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Archives > Volume 9 Issue 9 - March 2, 2011 Garridos give full confession in Jaycee Dugard kidnapping...Phillip and Nancy Garrido, the suspects in the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard, have given full confessions to authorities, a defense lawyer said Monday. CBS News story here 
The revelation came as prosecutors and defense lawyers have opened negotiations on a possible plea deal with the defendants that would avert the need for a trial.
Attorney Stephen Tapson, who represents defendant Nancy Garrido, told reporters outside court that he was there when his client and her husband, Phillip Garrido, were re-interviewed by detectives during the past month. They acknowledged snatching Dugard, then 11, from a South Lake Tahoe street then answered dozens of questions about the 18 years they spent with her and her two daughters fathered by defendant Phillip Garrido, Tapson said. "Essentially they confessed to kidnapping and told where all the bodies are buried," Tapson said, characterizing the disclosures as "full confessions." Nancy Garrido, 55, has pleaded not guilty to 18 felony counts that include false imprisonment, rape and child pornography. Her husband had been scheduled to enter a plea Monday, but his lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Susan Gellman, asked to postpone the arraignment until March 17. Gellman would not confirm or deny Tapson's account. Tapson said the defendants have not worked out a plea deal, but prosecutors have proposed sentencing Phillip Garrido to 440 years in prison and his wife to more than 241 years. The lawyer says Dugard was present during one of Nancy Garrido's interviews, apparently the first time the women had been face-to-face since the couple was arrested in 2009. For more on this story, see vol8_iss17, vol8_iss12, vol7_iss68, vol7_iss48, vol7_iss49, vol7_iss50, and vol7_iss59. In other news... 
A central California man was sentenced to three life sentences in prison for torturing a boy who was burned and beaten while being held captive for more than a year. MSNBC story here Anthony Waiters, 31, was the only one of four defendants to be tried on charges that included holding Kyle Ramirez captive inside a Tracy home where Ramirez said he was kept shackled to furniture. Waiters, a former youth football coach who didn't testify during his trial, told San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Terrence Van he was innocent and has love and respect for "Mr. Kyle" and his family. A jury convicted Waiters in November of torture, kidnapping, child abuse and false imprisonment. He was ordered to serve the three life sentences concurrently and will be eligible for parole after nearly 19 years. Waiters' neighbors - Michael Schumacher; Schumacher's wife, Kelly Layne Lau; and the teen's then-legal guardian, Caren Ramirez - are serving at least 30 years in prison after accepting plea deals. See more at vol7_iss9, vol6_iss75, and vol6_iss76.
In real life, Steven Demink didn't have children, a college degree or a lasting career. Online, prosecutors say, he presented himself as Dalton St. Clair, an attractive single father and psychologist - a fantasy image authorities say the Michigan man used to persuade mothers across the country to commit unspeakable acts on their children. AP story here Demink, 41, of Redford Township, preyed on single mothers for more than a year, prosecutors say, convincing them to sexually assault their children as a form of therapy. After pleading guilty to six charges related to the sexual exploitation of children, Demink faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced in June. Demink's alter-ego was a single father of a 14-year-old girl, prosecutors said, and he posted pictures of male models as his headshots. In some cases, court documents say, Demink promised the women a date if they followed through with his directions. Since authorities arrested him in October, seven children were rescued and at least three mothers have been arrested. Prosecutors say all of the children are now safe.
A new study suggests that spending time with the online you -- the one with the hundreds of friends, the witty status updates and all the unflattering photos untagged -- might help your self-esteem. Researchers at Cornell University, who conducted the study, say looking at Facebook, where we all tend to put our best digital foot forward, appears to provide a quick ego boost. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking." For more on Facebook, visit eGuide/facebook. For more on self esteem, visit eGuide/self_esteem.
U.S. pediatricians are adding their medical clout to legislation to ban children younger than 18 from tanning salons, citing rising rates of skin cancer and the risk of eye damage. USA Today story here "The intensity of UVR [ultraviolet rays] radiation produced by some tanning units can be 10 to 15 times higher than the midday sun," the American Academy of Pediatricians wrote in a news release issued today. The World Health Organization, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Dermatology have already called for such a ban.
Prosecutors in the upcoming murder trial of Casey Anthony, the young mother who is charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee in 2008, have decided not to use a secret recording of what they say is Anthony's reaction to the discovery of her daughter's remains months after her disappearance. CBS News story here The decision was announced Monday, just days before scheduled arguments about whether the tape should be allowed in court, according to CBS affiliate WKMG. *for access to member only sites like the New York Times, use the ID "JohnDoeID" and the password "whatever". On sites asking for an email address, feel free to use "info@childprotectionprogram.org" |
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