David Kromer Found Dead at Ohio Resort

November 11, 2009

Authorities in Ohio discovered the body of 56-year-old David L. "Jody" Kromer at a Vermilion Township resort this afternoon. According to officials with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, it appeared Kromer died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Kromer was wanted in connection with the kidnapping and murder of 58-year-old Carla Westhofen, a woman whose body was found dumped in a Pennsylvania field last weekend.

"Instead of causing more harm to other people, I’m glad he did it to himself," Carla's son, Todd Dahnke, told morningjournal.com. "It sounds morbid to say, but this is probably the best news we’ve had in a week."

Related Link:
Body of Missing Ohio Woman Found in Rural Pennsylvania Field

Photo Credit: Police file photo

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Verdict Announced in Rekha Kumari-Baker Murder Trial

September 22, 2009

Last week I brought you the story of Rekha Kumari-Baker, a 41-year-old woman from the United Kingdom who recently went on trial for the 2007 murders of her two teenage daughters. The jury finished its deliberations in the case, and a verdict was announced yesterday.

During the two-week trial, prosecutors told the Cambridge Crown Court jury how Kumari-Baker murdered 16-year-old Davina Michelle Baker and 13-year-old Jasmine Baker in cold blood on the morning of June 13, 2007. Prosecutor John Farmer said that Kumari-Baker had launched a "frenzied" attack on the girls while they slept, stabbing them multiple times.

Farmer told the jury that Kumari-Baker killed her daughters because she was unhappy over the custody arrangement she had with her ex-husband. She disliked his new partner, and she resented the close relationship he had with the girls. The murders were, according to Farmer, intended to "wreak havoc in [David Baker's] life."

Kumari-Baker's lawyers did not attempt to deny she had killed her children. Instead, they argued that she suffered from a mental abnormality, which diminished her responsibility. They hoped she would be found guilty of nothing more than manslaughter.

The jury in the case deliberated for just 35 minutes yesterday before announcing that they had unanimously found Kumari-Baker guilty on both counts of murder.

During today's sentencing hearing, Farmer read extracts from a victim impact statement that was written by the girl's father, David Baker. It read in part:

"My words may not be sufficient. Having them taken away from me in such a brutal way and by the woman who was their mother has had an incalculable effect. I am haunted by the horror of the events of that night and probably will remain so for a long time."

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Arizona teen sentenced in father's senseless murder

August 05, 2009

One of the crimes covered here last year was the case of a teenage boy from Mesa, Arizona, who police say murdered his father because he banned him from accessing the Internet. That case has since gone to trial and a verdict has been reached.

For those of you not familiar with the case, 15-year-old Hughstan Schlicker called 911 on Feb. 6, 2008 and allegedly confessed to the dispatcher that he had shot and killed his father, 49-year-old Theodore Schlicker III.

"I hate my dad. [I] couldn't take it anymore," he said.

Schlicker said he was angry and depressed because his dad had banned him from accessing the Internet. Schlicker explained the reason for the ban was because his father had discovered suicide notes he had posted on MySpace.com. The lack of Internet access upset Schlicker, who claimed he often spent entire days online communicating with friends.

"It felt like I was stabbed with a knife and it went straight through and no matter how hard I pulled, I couldn't pull out the knife," Schlicker said during an interview with police.

Schlicker told police he had initially planned on punishing his father by shooting himself in front of him but then changed his mind and decided to shoot his father first, before turning the gun on himself.

Schlicker told police two different versions of how the shooting occurred. In the first, he allegedly said he intentionally shot and killed his father. However, in the second version he said it was an accident.

"It's like I was there, I wanted, I was so mad at my dad I wanted to shoot him and I couldn't really 'cause when it came down to it he was my dad. And then the dog came by and she tapped my leg and ... if I did look over I probably wouldn't have pulled the trigger."

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