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Police: Man kills self after cat sitters find porn cache

3-30-2010 New Hampshire:

LITTLETON – BREAKING NEWS: State police report Richard Swift, 71, is dead in an apparent suicide. More to follow.

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A mother and daughter taking care of a neighbor's pet ended up finding disturbing images in a man's apartment instead of the cat toy they were looking for, according to court reports.

After an investigation by Littleton police, Richard Swift, 71, of 507 Colonial Court was charged with five felony counts of possession of child pornography. He is free on $10,000 personal recognizance and will be back in court tomorrow for a probable cause hearing.

The five complaints on file at Littleton District Court graphically describe images of a girl who appears to be younger than 16.

According to court documents, the woman and her 5-year-old daughter went to Swift's apartment while he was out of town last November to feed his cat.

"She inadvertently came across some picture when her daughter opened a bin looking for a cat toy," according to court papers.

After getting a search warrant, police returned to Swift's apartment, where they searched a stack of plastic bins and found a stack of photographs.

Conditions of Swift's bail include not having contact with children younger than 17 and not going within 50 yards of any school or day care center, or using the Internet to view, download or transmit child pornography. ..Source.. by LORNA COLQUHOUN

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NH Man Facing Porn Charges Commits Suicide

4-6-2010 New Hampshire:

LITTLETON, N.H. (AP) - A New Hampshire man facing child pornography charges after images were discovered in his home apparently has committed suicide.

State Police have identified a man found on Route 3 in Franconia Monday with self-inflicted gunshot wounds as Richard Swift, 71, of Littleton.

He was charged with five counts of possessing nude images of young girls, and was due in court Thursday.

The charges stem from a November incident in which the 5-year-old daughter of his cat-sitter discovered the pictures while searching for a cat toy in an open bin.

State police confirmed Swift's identity and said he was pronounced dead after being rushed to Littleton Regional Hospital soon after he was discovered at about 4 p.m.

Police released no further details, including whether Swift was in a vehicle. ..Source.. by FOX44.com

Triple murder followed fight in Clarksville

Posted in Related Deaths
3-28-2010 Tennessee:

The smiling faces of Diamin Shanklin, 8, and Paul-Nellom Vullo, 3, greet their grandmother Linda Shelton every morning as she looks at her bedroom dresser scattered with their pictures, angel figurines and candles.

Every day Shelton, 62, lights a candle. Often she sobs, knowing that the pictures are all she has left of Diamin, Paul and her daughter Natalie.

Among the memorabilia is a blue urn filled with the ashes of her 30-year-old daughter, Natalie Ann Vullo, who, along with her children, was found murdered inside her Cal Court home on Feb. 20, 2009.

Gerrard E. Robinson, 31, a man with whom Vullo had had a sexual relationship, was charged with the murders. He later confessed to strangling Vullo and her children.

Man who died after Mall of America fall suspected of rape

3-26-2010 Minnesota:

The man who suffered a fatal fall Wednesday at Mall of America faced a third-degree rape charge, according to news reports.

The man was identified Thursday as Dakota Rey Kohler-Lander, 21, of Schenectady, N.Y.

Kohler-Lander was scheduled to be arraigned on the rape charge in New York State on Wednesday, but missed his court date, KSTP-News reported. He had been arrested in October on suspicion of having sex with a 16-year-old girl, the station said.

Bloomington police said Thursday that Kohler-Lander appeared to have been in town visiting someone.

About 7 p.m. Wednesday, security officers responded to a report by mall visitors that Kohler-Lander had a knife, police said. As security approached, he climbed a fourth-floor railing and either jumped or fell to the rotunda bellow.

Police said there were several witnesses to the incident.

Kohler-Lander died shortly after at the Hennepin County Medical center, police said.

The manner of his death is still under investigation. ..Source.. by Pioneer Press


Man who fell at Mall of America faced rape charge

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- A man who fell to his death in the Mall of America Rotunda was scheduled to face a rape charge in a New York court on the day of his death.

Authorities say 21-year-old Dakota Rey Kohler-Lander of Schenectady, N.Y., was on the fourth floor of the Mall of America Wednesday with a knife. When officers approached him, he climbed over a railing and fell to the ground floor. He died of blunt force injuries.

The Star Tribune reports Kohler-Lander was arrested last October and charged with rape for allegedly having consensual sex with a 16-year-old girl. Officials say he was indicted by an Albany County grand jury last week and was scheduled to appear in court, but didn't show.

Local news reports also say Kohler-Lander's twin 17-year-old brothers died in an all terrain vehicle crash in June.

Mall officials say officers attempted to perform CPR on Kohler-Lander. Officials say he was breathing and had a faint pulse when paramedics took him to HCMC. He died there a short time later.

Bloomington police say the Mall of America may have to look into taking greater security measures.

Officer Mike Stehlik says that the Hennepin County Medical Examiner is still trying to determine whether or not the fall of Kohler-Lander was intentional, or forced by another individual. Stehlik says despite steady traffic at the mall, there are surprisingly very few witnesses in this incident. ..Source.. by KARE11.com

Man investigated for soliciting sex from minor apparently commits suicide

3-18-2010 Mississippi:

PICAYUNE — A county resident was found in his vehicle on the side of the road with a self inflicted gunshot wound the day after he was served with a search warrant on his home. The search was the product of an investigation conducted by the Louisiana State Police alleging 49 year-old Kirt Lawrence, of 19 North Fork Dr., Carriere, had attempted to solicit sex from a Louisiana minor over the Internet. Since Lawrence lived in Mississippi, the warrant was issued and served by Mississippi Bureau of Investigations.

A trooper with the Louisiana State Police helped serve that warrant on March 10, said Louisiana State Police Troop I Public Information Officer Stephen Hammons. The next day, on March 11, the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department received a call that there was a vehicle parked near a bridge construction site on Burnt Bridge Road. The caller stated that it appeared a man was deceased in the vehicle.

Deputies responded to the scene to find Lawrence in the vehicle with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Chief Investigator Donnie Saucier. Pearl River County Coroner Derek Turnage said Lawrence’s cause of death was officially listed as a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Hammons said Lawrence was part of the beginning stages of an investigation into alleged online solicitation of minors for sexual purposes.

Using evidence discovered in that investigation, the Louisiana State Police, along with personnel from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, conducted the search of his home the day before he was found dead. In the search, Lawrence’s computer was seized and taken back to the Louisiana agency for further investigation.

Hammons said that based on the information found in the computer, the department was preparing a warrant for his arrest. Lawrence’s sister, Lynn Etherton, had only one comment about the death of her brother. “It doesn’t matter what he may or may not have done, we still love him all the same,” Etherton said. ..Source.. by Jeremy Pittari, Item Staff Writer

Houston Sheriff: Suspected Child Molester Commits Suicide

12-9-2009 Georgia:

The Houston County sheriff's office says a suspected child molester shot and killed himself Thursday.

Sgt. Joe Middlebrooks said 45-year-old Edmund Roy Baker Jr. committed suicide as a Houston deputy arrived at his home to serve a warrant on child-molestation charges.

It happened around 1:25 p.m. Thursday at 121 S. Tamie Circle in Kathleen.

He was taken to the Medical Center of Central Georgia, where he died.

The GBI is investigating the shooting, because it happened when a deputy was present. ..Source.. by 13WMAZ.com

Inmate on death row for woman's murder commits suicide

3-16-2010 Arizona:

FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) — Department of Corrections officials are investigating the death of an inmate housed at the Arizona State Prison in Florence.

Corrections officials say 46-year-old James Adams apparently committed suicide.

Adams was sentenced to death by a Maricopa County Judge for first degree murder. He was found hanging in his cell and pronounced dead at 3:29 p.m. Sunday.

Adams entered state prison Nov. 12, 1997 and was held at the Browning Unit at the Arizona State Prison Eyman Complex . ..Source.. by azFamily.com


Murdered woman's mom talks to 3TV after killer commits suicide

PHOENIX – A notorious Arizona death row case ended unexpectedly Sunday when a 46-year-old inmate committed suicide.

James Van Adams was sentenced to death for murdering and sexually assaulting a young real estate agent in the Valley about 14 years ago.

3TV’s Mike Watkiss spoke to the family of Michelle Cohen Anglin about Adams’ suicide.

In 1996 this was a high-profile homicide case that rocked the state. A beautiful young real estate agent was murdered while showing a home.

Now the man responsible is dead by his own hand and, according to the victim’s family, that is welcome news.

“There’s evil in the world and know that everyone out there…that you can’t trust everyone,” Cindy Scott.

Valley resident Scott is a woman who can talk with authority about the topic of evil. In addition to being a young busy mom raising two children, Cindy is also a well-respected detective with the Phoenix Police Department.

Fourteen years ago, Cindy’s family was rocked by evil when Cindy’s beautiful younger sister, Michelle Anglin, was brutally murdered as the 22-year-old real estate agent was showing a home to a man named James Van Adams.

He was a convicted sex offender masquerading as a prospective home-buyer.

Cindy says, “It’s horrible and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone but unfortunately the evil is out there and it’s gonna happen to somebody again and they’re gonna have to deal with this.”

It is a heartache that has never left Cindy or her mother Peggy. It was a very high-profile story in the late 1990s that is now back in the news with word that James Van Adams, the man who was convicted and sent to death row for sexually assaulting and killing Michelle Anglin has killed himself inside a cell in an Arizona prison.

Peggy tells 3TV, “This man it’s like one day, one afternoon he took a grenade and threw it in my family and destroyed it and he hung himself.” Peggy goes on, “He strangled her. He got a little bit of what he did to her.”

At her east Valley home on Wednesday Peggy makes no pretense and says she is “ecstatic” over the news of Van Adams.

He was a registered sex offender who had done prison time in California for sexually assaulting another real estate agent before he moved to Arizona, taking the life of Peggy’s beloved daughter Michelle just three months after Michelle’s wedding.

“She was a wonderful girl,” Peggy says. “She walked this earth for 22 years and I enjoyed every moment of it.” ..Source.. by Mike Watkiss

Boulder jail investigating suicide, possible policy changes

3-11-2010 Colorado:

After a 40-year-old man killed himself at the Boulder County Jail, authorities are investigating how it happened and whether changes are necessary to prevent more inmates from committing suicide.

"We need to evaluate all the facts and take a look at our policies and procedures to see if there is anything we can learn from this," said Division Chief Larry Hank, who oversees the jail. "The staff works very, very hard to prevent these types of events."

Wednesday's suicide was the sixth at the Boulder County Jail since it opened at its current location at 3200 Airport Road in 1988. A sheriff's deputy found Nicholas Andrew White, of Longmont, unresponsive in his jail cell about 4:35 p.m. He apparently hanged himself, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office.

White was arrested Feb. 24 on suspicion of four counts of sexual assault on a child and one count of child abuse. He was twice previously convicted of sexual assault on a child.

Wednesday afternoon, White was in his own cell and considered a "protective custody inmate," according to the Sheriff's Office. Deputies had checked on him about 12 minutes before he was found, officials said.

White was not on suicide protocol, which deputies assign to inmates who have made suicidal statements to officers or family members. Hank said those inmates must wear suicide smocks, which can't be used to harm themselves; they are not allowed to have other objects they could use to harm themselves; they must meet with mental health providers; and deputies do welfare checks on them every 15 minutes.

Last year, the jail placed 333 inmates on suicide protocol. This year, to date, the jail has put 51 people on suicide protocol, Hank said.

The first person to kill himself at the Boulder County Jail's current location died after jumping head-first off the second tier of the housing unit. The other five inmates who committed suicide died by hanging themselves with sheets, Hank said.

After investigating previous suicides, the jail has made changes to try to prevent others from doing the same thing. After one person hanged himself from a vent, the jail manufactured coverings that were placed over every vent in the building.

"We have made quite a few changes," Hank said. "It's upsetting for everyone and will have an effect on the inmate population and the work force." ..Source.. by Vanessa Miller, Camera staff writer