Update on Pennsylvania man who allegedly beat toddler to death with videogame controller

July 14, 2009

The district attorney's office in York County, Pennsylvania, is seeking additional charges against 29-year-old Harve Lamar Johnson, a local man who stands accused of beating a toddler to death with a video game controller.

The case in question dates back to April 6, 2008. On that date, Johnson and his live-in girlfriend, 19-year-old Neida E. Baez, were hanging out inside their West Philadelphia Street home with Baez's 2-year-old daughter, Darisabel Baez. It remains unclear why, but at some point Johnson allegedly snapped, and went after Darisabel.

Roughly 45 minutes later, Darisabel was sprawled out limp and motionless on the floor. Bruises and lacerations covered much of her tiny body.  Lying next to her was the alleged instrument of her pain, a videogame controller, an item meant for fun that had perversely been turned into a tool for inflicting pain and death.

According to police statements, Johnson scooped up Darisabel and carried her into the bathroom, where he placed her in the tub and ran cold water over her in an attempt to wake her, but she did not react. Uncertain about what to do next, Johnson allegedly picked up Darisabel again and carried her into the next room, where he dropped her limp body into her mother's lap.

Baez called 911, and both the police and ambulance personnel responded and rushed Darisabel to Hershey Medical Center, where she was admitted into the critical care unit.

During police questioning, Johnson allegedly admitted to beating Darisabel with the game controller, but offered no motive for the crime. Neida allegedly admitted to hearing her daughter's cries for help, but, like Johnson, offered no reason for the brutal attack and failed to explain why she did not intervene.  As a result of the investigation, Johnson was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. For her part, or lack thereof, Neida was also arrested, and charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

The following day, Darisabel died at the hospital.

During an interview with WGAL-TV, Dauphin County Coroner Graham Hetrick described Darisabel's injuries as the worst case of child abuse he had ever seen. As a result of Darisabel's death, Johnson's charges were upgraded to include homicide.

Assistant district attorneys Timothy Barker and Christopher Moore have since filed an 89-page memorandum, requesting that new evidence be admitted – specifically, new testimony from Dr. Wayne Ross, the pathologist who performed Darisabel's autopsy.

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Oklahoma couple buried, excavated, and kept hiding dead daughter's remains

July 13, 2009

While perusing police and media reports last week, I came across the bizarre case of an Oklahoma couple who allegedly covered up the death of their child for some 15 months. During that time, they buried, exhumed the child, and transported her body across six states nearly a-half-dozen times.

So what drove Abel Travis Wolf, 35, and Denise Ann Wolf, 40, to hide the death of 11-year-old Cheyenne and transport her body a total of 1,900 miles? That's the key question personnel at several law enforcement agencies are trying to answer this week as they continue to sift through the evidence.

According to Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Jessica Brown, authorities became aware of the case on May 9 when relatives of the family contacted Ardmore Police and expressed concerns about Cheyenne's well being, saying that they had not seen her since April 2008. Thus began homicide detective Ruben Garcia's search for answers that led him to six states the family was known to have moved and or travelled to during the 15-month time span. That search eventually led police to a storage facility in Oregon.

On the morning of July 4, detectives with the Umatilla County Sheriff's Office and the Oregon State Police served a search warrant on the Milton-Freewater storage facility, at which time they observed two plastic containers with snap-on lids. Upon removing the lids from the containers, authorities determined the contents were consistent with human decomposition.

"The weight of the containers and the odor that was emitted from them led us to believe there was some type of decaying flesh in them," Umatilla County Sheriff John Trumbo told newsok.com.

Investigators then resealed the containers and transported them 210 miles to the Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office. While awaiting autopsy results, investigators back in Oklahoma tried to determine how the young child, who used leg braces and crutches to walk, may have ended up in the two plastic containers. In an effort to assemble the facts, authorities in Montana – a state the Wolfs recently moved to – picked the couple up and brought them in for police questioning.

According to police affidavits, Abel Wolf said that his family got into an argument one evening in April 2008, when Cheyenne refused to eat her dinner. During the course of the argument, Wolf said that he and another daughter went outside to have a cigarette. Wolf said that roughly 15 minutes later he heard a "thump" and went back inside to investigate, at which time he observed that Cheyenne appeared to be in a daze. Wolf said he examined her pupils and, seeing nothing abnormal, put her to bed.

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New details released in Florida kitty serial killer case

July 09, 2009

A Florida judge has ordered Miami-Dade County prosecutors to make public the arrest affidavit for Tyler Hayes Weinman, an 18-year-old man from Palmetto Bay, Fla., who was arrested last month for his alleged involvement in a series of cat mutilations and killings that occurred in two South Florida communities. The arrest affidavit details 19 of the cat killings and also explains the events and circumstances that ultimately led to Weinman's arrest.

According to the affidavit, investigators had their first contact with Weinman in the early morning hours of May 14. Weinman was walking in the area of Whispering Pines Road in Cutler Bay, when an officer stopped and questioned him. During the brief interview, Weinman was informed of the cat killings, to which he allegedly responded by laughing.

An anonymous source later contacted police and informed them that they saw Weinman walking in the same neighborhood at about 3:00 a.m. Three hours later, a mutilated cat was reportedly found "several feet" from where Weinman had been observed.

The following day, at approximately 12:30 a.m., Weinman was again spotted in the area, this time skateboarding in the direction of Palmetto Bay. He was approached by police a second time and warned about the cat killings, to which he again allegedly responded by laughing. Later that day, police conducted a traffic stop on Weinman when he failed to stop his 2000 Honda Civic at a red light. During the course of the stop, officers found a discarded cutting instrument on the ground near the driver's door. Officers also found a bag containing 1 gram of marijuana. As a result, officers transported Weinman to the Cutler Bay police station, where they booked him on a drug charge and questioned him about the cat killings.

During questioning, investigators noticed Weinman had a "red-colored scratch" on his neck. When questioned about the scratch, Weinman stated that he got it from a stray cat at his mom's house. When asked about other scratches he might have, Weinman said that he had one on his back that he received when a cat climbed on him.

"Weinman was eager to show your affiant these scratches, at which time he removed his shirt and allowed photographs to be taken," the affidavit reads.

During further questioning, Weinman allegedly admitted knowledge of the cat killings and offered information about a biology class he had taken at Palmetto Senior High School, in which students are required to dissect a dead cat.

"Weinman further stated that cats can no longer be obtained for purposes of dissection from a source within the United States," the affidavit reads. "Weinman stated that Mexico is the only source for cats used for the purpose of dissection. Weinman described the size of the felines obtained from Mexico and specified that he had researched the issue and that he learned of the source on the Internet. Your affiant noted that Weinman became excited and animated as he described the cats supplied from Mexico."

Upon sharing his knowledge about the source of feline specimen's, Weinman allegedly demonstrated various methods of dissecting cats and described a "tearing sound" that is made when a cat's skin is torn from its body.

"He elaborated when describing the dissection techniques beyond that which was taught at Palmetto Senior High School that seemed to be consistent with personal experience," the affidavit reads.

When asked what tools the cat killer might be using, Weinman allegedly said he did not know, but suggested they would be "very well hidden." When asked how the cats were being captured, Weinman reportedly said, "They have to be either tranquilized or poisoned."

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