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DIVORCE, BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS, AND OTHER LEGAL ISSUES AFFECTING CHILDREN OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
CHILD ABUSE COURT CASES
Non-Sexual Type Child Abuse Cases
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January 2020 Submission/Edited
Fourth generation Jehovah's Witness Boy has sent us a submission which has been one of the most uncomfortable true stories that we have studied and edited for publication. Initially, before receiving all of the specifics, we anticpiated that JWB's story of longterm psychological abuse by his Jehovah's Witness Mother would be one of those longer stories which we would publish on its own dedicated webpage. Instead, we have decided to tell JWB's true story as succinctly as we can.
Middle-aged JWB states that this submission is the first time that he has revealed his longterm psychological abuse as a Jehovah's Witness child to anyone. As we have repeatedy related to JWB, we are NOT mental health professionals. We do not have answers for his many questions. We have promised JWB that if we receive any responses to his story which might be a help to him that we will pass such along. Readers with helpful remarks may forward such using our contact page linked from the frontpage of this website.
Particularly, JWB states that while he generally avoids reading accounts of child abuse and child molestation, in the accounts that he has skimmed or read over the years, he has never ran across anyone else that has been subjected to the same kind of psychological sexual abuse to which he was subjected by his Jehovah's Witness Mother. JWB really would like to know if there are other victims like him -- whether the correspondent is a victim or a mental health professional.
JWB is the only child of 3G JW Parents. Jehovah's Witness Mother was only 17 years-old when he was born. As best as he can remember, JWB's Jehovah's Witness Mother began bathing and showering along with him at home as soon as he was old enough to do so safely. When JW Mother used public restrooms, JWB not only was brought inside the public women's restroom, but was brought inside the stall. The problem was that JW Mother continued those habits even after JWB started grade school. Middle-aged JWB is not even sure when they stopped, but his best guess is that outside-the-home events continued until he was around 7 years old, and inside-the-home events continued until he was around 9 years-old.
For those readers who are not understanding what JWB is shamefully relating, let us be more specific than we like. Until JWB was around 9 years old, he somewhat regularly was present as his JW Mother urinated and defecated, wiped front and back, etc. JWB grew up watching his JW Mother change bloody sanitary pads, insert fresh tampons, and extract bloody tampons. JWB not only somewhat regularly viewed JW Mother in various stages of undress in/out of the home's bathroom, but he also regularly viewed JW Mother completely nude in the bathroom and bedroom. Unbelievably, JWB even watched many times as JW Mother douched.
JWB further relates that, as indicated, the aforementioned incidents gradually stopped as he neared 10 years of age. However, as JWB entered puberty, JW Mother began to make excuses to enter his bedroom or the bathroom when she knew that he was nude. Particularly, when JWB would awake with "morning wood", and he would hurry to the home's only bathroom, JWB recalls JW Mother repeatedly peeping at him as he relieved himself.
JWB relates that he has no memories of ever being physically molested by JW Mother, but given the above, he wonders whether he might have repressed such? JWB also wonders whether JW Mother was mentally ill, or just stupid?
OREGON v. THOMAS FRANCIS CRAPSER and OREGON v. DOLLY JEAN CRAPSER were related 1991-92 Oregon criminal prosecutions of a Jehovah's Witness Foster Parent Couple then living in Keizer, Oregon, named Thomas F. Crapser, then age 45, and his second wife, named Dolly Jean Crapser, then age 46. In September 1991, local law enforcement arrested and charged the Crapsers with 34 counts of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and sexual assault committed over the previous six years against five foster and three adopted children, 5 males and 3 females, ages 6 to 13 years-old. (At various times, the Crapsers were reported to have cared for as many as seven foster children, in addition to their three adopted children, and Dolly Crapser's natural son, Henry Sydney Crapser.) The allegations involved gagging, beating, striking on the head with a clubbing device, hitting with a belt, kicking, shoving against a wall, force-feeding, and causing a dog to bite the children in the JW Couple's care. Specifically, Thomas Crapser was indicted on 23 counts including Rape of one foster daughter, along with criminally assaulting and mistreating the others. Dolly J. Crapser was indicted on 11 counts of criminally assaulting and mistreating the children. In 1992, the Crapsers accepted a plea deal from the hardarse local prosecutor to plead "guilty" to multiple lessor charges. Tom Crapser reportedly spent only 90 days in jail on a sexual abuse count, with the Jehovah's Witness Couple reportedly receiving a $5000.00 fine and probation on all other counts.
Adam Crapser, the only foreign-born adoptee (Korean), has publicly compared Dolly Crapser to "Cruella de Vil", the "101 Dalmatians" villain obsessed with having a variety of animal furs. "It was like 'one of each' for her," claims Adam Crapser. "They had a Latino boy, a Filipino boy, Caucasian siblings, a black girl, me," Crapser told a reporter. "We were shown off at Jehovah's Witness gatherings to make it look like [Dolly Crapser] was doing Jehovah's work."
NEW YORK v. CANDY GWEN ANDERSON was a 1988-89 New York BABY MURDER prosecution that ended up being plea bargained down to a manslaughter court decision. In January 1989, then 20 year-old Candy Gwen Anderson, aka Candy Gwen Pouliot, then of Canastota, New York, who had been reared as a Jehovah's Witness by Jehovah's Witness Parents, pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter in connection with the March 1988 asphyxiation death of her 5 week-old daughter, Felicia R. Pouliot. Candy Anderson was sentenced to 7 to 21 years in prison. See multiple online media reports for OUTRAGE expressed during this trial by the Prosecutor, Coroner, and Judge.
The autopsy revealed that the 5 week-old baby died from asphyxiation caused by a cotton ball that became wedged in the baby's throat. Candy Gwen Anderson reportedly told police that while she was high on marijuana that she had placed the cotton ball in the baby's mouth to stop it from crying, sometime on March 15, 1988. The father of Felicia Pouliot, and Candy G. Anderson's live-in boyfriend, 26 year-old Robert Pouliot, found the baby dead on a living room chair during his lunch break on March 16, 1988. The autopsy indicated that the baby had been DEAD since around 9:45 PM on the previous evening, but obviously neither Candy Gwen nor her boyfriend had checked on their 5 week-old baby during those 14-15 hours.
Reportedly, only a week earlier, back on March 7, 1988, FOR SOME OTHER UNKNOWN REASON, after obtaining a court order, a nurse from the Public Health Nurses Service and a county child protective worker had been escorted by a Canastota police officer to the home of Candy Gwen Anderson and her boyfriend to check on the welfare of Felicia Pouliot. Candy G. Anderson was initially charged with second degree manslaughter, but was thereafter indicted by a grand jury on two counts of second degree murder. Facing a possible sentence of 25 years to life, Candy Gwen Anderson decided to accept the plea bargain deal to plead guilty to first degree manslaughter for what turned out to be a 7 year prison term.
MICHIGAN v. ALYCE MORALES was a 2013-14 Michigan state criminal prosecution of an UNBELIEVABLE BRUTAL DEATH OF A NEWBORN BABY. (It has been adjudicated as NOT being a MURDER, and ultimately NOT even being a CRIME.) The unbelievable brutal death was then topped by an UNBELIEVABLE PLEA BARGAIN offered by the local Female Prosecutor, which was then topped by an UNBELIEVABLE SENTENCING by the local Judge.
In July 2013, a Jehovah's Witness named Alyce Morales, of Cicero, Illinois, an 18 year-old unwed JW Mother of a young son, accompanied her JW Family on a long-distance camping trip to the Platte River Campground near Traverse City, Michigan. The camping party reportedly included multiple Jehovah's Witness Elders, as well as Morales' JW Father and JW Mother, and other relatives. Alyce Morales' JW Father and JW Mother eventually claimed that they did not know that she was once again pregnant, but an Aunt told reporters that the Morales Family did in fact know that Alyce Morales was pregnant again, and that they were afraid of what their JW Elders were going to do over this second out-of-wedlock baby, given that Alyce apparently already had been disfellowshipped-reinstated after the first out-of-wedlock child.
On Monday night, July 22, the pregnant Alyce Morales went into labor and retired to the Morales Family tent. There, at around 11:20 P.M., Morales GAVE BIRTH to her second child, a daughter eventually named Marie Morales. Alyce Morales allegedly then began HITTING the newborn baby with her FISTS. The beating apparently stopped only when JW Father and JW Mother retired to the Morales Family tent and discovered the birth. 9-1-1 was called, and the mother and newborn were transported to the hospital. Marie Morales was pronounced dead on Tuesday morning at 8:57 A.M. An autopsy disclosed that the newborn had died from blunt force trauma to the newborn's abdomen, which included a laceration to the liver, and blunt force trauma to the head, which included a fractured skull. There was also an abrasion to the left neck with a pharyngeal hemorrhage. Alyce Morales later "confessed" to Michigan State Police that she had struck the newborn with her "closed fist" (confession later disclaimed).
Initially, Morales was properly charged under Michigan law with "Open Murder", which allows the finder of fact to determine whether Morales was guilty of first degree murder or second degree murder depending on premeditation or lack thereof. UNBELIEVABLY, in August 2014, the Female Prosecutor offered a plea deal to Morales to plead guilty to the much lesser charge of "manslaughter" -- which coincidentally is a HYTA eligible charge.
In September 2014, Judge James Batzer agreed to sentence Alyce Morales under Michigan's "special" Holmes Youthful Trainee Act. This Michigan law was written "specially" to keep "offenders" between the ages of 17 and 21 from having a criminal record, or being branded as a "felon", or even branded as an "ex-convict". "Offenders" under HYTA are not designated as "criminals". "Offenders" must plead "guilty", but that plea is not entered on their permanent record, but rather their "plea" is taken under advisement by the court. They are then "assigned" the "status" of a "YOUTHFUL TRAINEE", and are sent to the DOC for "training". Once "training" is successfully completed, the charge to which the "Youthful Trainee" pled is DISMISSED, and the records are sealed.
Alyce Morales was sentenced to 29 months of "training", but was given credit for time served of 432 days. When Morales completes her "training" in January 2016, she will leave the "training facility" pretty much free and clear -- with a cost-free vocational education and with absolutely no criminal record. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
Are we the only ones wondering if Alyce Morales even is an American citizen???
Are we the only ones wondering if certain parties involved with this case are "PRO-CHOICE" on the issue of ABORTION???
Morales' excellent defense attorney built an excellent case, which included the "Jehovah's Witness Defense", which was apparently bought into by both the Prosecutor and the Judge (We could not help but wonder whether the Defense Attorney was able to create some doubt in their minds as to exactly how Marie Morales received her mortal injuries.). Yes, we are advocates of the "Jehovah's Witness Defense". BUT, everything in "moderation". We would find the "manslaughter" plea bargain acceptable in these circumstances if in fact Morales had been sentenced for manslaughter, rather than being awarded a full-ride vocational education scholarship.
CALIFORNIA v. YANIRA BERNICE VALDERRAMA was a 2010-2011 California murder case. In April 2010, a by then 20 year-old Jehovah's Witness named Yanira Valderrama, who was by then employed as a SECURITY GUARD, was arrested on suspicion of murder, child endangerment, and inflicting great bodily injury while committing a felony. The Orange County District Attorney's office alleged:
At approximately 10 p.m., on Sept. 4, 2009, Valderrama, then 19 years old, is accused of giving birth to a baby boy in her bathroom of her family's Fullerton home. The defendant is accused of putting the newborn in her bathroom toilet when she heard her mother try to enter from the connecting bedroom. No one in her family knew she was pregnant. After Valderrama's mother left the bedroom, the defendant is accused of wrapping the newborn in a t-shirt and throwing the baby into a bedroom trashcan. Shortly after, Valderrama is accused of expelling the placenta and hiding it underneath the bathroom sink. Later that night, Valderrama's mother entered the bathroom and saw, the large amounts blood, and called 9-1-1. The paramedics arrived and transported the placenta, which her mother found under the sink, and the defendant to the hospital. Upon arriving at Anaheim Memorial Hospital, doctors examined Valderrama and determined that she had just given birth and alerted police. That same night, Anaheim police found the discarded newborn in the defendant's bedroom trash can.
Reportedly, the autopsy determined that the newborn baby boy died of "blunt-force injury to the head, and asphyxia while submerged in water." Unbelievably, in September 2011, Yanira Valderrama and the Orange County DA agreed to a plea bargain in which Valderrama would plead guilty to felony child abuse, and admit to a sentence-enhancing allegation of inflicting great bodily harm, in exchange for a light 5 year prison sentence.
CALIFORNIA v. DONNA MICHELLE KNIGHT was a 1999-2006 California murder court decision. On the afternoon of September 26, 1999, a 34 year-old Jehovah's Witness, named Donna Michelle Knight, telephoned a friend, named Debbie Paley, and asked her to come to her apartment. When Paley arrived, the crying and upset Donna Knight told Paley to look in the bathroom. There, Paley found a dead newborn baby wrapped in a towel. Knight explained to Paley that she had given birth to the baby boy that morning. Paley called 9-1-1. Knight, who weighed nearly 300 pounds, told the paramedics that she woke up about 11:00 AM with abdominal and lower back pain, which she thought were the residual effects of a prior car accident. She sat on the toilet in the bathroom, passed some blood clots, and then went back to bed. Knight stated that she did not even know at the time that she was pregnant, nor that she had given birth to a baby. Knight later told police that she only discovered that she had been pregnant, and had delivered the baby, after she woke up and discovered the by-then dead newborn in the toilet. A forensic pathologist performed an autopsy on the baby and found that the baby was born alive and died of asphyxia from drowning in the toilet. Knight eventually admitted that she had suspected that she was pregnant. She also admitted that she realized that she had delivered a baby immediately afterwards, but that she believed the baby was stillborn.
Donna Knight was prosecuted for first degree murder. The prosecution contended that Knight, who was not married, concealed her pregnancy, and killed the baby, because Knight feared repercussions from her Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. The defense contended that Knight had been unaware of her pregnancy due to her large size, and that Knight could not remember what happened when she delivered the baby, because she had taken antidepressants and other medications. The jury found Knight guilty of second degree murder, and she was sentenced to state prison for 15 years to life. On appeal, in 2004, the appellate court reversed the judgment due to possible jury misconduct, and remanded the case to the trial court. Following remand, the trial court held an evidentiary hearing to determine whether there was jury misconduct. The trial court found there was none, and denied Knight's motion for a new trial. On appeal, in 2006, the appellate court affirmed Knight's conviction.
NORTH CAROLINA v. RACQUEL PHIFER was a 1997 North Carolina infanticide murder court decision. In January 1997, in Greensboro, North Carolina, a newborn baby girl was found dead by a dumpster-diver inside a garbage dumpster located in a city park. An autopsy later determined that the infant had been born alive, bathed, and even nursed, but then died of exposure after being placed inside the dumpster. Despite nationwide publicity, noone came forward to claim the corpse, so the Greensboro community came together to give a fitting burial to the infant known only as "Baby Jane Doe".
In April 1997, a mentally ill 19/20 year-old Jehovah's Witness, named Racquel Phifer, was arrested based on a tip from a co-worker and charged with first degree murder. Phifer initially pleaded "not guilty", but eventually plea bargained "guilty" to second degree murder, and was sentenced to 10-13 years in prison, where she has undergone therapy for a number of mental problems.
Reared by devout Jehovah's Witness Parents, Racquel Phifer struggled to meet the high expectations of strict parents. Despite the fact that Baleria Phifer was an elementary school teacher, Racquel flunked several grades in school, and eventually flunked out of high school. During the course of the trial, Racquel Phifer claimed that she had been raped when she was 11 years-old by an unnamed relative, and that she had not told anyone, and that as a result, she had struggled with thoughts of suicide and other mental issues for years.
Fearing her JW Parents reaction to her having gotten pregnant out of wedlock, Phifer was able to hide her pregnancy with the aid of another one of her mental issues -- bulimia nervosa, which caused her to experience periods of weight gain and loss. Curiously, though, Phifer read and prepared to deliver the baby at home, alone, which she did. Phifer cared for, bathed, played with, and even nursed her newborn daughter for hours. Then, the telephone rang. Her mother was angry because Racquel had not picked her up from work. When Racquel began to think about the confrontation that would occur when she showed her own daughter to her mother, she panicked. On her way to pick up Baleria Phifer from work, Racquel Phifer stopped at the city park and made a dumpster deposit. The baby girl died slowly as her temperature dropped gradually in the January air -- hours during which Phifer could have returned, but did not.
WASHINGTON v. ERIC FLORES was a 2000-02 state of Washington MURDER prosecution which evidently involved one or more exemplary "Jehovah's Witness" persons given that the deceased SIX WEEK OLD BABY's funeral was conducted at the Oak Harbor Washington Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.
According to 21 year-old U.S. Navy Petty Officer Eric Flores, six week-old Aeriq Flores-Ortero had been MIRACULOUSLY CONCEIVED to his 17 year-old "wife", Crystal Ortero, while he was away-at-sea. The "couple" already had a 2 year-old daughter. The Hispanic Jehovah's Witness Couple quarreled about the newborn's paternity on Christmas Day 2000 after Flores came home Xmas morning after a night of drinking. After Eric Flores threatened to "leave" his JW Wife, the 17 year-old JW Mother of two babies attempted SUICIDE by sitting in the garage with an automobile running. Paramedics took JW Mother to the Navy Hospital at around 2:00 PM. Allegedly, between then and the time when Flores dropped the newborn off at an overnight babysitter at around 6:00 PM, "somehow" the newborn suffered blunt force trauma to its head -- resulting in the newborn being found dead by the babysitter the next morning. The medical examiner found evidence of brain damage -- a subdural hematoma and severe retinal hemorrhaging of the right eye. Eric Flores was initially arrested on a charge of manslaughter, but the Prosecutor upgraded the charges to second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and second-degree criminal mistreatment. In January 2002, in a jury trial, Eric Flores was found guilty only on the charge of "criminal mistreatment", and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
PHILIPPINES v. CECILIO PAREDES is a 2014 KIDNAPPING-MURDER case. In September 2014, in the Philippines, Cecilio Paredes Jr. confessed to the kidnapping-for-ransom and murder of 8 year-old Sear Andrei Agripa. Sear Agripa was the son of 46 year-old Vicente Agripa, who is a well-to-do bakery chain owner. The father identified Paredes as a fellow Jehovah's Witness and a longtime friend of the family. Paredes reportedly used his friendship with the family to lure and pickup the child from school. Paredes is believed to then to have done various recreational activities with the boy. Paredes is believed to have strangled and killed the boy when the child became upset and began to cry after it became late and Paredes refused to take him home. Paredes was easily identified as the kidnapper due to multiple witnesses having seen him and the child together that afternoon and evening. The corpse was located alongside an isolated road running through a swamp located outside San Isidro Village in Virac. TYPICALLY, Paredes reportedly had no prior criminal record, but was suffering from excessive financial difficulties.
SHEDDRICK MILLER FAMILY MURDER-SUICIDE. In January 2014, an African-American family of four living just outside Irmo, South Carolina, whom neighbors identified as very active Jehovah's Witnesses, were found dead in their bedrooms by Sheddrick Miller's mother, who was checking on the family after not hearing from them for several days. Sheddrick Miller, age 38, his wife Kia Miller, age 28, and their 3 year-old son and one year-old daughter, had all been shot in the head with a handgun found lying near the father. The family had just recently returned from a vacation at Disney World over the holidays.
CALIFORNIA v. RUBEN RAMIREZ is an ongoing 2013 California MURDER prosecution whose stabbing victims included a 3 year-old girl and a 1 year-old boy. In May 2013, a probably "illegal Mexican" named Ruben Ramirez, age 27, was arrested and charged with the stabbing-murder of his Jehovah's Witness Mother, Yolanda Ramirez, age 48, at the Ramirez family home in unincorporated Santa Clara County, in east San Jose. Reportedly, Luis Herrera-Martinez, father of the only surviving stabbing victim, Joclyn Herrera, age 3, along with an unidentified neighbor, discovered the stabbed-injured Jossie Herrera at the Ramirez home at around 3:00 P.M. on a Wednesday afternoon in May 2013. Herrera and the neighbor also found the deceased corpses of Yolanda Ramirez and her grandson Gabriel Ortiz, age 1. The mother of Joclyn Herrera is Jazani Ramirez, and the mother of Gabriel Ortiz is Monica Ramirez -- both being sisters of Ruben Ramirez, and daughters of Yolanda Ramirez.
Interestingly, Arturo Maries, COBE (Coordinator of the Body of Elders) of the Las Palmas Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses coincidentally just so happened to be at the Ramirez family home when the news media arrived. Arturo Maries told the media that the occupants of the home was a "normal family" who "attended his church regularly," that is, all EXCEPT for the then suspected perpetrator, Ruben Ramirez, whom Arturo Maries said "has a sickness." The WatchTower Society Spokesperson related that the Ramirez family members had voiced concerns that Ruben had not been taking his medication for his mental condition.
While neighbors told the media that Ruben Ramirez lived at the Ramirez family home, "someone" told the media that the "mentally ill" Ruben Ramirez "frequented homeless shelters". In any case, the "mentally-ill" Ruben Ramirez managed to escape to San Francisco, where he was arrested less than six hours after the crimes were reported to police. "Someone" also told the media that the Ramirez family home was typically "UNUSUALLY QUIET", while neighbors told the media that police had been called to the home on multiple occasions due to disturbances caused by Ruben Ramirez. Neighbors also reported that they were afraid of Ruben Ramirez. Joclyn Herrera reportedly spent several weeks recovering at a local San Jose hospital. Given the stabbing injuries, it would be interesting to know if father Luis Herrera-Martinez or mother Jazani Ramirez refused to consent to blood transfusions, and whether such added to the medical expenses?
NEW YORK v. MICHAEL CRABTREE was a 2000 New York state court case. On October 4, 2000, a Jehovah's Witness Elder, named Michael R. Crabtree, then age 33, of Walton, New York, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree assault. Outcome of criminal charges, which Crabtree is assumed to have denied, is unknown, but Michael Crabtree soon thereafter conducted a funeral at the Hamden, New York Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in April, 2001, which apparently would indicate that Crabtree suffered no intra-organizational punishment as a result of these state criminal charges.
Criminal charges were "pressed" by Lisa Key, age 29, of Delhi, New York, who also attended the Hamden, New York Congergation of Jehovah's Witnesses, where Mike Crabtree was an Elder. Lisa Key alleged that she left her 9 year-old son, Matthew Key, and another unidentified male youth at the Crabtree's home while she went to a doctor's appointment. After she returned, the Crabtrees, the Keys, and the unidentified boy all had dinner together at the Crabtree's home. After dinner, Matthew Key and his young friend went outside to play. Michael Crabtree allegedly then told Lisa Key that there had been a "problem" while she was at her appointment. Key alleged that Michael Crabtree told her that Matthew and he had had a "confrontation", and that Crabtree had had to "smack" Matthew. Lisa Key then called her son into Crabtree's home and confronted him in front of Crabtree. The 9 year-old allegedly began to cry, and allegedly displayed his chest. Lisa Key later reported:
"There was a perfect handprint on Matthew's left side. It was bright red, and you could see every finger, like the handprints a child makes in school with fingerpaint, and there was an indentation on his chest left by Mike's wedding ring. I was stunned. I just told the kids it was time to go, and we got out of there."
After Key and the two minors left the Crabtrees, Matthew Key and his friend allegedly told Lisa Key that they had been playing basketball with Mike Crabtree, but that Crabtree got too rough, and they didn't want to play anymore, so they went into his house, and sat on the couch. They claimed that Crabtree came inside, got angry, and hit Matthew Key.
Lisa Key further related that Mike Crabtree had been "working" with her son since around April/May of 2000, and especially so after she and her husband divorced in June 2000. Crabtree also had been conducting weekly "bible studies" with the 9 year-old for several months, and they apparently had always gotten along well until this alleged assault.
Informant, now a "senior citizen" himself, feels that it is finally time to make the following revelation before the decades-long District-wide prominent Jehovah's Witness Elder, who is now in his late 70s, kicks the bucket and totally escapes the disclosure of his criminal ASSAULT on a young child back in the early 1960s -- which haunted that child in nightmares for years to come.
"Sometime" in the early 1960s, when Informant was around the ages of 3 years-old to 5 years-old, Informant spent so much time at the home of his Jehovah's Witness GrandMother that it is fair to characterize the situation as that Informant was effectively reared by that JW GrandMother. At that time, JW GrandMother and one JW Daughter were the only Jehovah's Witnesses who lived in what the WatchTower Society then labeled as "isolated territory". At the time in question, the WatchTower Society sent a "Special Pioneer" couple from Chicago, named Edgar Spitzke Jr. and Gloria Spitke, then in their late 20s, to this "isolated" Appalachian county to spread the WatchTower gospel. Informant does not know who made the arrangements, but Ed Spitzke and his wife ended up staying for several weeks/months in the already crowded home of his JW GrandMother.
Although the details of the ASSAULT have blurred over the decades, Informant recalls that one day that the physically-large Edgar J. Spitzke cornered him alone in the rear ground floor bedroom, put his hands on the young child, and did "something" to make Informant CRY and experience FEAR inside a house which until then had been the sole place of refuge and sanctuary for the young child.
Informant further relates that in the later years to come that on multiple occasions that he accompanied his grandparents and other family members to meetings at the Somerset Kentucky Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses -- where Ed Spitzke and Gloria Spitke had next moved and wound up spending many years as the leaders of that congregation. Although Informant was then still under 12 years of age, Informant specifically recalls that Edgar Spitzke would always avoid him like the plague during mingling before and after meetings. In later decades, whenever Informant would coincidentally approach or get near Edgar Spitzke while mingling at Circuit Assemblies, Edgar Spitzke would quickly change directions or leave a crowd so as to avoid encountering Informant. In fact, Informant states that he has no recollection of ever having sufficient exchange of words with Edgar Spitzke to constitute a conversation since Ed Spitzke lived at his GrandMother's home back in the 1960s. That even includes the time in 1994 when other family members asked Edgar Spitzke to officiate at the funeral of Informant's non-JW GrandFather.
While Informant may not be able to recall the precise details of the ASSAULT that occurred on the day in question in that rear bedroom decades ago, Informant believes that Edgar J. Spitzke's own decades long conduct is evidence that Spitzke was convicted of some "wrong" by his own conscience.
CROWN v. UNIDENTIFIED FATHER was a 2009-2012 criminal court case in Vancouver, British Columbia, which eventually was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. This criminal case resulted from a BOTCHED AT-HOME CIRCUMCISION performed by a mentally-suspect father on his four year-old son. Father was reared as a devout Jehovah's Witness by a strict Jehovah's Witness Mother, but was disfellowshipped in 1997, after he turned 21-22 years old. Father married a wife, named Gina (possibly Filipino), around 2000. A daughter was born in May 2001, and the son in question was born around 2003. It was around this same time that Father also began taking on some rather unorthodox christian beliefs, which promoted a more "Jewish" and more Old Testament christianity (as if JWs are not bad enough), and he particularly disliked, and advocated via internet discussion forums, against the Apostle Paul's writings and influence on current orthodox Christianity.
Father completed high school, and received limited computer programming training thereafter. Father has a history of not be able to maintain regular full-time employment, and other social inadequacies, possibly due to lack of social skills blamed on his strict JW upbringing. In 2001, during the birth of this couple's daughter, Father had some unidentified issue with the medical staff during the delivery, and Father was removed from the premises. The newborn was also temporarily removed from the parent's custody at that time, but returned after a mental health assessment of Father. In 2003, Gina had Father removed from the home by the police for approximately six months, and he was charged with causing fear of bodily harm. Gina thereafter dropped the charges, and the family was able to reunite, after Father attended counseling sessions. In 2006, both children were temporarily removed from the home due to allegations of domestic violence and concern for Father's mental health.
Around 2004-05, Father began to obsess over the fact that he had not been circumcised as a child -- apparently believing that his lack of circumcision was hindering his relationship with "Jehovah". So, Father researched, planned, and performed an in-home circumcision on himself with a razor blade. When Father could not stop the bleeding, he called 9-1-1. Father was transported to the hospital, where his penis was sutured and treated for infection. Interestingly, before telephoning 9-1-1, Father reportedly had telephoned his JW Mother to tell her about his botched circumcision, and to lambaste the WatchTower Society -- telling her that he would never ever go back to the Kingdom Hall. JW Mother told son to call 9-1-1, and then hung up on him -- reportedly not having spoke to him since.
Not having been phased by that negative experience, in April 2007, Father again planned and performed another in-home circumcision -- this time, on his 4 year-old son. The "operation" was performed on the kitchen floor, which had been protected with plastic garbage bags. Father first gave his 4 year-old son approximately four ounces of homemade wine as the only "anesthetic". Then, using a "cutting board", Father attempted the circumcision using a blade from a carpet knife, which Father supposedly had "sterilized". To control the bleeding, Father used a veterinarian product not approved for use on humans. Father thereafter left home for some time. Later, when his four year-old son woke crying during the middle of the night, Father applied more of the veterinarian clotting product, and applied pressure to the wound.
A few days later, the attempted circumcision was reported to Child Protection Services, and CPS and police went to Father's home to check on the boy. The boy was taken to Vancouver's Children's Hospital, where doctors discovered a large scab on the head of the child's penis. After cutting off the large scab, doctors discovered that the top half of the foreskin had been cut in half leaving "wings" flapping on each side of the penis like "two arms". It is not known if this "french tickler" design was intentional or accidental. A "corrective" actual circumcision had to be performed. Once again, the children were removed from the home. They spent six months under state custody, in a foster home, before then going to live with Father's JW Mother and father.
In 2009, a British Columbia prosecutor charged Father with criminal negligence causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, and assault with a weapon. Father was convicted only on "criminal negligence causing bodily harm", but acquitted of the other two charges. Father was sentenced to one year in jail followed by two years probation. On appeal by the Prosecution, the B.C. Court of Appeal restored the two assault charges, and stayed the negligence charge conditional on the conviction for aggravated assault. Father then appealed the B.C. Court of Appeal's decision to the Canadian Supreme Court -- claiming that his actions were constitutionally protected under "freedom of religion". In November 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal -- leaving intact the B.C. Court of Appeal's decision. Status of subsequent proceedings unknown.
JW TEENAGER DEATH. In August 2012, 14 year old Jeremy Antonio Pereyra, son of Jehovah's Witness Parents, Francisco Pereyra and Keren Pereyra, of Derry, New Hampshire, was traveling in Londonderry on I-93, during afternoon rush hour traffic, in an automobile driven by his JW Mother, when a physical altercation erupted. Keren Pereyra pulled her car over to the side of the busy interstate, and proceeded to call 9-1-1 to report "a domestic". Jeremy A. Pereyra jumped out of the family vehicle and ran off into some nearby woods. However, soon thereafter, Jeremy Pereyra returned and proceeded to run out in front of oncoming traffic, where he was struck and killed by a driver who was NOT cited by investigating New Hampshire State Police.
CLARENCE BLUNT FAMILICIDE. In August 2012, a 55 year-old African-American Jehovah's Witness, named Clarence Blunt, murdered his most recent wife and their 3 year-old daughter and 7 month-old son. Blunt then attempted suicide, but lived for five days before dying. Because of Blunt's death, there will be no prosecution, and thus, the complete truth about this JW Criminal's life will probably never be fully known. The single newspaper looking into Blunt's JW connections is claiming that Blunt's first contact with Jehovah's Witnesses was in 1975, when the then 18 year-old possible two-time murderer supposedly met a JW Minister at a local department store, and became interested in becoming a JW. Blunt supposedly confessed to murdering a gas station attendant during his conversion, and thereafter turned himself into the authorities. Clarence Blunt was also a suspect in the unsolved murder of a convenience store clerk in 1974. Personally, I suspect that Blunt had life-long family connections to the WatchTower Society, and that Blunt was already acquainted with the JW Minister whom he ran into at the mall. It is SOP for local JWs to conceal and/or deny connections to criminals reared as JWs. Blunt served only nine years in prison for the 1973 gas station attendant robbery and murder.
In 1985, Clarence Blunt forced his way into a neighbor's home and sexually assaulted the female occupant. Prosecutors allowed Blunt to plead guilty to burglary, and Blunt served three years of a five year prison sentence. In 1989, Blunt's girlfriend was discovered stabbed to death in her apartment. Blunt's two year-old son was also found dead from dehydration and starvation due to lack of care. Blunt eventually had two more children with another girlfriend whom he never married. In 1996, Clarence Blunt was arrested for shoplifting, and was sentenced to 25 years to life under California's three-strikes law. However, the California Court of Appeals overturned the sentence ruling that Blunt should have been granted probation for the petty theft shoplifting charge. Blunt's family actively lobbied the courts for Blunt's release.
In late July 2012, Blunt's wife of 7 years, Lilly Blunt, age 33, moved herself and her two children into her sister's home, and filed for divorce. Despite having obtained a TRO due to Blunt's past domestic violence and current threats, Lilly eventually agreed to meet with Blunt and two or more Jehovah's Witness Elders at the couple's National City, California home on Saturday, August 18, 2012. The local JW Elders were supposedly going to attempt to mediate a reconciliation of the marriage. Foreseeably, it has yet to be confirmed whether that meeting ever took place. In any event, Lilly's sister went to the Blunt home on Sunday to check on Lily after she failed to come home on Saturday. Lilly's sister telephoned the police after seeing the injured Clarence Blunt through a window. Police later discovered the bodies of Lilly and her two children inside the home.
WEST VIRGINIA v. RICHARD ALAN POORE was a 2006-13 West Virginia MURDER court case. In April 1981, the three month old son of Richard A. Poore and Jeri Poore stopped breathing. Hospitalized in Morgantown, the baby was pronounced dead two days later. Richard Poore was investigated for causing the baby's death, but was not indicted. Because the then Deputy Chief Medical Examiner never issued a final report in the case, the case was reopened in 2003, and Richard Poore was indicted in 2006.
During the 2008 murder trial, the new Chief Medical Examiner testified that the baby had died of "shaken baby syndrome". Dr. Kaplan testified, that at the time of death, that the baby had a very small subdural hematoma, bilateral severe retinal hemorrhages, a fatal brain injury, bruised ears and a bruised forehead, and injuries to his torso. Poore's ex-wife and several of the step-children testified that Poore was a "monster" who beat all of them and treated all of them badly during their mother's marriage to Poore. Stepson Charles Hinton testified that on one occasion when their mother had sent him and a sibling to a nearby church to attend services, that Richard Poore had attempted to beat them with a belt afterwards,"because it was not a Jehovah Witness church".
Richard Poore was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. However, in 2010, that conviction was reversed by the Supreme Court of West Virginia. In August 2013, Richard Poore plea bargained "Guilty" to the lessor charge of "Voluntary Manslaughter" in exchange for a sentence of "time served" -- 35 months.
CROWN v. C.C. was a 2009-13 Toronto, Ontario, Canada criminal court case in which a 45 year-old black illegal immigrant male from St. Lucia was convicted of sexually assaulting and impregnating a 21 year-old non-relative black female immigrant also from St. Lucia. The victim was the mentally retarded daughter of the perpetrator's neighbor. One expert testified that she functioned intellectually only at the level of a normal three to five year old child. The court ruled that the victim did not have the legal capacity to consent to sexual intercourse, nor did the perpetrator have an honest but mistaken belief that she had legal capacity to consent to sexual intercourse.
This case is posted here because the victim, who was deemed to not even understand sex or pregnancy, nor understood the fact that she was pregnant, was taken to Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital on June 12, 2009, by her 24 year-old "JEHOVAH WITNESS" sister, where the 14 weeks-old BABY was ABORTED. JW Sister lied to her retarded sister and told her that she was being taken to the hospital because she was "sick". The victim did not understand what was done to her at the hospital, much less the consequences.
The victim had been cared for by her JW Sister most of her life. They had lived with relatives in St. Lucia after their Mother moved to Toronto in 1990. The two sisters joined their Mother in Toronto in 2007. In the court opinion, the victim's sister was identified as a busy "Jehovah Witness". The same judge who didn't know that the correct term is "Jehovah's Witness", also described the victim's Mother as a busy "Christian", who went to "church" on Sundays, and who, when home, "she was reading the bible or studying and praying to get ready for teaching Sunday school". I'm guessing that the Mother was also a "Jehovah Witness", and that this was a "Jehovah Witness" family who decided that ABORTION was preferable to rearing their own daughter/sister's child.
FLORIDA v. CLAUDEL JEAN LOUIS is an ongoing 2013 Florida criminal court case. In June 2013, a Jupiter, Florida African-American couple, Claudel J. Louis, age 29, and Vanessa Louis, age 28, were arrested on the charge of "child neglect with great bodily harm" after the Jehovah's Witness parents allegedly allowed their 19-month-old son to become severely malnourished almost to the point of death. A police and CPS investigation ensued after the parents took their child to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach for what they deemed to be breathing problems. Instead, doctors said the boy was then in respiratory distress, and that the young child was also severely malnourished and underdeveloped. The boy was not able to lift his arms, head, or legs, and could barely roll himself over. Doctors said the child had been deprived of nutrients for so long that he was having problems absorbing electrolytes. While being treated at the hospital, the child's parents argued and interfered with doctors and hospital staff regarding blood transfusions, use of ventilators, and use of medications.
Initially, the parents cited to various authorities their beliefs as Jehovah's Witnesses and their lifestyle as naturalists as the basis for their actions, which included feeding their baby nothing but fruits, vegetables, and juice. They reportedly told police that they did not believe in baby formula. The parents said that they noticed the boy was wasting away in February, and that they had tried treating him with religious and holistic remedies, and viewed a doctor's visit only as a last resort -- which the May visit to the hospital was, apparently. After this couple was released from jail, Claudel Louis identified himself as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, but indicated that his wife was a Muslim, and that they were rearing both this son and another 6 year-old son using a combination of both Jehovah's Witness and Muslim teachings. Claudel Louis further proclaimed to the news media that he and his wife were the VICTIMS OF RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION.
Fellow Jehovah's Witnesses have quickly proceeded to condemn this couple for their actions -- that is, all but this couple's attempt to prevent their child from receiving needed blood transfusions, which the Jehovah's Witnesses have applauded. Jehovah's Witnesses are correct that much of this couple's views toward food and medicine do not come specifically from the teachings of the WatchTower Cult. However, this couple's "anti-medical establishment" and "quackery" mind set may very well have come or received encouragement from both the WatchTower Society and the Jehovah's Witness community. For over 100 years, WatchTower Society literature has continuously both cultivated an "anti-medical establishment" culture amongst its members, and promoted various "medical quackery" as suitable medical alternatives. Simply google the keyterms for proof of such.
An online search indicates that "a" Claudel Jean Louis has been attending Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter, Florida, and that he appears to be taking some "pre-law" courses. Another webpage has a person by similar/same name indicating that their goal is to attend "law school". Interestingly, there has been a south Florida 2009-10 state-federal lawsuit styled, "Claudel Louis v. Seaboard Marine", in which "a" Claudel Louis filed some sort of DISCRIMINATION lawsuit against a south Florida transportation company, a Temp service, and even the federal EEOC.
PENNSYLVANIA v. KATHLEEN JOSEPHINE HANSEN and PENNSYLVANIA v. ROGER ALLEN HANSEN were related but separate 2003-05 Pennsylvania criminal prosecutions of an active devout Jehovah's Witness and her live-in son for the dog-mauling death of her nearly 3 year-old granddaughter, Lillie Krajewski.
Lillie Krajewski was the daughter of Gerald Krajewski and Karen Krajewski, of Buffalo, New York, and in March 2003, they brought young Lillie to spend a Sunday with her grandmother, Kathleen Hansen, age, 60, at her home in Lucinda, Pennsylvania. Two Rottweilers owned by live-in son, Roger A. Hansen, age 35, had escaped from their kennel on the property earlier that same morning. Before they would leave Lillie with Kathleen, the Krajewskis alleged that they had made Kathleen promise that she would not allow Lilly outside because of the danger presented by the dogs.
However, shortly after the Krajewskis left for Buffalo, Kathleen Hansen took Lilly for a walk outside. The two Rotts broke out of their kennel and went straight for young Lilly -- killing her almost instantly. Kathleen Hansen did what little she could to save the child, but the dogs simply attacked her too. Local newspapers published allegations that there had been previous complaints about the two vicious Rotts terrorizing the neighborhood. The two Rotts were eventually destroyed.
Kathleen J. Hansen was eventually arrested on charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, endangering the welfare of a child, and dog law violations. Reportedly, even before the trial, in Spring 2004, another dog obtained by Kathleen Hansen allegedly bit a neighbor. After a two-day trial in January 2005, a local 10 female Clarion County, Pennsylvania, Jury convicted Kathleen Hansen only on the two misdemeanor charges of failing to control dogs in her care. Kathleen Hansen was sentenced to the six days in jail that she had already served, but she was fined $5000.00.
Interestingly, despite the fact that it is a common occurrence for Jehovah's Witnesses to SUE homeowners for dog bite incidents, Kathleen Hansen's fellow JWs from the Clarion Pennsylvania Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses fully supported Hansen during this prosecution. In fact, at the sentencing hearing, Kathleen Hansen spoke about the regular "community service" that she provided through her door-to-door ministry.
Kathleen Hansen's daughter and her husband, Karen and Gerald Krajewski were livid. They had asked that Hansen be sentenced to the exact age of their daughter at time of death -- two years, 10 months and 18 days. At trial, Kathleen Hansen DENIED that the Krajewskis had told her not to take Lilly outside. The Krajewskis even claimed that Hansen had denied that the two Rotts were dangerous; that Hansen denied responsibility for Lillly's death; and claimed that Hansen even had not offered them one word of apology or even sympathy.
Roger Allen Hansen was also eventually arrested on charges of involuntary manslaughter. After his mother's trial and sentencing, in February 2005, Roger Hansen accepted a plea deal to serve 90 days in jail (minus time served) in exchange for pleading guilty to various dog law violations.
WASHINGTON v. WILLIAM LEMBCKE was a 2001 Washington state familicide murder court decision. In August 2001, a mentally ill 16 year-old Jehovah's Witness, named William Lembcke, was convicted of murdering his father, Robert H. Lembcke, 49 (not a JW); his JW Mother, Diana L. Lembcke, 43; his brother, Wesley J. Lembcke, 11; and his sister Jolene A. Lembcke, 18. "Willy" Lembcke was sentenced only to life in prison without possibility of parole due to his "juvenile" status.
All four Colville, Washington victims were shot in the head at close range. Wesley Lembcke was shot once in the head. Robert Lembcke was shot three times in the head. Jolene Lembcke was shot once in the back and twice in the head. In an apparent struggle, Diana Lembcke was shot four times in the right arm, shoulder and hands, and then three times in the head with two different rifles. Willy Lembcke also raped the corpse of his sister.
Lembcke murdered his family in December 2000 because his 18 year-old sister had discovered a videotape of herself undressing and showering. She also discovered a second videotape which Willy had made of himself "watching" the shower video. The motive was known only because after showing the videos to her parents, Jolene had also told her fiance, Dylan Simpkins, about such -- something Willy had not known.
After Diana Lembcke's brother, Andy Davenport, who lived next door, and the Lembcke's 24 year-old son, Clint Lembcke, noticed the four family members "missing" for a few days, they notified police that everyone in the family except Willy were missing. When deputies went to investigate, Willy claimed that the rest of his family had gone to California to visit a sick relative. The deputies talked their way into the house, and there noticed what appeared to be blood stains and bits of flesh scattered throughout the house, in addition to Robert's wallet and Diana's purse in their bedroom. Willy broke down, confessed, and directed the authorities to the snow-covered bodies which he had dumped on the side of a rural road near the family's home.
It is unclear "what went wrong" with Willy. Jolene was an "honors student", and Wesley reportedly also did well in school despite WatchTower restrictions. Willy had been removed from school, and was being "home-schooled" by his mother. Possibly such was because Willy had been arrested for burglarizing a neighbor's home (possibly that of Andy Davenport) sometime around the start of the 2000-1 school year. Willy reportedly complained to police about how his non-JW father treated him, and about the JW aspects of his life which his mother forced on him.
NOEL RODRIGUEZ FAMILICIDE-SUICIDE. In April 2001, a Jehovah's Witness named Noel Rodriguez, age 35, used a pipe to bludgeon to death his NonJW wife, Carmen Iris Rodriguez, age 28, and their son, Lawrence Noel Rodriguez, age 5, while they slept at the family's Bethlehem, Pennsylvania residence. Rodriguez thereafter hung himself from the second story staircase railing in the home. Noel Rodriguez, who had been born and reared in Puerto Rico as a Catholic, evidently had converted to the Jehovah's Witnesses, but his Catholic wife and son apparently refused to convert. Carmen Rodriguez's family members described Carmen Rodriguez as a Catholic who planned to send Lawrence to local Catholic school the coming school year. Carmen's family members described Noel Rodriguez as a Jehovah's Witness who had refused to take part in a recent birthday party that Carmen had given for Lawrence. Carmen's family members claimed that Noel Rodriguez had shut himself up in his bedroom, and drowned out the sounds of the birthday party by listening to WatchTower audio tapes. Carmen's family members claimed that they were unaware of any family problems, but, in July 2000, local police had responded to a domestic incident call from Carmen Rodriguez after Noel Rodriguez threatened to leave and take Lawrence with him.
CALIFORNIA v. TERESA NELSON was a 1999-2000 California murder case. In February 1999, Teresa Nelson, 22, of Vallejo, California, fled to the home of her Jehovah's Witness Parents after arguing with and attempting to shoot her baby's daddy, Shawn Wilson. There, in her parent's garage, Nelson stabbed her 23-month-old daughter, Saliyah Nelson, six times with a carving knife. Nelson later tried to commit suicide by stabbing herself in the liver.
Teresa Nelson formally pleaded "not guilty by reason of insanity" to the resulting charges. Two court-appointed doctors concluded that Nelson, who had been reared as a Jehovah's Witness, had a family history of mental illness and displayed symptoms for several years that apparently went unnoticed or misdiagnosed. Nelson twice sought psychological counseling while pregnant.
Nelson's problems were exacerbated when she was "disfellowshipped" in 1996 for having gotten pregnant out of wedlock. However, Nelson may have been later "reinstated" given that in November 2000, one of Nelson's doctors reported to the court, "Ms. Nelson is highly troubled, clinically depressed and potentially suicidal, and cannot function independently. ... She apparently ruminates about spiritual matters, which include whether or not she will be accepted to her chosen religious group, when and how she will see her daughter, and under what circumstances will life be worth continuing.''
Nelson's public defenders failed in their attempts to have Nelson ruled legally incompetent to stand trial, and also failed with their insanity defense. A jury found Nelson guilty of second-degree murder, and assault on a child causing death, as well as one count of attempted manslaughter against Shawn Wilson. Sentence unknown.
FLORIDA v. PEDRO HERNANDEZ-ALBERTO was a 1999-2004 Florida murder court decision. In August 2001, a Jehovah's Witness, and illegal alien from Mexico, named Pedro Hernandez-Alberto, was convicted of murdering his two step-daughters in January 1999. Pedro Hernandez was sentenced to the death penalty, and both his conviction and sentence was affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court in 2004.
In 1996, fellow Jehovah's Witnesses Pedro Hernandez-Alberto, age 29-32, and Maria Gonzalez, in her mid to late 40s, were married after dating for less than two years, but after having known each other since the early 1990s through their attendance at their local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. A daughter, named Gabriella Hernandez, was born on October 25, 1996. The older Maria Gonzalez already had an adult son, named Salvatore Gonzalez, an adult daughter, named Isela Gonzalez, and a minor daughter, named Donna Julssa Berezovsky. Pedro had previously lived in California, Georgia, and probably elsewhere, so given the discrepancies in his reported age, and given that he supposedly had no prior criminal record, it is possible, that like many other illegal aliens, Pedro may have used multiple aliases as he moved around the United States.
Maria Gonzalez owned and operated a family business known as the Apollo Beach Family Restaurant, and she owned her own home, all prior to the marriage. After the couple were married, Maria resisted Pedro's demands that his name be placed on the titles to the home and business. Pedro also did not get along with Maria's children, particularly the two daughters, the oldest of whom was only 3-6 years younger than Pedro. All not only lived together, but all also worked at the family's restaurant. By January 1999, the couple were arguing continuously, and each were threatening to divorce the other. Marriage counseling by the couple's Jehovah's Witness Elders, who have no professional training, accomplished nothing, except maybe to make the situation worse.
On the afternoon of Sunday, January 3, 1999, while Pedro was home with 11 year-old stepdaughter, Donna Berezovsky, and 2 year-old Gabriella Hernandez, he told Donna to pick up a toy in the family room. When Donna refused, Pedro struck her in the head and knocked her to the floor. Pedro then removed a 9mm handgun from the fanny pack that he was known curiously to wear constantly, and shot Donna in the back, killing her.
Pedro then drove to the restaurant. After first using the restroom, he walked up behind Isela Gonzalez, 29, who was working in the kitchen, and shot her twice in the back. After she fell to the floor, he then shot her once in the back of the neck. Thereafter, Pedro Hernandez attempted to flee to Mexico, but was eventually arrested near Houston, Texas.
CALIFORNIA v. CHRISTOPHER HENRIQUEZ was a 1996-2000 California multiple murder court decision. In August 1996, an African-American/Hispanic Jehovah's Witness, named Christopher Henriquez, 24, murdered his 8-months pregnant Jehovah's Witness Wife, Carmen Henriquez, 25, and their 2 year-old daughter, Zuri Henriquez. In 2000, Chris Henriquez was sentenced to death, and he now awaits justice in San Quentin Prison.
Christopher Henriquez, who also may have spent time as a youth with family in California, apparently was reared mainly in the Bronx -- as a devout Jehovah's Witness. When he was a teenager, Henriquez reportedly was chosen to travel all the way from either NYC or California to South Dakota to "pioneer" in "unassigned territory" (full-time door-knocking) for the Jehovah's Witnesses. [Non-JWs should be aware that JWs take even the most inconsequential organizational assignments very seriously. For a male teen simply to be allowed to pass microphones at his Kingdom Hall, he must pass a series of character and performance "tests". Thus, for Chris Henriquez to be chosen to travel to South Dakota to "pioneer" in "unassigned territory" is proof that he was an "elite" JW.]
Specifics are sketchy, but Henriquez possibly married Carmen Jones, of California, around 1992, after they were introduced to each other by fellow JWs. The marriage apparently was shaky, and Henriquez apparently moved back to NYC sometime in 1994, which would have been around the time of the birth of Zuri Henriquez. In 1994, Christopher Henriquez pled guilty to a robbery in NYC. He may have done some jail time, but was eventually paroled.
In July 1996, the JW Couple had made a fresh start in Antioch, California. After Henriquez lost his job, Carmen Henriquez discovered that Chris was planning a bank robbery, and moved out. A couple weeks later, she moved back in after Chris convinced her that he had not been serious. Apparently, she soon discovered otherwise, and probably told Chris that she was going to turn him in. Chris first tied Carmen up, and after he apparently was unable to convince her to keep quiet, he first beat, and then strangled her to death. Chris then killed their 2 year-old daughter by first smothering her, and then hitting her in the head with a hammer. A few days later, Henriquez hopped an airplane for NYC. Based on a tip, possibly from Chris's JW Mother, the FBI were waiting for Henriquez's arrival at La Guardia Airport, and he was arrested without incident. Henriquez was wearing a new Rolex, and had nearly $50,000.00 in cash on him.
Police described the young Christopher Henriquez as a cool, calm, calculating homicidal maniac, whose admissions surprised even them. Henriquez not only coldly confessed to brutally murdering his wife, the viable fetus, and his daughter, but Henriquez also confessed to robbing and murdering a Bronx loanshark and a man in Chinatown in 1994. Henriquez also confessed to robbing two California banks within the past month. Interestingly, Henriquez had two accomplices in the recent California bank robberies. I wonder who they were, and how Henriquez made their acquaintance. Christopher Henriquez also confessed to as many as 50 NYC muggings and robberies when he lived there in 1994. Who knows how many similar crimes he may have committed in NYC and California during the "gaps".
OHIO v. VINCENT SHAW and OHIO v. SYLVIA CHENEY-SHAW were jointly tried 1997-2001 Ohio criminal court cases relating to the child abuse of DeAngelo Cheney, the natural child of Sylvia Cheney-Shaw, and step-son of Vincent Shaw. DeAngelo is a functionally retarded autistic child, with a seizure disorder, born to Sylvia Cheney, in 1993. The couple met in early 1996, and married in August 1997.
In September 1997, DeAngelo was removed from the custody of his mother and his step-father and placed in foster care after he suffered injuries reported to Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services, which were suspected to have been the result of physical abuse.
Shortly thereafter, the Warrensville, Ohio Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses formed a "judicial committee" to investigate whether Vincent Shaw had brought any reproach on the congregation by being publicly accused of physically abusing DeAngelo. Vincent and Sylvia Shaw voluntary participated in defense of themselves, while Renee Jones, the apartment complex neighbor who had reported Vincent in September for the abuse which she observed, testified against Vincent to the JW's judicial committee.
It is not known what action, if any, that the Warrensville, Ohio Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses took against Vincent Shaw, or, more importantly, to help DeAngelo Shaw, but it says much that the PRESIDING OVERSEER, named Robert Powell, later testified on behalf of Vincent Shaw, at the government's prosecution. Powell testified to the effect that he had personally know Vincent Shaw as a member of the Warrensville congregation since 1987, and that after considering the testimony of non-JW Renee Jones, the judicial committee decided NOT to disfellowship Shaw. We must assume that if any lesser judicial action had been taken against Shaw by his JW congregation that Powell would have disclosed such during his trial testimony.
Thereafter, during the spring of 1998, Vincent and Sylvia Shaw were permitted unsupervised visitation periods with DeAngelo. During one of those unsupervised visitation periods in June 1998, DeAngelo was admitted to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital with life-threatening abdominal injuries.
In August 1998, the Cuyahoga County Grand Jury issued multi-count indictments against Sylvia Cheney-Shaw and Vincent Shaw. In June 1999, a joint bench trial was conducted. Multiple Jehovah's Witnesses testified on behalf of the Shaws. Overwhelming evidence of abuse was presented by multiple non-JWs. In addition to her testimony about abuse of Angelo, Renee Jones also testified that Vincent Shaw had threatened her on multiple occasions. A Housing Authority police officer also testified that he broke up a verbal altercation between Shaw and Jones in November 1998, and that Vincent Shaw had threatened to kill them both, and gestured with his finger.
The trial court found Sylvia Cheney-Shaw guilty of 14 counts of child endangering. The court sentenced her to a term of two years on each of counts 30 through 41, to run concurrent to each other (later vacated by the appellate court, and remanded for sentencing under statute in effect at time of commission); and two years each on counts 43 and 44, to run concurrent to each other, but consecutive to counts 30 through 41.
The trial court found Vincent Shaw guilty of felonious assault; child endangering; and of intimidation of a witness. The court sentenced him to a term of imprisonment of five years each on counts 4 and 8 to be served concurrently, one year on count 11 to run consecutively to count 4; two years on count 13 to run consecutively to counts 4 and 11; two years on count 14 to run concurrent with count 13; and two years on count 16 to run concurrent with count 11.
CALIFORNIA v. FERNANDO ENRIQUEZ PAZ and CALIFORNIA v. MARIA DEL CARMEN PAZ were related 1997 California criminal court cases. In October 1997, Jehovah's Witness Foster Parents Fernando Enriquez Paz, age 34, and Maria Del Carmen Paz, age 29, were convicted on various criminal charges relating to the Christmas 1996 death of a 19 month-old foster child. In a plea bargain deal, Fernando Enriquez Paz pled guilty to child abuse, and was sentenced to six years in prison. Maria Del Carmen Paz pled no contest to child abuse, and was sentenced to time served and five years probation. The couple also lost custody of their own 9 year-old son and 3 year-old daughter, who reportedly provided testimony against the parents. Described as "model foster parents", these Jehovah's Witness Foster Parents reportedly had passed the foster parent system's scrutiny with flying colors on multiple occasions. Fernando Paz was even employed at a hospital as an emergency room clerk.
On December 27, 1996, the Pazs called 9-1-1 because 19 month-old Julio Gonzalez had stopped breathing and had slipped into unconsciousness -- allegedly after choking on a carrot. When paramedics arrived, they noted that Fernando Paz was giving CPR to the 19 month-old foster child in an overly rough manner. Paz alleged that he had already removed the carrot from the child's throat using the Heimlich maneuver. Doctors at Pasadena's Huntington Memorial Hospital put the foster child on life support and worked on his little body for 36 hours before declaring him dead. A CAT scan performed during the treatment revealed that the child was suffering from head trauma and injuries consistent with "shaken baby syndrome". The coroner later determined that the foster child had died of those and other injuries including broken bones and a bruised skull.
NEW JERSEY v. ANTHONY JAMES and NEW JERSEY v. SHIRLEY JAMES were related 1993-1999 New Jersey court cases. The cases began with the arrest of two children in October 1993, and did not end until January 1999, when the children's former adoptive parents, Anthony James and Shirley James, and New Jersey Prosecutors finally reached a plea deal. Anthony James was sentenced to 4 years on probation for 4 counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and Shirley James simply agreed to enter a pretrial intervention program. By that time, Anthony James and Shirley James had reportedly relocated to Deltona, Florida, in 1998, where Shirley James eventually became a licensed foster parent.
In October 1993, Englewood, New Jersey Police arrested for shoplifting food at a local supermarket a 15-year-old girl and her 11-year-old brother. These two children accused Anthony James, then 36, and Shirley James, then 39, of neglecting them and two other adopted children, a 16-year-old girl, and a 10-year-old boy. The James family also included the James' own 8 year-old son, and a fifth adopted 12 year-old girl, who allegedly was treated better than the others, and apparently did not complain. (That's six children in total.) Neighbors told reporters that the James were Jehovah's Witnesses, who could be seen attending a nearby Kingdom Hall. When contacted, Elders at that Kingdom Hall confirmed that they "knew" the James, but refused to say more.
Details provided by media reports are sketchy and sometimes contradictory. Apparently, all five "adopted children" had been adopted before the James family had relocated from New York to New Jersey. The children had been classified as "hard-to-place" by the State of New York, and as a condition of adoption, the State of New York was paying the Jameses (who allegedly were both unemployed) $500.00 per month "per child" to care for the five adopted children until each reached 18 years old. The State of New York did no further monitoring of the family after the adoptions were finalized.
The four adopted children who complained about their living conditions -- a 16 year-old girl, a 15 year-old girl, an 11 year-old boy, and a 10 year-old boy -- lived in the Jameses converted attic, and were required to use a bathroom in the basement. They allegedly were restricted as to what, where, and when they could eat. The other two children had their own bedrooms, and reportedly were not subject to the same bathroom and eating restrictions as were the four children. According to New Jersey education officials, at the time of the shoplifting arrests, all six children were supposedly being "home-schooled" without the benefit of state approval.
The James were initially released on $10,000.00 bail, and the four children who complained were placed in the care of New Jersey's Division of Youth and Family Services.
In May 1994, Anthony James and Shirley James were indicted on 13 counts each of child endangerment, criminal restraint, and fraud. Supposedly due to lack of evidence, most of those charges were dropped in the January 1999 plea deal.
Interestingly, within a week or so after this scenario made the news, two similarly adopted children of Shirley James' twin sister, Debra Winston, who reportedly was also a Jehovah's Witness, and who lived within a block of the James' family, came forward and made similar accusations of both neglect and abuse against that second JW Family. No further details.
ARDRA YOUNG v. DETROIT FIRE DEPT ET AL and MICHIGAN v. ARDRA YOUNG were two 1996-2000 Michigan court cases. An African-American Jehovah's Witness, named Ardra Young, was a City of Detroit firefighter, who alleged that the Detroit Fire Department and one or more of his white supervisors had discriminated against him because of his race. The outcome of Ardra Young's 1996 employment discrimination lawsuit is unknown, because, before it could be settled or litigated, Ardra Young murdered his wife and teenage son.
In February 1997, Ardra Young arranged a late night meeting with his estranged JW Wife and JW Son at a Detroit municipal park. Young shot both his wife and his son in the back of their heads, and then fled to the home of his girlfriend in Illinois. Young returned to Detroit the next day, and without even asking to see his son, who was still alive on life-support, Young ordered doctors at Grace Hospital to turn off the life-support systems -- supposedly due to his WatchTower beliefs.
After Young's alibi did not stand up to scrutiny, Young eventually confessed to police. Despite such, Young pled "not guilty" at trial. Young's defense team put on a vigorous defense. However, Young was found guilty, and sentenced to concurrent life terms. Young's defense team vigorously pursued appeals, possibly due to Young's pending employment discrimination lawsuit and the large settlement or judgment that Young's attorneys were anticipating from such.
Amusingly, Young's attorneys unsuccessfully requested a new trial based on "newly discovered evidence", which included a letter which had been mailed to the Detroit Fire Department, which had been signed, "White Fire Fighters Association", which claimed that they actually had killed Young's wife and son -- not Ardra Young. Between 2000 and 2005, Ardra Young started filing his own habeas corpus actions in federal court. All have been denied thus far.
ILLINOIS v. NIELS CHRISTIAN NIELSEN was a 1995-6 Illinois double murder case. On Independence Day, July, 4, 1995, a self-professed Jehovah's Witness, named Niels Christian Nielsen, age 21/22, of Wayne City, Illinois, shot and killed his ex-wife, Sue Marshel Gelsinger, 38, and her 13 year-old daughter, Melinda Marshel. Niels Nielsen had married the then divorced "Sue Marshel" in 1993, when she was 35 years-old, her daughter was around 10 years-old, and he was only 18/19 years-old. The marriage was annulled after they reportedly had lived together for only ten days.
Sue Gelsinger's automobile was discovered on July 5, 1995, partially submerged in a lake just outside Wayne City. The interior was blood-stained, and Gelsinger and her daughter were missing. Sometime in the next few days, Niels Nielsen was arrested and jailed on an apparently unrelated felony theft charge. There, in jail, state police questioned Nielsen about the missing mother-daughter, and he apparently voluntarily gave them enough info to incriminate himself (although he later pled "not guilty".).
The burned and dismembered remains of the mother-daughter were soon found in a gym bag floating in a local farm pond. It is unclear whether their remains were found before or after Nielsen had incriminated himself. Police eventually discovered pieces of bones belonging to the mother and daughter in a burnpile located behind the home of Nielsen's mother and step-father.
Apparently, Nielsen had stopped the automobile of the mother-daughter at some unknown location, shot both of them in the head while they were still in their car, then dismembered their bodies, then burned such, then gathered what remained and placed such in a canvas gym bag, and then threw the 130+ pounds gym bag in a nearby pond. Although Sue Marshel apparently had married a man named Gelsinger subsequent to her relationship with Nielsen, the motive for the murders possibly related to Sue Marshel Gelsinger's possibly being pregnant. Whether Nielsen was jealous of another relationship, or possibly thought the baby was his, is unknown.
In February 1996, Neils Neilson attempted suicide by deeply slashing his right wrist while awaiting trial in the Wayne County Jail. Neilson and one or more family members reportedly refused to consent to blood transfusions during both the initial emergency treatment at Fairfield Memorial Hospital, and at a second Effingham hospital where surgery was performed to repair damage to his wrist, due to their "Jehovah's Witness beliefs". Nielsen survived.
Niels Christian Nielsen was convicted of both murders in June 1996, and he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Due to the subsequent mandatory appeals, and then later, the "stayed" death penalty situation in Illinois, Nielsen's execution has yet be carried out.
TSCHANTRE COLEMAN - RASHAWN COLEMAN MURDER-SUICIDE. In July 1997, in Baltimore, Maryland, an African-American Jehovah's Witness named Tschantre L. Coleman, age 39, a cabdriver with an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to show up to court on a charge of illegally transporting a handgun in a vehicle, first shotgunned and killed his six year-old daughter, Rashawn Coleman, and then shot and killed himself. Neighbors described Coleman as a "polite man", who "doted" on his daughter -- apparently, the only person who lived with Coleman. Neighbors said that Coleman kept Rashawn clean and well-dressed, and did not permit her out of their yard. Relatives of Coleman actually had requested a welfare check by local police due to Coleman's recent "despondency". When the police officer knocked at Coleman's door, Coleman had yelled, "Wait a minute." Then, two gunshots were heard. Coleman shotgunned Rashawn in the head while she was on the living room couch (hopefully sleeping), before he then took his own life. A suicide note was also found. Coleman had spoken to relatives and at least one JW friend about his personal troubles, and had told that JW friend that he needed to "get his life together".
THE ROBERT MOORE and BENJAMIN MOORE SUICIDES. Sometime in the 1970s, John Moore and Roberta Moore, both Jehovah's Witnesses, were married, and had four children in addition to the son that Roberta brought from her first failed marriage. Their two youngest sons, Robert and Benjamin were born in 1980 and 1983. On August 30, 1993, the dead bodies of Robert, 13, and Benjamin, 10, were discovered on a recreational trail about one mile from their rural "cabin" located near Ogema, Wisconsin. Each had a single .22 caliber gunshot to their heads. Their deaths were eventually ruled to be either a double suicide or a murder-suicide.
Roberta Moore has spent much time and effort over the years contesting that ruling. Her suspicions of murder have included unknown serial murder(s), and even her ex-husband, John Moore, as the killer of her sons -- as she has so posted multiple times on the internet.
Apparently, the Moores' marriage began to fall apart sometime in the early 1980s when Roberto Moore's sister disassociated herself from the WatchTower religion, and John Moore thereafter forbid his wife from associating with her sister. Roberta Moore also disassociated herself in 1986. Thereafter, John Moore made every effort to continue taking the children to their local Kingdom Hall, and to rear them in the JW faith. Robert Moore and Benjamin Moore reportedly did not like being reared as JWs, and having to go through everything that JW Children are forced to go through at school, such as refusing to stand for the National Anthem, refusing to recite the Pledge, and refusing to participate in any holiday and birthday celebrations. Given John Moore's adamant support for the JW lifestyle and Roberta Moore's rejection of such, and what must have occurred with the children as a result of turmoil in the home, it was easy to speculate that the two young boys eventually had had all the psychological abuse that they could take.
MASSACHUSETTS v. ALICIA PRENTICE was a 1993 Massachusetts criminal court case. In September 1993, a Roxbury, Massachusetts Jehovah's Witness Mother, named Alicia Prentice, 23 or 24, was arrested on an unrelated January 1992 warrant alleging assault with a dangerous weapon, and sent to Boston City Hospital to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, after her two young children were found abandoned in two separate Dorchester locations. Prentice's 18-24 month-old son was found on the sidewalk at the corner of Talbot and Blue Hill around 1:00 PM, and Prentice's 3-4 month-old baby was abandoned, at around 3:00PM, in the double-stroller she left in the parking lot of the Washington Street Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.
The children's grandmother, Naomi Prentice, stated that her daughter was a Jehovah's Witness, and a good person, who was in deep depression due to her life circumstances, which included being abandoned by both of her baby's daddies, being forced onto welfare, living in the Mission Hill housing project, and then having state social services tell her that she would be losing some state benefits, and that she needed to find a job. Prentice was released after the psychiatric evaluation, but various outcomes unknown.
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Every parent has fears about the future, it's natural to worry about the unknown because we want to protect, guide and support our children as much as possible and for as long as possible and the future cannot be predicted. I have the same worries as most parents – finding the right schools, finding out she's being bullied and a whole bunch of other things. When you have an autistic child, a whole new bunch of fears come in to the picture.
Eliza likes to chat about the future, she loves to be involved and it helps her anxiety if she can openly talk about things. We've already been talking that she'll go to a new School one day as she outgrows her Primary setting. She's ten this year so we're talking High Schools as this coming September when it is EHCP review time, we'll also start planning for the changes to come when she's in her final year. Now we all know there are not enough schools, let alone schools that will be able to meet her needs. Hence, we've already been in contact with some and are hopeful they have space for her when transition time starts but it's a worry that there won't be one for her.
Every week I hear of services and therapies being cut back due to lack of money. Eliza's current school provide pretty much all she needs including speech therapy, occupational therapy and they even helped us get on the SEN dentist treatment list. But it won't always be this easy. What will be available for her when she's ready to leave school? What services will still exist? We already know about the fight to move from DLA to PIP, they certainly don't make it easy that's for sure. I want Eliza to be as independent as possible, she has already told me she doesn't want to live at home forever and she'd like to live in some kind of supported living arrangement. Again, there are nowhere near enough of these places. I'm hopeful that more will exist, or a suitable alternative.
My biggest fear is knowing that I'm not going to be here forever. I'm not immortal, I will die one day, and I want to make sure she's had as much guidance, love and support as she can to help her take on this crazy world as an adult. She is strong, confident and intuitive but also vulnerable. Vulnerable to those that could take advantage of her kind nature. Vulnerable to those that could manipulate or bully her. Vulnerable to her own feelings, she's an empath and feels extremely deeply so we often talk about this and come up with ways for her to help her control the strong emotions she feels, how to process and filter through them and most importantly, how to take a step back and allow her own well being and mental health time for calm and recovery.
She's only ten this year, but Eliza's already overcome so much and she's aware of how much we have to fight for services, therapies, school placements, EHCP's. She's a confident and very academically able child, she understands more than most people assume. I will never stop encouraging her to have her own opinion and to stand up for what she believes in because one day she'll be doing this without me.
How did 2019 arrive so fast? In the blink of an eye it is here and everything is back to 'normal' after a very festive period. The first week of January was stolen from us by the winter sickness bug, both children as its victims. Eliza coped really well considering she hates feeling and being sick. In fact, she's got the patient thing perfected by really playing on it to her advantage. "Mummy, can you bring me a teddy…… can you get me a drink please……. I need ice cream…… because I'm poorly". Each request met with a cheeky grin when she felt a little better. I'm glad the bug has gone away. I'm very glad it never grabbed me as well! A day of cleaning every single surface and floor made me feel a whole lot better after a week of germs.
School has been back for one week already. Just like that, a brand new term started. Eliza came home today with two awards. One for excellent reading and the other for completing 10 metres front crawl in swimming. She's had a great first week back although the first few early mornings were a struggle and she actually napped on the journey to school. She has homework to do this weekend, write an essay about her Christmas holidays. Eliza is not a fan of written work, her fine motor skills are poor so she struggles but she loves Christmas, I mean REALLY LOVES it, so she's happy to write all about it. We might be in January, we might have taken the tree down and all decorations, but she's still singing Christmas songs and watching Christmas films and asking how many sleeps until Santa comes again. Once we get to the summer holidays (wow they seem so far away in July and August) she knows her favourite times are about to start – Halloween, Bonfire Night & the whole run up to Christmas. First though, she has a birthday to look forward to. In March she enters the double figures…… 10!!! She's so ready, I'm so not! How is she growing up so fast?
2019 will be whatever it is. I've entered it with a fresh mind, no expectations or demands but a hopeful and positive attitude. This time last year I was in a dark place, needing therapy and medication to help me get through everything. A year later and for the first time in years I actually feel like me and I'm remembering who I am. It's refreshing so I'm taking that with me this year. Working on me a bit more as I'm an expert at neglecting my own needs and putting other first. I have some amazing friends and family behind me so feeling very loved and lucky.
Enjoy your year, whatever it brings you. The past is called the past for a reason, don't waste too much time pondering what should be left behind. No matter what the years brings, chase it and embrace it. Forward is the way, always forward.
Christmas is a wonderful time of year for us, I absolutely love the Christmas holidays and so do both of my children. Not everyone feels the same though, and it can be a very stressful and distressing time of year for some. As much as Eliza adores Christmas and everything to do with it, she can become quite overwhelmed by all the lights, music and decorations because pretty much everywhere changes – home, school, shops, town, café's…. Her love of the holidays clashes with the visual and emotional need for sameness and routine. She becomes quite hyper and struggles to concentrate because her surroundings, no matter where she goes, are different. Eliza copes well at this time of year thanks to a lot of planning, taking things at her pace and incorporating her needs in to everything that happens during the holidays.
When decorating the house, it's done in stages. Little and often so she has time to adjust to the change in layout of furniture, the sudden Christmassy smells and lights. Advents are always out first ready for the start of December and she sees this as a reminder that decorations will soon follow. The tree is always last, as we get a real tree, and she knows that when the tree is up and decorated, that's it. So again, she uses this as a reminder that all is done decoration wise. She's never really been bothered about helping with decorating the tree, but I always offer so she has the choice. She likes to arrange the nativity scene and hang up the stockings, keeping her included with some things she enjoys. We always have a countdown board, so she knows how many sleeps are left until Christmas morning, and this takes away so much frustration and anxiety. Because she can see the numbers, she finds the whole period much more relaxing and enjoyable. When she was younger, we used picture visuals and social stories, so she could work out what was going to happen next but these days she's very aware of Christmas and the countdown board works great.
Having a quiet safe space is really important to Eliza. At home, it is her bedroom. She will tell me she needs some time alone and she'll go watch a film in her room or read a book. In such a busy period, she needs time to relax with little or zero social interaction. Her room remains as it usually does with all her cuddly toys, blankets and fidgets. She can go up and escape Christmas and all decorations and music in the safety of her own room. When out of the house it's harder as almost everywhere is decorated and busy so if needed, we head back to the car and sit listening and singing along to the radio or sometimes just chatting. For Eliza, she can refocus, relax and feel safe. Planning is priority when going out at such a busy time. I like to have a few locations saved in my head for any emergency rest/chill moments that may be needed. I struggle with anxiety myself (so does Eliza) so I'm always aware of places we can 'escape' to if needed. Even though they are most likely decorated for the festive season, libraries offer a calm and quiet atmosphere and there is always room in the swimming pool café (The added bonus is that Eliza finds watching water very soothing and calming).
Presents can be a time of sensory overload and extreme anxiety. We have friends who do not wrap the gifts because their child just cannot cope with the anxiety caused by the unexpected surprises that gifts offer. Eliza copes well with not knowing what she has, it's more the volume of gifts that can make her overwhelmed. So, like the decorating, little and often is the approach for us. She likes to have all her gifts in a pile, so she can work through them as and when she chooses to. Sometimes she asks to open gifts on Christmas Eve and sometimes she still has gifts to open on New Year's Eve, her choice. Having that sense of control helps her relax and enjoy Christmas on her terms. Family and friends are very understanding regarding gifts, they want Eliza to enjoy herself, so they are happy to go by her lead.
Food is the final thing to plan for. Eliza's dietary intake is quite rigid, and I never expect her to eat a Christmas roast dinner just because it's Christmas. It doesn't upset or offend me that she'll ask for pasta and sausages, and that is exactly what I will cook. I always offer her Christmas dinner despite knowing she'll politely decline, but it includes her in the moment (plus you never know when she'll change her mind and want to try something new). I've read on social media in past years that people have become upset that their family were disgusted because the child asked for chips and sausages for dinner rather than turkey……Why? It's just food! It's a beautiful memory of an amazing day regardless of whether it has turkey in it, chips or a take away! If food of your choice is forced on a child, it's going to lead to upset and distress. So, I've always cooked whatever Eliza wanted and she'll join us at the table on Christmas day with her cheesy pasta and countless pigs in blankets (a festive favorite of hers) and she loves being part of the Christmas day meal.
Christmas is a beautiful time of year and if planned for, can be a calm and relaxed event. Being together makes it a perfect time, not the decorations or the gifts or even the food. Time spent with those you love, that is the important thing and it's finding a balance to keep everyone happy and include everyone and their needs, which is why I help Eliza enjoy it on her terms and with her needs always taken in to account.
Are you tired of characters with special needs being tokenised and based on stereotypes, or being the victims rather than the heroes? This novel will interest you!
I recently did an interview with the fabulous Chris Bonnello who runs the popular website and Facebook page 'Autistic Not Weird'. You can read that interview here: Chris's Interview. The Pre-Order phase for the novel is still running until the second week of December so if you wanted to not only order the book, but grab some of the amazing rewards, (including having your name printed in the book or meeting the author) then now is the time to do it. If you know someone who may love a book like this that features heroes from special education with conditions including PDA, Autism and ADHD, please tell them about the book too. Thank you.
You can order the book here: Guerrillas order page.
If anyone wishes to have the above poster image emailed to them so they can print it, email it to others etc then please send me a private message over at Living with Blooming Autism.
Posted on November 15, 2018 Categories ADHD, Advocate, Anxiety, Author, Autism, Autistic Not Weird, Books, Children, Chris Bonnello, Diagnosis, Down Syndrome, Friends, Geek, Heroes, Mental Health, Neurodiversity, Novel, PDA, School, SEND Tutor, Special Education, Special Needs, Uncategorized, UnderdogsLeave a comment on Are you tired of characters with special needs being tokenised and based on stereotypes, or being the victims rather than the heroes? This novel will interest you!
This week in 'Finish the sentence Friday', the prompt is 'Share 10 photos from your phone' so here they are (It took me a while to choose ten as I have hundreds saved on my phone!!). You'll see there is no theme or pattern, my photo's are as random as daily life.
This is Rockingham Castle, about fifteen minutes drive from my house. Small but incredible. I'm a real History geek and I love visiting castles and historic buildings. I visited this one over summer during my 6 days of being child free, when the kids went away with their dad. The weather was incredible and I had the company of a friend I've known for more than 25 years.
These two argue and fight as siblings do but they have a beautiful bond that sometimes I'm lucky enough to capture in a photo. Noah loves sitting with Eliza but even at the age of four, he understand and accepts that she doesn't always cope with contact and she needs her space. They really do love and understand each other.
Noah visiting one of our local Country Parks. We'd painted rocks with colourful pictures and uplifting quote on, and hid them for others to find on their walks. I love that time of year, when greenery is starting to show again but there are still crisp leaves on the ground. Warm enough to not need a huge coat but cool enough to get a hot chocolate in the cafe after.
In June of this year I visited Scotland for the first time in my life. Edinburgh was amazing, I loved the Castle and the historic streets. I visited the cafe where J.K Rowling wrote Harry Potter when she was poor and not famous at all. I walked the streets that were supposedly the inspiration for Diagon Alley. I saw men playing bagpipes in kilts and a guy dressed as William Wallace. One of my favourite photo's is the one above. It might not look like much but that building you can see in the distance was where Mary, Queen of Scots was kept prisoner many years ago. You can read about it here On the 2 May 1568 Mary, Queen of Scots escaped Lochleven castle. Yep, I love history.
Eliza is always so happy to see Chris who runs Autistic Not Weird, he's become a close friend of ours and we are lucky that we get to see him fairly often thanks to him living only one hour away. He is one of our very favourite humans. The frame they are holding was made by me. I love arts & crafts. I made one last year and again this year so I think I started some kind of birthday frame tradition! Eliza is so comfortable with Chris, confident enough to tease him (in a fun way) and she even has her own nicknames for him. He is a friendly, caring and fun guy that advocates so hard for autism awareness and acceptance. He's also an incredible writer and I have had the privilege of reading most of his work to date. His first novel is going to be published very soon, you can check that out here (Yes shameless plug and no, I don't care because I LOVE this book) Guerrillas by Chris Bonnello It's a book full of Characters that are the heroes and they have various special/additional needs including autism, PDA, ADHD, anxiety and down syndrome.
Back in January, Noah and I went with his nursery on a trip to London. We had an amazing time and visited The Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. A day filled of space rockets, pictures of the moon, dinosaurs, skeletons…. he had a great day. First time on a coach for him as well as first time in big, busy and huge London and he coped really well and wants to go back again another day.
One of my favourite places to visit in London is The British Museum. I'm a Classical Studies student so this is where I get my geek full on lol. I can spend hours in the Roman section but the place you'll see me the most is where the Ancient Egyptian statues and mummies are. There are so many amazing photo's I could keep on my phone from the museum, but this is the one that I love. Who is she? She is Hathor and she's always fascinated me for many years. Twelve years ago I beat anxiety and a fear of large amounts of water to get in a tiny wobbly boat and sail across to the Temple of Philae. Why? Because it's linked to Hathor. As we touched land I cried (partly the relief that I could get out of the boat, mainly because I was actually standing there at the temple). "Hathor was the golden goddess who helped women to give birth, the dead to be reborn, and the cosmos to be renewed. This complex deity could function as the mother, consort, and daughter of the creator god".
This time last year I did a graffiti tour of London with a friend. She needed photographs for her photography degree and she wanted some company. We had a great day and very sore achy feet from covering miles and miles of London. I saw this on a wall next to some other posters and graffiti and just loved it. It speaks for itself really.
I LOVE THIS PHOTO. Taken on Eliza's 9th birthday earlier this year and with all three of us being a bit cheeky. I love it because it reminds me no matter how down I feel when depression kicks in, I have these two little humans that are my world. When my anxiety is taking control, I look at photo's like these. These are my babies. I grew them. I raise them. I keep them safe. They are everything. We've been through so much yet look at us all.