News of Doom 2.0

ATLANTA -- An Atlanta mother of eight was murdered outside an Atlanta check-cashing store this weekend, police said. The family made an emotional plea for help Wednesday to find her killer.

Someone shot Stephanie Seabrum in the back as she left a check-cashing store in Hightower Plaza in southwest Atlanta Saturday. Police said two men jumped her as she left the store and one of the men was caught on camera.

Seabrum’s mother said Stephanie had really pulled her life together. Stephanie had gotten a job she loved last year as a dental assistant after going to school for it in her mid-30s. “Stephanie was doing great,” said Sharon Seabrum.

“After I heard the shot, they started running around, you know, running this way, getting ready to bend the corner so I started running behind them,” said Stephanie’s boyfriend, Gregory Parks. “But when I got around the corner, I didn’t see anybody.”

Parks was in the car in the parking lot when the shooting occurred. “I was saying, ‘Please don’t leave me, don’t leave me baby,’ and she started squeezing my hand real, real tight,” said Parks.

“With the help of God, I’m doing pretty good...so far,” said Sharon Seabrum.

Stephanie Seabrum had eight children -- ages 19 to 2 years old. Stephanie's family said her 19-year-old is in his freshman year of college.

Atlanta police are asking anyone with information to give them a call. Police said the right tip could bring a reward of up to $2,000.

DETROIT -- Police are investigating the death of a 4-month-old infant, who was shot in the head after armed gunmen sprayed a hail of bullets into the picture window of his mother's apartment early Sunday.

The incident happened at about 4:30 a.m. at the Premier apartments in the 18000 block of Lasher on the city's west side, Deputy Chief Marshall Lyons said. About 10-13 bullets shattered the picture window, with at least one slug striking Walter Bogan III. The child was taken to Sinai-Grace Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police believe the shooting was a result of an argument between two groups of men, but officials do not know the nature of the conflict.

The infant was lying on the couch next to his 25-year-old mother near the front door when the shooting happened. They were the only people inside the apartment, police said.

"We are trying to figure out why they were targeted. But this was not random," Lyons said. "The mother is helping the best she can. She is naturally distraught."

There was no known drug activity at the apartment or any reports of calls for police service at the complex, police said.

Other neighbors said they were awakened by the sound of several shots Sunday morning but declined to comment, fearing the shooters' return.

MESA, Ariz. — A baby is recovering after a carjacker tossed her from a stolen car, Phoenix police said.

It happened Saturday after two armed men carjacked a woman in Phoenix. One of the men flung the woman's 4-month-old child from the vehicle while trying to escape, police said.

The pair are also accused of shooting a man in the arm during a botched carjacking attempt just 30 minutes before.

The suspects are identified as Arthur Galindo, 29, and Romulo Cardona, 23, said Sgt. Andy Hill, a Phoenix police spokesman.

Galindo, armed with a shotgun, fired the weapon at the vehicle's window, Hill said. Broken glass rained down on top of the woman's 4-month-old daughter, who was still strapped in a car seat.

Galindo climbed into the driver's seat and attempted to flee in the woman's vehicle, Hill said, while Cardona drove off in an Impala.

As Galindo drove off, witnesses yelled that a child was in the back seat.

Witnesses said Galindo stopped and flung the infant to the pavement while still in her car seat. The child received only minor injuries, Hill said.

Police followed Galindo in the stolen Monte Carlo through south Phoenix where he bailed out and into the passenger seat of the Impala driven by Cardona.

Eventually both men attempted to flee from the Impala. Officers were able to arrest them after a brief chase on foot, Hill said.

Police believe the pair were recently released from the Department of Corrections for prior armed robbery convictions, Hill said.

PHOENIX -- A man who police said walked into a 7-Eleven carrying a 2-year-old with a 6-year-old in tow and shot and killed a convenience store clerk has been arrested, investigators say.

Officers arrested and charged Jermaine Canada, 27, with first-degree murder. A resident called 911 around 9 a.m. on Monday and reported seeing a man matching the description of the gunman in the 2600 block of W. Camelback Road, police said.

The man had a brief conversation with the 7-Eleven clerk around 2:15 a.m. and then opened fire while holding the 2-year-old child, killing the 62-year-old clerk, officers said.

According to police, robbery does not appear to be a motive.

The men arrested in the slayings of an aspiring Christian singer and his colleague at a Texas recording studio said in a chilling jailhouse interview the victims were killed at random in a robbery that netted only $2.

Cousins James Broadnax and Demarius Dwight Cummings, both 19, face capital murder charges in the deaths of singer Matthew Butler, a father of two, and Stephen Swan, his employee, outside Butler's Christian recording studio, Zion Gate Records in Garland, Texas.

Broadnax and Cummings, speaking to MyFOXDFW.com from the Dallas County Jail, told the station of their plans to rob somebody the night of June 18. They traveled by train from Dallas to the suburb of Garland because "that's where all the rich white folks stay at," Broadnax said.

Their targets turned out to be Butler, 28, and Swan, 26.

After the men were shot, Cummings said he took car keys and a wallet from Swan, but the wallet contained only $2.

Cummings, who insisted "I didn't kill anyone," appeared to have some remorse when asked about the crime.

"I feel real bad, you know," he told MyFOXDFW.com. "I feel it was wrong what we did."

But Broadnax, who described his life as "hell," showed little remorse.

"I kind of regret what I did, but things can't change so no use crying over it," Broadnax said.

When asked about what he would say to the victims' families, Broadnax replied, "f--- 'em."

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- On leave from the violence he had survived in the war in Iraq, a young Marine was so wary of crime on the streets of his own home town that he carried only $8 to avoid becoming a robbery target.

Despite his caution, Lance Cpl. Robert Crutchfield, 21, was shot point-blank in the neck during a robbery at a bus stop.

Feeding and breathing tubes kept him alive 4½ months, until he died of an infection on May 18.

Two men have been charged in the attack, and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason said Friday the case was under review to decide whether to seek the death penalty.

Crutchfield was attacked on January 5 while he and his girlfriend were waiting for a bus. He had heeded the warnings of commanders that a Marine on leave might be seen as a prime robbery target with a pocketful of money, so he only carried $8, his military ID card and a bank card.

"They took it, turned his pockets inside out, took what he had and told him since he was a Marine and didn't have any money he didn't deserve to live. They put the gun to his neck and shot him," Holt told The Associated Press.

The two men charged in the attack were identified as Ean Farrow, 19, and Thomas Ray III, 20, both of Cleveland. Their attorneys did not respond to The Associated Press' requests for comment.

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- The baby girl of a slain Grand Junction woman was removed from life support and has died at a hospital.

The infant was delivered by emergency Caesarean section after Anna Maria Macias, 23, was shot in the neck and killed outside the Garden Village apartment complex on Sunday night. She was about 8 1/2 months pregnant.

Police said Lonnie Herrera, 39, shot and killed Macias after she obtained a restraining order against him. Authorities arrested Herrera on suspicion of first-degree murder Monday in Delta, Colo.

LAS VEGAS -- Metro police have made an arrest in the shooting death of a woman at an intersection.

Calvin Kirklin, 20, was booked into Clark County Detention Center Monday morning after a tip from a Valley resident.

Kirklin was one of four people in a Buick wanted in connection with the death of Blanca Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, 39, was found in her car Saturday near Nellis and Charleston boulevards.

Gonzalez was stopped at a red light next to the car. Kirklin -- whose 1-year-old child was in the vehicle with him -- leaned over one of his friends to shoot Gonzalez, police said.

Gonzalez was struck in the head and died later at the hospital, officials said.

Two children -- ages 15 and 11 -- were in the car with Gonzalez at the time she was shot. Police said they are now with their father.

Investigators have not discovered a motive, saying this may be just a random act of violence.

A policeman who shot his mother-in-law while on bail for his wife's murder was planning an even bigger killing spree, an inquest heard yesterday.

Garry Weddell intended to shoot down his brothers-in-law and their wives.

He also wanted to kill the married man with whom his wife Sandra had been having an affair, police believe.

But, shortly after he killed his mother-in- law, a police helicopter circled.

He thought her body had been discovered, and panicked.

To avoid justice, the 47- year-old inspector drove to a gun club and shot himself in the head.

Weddell had been freed on bail after a defence psychiatrist said he had no concerns about the Metropolitan Police officer's mental state.

A man who shot dead a pregnant woman in a "ruthless execution" after a long-running dispute between neighbours has been jailed for life.

Thomas Hughes, 40, of Stonells Road in Battersea, south-west London, shot Krystal Hart, 22, twice in the head at her flat in Belleville Road, Battersea.

Hughes was said to have killed Miss Hart last April in revenge for the row.

Ordering Hughes to serve at least 30 years, Old Bailey judge Anthony Morris said it was "a truly evil act".

Aftab Jafferjee, prosecuting, said: "The killing took place against a background of a long-running and ugly neighbour dispute that had been festering for some months.

"It can only be described as an execution."

Miss Hart, who was two months pregnant when killed, had lived in her housing association flat for about a year but soon after moving in she fell out with her downstairs "neighbour from hell", Angie Brewer, 53, the court heard.

After the row, Brewer called the police to complain and then telephoned Hughes, who later returned with a gun.

The court heard that he was looking for Mr Siveter and when told he was not home banged at the door and demanded Miss Hart open it, calling out: "Come out bitch."

Miss Brewer, who could be heard pleading "No" on CCTV footage, became hysterical as shots were fired, the court was told.

Miss Hart, died instantly when she was shot through the head. A second bullet was fired into her temple after she collapsed into her doorway.

OCOEE, Fla. — Ocoee police are still investigating the shooting death of a toddler over the weekend.

Family members have said 22-month-old Tyler Rodgers accidentally shot himself with his father's gun while everyone else in the house was sleeping early Sunday.

State criminal records show that Tyler's father has a 2003 felony drug conviction, which means it is illegal for him to own a gun.

TACOMA, Wash. — A Fort Lewis soldier killed two other soldiers — a married couple — and poured acid on their bodies in an attempt to dispose of them, a prosecutor said Monday.

Spc. Ivette Gonzalez Davila, 22, was ordered held without bond for investigation of aggravated first-degree murder as well as kidnapping. She was accused of taking the couple's 6-month-old girl.

Deputy Pierce County Prosecutor Ed Murphy wrote in a court declaration that Davila showed up at her barracks on Sunday afternoon with the baby and initially told a fellow soldier that she was baby-sitting. Eventually, she confessed to the soldier that she had killed the baby's parents the night before, Murphy wrote.

The soldier reported what Davila had said to military police, who arrested her and turned her over to Pierce County authorities.

The victims were identified as Timothy Miller, 27, and Randi Miller, 25. Timothy Miller was apparently shot in a bathtub at the couple's suburban Parkland home, while Randi Miller was shot on a bed and then moved to the bathtub, Murphy wrote.

According to the declaration, Davila took the baby to a home-improvement store after the killings, bought muriatic acid, returned to the home and poured it on the bodies.

The baby was not harmed and is now in the care of the state's Child Protective Services.

Davila told the soldier that "Randi Miller was in a relationship with Davila's ex-boyfriend," Murphy said in his declaration.

ALBA, Texas — Investigators say a bloody attack on a rural East Texas family's home may have resulted from family opposition to a daughter's boyfriend.

Rains County Sheriff department confirmed Sunday a 16-year-old girl is one of four suspects being held for the violent murders of her mother and two brothers.

The girl, whose name is being withheld due to her age, is the girlfriend of one of the suspects, investigators revealed. Neighbors told MyFOXDFW.com that the girl's parents, Terry and Penny Caffey, were trying to break up the couple.

"I knew that Terry and Penny didn't like him and were going to make her split up with him," the unidentified neighbor told the station.

The teen was found by police early Sunday hiding at the home of one of the suspects, although it was not clear from the police account which of them she was dating or where she has been hiding.

The four suspects, which include the unidentified teen, 19-year-old Charlie James Wilkinson, 18-year-old Bobbi Gale Johnson and Charles Allen Wade, 20, went before the Justice of the Peace and were formally charged Sunday morning with three counts of capital murder each, police said. All remained in Rains County Jail with bonds set at $1.5 million.

Mrs. Caffey, 37, was killed along with her two sons, Tyler Caffey, 8, and Mathew Caffey 13, according to police. All had been shot and stabbed multiple times. Terry Caffey was in critical but stable condition Sunday in East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, where he was being treated for a gunshot wound to the head.

Despite his wound, the father was able to crawl about 300 yards to a neighbor's house to seek help. Meanwhile, flames consumed the Caffeys' home with the bodies of Mrs. Caffey and their two sons inside.

The sheriff said authorities could not determine whether gunshots or the fire caused the deaths of Penny, 39, Tyler, 8, and Mathew, 13, saying, "The bodies have been so badly burned."

SAN ANTONIO -- A San Antonio man charged with capital murder in the Monday deaths of two women killed his grandmother with a meat cleaver because she disapproved of him bringing home a prostitute, according to an arrest affidavit.

Tommy Flores, 30, was arrested Monday on unrelated charges before police charged him in connection with the deaths of his grandmother, 74-year-old Eva Flores, and a second unidentified woman.

The alleged killer told police he attacked his grandmother in anger after she announced her displeasure with the woman Flores brought to her home, where he was also living, according to the affidavit.

Eva Flores was found in a bedroom with severe cuts to her neck while the second woman was found in another bedroom with a single gunshot wound to the head.

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. -- Three days after her father was shot and killed, an 11-year-old recounted a haunting story about what she saw when a man she thought was a family friend walked through the door with a rifle.

Deputies were called out to a home on Old Dine Field Road in Middleburg Friday night. That's when they said 32-year-old Jonathan Williams pulled out a rifle after Buddy Pickett showed up at his door along with his two kids and a teenage neighbor asking for $35 dollars.

Pickett's daughter, 11-year-old Sierra, said they had gone to Williams' home to get some money to buy groceries, but they never expected the man to come outside carrying a rifle.

"Buddy just wanted John to give him $35 he owed him so he could take care of his family," said Pickett's mother, Patricia Pickett.

She said her son sent his daughter and a friend to collect the money to avoid any confrontation, and that Pickett only went to the house when Williams began cursing at the children.

Sierra told Channel 4 that after a verbal exchange, Williams went inside his home.

"We waited because we thought he was going to give us the money," she said.

Instead, police said when Williams opened the door again he opened fire and killed Pickett.