Open verdict in death of man charged with sex offences

7-27-2009 France:

A SALISBURY man charged with child sex offences was found dead in a hotel in the French Alps just days after he failed to appear at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court, an inquest heard.

Andrew Peter Greenwood, 44, of George Street, was found in his room in Hôtel Alpina, Les Gets, on December 22 last year.

Wiltshire coroner David Ridley recorded an open verdict at the inquest held in Salisbury on Friday, and said he had received insufficient evidence from French authorities to come to a conclusion about the cause of death.

Mr Greenwood was arrested on June 3 and was due to appear in court on December 17 but did not turn up.

Charles Mercier-Guyon, a French forensic medical examiner, concluded he either died of natural causes or from a suicidal overdose, as alcohol and medicine was found in his hotel room.

A blood sample was taken during the examination, but was not tested, and a toxicology examination could not be carried out in England as Mr Greenwood’s body had been embalmed before being flown home.

Therefore a post mortem carried out by Dr Ian Cook at Salisbury District Hospital also could not identify a cause of death.

“I have no reason not to record a cause of death as unascertainable,” said Mr Ridley. “I have a situation whereby the French medical examiner says it is suicide or natural causes, which is not exactly very helpful.

“I can only realistically record facts that the evidence allows me to conclude.” ..Source.. by Journal Reporter »

WA- Sex, suicide surround suit against Seattle psychologist's estate

7-16-2009 Washington:

A former employee has filed a lawsuit against the estate of a once-prominent Seattle psychologist accused of hiding a video camera in his office bathroom.

Stuart Greenberg was rising to the top of his profession when, on July 3, 2007, police arrived at his North Seattle home after an employee -- the woman now suing him -- allegedly found the video camera fixed in the bathroom to record people using the facilities.

Three weeks later, Greenberg was dead by his own hand. Now, according to the civil suit filed earlier this month in King County Superior Court, the woman is seeking a piece of his estate.

In the civil suit, the woman alleges Greenberg confessed to voyeurism sometime after the investigation was launched. She also contends she was fired after discovering the camera, which was allegedly wired to his house located next door to his clinic.

KS- Man charged with sex crime commits suicide

7-11-2009 Kansas:

A 52-year-old Clay County man charged earlier this week with sexual misconduct with a child committed suicide early Thursday.

Gary W. Watts of Kansas City, North, was found outside a residence in the 6200 block of Northeast 68th Terrace. A neighbor told police he saw Watts shoot himself.

Authorities accused Watts of exposing himself to a young girl. Authorities alleged the incidents began in 2005 and continued until April. According to court records, he allegedly exposed himself and inappropriately touched the child. ..Source.. by Kansas.Com

WA- King County Jail inmate dead from apparent suicide

7-3-2009 Washington:

An inmate was found dead early Friday in the King County Jail, apparently after hanging himself in his cell, according to county officials.

The inmate, a 36-year-old man booked Oct. 29 on suspicion of first-degree rape, was discovered at 2:26 a.m, according to officials. The King County Medical Examiner's Office has not yet identified him or the cause of death.

"It appears to be a suicide at this point, but the Medical Examiner still has to do an autopsy and that won't be completed until Monday," said Maj. William Hayes, a county corrections spokesman.

Corrections officers, who discovered him during a routine security check, attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Hayes said.

The inmate's death will be investigated, which is standard for all in-custody deaths. He was the second inmate to die in custody in a month. On June 4, Joseph Demmert, who was booked on a warrant for failing to appear in Municipal Court, died at Harborview Medical Center. The Medical Examiner's Office has not yet determined his cause of death.

"Obviously, it's not good for the person who passes and it traumatizes those who have to come upon it and have to deal with these things when they occur," Hayes said.

Earlier this year, King County agreed in a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department to address several civil rights issues uncovered by an investigation that found lacking medical care, poor suicide prevention measures and insufficient safeguards against inmate abuse. The Justice Department is still monitoring the jail's progress.

"They are still here and I'm sure they'll be talking to us about this case," Hayes said. ..Source.. by SCOTT GUTIERREZ, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF



Inmate who was found dead was charged in Wallingford rape

7-5-2009 Washington:

A man accused of raping a Wallingford woman after he allegedly broke into her home last October was found dead Friday in the King County Jail, apparently after hanging himself, according to law enforcement sources.

Police sources identified the inmate Saturday as Franklin D. Antill, also known as Sankarandi Skanda, 36, who was charged with first-degree rape, robbery and burglary, and was facing a lengthy prison term.

Skanda was slated to testify Monday at his trial in King County Superior Court. Prosecutors, who'd been frustrated by his earlier behavior while acting as his own attorney, would have had a chance to grill him on claims he had made against the victim.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office has not yet identified him or the cause of death.

"It appears to be a suicide at this point, but the Medical Examiner still has to do an autopsy and that won't be completed until Monday," said Maj. William Hayes, a county corrections spokesman, on Friday.

Corrections officers, who discovered him at 2:26 a.m. during a routine security check, attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Hayes said.

The inmate's death will be investigated, which is standard for all in-custody deaths.

Skanda was accused of breaking into the woman's home on Oct. 20. He allegedly held a knife to her throat, demanded money and sexually assaulted her while her two children were asleep. Her husband had just left for the store.

Skanda chose to represent himself at trial instead of getting an attorney, which enabled him to question the victim on the witness stand. Skanda raised unsupported allegations against the woman, 35, claiming they'd had an affair and that she wanted him to kill her husband.

The woman told jurors that when Skanda got inside her home, he gripped her from behind and held a knife to her throat while demanding money.

She said she offered him what cash she had and more -- her wedding and engagement rings, anything of value in the home -- if he would leave before her husband returned from a nearby store. Skanda, she said, wasn't satiated by her valuables and sexually assaulted her at knifepoint as her children slept nearby.

During his questioning last month, Skanda allegedly violated pre-trial orders against raising unsupported allegations against the woman and her husband. Skanda continued with allegedly slanderous questions, and Senior Deputy Prosecutor Julie Kays objected, saying it was "the most offensive line of questioning I've heard in 10 years of practice."

Skanda described himself as a "religious doctor" who was attempting to found an Ecstasy-fueled "Temple of Love" church. His changed his name from Frank Antill when he converted to Hinduism while serving a prison term after being implicated in a similar assault in Idaho. Skanda was registered in jail records as Antill.

According to prosecutors, Idaho authorities believe that Antill kidnapped and raped a woman in 2000 after escaping from prison, where he was serving time for a burglary conviction. He was released from prison last May after pleading guilty to an escape charge.

If convicted, Skanda would have been subject to an indefinite term of confinement under state sex offender sentencing rules.

Skanda was the second inmate to die in custody in a month. On June 4, Joseph Demmert, who was booked on a warrant for failing to appear in Municipal Court, died at Harborview Medical Center.

Earlier this year, King County agreed in a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department to address several civil rights issues uncovered by an investigation that found lacking medical care, poor suicide prevention measures and insufficient safeguards against inmate abuse. The Justice Department is still monitoring the jail's progress.

"They are still here and I'm sure they'll be talking to us about this case," said Hayes, the jail spokesman. ..Source.. by CASEY MCNERTHNEY and SCOTT GUTIERREZ
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

CA- Man accused in assaults reportedly kills self in jail

7-3-2009 California:

SAN DIEGO ---- An inmate who apparently committed suicide Friday by hanging himself in a cell at the San Diego Central Jail is believed to be a Tierrasanta man accused of seven sexual assaults on women throughout the city over the past year.

San Diego sheriff's Lt. Julie Sutton would neither confirm nor deny that the dead inmate was Thomas James Parker, 39, as reported by KGTV-10.

She did say a male inmate at the San Diego Central Jail committed suicide by hanging and was found around 7:30 a.m. Friday.

The Medical Examiner's Office also declined to release the man's name, but said that it had an investigator at the jail.

Parker was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly tried to rape a 33-year-old Mission Valley woman in her garage, threatening her with a knife and grabbing her.

The Escala Circle resident screamed and fought back, and the assailant fled.

Parker ---- a married father of two young children and co-owner of It's a Grind Coffee House in Little Italy ---- was captured by police at a shopping center a few blocks away with help from passersby, including two off-duty Border Patrol agents.

No one answered calls to the coffee house this morning,

Police said he had been linked through DNA and other evidence to seven sexual assaults.

Genetic evidence implicated Parker in at least three of seven home-invasion sexual assaults and robberies that began in June 2008, San Diego police said.

The assaults occurred in Carmel Valley, Tierrasanta, the College area and near UC San Diego, as well as Mission Valley.

Most of the victims were young Asian women, and in all of the attacks, the assailant demanded money before sexually assaulting the women, police said. ..Source.. by North County Times wire services

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Suspect In Sex Assault Series Commits Suicide

7-3-2009 California:

SAN DIEGO -- A Tierrasanta businessman accused in a home invasion and sexual assault series committed suicide in jail, according to the San Diego Police Department.

Sources told 10News that Thomas James Parker hanged himself Friday morning between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. in his cell at downtown's Central Jail. He was found dead by jail officials making rounds.

Sheriff's deputies, the jail's medical staff, firefighters and paramedics attempted lifesaving measures, but he was soon pronounced dead, said Sgt. Roy Frank of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Parker had apparently used a sheet to take his own life and was not on suicide watch, according to deputies.

Parker was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly tried to rape a 33-year-old Mission Valley woman in her garage, threatening her with a knife and grabbing her.

The Escala Circle resident screamed and fought back, and the assailant fled.

Parker -- a married father of two young children and co-owner of It's a Grind Coffee House in Little Italy -- was captured by police at a shopping center a few blocks away with help from passersby, including two off-duty Border Patrol agents.

Police said he had been linked through DNA and other evidence to seven sexual assaults.

Genetic evidence implicated Parker in at least three of seven home-invasion sexual assaults and robberies that began in June 2008, San Diego police said.

The assaults occurred in Carmel Valley, Tierrasanta, the College area and near the University of California, San Diego, as well as Mission Valley.

Based on DNA evidence and other similarities in the assaults, authorities said they planned to charge Parker with all seven assaults.

Most of the victims were young Asian women, and in all of the attacks, the assailant demanded money before sexually assaulting the women, police said.

Getting the man responsible had been a high priority for the San Diego Police Department.

"Our efforts paid off (Wednesday) when (the) victim decided she was going to fight back against her attacker," said SDPD Capt. Jim Collins.

Parker had been scheduled to be arraigned Monday. ..Source.. by KGTV-10

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Multiple-assault suspect found dead in jail cell

7-3-2009 California:

SAN DIEGO — A 39-year-old Tierrasanta man accused in a series of home-invasion robberies and sexual assaults committed suicide in the downtown jail early Friday.

Thomas James Parker was found dead shortly after 7 a.m. in his jail cell Friday morning after he hanged himself with a bed sheet, the county Medical Examiner's Office said.

Parker was arrested Wednesday after a 33-year-old Mission Valley woman fought off an attack in her garage and chased Parker down the street. She flagged down others driving nearby and an off-duty Border Patrol agent stopped at a traffic light joined in the chase and arrested Parker.

Police on Thursday said Parker was linked through DNA and other evidence to a series of similar home-invasion robberies and sexual assaults over the past year.

He was being held on $5 million bail and was expected to be charged in connection with seven assaults, six of which targeted Asian women, San Diego police Capt. Jim Collins said Thursday.

Parker, who was known as “Jim,” owned It's a Grind Coffee House in Little Italy and was married and has two young children.

Investigators had worked to identify the attacker for the past 13 months, following up on more than 140 tips from residents.

“This is the only one that kept me up at night,” said Assistant Police Chief Cesar Solis said Thursday. “We knew based on the patterns that he was going to hit again, and we did not know who he was.”

The circumstances were similar in each attack — confronting women at knifepoint as they arrived home and using zip ties to restrain them. But the assaults were widely spread throughout the city and didn't seem to follow any geographic pattern.

They occurred between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. and involved a man who either entered through the garage or an unlocked front door, generally when the victim was carrying items into her home.

Attacks in the series included:

▪  A rape reported June 6, 2008, in the College Area.

▪  A rape on Nov. 7, 2008, at the University of California San Diego's Mesa graduate student housing complex.

▪  A robbery Jan. 16 in Tierrasanta.

▪  An incident where a woman was threatened with rape Feb. 10 in Carmel Valley

▪  A sexual battery March 4 on Carmel View Road.

▪  A robbery and sexual assault April 28 in a Mission Valley apartment. ..Source.. by Karen Kucher, Union-Tribune Staff Writer