopping malls. But when I do so, I feel a sense of shame in myself for the enjoyment I disguise behind a loud tut-tutting. The salacious not only stirs our desires, it elevates our illusions of moral superiority. It is the junk food that has made us a nation of fatheads.

The Monday after Rev. Dugan's suicide, I tuned in to Mr. Griffin's morning radio talk show to see how he would explain this matter. In a language of restraint foreign to him, Mr. Griffin expressed the station's condolences. He offered his own condolences. He told everyone that this was not the time to discuss the matter, although I couldn't have thought of a better moment and wonder what future time KDKA has set aside for the discussion of how an unaired report turned fatal.

Meanwhile, on television the truth was being extracted from Ted Haggard bit-by-bit, and his resignation letter was being read aloud by correspondents eager to parse vague wording into unambiguous confession. On the other side of Pennsylvania, a congressman was facing ejection from office because his mistress had accused him of choking her. She dropped the matter in exchange for $500,000. Public debate in that district had not been turning much on the Iraq War or the economy, and Democrats salivated at the prospect of gaining political strength from opponents humiliated by illicit sex in ways they had not been humiliated by revelations of illicit war.

At the end of Framley Parsonage, the Rev. Robarts suffers shame because of a matter of money, something he had used to connect himself with power. The two are interchangeable, both in literature and the corporeal world. Where the Rev. Robarts makes himself a lesser man one way, we do it in another, trading not money but shame, as a commodity to advance everything from a prosecutorial career to a life on television.

Trollope is fond of aphorisms. One he cites was a favorite of John Wesley, who asked, "Who can touch pitch and not be defiled?" Of late we have rolled in pitch, but it is the eyes of the Rev. Brent Dugan that now are stuck shut, and this time the shame is ours. ..more.. by Dennis Roddy is a Post-Gazette staff writer (droddy@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1965).

Tuned In: After suicide, stations should rethink 'gotcha stories'

The "sweeps" months, when local TV news promotions and "special reports" are at their most over-the-top, have become a routine annoyance to discerning television viewers. Less than a week into the current November sweeps period, they've taken a tragic turn.

The Rev. Brent Dugan, pastor of Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon, committed suicide last week after KDKA-TV aired a series of promotions for a Marty Griffin report that suggested Dugan was involved in illicit behavior.

Some viewers sent me understandably emotional e-mails that were as hyperbolic as the TV news promos they decry (one subject line: "KDKA's Assassination of Ben Avon Pastor"). That goes too far. It was Dugan's choice to overdose on aspirin and alcohol in a Mercer County motel. But this tragic outcome ought to make reporters and news directors in all newsrooms, particularly KDKA management and Griffin, take a contemplative look at the impact salacious, fear-mongering sweeps-month promos and reports can have.

TV news has an obligation to uncover wrongdoing, but too often stations appear to be more excited about reporting stories that bring themselves attention. Were the accusations in Griffin's investigation true? Did the report merit airing? There's no way of knowing because the story never aired.

KDKA general manager Chris Pike said the station would have no comment beyond a statement released Friday night that expressed condolences to Dugan's family and friends and explained that KDKA had "conducted a monthlong investigation into reports of public and illegal sexual behavior by Pastor Dugan. The results of that investigation were scheduled to air [Thursday] evening. ... That evening the station received information from someone close to Pastor Dugan that indicated that he was considering doing harm to himself. As a result, the station made the decision not to air the story."

News director John Verrilli would not say whether Griffin's story will air; on Friday afternoon Pike said it was unlikely to air. Griffin did not respond to a message on his work voice mail seeking comment.

Promos for the report were broadcast for several days last week. They showed Griffin confronting Dugan about his alleged visits to an adult bookstore. It was unclear from the promos what other details the report would reveal.

During the 11 p.m. news Thursday, Griffin said his investigation "uncovered illicit, possibly illegal, activity by a local minister, activities which, at the very least, violated the rules of his denomination."

It's the use of key words -- possibly illegal, at the very least -- that call into question whether the report was worth doing in the first place. If the best Griffin could dig up was a trip to an adult bookstore (not illegal) and violation of church rules, then there's not much in it to serve the public interest. It comes off looking like another "gotcha"-style story designed for no benefit except the TV station's ratings.

What aired Thursday did not mention Dugan by name; he wasn't shown on screen. His church and denomination were not named. But Dugan was pictured in promos that aired for several days earlier on KDKA. The damage was done.

Even if you give station management the benefit of the doubt that they were unaware of Dugan's threat to himself when they chose to air the promos, you have to ask, do TV station promos for stories of wrongdoing have to be so licking-their-chops sensational? They're designed to lure viewers, but clearly they can have unintended consequences as well.

The possibility of the harm they can cause -- not only to the person under investigation, but to his family and community -- needs to be considered. (It should be noted, someone could just as easily be provoked by newspaper stories, but, tabloids aside, you don't usually see the print media stoop to scare tactics to promote upcoming reports.)

And why did KDKA air the promos and Thursday night's non-report and choose not to cover Dugan's suicide? Verrilli wouldn't comment on that, either.

For Griffin, provocative reporting is nothing new. During last November's sweeps -- a four-week period during which Nielsen Media Research measures viewership so stations can set advertising rates -- Griffin ventured onto Port Authority property while reporting on lax security at a bus garage. He was eventually found not guilty of trespassing on appeal.

Griffin worked at KXAS-TV in Dallas in the 1990s, when he reported on sexual assault allegations against two Dallas Cowboy football players by a former topless dancer. She later recanted, according to a 1997 Dallas Morning News report, and the players sued KXAS and Griffin. The station settled with the players for $2.2 million, according to the Dallas paper. Griffin's attorney told the paper that the reporter admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

One would hope the death of a human being would cause station management and staff to re-evaluate the way they cover and promote news, particularly sweeps- month features. Disgusted viewers may choose not to watch KDKA, but there's a problem with that approach: The lower that stations' ratings go, the more desperate for attention they tend to get and the greater the lengths they'll try. (Remember the tawdry tone of WPXI's newscasts when they were a perennial third place?)

With a thirst for profit driving media conglomerates' news coverage, this sort of thing could happen again. That may be the greatest tragedy of all. ..more.. by Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Teacher in sex photo trial discovered dead

On trial for alleged inappropriate photos, found dead in car with engine on
1-11-2007 Pennsylvania:

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - A suspended teacher on trial over charges of photographing teenage boys in revealing clothing was found dead in a car idling in his garage, authorities said.

Police went to the home of Keith Snyder, 55, after he failed to appear in court Wednesday. Judge F.P. Kimberly McFadden announced the death and sent the jury home. She did not provide any other details.

An autopsy was scheduled.

Snyder was suspended from teaching at Southern Lehigh High School shortly after he was charged in 2005 with corruption of minors, solicitation of a minor to pose nude and evidence tampering.

Several teenage boys who were Snyder’s former students testified this week that Snyder paid them extra if they performed chores at his home while bare-chested or wearing skimpy bathing suits or wrestling singlets.

“We felt this defendant committed crimes that negatively impacted young boys. Our office vigorously prosecuted the case, but on a human side, whenever a life is lost it is tragic,” said District Attorney John Morganelli.

Snyder’s attorney, Bohdan Zelechiwsky, declined to comment. ..more.. by Associated Press

Ex-officer linked to child porn shot

1-25-2007 Alabama:
MOBILE (AP) — A former Mobile police officer, due in federal court Wednesday to face child pornography charges, shot himself in the head at his home as federal agents arrived to arrest him.

Police said Fredrick Renfroe, 44, was taken to the University of South Alabama Medical Center with a single gunshot wound Tuesday evening.

A nursing supervisor said Renfroe was in critical condition Wednesday.

Police spokesman John Young said FBI agents and U.S. marshals were at Renfroe's residence to arrest him and revoke his probation for removing an electronic monitoring device.

He had been under house arrest pending trial on charges involving images on his computer.

Renfroe's neighbor, Ronnie Branum, said he saw several law enforcement agents surround the house.

He said they had entered when the gun was fired.

"The trucks pulled up real fast, and the men got out, and they had on FBI jackets," Branum said.

"They ran up to the door and (Renfroe) opened the door and then saw who it was and took off back inside the house."

He said agents brought a battering ram inside the house and "we heard them beat on a door two or three times. Then we heard a shot."

Renfroe was arrested in 2005 after authorities said a search of his home turned up child pornography images on his computer. ..more.. by THE DECATUR DAILY

Man Arrested In Child Sex Sting Found Dead

1-26-2007 Florida:
MIMIS, Fla. -- A Brevard County man shot and killed himself less than a week after he allegedly attempted to meet a 14-year-old boy in St. Lucie West for sex, sheriff's investigators said.

Ronald Gross, 60, of Mims, was found dead by detectives Thursday afternoon in his Mims house.

Gross, who had been communicating with a detective portraying himself as a teenager in an Internet chat room last week, was arrested in Port St. Lucie on Saturday and charged with lewd computer solicitation, attempted interference with child custody and attempted lewd or lascivious battery on a child.

In an instant message, Gross asked who he thought was a 14-year-old boy for explicit images after a meeting in an Internet chat room, detectives said.

Over the next several days, according to sheriff's detectives, Gross sent several messages and e-mails requesting to meet the "boy" for sexual favors.

St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office officials said an investigation showed that Gross had a previous sexual encounter with at least one 17-year-old boy in Brevard County.

During a search of Gross' motor home, which detectives said he was driving to St. Lucie West, a digital camera, adult pornography videos and a laptop computer were discovered.

Detectives said they also seized a computer and related media from Gross' residence in Mims.

After reviewing the seized information, investigators said they believe there are other unreported victims in Brevard County.

"It's not unheard of for people that engage in this activity to engage in it with other adults, so the possibility would exist there could be other suspects out there that have victimized children," Lt. Tod Goodyear of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said.

"It's a shame. What do you do? I mean, you live here. And we have to live with him, and you just don't know what they're doing," neighbor Michael Jones said.

Other neighbors told Local 6 News off camera that they often saw teenagers leaving Gross' house.

Anyone with information concerning this case is urged to contact the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. ..more.. by Local6.com.

Former Escaped Idaho Inmate Kills Self in Texas Prison

3-5-2007 Texas:

A sex offender from Idaho has apparently killed himself in a prison in Texas, where he'd been shipped with about 400 other inmates from Idaho to ease overcrowding.

Forty-three-year-old Scot Noble Payne was found unresponsive and bleeding in a shower about one in the morning yesterday. He died just over an hour later.

Prison officials say a razor was used to cause the wounds.

Payne had been in the news before: He escaped the same facility in December and spent a week on the run.

Suspect who shot himself is identified

5-18-2007 California:

A suspected child molester, who fatally shot himself Tuesday when authorities attempted to take him into custody, was identified Wednesday by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office as 63-year-old Harold Streeter of Carmichael.

Authorities received a molestation complaint about Streeter on Sunday, according to the Sheriff's Department. After substantiating the complaint, deputies attempted to pull Streeter over near Sunrise Boulevard and Madison Avenue.

He shot himself as deputies approached. Deputies did not know he had a gun, officials said. ..more.. by SacBee.com

Sex-crimes figure apparent suicide

5-18-2007 New Mexico:
SANTA FE -- The investigation into a series of sexual assaults in Santa Fe took a new twist this morning when a “person of interest” in the crimes apparently hanged himself in his jail cell.

Santa Fe County Detention Center staff found David Giba, 44, hanging from his bunk about 4:30 a.m. His death is likely a suicide, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department which is continuing to investigate the death.

Giba was arrested last week and charged with indecent exposure after a surveillance camera recorded a man walking into a Santa Fe business last month and then walking out in his underwear.

He was one of two men recently arrested by Santa Fe police in separate cases and drawn into the ongoing sex-crimes investigation.

Giba was arrested in the flashing case last week and changed in another case Wednesday in which he's accused of attacking a woman at a Santa Fe business in September.

According to the sheriff’s department, Giba left behind three notes now being studied by investigators: one on his cell wall, one addressed to friends and family and one for Santa Fe police detectives.

“All I can really say is that he indicated he was going to commit suicide,” sheriff’s Maj. Ron Madrid said. “At this point they’re going over the notes.

“A lot of the handwriting is hard to read.”

Giba reportedly had undergone a psychological evaluation after being jailed and was not considered to be at risk for suicide.

He was being held in the jail segregation unit and not allowed contact with other inmates because of the sensitive, high--profile nature of his case.

Santa Fe police Chief Eric Johnson said it is not yet known how Giba’s death will affect the investigation into the series of sexual assault stretching back into last year. There also is concern about collecting DNA from Giba’s body for use in the investigation, he said. ..more.. by KRQE News 13

Man dies of overdose after boy's accusations

5-15-2007 Florida:

ST. PETERSBURG - A 68-year-old man accused of molesting a mentally disabled boy killed himself last week after learning that he could face serious criminal charges, his attorney said Monday.

Donald Adams, a St. Petersburg resident, was accused of molesting a boy under the age of 8. After investigating, the Sheriff's Office turned the case over to the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office, which intended to pursue capital sexual battery charges against Adams.

Last Monday, Lucas Fleming, Adams' attorney, told him that he could face a capital sexual battery charge. Adams killed himself later that day by overdosing on prescription medication, Fleming said.

Fleming says he tried to persuade the State Attorney's Office not to file the charge because much of the case rested on the testimony of the boy, who was a young child.

"I had hoped that they would not file the charge given the significant hurdles the state would have faced in prosecuting the case, " Fleming said.

But Bruce Bartlett, the chief assistant in the State Attorney's Office, said the boy, now 11, gave consistent, detailed accounts of the sexual abuse, which he says took place five years ago. Bartlett said the State Attorney's Office, which was investigating the case but had not yet obtained a warrant for Adams' arrest, had found no reason not to pursue a capital sexual battery charge.

"I'm sorry about what happened to him Adams, " Bartlett said. "But he committed a crime, a very serious one." ..more.. by ABHI RAGHUNATHAN

Former Kaufman D.A. commits suicide amid (Dateline) sex sting

11-6-2006 Texas:
The former Kaufman County District Attorney committed suicide Sunday when police tried to arrest him at his Terrell home on a warrant tied to a child-predator sting.

Murphy police Sgt. Snow Robertson said Louis “Bill” Conradt Jr. solicted sex from a decoy posing online as a 13-year-old boy.

Murphy Mayor Bret Baldwin said the sting was a joint operation between Perverted Justice and NBC’s Dateline that lured men seeking sex with children to Murphy. Perverted Justice is an Internet watchdog that received national attention after helping Dateline catch dozens of men trolling chat rooms to meet children for sex.

NBC officials said in a statement there was no contact between Mr. Conradt and Dateline. A crew was outside on the street when Mr. Conradt shot himself. Perverted Justice officials did not respond to e-mails seeking comment.

Sgt. Robertson said there was nothing police could have done to prevent Mr. Conradt, 56, from shooting himself in the head. No one else was in the house.

“When somebody decides to do this, there is nothing you can do,” Sgt. Robertson said. “We did everything we could.”

Murphy police said Mr. Conradt had not gone to the Murphy sting house but they believed he would. Police were attempting to serve a search warrant for his computer equipment and an arrest warrant for soliciting sex with a minor. Law enforcement officials from Terrell, Murphy and the Texas Rangers were at the home.

Records show that Mr. Conradt lived alone.

Mr. Conradt was the Kaufman County district attorney for more than two decades. He gave up his position in 2002 to run for a seat on the bench. He lost. He is currently Rockwall County’s chief felony assistant district attorney.

Police forced their way through Mr. Conradt’s front door after he didn’t answer their knocks or his telephone. He was taken by helicopter to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas where he died.

Unwanted attention

Neighbors in the Murphy neighborhood where the sting occurred expressed reservations about setting such a trap for child predators.

“How do you tell a 6-year-old why he can’t play outside?” asked Michael Smith, who lives across the street from the house. “You come to a nice neighborhood like this, you don’t expect to have to deal with something like this.”

The neighbors first noticed strangers at the house, putting up Halloween decorations after the holiday had passed, working on streetlights and running cable. Friday, they started seeing strangers pull up and go inside. Some neighbors saw the visitors being arrested. It was unclear how many arrests were made.

They said they resent having possible child molesters drawn into their community.

“They’re solving a problem we don’t have,” said Colleen Halbert.

Mr. Baldwin, the mayor, said he had been in touch with residents and that he and the council were not made aware of the operation beforehand.

Murphy City Council member Murray Sanderford said there will be a special council meeting this week to discuss what happened. The time had not been set late Sunday.

Perverted Justice and Dateline conducted a similar sting in Murphy during the summer. Then, they caught a retired doctor from Tyler, a business traveler from Missouri, a former sailor who said he is addicted to sex and a Plano office worker. All thought they were going to have sex with a 13- or 14-year-old.

Mr. Baldwin said he hopes Murphy won’t be used again.

“We’re going to do whatever we need to do to make sure this doesn’t continue,” he said. “I think it’s a noble cause, but our police department is hired to serve and protect our citizens, and not to expose them to outside threats.” ..more.. By RICHARD ABSHIRE, MARISSA ALANIS and JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News

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Former Kaufman D.A. commits suicide amid (Dateline) sex sting

Updated: 4-18-2007 *** 5-9-2007
Posted in this blog also to show "Media Vigilantism"
11-6-2006 Texas:
The former Kaufman County District Attorney committed suicide Sunday when police tried to arrest him at his Terrell home on a warrant tied to a child-predator sting.

Murphy police Sgt. Snow Robertson said Louis “Bill” Conradt Jr. solicted sex from a decoy posing online as a 13-year-old boy.

Murphy Mayor Bret Baldwin said the sting was a joint operation between Perverted Justice and NBC’s Dateline that lured men seeking sex with children to Murphy. Perverted Justice is an Internet watchdog that received national attention after helping Dateline catch dozens of men trolling chat rooms to meet children for sex.

NBC officials said in a statement there was no contact between Mr. Conradt and Dateline. A crew was outside on the street when Mr. Conradt shot himself. Perverted Justice officials did not respond to e-mails seeking comment.

Sgt. Robertson said there was nothing police could have done to prevent Mr. Conradt, 56, from shooting himself in the head. No one else was in the house.

“When somebody decides to do this, there is nothing you can do,” Sgt. Robertson said. “We did everything we could.”

Murphy police said Mr. Conradt had not gone to the Murphy sting house but they believed he would. Police were attempting to serve a search warrant for his computer equipment and an arrest warrant for soliciting sex with a minor. Law enforcement officials from Terrell, Murphy and the Texas Rangers were at the home.

Records show that Mr. Conradt lived alone.

Mr. Conradt was the Kaufman County district attorney for more than two decades. He gave up his position in 2002 to run for a seat on the bench. He lost. He is currently Rockwall County’s chief felony assistant district attorney.

Police forced their way through Mr. Conradt’s front door after he didn’t answer their knocks or his telephone. He was taken by helicopter to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas where he died.

Unwanted attention

Neighbors in the Murphy neighborhood where the sting occurred expressed reservations about setting such a trap for child predators.

“How do you tell a 6-year-old why he can’t play outside?” asked Michael Smith, who lives across the street from the house. “You come to a nice neighborhood like this, you don’t expect to have to deal with something like this.”

The neighbors first noticed strangers at the house, putting up Halloween decorations after the holiday had passed, working on streetlights and running cable. Friday, they started seeing strangers pull up and go inside. Some neighbors saw the visitors being arrested. It was unclear how many arrests were made.

They said they resent having possible child molesters drawn into their community.

“They’re solving a problem we don’t have,” said Colleen Halbert.

Mr. Baldwin, the mayor, said he had been in touch with residents and that he and the council were not made aware of the operation beforehand.

Murphy City Council member Murray Sanderford said there will be a special council meeting this week to discuss what happened. The time had not been set late Sunday.

Perverted Justice and Dateline conducted a similar sting in Murphy during the summer. Then, they caught a retired doctor from Tyler, a business traveler from Missouri, a former sailor who said he is addicted to sex and a Plano office worker. All thought they were going to have sex with a 13- or 14-year-old.

Mr. Baldwin said he hopes Murphy won’t be used again.

“We’re going to do whatever we need to do to make sure this doesn’t continue,” he said. “I think it’s a noble cause, but our police department is hired to serve and protect our citizens, and not to expose them to outside threats.”


Men charged with the offense of on-line solicitation of a minor in Murphy stings:

1. Eric Rubalcava, age 31 from Houston;

2. John Baker, age 25 from Frisco;

3. Stanley Kendall, age 54 from Mesquite;

4. Timothy Gilliam, age 32 from Flower Mound;

5. Asif Khokar, age 27 from Houston;

6. Samuel Tanguma, age 27 from Grand Prairie;

7. Steve Rosello, age 32 from Kennedale;

8. Edward Hollingsworth, age 35 from Dallas;

9. Milan Mehta, age 46 from Richardson;

10. Sajjad Mohammad, age 43 from MURPHY

11. David Pann, age 40 from Lewisville;

12. Alan Chernnay, age 58 from Plano;

13. William Dow, age 63 from Carrollton;

14. Kevin Carroll, age 37 from Carrollton;

15. Jose Soto, age 54 from Mesquite;

16. Christopher Cothrum, age 23 from Westworth Village;

17. Justin Estes, age 27 from Plano;

18. Paulo Deassuncao, age 37 from McKinney;

19. Timothy Knowles, age 35 from Euless;

20. Patrick Parr, age 33 from Frisco;

21. Randall Wolford, age 52 from Whitewright; and

22. Louis W. Conradt, age 56 from Terrell
..more.. By RICHARD ABSHIRE, MARISSA ALANIS and JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News



Man in online sex sting gets 5 years
4-19-2007 Texas:

A 61-year-old Tyler man was sentenced to five years in federal prison Wednesday for attempting to solicit sex from a decoy posing online as a 14-year-old Murphy girl.

Ali Vagefi pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor in February after having sexually explicit online chats with a volunteer for a controversial Internet watchdog group.

Murphy police arrested Mr. Vagefi in July after the volunteer for Perverted Justice reported that Mr. Vagefi asked to meet his decoy's online persona at a Murphy convenience store so they could have sex. The volunteer asked Mr. Vagefi to bring a stuffed animal as a gift.

When police arrested Mr. Vagefi at the store, he had a teddy bear and condoms. He was one of three men arrested last summer after Perverted Justice volunteers notified police about online predators in the Murphy area.

"That'll be time that at least kids are safe from that one person," Murphy City Manager Craig Sherwood said of Mr. Vagefi's five-year sentence.

In November, the online group and city officials angered residents after they partnered with Dateline NBC in a four-day sting at a Murphy home that led to more than 20 arrests. Former Kaufman County District Attorney Louis "Bill" Conradt Jr. killed himself when police tried to arrest him at his Terrell home on a warrant that stemmed from that sting.

In a three-hour City Council meeting, many residents expressed anger at the sting. They said police lured child predators to a neighborhood full of kids. Others supported police and city officials.

Mr. Sherwood said that while there are no plans for a similar sting operation, that doesn't mean there never will be.

"We want to make Murphy known as being one of the safest communities in North Texas, and to that extent we'll take actions to try and achieve that," he said. ..more.. By BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News



Validity of Murphy predator stings under scrutiny
5-9-2007 Texas:

The town of Murphy in Collin County became big news last fall after it was the location for a highly publicized sting designed to catch sexual predators, which became the subject of two NBC To Catch a Predator shows. The sting was also behind the suicide of a former Kaufman County district attorney.

However, information has arisen that indicates that after the television crews left, little happened to the alleged sexual predators.

While there were 24 arrests, little has become of the cases. Reports also reveal that the legality of the sting was questioned before it went down, and that a key search warrant was invalid.

The news has led critics, inside and outside the legal system, to ask whether the sting was about law enforcement or making a TV show.

From all accounts, it's justice in action. Men were caught red-handed soliciting minors over the internet, and arrested after showing up for sex with an underage chat room pen pal.

Decoys posed as a young boy or girl, and the sexual predators arrived, only to be taken down. The stings were documented from every conceivable angle.

The operation took place at a house located in Murphy, which is just east of Plano, over four days in November. Dateline NBC, a group called Perverted Justice and the Murphy Police Department were all involved in the stings. Perverted Justice describes itself as on the frontline in the crusade against internet predators.

During the operation, NBC, which received good rating from the show, pays Perverted Justice to run the chats.

From the beginning, some members of the area were angry about the sting's location and purpose.

"They turned something that was good, to catch the predators, into just a reality show," said Jill Lambouses, a neighborhood resident.

Months later, some are still mad.

"Somebody's trying to make a name for themselves, and this is what happens," said Bill Albright, another resident in the area. "I don't like it. I don't like it at all."

He isn't alone in his criticisms.

"This was not a direct police engagement," said resident Bill Carley. "This was a television show that recruited some local police."

As a law enforcement effort, the operation had minimal results. Few of the alleged predators came from Murphy, and Murphy police officers who were involved said evidence was poorly gathered and paperwork botched.

The information comes after Murphy police were pre-warned against the project.

A letter revealed that Collin County Assistant District Attorney Chris Milner was concerned about media involvement in the sting before it went down. He wrote it as a response to an inquiry from Murphy police Chief Billy Myrick and "Frag," the assistant director of Perverted Justice. It dated a few days before the operation.

"Please understand that the Collin County District Attorney's Office has had no part, and will take no part, in the planning or execution of the sting operation ... We must take pains not to implicitly authorize or direct non-law enforcement entities to act as our agents during law enforcement operations," the note read.

The letter also said the Collin County District Attorney's Office is "in the law enforcement business, not show business."

Immediately after the sting, Murphy City Manager Craig Sherwood released a statement to News 8.

"We were not involved with the TV cameras or the sting house," Sherwood stated. "Murphy police were there to make the arrests."

But information indicates otherwise.

Murphy residents and police say the Police Department helped Dateline find a location for the stings and even proposed one house, which Dateline rejected. Murphy police gave Dateline total access to the police station and allowed NBC to place cameras in interview rooms.

Shots from the show also revealed that Murphy police may have actually worn a camera for NBC.

"We do not comment on the details of our news gathering," NBC said in response to inquiries about the operation.

Meanwhile, residents question just who was using who.

"They're a prop," Carley said of the police in the sting. "That's exactly what they are. They're an actor or a prop."

And one former officer, Sam Love, who appeared in the show, agreed.

"My opinion is the TV people were using the police," Love said.

One concern Love expressed was that Murphy police let NBC show evidence onTV before the cases went to court.

The evidence itself is also in question. Since some of the Internet chatters that were busted were from out of state, cases may not be valid in Collin County.

"It would have been nice if there had been a little more planning and preparation at the outset," said Walter Weiss, another former Murphy police officer.

After the TV crews left, Weiss' job was to make cases against those arrested; but he said he soon discovered Murphy officers did not follow a fundamental practice, which is write arrest reports

"They had to go back into position to arrest another," Weiss said. "The environment was fast paced."

The cases are stalled, and Weiss said he feels he is getting blamed for the failure of a botched operation.

"I had to put these cases together," he said. "I was not responsible for how these cases were planned or executed. There's a lot of political heat that came down on the chief of police."

Chief Myrick made himself available for the Dateline cameras and made an arrest on the air, but he declined to be interviewed.

The outcome of the sting lingers, including former Kaufman County District Attorney Bill Conrad's suicide. He killed himself after police knocked on his door.

Perverted Justice chatters said he solicited a minor on an online chat with them, and Murphy police then got a warrant to search his house in Terrell. But the search warrant was issued for Euless, not Terrell, and for July, not November.

Weiss said the paperwork was a rush job. (COPY OF WARRANT)

"I strongly suspect they wanted to put a news camera in front of a house to record what they believed was a big fish being caught," he said.

Monday night, Sherwood told the Murphy City Council that six cases from the operation have now been resubmitted to the Collin County District Attorney for possible prosecution. ..more.. by BYRON HARRIS / WFAA-TV

Sex pervert dies after cliff fall

5-10-2007 United Kingdom:
AN Exmouth pensioner, accused of having sex with an underage boy, has plunged to his death - overlooking the spot where his mother drowned years earlier.

Roger Cowd, of Ryll Grove, was found dead at Sandy Bay on Friday afternoon after falling 150 foot from cliff tops at Orcombe.

A keen runner, Mr Cowd, 65, last month appeared before magistrates and admitted having sex with a boy under the age of 16. He had been released on bail to appear at Exeter Crown Court for sentencing on May 11.

The police have not ruled out suicide, but are keeping an open mind until a coroner's inquest is held.

Det Sgt Pete Jones said: "I can confirm that, at the time of his death, Mr Cowd was on bail." He was not prepared to discuss the offence.

Batchelor Mr Cowd, an Exmouth Harriers' member and a reformed alcoholic, was found dead at the foot of the cliffs by two young boys on holiday from Birmingham.

The children, staying at Devon Cliffs Holiday Park, discovered his body while playing hide-and-seek with their parents.

The family alerted Exmouth's RNLI, the coastguard and police, who found Mr Cowd's body lying among the rocks.

Exmouth lifeboat deputy coxswain Giles White, one of the inshore lifeboat crew sent to recover Mr Cowd's body, said: "The family were having a picnic on the beach and the mum had gone on ahead with the lunch to hide.

"The two boys were trying to find their mum when they came across the body. Initially, they seemed okay but, when they realised what they had discovered, they were shocked and upset and the mother started crying."

The lifeboat crew took Mr Cowd's body back to the inshore lifeboat house where it was immediately collected by hearse.

In November 2000, Mr Cowd was hailed a hero for diving into a force eight gale sea to save the life of an 18-year-old French au pair who almost drowned off Orcombe Point while going into the water after a family dog.

It was exactly the same spot where his mother, Stella, had drowned 37 years earlier.

Mr Cowd received a top bravery award from the police for his life-saving act.

At the time of the rescue, Mr Cowd said: "She had gone in to get the dog, but got into difficulties herself. She could easily have drowned. The water was so rough. ..more.. by

Barkman moved several times before taking own life

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Man commits suicide as deputies attempt arrest on sex charges

5-8-2007 Illinois:
MCLEANSBORO, Ill. — A rural McLeansboro, Ill. man wanted on multiple sex abuse and assault charges apparently took his own life Monday evening as sheriff's officers attempted to serve an arrest warrant at his home.

Jerry D. Parker, 57, died around 6:15 Monday evening at his home in Twigg Township in rural Hamilton County. According to Hamilton County Circuit Court records, sex abuse and assault charges were filed in Hamilton County Circuit Court last Wednesday, May 2. Parker was facing three Class-X felony counts of predatory criminal sexual assault and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class-2 felony for allegedly having unlawful sexual contact with a victim under the age of 13.

Local authorities report that a Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputy went to Parker's home Monday evening to arrest him on the outstanding warrants when the suspect asked for enough time to change clothes before being taken to jail. The officer refused to allow Parker to be out of his sight, police said. In an instant, though, Parker ducked into the bathroom of his home, put a shotgun to his head and took his own life.

Parker was well known in Hamilton County, working as an independent drywall contractor. Bond in the pending cases against Parker had been set at $7,500 cash. Services for Jerry D. Parker are pending at the Gholson Funeral Home in McLeansboro. ..more.. by Len Wells

48-year-old jail inmate kills himself

5-4-2007 Nevada:
A 48-year-old inmate at the county jail took his own life Wednesday night, authorities said.

Jorge Aguilar Quintanal, who faced sexual assault charges, was found in the shower area of the jail about 9:20 p.m. by another inmate, Las Vegas police said.

Quintanal had wrapped a torn bedsheet around his neck and attached the end of it to a shower head, police said. The Clark County coroner's officer ruled the death a suicide.

Quintanal was booked into the jail on Dec. 2 on multiple charges, including sexual assault of a child younger than 14 and lewdness with a minor younger than 14, said Las Vegas police Deputy Chief Leroy Kirkegard, who oversees the jail.

Kirkegard said Quintanal was seen for depression by the jail's psychiatric staff when he was first booked. Jail staff placed him on suicide watch for his first two days in jail but concluded he wasn't a threat to himself.

"He was cleared and had no problems for three or four months," Kirkegard said.

He said the death was still under investigation. ..more.. by REVIEW-JOURNAL

A complete list of persons who have committed suicide and other deaths.

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Sex Offender Suspect Commits Suicide

4-30-2007 Mississippi:

A Jackson man charged with sex crimes against a minor is dead.

51-year old Donald Jerone Epps faced five counts of felony gratification of lust. Jackson police say they responded to reports of a suicide at the Wal-Mart parking lot off Greenway Drive around 12:15 Sunday afternoon.

Family members say Epps had asked them to meet him at the parking lot. When they arrived family members found him dead in his car. Epps was arrested more than two weeks ago after a joint investigation by the Hinds County Sheriff's Department and the Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center. ..more.. by WLBT 3 News