News of Doom 2.0

Don't forget. At midnight tonight Eastern Time on Trenchcast we'll be talking about bullying in our schools as I look for the answer to what you would think would be a very simple question.

You can listen live here.

In the U.S. and Canada you can call in at (646) 478-4530.

Or anyone can IM me at trenchcast on Yahoo Messenger or e-mail me at trenchcast@yahoo.com.

Illinois

Mother's Ex-Boyfriend Charged In Murder Of 2 Boys:
Reason to Blow Up the World:â?¦

(CBS) CHICAGO Two brothers, ages 12 and 14, were found stabbed to death in a closet Thursday morning in their South Side apartment. Thursday night, police charged 36-year-old Brian Gilbert with two counts of first degree murder, attempted murder and sexual assault.

The boys -- Marquise Jackson, 12; and Quinton Jackson, 14 -- were found at the residence around 3:30 a.m., and their 13-year-old sister was also injured by stab wounds.

Chicago police held Gilbert, the mother's ex-boyfriend and a registered sex offender, for most of Thursday in connection with the murders of the two brothers in the East Chatham neighborhood.

Neighbors add the mother broke off the relationship, but they think the man still had a key to the first-floor apartment at the Ellis Avenue building, where the boys' bodies were found.

The 13-year-old girl ran out of the apartment building bleeding, in distress and calling for help at 3:30 a.m.

Later, police recovered a knife that had been left across the street, and arrested Gilbert nearby.

Nod of Doom to Mena.

As the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true: Two men arrested in Craigslist scams.

The scam was pretty simple:

Two men suspected of selling boxes of rubbish designed to look like expensive electronic items to about 100 people throughout the Bay Area have been arrested and are expected to be arraigned this afternoon.

(...)victims agreed to purchase laptop computers, large-screen televisions and Sony PlayStation3 video game consoles from sellers who posted ads on Craigslist, but ended up with boxes of rocks, floor tiles and magazines, Bobbitt said.

If you can't believe what a bargain you're getting, you probably aren't.

South Carolina

Man Sentenced For Impregnating 10-Year-Old:
Reason to Blow Up the World:â?¦

An Abbeville man pleaded guilty Tuesday to raping and impregnating a girl when she was 9 years old.

In January 2006, William Edward Ronca, who was 26 at the time, pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Ronca was arrested after the girl was found to be seven to eight months pregnant. A school guidance counselor told the girl's mother that the child was acting withdrawn and was not participating at school. The girl was taken to Abbeville County Memorial Hospital, where the pregnancy was confirmed.

Arrest warrants said that Ronca had been having sex with the girl for more than a year, and told her not to tell anyone.

In emotional testimony, the girl's biological father said instead of enjoying her childhood, his 10-year-old daughter had to undergo a Caesarean section delivery.

It's too bad there's no way that 'They' could impregnate this scumbag, like the chest burster scene from Alien.

Nod of Doom to Kathy

If you're one of the people who have been leaving comments on my site sympathizing with school shooters because they were allegedly bullied, pay attention. This Saturday night at Midnight Eastern Time (Sat. going into Sun.) I'll will be talking about bullying on my show at Blog Talk Radio.

I will be asking just one one question. Tune in Saturday night to find out what that question is. Then call in and give me your answer.

As always it was your pleasure.

Arizona

Dead infant looked like Holocaust victim, police say:
Reason to Blow Up the World:...

The Phoenix parents of a 4-month-old boy who police said looked as gaunt as a Holocaust victim have been charged in connection with his death.

The parents, Katherine Hatten, 22, and Thaddeus Adam Bechtel, 29, were arrested Wednesday night and booked into county jail, Phoenix police Sgt. Joel Tranter said.

Hatten was being held on a charge of first-degree murder. Bechtel was being held on one count of child abuse. Tranter said Bechtel was not being charged with murder because he is a truck driver and came home only once a week.

Police found 4-month-old Daniel Bechtel dead in a child's swing inside a west Phoenix apartment after responding to a 911 call about an unresponsive child Tuesday morning.

Police found and removed a 4-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl from the home and placed them in the care of Child Protective Services. Tranter said the two were filthy, minimally cared for, and had to scavenge for food in the home.

Tranter said neither parent showed remorse or sadness. He said Bechtel refused to be interviewed by police, and that Hatten told officers the 4-month-old had an eating disorder.

â??Maybe she's making excuses to justify this in her mind,â?? Tranter said. â??The eating disorder was he didn't get any food.â??

There's way too much trailer trash in this country.

Nod of Doom to Lynn.

Samurai Sword Murderer Pleads Guilty, Gets Sentenced:
One of the first stories that garnered a fair of amount of attention for News of Doom was the murder of Fawn Trivette. To refresh your memory Fawn was killed by her boyfriend, Christopher Dunsmoor, with a samurai sword for "hurting his feelings". I hadn't heard any other news from that case until now.

Dunsmoor has pleaded guilty to second degree murder and has been sentenced to 40 years.

Not enough if you ask me. I'm curious to know why he didn't get at least life in prison.

Missouri

Kidnapping plot revealed in Springfield:
Reason to Blow Up the World:â?¦

SPRINGFIELD (AP) - A southwest Missouri man plotted to kidnap, rape and kill two girls and kill 12 other people, prosecutors allege, but he was stopped when a roommate found written plans and alerted police.

Randy L. Rust, 54, of Springfield was being held yesterday in the Greene County Jail on $200,000 bond on two felony counts of attempted child kidnapping.

Police found detailed notes on how Rust planned to abuse and kill the girls, ages 4 and 9, and kill other people, including his ex-wife and several of her relatives and friends, investigators said in court records filed Tuesday with the charges.

The court documents also say the notes listed supplies Rust needed for his plan, many of which were found when police searched his apartment. Items found from the lists included whips, handcuffs, duct tape, dog chains and a girlâ??s tank top with "Princess" printed on it, police said.

Thank God that this was stopped before it happened. There's been way too much Doom in the world this week.

Nod of Doom to X-Files.

Nebraska

Mom accused of neglect after leaving girl on I-80:
Reason to Blow Up the World:â?¦

A soccer mom, upset at her teenage daughterâ??s performance at a game Saturday, stopped along Interstate 80 and left her there.

Officer Katherine Finnell said the 42-year-old Lincoln woman was ticketed on suspicion of child neglect after the 2:30 p.m. incident.

She said the woman yelled at her 15-year-old in her car and asked her to repeat lines about improving her performance. When the girl messed up the lines, she slapped her.

Finnell said the teen told her mom to pull over along I-80 near the downtown exit, so she did. Thatâ??s when the girl says her mom yelled at her to get out. She did and her mom drove away.

Jesus Christ people. It's just a kids' game.

Nod of Doom to X-Files.

Wales

Woman 'threw boy on fire' claim:
Reason to Blow Up the World:…

A WOMAN has gone on trial at Swansea Crown Court accused of throwing a toddler on to a lit bonfire.

Tania Rose Williams, 32, denies assaulting the boy.

Patrick Griffiths, prosecuting, yesterday described the incident as one of "gratuitous" violence and told the jury it could be explained, at least partly, by her use of alcohol and drugs.

Mr Griffiths said that after Williams, of Fforestfach, Swansea, was arrested she denied the incident had taken place or that she drank to excess or took drugs.

Australia

Dad's 16 months for 'barbaric abuse':
Reason to Blow Up the World:â?¦

A FATHER of nine will spend as little as 16 months in jail after perpetrating what police called barbaric acts of cruelty against his three-year-old son, including burning him with a cigarette lighter and tearing out his fingernail with pliers.

Jason David Ogier, 37, was sentenced to 31 months' jail in Western Australia yesterday after pleading guilty to three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and four of common assault. With parole, the New Zealand-born man could be eligible for release in 16 months.

In sentencing applications, police prosecutor Dave Murphy told Narrogin Magistrates Court that Ogier's abuse of his son deserved a lengthy prison term.

"They were barbaric acts of cruelty perpetrated on his own child, a defenceless three-year-old boy," Sergeant Murphy said.

Ogier's wife, Belinda Marie, 34, pleaded guilty to neglect causing a child to be in need of care. She was given a suspended prison term of six months and one day.

The court heard that Ogier abused and assaulted the small boy between October 2005 and February last year.

In October 2005, when his wife was in hospital giving birth to the couple's youngest child, Ogier forced the toddler to eat chilli powder as punishment for not finishing his dinner. He also rubbed chilli powder into the boy's back, causing it to blister.

Early last year, he forced his 14-year-old son to hold the three-year-old's hand while he burnt it with a cigarette lighter after the toddler soiled himself. As a result the boy's finger became infected and the fingernail began to fall off. Ten days later, Ogier removed the fingernail with pliers.

Ogier kicked the child many times wearing steel-capped boots and slapped and hit him around the head. He left the boy stranded on a tall brick post, yelled abuse at him and encouraged the other children to attack him.

31 months is a joke.

Nod of Doom to AdC.

Minnesota

Minn. Teen Accused Of Stabbing Newborn 135 Times:
Reason to Blow Up the World: No more "Don't Read This". People need to be exposed to these stories no matter how brutal they are. And this one is as brutal as they come.

(CBS) OAKDALE, Minn. A 17-year-old stabbed her newborn baby 135 times and disposed of her body in a garbage can outside her home in Oakdale, authorities alleged Thursday.

Nicole Marie Beecroft was charged Thursday with first-degree murder. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. She was being held in a juvenile detention facility.

The Tartan High School senior told police she was in a "panic state" after giving birth to the girl on the floor of the laundry room in her home around 3 a.m. Monday, according to the criminal complaint filed in Washington County District Court. She told police she had seen the baby's finger move, and admitted stabbing the child, the complaint said.

An autopsy determined the infant had been born alive, but suffered numerous puncture wounds in the chest area and bled to death from 135 sharp-force injuries, the complaint said.

The state's safe harbor law allows mothers to leave infants at any hospital within 72 hours of birth with no legal consequences. The state's "Safe Place For Newborns" law was enacted in 2000, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

I can't stress enough the safe haven laws. Here are the safe haven laws for Minnesota.

Nod of Doom to Mena.

Nevada

Man accused of advertising mentally challenged sister on craigslist for sex:
Reason to Blow Up the World:…

A Las Vegas man is under arrest accused of sexually assaulting his mentally challenged sister and attempting to offer her for sex out on the internet. 34-year-old Rodney Nickerson is being held on $800,000 bail.

According to a police report, Nickerson admitted to putting a photo of his 36-year-old sister on craigslist website. The ad featuring his sister apparently asked men if they wanted to have sex with her.

The report states Nickerson also fondled his sister and had another man touch her as well. Nickerson's mother told New's 3 her son has always taken care of his sister since they were little.

Nod of Doom to X-Files.

I'm on the fence about this one.

The headline reads: Video game may have led to shooting.

A 17-year-old Miller High School sophomore fatally shot last week may have been killed during an argument with his cousin about a video game, police said Tuesday.

Alright, now it's a stupid reason to kill someone, but I can buy it. I mean, people have been killed over stupider things, right? Here's the problem: they don't give any information to support it, beyond the fact that the two were playing video games. And when they do?

"It may have had something to do with one not knowing whose turn it was or not agreeing on what game to play," (police Captain) Houston said.

May have? Based on what? No no, we should go easy on him. After all, video games were clearly the only risk factor present at the scene. Oh, wait.

The cousins were alone in a bedroom of the house playing a video(sic) and drinking and smoking marijuana, Houston said.

Because god knows, being drunk and high probably had nothing to do with it. Also notice the "playing a video". Well were they playing a game or watching a VHS tape? I mean, kinda hard to tell from that quote.

This seems to be all they know right now:

Two other people in the house at the time of the incident who have been questioned multiple times by police said they heard a gunshot and Garcia came running out of the bedroom, Houston said. Garcia left and told them to leave, Houston said.

And so I would like to take this opportunity to ask these police to kindly wait to link video games to the crime until you have, you know, evidence.

A few stories:

First, a story from across the pond.

It's a pretty short article, but here's the highlights:

Bradford South CID are appealing for witnesses following a robbery of a 16yr old male in Market Street, Bradford, which happened between 8.30pm and 9.30on Monday (9/4).

The victim was confronted by four men who grabbed hold of him, searched his pockets and took a portable video game, sunglasses, an MP3 player with speakers and his mobile phone.

There has to be something malfunctioning in your brain to think it's a good idea to walk up to somebody on the street and shake him down for a few electronics and his sunglasses.

The next story is about some robberies that occured over spring break:

According to police reports, some apartments and houses on Franklin Avenue, South Lincoln Street, Ivan Drive and Aspen Court were broken into and burglarized.

One eyewitness, Charles Lorenz, identified the criminals as four men driving a gold Saturn car.

"They looked like they were teenagers, no older than 18," Lorenz said. "They weren't wearing gloves, and when we were following them, they didn't seem scared. It looked like, to them, it was more like a game."

And what did they take? Yeah, you guessed it.

The burglars who went into (the victim's) apartment stole his Gateway laptop valued at $1500, his Playstation 2 valued at $250, a PS2 controller and the video game Fight Night Round 2.

Iafelice said the burglars also trashed his apartment. But, he said things could've turned out much worse.

"I thank God these kids were so stupid," he said, "I have a lot of nice stuff in my apartment. I mean, if you're going to rob someone, take stuff that's at least expensive."

And in a twist reminiscent of one of Trench's earlier Red Forman Awards, one of the victims, Pat Iafelice, managed to get his laptop back. Why?

"They stole the computer but left the power cord. Instead they stole the cord that connected to the DVD player," he said. "Apparently, the battery died on him so he couldn't prove it worked so he couldn't sell it."

Considering their general ineptness at this, I would imagine it's only a matter of time before they're caught.

Finally, in a minor update to another earlier story, Mara Daniels, the woman accused of using her children to steal 837 DVDs (both movies and video games) from 21 different libraries valued at $16,684, was indicted by a grand jury... but only on three counts of forgery and one of theft.

I'd really like to know what's going on with this story. Why so few charges? What about charges stemming from using her children to steal for her? She's only facing four and a half years right now. Anyone who exploits children like this - especially their own children - should face harsher penalties than that.