Lost In Lima Ohio - A true crime blog

At what point do we draw the line? When is it that we stand up and say enough is enough? Is a tattoo on the forehead of the man that molested and killed a 10 year old girl actually acceptable, or does it cross the line? I'm not asking if you understand the desire to have revenge... I'm just wondering if you agree with it. If you're okay with that... then how far are you willing to bend the justice system to okay the avenging of a loved one? Like I said, I understand it, and it's hard to condemn it, but you MUST. Because like it or not, our laws do not make exceptions just because the other person committed a crime first. It doesn't stand back and ask which crime was worse. You see, if we don't, then we become no better than the criminals we are locking up every day. You see, despite our desire to have the criminals feel a small portion of the pain they inflicted, we have to be better than them. We have to put justice into the hands of the law. It's easy to ...

For those of you that recall, a local case involving the shooting death of a 19 year old girl by her (ex) boyfriend has been going on. Today, the jury came back with a guilty verdict. A jury convicted Richard Wegmann of murder this morning in the death of his 19-year-old girlfriend, Linsi Light, wrapping up a six-day trial. A jury deliberated for seven hours Friday and about an hour and a half today before returning a verdict at 10:15 a.m. The verdict means Wegmann will spend at least 18 years in prison with the possibility of the rest of his life behind bars. Wegmann showed no emotion on his face as he heard the verdict. Judge Richard Warren asked Wegmann if he had anything to say, and he simply responded, "No." Full story, from the Lima News, with Video . Coverage by me Categories: murders

Over the last few days, I had thought that I was pretty much done with writing on a certain topic. I thought that what I wanted to say, had been said. What I needed to say, it was already out there for you to read. Turns out, I was wrong. When I posted that photo, my intent was nothing more than to post it. For me, it was something that I thought should be seen- but nothing that I thought would turn into this. I never thought much about being quoted by anyone other than my blogging friends, who pretty much do it because at least one of them has to once a week for our "crime blogging carnival". But, seeing your reactions here, and at other places- I'm amazed at your thoughts on this tattoo. Your thoughts on the case in general. For those of you who have asked, yes I am aware that two guards were fired as a result of this photo. And, I have commented that I am not in agreement with that. My choice would to be to focus on how this happened, not how this story got out. As for...

Here I am, attempting to watch Law and Order, knowing that I have been completely slacking in reading the news- when the man yells in from the other room "hey, did ya hear about that congressman in Florida?". Now normally, it's me yelling in about news to him, and his reply is usually "how could I since you haven't told me yet". So, the fact that he would tempt me with news is a interesting turn. I knew it had to be good. I wasn't expecting this : Mr Foley was the author of the key sexual predator provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which President Bush signed into law in July this year. But one of the e-mails he sent to a 16-year-old Congressional intern was described by the recipient as “sick sick sick”. Saying that the e-mails had “freaked me out”, he passed on his concerns to staff on Capitol Hill. Mr. Foley is, or was, like I mentioned a Florida Congressman. I'm not really proud about the fact that he was polluting my p...

Sometimes, there is misconception of just who bloggers are, just what it is that they do, and just how important their "work" is to them. There are bloggers who will spend 30 seconds spitting out a post, others that will spend hours and even days researching a topic in order to bring their readers the most information possible. But, no matter what style they choose, one thing is very clear- they take pride in their work, and expect to be given common courtesy from others. Part of that courtesy included giving credit for published work. If a blogger spends days searching out, and researching a case- they deserve to be recognised for that. There seems to be this big issue with the MSM and bloggers, because after all- most of us "bloggers" are not journalist. We didn't go to some school to learn the finer points of reporting on a story, and we don't depend upon breaking news for a living. Personally, I don't think that makes what we do any less important, b...

UPDATE: It seems our child stalker has been caught . Christopher D. Weisel, 27, of Ruther Glen in Caroline County, is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery. It's never a surprise when a sexual predator molests a child behind closed doors. Taking a child out of public view, in what the molester believes is a "safe" place to commit his crime without an overwhelming chance he's going to get caught, IS the norm. Those are the people we most often think of, most often fear- because we have no idea of who they are, and no idea of what they are doing. Sadly, there is another type of predator out there. I've been doing this sort of thing for a long time, and it's been my experience that when someone is so compelled to molest a child that they will increase the stakes of getting caught by stalking a potential victim in a public place- it's more than likely that they've had past victims, more likely that they will do it again and again until they ...

Those of you looking for the Anthony Stockelman tattoo please see this post . For those of you interested in a even better, more fascinating story, I suggest you click here instead . I'm sure that a few minutes spent at the second link will be more worth your time. Categories: predators , molesters , murders ,

It's a known fact that all sorts of people use the internet on a daily basis. In fact, the reasons behind why someone might log on are endless. And, as anyone who has ever hung around any of the crime blogs for long can tell you, there are just as many bad reasons for people to be online as there are good ones. Karen Fletcher found one of those bad reasons, and decided to use it in order to fill her pockets. Fletcher, a 54 year old Pittsburgh women used to run a site dedicated to stories detailing the sexual abuse and physical abuse of children. She wasn't doing this in an attempt to help fight against it, rather- she was writing the stories and publishing them as "child erotica", letting visitors to her website read experts of the stories for free, while charging others for the complete "story". SOURCE "Use of the Internet to distribute obscene stories like these not only violates federal law, but also emboldens sex offenders who would target children...

Every so often, we get to hear a case of "he said, she said" when dealing with sexually oriented crimes. Sometimes, it's hard to tell which side is true, and which side is nothing more than a desperate attempt to explain away something without having to accept responsibility for it. For Michael Donnell Matthews, his cries of "don't blame me" fell upon deaf ears. Of course, that may have something to do with the fact that the "she" in this case was under the age of seven, and despite Matthews' best attempts- no one was buying the whole "she came on to me" line he was selling. Matthews didn't take the news so well : A convicted child molester banged his head on a courtroom wall before falling to the floor this week when he was sentenced to 40 years for assaulting a young child and giving her a sexually transmitted disease. Circuit Court Judge David Strong on Thursday sentenced Michael Donnell Matthews, 23, to 40 years in prison, ord...

I can hear it now, the whole "but Lilo, she LOVED that baby" crowd telling me it was an accident, and that we don't blame parents for making tragic accidents. Hopefully, they can hear me telling them that they are wrong. SOURCE- Authorities said DeJesus spent the evening of Sept. 15 downing gin and smoking cigarettes and then returned before dawn to the shelter where she lived with the 4-month old girl, Niah. DeJesus threw up into a bucket of cleaning solution next to her bed, then passed out on the bed, clutching Niah's legs, authorities said. When she awoke about 10 hours later, she found the baby with her head in the bucket, which contained about six inches of liquid, according to court papers. First, parents who love their children do not attempt to care for said kids when they have spent the night tossing back gin as if it is water. Part of a parents responsibility is to ensure the safety of their children, and no one can honestly say that they can do that to t...

As much as I enjoy living in Lima, I often find myself scratching my head when it comes to what makes the news, and what doesn't. For me, a school employee have a sexual relationship with a student... that's news. Not the surprising sort of news, like when a coach tapped a kid on the leg and got fired at Shawnee... but only because we've all heard the "teacher, student, sex" story line before. Still, when it happens in your home town... it's news. To me anyway. Clearly, not everyone is concerned. But fellow Lima Blogger, "Right Moment", who tipped me off to this- seems to be not so happy about having to share bad news about the situation at his alma mater . I know, not much of a story yet... but I am working to find out what is going on over there in Elida... and why we aren't hearing anything from the local news sources about it. Updates as soon as I get them. Categories: predators , molesters , school ,

UPDATE: Charges filed against tattoo artist in Stockelman case. And for more detailed information, please see the latest news from The Republic . Those wanting to see the photo... scroll down to the bottom of the post. *UPDATE: I'm updating this. And insisting that you read the update before you read anything else. Because, there is something important that I believe should be shared. A entire family grieved over the murder of 10 year old Katie Collman. And those that loved her took their grief and used it to create something beautiful, something inspired by the love they have for her. I think it's important to share that. To remind everyone that evil doesn't always breed more evil, and that sometimes out of the most horrific pain comes the most endearing tributes. Katie's Playground was constructed in memory of 10 year-old Katie Collman, who was abducted in the small town of Crothersville, Indiana and later found murdered. Volunteers constructed a safe, handicap-asse...

Ivan Rychtarik is not like the other perverts out there downloading child pornography unto their computers. Really. Just ask him. The simple truth to this matter is that Ivan Rychtarik was found to have "hundreds of pictures on his personal computer" that were declared child porn. He was charged committing his crime, and found guilty. That is the simple truth. Ivan Rychtarik however, likes to spin it a bit different. And, amazingly he's not playing the "innocent card", instead he's pulling out the ol' " I'm not like those other people with child porn ". Under cross-examination, he told Crown prosecutor Paul Mason he didn’t download the images for sexual purposes, but couldn’t explain why he searched for the material on the Internet. “I just collected out of curiosity, not for sexual gratification,” Rychtarik said. “It was something to do with (my) mental stage at that time ... boredom, if you will, to do something interesting, something exc...

In what seems to be the most horrific week of crimes against women that I can recall, I almost didn't check the news today. Something just kept telling me that it was only going to get worse. It all started with a report of a woman's body found laying in the road, dead after being tied to the rear of a vehicle and dragged for an unknown distance. Even before the complete report came out on it, something about the photo found near her body lead me to believe that this was a crime committed by someone the victim knew, rather than by a stranger. Sadly, it turns out that I was right, Luz Maria Franco-Fierros, 49, was identified through fingerprints and turned out to be the mother of three, and the victim of her live in boyfriends rage. From CNN.com -Investigators say Franco-Fierros had been dragged behind a vehicle for more than a mile, leaving a bloody trail. Preliminary autopsy results said she suffered fatal head injuries and strangled as she was dragged. Jose Luis Rubi-Nava, 3...

Okay, the previous posts took care of Cathy's meme... so I better get on to ALa 's. According to the post at blonde sagacity, I'm suppose provide answers to a bunch of questions , here we go: FOUR JOBS THAT I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE.... 1) Currently in the internet related business 2) Service Advisor at a dealship 3) Assistant or something at a optometrist's office 4) Inside sales at a Bearings Company FOUR MOVIES THAT I WOULD WATCH OVER AND OVER... 1) Sixth Sense 2) Gone with the Wind 3) Gladiator 4) Beaches FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED..... 1) Lima 2) Orlando 3) Lima again 4) The other side of Lima FOUR TV SHOWS THAT I LOVE TO WATCH..... 1) Law & Order (original, SVU, CI)(I stole it from ALa, but only because I'm a bigger fan that she is) 2) House 3) Monk 4) O'Rielly Factor FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN ON VACATION.... 1) Cary NC (to the inlaws) 2) Outer Banks, NC (Ha I get to steal another one from ALa) 3) Orlando, FL (Before I lived there) 4) St Augustine Fl (love tha...

Few times have I ever been tagged with one of these "meme" things. Last week it was Cathy , and now, ALa . A little busy lately, but I suppose I should follow through. Plus, it's a break from the bad news I'll be pitching at you later on this weekend. Cathy's is easy enough- it's just seven songs I love listening too . Let's see if anyone can notice a pattern to them: 1. Hurt, Johnny Cash 2. Hello Darlin, George Jones 3. In my life, Johnny Cash 4. The Gambler, Kenny Rogers 5. Ol' Red, Blake Shelton 6. Something In Red, Lorrie Morgan 7. It's a Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong Truth be told, I'd be happy with listening to nothing but Cash, Jones and Rogers for the rest of my life. But, my kids demand that once in a while, I add something new to the mix. I'm not tagging anyone, cause well- I can't think of anyone to tag. But feel free to leave your own seven songs in the comments, or write a post and I'll link it. Categories: misc

Once, a long time ago- I was a teenager. Okay, it actually wasn't all that long ago- but it sure feels that way sometimes. My point is that as a teenager, I had things I was suppose to do. Like dishes. I didn't do them all that much. Like homework, which again I successfully dodged. And of course there was that time I promised my best friends parents that I would watch out for her at school (she was a few years younger than me) and make sure she didn't hang around the "wrong crowd". That one really got me. Because, strangely enough- you're sweet Lilo was, well I was part of the "wrong crowd" back then. We were the kids standing in the alley smoking before school started. The ones that ditched class more often than we went, who could get a case beer before lunch period... you get the point. The thing is, I didn't give the appearance of being in the wrong crowd- and even my grades seemed to suggest that I wasn't. So when my friends mother pulle...

It's not fair to lock rapist and child molesters up for life. No, we can't do that. Let's just give them a little counseling, put a GPS device on them and call it a day. Maybe, if we really want to be proactive- we'll cross our fingers and hope that it works as we release them into public. Good plan huh? I don't think so, and here's a really good reason why GPS monitoring will never be as much protection as we actually need : Piscataway police said a sex offender who was monitored by satellite tampered with the device and sexually assaulted a teen. Police said the assault happened at a birthday party at a hotel. The teen partygoer told police she went to a room to sleep and awoke to find Marcal Campbell, 25, of Plainfield on top of her. Three simple words would have prevented this: Life. Without. Parole. These people don't change. They can not be "fixed". They will continue to terrorize innocent people as long as they are free. Just when will the ...

Unlike the Pope, I quote these words with absolute belief in what they imply. Unlike the Pope, I stand firm that Islam is a cult of violence, hate, and bullsthit. Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached And how do the followers of Muhammad react? How does this "religion of peace" respond to the remarks that were quoted in a lecture, in which he clearly stated he was quoting someones else? "You infidels and despotic, we will continue our jihad (holy war) and never stop until God avails us to chop your necks and raise the fluttering banner of monotheism when God's rule is established governing all people and nations," the statement said. I shall say it again, and mean it even more firmly this time, show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sw...

Mark Phillip Turner is a child molester. A sexual predator with a conviction history that defines those how should never be allowed to roam on this side of a prison wall. Mark Phillip Turner (TDC 606569) of Lubbock was convicted of 3 counts of fondling the sexual parts of a female child in Texas (1971), 2 counts of sexual exploitation of a child and 1 count of prostitution in Kansas (1981), 1 count of lascivious acts with a child in California (1990) and 1 count of sexual performance by a child in Texas again (1991). The 1991 charge was originally 2 counts of sexual performance, but prosecutors plea bargained and charged him with only one count. Sadly, this pervert was released into the public. How nice of Texas. The story takes a strange twist right there. It seems that some of those who have survived Turner's abuse started a organization. It's called " Their Voice ", and intends to act as a center for helping abuse victims, by "educating the public on the effec...

I don't believe I have been this disgusted in a long time. It's not only that a six year old girl was molested in a public restroom at a mall that is burning me up. It's that the restroom was full of men, and only ONE took the time to alert someone about it. How in anyone's mind can you justify NOT STOPPING THIS MONSTER? Not calling for help, not doing anything other than "holding your own" and relieving yourself. I'm sorry but, WTF??? Philadelphia- the land of brotherly love. So much brotherly love that a room full of men wouldn't bother to stop pissing long enough to stop the sexual abuse of a SIX year old girl. A one-armed teenager managed to transform a Center City mall's extra-large bathroom stall into his very own pedophile haven where, cops say, he sexually assaulted his 6-year-old niece on Monday. The story gets worse, bad enough that I'm not printing it here, but I will give you these gem to ponder over: Witnesses said there were a hal...

Everyone, and I do mean everyone, makes bad choices. It's just the way life goes. Some of us make worse choices than others, again that's just the way life goes.... IF WE LET IT. I'm really annoyed at this entire "it's not my fault, I'm completely free of blame" attitude displayed by so many people now a days. So, let me take a moment to clear a few of these "who's to blame" questions up: You're sitting in your house when a tornado comes through- not your fault. You're watching TV, see the news report that a tornado is headed you way, and you go outside to watch it. You get hit with a branch and die- you're fault. You're walking down the street when suddenly a power line breaks and you get electrocuted- not you're fault. You're walking down the street, see a power line down that happens to be in a pool of water, and you run over to play jump rope with it, and die- you're fault. You're online and someone breaks ...

My fellow blogger, who has a much better sense of humor than I, and who normally spends her time writing witty post that leave her visitors laughing, isn't so funny today. Samantha Burns is from Canada, and so my thoughts go out to her and her fellow countrymen as I keep my eye on the news of a shooting at Montreal College.She's been keeping readers updated to the story, so please take a moment to click over . Our thoughts are with all of our northern friends today. Categories: murders

At the end of last year, I brough to you a story about a horrific murder. A 16 year old previously convicted rapist had broke into the home of a 72 year old woman, raped and murdered her, and then fled. For all the posts on this case, please follow the links below: 3/14/2006 Tindall Drops Insanity Plea View 2/25/2006 Christopher Tindall View 2/12/2006 Group Home Closes View 1/31/2006 Joan Green View 1/20/2006 Tindall, 16 and a predator View 12/29/2005 Christopher E. Tindall View I'm again writing about this heinous crime because the monster in question appeared in court yesterday. He plead guilty in exchange for some of the charges against him being dropped: Tindall, who is now 17 and had been charged as an adult, pleaded guilty in Logan C...

She walked into office of Erie Manufacturing and Garment Conveyor Systems, intending to see what had prevented her son from returning home after work. What she found was beyond grisly. Nicoletta was the first to come upon her daughter's body, lying in a pool of blood. [...] As she continued through the offices, she saw George Gonsalves' foot sticking out of her son's office, and discovered the bodies of the three other men inside. In all there where five people coldly murdered, two of them Frank Dosso, 35, and Diane Patisso, 28 where her son and daughter, a third was her son in law -George Patisso, 26. What makes this case even more angering, is the reaction to her testimony in court, where she openly broke down while recalling the events of that night. The emotional display prompted a swift response from lawyers representing the defendant, Nelson Serrano, who faces the death penalty if convicted of four counts of first-degree murder. "Mrs. Dosso's role in this ca...

I know, it's not crime. Although sometimes work feels just about how I picture jail feeling. Anyway, for those of you needing a little laugh.... I promise to get back to crime blogging now. And at some point, I imagine I'll get back to work too.

Imagine for a brief moment that you and your family are on vacation. As the return home, and the return back to normal hectic life looms ever closer at the passing of each day, everyone begins to feel weary over the return home. It's during these last few relaxing days that your child, a sweet faced two year old who you cherish, informs you that she does not want to go home. As parents, most of us have heard this. Vacations are fun and exciting, and often more appealing that the normal day to day life a child experiences at home. But what if, what if just this one time you child has convincing thought as to why they should not return? Take a breath, picture your child and imagine that they reason for their persistent object to going home was that someone was hurting them. How do you react? What thoughts rush to your mind, what words do you say? This is the very situation that happened to the mother of the two year old Conn. child whose father now stands accused of killing a neighb...

When I signed up to join the 9/11 Tribute, I wasn't sure what I would write. Even now, after weeks of working on it- I'm not sure how to begin telling this story. On September 11, 2001 I started the morning just as I had every other day before. My husband went off to work, I made the kids breakfast and put on cartoons as we sat down to eat. We had a day full of activities planned for us, and I was in a hurry to get an early start. Sometime between Blues Clues and a stream of commercials, my telephone rang. I listened for a moment, and then made my way into the bedroom, flipping on the television and changing the channel to the news. Despite having the phone up to my ear, I was no longer listening to the voice on the other end. My mind was occupied with the images flashing on the screen, and it wasn't until I saw a plane disappear behind a building, heard the horrified response of the person on the line, and realised that the plane was gone, that it became clear that somethi...

Monday marks the fifth anniversary of September 11th, and what has become one of the most tragic days in the history of the United States. Please click on the button to the right to learn more about the Tribute being given by the blogosphere to those who lost their lives. We Remember: A. Todd Rancke Harry Taback Michael L. Collins Aaron Horwitz Harshad Sham Thatte Michael L. DiAgostino Aaron Jacobs Harvey J. Gardner Michael L. Hannan Abdoul Karim Traore Harvey Robert Hermer Michael L. Selves Abdoulaye Kone Hasmukhrai Chuckulal Parmar Michael Lepore Abdu Malahi Heather Lee Smith Michael Lynch Abigail Cales Medina Heather Malia Ho Michael M. Taylor Abner Morales Hector Luis Tirado Michael Massaroli Abraham J. Zelmanowitz Hector Tamayo Michael Matthew Miller Abraham Nethanel Ilowitz Heinrich B. Ackermann Michael McDonnell Abul K. Chowdhury Heinrich Kimmig Michael Montesi Ada L. Mason Helen Crossin-Kittle Michael O'Brien Ada M. Davis Helen D. Cook Michael Otten Adam Arias Hemanth Kum...