Man Who Allegedly Killed Child with Meat Cleaver Pleads Insanity

April 02, 2009

Before coming to Investigation Discovery, I covered a bizarre case for Crime Library, in which a disturbed man from Ventura County, Calif., was arrested for murdering a child with a meat cleaver. That case has since made its way to court; however the fate of the suspect, 28-year-old Calvin Sharp, remains in limbo, pending a decision on his sanity.

The case in question dates back to Aug. 12, 2007, when Sharp got into a heated argument with a friend, 33-year-old Sandra Ruiz. The crux of the argument centered on Sandra's son, 6-year-old Sev'n Molina [photo here]. Sharp was reportedly angry because he felt the child spent too much time playing video games.

The argument quickly escalated and at one point Sharp allegedly grabbed a meat cleaver and began to wave it about in a threatening manner. Frightened, Sev'n ran out of the apartment to get away from Sharp. Incensed by the boy's actions, Sharp began yelling louder and chased Sev'n outside.

"The little boy was trying to get away. He kept yelling at the boy. He was saying things like die, die, die," neighbor Julia Doryn said in an Aug. 2007 interview with KABC-TV.

Unfortunately, Sev'n was unable to escape. Witnesses say Sharp went into a fit of rage, at which time he brought the meat cleaver down on the child's head. Once the child was incapacitated, Sharp allegedly continued to hack at him with the deadly weapon.

At one point, Sandra attempted to intervene and brazenly put herself between Sharp and her son. Her actions did manage to momentarily distract him; however Sharp quickly refocused his anger and Sandra was unable to escape the swinging cleaver. After slicing Sandra, Sharp again focused his anger on the child and continued to hack at his skull.

Sandra's screams managed to alert her neighbor, Patrick Bowman, who also attempted to intervene, but was unable to get the child away from Sharp. Unsure what to do, Patrick ran into an apartment and called police. While Patrick was on the phone, another neighbor, 53-year-old Diane Cox, ran up and confronted Sharp. An argument ensued, during which Sharp attacked Diane with the cleaver - cutting her face. Undeterred, Cox knocked the cleaver from Sharp's hand, at which point another neighbor tackled him to the ground.

As neighbors attempted to hold Sharp down, a patrol unit arrived on the scene. Unable to subdue Sharp, officers were forced to use a Taser gun on him. The electroshock weapon successfully incapacitated Sharp long enough for police to cuff him and get him into the back of a patrol car.

Once the scene was secure, paramedics began to treat Sev'n; however his injuries proved to be too severe and he died at the scene. Sandra and Diane were then transported to the Los Robles Regional Medical Center, where they received treatment for their wounds.

An autopsy, conducted by the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office, revealed that Sev'n died as a result of multiple "sharp-force head injuries."

When questioned by police, Sharp allegedly told them that he had received messages via a satellite radio, which instructed him to commit the brutal crimes.

During his initial court appearance, Sharp was charged with one count of murder, one count of aggravated mayhem, and two counts of attempted murder. He was also charged with one count of felony cruelty to an animal, in regard to a separate incident, in which he had allegedly killed his dog, Knuckles.

Sharp's arraignment was delayed until March 17, 2009, when he entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. As a result, Superior Court Judge Steven Hintz appointed two mental health professionals to examine Sharp. The judge also set a trial date of July 15.

If convicted, Sharp could face the death penalty. Alternatively, if a jury determines him to be insane, he will be placed in a mental institution, until such time that he is again determined to be sane. If the latter happens, he could eventually be released back into society.

Photo Credit: Calvin Sharp: Police File Photo

Please note: Persons appearing in mug shots may not have not been convicted of the charges for which they are accused and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Comments

[Kim]

Oh my this story is just awful! But reminds me of my cousin. My cousin suffers from mental illness and he too attacked a child with a meat cleaver, the child survived and my cousin was hospitalized for a while and has now been release with some heavy medications. He is a grown man, so who is in charge of making sure he takes the medication everyday and does not return back to how he was before? Is the judge that released him going to do that? The hospital? The probation officer?

Scary. Lets just say we were never really close.

[tamara]

WHEN ARE PEOPLE EVER GOING TO LEARN!!!!! Violence against animals leads to violence against people!!!!!!!!!!! As a mother (and a human being), my heart just bleeds for this mother. I cannot begin to imagine loosing my own daughter, but so see it happen in front of my own eyes in such a brutal fashion.....I think I would literally loose my mind. This is too horrible to wrap my mind around.

[briana]

this is so sick...I think we all live in our little bubbles going through life and forget that there are sickos like tthis guy out in the world...thank you for reminding us...I'm so sorry for the mother who lost her little boy!

[pak31]

I would be really interested to know if this guy ever displayed any signs of violence in front of the mother before. My heart breaks for this woman but it makes me wonder why women befriend these types of guys. Especially when you have a child to protect. If this was the first time that he ever acted like this then that is one thing but if not, then I just don't see how you can allow someone like that around your children. No one deserves what that boy went through and no mother deserves to go through that either. I hope this guy is put away forever, insane or not.

[briana]

what is going on with this case?this man chose a meat clever to kill a child and now says he was insane? bull!he needs to be on death row with all the other child killer,scumbags...was he insane before this incident?did he abuse the mom or little boy before this happened?If you are with someone and they abuse you they may abuse your child be aware and get out!this is a sign that he is a sick person...and needs help and meds.

[Molina]

This person needs to be put down for what he did. Why is his trial taking so long? Is it because he brutally murdered a child of a lesser color in America's eyes. If my nephew would have been white this guy would have tried the same year and found guilty and my nephew would have gotten the attention he deserved. Mr.Sharp will get the help he deserves, the help to get to HELL for what he has done and the angel he took away. ANYONE WHO HARMS A CHILD FOR WHATEVER REASON DESERVES NOTHING LESS THAN DEATH. And yes that would make the family feel better because I'm smiling with joy of the destruction of this animal.

[Christina]

It has been over 2 years now and this man is still going to trial for this demonic insinuated offensive crime! Why hasnt this case been broadcasted from every media across the nation?! If this precious ANGEL would have been of white descent you would still be hearing about it!
How can you really know who you befriend now in days? Do you honestly think that the mother of this child would bring this man within a ten feet if she would have known the fate of her only son?!
The answer to that is HELL NO! I know this family very personaly! I can testify to say that this little boy (MY NEPHEW) was the air that his mother breathed! SO dont assume anything do something about it!!

[csh_sd]

Calvin Sharp was a childhood friend of my brother and he never displayed signs of violence before this awful attack.

I did not know Calvin into his adulthood, although my brother remained acquainted with him and even spoke with him a few weeks before the murder.

While I don't agree with the insanity plea, I do know that Calvin had fallen into very serious drug abuse. It's difficult to absolve people who commit heinous crimes by reason of drug abuse, however, I can safely say that if not under the influence of drugs, this terrible crime wouldn't have happened.

I google Calvin's name periodically to see how the trial is progressing and I can agree with Christina that this has gone on way too long and if blacks and browns were not involved, more attention would have been paid to this tragedy.

[j.stephen.h]

So if drugs were a factor and possibly contributed to the criminal act, why the insanity plea? Why not diminished capacity? Either way I dont care what his "Excuse" is...He needs to be fried for what he did.

Society is becoming far too tolerant of these types,..constantly trying to find new ways to justify their behaviors....(so much that it distracts from the victims and their families getting JUSTICE)

[wow]

It is nothing but insanity.
Just like anyone else who truly knew Calvin...
they would say...
no way was he in his right mind at that moment.
nobody will ever truly know...
but the man who committed those murders was not my brother...
on the other hand...Calvin is. Everybody put your gavels away.
Only God can judge him now...to hell with Ventura County and Investigation Discovery. Everybody doesnt deserve an Insane Plea...but he's made his...and its for a reason!