Amber’s Thanksgiving

By Sheryl McCollum



Editor's note:  Although this post ran originally at Thanksgiving, 2009, January 13 marks the day that Amber was taken from her family.  We are running it again in her honor and in honor of the Amber Alert system created in her name.

Amber Hagerman would have turned 23 on Wednesday, November 25^th, 2009.  You may not know her name but you certainly know the system that was created for her: the Amber Alert.

On January 13, 1996, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was riding her bicycle, along with her brother, near her grandparent’s home.  A neighbor heard her scream and saw Amber being abducted.  The neighbor witnessed a man pull Amber off her bike, throw her into the front seat of his pickup truck, and drive away at a high rate of speed. The neighbor called police and provided a description of the suspect and his vehicle. Local radio and television stations covered the story in their regular newscasts.  From that sad day,  the Amber Alert System was developed in an effort to get information out fast to as many people as possible in an attempt to locate and recover abducted children.

On November 23, 2009, an Amber Alert was issued for 2-month old Catalin Hoard.  Police were able to spot the suspect’s truck and give chase.  The suspect stopped the vehicle, got out and ran.  The child was found in the truck and unharmed.  Catalin is now safe and back with her mother.  

On November 24, 2009, an Amber Alert was issued for a 1-month old little boy in South Carolina.  Little Angel Miguel Perez was taken from inside his mother’s car in front of a post office. Witnesses came forward with a description of the suspect, and the police were able to locate Angel alive and unharmed.

On Amber’s birthday, November 25, 2009, an Amber Alert was issued for a 2-year-old boy in Kansas.  Hayden was reported missing when his grandmother took him out of town.  The grandmother has mental health issues and was believed to be off  her medication at the time of the abduction.  Hayden Lane Potter was subsequently found safe and in good condition on the same day that the alert was issued.

Because of Amber Hagerman and the events that happened on that fateful day in 1996, the lives of 3 small, defenseless children were probably saved.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2009 I called and spoke with Amber’s mother.  I wanted to let her know that we were thinking about her and were remembering Amber.  Amber’s mom was sweet, kind and grateful.  She was ill and spending Thanksgiving alone as to not make anyone else in her family sick.  She was not sad or bitter – she was just thankful for the call and told me to please let my students at the college know how much their cold case work meant to her. 

As I hung-up the phone, I thought not of the past 13 years without Amber, but the past 3 days of located and recovered children.

Today, I am thankful for Amber Hagerman.

Justice Exists For All: "Minus the State Of Oklahoma"

By Susan Murphy Milano

"The purpose of the Eleventh Commandment is to maintain the promise that justice exists for all; that no one should be able to subvert, avoid, or deceive the due process of law. Whether it involves affecting change in elected office, statuatory process or public opinion, the Eleventh Commandment will be there. There are those who may attempt it, but thou shalt not get away with it"

In the state of Oklahoma, specifically Garvin County, justice has literally been removed, erased whatever you would like to call it for the families of Chanda Turner and Shiela Deviney. Both of these women lost their lives as a direct result of intimate partner homicide. The elected officials, law enforcement and political powers in the State of Oklahoma have not only decided never to investigate, bring forth charges and arrest the husband and boyfriend in these cases. But they gave each of the suspects the blessing allowing them to tamper with crime scene evidence after each murder, right under the nose and likely with the old west mentality of law enforcement.

The Sheriff' in my opinion has used everything in its' corrupt and crooked magic bag to harass and personally threaten each of the families. It is likely the Garvin County Sheriff's office is still operating under 1850's old west procedures when it relates to the murdering of a wife and a girlfriend. The current Sheriff might want to change the language on its' current website it reads "the office of the sheriff is one of antiquity. It is the oldest law enforcement known within the common-law system and it has always been accorded great dignity and trust."

CHANDA TURNER, just 23 years old, was shot to death at her home in Paul's Valley on July 12, 2000. Her boyfriend claimed she shot herself while he slept through the sound of gunfire, then found her outside on the backsteps after she was dead. Crime scene photos depict blood throughout the inside of the home, including on the mattress he claimed he was asleep on. The mattress had been stripped of sheets; no one asked where they went. There were more signs of clean-up in the bedroom, including a bottle of cleaning solution on the floor. The boyfriend had fresh scratches on his arms, and Chanda was covered in bruises. There were signs of a struggle in the livingroom, including broken furniture.

Sheila Deviney, 30, died on Jan. 6, 2004 when her trailer house, located about one mile east and one mile south of Maysville, Oklahoma, burned to the ground. She was murdered. It should be no surprise that Sheila was married to an abusive controlling man. They had a court date over past due child scheduled the next day. According to eye witnesses, her ex-husband was at the trailer, although divorced, and by law not allowed on the premises, he and another friend destroyed evidence and took items from the home.

Where are my manners? I forgot to discuss the "participation" more like spitting in a spitoon of the District Attorney's office, both past and current administrations's have been non-existent. The office refuses to open the cases. They will not take calls from the families who have important documents and information. They refuse to give a damn!

Perhaps it has something to do with the person whom now heads up the investigations for the District Attorney's office? Oh wait I remember now, he was an investigator on both the Chanda Turner and the Sheila Deviney case's.

Because of the blatant disregard for justice not only in these 2 murders but through out the state a newly formed alliance of concerned and committed citizens was created and appropriately titled the "Eleventh Commandment" to counter a growing plague of police corruption, political apathy and administrative malfeasance all of which played a part in the untimely murders of a number of local citizens which have yet to be solved.

Their Mission: is to maintain the promise that justice exists for all; that no one should be able to subvert, avoid, or deceive the due process of law. The members and supporters of this organization work tirelessly to uphold the lawful efforts of legitimate law enforcement officers, district attorneys, judges and the zealous advocates in the public defenders office as well as congressional legislators and the common man. They also work just as fiercely to expose those who would corrupt our way of life with vice, graft, corruption, deceipt, brutality and murder.

We can all take a page or two from the families in these cases. When the bolder was dropped at the door to enter the legal system on their journey for justice, they refused give up.

In addition,the newly formed team of “Intimate Partner Homicide Investigation” with Sheryl McCollum, Director of the Cold Case Institute, Holly Hughes, former Atlanta Prosecutor turned defense attorney and Susan Murphy Milano have joined the battle cry seeking justice in both of these women’s cases. We aired and presented each case over the past 2 weeks on blogtalk radio. Our broadcasts alone was in our opinion more than enough to have both the Turner and Deviney case re-opened.

According to Sheryl McCollum “although we will never know what forensic evidence was present because the crime scene was not secured properly in either of the cases, other evidence provided is more than enough to investigate and demand each case be re-opened.”

McCollum goes on to say and in Chanda Turner’s case “ We know from photographs that there was blood spatter evidence that was not considered, we know from forensic reports that there was primer residue evidence that was ignored.

Defense Attorney Holly Hughes and a former prosecutor out of Atlanta believes that the Gavin County Prosecutor in refusing to open both the Turner and Deviney cases is" covering up for those who did not properly do their jobs. It is clear from the photo's of the fire in the Deviney case that the "good old boys" will not prevail."

"Heads are about to roll as we along with our interactive sponsor Websleuths.com bust these 2 cases wide open. Perhaps the Prosecutor has a memory lapse, practing his own version of "blue light special" justice forgetting that he was elected by the people, taking an oath, placing his hand on the bible, swearing to do a job and ensure justice."

And one final note to the Law Enforcement and Prosecutors of Garvin County, as a veteran with over 20 years experience in Intimate Partner Homicide, I will not allow you nor anyone else to continue "pissing" as you have on the graves of Sheila Deviney and Chanda Turner. I am not fearful of your threats to locate and silence me. It did not work in 1989, when my father a violent crimes detective murdered my mother.

This blog gentlemen says it all for each of you "Time's Up."

Buyer Beware!

By Sheryl McCollum

Former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor (LT) was lied to by an underage hooker!  This is shocking.  What is the world coming to when a pimp will miss lead a John over a $300 sex job.  I am disgusted that a married man with three daughters can’t slip into a hotel with a hooker – have his manly needs met and go to sleep without begin harassed by the police for not knowing her age. Everyone knows that black eyes make you look older. 

He risked diseases, having his reputation tarnished as well as that pesky adultery thing brought up.  This was a simple business transaction – not the crime of the century.  The pimp may have needed to persuade the teenage hooker to perform sex acts by beating her before taking her to Taylors hotel room – nothing personal just business.  

The hooker was a runaway.  The pimp gave her a place to stay for only $150 a week as well as a job.  These men were helping her.  She was beginning trained in the oldest profession.  How many young girls dream of becoming a big city hooker?  This is a real life “Pretty Women”.  

Lawrence Taylor went out of his way to help this young hooker.  He found a pimp.  Arranged a deal on a certain date, time and location.  He left his house in order to meet the pimp and hooker on time.  He paid for a hotel room in the state he lives in.  This was more than a $300 deal for him.  Then to think he was lied to by a criminal that he sought out, a criminal that he gave money to in good faith.  He had to have sex with a very young beat up hooker.  This couldn’t have been what he wanted.  

Sad to think after beating cocaine addiction and other demons LT is facing rape charges.  He is suffering other negative effects such as Nutrisystem, the weight loss company, announced Friday that it is cutting ties with Taylor, who had been one of its spokesmen.

His bond is $75,000.  He is losing endorsements.  The fact remains that she took the cash and gave it to her pimp and Lord knows what she was wearing.  She went to his hotel room he did not go to her.  How is this his fault?  

The world has gone to hell when a married man with three daughters can’t buy an underage piece of ass without facing prison time!

Buyer Beware!

Where is Haleigh Cummings? Tommy Croslin is Key to Cracking Case!

 By Sheryl McCollum

With all the theories surrounding the disappearance of Haleigh Cummings – not one involves a stranger!  They all involve the same principle players: Misty Crosling, Tommy Croslin, Joe Overstreet and Ronald Cummings.

Listen to the 911 tape.  The father is NOT out looking for his child.  He makes threats, cusses at the operator, and calls Misty a bitch.  There is no doubt in his mind the child has been taken. 

Misty, during this call, can not provide a date of birth, the child's weight nor details of what happened.  She can however describe the “brick” perfectly. 

There is a van that was “moved” and had a “scratch” all the way down the side.  Every one of the players had access to the van.  They have all driven it and it would have evidence in it. 

Tommy Croslin is Misty’s brother.  He provides no information to police about Haleigh’s disappearance.  He is arrested on a matter not related to Haliegh. Suddenly, he remembers going over to the house the night she went missing.  He states he knocks on the door and no one answers.  People: he places himself at the crime scene!

Then Misty and Ronald marry.  They get separate lawyers.  Misty fails a polygraph.  Ronald is arrested for assault against Tommy.  Misty gets a TPO against Tommy.  Misty and Ronald divorce.  Misty is robbed while buying drugs.  Take time to listen to that 911 call.  She is frantic and scared.  She sounds very different than the 911 call involving Haleigh. 

Then all three, Tommy, Misty and Ronald are arrested selling and trafficking drugs!  They are working together.  Some say that Ronald only did the drug sales to stay close to Misty.  Marrying her was not close enough?  He is working undercover on his own child’s murder by selling drugs with the top suspect? They have been in jail since January on multiple charges stemming from the drug bust.

They are searching water where Tommy is known to dump deer carcass.  They took Misty to the dock where she pointed and showed law enforcement the area.  Tommy was in the police car waiting for her.  Tommy is the common factor in every situation. 

Tommy talked first. Tommy will talk again.  Time is on the side of justice.  He is the key to the truth.

Sheryl McCollum, MS
Director
Cold Case Investigative Research Institute 
 

Why Not Survivors?

By Sheryl McCollum 

They are often called leaders, the “old guard”, civil rights legends, the “last from the movement”, witnesses, but never are they called survivors of homicide.  I had the privilege of hearing Andrew Young speak on April 3, 2010 marking the 42nd anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination.

Andrew Young is the former Mayor of Atlanta, Former Congressman and Former Ambassador to the UN; but before all of that he was Martin’s friend. Andrew Young was with Martin in Memphis when he was shot on that balcony.  He still misses his friend.

Rev. Billy Kyles was standing right next to Dr. King when that fatal shot rang out.  “I wondered for many years, I don’t know how long, why was I there at that crucial moment.” The Reverend Samuel Kyles, best known as Billy, pauses. “I knew it was more than coincidence. I just didn’t know what.”   Forty years later, Kyles says, he still doesn’t have the words for what he experienced on 4 April 1968. Standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, he watched as his friend and fellow preacher, Dr. Martin Luther King, was shot and killed.   

Dr. King said in his last speech: “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain, and I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land”.  Rev Kyles says now that “God revealed to me why I was there,” he says. “Crucifixions have to have witnesses.” And so, he speaks today, not to describe his own feelings but to tell the story, again and again.

Andrew Young was just 36 years old.  Jesse Jackson was only 27.  Rev. Kyle’s was but 33.  These were young men. 

They were young and they were friends.  Dr. King said that Ralph Abernathy was the best friend he had in this world.  They did everything together.  They marched; they shared motel rooms, jail cells and family time together with their wives and children.  Abernathy went to jail for Dr. King and the movement 44 times.  How many of us have a friend that believes in us enough to go to jail with us or for us 44 times?  Dr. King died in Abernathy’s arms. 

These men were not simply eye witnesses to a murder – they are survivors of homicide.  As victims of crime go these men are among the most famous. Because of their fame and notoriety they often are ask to talk about what happened on that fateful day.  They are rarely afforded the right not to speak about it.  Never have I ever heard anyone say can you? Are you able?  Instead questions start flying about the events of April 4, 1968.

They will be asked to tell they stories again and again like Rev. Kyle’s said and they will speak about the events not their feelings or trauma but please remember the next time you heard from one of these men they are not just talking about the famous civil rights leader but they are talking about their friend.

Sheryl McCollum, MS
Director
Cold Case Investigative Research Institute 

Are You Ready For Some Accusations! Ben Roethlisberger?

By Sheryl McCollum

Twice in less than a year Ben Roethlisberger is accused of sexual assault!  Do we have a pattern? 

His agent released the following statement: “Obviously, given the prior accusation against Ben, we are skeptical of motive, but we will continue to cooperate with everyone involved.”  I am less skeptical of her motive than I am of his behavior.  The victim went to the hospital.  They collected evidence.  There was either evidence of sexual assault or not.  There was either the presence of semen or not.  The DNA will either match the accused or not.  The victim either had vaginal injuries or not.  Is there evidence of a sexually transmitted disease?  If she is lying it will come out.  If he is a rapist it will come out.

Instead of questioning her motives lets question his motives.  Did he just want to dance?  Was he just thirsty?  Why would a two time super bowl quarterback who is currently being sued for rape allow himself to be alone with a 20 year old in a bar drinking?  Should he not be on his best behavior now?  At least until the rape case is over? Instead of keeping out of trouble he goes out drinking, and has sex in a bathroom with a female he just met.  Yea, nothing could go wrong with that behavior, Ben! 

Ben Roethlisberger is 6’5 and weighs 241 pounds.  He plays an aggressive sport for a living.  He could overpower the victim with ease.  The victim stated she went to the ladies room where Roethlisberger followed in behind her and assaulted her.  Police will review tape from the security camera.  They have talked with Roethlisberger once and will review the evidence and talk with him again before filing charges.  What if he stated he did not have sex with the victim but his DNA was there?  What if he said he had sex with the victim but it was consensual but injury was present?

The first accuser stated that after the rape he became concerned about cameras.  Is this why he moved to assaulting in the female restroom – no cameras? 

Best case scenario is he went out drinking with friends and had sex with a young women in the bathroom.  Very classy Ben!  He placed himself in a situation to be accused of a sexual assault while on trial for another assault. Where is this guy’s publicist?  Worst case scenario is he raped second young women.

The Chief of Security Guy Hyder, for the Casino where the first alleged raped occurred stated: 'I figured that was what was wrong, but I thought it was just like a date rape thing”.   We all know it’s not "real" rape if you were on a date(wrong!) – they weren’t on a date by the way.  She was working at the hotel when Roethlisberger called her up to his room to fix the TV sound.  When the victim arrived she found the TV in perfect working order.  Roethlisberger then, according to the accuser, refused to let her leave the room and raped her on the bed.

Time will tell if Roethlisberger is a rapist or just an idiot.

Ben Roethlisberger has not yet been charged with a crime. 

Sheryl McCollum, MS
Director
Cold Case Investigative Research Institute 


UPDATE 3/11

Roethlisberger Admits Sexual "Contact"

Of course this is the best defense ploy. To me that means he knows there is DNA evidence on the vicitm -- best defense for rape to to say you had sex with her consentually -- the evidence should be there then --

Roethlisberger's lawyer, Ed Garland, maintains his client will emerge from the incident with his reputation intact. "We intend to finish this case in a way that neither his liberty nor his future is damaged," garland told reporters. 

Roethlisberger is also being sued by a woman who claims he raped her at a Lake Tahoe hotel/casino last year, an allegation he strongly denies. 

Natalee Holloway: Re-injury Cycle

By Sheryl McCollum

How much more does Beth and Dave have to endure from this guy?  Joran Van der Sloot has confessed yet again.  He now claims to have “dumped her in a swamp”.  This is their baby he is talking about.  The media of course seizes on this story with frenzy.  This information surfaced in 2009 but we are just hearing about it as though it is breaking developments. Its old news and Aruba will do nothing with it – standard procedure from them.

What does this latest “confession” mean?  Is this last “confession” enough to convict him?  Could it be that he is trying to get on TV?  Is he trying to send searchers away from where the body is?  Is he just hurting the people who loved Natalee?  Is he just a pathological liar?  Does he know where Natalee’s body was disposed of but gets off during every search?   

Review

·       May 30, 2005 Natalee missed flight home

·       Early morning hours was seen leaving a bar with Van der Sloot

·       Last Known Person Seen with Victim

·       At first Van der Sloot claims was he did not know Natalee

·       Then claimed she was drunk and preformed oral sex on him

·       Then he stated he dropped her off at the Holiday Inn

·       Days later he fingered two black hotel security guards

·       June 5^th the security guards sre arrested

·       June 9^th 10 days after Natalee disappearance Van der Sloot is arrested

·       On June 10, 2005, Joran claimed that the Kalpoes dropped him off at his house and drove off with Natalee.

·       On June 11, the Kalpoes said they actually left Joran and Natalee at the beach

·       On June 17, police arrested Steven Croes, a local disc jockey who played music at bars and on a party boat called the Tattoo. Croes was a friend of Joran and Deepak and backed up their story that they had dropped Natalee off at the Holiday Inn after riding around the island in Deepak's car.

·       Ten days later a judge decided that although Croes had lied to police, he wasn't directly tied to Natalee's disappearance.

·       June 18 and 19, Aruban police spent a total of seven hours questioning Joran's father, a lawyer who was training to become a judge. Four days later the police arrested him.

·       On June 26, without explanation, a fellow judge ordered Paulus van der Sloot released from custody

·       Joran said he lied about taking Natalee back to her hotel because he was scared. "I didn't want anyone to know," he told ABC News. "I didn't want anyone to know I left her at the beach. I lied because, yeah, I was scared. I had a girlfriend at the time. I didn't want my dad to think bad of me. I didn't want my friends to think bad of me."

·       In another version of the story, this one reported by Jossy Mansur, editor of the Aruban newspaper Diario, Joran told police investigators that he suspected Deepak may have returned to the beach after dropping him off at home.

·       According to the police report the suspect J.A.P. van der Sloot, the suspect D. Kalpoe had returned to the girl after having left her sleeping on the beach. To our question to the suspect J.A.P. van der Sloot what he thought had happened between the girl Natalee Holloway and the suspect D. Kalpoe, he declared that he thought that the suspect D. Kalpoe raped and killed the girl. To solve the problem, Joran again adjusted his story. He said he walked home from the beach, a 30 to 40 minute walk.

·       Later, Joran changed his story again. He called Deepak for a ride, he said, but Satish picked him up instead, in Deepak's car.

·       Then on August 26, Aruban cops arrested the Kalpoes again, citing "new facts and circumstances" that implicated the brothers and others in "premeditated murder and rape." Six days later, on September 1, a judge ordered the police to release Joran. The next day, the judge ordered the release of the Kalpoe brothers.

·       On April 27, a team of 20 Dutch forensic investigators began two days of searching and digging at the van der Sloot estate on Aruba.

·       Jordan writes a book about the case 2007

·       February 3, 2008 Van der Sloot “Confessed” in vehicle on an undercover camera that Natalee began convulsing and died and a friend disposed of the body

·       An Aruban Judge denied the arrest warrant based on the tapes

·       November 2008 Van der Sloot gave an interview where he stated he sold Natalee into “white slavery” and his father paid off police officers

·       February 2010 it was reported that Van der Sloot “Confessed” to a friend in 2009 that he “dumped her in the marsh”

·       Aruban authorities dismiss this latest information as “unbelievable”

Aruban authorities have dismissed every single bit of evidence and did not look for others. 

Joran’s home was not searched until June 15, 2005.  What could be covered up, destroyed or altered in just over 15 days? 

This case is a textbook study for re-victimization.  The arrogance of the number one suspect only compounds the damage.  Every “confession” and lie was just retracted as though it was no big deal.  He has stated that he would “hate Natalee” if he met her for putting him through this.  The title of his book refers to what happened to him.  He stated he was “shaking the bitch” on the beach saying “what’s wrong with you man”.  Now that daddy is gone and can’t pay off police and can’t stop Joran from running his mouth will we get another confession soon?