Child abuse at Lake Alice in New Zealand is one of the topics the Age reported about in 2008. “Disgraced former psychiatrist Selwyn Leeks” had lost his appeal against a former patient. Leeks had to pay $55’000 in damages for sexual assault. Leeks had been under investigation for using electric shock aversion therapy in the 70s […]
Child Abuse
The Epuni Boys Home
The Epuni Boys Home in New Zealand was not a home at all. And just because you were in the care of the State did not mean that you were treated well. We saw in the previous post “Child Abuse in State Care” that some State Care Facilities were riddled with mismanagement, failing human resource standards, […]
Child Abuse in State Care
Child Abuse in State Care may not seem a logical topic to discuss on this blog where unsolved homicides and wrongful convictions dominate. However, criminal justice and human rights defense are my background. As such, it is a perfect fit. New Zealand is facing international scrutiny for widespread child abuse of children who were placed […]
Recap #CrimeChat Oct 25, 2013
Recap #CrimeChat Oct 25, 2013 with Shaun Kaufman & Colleen Collins a.k.a. the Writing PIs. It is always a pleasure to talk to these two. There are always new stories, new books they are working on, and they have a great sense of humour. While Shaun was driving home from court, Colleen and I started […]
Adam has been identified
“The five-year-old’s identity has remained a mystery after he was smuggled into Britain and murdered in a voodoo-style ritual killing. He was drugged with a ‘black-magic’ potion and sacrificed before being thrown into the Thames, where his torso washed up next to the Globe Theatre in September 2001. Detailed analysis of a substance in the boy’s […]
Update on Adam
We have a tentative identification on Adam, the name given to the boy’s torso found in the Thames, UK. “A boy of six whose torso was found mutilated in the Thames has been identified ten years later. The tragic lad has been named as Ikpomwosa, from Nigeria, and a picture of him was released. Detectives believe […]
Riley Fox’s murderer gets life
Riley Fox’ murderer Scott Eby’s plea bargain was accepted yesterday by Will County (IL) Judge Richard Schoenstedt. Before his sentence, Eby rose and addressed the courtroom briefly. He apologized to Riley‘s parents saying that he wished he could trade his life to bring her back. In June of 2004, the body of Riley Fox(3) was pulled from a […]
Update Amber Nicklas Case
Amber Nicklas remains in protective custody in Los Angeles and it was not clear if she will be reunited with her foster parents. Authorities have not released any names or filed any charges but continue to investigate. “This girl was taken away from the only parents and family that she knows yesterday,” said Phoenix police […]
Riley Fox: Ignored Evidence
Looking back in the Riley Fox case it is always easier to point out how many mistakes police made during that investigation. Some goof-ups need to be exposed especially since it could have prevented an even bigger one. This ignored piece of evidence in the case of Riley Fox could have spared her father a […]
Riley Fox case solved
An imprisoned sex offender will be charged with the 2004 murder of 3-year-old Riley Fox, a crime that Riley’s father originally confessed to committing. It’s been a terrible ordeal for the family because even with DNA clearing Kevin in 2005, many people persisted in the belief that he was guilty,” Kathleen Zellner, the Fox family’s […]
Riley Fox: still unsolved
An appeals court agreed with a federal jury’s 2007 finding that Will County Police framed Kevin Fox for the rape and murder of his 3-year-old daughter Riley Fox, but reduced the damages awarded to Fox and his wife from $12.2 million to $8 million. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals chastised the investigators on the […]