TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Category: Crime

  • Another guilty plea in ‘Mortal Kombat’ death

    Teen in Johnstown ”Mortal Kombat’ child death pleads guilty:

    19-year-old Lamar Roberts has pleaded guilty to child abuse and recklessly causing the death of 7-year-old Zoe Garcia.

    This is the so-called ‘Mortal Kombat’ killings because Roberts and his girlfriend and Zoe’s sister Heather Trujillo, beat Zoe to death while allegedly mimic moves from Mortal Kombat.

    Roberts is looking at 16-48 years behind bars. Trujillo had previously pleaded guilty.

    Again this had nothing to do with video games. If it wasn’t Mortal Kombat it would have been pro wrestling or some movie that they would have blamed it on. They were just two violent kids, nothing more.

  • Attorney for Dillard shooter claims mental illness

    Attorney: Mental health issues may have played role in case of teen charged in school shooting:

    The defense attorney for Teah Wimberly notified the court today that he may be pursuing a mental health defense in his client’s trial for the shooting death of classmate Amanda Collette.

    Attorney Larry S. Davis said that a psych eval indicated mental illness.

    She is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday and could face life in prison if convicted for 2nd-degree murder.

  • Zarate guilty

    Zarate found guilty of murder; jury rejects ‘psychotic state’ defense:

    It’s a word that the parents of Jennifer Parks have been waiting over three years to hear. Guilty.

    After three years and many delays, a jury has finally found Jonathan Zarate guilty in the murder of Jennifer Parks. The jury only took two hours to reach their verdict.

    In July of 2005 a then 18-year-old Zarate of Randolph, NJ invited his 16-year-old neighbor, Jennifer Parks, to come over and watch TV. At some point, she said something about Zarate’s brother James. Jennifer had previously had the younger Zarate brother removed from school because he was bullying her. whatever she said sent Jonathan Zarate into a rage. He beat her with a metal pole until she choked on her own vomit then stabbed her repeatedly. To hide what he did he dismembered her body and hid it in a footlocker. He then hid the footlocker in his family’s Jeep for 24 hours while he attended a birthday party for a relative.

    The next day Zarate, his brother, and a friend were caught by police trying to dump the footlocker that contained Jennifer’s body into the Passaic River.

    Zarate was far from what you would call a model prisoner. He had to be transferred out of the Morris County prison for assaulting a guard. While in his new prison he inquired to other inmates on how to fake an insanity defense.

    During the trial, Zarate’s attorney tried arguing that Zarate was in a ‘psychotic state’ when he killed Jennifer Parks. A psychologist even testified to that. Luckily today the jury had no part of that and did the right thing by sending a brutal killer to prison.

    Zarate’s brother will be tried separately for his part in the murder.

    This was one of the first stories I started following when I first opened the News of Doom site. NoD opened officially on July 31st, 2005, the day after Jennifer was killed. I have been in contact with Jennifer Parks family and I have exchanged e-mails with Laurie Parks. Even though I can’t even imagine how Mrs. Parks’ emotions have been since her daughter’s murder I actually felt butterflies in my stomach when I read the headline that Zarate had been convicted.

    My prayers and thoughts constantly go out to the Parks family.

    Speaking of which I wanted to post this comment Jennifer’s father, David Parks, gave to The Daily Record about Zarate’s alleged psychotic state of mind…

    “I don’t care what his state of mind was, it will never bring my daughter back,” father David Parks said. “Conversations at the grave suck. It’s one-sided.”

    I’m glad that was remembered by the jury that Jennifer Parks was the real victim in all of this.

    No word on sentencing yet. Anything less than life without parole would be a travesty.

    Thanks to Helen and Keb for the tip.

  • More on Sean Brown’s parole

    Those who want to fax their letters to the Texas Parole Board to keep Sean Huston Brown in jail can fax them at…

    512-406-5482
    Attention: Susan
    Re: Sean Brown TDCJ# 1491487

    Don’t forget the case number as that is critical.

    You can also e-mail the Parole Board at victim.svc@tdcj.state.tx.us

    Remember to keep it professional. It won’t help anybody to have a lot of ranting and raving and cursing.

    For those of you who just joined us Sean Brown was an accomplice in the murder of Ashton Glover. Matt McCombs shot her in the head out of ‘morbid curiosity’. Brown helped McCombs dispose of Ashton’s body and trying to cover up the crime. Both of them tried to flee the country.

    If Sean Brown is granted parole he could be out in January which isn’t nearly enough. Brown was sentenced to 10 years last year but if he were to get out in January that would be less than one year in prison for Ashton’s death.

    Thanks to Chon for the information.

  • Zarate trial wraps up

    Zarate murder trial jury to deliberate Monday:

    The trial of Jonathan Zarate for the 2005 murder of Jennifer Parks wrapped up yesterday and the jury will begin to deliberate on Monday.

    Both attorneys gave their closing arguments yesterday.

    Defense attorney Richard Mazawey argued that only mental illness could explain the brutal way in which Zarate killed Jennifer Parks.

    The diminished capacity defense “is not a gimmick…not a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Mazawey said. “There’s nobody that can look at those pictures and the evidence and not see sickness.

    Morris County Executive Assistant Prosecutor Robert Lane said to the jury that the verdict should be a no-brainer.

    Lane said the “viciousness and brutality” of what Zarate did “can only be defined by one word…and that’s murder.”

    I was going to say with any luck the jury will return a guilty verdict but we shouldn’t be relying on luck. The jury has to return a guilty verdict so the Parks family can know justice.

  • Teah Wimberly charged as adult

    Report Shows Text Messages Before Dillard Murder:

    Teah Wimberly has been charged as an adult in the shooting death of classmate Amanda Collete at Dillard High School.

    Court documents have revealed the text messages that Wimberly sent to Amanda prior to the shooting.

    “Tomorrow I will shoot myself in the heart.”

    “I just might get arrested tomorrow.”

    “U gon come visit me in jail”

    “Ima shoot somebody”

    “Ima bust a cap in somebody”

    According to the documents Wimberly admitted to the shooting saying that it was because Amanda ended their friendship without reason. However, some students say it may be because Wimberly had romantic feelings for Amanda but the feeling was not mutual.

    Again I have to reiterate kids that there is no boy or girl that’s worth killing over while you’re in high school. Now there are two lives ruined.

  • Goth girl charged with arranging hit on dad

    15-year-old Danielle Black of Hagerstown, Md. has been charged with soliciting a hit on her father by a classmate. Now the Washington Post article claims that she’s suspected of being part of a clique that likes to drink each other’s blood. The WJLA article just states she’s goth. Most of you know how I feel about The Post so I’m more inclined to believe WJLA.

    Anyway, prosecutors say she enlisted the aid of a classmate to kill her father. However, it wasn’t the kid she asked but another classmate, 19-year-old Alec S. Eger that killed Mr. Black.

    She allegedly told her classmate that her father leaves at 5am every day and where he parks his truck. To make the story more convincing it’s alleged that she told the classmate that her father was abusing her and Eger believed it.

    On the morning of Halloween Eger confronted Mr. Black about the supposed abuse. A scuffle ensued which ended up with Eger stabbing Black to death according to police.

    Police say that there was no evidence that Danielle Black was being abused. Police also say, according to The Post, that the only problem Mr. Black had with anyone was with the goth clique that his daughter hung out with claiming they were cutters and drank each other’s blood. To me, that sounds like a motive.

    Here’s the thing, Danielle Black has been charged as a juvenile. Meanwhile, Eger is looking at first-degree murder charges. As far as I’m concerned she should be charged as an adult since she instigated it. I’m not saying that Eger should be let go but she’s as equally culpable as he is.

    She doesn’t even seem the least bit remorseful for what happened…

    The girl says on her MySpace page that she now lives with her mother: “I used 2 live with my father until he was killed on halloween of this ’08.” A more recent posting says: “wats gonna happen now that everything is settling down? everything is becoming clear nd i got the best ppl in the world. i luv you guys. don’t stop bein u. nd don’t give up on ur self or me.”

    If any of this sounds vaguely familiar to you it should because it sounds almost identical to the case of Kyle Hulbert. Hulbert was duped into killing a girl’s father because of claims of abuse and Kyle is serving a much harsher sentence than the girl also in an area near D.C.

    Washington Post

    WJLA

  • Teen in DC area plot may be charged as adult

    Prosecutors Want Teen Tried as Adult in Bomb Case:

    Prosecutors in Maryland want to charge the 17-year-old cohort of Colin McKenzie-Gude as an adult.

    If you’ll recall McKenzie-Gude was found to be in possession of guns, explosives, fake CIA identification, a list of addresses of his former teachers from St. John’s College High School, and a map of the motorcade that President Bush takes to Camp David.

    The 17-year-old’s attorney said that they hope they can reach a resolution that will allow him to move on with his life. I’m sure they will if they mean life in the federal pen.

  • Finnish cop could be charged over Kauhajoki shooting

    Finnish policeman faces charges over Kauhajoki shooting:

    The Finnish police officer who gave Matti Saari back his guns is likely to be facing charges. The officer returned Sarri’s guns to him the day before the massacre at the Kauhajoki school even after the officer saw Saari’s YouTube videos.

    The officer denies any wrongdoing. Of course, he does. I do not see this going well. He’d probably do better just to apologize and admit what he did was wrong.

  • Jonesboro shooter denied permit

    Westside killer seeks handgun permit:

    Drew Douglas Grant of Evening Shade, Arkansas had applied for a conceal and carry permit but was denied by Arkansas State Police. So why is this newsworthy? It turns out that Drew Douglas Grant is the new legal name of the former Andrew Golden. The same Andrew Golden who participated in the Jonesboro massacre.

    What made him think that request would be approved? I have a gut feeling that he wanted to conceal and carry for his own protection but he had to know that request would never be approved. At least he seems to be taking the legal route rather than just going out and carrying a gun like his cohort Mitchell Johnson.

    The problem now becomes that Golden/Grant’s new identity has been made public which could lead to harassment or even worse vigilantism. Which I would imagine would be his reason for wanting the permit.

    While I believe that Golden/Grant should at least be in prison for life for what he and Johnson did this may just be a case of someone who has actually been rehabilitated. But again in my opinion rehabilitation is the exception and not the rule.