News of Doom 2.0

A 4-year-old Bronx boy - whose hellhole apartment had been visited by child welfare workers - died yesterday after he was thrown "like a rag doll" against a wall for knocking over a large television, police sources said.

The impact smashed Quachon Brown's skull and lacerated his liver, and his body was rife with old bruises and bites, sources said. Last night, detectives were questioning Jose Calderon, the 18-year-old boyfriend of Quachon's mother.

A grotesque picture emerged of a sweet boy whose father was in jail, whose 26-year-old mother had abandoned him at least once and whose baby-sitter was a convicted child rapist, sources and officials said.

And it was the rapist who claimed he called child welfare officials on the mother.

In June, ACS workers removed Quachon and four of his sisters from the Kossuth Ave. apartment after their mother, Aleishia (Peaches) Smith, left them alone while she went to Atlantic City, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

It wasn't immediately clear when the children were returned to their mother. She has a sixth child, an 11-year-old daughter, who lives with Smith's .mother in Brooklyn.

Caseworkers responding to another complaint in November reported that the apartment - described by sources yesterday as rat- and roach-infested - appeared "to be in order," ACS Commissioner John Mattingly said at a City Council hearing yesterday.

But a police source who visited the filthy apartment yesterday said anybody could see the kids were living "in a pigsty."

"There was no food in the fridge, a broken window let all the cold air in," the source said. "The five children who lived there . . . all slept in two beds in a single bedroom. All four \[surviving children who lived in the apartment\] show signs of old physical abuse, old bruises and bite marks."

Police also were investigating whether Smith further endangered her kids by letting neighbor Anthony Randolph, a convicted sex offender who records show did time for raping two teenage boys, baby-sit her brood, sources said.

Randolph, 46 - who is not supposed to have unsupervised contact with children as a Level 3 sex offender - said he was in Quachon's apartment weekly. He also said that he called the ACS on Smith five times.

"It was the neglect, the not caring, the not loving, the not having sanitary conditions that made me call," he said.

A mother accused of smothering her three young children left notes that officials say could help determine what led to the killings, and her priest said Sunday that she had expressed "tremendous remorse."

Paula Eleazar Mendez, 43, was in a county jail Sunday after being treated at a hospital for swallowing a toxic substance.

She had collapsed as officers arrived at her home Saturday morning in response to a telephone call from the children's father in New York.

Inside the home, the officers found the bodies of the children, ages 6 to 8, lying side by side on a bed, said Chris Brackett, an investigator with the Sevier County Sheriff's Office.

"I do not believe there is any dispute as to who killed these three children, and therefore who will be charged," prosecutor Tom Cooper said. "However, we have not determined at this time the particular homicide charge or punishment we will be seeking."

A family priest who visited Mendez in a hospital Saturday night described a woman experiencing profound sorrow.

"She has tremendous remorse. She is deeply sorry," the Rev. Salvador Marquez-Munoz said Sunday before entering St. Barbara Catholic Church for Mass. "She asked for our prayers and forgiveness because she is realizing how much she has hurt the community, as well."

He identified the children as 8-year-old Elvis and 6-year-old twins, Samanta and her brother Samuel.

Autopsies were planned to determine whether the children had been poisoned or smothered, as their mother told police, Cooper said. The children's faces were not covered when police found them.

Cooper said an emergency room doctor told him Mendez had not ingested enough of the toxic substance to kill herself. Her arraignment is expected Monday, McKinley said.

J.Z.'s attorney, Joseph Ferrante, submitted a psychiatric evaluation to Dangler on Friday that said the boy was a good candidate for rehabilitation. But Morris County Prosecutor Ralph Amirata asked the judge to allow him to seek a second opinion. Dangler granted the request, and gave the Prosecutor's Office a month to have J.Z. evaluated by its psychiatrist.

Five men were taken into custody in Orange County, Fla., Friday on suspicion they ran a child prostitution ring out of their apartment, offering clients sex with 11 and 12-year-old girls, according to Local 6 News.

Investigators said Alfredo Perez, Miguel Herrera, Manuel Lopez-Tino and two others used two Asian sisters for sex with a variety of men.

The illegal immigrants from Guatemala allegedly sold the girls out of the Silver Oaks apartment complex in Pine Hills, Fla., according to the report.

"The girls are saying that they have been molested in one way or another in the course of the last couple of years," Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Matt Irwin said. "They would come over, pick the girls up and take them back to their apartment and engage in the sexual acts, pay them and take them back home."

The girls' stepfather was also arrested for allegedly molesting them, Local 6 News reported.

Neglect charges against their mother are pending an investigation, according to the report.

"I can tell you that mom and dad knew that both of these girls were sexually active with adult men," Irwin said. "Not, maybe for money. You are talking an 11-year-old who said she had sex more than 100 times with a couple of different people."

Detectives said the men admitted to the crimes during questioning, Local 6 News reported.

The girls were in Department of Children and Families custody early Saturday.

More arrests are possible in the case, police said.

An 11-year-old girl from Glasgow has been treated in hospital for the effects of smoking heroin after she collapsed at school.

The girl, who has not been named, fell ill at a primary school on Wednesday. She is now said to be recovering.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said the girl was admitted to hospital "on an emergency basis with what appeared to be heroin intoxication".

Strathclyde police and social services have launched an investigation.

A baby girl remained hospitalized in good condition Sunday after being thrown into a lake in Brazilian park wrapped inside a plastic bag, doctors said.

The baby, apparently 2 months old, was rescued Saturday afternoon by a couple who heard her crying in the Pampulha Lagoon in Belo Horizonte, a city about 500 kilometers (300 miles) northeast of Sao Paulo.

"I heard what sounded like a cat," Jose da Cruz told Globo TV. "Then the noise was increasing and it caught my attention."

A small wooden board inside the bag apparently kept it from submerging.

Authorities had no leads on why the baby was thrown in the lagoon.

Police say they have a suspect but have not made an arrest in the deadly sexual assault of a five-month-old baby in Oceana County.

Five-month-old Sebastian Gonzalez lived with his parents and two-year-old brother in an apartment above the Brown Bear restaurant in downtown Shelby. The child's father, Jaime, found him dead in his crib on December 12.

Sebastian's parents rushed their child to Lakeshore Hospital, located just a few blocks away, but the boy could not be revived.

Authorities first thought it was a case of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. But the child's body showed no obvious cause of death. So an autopsy was performed and revealed something much more disturbing.

"The autopsy shows the cause of death was from molestation," said Shelby Police Chief Robert Wilson.

Doctors say the baby died of bacterial sepsis, a blood infection caused by sexual penetration to the anus and rectum.

Police checked out Sebastian's brother and say he is okay and has not been molested.

Police say the child's parents are not suspects, and say they think they know who killed the baby. Investigators are questioning a man who is cooperating in the case. The man is not from Shelby and has connections to the Gonzalez family.

A man high on methamphetamine rolled over in his sleep and suffocated his 1-month-old twin daughters, police said.

The man and the girls' mother were sharing their bed with the babies, who died Monday.

Jason Moises Gomez, 31, was ordered held without bail on suspicion of child endangerment causing death, being under the influence of a controlled substance and violating probation, police said.

The babies' mother, Christa Perry, 35, was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance but was released.

Police filed two more charges against a Southmost man accused of making tapes of himself performing sexual acts with a 9-year-old in one and with a dog in another.

Jesus DeLeon, 25, remains in custody under $1.2 million in bonds after Brownsville police arrested him Monday night on two charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Police on Tuesday filed charges of possession of child pornography and sexual performance by a child, based on an ongoing investigation.

DeLeon allegedly taped sexual encounters with a 9-year-old girl and a Pomeranian more than eight months ago.

Deputies say a 16-year-old has been arrested for beating his grandmother with a two-by-four for refusing to give him $100 for beer.

Charged is Kurt Cass of Hammock Drive, Bradenton.

Investigators say Cass went into his 60-year-old grandmother's bedroom Thursday and asked her for $100 for beer. When she refused, he allegedly placed a razor blade on her throat and demanded she take him to the bank to get the money, deputies said.

"When the victim arrived back home she locked all of the doors," deputies reported. "The defendant arrived back home and kicked the front door in.

"Once inside the defendant grabbed a two foot 2x4 piece of wood and hit the victim numerous times on the back. The defendant then grabbed a three foot piece of 3 inch PVC pipe and hit the victim on her head, back, and legs numerous times. The defendant's case worker arrived on scene and was able to hold him until law enforcement arrived."

Deputies said Cass has made comments in the past to his grandmother that she should kill his entire family.

Cass was charged with domestic aggravated assault, two counts of domestic aggravated battery, attempted robbery, and kidnapping.

The grandmother has had legal guardianship of Cass and his little brother since 1994.

Authorities tell us today that Cass came from a troubled family. His mother is in prison on cocaine possession and sale charges, and his father is serving a 15-year prison sentence for manslaughter after choking a prostitute to death in 2002.

A New Orleans couple who had been chased from their home by Hurricane Katrina died in an apparent murder-suicide, leaving behind an infant and a 4-year-old boy who had been beaten so severely he couldn't open his eyes, police said.

The woman "said that her nephew had called her and stated that he had an argument with his wife and that she was hurt pretty bad, and in fact she was dead," said police Chief Bob Starrett.

The boy was found in the same room with his mother.

"He was tied to a chair and had been beaten so bad both of his eyes were completely shut," Starrett said.

The 5-month old girl was uninjured, Starrett said. Both children were to be turned over to the Department of Family and Children's Services.

"I haven't seen a child beat up as bad as he was beat up," Starrett said. "The tragic thing is this 4-year-old boy most likely saw his mother killed and was beaten and tied up right there where his mother was lying in a pool of blood."

A SWAT team found Jerome Spears, 28, in a back bedroom, dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot, Starrett said.

A mother is outraged after an elderly man accused of molesting her 14-year old son was let out of jail.

Police said John Wilson, 82, held a gun to the boy's head and demanded oral sex, RTV6's Ericka Flye reported.

She says her son had been to Wilson's house before to do odd jobs. This time, just five minutes after the boy arrived, police said Wilson executed the criminal plan.

"The elderly male went and picked up a gun out in the garage and came back and pointed the gun at this juvenile and asked, or actually demanded, that he perform oral sex," said Marion County sheriff's Capt. Phil Burton.

The boy's mother is both angry and disgusted, but after learning that Wilson has now bonded out of jail, she said her family feels victimized all over again.

"Well he doesn't need to be on the outside. You know that fact that he's close to my home and has ready access to my son and my family is -- that's catastrophic," the boy's mother said.

Investigators said Wilson had no prior police record, but the boy's mother believes Wilson has done this before.

"I cannot fathom that an 82-year-old would do something to such an extreme level and that be the first time it's ever happened," she said. "I have a hard time fathoming that that would be the case. My guess would be he's just never been caught."

The boy said after about 30 minutes of oral sex, Wilson let him go and said, "This is our secret. Don't tell anyone."

The boy's mother said her son is courageous for telling her and encouraged other kids to tell someone if they're being molested.

Wilson posted $8,000 of his $80,000 bond to get out of jail. He is scheduled to appear in court next week. If convicted, he faces up to 70 years in prison.

Philadelphia police arrested the mother of a 3-month-old baby after she allegedly drowned the boy and threw the corpse down a flight of stairs.

Lea Currie, 24, has been charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child and abuse of a corpse.

Homicide detectives said a 911 call came from the house on the 4900 block of Charles Street at about 2:30 p.m. Monday.

Police said the infant, Marion Currie, was not breathing and had no pulse as he was rushed to St. Christopher's Hospital.

The child apparently drowned in a bathtub and might have been thrown down a flight of stairs. An autopsy is expected to be complete by Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities said Lea Currie had been overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking care of a child. Several neighbors told NBC 10 that the Department of Human Services was aware of the problem.

A man called 911 and said he'd stabbed his twin daughters to death and was about to kill himself, a dispatcher told police officers Friday.

When the officers arrived at the man's southeast Mecklenburg home about 12:45 p.m., they found David Lauren Crespi outside unarmed, police spokesman Keith Bridges said. The officers quickly handcuffed him and put him in a police car.

Inside, they found 5-year-olds Samantha and Tessara Crespi in separate rooms.

The officers thought one of the girls might still be alive and carried her to medics waiting outside. But both of the petite brunettes were pronounced dead at their home.

Late Friday, police charged 45-year-old Crespi with two counts of murder in the deaths of his twins. He is a senior vice president in Wachovia's audit division, a company spokesman confirmed.

They said the girls had each been stabbed more than once.

An abduction at the Jersey shore ended with a woman safe, her children dead and a suspect in custody Friday following a two-county search.

The woman was bound with rope and allegedly taken by a tenant from the Stafford Township home that she shared with her two children Thursday night, executive assistant Ocean County prosecutor Bob Gasser said.

The woman's ex-husband called police around 8:45 p.m. to say he found his sons, ages 7 and 14, stabbed to death in the home.

Meanwhile, Gasser said the suspect had driven the woman up the Garden State Parkway and pulled in for gas at the Monmouth Rest Stop.

The woman managed to break free and ran to an attendant for help while the suspect fled on foot into the woods, Gasser said.

News 12 New Jersey reporter Tony Caputo was in the parking lot in his car preparing a report shortly before 4 a.m. when he looked up and saw a young man walking toward his car wearing jeans and a gray T-shirt.

"He was shivering, bent over. It looked like he was freezing. He walked over and sat down on a guardrail right in front of me," Caputo said.

Caputo said he slowly backed his car out of the spot and drove to the other side of the parking area and alerted a police officer.

The suspect got up off the guardrail and shuffled to the entrance of the rest area building, where he was confronted by an officer and taken into custody without resistance.

Richard Gonzalez is charged with murder, kidnapping and robbery. He was taken into custody Friday morning after the woman escaped at a gas station on the Garden State Parkway in Wall Township Thursday night.

Gonzalez was staying with Wanda Gonzalez in her Stafford Township home. They are not related and prosecutors said they were not romantically involved.

Prosecutors said the suspect drove the woman to withdraw cash from an ATM. Prosecutors said she managed to call her estranged husband, who went to their home to check on their children.

Prosecutors said he found Karlo, 14, and Zabdiel, 7, bludgeoned to death in the basement. Authorities initially believed the brothers had been stabbed because there was so much blood.