Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: nobody_s angel on April 07, 2005, 07:07:44 PM
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So I was just trying to get peoples attention with the topic but do you know that there r people that go around either finding, buying, or stealing cell phones only to return the phones to the owners for a price.
I recently lost my phone. After calling it many times so that a good samaritan would return my phone I came to the realization that it was in fact stolen. A week after I received a ransom call: " I have your phone but I paid $200.00 from some one for it. I want to return it but only if u give me back the $ 200.00."
WTF >:( The phone was disconnected 2 days after the theft and this fool went and pay $200.00 for a phone with contact numbers and other info on it. First of all I do not think he bought the phone in the first place he could have been the one who stole it. Fortunately for me the battery was giving trouble and it is not even a recent model so who is the fool. I will b keeping my $200.00 and he could keep the old disconnected phone.  :D
I am not the first person that this has happened to a friend was told after she got on to someone who picked up her lost phone that if she wanted it back she neede to meet him at _______ and walk with money. Now tell me doesn't that sound like a ransom demand.
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· High-profile kidnapping provokes public reaction
· Foreign Office warning ahead of cricket world cup
Simon Rogers in Port of Spain
Saturday January 27, 2007
The Guardian
Businesses and schools across Trinidad were shut down yesterday in a protest against soaring crime rates and a spate of high-profile kidnappings that have propelled the twin-island republic up the international league table of crime hotspots.
The Foreign Office has issued a warning to tourists travelling to the island as it gears up for carnival - the biggest in the Caribbean - and the cricket world cup beginning in March.
In central and south Trinidad people stayed away from work, in some areas affecting 95% of the country's booming economy, according to local reports. While the capital, Port of Spain, was relatively unaffected, the shutdown's organiser, businessman Inshan Ishmael, was detained by police and held under anti-terror legislation before being released.
The shutdown was sparked by the kidnapping of Trinidad and Tobago's most high-profile businesswoman a month ago. Vindra Naipaul-Coolman, the multi-millionaire 51-year-old chief executive of supermarket chain Xtra Foods, was snatched from her driveway at her home in a middle-class suburb by two men on the evening of December 19.
The kidnap stunned the island and brought an unprecedented response. Supermarket workers marched, pleading for her release. Her family has paid TT$1,350,000 (£108,000), half the ransom demanded, and hired a Venezuelan psychic to find her. The police hunt, involving 300 officers, is the most extensive - and expensive - the force has ever operated.
Trinidad is a country with sudden wealth from record oil prices that fuel the island's growing GDP. It also saw around 245 kidnappings last year, an increase of more than 100% over five years. While the vast majority are "quickie kidnappings" where the victim is taken to a cashpoint, around 22 were followed by ransom demands.
At about 30 killings per 100,000 islanders the murder rate is 19 times that in England and Wales. But the chances of being caught are so low that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent.
Lange Park, where Mrs Naipaul-Coolman lives, has seen seven kidnappings and five attempted kidnappings. An Indo-Trinidadian area, locals distrust the predominantly Afro-Trinidadian police force and hire their own security. Kamal Singh's wife was kidnapped last year . She was tied up and dumped, alive but shaken. "These people create fear in our hearts, they bully us," he said.
Politics have become more ethnically divided between the evenly split residents of African and Indian descent.
"People perceive the Indian population to be more wealthy. Most importantly, they are seen to be weak and soft targets who will not fight back," says Kumar Mahabir, an anthropologist at the University of Trinidad and Tobago who has analysed the kidnappings. He points out that 75% of those kidnapped are of Indian origin.
The republic was practically crime-free in the 1970s, however the trade in cocaine has led to it being used in the supply of drugs to the US. The security services have spent millions of dollars on hi-tech law enforcement - such as a giant, much-derided, surveillance airship - and have set up an anti-kidnapping squad bringing in overseas police officers, including some from Scotland Yard and the US.
Suruj Rambachan - the mayor of Chaguanas - is aware of the consequences for his area and Trinidad if Mrs Naipaul-Coolman is found dead. "Other CEOs are all under threat. If this can happen to a woman like Vindra, then it can happen to anyone."
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People perceive the Indian population to be more wealthy. Most importantly, they are seen to be weak and soft targets who will not fight back," says Kumar Mahabir, an anthropologist at the University of Trinidad and Tobago who has analysed the kidnappings. He points out that 75% of those kidnapped are of Indian origin.
this is the perception, no bad indian getting kidnapped, he should have gone into a more in dept study of what religion the indians were who were being kidnapped? Many hindus now in tt are living away from the rest of society and are extremely ethnocentric, so much so it turns to racism, same with afrocentricism, we need tuh break these chains which are inhibiting our society..
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I’m very surprised these fools eh start to kidnapping family members of local celebrities and sporting icons.
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A US man who was declared legally dead 16 years ago, has been arrested in Mississippi for the kidnapping of a girl whose body was found in Louisiana.
An FBI spokeswoman said Thomas Steven Sanders had been held on Sunday at a truck stop in the Mississippi town of Gulfport, following a massive manhunt.
He’s suspected of involvement in the abduction of 12-year-old Lexis Roberts, who was found dead earlier this year.
Police are pressing him for information on the girl's missing mother.
According to court documents, Sanders abandoned his family in 1987 and was declared dead by a Mississippi court in 1994.
At the time he was declared dead, investigators say Sanders had worked as a labourer, a welder and a scrap metal collector and lived in the states of Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia and Nevada.
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Kidnappings high
By ANDRE BAGOO Wednesday, January 19 2011
WHILE figures for serious crimes have declined, reported kidnappings have remained high, according to figures disclosed by a concerned Minister of National Security John Sandy yesterday.
In answer to a question filed in the Senate by PNM Senator Fitzgerald Hinds, Sandy said reported kidnappings from June to December 8, 2010 numbered 50. A breakdown of this figure, presented in Parliament yesterday, noted that there were 11 reported kidnappings in June; eight in July; six in August; eight in September; eight in October and nine in November. There were no reported kidnappings up to December 8. The minister did not provide figures for prior to June.
“The statistical data reveals that with the exception of June 2010, there was an overall pattern of decrease in the number of serious crimes reported during the period June to November, 2010, when compared with the corresponding period in 2009,” Sandy said. “In total, there was a fourteen percent decrease in reported serious crimes during the 2010 period under review.”
However, Sandy said he remains dissatisfied with the current levels of crime. He noted that serious crimes for the period totalled 9,757. “Notwithstanding the encouraging movement, the Police and the People’s Partnership Government continue to view the existing level of crime as unacceptable,” Sandy said. The Minister of National Security said between June 2010 and December 8, 2010, there were 232 reported murders; 294 “woundings and shootings”; 396 sexual offences; 2,440 burglaries and break-ins; 2,569 robberies; 96 fraud offences; 2,032 “general” larcenies; 656 car thefts; and 251 narcotic offences, among others.
Asked in a supplemental question by Hinds if he was shocked by the crime statistics, Sandy said, “I am as shocked as you are and I remain as shocked as I was over the past five years.” Sandy said the police will introduce increased cordon and search operations in “crime-prone” areas; usher in increased working hours “for stipulated periods” and forge “new partnerships” with private security companies.
In relation to the Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (SAUTT), which was the subject of another question by Hinds, Sandy said a Cabinet review of a report on the future of SAUTT was still ongoing. Of the “airship” or “blimp”, Sandy said, “while the airship has been grounded for repairs, SAUTT’s other aerial assets have been utilised in providing aerial and logistical support to the National Security Council and operational support to the Police Service.”
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http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Slain_China_Palace_owner__behind_kidnapping_-120753744.html
Slain China Palace owner 'behind kidnapping'
Cops: Ransom for new restaurant
By Akile Simon
MURDERED businessman Anthony Chen was identified by police as the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Chinese businesswoman Xue Hua Shan.
Up to late yesterday, there was no word on the whereabouts of the kidnapped woman.
Investigators probing Shan's abduction intended to arrest Chen and question him in connection with the incident after they received vital information linking Chen as the person behind the kidnapping.
Police had arrested four Chinese women in connection with Shan's abduction.
Up to late yesterday, the suspects remained in police custody at the Belmont Police Station.
Officers said since the women were detained, Chen visited them every day and supplied them with food and clothing.
Police sources said the women passed on information to them which linked Chen to Shan's abduction.
Chen reportedly arranged for Shan' kidnapping to raise money to assist him in opening a restaurant at One Woodbrook Place, Woodbrook.
Chen, 61, of Hillsborough, Maraval, was gunned down by two men in front his China Palace, Ellerslie Plaza, Maraval, restaurant on Sunday morning.
Police sources said the hitmen were reportedly paid $50,000 to do the job.
Two men driving a Nissan Almera car, which was captured by surveillance cameras fleeing the scene of the shooting, were held in St James with the vehicle on Monday night, The men were questioned by police and released pending further investigations.
Chen's relatives yesterday declined to speak with the media while leaving the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James, after an autopsy was performed on his body.
Shan, 31, was kidnapped a few metres from her Seventh Street, Barataria, home.
She owns and operates the Happy Garden Restaurant in St Helena.
Chen, police said, was fingered as the mastermind in Shan's abduction.
Officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit are continuing investigations.
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So Sandy police allowed the men in the
Two men driving a Nissan Almera car, which was captured by surveillance cameras fleeing the scene of the shooting, were held in St James with the vehicle on Monday night, The men were questioned by police and released pending further investigations.
go???
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Jeez, the maloney gangsters was bad enuff, now id chinee gyangsterism T&T have to deal wit?
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Jeez, the maloney gangsters was bad enuff, now id chinee gyangsterism T&T have to deal wit?
d tong might be in tong :-\ ??? :'(
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Was just a matter of time to be honest. Many of those chinese resturants in my view are very likely candidates for money laundering and all the activities that go with it. They popping up everywhere...some even opposite or 1 building down from another.
The one closest to me just do a set of renovations in quick time....Plus he buy the lot behind him and build some apartments.
Wonder if is a coincidence that he have a sign up "Closed for 2 days." today....
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So Sandy police allowed the men in the Two men driving a Nissan Almera car, which was captured by surveillance cameras fleeing the scene of the shooting, were held in St James with the vehicle on Monday night, The men were questioned by police and released pending further investigations.
go???
Dias what I'm saying....they let them go??? Dem fellas go flee de scene if it was dem in trute, REDjet to Guyana.
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So Sandy police allowed the men in the Two men driving a Nissan Almera car, which was captured by surveillance cameras fleeing the scene of the shooting, were held in St James with the vehicle on Monday night, The men were questioned by police and released pending further investigations.
go???
Dias what I'm saying....they let them go??? Dem fellas go flee de scene if it was dem in trute, REDjet to Guyana.
Ah feel they setting up ah scene :-\
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Cops step up search for abducted woman
By Akile Simon
http://www.socawarriors.net/forum/index.php?action=post;topic=53544.0;num_replies=6
A high-profile meeting was called yesterday at the Old Police Headquarters, Port of Spain, to discuss the way forward in solving the murder of restaurant owner Anthony Chen and the kidnapping of another restaurateur, Xue Hua Shan.
The meeting was called by ACP Harold Phillip, who is in charge of anti-crime operations.
Phillip, sources said, instructed officers to work together and share information since they all have the common goal of locating Shan and solving Chen's killing.
Snr Supts John Martinez, head of the Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU); Wayne Boyd, head of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit (AKU); and Wayne Dick, head of the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, were also at the meeting, which included detectives from the three units who have been directly involved in both cases.
Yesterday, AKU officers and officers from the Central Division and the Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (SAUTT) conducted several searches at abandoned canefields in Caroni and several areas in St Helena, looking for the kidnapped woman.
Chen, 61, of Hillsborough, Maraval, who has been linked by police to Shan's abduction, was gunned down by two men in front his China Palace, Ellerslie Plaza, Maraval, restaurant on Sunday.
Chen was not relieved of his licensed pistol, police said.
Police sources said they received information that the hitmen who were hired were reportedly paid $50,000 to do the job.
Two men driving a Nissan Almera car, which was captured by surveillance cameras fleeing the scene of the shooting, were held in St James with the vehicle on Monday night.
The men were questioned by police and released, pending further investigations.
Investigators probing Shan's abduction were building a case against Chen when he was gunned down.
Officers said they intended to arrest Chen and question him in connection with the abduction after they received vital information linking him as the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
Police said members of the Chinese community, who they believe have information on both incidents, have refused to cooperate.
Last Friday, AKU officers arrested four women in connection with Shan's abduction. The women, who were interviewed by police and passed on vital information which linked Chen to the crime, remained in custody at the Belmont Police Station, in the care of Immigration officials.
Chen paid regular visits to the women, supplying them with food and clothing, police said.
Chen reportedly arranged for Shan's kidnapping to raise money to assist him in opening a large restaurant at One Woodbrook Place, Woodbrook, investigators said.
Shan, 31, was kidnapped a few metres from her Seventh Street, Barataria, home after heaving the Happy Garden Restaurant in St Helena, which she owns and operate.
Days later, relatives received a text message from her cellphone, demanding a ransom of $4 million. The location the message was sent from was later identified by police as the Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain. That was the last time the woman's abductors have contacted her relatives.
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OK....ah not wise in the ways of criminals but something confusing me here. If ah follow de story....
Shan get kidnapped,
Chen is mastermind behind kidnapping,
Police building a case against Chen,
Chen is gunned down,
Chen would have benefited from Shan's abduction,
But who benefiting from gunning down Chen??
That eh bringing back Shan, so who wanted Chen dead??........ :thinking: ??? :-\
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OK....ah not wise in the ways of criminals but something confusing me here. If ah follow de story....
Shan get kidnapped,
Chen is mastermind behind kidnapping,
Police building a case against Chen,
Chen is gunned down,
Chen would have benefited from Shan's abduction,
But who benefiting from gunning down Chen??
That eh bringing back Shan, so who wanted Chen dead??........ :thinking: ??? :-\
Maybe the hit on Chen was ordered by Shan's family as retaliation for the kidnapping. Perhaps they (Shan's family) got information that Shan is no longer alive and decided to deal with Mr. Chen on their own.
That's my take on it, but maybe I watch too much tv ;)
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OK....ah not wise in the ways of criminals but something confusing me here. If ah follow de story....
Shan get kidnapped,
Chen is mastermind behind kidnapping,
Police building a case against Chen,
Chen is gunned down,
Chen would have benefited from Shan's abduction,
But who benefiting from gunning down Chen??
That eh bringing back Shan, so who wanted Chen dead??........ :thinking: ??? :-\
Maybe the hit on Chen was ordered by Shan's family as retaliation for the kidnapping. Perhaps they (Shan's family) got information that Shan is no longer alive and decided to deal with Mr. Chen on their own.
That's my take on it, but maybe I watch too much tv ;)
Maybe somebody who is involved in the kidnapping got wind of the investigation and didn't want Mr. Chen selling them out so they off him first.
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OK....ah not wise in the ways of criminals but something confusing me here. If ah follow de story....
Shan get kidnapped,
Chen is mastermind behind kidnapping,
Police building a case against Chen,
Chen is gunned down,
Chen would have benefited from Shan's abduction,
But who benefiting from gunning down Chen??
That eh bringing back Shan, so who wanted Chen dead??........ :thinking: ??? :-\
daiz how de pink panther does break down he case.lol.
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Cops link Chinese to organised crime
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2011/05/16/cops-link-chinese-organised-crime
Police say the murder of Maraval businessman Anthony Chen and the kidnapping of restaurant owner Xue Hua Shan, who is still missing, are linked, but the cases may never be solved. Suspects were extensively questioned and released, but investigators have been unable to make any breakthroughs leading to arrests. Shan, 31, was kidnapped a month ago, a few metres from her home at Seventh Street, Barataria. She is the owner of Happy Garden Restaurant located on Main Road, St Helena.
A worker at Japs Fried Chicken, which is located next to the restaurant, said almost immediately after Shan was abducted, her business place was closed. The worker said all the Chinese workers at the restaurant had not been seen since. Investigators said they believed the woman was dead and the prospects of finding her body were slim. But Chen’s murder and Shan’s kidnapping paint a broader and disturbing picture of organised crime orchestrated by what may appear to be the rapidly increasing and far-reaching tentacles of Asian criminal gangs in T&T, police sources said.
Front for racketeering
According to local law enforcement officials, many businesses, mainly restaurants and private members clubs, are fronts for “crime dens.” They say some restaurants which appear to be ordinary food establishments may be involved in other activities, hidden behind their kitchens and rows of dining tables. Several members’ clubs, according to officers from a Port-of-Spain based intelligence unit, are fronts for a host of illegal activities, including high-end prostitution, gambling and even motor car larceny. Officers referred to an eating establishment in Port-of-Spain where the owner was fingered as the head of a car stealing ring in west Trinidad.
Police said young local men are being hired to steal the cars and vehicles parked in front of or close to certain business places are monitored as potential targets. They said it was very unlikely that a Chinese person would be a suspect in criminal activities, especially car theft, since they did not fall into the police’s normal criminal profiling. “It is highly unlikely that police would suspect a Chinese man would be driving around with a stolen car, but that is the information coming to us,” police said. “Everybody believes the Chinese have money and are doing their things legitimately, but that is not always the case,” an officer said. He said some three weeks ago, a Chinese national, owner of a restaurant in St James, was detained for possession of a stolen laptop computer. The device was taken out of the trunk of a stolen car. Because the suspect “knew people,” he was released just as charges were about to be laid.
Language barrier problem
One of the reasons why there are few arrests of Chinese nationals suspected to be involved in crime is the language barrier. Officers from the Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU) say often when a Chinese national is detained, it is difficult to gather information. An officer said a request first had to be made to the Chinese Embassy for an interpreter, which could result in a 24-hour delay.
In addition, he said, the very culture of the Chinese is to “keep things to themselves.” Officers believe that is why Chen’s murder and Shan’s kidnapping may never be solved. “The Chinese community knows without a doubt what triggered these two crimes but no one is talking, not even the businessman’s family,” the police officer said. “They are not assisting us so how can we help them? They are keeping everything close to their chest. We, as law enforcement officers, could only do so much.” According to reports, Chen was a “heavy gambler” and who owed his associates large debts. He frequented a gambling den located a stone’s throw away from Wrightson Road in Port-of-Spain.
The Victorian-style house is outfitted with three electronic iron gates. Inside, one of the bedrooms has been converted to a gambling room with tables for poker and rummy. The room is equipped with a buzzer and has an exit leading to a kitchen at the back. The owner of the property collects a “tax” off winning bets to keep the establishment running. “The tax is also used for providing drinks and refreshment for guests who come to gamble,” a police source said. “Chen used to frequent the house and would place huge sums on bets, from $10,000 and up…That’s the kind of money these fellas have.” Police said they had information that a high-ranking official of the Immigration Department frequented the house.
Subhas: I’ve heard about Chinese mafia
Minister in the Ministry of National Security Subhas Panday said he had been “hearing about” a Chinese mafia operating in T&T. “Yes, I have heard about the Chinese mafia and the issue is of concern,” he said. “But to say there is tangible evidence—that’s where the problem lies but we will not sit idly by and allow any sort of criminal activities to run the country. “We will do everything in our power to stamp it out.”
High-level information can’t be revealed—Ewatski
Asked whether there a Chinese mafia operating in T&T, Deputy Police Commissioner in charge of Operations Jack Ewatski said he would not make any “broad statements” about criminal activities. He said it is also imperative that the Police Service not reveal “high-level information” to the general public. “We are out there doing the best that we can,” Ewatski said, adding that any type of crime would generated concern.
He assured that his officers were doing all in their power to solve Chen’s murder and Shan’s kidnapping. “We are concerned about any type of crime that is committed by anybody and we will deal with it at all levels,” he said. “Our intelligence officers are working very hard and we are looking at all angles and motives for Chen’s murder and to solve this as quickly as possible.” He said he would not comment on speculation regarding who and why some one wanted the businessman murdered but appealed to people who could assist the police with information to come forward. Crime stoppers has offered a reward of $100,000 for information leading to Shan’s safe release.
Data on Chinese nationals charged between 2010 and 2011
2010
Crime People charged
Malicious damage 1
Attempted murder 1
Kidnapping 1
Robbery 1
Narcotic Possession 1
Receiving stolen goods 1
2011
Larceny dwelling house 1
Narcotic offence 1
Apparatus possession 1
Source: Crime and Problem Analysis Branch of the T&T Police Service
Ambassador responds
Chinese Ambassador to T&T Yang Youming, responding to questions from the T&T Guardian about the reports, said the Embassy had no knowledge that nationals of his country were involved in criminal activity in this country. The ambassador made it clear that his response to the reports was that of the embassy and not his. “The embassy has no knowledge of anything you mentioned…This is a matter for the police and immigration,” he said. “We have not had any reports on the issue from the police or the Ministry of National Security through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as this is the standard practice. “The Embassy wishes to reiterate that the Chinese government is against illegal immigration, and is working together with other countries in the international co-operation of dealing with the issue.”
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Trini Triads
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ah sniffin ah rush hour 4,inside de trini triad.
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Chinese Triad expands in T&T
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2011/05/17/chinese-triad-expands-tt
For the past decade, intelligence units have been gathering information on the expansion of the Chinese Triad, a highly organised criminal unit which has spread its tentacles throughout the Caribbean.Sources say the Caribbean’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) has been working with local security intelligence agencies, tracking the activities of Chinese criminal cartels in the region since 2006. In T&T, previous Governments were cautioned about a possible upsurge in criminal activity driven by Asian gangs which have been infiltrating the region.
However, no connection was made between that development and the recent huge influx of Chinese labourers into the country to work on large scale construction projects, including construction of the Prime Minister’s official residence and the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA). Under the current administration, ties with the Chinese Government are still strong. China continues to invest millions of dollars in aid and soft loans to T&T and other Caribbean Governments (see side bar).
Chinese Ambassador to T&T Yang Youming has distanced himself from reports of Asian criminal gangs operating in this country, saying he had no knowledge of those developments. He expressed concern that such reports were hurting the image of the Chinese in T&T. However, a senior intelligence source said moves by a previous Government to encourage Chinese immigration facilitated further expansion of the Chinese Triad, which disguises its illicit activities under a cover of global commercialism.
While the Triad grows, hundreds of Chinese restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, casinoes and private members clubs have sprung up throughout the country. Last month, Independent Senator Rolph Balgobin, in his contribution to debate on the Financial Intelligence (Amendment) Bill 2011, called for a police probe of several questionable new businesses in T&T. Balgobin said terrorist and criminal networks were “living high”, while genuine businesses are facing strangulation because of the global economic crisis. “Clearly many of these (new) businesses have no clear source of funding and even more importantly, they do not have a sustainable business model,” Balgobin said.
He said many of the businessmen “can’t speak the language, they haven’t even mastered the basics of the societies that they are operating in and you have a million-dollar business.” The Triad is governed by a strict code of ethics which ensures that most of their activities remain secret. Members are part of a hierarchy and stringent discipline is enforced by the leaders. Coming out of the Triad is an entity known as the Snakehead Gang which is made up of the younger generation of Triad members, and who reportedly handle human trafficking. It is not known if there are Snakehead Gangs in T&T.
Composition of the Chinese Triad
Based on information from the United States County Sheriff’s Department in Los Angeles, there are four major Chinese Triads operating in the western hemisphere. These are Sung Lian, Tian Dao Man, Four Seas and the United Bamboo, which have proliferated throughout the western world into a highly organised global network. Sung Lian has several hundred members, mostly second-and third-generation mainland immigrants who are involved in a range of activities, including debt collection, brothels and small businesses. The Tian Dao Man has several hundred members who are mostly native Taiwanese. They are involved in debt collection, massage parlours, brothels, small businesses. Intelligence sources say that the Tian Dao Man had a presence in Grenada. However, speculation is rife that the United Bamboo cartel as well as the Four Seas gang have set up operations in this country.
The Four Seas gang has more than 2,000 members in the United States alone. Most of them are second-and third-generation immigrants who are primarily involved in construction, security services, debt collection, massage parlours, brothels and small businesses.
The United Bamboo cartel is by far the largest with more than 10,000 members in the US. Its base comprises of second-and third-generation immigrants who like the Four Seas are involved in construction, security services, debt collection, loan sharking, gambling dens, private members’ clubs, restaurants and small businesses. It is believed that most of the Chinese underworld are linked to the United Bamboo and are guided by a specific code of ethics which maintains their quiet expansion and organisational success.
According to the code translated from a document titled “Portrait of a Triad”, members must maintain harmony with locals as their first priority. The clause indicates that all members must “establish good social and personal connections so as not to create enemies.” The leaders also seek special favours and help from uncommitted gang members by emphasising relationships with outside people. Gambling is the cartel’s main financial source but members are mandated to be careful about how gambling affairs are handled. The code also states: “Do not take it upon yourself to start things and make decisions you are not authorised to make. You are to discuss and plan all matters with the group and the elder brother first.” All members are given assigned responsibility and they are urged not to create confusion.
Another clause of the code reads: “We must not divulge our plans and affairs to outsiders, for example to our wives, girlfriends, etc. “This is for our own safety. We have to be united with all our brothers and obey our elder brother’s orders. All money earned outside the group must be turned over to the group. You must not keep any of it for yourself. Let the elder brother decide.” When targeting wealthy prospects, members of the Triad are mandated that they must not act hastily.
“Furthermore, do not harass or threaten them. Act to prevent suspicion and fear upon their part. If anything unexpected happens, do not abandon your brothers. If arrested, shoulder all responsibility and blame. Do not involve your brothers,” the code states. This code of ethics has ensured that all matters related to the Chinese community are kept secret. Police said although there have been incidents of assault and theft, these are almost never reported to local authorities.
‘We are not all bad’
Meanwhile, members of the local Chinese community said the expansion of the Triad has caused discrimination against Chinese immigrants, many of whom are making a positive contribution to the development of T&T. A Chinese restaurateur of San Fernando, who has lived in Trinidad for the past eight years, said the kidnapping and possible death of 31-year-old Xue Hua Shan, as well as the murder of businessman Andrew Chin, has shaken up the community. Shan was abducted just before 11 pm on April 13, from her Seventh Street, Barataria, home. Chin, 61, of Hillsborough, Maraval, was murdered on April 17, just outside his restaurant in Ellerslie Plaza, Maraval. Information circulating within the Chinese community suggest that a Hong Kong businessman, who came to investigate Shan’s disappearance, may have been linked to her alleged killing.
“We hearing Shan was girlfriend to this Hong Kong businessman and his family find out and they kill she,” the restaurateur said with a thick accent. She explained that Chin was not “clean” and had been involved in money laundering. Another San Fernando business owner, who came to Trinidad during the 1970s, said the proliferation of the Chinese Triad was hurting the reputation of the Chinese. “If this no stop, Chinee no live Trinidad,” she said wiggling her finger. She said with recent media reports, immigration officers and police have been keeping a closer eye on Chinese businesspeople, a move which she strongly recommended. “It have good Chinee and bad Chinee. They have to send back bad Chinee,” she said.
Investments by China in the Caribbean
But despite the proliferation of the Chinese Triad in the region, the Chinese Government as well as Chinese corporations have been contributing positively to the development of Caribbean islands. At a time when many Caribbean Governments are struggling with the economic downturn, Chinese corporations have been creating new markets for their products, spending billions in major tourism projects, financing roads, ports and creating amalgamations with companies. The following is a list of major projects funded by the Chinese Government in the Caribbean.
Chinese Government makes a commitment in 2011 to build a $600 million deep sea harbour, highway and port in Suriname to improve linkages with Brazil.
China invests $462 million in a stalled beach front resort Punta Perla on Dominican Republic’s east Coast.
Hong Kong based conglomerate, Hutchison Whampoa Limited, commits to $1 billion container port in Bahamas.
Chinese Government spends $17 million on cricket stadium and $122 million in economic assistance to Dominica.
Chinese mining company Bosai Minerals Group gains majority stake from Guyanese Government, after making a $100 million purchase in Omai Bauxite Mining.
China’s Shanghai Construction builds official Prime Minister’s residence and National Academy of Performing Arts in Trinidad.
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Chinese Triad expands in T&T
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2011/05/17/chinese-triad-expands-tt
For the past decade, intelligence units have been gathering information on the expansion of the Chinese Triad, a highly organised criminal unit which has spread its tentacles throughout the Caribbean.Sources say the Caribbean’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) has been working with local security intelligence agencies, tracking the activities of Chinese criminal cartels in the region since 2006. In T&T, previous Governments were cautioned about a possible upsurge in criminal activity driven by Asian gangs which have been infiltrating the region.
However, no connection was made between that development and the recent huge influx of Chinese labourers into the country to work on large scale construction projects, including construction of the Prime Minister’s official residence and the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA). Under the current administration, ties with the Chinese Government are still strong. China continues to invest millions of dollars in aid and soft loans to T&T and other Caribbean Governments (see side bar).
Chinese Ambassador to T&T Yang Youming has distanced himself from reports of Asian criminal gangs operating in this country, saying he had no knowledge of those developments. He expressed concern that such reports were hurting the image of the Chinese in T&T. However, a senior intelligence source said moves by a previous Government to encourage Chinese immigration facilitated further expansion of the Chinese Triad, which disguises its illicit activities under a cover of global commercialism.
While the Triad grows, hundreds of Chinese restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, casinoes and private members clubs have sprung up throughout the country. Last month, Independent Senator Rolph Balgobin, in his contribution to debate on the Financial Intelligence (Amendment) Bill 2011, called for a police probe of several questionable new businesses in T&T. Balgobin said terrorist and criminal networks were “living high”, while genuine businesses are facing strangulation because of the global economic crisis. “Clearly many of these (new) businesses have no clear source of funding and even more importantly, they do not have a sustainable business model,” Balgobin said.
He said many of the businessmen “can’t speak the language, they haven’t even mastered the basics of the societies that they are operating in and you have a million-dollar business.” The Triad is governed by a strict code of ethics which ensures that most of their activities remain secret. Members are part of a hierarchy and stringent discipline is enforced by the leaders. Coming out of the Triad is an entity known as the Snakehead Gang which is made up of the younger generation of Triad members, and who reportedly handle human trafficking. It is not known if there are Snakehead Gangs in T&T.
Composition of the Chinese Triad
Based on information from the United States County Sheriff’s Department in Los Angeles, there are four major Chinese Triads operating in the western hemisphere. These are Sung Lian, Tian Dao Man, Four Seas and the United Bamboo, which have proliferated throughout the western world into a highly organised global network. Sung Lian has several hundred members, mostly second-and third-generation mainland immigrants who are involved in a range of activities, including debt collection, brothels and small businesses. The Tian Dao Man has several hundred members who are mostly native Taiwanese. They are involved in debt collection, massage parlours, brothels, small businesses. Intelligence sources say that the Tian Dao Man had a presence in Grenada. However, speculation is rife that the United Bamboo cartel as well as the Four Seas gang have set up operations in this country.
The Four Seas gang has more than 2,000 members in the United States alone. Most of them are second-and third-generation immigrants who are primarily involved in construction, security services, debt collection, massage parlours, brothels and small businesses.
The United Bamboo cartel is by far the largest with more than 10,000 members in the US. Its base comprises of second-and third-generation immigrants who like the Four Seas are involved in construction, security services, debt collection, loan sharking, gambling dens, private members’ clubs, restaurants and small businesses. It is believed that most of the Chinese underworld are linked to the United Bamboo and are guided by a specific code of ethics which maintains their quiet expansion and organisational success.
According to the code translated from a document titled “Portrait of a Triad”, members must maintain harmony with locals as their first priority. The clause indicates that all members must “establish good social and personal connections so as not to create enemies.” The leaders also seek special favours and help from uncommitted gang members by emphasising relationships with outside people. Gambling is the cartel’s main financial source but members are mandated to be careful about how gambling affairs are handled. The code also states: “Do not take it upon yourself to start things and make decisions you are not authorised to make. You are to discuss and plan all matters with the group and the elder brother first.” All members are given assigned responsibility and they are urged not to create confusion.
Another clause of the code reads: “We must not divulge our plans and affairs to outsiders, for example to our wives, girlfriends, etc. “This is for our own safety. We have to be united with all our brothers and obey our elder brother’s orders. All money earned outside the group must be turned over to the group. You must not keep any of it for yourself. Let the elder brother decide.” When targeting wealthy prospects, members of the Triad are mandated that they must not act hastily.
“Furthermore, do not harass or threaten them. Act to prevent suspicion and fear upon their part. If anything unexpected happens, do not abandon your brothers. If arrested, shoulder all responsibility and blame. Do not involve your brothers,” the code states. This code of ethics has ensured that all matters related to the Chinese community are kept secret. Police said although there have been incidents of assault and theft, these are almost never reported to local authorities.
‘We are not all bad’
Meanwhile, members of the local Chinese community said the expansion of the Triad has caused discrimination against Chinese immigrants, many of whom are making a positive contribution to the development of T&T. A Chinese restaurateur of San Fernando, who has lived in Trinidad for the past eight years, said the kidnapping and possible death of 31-year-old Xue Hua Shan, as well as the murder of businessman Andrew Chin, has shaken up the community. Shan was abducted just before 11 pm on April 13, from her Seventh Street, Barataria, home. Chin, 61, of Hillsborough, Maraval, was murdered on April 17, just outside his restaurant in Ellerslie Plaza, Maraval. Information circulating within the Chinese community suggest that a Hong Kong businessman, who came to investigate Shan’s disappearance, may have been linked to her alleged killing.
“We hearing Shan was girlfriend to this Hong Kong businessman and his family find out and they kill she,” the restaurateur said with a thick accent. She explained that Chin was not “clean” and had been involved in money laundering. Another San Fernando business owner, who came to Trinidad during the 1970s, said the proliferation of the Chinese Triad was hurting the reputation of the Chinese. “If this no stop, Chinee no live Trinidad,” she said wiggling her finger. She said with recent media reports, immigration officers and police have been keeping a closer eye on Chinese businesspeople, a move which she strongly recommended. “It have good Chinee and bad Chinee. They have to send back bad Chinee,” she said.
Investments by China in the Caribbean
But despite the proliferation of the Chinese Triad in the region, the Chinese Government as well as Chinese corporations have been contributing positively to the development of Caribbean islands. At a time when many Caribbean Governments are struggling with the economic downturn, Chinese corporations have been creating new markets for their products, spending billions in major tourism projects, financing roads, ports and creating amalgamations with companies. The following is a list of major projects funded by the Chinese Government in the Caribbean.
Chinese Government makes a commitment in 2011 to build a $600 million deep sea harbour, highway and port in Suriname to improve linkages with Brazil.
China invests $462 million in a stalled beach front resort Punta Perla on Dominican Republic’s east Coast.
Hong Kong based conglomerate, Hutchison Whampoa Limited, commits to $1 billion container port in Bahamas.
Chinese Government spends $17 million on cricket stadium and $122 million in economic assistance to Dominica.
Chinese mining company Bosai Minerals Group gains majority stake from Guyanese Government, after making a $100 million purchase in Omai Bauxite Mining.
China’s Shanghai Construction builds official Prime Minister’s residence and National Academy of Performing Arts in Trinidad.
Under all the talk....that code of ethics part of a serious business model though :thinking:
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Trini too damn lazy. Dais why business owner hiring foreigner.
I eh go lie if I say a good day on de work is one where i eh do nothing but watch football online and lime on socawarriors.net.
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Ok ,interesting fight fire with fire if our youth feel they bad .Bring in a real mafia to show them what bad really is .easy enough to find them after.
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..Escaping captors after 10 years, Amanda Berry ‘real hero’ in kidnapping case, police say
..By Jeff Stacklin | The Lookout –
Three women missing for about a decade are free today, and police are crediting the bravery of one of them—Amanda Berry, now 27—for escaping the captors and seeking help.
“The real hero here is Amanda,” assistant Cleveland police chief Ed Tomba told reporters at a news conference Wednesday morning. “She got this rolling.”
Shortly before 6 p.m. ET Monday, Berry was able to break out of the home in Cleveland's west side neighborhood where she apparently had been held for the past 10 years. She was reported missing on April 21, 2003, Tomba said.
After she called 911, police responded to the home at 5:52 p.m. Two other women, Gina DeJesus, who had been missing since 2004, when she was 14, and Michelle Knight, who had been missing since 2002 when she was 20, were found inside.
When Berry escaped the house, she brought with her a 6-year-old daughter. Police would not say who the father of the child was, but confirmed that the girl is Berry’s daughter.
Police have arrested three brothers in connection to the case: Ariel Castro, 52, the owner of the home, and brothers Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50. They have not been charged. Tomba said the men were taken into custody about 6:30 p.m. and will be charged within 36 hours.
The stories of Berry and DeJesus have captivated the city of Cleveland for a decade. They have been the subject of numerous vigils and city searches. Police have followed leads over the years, including digging up two backyards seeking their remains. On Monday, crowds gathered in the neighborhood where they were found and at the hospital where they were taken later.
“Our prayers have finally been answered—this nightmare is over,” said Stephen Anthony, special agent in charge of the Cleveland office of the FBI.
While much has been written about Berry and DeJesus, and the efforts to find them, not much has been written about Michelle Knight. "She has been the focus of very few tips," Tomba said. Knight was last seen on Aug. 22, 2002. She was 20 years old at the time, and went missing from the same neighborhood as Berry and DeJesus.
Police said all three women appeared healthy, other than needing a good meal. They were taken to a Cleveland hospital, where they were reunited with their families.
Police said that officers were called to the home of the alleged captor, Ariel Castro, twice, but nothing came of the calls.
In March 2000, Castro reported a fight in the street, and in January 2004, officials from Children and Family Services went to the home to investigate an incident related to his employment as a bus driver. Castro, then a bus driver for the Cleveland schools, had gone to lunch after running his route, despite having one more child still on the bus.
Police say they investigated that incident, but felt there was no criminal wrong-doing and the matter was dropped.
“He was interviewed extensively due to that investigation,”Tomba said.
Mayor Frank Jackson said housing and building records also have been reviewed and no reports of violations were found.
Police declined to provide specific details about the home where the women were kept or its condition upon their arrival on Monday. They said the home is an active crime scene and detectives were processing it through the night.
Asked if they believe the kidnappings were part of a larger operation, police officials said they were looking into every possible angle. It appears that Berry, DeJesus and Knight were the only victims. Officials declined to say if they were sexually abused.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/escaped-cleveland-woman-amanda-berry-real-hero-kidnapping-141444873.html
http://news.yahoo.com/frantic-911-call-leads-3-missing-women-ohio-084650558.html
(http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/C0J6y9yITaq6FiWDE.rjeg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/thelookout/fa4366f15650290f310f6a706700a21d.jpg)
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The real hero is Charles Ramsey.
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Wow the media done start to ex out the black man who went to her aid from the narrative. I hope is not because he was somewhat disheveled with unkempt hair. In the live press conference the chief of police did not mention him at all. Hopefully this brother's act of human decency will not go unrewarded.
The fella is real kicks though ;D
http://www.youtube.com/v/gcLSI3oyqhs
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The real hero is Charles Ramsey.
who?
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The real hero is Charles Ramsey.
But here they have a brave white girl hero just like Jessica Lynch... the media love that sh!t
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Morning interviews coming his way
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Charles Ramsey was rel kicks. Another Sweet Brown.
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Charles Ramsey was rel kicks. Another Sweet Brown.
Another Looter Vandross yuh mean :rotfl:
(http://hbd.org/discus/messages/26895/32122.jpg)
At any rate, not to diminish what he did but to those crying media conspiracy and what not:
1) Is not the media saying Amanda Berry is the real hero... is the police
2) He's not really that big of a hero... certainly not the hero in the story (http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2013/05/dishwasher_who_helped_save_ama_1.html).
Ramsey described how he heard a woman's screams and saw his across-the-street neighbor running to the house next door. A woman who later identified herself as Amanda Berry was kicking and yelling to get out of the house. Ramsey helped kick the door open as Berry and a child dashed out to freedom.
Still, I wouldn't take anything away from what he did... both him and the neighbor could easily have turned a deaf ear and gone about their business. As he himself said, he didn't really know what was going on... could have been a domestic dispute, and we know how people are loathe to get involved in those, sometimes for good reason. Suffice to say that all three, Berry, the neighbor and "Chuck" deserve high praise for their actions.
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Charles Ramsey was rel kicks. Another Sweet Brown.
Another Looter Vandross yuh mean :rotfl:
(http://hbd.org/discus/messages/26895/32122.jpg)
hahaha
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Wow the media done start to ex out the black man who went to her aid from the narrative. I hope is not because he was somewhat disheveled with unkempt hair. In the live press conference the chief of police did not mention him at all. Hopefully this brother's act of human decency will not go unrewarded.
The fella is real kicks though ;D
....
Yuh eh lie. De man is a live wire. He keep it real ... de reporter start tuh bounce when he realize how real.
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I dunno...ah find the 911 dispatcher could have been a little more comforting. He/she was kind of rushing her off the phone and just telling her to talk to the police. I guess I understand that their main priority might be people whose lives are in immediate danger, but he/she could have been more comforting. :/
http://www.youtube.com/v/ECEbYVCH4-4
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Charles Ramsey was rel kicks. Another Sweet Brown.
Another Looter Vandross yuh mean :rotfl:
(http://hbd.org/discus/messages/26895/32122.jpg)
At any rate, not to diminish what he did but to those crying media conspiracy and what not:
1) Is not the media saying Amanda Berry is the real hero... is the police
2) He's not really that big of a hero... certainly not the hero in the story (http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2013/05/dishwasher_who_helped_save_ama_1.html).
Ramsey described how he heard a woman's screams and saw his across-the-street neighbor running to the house next door. A woman who later identified herself as Amanda Berry was kicking and yelling to get out of the house. Ramsey helped kick the door open as Berry and a child dashed out to freedom.
Still, I wouldn't take anything away from what he did... both him and the neighbor could easily have turned a deaf ear and gone about their business. As he himself said, he didn't really know what was going on... could have been a domestic dispute, and we know how people are loathe to get involved in those, sometimes for good reason. Suffice to say that all three, Berry, the neighbor and "Chuck" deserve high praise for their actions.
Because the media eh know the real story or can't investigate as to how things went down. Is only in Trini the media lazy.
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The fella is real kicks though ;D
http://www.youtube.com/v/gP5Ud_juMTw
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Ohio abductions: how false leads and dashed hopes broke one mother's heart
'She's not alive, honey.' Those words, from a TV psychic, may have marked the beginning of the end for Louwana Miller
In the buildup to Christmas 2005, Amanda Berry's mother bought presents as usual for her daughter. Louwana Miller had neither seen nor heard from Berry for over two years, but she remained hopeful that she would return to her in time to unwrap the gifts.
In fact, it would be seven more years before Berry and two other missing women, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, would reappear, in a house a few miles from where all three disappeared, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Tragically, the reappearances came too late for Miller, who died in March 2006, apparently of a broken heart.
The story begins on 21 April, 2003, the day before Berry's 17th birthday. She called her sister to say that she was getting a ride home after putting in a shift at Burger King, around 10 minutes' drive from where she lived.
It would be over 10 years before Charles Ramsey, a neighbour of the house where she was being held captive, would hear her screams and free her. In the intervening years, her family suffered the absence of their loved one, and the misery of hopes being dashed as leads proved fruitless.
The first came shortly after her disappearance, when a man using her daughter's phone called and told her: "I have Amanda. She's fine and will be coming home in a couple of days." But that led to nothing.
As time passed and no news emerged, the case was featured on the TV programme American's Most Wanted. In November 2004, Miller, who worked tirelessly to highlight her daughter's case, appeared on The Montel Williams Show. The experience was a painful one for Miller, who was told by a supposed psychic on the show: "She's not alive, honey." Those words, Miller's friends said, profoundly affected her. Nevertheless, Miller continued her search, holding a vigil march the following year on Berry's birthday, during which people sang happy birthday to the absent teenager.
But in December 2005, Miller was taken to hospital with pancreatitis and other ailments. She died three months later of heart failure, at 44. Dona Brady, a city councillor who said she spent many hours with Miller, said: "She literally died of a broken heart."
There was further trauma for Berry's surviving family last summer when a prison inmate, Robert Wolford, told the authorities they would find her remains in a city lot in Cleveland. He was taken to the location, which was dug up, but no body was found. Wolford was subsequently sentenced to four and a half years in jail after admitting he had made up the claim.
DeJesus went missing a year after Perry. Aged 14, she disappeared while walking home from Wilbur Wright middle school, about half a mile from where Perry went missing.
In the months after DeJesus went missing, her father, Felix, would go out every night after work to search for his daughter. He was frustrated, feeling that the authorities had given up on his daughter: no special alert was issued the day DeJesus failed to return home because no one witnessed her abduction. The lack of an alert angered Felix DeJesus, who said in 2006 he believed the public would listen even if such alerts became routine.
In 2006, there was, briefly, hope of a resolution to the case after a tipoff that DeJesus's body was buried under the garage of a property belonging to a registered sex offender. The house owner and another man were arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder but a search failed to yield anything, and neither man was charged.
Knight's case, too, was the story of a family continuing to cling on to hope and search for their missing loved one as they felt the authorities' efforts tailing off. While the cases of Perry and DeJesus were high profile in Cleveland's west side community, the disappearance of Knight, who was 18 at the time of her disappearance, on 23 August, 2002, drew far less attention.
Speaking on Monday, after she had been found, her grandmother, Deborah Knight, said that, based on advice from police and social workers, family members had concluded that Michelle, who was last seen at a cousin's house, had probably left of her own accord because she was angry that her son had been removed from her custody.
But Michelle Knight's mother, Barbara, was unable to accept that she would disappear without a word to let her know that she was safe. She said she had continued to distribute flyers in Cleveland long after police stopped searching; and, even when she had moved from Cleveland – to Florida – she would often return to continue the search.
Knight said she had once thought she had seen her daughter walking with an older man, who appeared to be dragging her along when she dawdled, at a shopping plaza in Cleveland several years previously. But she called her daughter's name and the woman did not turn around.
Understandably, given the years of dashed hopes, on Monday Barbara Knight was wary of believing her daughter had truly been found until she had concrete proof. But she was also looking ahead to the possibility of introducing her to another member of the family: the little sister Michelle Knight has never met.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/07/ohio-abductions-mother-louwana-miller
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Charles Ramsey hailed as hero for role in helping Amanda Berry escape
Ramsey was initially considered a lone saviour but neighbour claims it was 'group effort'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/07/cleveland-abduction-charles-ramsey
**Excerpt from another neighbour**
"Now it's like: red flag, red flag, red flag. Somebody should've said something and my sister actually a few years ago heard a scream and she called police."
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His 911 call - contains obscene language but funny.
http://www.youtube.com/v/XRBHpZhbcSw
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Hahahaha
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;D
That man is tears...
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Thanks FF
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She said: "This motherf**ker done kidnapped me and my baby..." LOL
Allyuh bess leave Charles alone yes
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They are crazy. Charles Ramsey is the real hero !!!! if he had turn his back them girls would have still been there.
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They are crazy. Charles Ramsey is the real hero !!!! if he had turn his back them girls would have still been there.
If he had turned his back the neighbor who was already on the porch trying to get the door open would have gotten them out.
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Hmph! Interesting stuff in this article.
End of decade of torment for Cleveland kidnapping victims and their families
Neighbours had few suspicions Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were being held in Seymour Avenue
.................
Elsie Cintron, 55, who lives three doors away from Ariel Castro, said the backyard was boarded up with very high wooden sheets so there was no way to see inside. Once, a couple of years ago, she saw a young girl, maybe three or four years old, looking out of the window of the third floor attic of the house.
"I thought it was strange. What was a little girl doing with a man and no adult women in a house like that?"
'I wouldn't have anything to do with him'
More recently, Cintron's granddaughter reported an even more disturbing sight: she said she had spotted a naked woman crawling on her hands and knees outside the house. The woman went back in, but it was sufficiently unnerving to persuade the granddaughter to call the police, who Cintron believes failed to act upon the information. After that, she told her children and grandchildren firmly to go nowhere near number 2207. "I wouldn't have anything to do with him – I didn't want no problems," she said.
Cleveland police have insisted they did everything they could over the course of the past decade to follow up leads in the cases of the missing women. But in the coming days and weeks they are likely to face probing questions about whether they dropped the ball.
In January 2004, when both Knight and Berry were presumably already hidden in the house, police called at 2207 Seymour Avenue to interview Castro about an incident at work. He had left a young boy abandoned in his school bus while he went to have a lunch break, and police were asked to investigate whether he had any criminal intent, eventually concluding that he did not.
There are other reports of irregular activities. Juan Perez, 27, who lives two doors down from Ariel Castro's home, told the Guardian that about three years ago Perez and his mother and sister heard a scream coming from Castro's house. "It was the kind of scream that made you uncomfortable, so my mom called the police." That was all he knew about the incident, Perez said, and he has no idea what, if anything, the police did following the call. But the sense of how important that event might have been has already begun to haunt him.
"I can't help feeling a bit guilty as I lived two doors away from where they were kept for 10 years and apart from that I never heard anything," Perez said.
With each detail that emerges about Castro and his alleged secret life, the mystery only deepens. For every neighbour who said they found him odd or withdrawn, there was another who said he was charming, friendly and great fun.
Alberto Fermin has known Castro for about 15 years and plays with him in a Puerto Rican band, Borin Plena. He said Castro was an excellent bass musician. "I'm in shock. I know him as a very nice guy." That side of Castro shines out of his Facebook page, where last month he posted: "Congrats to my Rosie Arlene. She gave birth to a wonderful baby boy. That makes me Gramps for the fifth time, 2boys 1girl 2boys. Love you guys!"
Julio Castro, Ariel's uncle who has a grocery store half a block away from the house, told the Guardian he was in a very conflicted mood. On the one hand he was very happy that the three women were safe and free. On the other, he has to deal with the knowledge that three of his nephews are suspects in the abductions. "I feel terrible. Shameful! Shame on you Ariel!" he said.
It will take time for what happened to the three women in the house to become clear. More evident is the torture that their families have endured since they went missing.
Amanda Berry's family had their hopes raised then dashed twice.
Shortly after Amanda's disappearance, a man using her mobile phone called her mother and said: "I have Amanda. She's fine and will be coming home in a couple of days." But nothing happened.
After Amanda's mother died, another lead came in. A prison inmate, Robert Wolford, told the authorities they would find Amanda's remains in a city lot in Cleveland. He was taken to the location, which was dug up, but no body was found. Wolford was subsequently sentenced to four and a half years in jail after admitting it was a hoax.
DeJesus's family also went through unthinkable torment. In 2006, a tipoff came in that her body was buried under the garage of a property belonging to a registered sex offender.
The house owner and another man were arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder but a search failed to yield anything, and neither man was charged.
For Knight's family, the same desperate pattern unfolded. The missing girl's mother, Barbara, once thought she saw her walking with an older man, who appeared to be dragging her along when she dawdled, at a shopping plaza in the city. But when she called her daughter's name the woman did not turn round.
With police saying they are confident the three brothers are the perpetrators, other events that took place over the 10 years now look, at best, extraordinary and, at worst chilling. Evelyn Vega, 49, who lives in the neighbourhood and has frequently heard Ariel Castro's band, told the Guardian she remembers talking to Pedro Castro at another site where last summer police were digging for what they thought might be Gina DeJesus's body. "He told us they aren't going to find the bones in there. Now we know why – his brother had them in that house," she said, pointing to the cordoned-off property.
Three months after DeJesus vanished, Ariel Castro's son and namesake wrote an article, as part of his journalism studies, which was published by the local Plain Press. In it, he interviewed DeJesus's mother, Nancy Ruiz, who told him: "People are watching out for each other's kids. It's a shame that a tragedy had to happen for me to really know my neighbours – bless their hearts, they've been great."
There is no suggestion that the younger Ariel Castro had anything to do with the abductions. But the knowledge that the suspected perpetrator was one of those same neighbours – an ordinary guy living on an ordinary street – is going to haunt this city for a long time to come.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/07/cleveland-kidnapping-victims-sudden-end
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Police drop the ball
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Police drop the ball
How so... because the media looking for a story to sell?
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His 911 call - contains obscene language but funny.
http://www.youtube.com/v/XRBHpZhbcSw
Charles sound like he gettin vex he Mcnuggets gettin cold. These types of stories where young people getting taken and are held over lenghty periods of times bothers the hell out of me. I can't handle reading about what they have experienced. The psychological and emotional damage that is done over the period of their captivity is enough to kill a young person's spirit and soul. Then on top of it there are children conceived under those circumstances.
And what kills me is when so an so lining up tuh talk about the perp, how nice dey were and all dat. You doh know what a person is like until yuh live with dem and experience how dey handle dey self day in and day out. It have so many evil people out there that having contact with us and our love ones and we don't even know it.
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Good interview on AC 360... starting tuh change mih mind... just a little :)
My issue is less about Charles Ramsey and his actions, and more about the public's insistence on casting him in the role of hero. It's almost as though they're compensating for something... like their own subconscious stereotyping of him. This is a good interview with Anderson Cooper though...
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/crime/2013/05/08/ac-intv-cleveland-hero-charles-ramsey.cnn.html
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I find Mr.Ramsay to be a very eloquent individual especially in this Anderson interview. He is obviously well read. Heck I wish some of my coworkers could be as descriptive and recall events in such a manner. He cant be a dishwasher....Jobs in Cleveland must really be tough....I'm sure Oprah is already calling him though... McDonalds for FREE for 10 years...
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.....Psychic Who Said Amanda Berry Was Dead Silent After Berry Is Found Alive
By COLLEEN CURRY | Good Morning America
A year after Amanda Berry disappeared in Cleveland, her mother appeared on "The Montel Williams Show" to speak to a psychic about what happened to her daughter.
Psychic Sylvia Browne, who has made a career of televised psychic readings, told Louwanna Miller on a 2004 episode of the show that her daughter was dead, causing Miller to break down in tears on the show's set.
"She's not alive, honey," Browne told Miller on the show, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. "Your daughter's not the kind who wouldn't call."
Miller told the newspaper that she believed "98 percent" in what Browne told her. Miller died a year later from heart failure.
On Monday, Berry was found alive after she broke free from a home in Cleveland where she says she has been kept for the past decade.
Browne did not return phone calls seeking comment today by ABC News. The Montel Williams show, through syndicator CBS, also did not return calls for comment. The show no longer airs new episodes.
It's not the first time that Browne, and other psychics, have come under fire for their involvement in law enforcement cases.
In 2003, Browne incorrectly told the parents of missing teen Shawn Hornbeck that their son was dead, and his body could be found somewhere near "two jagged boulders," according to her premonition.
Nearly four years later, Hornbeck was found alive, and Browne was widely criticized in the media for causing the Hornbecks additional grief.
A website called "Stop Sylvia Browne," dedicated to cataloguing Browne's purported failures at prediction, sprang up in 2006.
Last year, Dwayne Baker told ABC News that after his son went missing in 2007, he was flooded with calls from psychics offering potential leads into the whereabouts of Travis Baker.
"It's very hard,' Dwayne Baker said. "I went through everything. My son was missing for two years, two months and 12 days. "Psychics called me. I even received a DVD in the mail that a guy claimed he could talk to the dead and this was Travis' voice, with no return address. I don't understand why people would want to do that."
"The psychics…" said Baker, 45, before pausing to let out a long sigh. "I hate to say how many of those called me and said they knew where Travis was. My mother and wife went to one and paid them $100."
Travis Baker's remains were located in 2009.
Brad Garret, a former special agent with the FBI and ABC News consultant said that alleged tips from psychics rarely help solve a case.
"As far as finding a victim, finding remains, finding evidence or in any way helping to solve the case, it's never been my experience," he said. "So, it's really a disservice to victims."
"We've never had a psychic lead that turns out to be correct," said Lt. Dave Parker, of the Anchorage, Alaska, police department, after 18-year-old Samantha Koenig went missing in February, 2012.
Today, Brown faced backlash on social media for her incorrect prediction about Amanda Berry. It is unclear whether she has helped to solve a crime with her psychic predictions.
"Psychics make me sick. Here's an example: Sylvia Browne told Amanda Berry's Mum (now dead) her daughter was dead," wrote Twitter user Chris McBriarty.
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Someone asked: Has Obama called Charles Ramsey to give him kudos, or was this not political enough? ;)
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It have so many evil people out there that having contact with us and our love ones and we don't even know it.
+1
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classifying him as a hero is overstating it a bit, but the man take action while others around him froze up.
if he was clean cut and better spoken all now so he would be rolling in citations from this and that police dep't, and POTUS would have called him and made sure everybody knew about it.
if he has some convictions under his belt that might serve to temper the accolades etc.
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McDonald's reaching out to Cleveland's Ramsey
..."We salute the courage of Ohio kidnap victims & respect their privacy," the Oak Brook chain said on its corporate Twitter account. "Way to go Charles Ramsey -- we'll be in touch."
Spokeswoman Danya Proud said that tweet was the result of a rash of customers asking the company to do something for Ramsey, who's been called a hero for calling attention to the scene.
"We have literally heard from thousands of people who think McDonald's should do something for Mr. Ramsey," Proud said. "Out of respect for him, and the situation, McDonald's and our franchisees are contacting him directly."
The company didn't go into detail about any possible reward.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-mcdonalds-cleveland-kidnapping-20130508,0,3282572.story
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Mc Donalds power!
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McDonald's reaching out to Cleveland's Ramsey
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-mcdonalds-cleveland-kidnapping-20130508,0,3282572.story
No such thing as bad publicity
classifying him as a hero is overstating it a bit, but the man take action while others around him froze up.
if he was clean cut and better spoken...
Interesting comment. I was discussing this with a few of my colleagues and I wonder if he wasn't as eccentric as he comes across if he would have done something?
Sometimes certain people are in certain places for a reason....
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if he was clean cut and better spoken all now so he would be rolling in citations from this and that police dep't, and POTUS would have called him and made sure everybody knew about it.
sad, but true
oh well, at least he get a autotune song on you tube
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ah reading the 3 captives had 5 babies and a few miscarriages among them. where them kids at? if one of them buried in the back yard, ah hope thaiz enough for the DP.
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ah reading the 3 captives had 5 babies and a few miscarriages among them. where them kids at? if one of them buried in the back yard, ah hope thaiz enough for the DP.
Article?
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ah reading the 3 captives had 5 babies and a few miscarriages among them. where them kids at? if one of them buried in the back yard, ah hope thaiz enough for the DP.
Article?
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/amanda-berry-three-captive-women-1875026
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More Victims: ANOTHER Woman Disappeared From House Where Three Women Were Rescued, ‘R.I.P.’ Scrawled On Wall
Relief and joy over the rescue of three women held hostage for a decade turned to muted horror Tuesday as information surfaced that another woman had been imprisoned in Ariel Castro’s house.
That woman, whose name is not yet public, disappeared suddenly. Her name was written on a wall in the basement of the house of horrors, with “Rest In Peace” next to it, reports fox8.com.
The information was given to police by Michelle Knight, who along with Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus was rescued from the Cleveland home Monday after a frantic and chaotic sequence of events.
“Knight told police that there was another woman in the home when she got there, but one day she woke up and the woman was gone,” the station reported. “There is writing on the wall in the basement which includes the name of a female and says, ‘Rest In Peace.’”
Now with the women safe after a decade of what appears to be unthinkable abuse, authorities are interviewing them for a complete picture of what occurred inside Castro’s house as they hunt for more victims.
PHOTOS: House Of Horrors: New Details Aboout Where Amanda Berry Was Kept For 10 Years
There were multiple pregnancies among the imprisoned women but they were beaten while pregnant, multiple reports sourced to law enforcement revealed.
Berry emerged from the house with a six-year-old daughter.
“One of the victims had two to three miscarriages in the Seymour Avenue because she was malnourished,” reported newsnet5.com.
“Another police source who is actively working on this investigation told NewsChannel5’s Michael Baldwin at least five babies were born inside the home.”
And a second search warrant was issued Tuesday looking “for evidence of bodily fluids related to ‘births,’” reported fox8.com.
Berry’s young daughter called Castro’s mother “grandma” multiple sources told newsnet5.com. And one neighbor told the station that Castro was seen with a little girl who called him “dad.”
Castro and his brothers Pedro and Oneil Castro were arrested Monday night in connection with the case.
...
http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2013/05/more-victims-another-woman-disappeared-from-house-where-three-women-were-rescued-r-i-p-scrawled-on-wall/
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Police drop the ball
well de neighbour say she see a child in de window and a naked woman crawling around in de yard. police knock and nobody answering de door - case closed. maybe if dey say de woman was wearing a police badge dey woulda do more?
in this day and age, nothing less than a video on worldstarhiphop go make anyone move. police lazy. all de wannabe maco, get your game up!
Berry’s young daughter called Castro’s mother “grandma” multiple sources told newsnet5.com. And one neighbor told the station that Castro was seen with a little girl who called him “dad.”
hopefully dey arrest de rest of de family. dey covering for each other.
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Well the police didn't have any calls that crimes had taken place. And they couldn't get into the house without a specific warrant and then what would that warrant have been for? A woman "supposedly" crawling outside naked?
If someone had called and said 'Oh we think this is one of the kidnapping victims we just saw in the backyard' well that would have been different...or they called after witnessing actual abuse...*shrug*
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What would have happened when the daughter got older and realized what situation her mother was in and what her dad and uncles were doing. Also, if there were multiple pregnancies and they went full term, who delivered those babies. What would the situation be if any of these women would have had to have a C section because they could not deliver the normal way.
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Rape the Daughter.
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What would have happened when the daughter got older and realized what situation her mother was in and what her dad and uncles were doing. Also, if there were multiple pregnancies and they went full term, who delivered those babies. What would the situation be if any of these women would have had to have a C section because they could not deliver the normal way.
for real...dem fellas is doulas too?? on another note i so shame that they are puerto rican ::) ::)
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Well the police didn't have any calls that crimes had taken place. And they couldn't get into the house without a specific warrant and then what would that warrant have been for? A woman "supposedly" crawling outside naked?
If someone had called and said 'Oh we think this is one of the kidnapping victims we just saw in the backyard' well that would have been different...or they called after witnessing actual abuse...*shrug*
Stop trying tuh make sense nah... police drop de ball, leh we go with that.
Meanwhile, this is one of the unfortunate by-products of trying to unnecessarily build up Ramsey as a hero... and putting him in front of every willing camera. Now they trying to bring his criminal history (http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/charles-ramsey-domestic-violence-211150810.html) into frame, specifically convictions for domestic abuse, ironically enough. As quick as they try to build you up, they will just as quick try and bring you down.
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Who knew there was a Puerto Rican community in Cleveland.
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The women said they only remembered being outside the house twice in 10 years and only very briefly, police told reporters. Investigators said there was no evidence to support claims that the women had been seen in the backyard, naked and in chains.
Police clearly trying to cover up de fact that they drop de friggin ball... apparently (http://abcnews.go.com/US/cleveland-kidnap-suspect-charged-rape-abductions/story?id=19133593#.UYr-7rXviSo).
Meanwhile the NYT's Serge Kovalewski tells the story of Angel Cordero (video) (http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/05/08/us/100000002214123/decisive-moment-that-ended-a-kidnapping.html?smid=pl-share)... the first to come to Amanda Berry's rescue.
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... guess McD's going to backpedal on Mr. Ramsey.
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I guess BO44 will call him in time. I guess if he had called him some will say it is political. If he call him later, it still political.
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What would have happened when the daughter got older and realized what situation her mother was in and what her dad and uncles were doing. Also, if there were multiple pregnancies and they went full term, who delivered those babies. What would the situation be if any of these women would have had to have a C section because they could not deliver the normal way.
for real...dem fellas is doulas too?? on another note i so shame that they are puerto rican ::) ::)
Why you shame they are PR. Are you PR related? Bro every group has its crosses to carry. Black people forever having some cross nailing we arse to the cross, guilty or not. Last week was the Russian/Chechen. next week it might be some middle eastern. The Next week it might be Mex, Guat or South American. Then it go be some Africans. Then it go be east Asians, then South Asians. Then for the rest of the year it go be various gunrights children shooting up schools or cinema. Bro, Just be nice to everybody.
Look on the bright side. We have Jack. You honestly feel I shame.
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The women said they only remembered being outside the house twice in 10 years and only very briefly, police told reporters. Investigators said there was no evidence to support claims that the women had been seen in the backyard, naked and in chains.
Police clearly trying to cover up de fact that they drop de friggin ball... apparently (http://abcnews.go.com/US/cleveland-kidnap-suspect-charged-rape-abductions/story?id=19133593#.UYr-7rXviSo).
Meanwhile the NYT's Serge Kovalewski tells the story of Angel Cordero (video) (http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/05/08/us/100000002214123/decisive-moment-that-ended-a-kidnapping.html?smid=pl-share)... the first to come to Amanda Berry's rescue.
So Bakes, which is the truth. Angel or the brudder?
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So Bakes, which is the truth. Angel or the brudder?
In the Anderson Cooper interview I posted on the previous page, around the 1:30 mark he mentions hearing the screams, looking out and seeing his next door neighbor running over to the house. He soon joined him in trying to rescue him. Angel Cordero can't speak English well... so he get shunted to the side as the media and public was scrambling all over deyself to anoint Ramsey THE hero. Ramsey himself was lapping it up.
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So Bakes, which is the truth. Angel or the brudder?
In the Anderson Cooper interview I posted on the previous page, around the 1:30 mark he mentions hearing the screams, looking out and seeing his next door neighbor running over to the house. He soon joined him in trying to rescue him. Angel Cordero can't speak English well... so he get shunted to the side as the media and public was scrambling all over deyself to anoint Ramsey THE hero. Ramsey himself was lapping it up.
:rotfl: My boy get his 30 secs of fame, like dutty said, an auto tune song on youtube and possible a McDonald's endorsement
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Best story so far is how de police show up to the house to investigate a complaint, knock on de door, no one home, case closed. Good police work. Job well done.
Any police dat call dem self "investigator" or anything that sound moderately proactive better come up with another title.
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What would have happened when the daughter got older and realized what situation her mother was in and what her dad and uncles were doing. Also, if there were multiple pregnancies and they went full term, who delivered those babies. What would the situation be if any of these women would have had to have a C section because they could not deliver the normal way.
for real...dem fellas is doulas too?? on another note i so shame that they are puerto rican ::) ::)
anthony sowell
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What would have happened when the daughter got older and realized what situation her mother was in and what her dad and uncles were doing. Also, if there were multiple pregnancies and they went full term, who delivered those babies. What would the situation be if any of these women would have had to have a C section because they could not deliver the normal way.
for real...dem fellas is doulas too?? on another note i so shame that they are puerto rican ::) ::)
anthony sowell
my god
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Cleveland suspect's daughter in prison for slashing baby's throat
CNN) -- The daughter of Ariel Castro, the primary suspect in the abduction of three women found alive this week, is serving a 25-year sentence in an Indiana prison for the attempted murder of her baby six years ago.
Emily Castro was sentenced to 30 years with five years suspended. A judge found Castro guilty but mentally ill of cutting her 11-month-old daughter four times on the neck in April 2007.
An appeal, filed in late 2008, was denied by an Indiana court.
Legal documents state that on April 4, 2007, Castro, 19 at the time, was upset that her boyfriend -- the baby's father -- had moved out of the family's home in Fort Wayne. She took the baby into a garage and cut her neck four times with a knife.
Castro also cut her own neck and wrists.
Police were summoned to the house by a passerby who came upon Castro's mother carrying the baby and running from the home. Officers found Castro covered in mud, water and blood. Castro told paramedics she had tried to drown herself in a creek, according to an appeals court decision document.
The baby survived.
According to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, the defense argued at trial that Castro had suffered from mental depression and became paranoid, thinking her family was trying to kill her and the baby.
The judge found that Castro still had the ability to know right from wrong.
She and her brother Anthony spoke at her sentencing hearing, the Journal Gazette reported.
"I don't know how this happened," said Castro. "I want you to know I am a very good mom."
Anthony Castro said his sister was not an animal. The family had dealt with his sister's illness every day, he added.
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So what should be the punishment for this guy?
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So what should be the punishment for this guy?
well, i expecking a big discussion on this since i see this thread (http://www.socawarriors.net/forum/index.php?topic=59607.0) where man spend real time and analyse whether is 8 or 10 or 6.5 years like dey holding de scales demselves. de calibration of justice in de justice system is real accurate!
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So what should be the punishment for this guy?
hang him from his toe-tee!
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So what should be the punishment for this guy?
hang him from his toe-tee!
Puh him back in de same house he deal dem in ... buh have Lorena Bobbit roaming the hallways.
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So what should be the punishment for this guy?
hang him from his toe-tee!
de kinda details that commin out of what he do to them women.....that eh harsh enough
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So what should be the punishment for this guy?
well, i expecking a big discussion on this since i see this thread (http://www.socawarriors.net/forum/index.php?topic=59607.0) where man spend real time and analyse whether is 8 or 10 or 6.5 years like dey holding de scales demselves. de calibration of justice in de justice system is real accurate!
Say yuh eh understand it and done. ::)
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So what should be the punishment for this guy?
well, i expecking a big discussion on this since i see this thread (http://www.socawarriors.net/forum/index.php?topic=59607.0) where man spend real time and analyse whether is 8 or 10 or 6.5 years like dey holding de scales demselves. de calibration of justice in de justice system is real accurate!
Say yuh eh understand it and done. ::)
some does pretend to understand it.
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So what should be the punishment for this guy?
well, i expecking a big discussion on this since i see this thread (http://www.socawarriors.net/forum/index.php?topic=59607.0) where man spend real time and analyse whether is 8 or 10 or 6.5 years like dey holding de scales demselves. de calibration of justice in de justice system is real accurate!
Say yuh eh understand it and done. ::)
some does pretend to understand it.
We can agree on that. :rotfl:
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The man sick, he sick, he sick.
Like he didn't like the Michele girl at all at all. They say she had the most injuries/worst beatings.
She had broken bones in her face which had healed and hearing loss.
Then she told the police that she got pregnant five times but he used to starve her and punch he repeatedly in the stomach to make her miscarry. :(
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... P.S. ribbit:
Ah have to commend you for being more responsible on this thread than you were on the Trayvon Martin thread (http://www.socawarriors.net/forum/index.php?topic=56622.msg801199#msg801199).
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... P.S. ribbit:
Ah have to commend you for being more responsible on this thread than you were on the Trayvon Martin thread.
Doh start de man nah. Please.
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... P.S. ribbit:
Ah have to commend you for being more responsible on this thread than you were on the Trayvon Martin thread.
Doh start de man nah. Please.
Yuh right. At least here he's smart enough not to blame the victims.
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The man sick, he sick, he sick.
Like he didn't like the Michele girl at all at all. They say she had the most injuries/worst beatings.
She had broken bones in her face which had healed and hearing loss.
Then she told the police that she got pregnant five times but he used to starve her and punch he repeatedly in the stomach to make her miscarry. :(
Not to dissect an already gut wrenching story but ... yuh would think if pregnancy was his concern that he would have found other reasonable means of addressing that.
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The man sick, he sick, he sick.
Like he didn't like the Michele girl at all at all. They say she had the most injuries/worst beatings.
She had broken bones in her face which had healed and hearing loss.
Then she told the police that she got pregnant five times but he used to starve her and punch he repeatedly in the stomach to make her miscarry. :(
Not to dissect an already gut wrenching story but ... yuh would think if pregnancy was his concern that he would have found other reasonable means of addressing that.
The man is clearly a sadist - he probably got some sick pleasure out of it.
I can't imagine what those girls went through nah. 10 years of absolute terror. 10 years. Every time you hear the front door open, or his foot-steps on the stairs you know it's another horror about to happen. Thank goodness they got out.
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By Erin McClam, Staff Writer, NBC News
A judge set bond Thursday at $8 million for Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man accused of kidnapping three women and subjecting them to a horrific decade of imprisonment, rape and beatings.
Castro, 52, is charged with four counts of kidnapping — for each of the three women and for a daughter that one woman bore in captivity. The bond figure reflected $2 million for each of the four cases. He is also charged with three counts of rape.
Judge Lauren C. Moore of Cleveland city court also ordered Castro to have “absolutely no contact” with the victims or their families.
Ariel Castro, accused of holding three Cleveland women captive in his home for a decade.
Castro, wearing what appeared to be a dark blue prison jumpsuit, looked at the floor for most of a brief arraignment hearing. He did not enter a plea or address the judge.
“Today the situation’s turned, Your Honor. Mr. Castro stands before you a captive, in captivity, a prisoner,” prosecutor Brian Murphy said. “The women are free to resume their lives.”
Murphy described the kidnappings as a “horrifying ordeal” and said that Castro had acted on “premeditated, deliberate and depraved decisions to snatch three young ladies from Cleveland’s West Side streets, to be used in whatever self-gratifying, self-serving way he saw fit.”
A daring escape and a dramatic 911 call led to the rescue of three women who allegedly had been held captive for years inside a home in Cleveland, Ohio.
The prosecutor described the escape of one woman and the rescue of the other two as miraculous.
Investigators, in their initial search of Castro’s house, found a suicide note that he wrote in 2004. Castro said in the note that he was abused as a child.
A public defender assigned to Castro, Kathleen DeMetz, said that Castro would be moved to a county jail. Getting out would require putting up $800,000 cash, she said, and “he clearly doesn’t have that.”
DeMetz said that she expected he would be placed under “extreme protective custody” and perhaps put on suicide watch.
On Wednesday, as two of the women returned home to jubilant crowds, rejoined their families and began adjusting to life in open society, a Cleveland police report laid out gruesome details of their captivity.
Castro lured each of the women — Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight — between 2002 and 2004 by offering them rides, the report said. It said he chained each of them in the basement before allowing them to live on the second floor.
Knight told police that Castro had impregnated her at least five times, and forced her to miscarry by punching her in the stomach, the report said. It said that Knight was forced to deliver Berry’s baby in a kiddie pool six years ago, and that Castro threatened to kill Knight if the baby died. The child survived.
Authorities said they had no evidence that two of Castro’s brothers who were arrested Monday night were involved in the kidnappings.
Those brothers also appeared in court Thursday on charges unrelated to the abductions. Pedro Castro pleaded no contest to a 2011 charge related to an open container of alcohol. The judge dismissed a 12-year-old case against the other brother, Onil Castro. DeMetz said that the charges against Onil Castro were misdemeanors, an open-container charge and a drug charge.
Berry staged a daring escape Monday night, breaking part of the way through a storm door and screaming for help before a neighbor, Chuck Ramsey, ran to her rescue. Berry made a frantic call to 911 and pleaded for police help.
There remain many unanswered questions in the kidnappings, including why there were no witnesses and how it was possible that no one else knew that they were being held.
“Ariel kept everyone at a distance,” Ed Tomba, the deputy Cleveland police chief, told reporters Wednesday.
DeJesus, now 23, offered a thumbs-up as she returned home Wednesday. Berry, 27, was spirited into her sister’s house out of the view of reporters. Knight, 32, remained in a Cleveland hospital undergoing mental health treatment, her mother said.
Craig Melvin of NBC News contributed to this report. Reuters also contributed.
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How the ordeal started
Knight was 21 on August 22, 2002, when Castro lured her into his vehicle along Cleveland's Lorain Avenue, according to charging documents. Castro took her back to his home on Seymour Avenue, about three miles away, and didn't let her go.
Knight was sexually assaulted multiple times, the documents state. Soon, others joined her.
Berry experienced a similar nightmare on April 21, 2003 -- the eve of her 17th birthday. She was walking home from her job at Burger King that night when Castro told her his son also worked at Burger King and offered her a ride home, the initial police report states.
Almost exactly a year later, they were joined by DeJesus, then 14 years old.
They remained in that hell until Monday evening, when Berry got to a door and screamed for help. Hearing her cries, Ramsey and Cordero kicked in the door to help her escape.
According to Cordero, Berry's 6-year-old daughter ran out of the house, too, wearing only a diaper and a sullied shirt. Police are conducting a DNA test to determine the child's paternity.
"Help me, I am Amanda Berry," the victim begged a 911 operator from Ramsey's house. "I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years. And I'm here, I'm free now."
Knight and DeJesus didn't run out of the house with Berry, even though they could have, said the law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the case. The source described the Knight and DeJesus as brainwashed and fearful.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/09/us/ohio-missing-women-found/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
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I wonder how Amanda found the impetus to try to escape...how she kept her presence of mind.
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now ah reading de police had a sketch of the dejesus's abductor and dey executed a traffic stop on him a few years later. police doh need to connect dots. neither do the fbi. nothing to see here.
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Authorities said they had no evidence that two of Castro’s brothers who were arrested Monday night were involved in the kidnappings.
Those brothers also appeared in court Thursday on charges unrelated to the abductions. Pedro Castro pleaded no contest to a 2011 charge related to an open container of alcohol. The judge dismissed a 12-year-old case against the other brother, Onil Castro. DeMetz said that the charges against Onil Castro were misdemeanors, an open-container charge and a drug charge.
Yet police arrest them and broadcas their image to the world making it seem as though is the three of them who organize and carry out this whole thing.
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now ah reading de police had a sketch of the dejesus's abductor and dey executed a traffic stop on him a few years later. police doh need to connect dots. neither do the fbi. nothing to see here.
are you suggesting that police cross reference everyone who is stopped for a traffic offence against a database of sketches?
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Authorities said they had no evidence that two of Castro’s brothers who were arrested Monday night were involved in the kidnappings.
Those brothers also appeared in court Thursday on charges unrelated to the abductions. Pedro Castro pleaded no contest to a 2011 charge related to an open container of alcohol. The judge dismissed a 12-year-old case against the other brother, Onil Castro. DeMetz said that the charges against Onil Castro were misdemeanors, an open-container charge and a drug charge.
Yet police arrest them and broadcas their image to the world making it seem as though is the three of them who organize and carry out this whole thing.
That's fine...stigmatize dey ol backsides...collateral damage,, wuhever
It have no way dem could be livin in da lil 2x4 house and not know it have three woman and ah baby chain up in de basement.....even if they decide to turn ah blind eye, leh dem feel de heat of global exposure for complicity
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now ah reading de police had a sketch of the dejesus's abductor and dey executed a traffic stop on him a few years later. police doh need to connect dots. neither do the fbi. nothing to see here.
are you suggesting that police cross reference everyone who is stopped for a traffic offence against a database of sketches?
yes. technology eh just for downloading blues.
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Authorities said they had no evidence that two of Castro’s brothers who were arrested Monday night were involved in the kidnappings.
Those brothers also appeared in court Thursday on charges unrelated to the abductions. Pedro Castro pleaded no contest to a 2011 charge related to an open container of alcohol. The judge dismissed a 12-year-old case against the other brother, Onil Castro. DeMetz said that the charges against Onil Castro were misdemeanors, an open-container charge and a drug charge.
Yet police arrest them and broadcas their image to the world making it seem as though is the three of them who organize and carry out this whole thing.
That's fine...stigmatize dey ol backsides...collateral damage,, wuhever
It have no way dem could be livin in da lil 2x4 house and not know it have three woman and ah baby chain up in de basement.....even if they decide to turn ah blind eye, leh dem feel de heat of global exposure for complicity
Dutty... earlier it was said that the brothers did not live in the house.
Now they may have very well known along with other family members but nothing we see so far has indicated that, other than they were picked up by the police in the first place.
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de news ppl up here backward oui...all this time I tort all 3 of them fellahs livin dey
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de news ppl up here backward oui...all this time I tort all 3 of them fellahs livin dey
hahaha
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de news ppl up here backward oui...all this time I tort all 3 of them fellahs livin dey
Not only did they NOT live there... neighbors never saw anyone going there but Ariel. He was the only one neighbors ever see going into or out of the house, they never even saw any of his family members there.
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Cleveland prosecutors may seek death penalty for kidnap suspect Ariel Castro
Officials say they intend to pursue charges of kidnap and sexual assault, as well as aggravated murder, against 52-year-old
Prosecutors in Ohio have said they may seek the death penalty in the case of the former school bus driver accused of the kidnap and rape of three women held prisoner at his home for years.
Ariel Castro, 52, made his first court appearance on Thursday when a judge set bond at $8m. The size of the bond means he is likely to remain in jail for some time. His court-appointed lawyer said he was unemployed and had little money.
At a news conference later, county prosecutor Timothy McGinty said that his office intends to pursue charges of kidnapping and sexual assault, as well as aggravated murder, which could carry the death penalty.
The aggravated murder charges would stem from the forced miscarriages that police say were suffered by one of the women at the hands of Castro, 52, who is accused of holding them captive at his house in west Cleveland. "The law of Ohio calls for the death penalty for those most depraved criminals who commit aggravated murder during the course of a kidnapping," McGinty said.
The city of Cleveland has already filed kidnapping and rape charges against Castro, who appeared briefly in a municipal court on Thursday. Castro was silent during the hearing, looking at the ground, biting his collar and signing documents with his handcuffed hands.
Brian Murphy, the assistant prosecuting attorney at Cuyahoga County, told Judge Lauren Moore that Castro's home "was a prison to these three women and the child". He added: "Today the situation is turned on him. Mr Castro stands before you a captive, in captivity, a prisoner."
Castro face threes counts of rape, relating to the women, and four counts of kidnap, which include the child. He did not enter a plea. The Guardian does not usually identify the victims of sexual assault but the names of the three women were circulated widely by family and law enforcement agencies for years during their disappearance.
Continued...http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/09/cleveland-prosecutors-death-penalty-kidnapping-suspect
The aggravated murder charge is most interesting.
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And I'm glad they're charging him for every single act of sexual violence, assault, etc.
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I hope he gets his own medicine prison
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now ah reading de police had a sketch of the dejesus's abductor and dey executed a traffic stop on him a few years later. police doh need to connect dots. neither do the fbi. nothing to see here.
are you suggesting that police cross reference everyone who is stopped for a traffic offence against a database of sketches?
yes. technology eh just for downloading blues.
??? ...
OH! Yuh mean music!!!
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And I'm glad they're charging him for every single act of sexual violence, assault, etc.
That's pretty routine.
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ah reading castro would show them the vigils for de jesus and berry on the TV. knight's family didn't hold any vigils. plus knight had lost custody of her child. she must be going through some real sh*t now eh. poor gyul.
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ah reading castro would show them the vigils for de jesus and berry on the TV. knight's family didn't hold any vigils. plus knight had lost custody of her child. she must be going through some real sh*t now eh. poor gyul.
The man daughter was friends with DeJesus and in another report they had a clip of her being interviewed on TV after the girl was kidnapped back in the day.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ariel-castro-daughter-apologizes-kidnap-victim-article-1.1339323
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ah reading castro would show them the vigils for de jesus and berry on the TV. knight's family didn't hold any vigils. plus knight had lost custody of her child. she must be going through some real sh*t now eh. poor gyul.
The man daughter was friends with DeJesus and in another report they had a clip of her being interviewed on TV after the girl was kidnapped back in the day.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ariel-castro-daughter-apologizes-kidnap-victim-article-1.1339323
holy 4k, i even know the depths this woman gorn through. her first child was a result of a gang rape ?!?! what the 4k ?!!?! and now this happen?! ah cyah believe this. this woman need to pull a lebron and get de hell out of cleveland oui.
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Cleveland abductions: Do white victims get more attention? (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22441124)
Three young women disappeared in Cleveland. Media coverage of their cases illustrates stereotypes about race.
Charles Ramsey heard someone screaming in a nearby house. Luckily, he managed to help the woman, Amanda Berry, who was in distress.
Because of his efforts, she, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped from the house in Cleveland where they were held captive for a decade or more.
"I knew something was wrong when a little, pretty white girl ran into a black man's arms," Ramsey said later.
"Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway."
As it turned out, Ramsey's assessment was a twist on what is known among media critics as the Missing White Woman Syndrome.
Charlton McIlwain, a professor at New York University and the author of Race Appeal: How Candidates Invoke Race in US Political Campaigns, defines the syndrome: "White women occupy a privileged role as violent crime victims in news media reporting."
In other words, the victim is white and middle class. Ideally, she is saved - by a white guy.
"Our victims are colour-coded," says McIlwain. A proper victim is one who looks like a journalist, he says.
"Research shows that in terms of crime victims, they are people who we view as being like us - like those who are covering the events or reading about them," he says.
"Our national ideal of who is vulnerable - and who holds victim status - are those who are white and female."
The perception of victimhood is partly a media creation.
In truth, nearly half of those individuals who go missing in the US are not white - though one might not know that from the news coverage.
Berry was abducted in April 2003 and DeJesus a year later. They were children when they vanished, and their families were desperate to find them.
Yet the coverage of their abductions was dramatically different.
In Cleveland, the newspaper stories were mainly about the white girl.
In the 10 years Berry was missing, the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper published 36 articles about her, according to a search of electronic news archive Lexis-Nexis.
During the nine-year period that DeJesus, who is Hispanic, was missing, the newspaper published 19 articles about her case.
The coverage of these two cases reflects an overall trend in the media.
According to a 2010 academic study, roughly 80% of the news coverage about missing children is devoted to victims who are not black, while only 20% is given to children who are black.
The breakdown in media coverage does not reflect reality. "We have a sort of racial hierarchy," says McIlwain.
The coverage of violent crime and of people who have disappeared is biased and hurtful, says Natalie Wilson, co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation, which fights racial stereotypes in the media.
She first came across the stereotypes in crime reporting when she heard about a 24-year-old black woman, Tamika Huston, who went missing in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 2004.
Journalists seemed indifferent.
"The family really struggled to get any coverage whatsoever," says Wilson.
Wilson knows she cannot change the outcome of these cases. Many end in tragedy. More than a year after Huston's disappearance, a former boyfriend pleaded guilty to her murder.
Yet at least the story has been reported - and her family knows what happened to her.
In some cases, it takes years to sort out the truth.
Some families who have lost a loved one only manage with help from an organisation like the Black and Missing Foundation or from a prominent activist.
Stephen Lawrence, 19, was stabbed by white thugs who used a racial slur in London in April 1993. His murder hardly caused a stir in the national media. After a fortnight, Stephen's family held a press conference to complain not enough was being done by police to catch the killers. Then Nelson Mandela got involved.
Last year the killers, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were sentenced to life in prison for the killing.
Experts say that all too often when crimes are committed against people of colour the cases remain unsolved. And no one except their families seems to care.
The case in Cleveland shone a spotlight on the cases of missing children.
Experts hope that this will make more people pay attention to those who have disappeared, regardless of the colour of their skin.
Indeed, the story may help to remind journalists - and their audiences - that crime cuts across racial lines. It may have another positive aspect, too.
Charles Ramsey helped to save Berry, DeJesus and Knight from their prison. He was also blunt.
"Ramsey just called it like he saw it," says Farai Chideya, author of The Color of Our Future: Race in the 21st Century.
"People say, 'Wow, he's representing our race, and he's doing something really awesome - but why can't he comb his hair?'
"I think it's healthy to expand the notion of what a good black man is. You don't have to have a full set of teeth to be a hero."
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Cleveland abductions: Do white victims get more attention? (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22441124)
Three young women disappeared in Cleveland. Media coverage of their cases illustrates stereotypes about race.
Charles Ramsey heard someone screaming in a nearby house. Luckily, he managed to help the woman, Amanda Berry, who was in distress.
Because of his efforts, she, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped from the house in Cleveland where they were held captive for a decade or more.
"I knew something was wrong when a little, pretty white girl ran into a black man's arms," Ramsey said later.
"Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway."
As it turned out, Ramsey's assessment was a twist on what is known among media critics as the Missing White Woman Syndrome.
Charlton McIlwain, a professor at New York University and the author of Race Appeal: How Candidates Invoke Race in US Political Campaigns, defines the syndrome: "White women occupy a privileged role as violent crime victims in news media reporting."
In other words, the victim is white and middle class. Ideally, she is saved - by a white guy.
"Our victims are colour-coded," says McIlwain. A proper victim is one who looks like a journalist, he says.
"Research shows that in terms of crime victims, they are people who we view as being like us - like those who are covering the events or reading about them," he says.
"Our national ideal of who is vulnerable - and who holds victim status - are those who are white and female."
The perception of victimhood is partly a media creation.
In truth, nearly half of those individuals who go missing in the US are not white - though one might not know that from the news coverage.
Berry was abducted in April 2003 and DeJesus a year later. They were children when they vanished, and their families were desperate to find them.
Yet the coverage of their abductions was dramatically different.
In Cleveland, the newspaper stories were mainly about the white girl.
In the 10 years Berry was missing, the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper published 36 articles about her, according to a search of electronic news archive Lexis-Nexis.
During the nine-year period that DeJesus, who is Hispanic, was missing, the newspaper published 19 articles about her case.
The coverage of these two cases reflects an overall trend in the media.
According to a 2010 academic study, roughly 80% of the news coverage about missing children is devoted to victims who are not black, while only 20% is given to children who are black.
The breakdown in media coverage does not reflect reality. "We have a sort of racial hierarchy," says McIlwain.
The coverage of violent crime and of people who have disappeared is biased and hurtful, says Natalie Wilson, co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation, which fights racial stereotypes in the media.
She first came across the stereotypes in crime reporting when she heard about a 24-year-old black woman, Tamika Huston, who went missing in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 2004.
Journalists seemed indifferent.
"The family really struggled to get any coverage whatsoever," says Wilson.
Wilson knows she cannot change the outcome of these cases. Many end in tragedy. More than a year after Huston's disappearance, a former boyfriend pleaded guilty to her murder.
Yet at least the story has been reported - and her family knows what happened to her.
In some cases, it takes years to sort out the truth.
Some families who have lost a loved one only manage with help from an organisation like the Black and Missing Foundation or from a prominent activist.
Stephen Lawrence, 19, was stabbed by white thugs who used a racial slur in London in April 1993. His murder hardly caused a stir in the national media. After a fortnight, Stephen's family held a press conference to complain not enough was being done by police to catch the killers. Then Nelson Mandela got involved.
Last year the killers, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were sentenced to life in prison for the killing.
Experts say that all too often when crimes are committed against people of colour the cases remain unsolved. And no one except their families seems to care.
The case in Cleveland shone a spotlight on the cases of missing children.
Experts hope that this will make more people pay attention to those who have disappeared, regardless of the colour of their skin.
Indeed, the story may help to remind journalists - and their audiences - that crime cuts across racial lines. It may have another positive aspect, too.
Charles Ramsey helped to save Berry, DeJesus and Knight from their prison. He was also blunt.
"Ramsey just called it like he saw it," says Farai Chideya, author of The Color of Our Future: Race in the 21st Century.
"People say, 'Wow, he's representing our race, and he's doing something really awesome - but why can't he comb his hair?'
"I think it's healthy to expand the notion of what a good black man is. You don't have to have a full set of teeth to be a hero."
interesting how this article also makes the point by calling out ramsay but forgetting cordero. apparently cordero did as much if not more work in breaking down the door as ramsay. it's a good point about the racial hierarchy: white first, black second, hispanic third, everyone else 4th. ah not knocking this - is a numbers game too. media write for society and this reflects the make up of society.
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Not disputing what the article is saying, because it is well documented that non-white victims get half as much as coverage, but Michele Knight was grossly unreported. The Police didn't even think she had been kidnapped - they called her a run-away despite her mother's pleas. But that family comes off as so dysfunctional...
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Interestingly enough - there was a comment by a Hispanic individual who was livid that Cordero did not receive the same coverage and accolades as Ramsey - because he did not speak English.
In the case of Hispanics, could that be a hindrance to the mainstream media coverage they receive? I think so...
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Cleveland's WEWS-TV Issues Apology For Report On Charles Ramsey's Criminal Record
TO OUR READERS & FOLLOWERS: We heard you. Wednesday night, we made a poor judgment call in posting a story about Charles Ramsey’s criminal record and how he’s since reformed. While the story was factually sound, the timing of it and publication of such information was not in good taste, and we regret it. Your comments prompted us to quickly remove the story from our website and Facebook page, but we know we can’t erase what we’ve already done. Ramsey is a hero for his actions, and we recognize that. Thank you so much for your feedback.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/10/cleveland-wews-apology-charles-ramsey-criminal-record_n_3252642.html?utm_hp_ref=media
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Charles Ramsey -- the hero who helped free Amanda Berry and 2 other women in Ohio -- tells TMZ ... he's not ashamed that media outlets have uncovered the domestic violence arrests in his past, claiming he used the incidents to grow into a better person.
After Ramsey exploded into viral superstardom thanks to his heroic actions (and follow-up interviews), several websites posted the details from 3 separate domestic violence arrests involving an ex-wife that all took place between 1997 and 2003.
We spoke to Ramsey, who told us ... "I've made amends with the people involved and we've all moved on and grown up."
Ramsey adds, "Those incidents helped me become the man I am today and are the reason why I try to help the community as much as I can ... Including those women."
"If I had so much hatred for women, I would have minded my own business this week and walked away instead of risking my life to save someone else."
For her part, Ramsey's ex-wife says Charles eventually apologized for the domestic incidents and the two are now on an "okay basis."
Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2013/05/09/charles-ramsey-domestic-violence-arrest-ohio-hero/#ixzz2SvFHYKkj
Visit the TMZ Store: http://tmzstore.com
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Cleveland women held captive will suffer long-term damage: sources
By Kim Palmer | Reuters
CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Two of the women imprisoned in a Cleveland house in conditions described as similar to a prisoner of war camp suffered from severe malnutrition and will require long-term therapy for injuries such as hearing loss and joint and muscle damage, two sources with direct knowledge said.
The basement where the women were held had chains coming from the wall, and dog leashes attached to the ceiling, the sources said. The women were restrained with them and duct tape in "stress positions" for long periods that left them with bed sores and other injuries, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the investigation, who asked not to be identified.
Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were in worse condition than Amanda Berry when they emerged from at least nine years in captivity at the home of Ariel Castro, accused of kidnapping and raping the women. Castro appeared to treat Berry better than the other two, the sources said.
"There is a reason why you have only seen a picture of Amanda (Berry)," said one of the sources, referring to the condition of DeJesus and Knight.
Berry, who broke down a door to freedom a week ago with the help of a neighbor, and then told police of the other women, was photographed smiling immediately after the dramatic rescue. Berry has a six-year-old daughter fathered by Castro in captivity.
In contrast, DeJesus wore a hooded sweat-shirt covering her head when she first went home last week, and Knight was hospitalized for days, and has stayed out of public view.
The sources said DeJesus and Knight were gaunt and had closely cropped hair when they were freed.
One of the sources, who has been in the house, said the basement had chains coming from the walls and "dog leashes attached to the ceiling." Knight and DeJesus told police they spent extensive time in the basement. A second source corroborated the details.
"One of the girls has difficulty moving her head around from being chained up," said one of the sources. The second source identified DeJesus as the woman suffering this injury.
"It was like they were POWs (prisoners of war). They had bed sores from being left in positions for extended lengths of time," a source said.
All the bedroom doors in the house had padlocks on the outside and the rooms were spare with only a mattress on the floor. Their movement through the house was very restricted, the women have told authorities.
"If he left for long periods of time he would sometimes duct tape-up the women over all parts of their faces, even their eyes, only leaving an opening so they could breathe. Then he would just rip it off pulling off skin and hair," one of the sources said.
A police report said Knight was starved for weeks at a time and punched in the stomach to induce several miscarriages. A county prosecutor intends to file fetal homicide charges against Castro in connection with the miscarriages.
The women, especially DeJesus and Knight, were now exhibiting signs of malnutrition as Castro used food as a means to torment them, one of the sources said.
"He would bring food to one or two of the girls and made the others watch as they or he would eat in front of them," the source said.
Knight and DeJesus would sneak food to each other, this source said.
Castro generally kept one woman upstairs and the other two - usually Knight and DeJesus - in the basement, the source said.
Despite their ordeal, a Cleveland city council member stressed that the women are reveling in their freedom.
"They are doing well, doing very well. They are thriving and enjoying their freedom," City Councilman Brian Cummins said on Monday.
The sources asked to be anonymous because they were not authorized to speak on the record. They were discussing some of the details of the captivity because they felt tight information control had left the impression that authorities ignored calls and reports about Castro's house that could have freed the women sooner.
Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath on Monday issued a statement defending the police department's policy of restricting information on the crimes.
"The disclosure of sensitive information and details of these horrendous crimes only further victimize three young women. The criticism of law enforcement efforts is disheartening. The dissemination of misinformation erodes the critical relationship between law enforcement and community," McGrath said.
Little is known about the relationship among the three women. Knight, who is now 32, Berry, 27 and DeJesus, 23, have not spoken publicly.
Psychologists say the women, who did not know each other before they were abducted, likely formed a bond that may have been strengthened by the young girl born during their captivity.
Knight delivered Berry's daughter in a plastic children's swimming pool and gave the baby mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the police report said.
"The closest parallel would be prisoners of war," Sherry Hamby, a psychology professor at the University of South, Sewanee, said of the girl's possible relationship.
Berry and DeJesus, along with Berry's daughter, have since been reunited with their families. Knight, who is estranged from some of her family members, according to her grandmother, has gone into seclusion.
Terri Weaver, a professor of psychology at the St. Louis University, said although it remains unclear how regularly they interacted, the girls were likely helped by each other's presence.
"Having someone who has been a witness to those intimate details can really forge a powerful bond because there is a shared understanding," she said.
It is unclear how the women's relationship may develop as they put their lives back together.
Psychologists said that as people who have suffered traumatic experiences rebuild their lives, the bond is frequently maintained.
Other times, victims feel the best way to move forward is to put the whole period and those involved behind them.
(Reporting by Kim Palmer; Additional reporting by Kevin Gray; Editing by Greg McCune, Dan Trotta, Paul Thomasch and Bernard Orr)
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Castro’s new legal team says he’ll plead not guilty
By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo! News | The Lookout
Lawyers for Ariel Castro say he'll plead not guilty to charges of kidnapping and raping three women while holding them captive for a decade in his west Cleveland home.
"The initial portrayal by the media has been one of a 'monster' and that's not the impression that I got when I talked to him for three hours," Craig Weintraub, one of Castro's lawyers, told Cleveland's WKYC-TV late Tuesday.
The 52-year-old is being held on an $8 million bond in Cuyahoga County Jail and is under a suicide watch.
"He doesn't have a television, doesn't have radio, doesn't have magazines, no access to newspapers," Jaye Schlachet, another Castro lawyer, said. "He's completely isolated from society."
Castro is suspected of kidnapping Michelle Knight in 2002, Amanda Berry in 2003 and Gina DeJesus in 2004, and then holding them captive in his west Cleveland home. DNA tests confirm he fathered a daughter with Berry in 2006.
"I can tell you that Mr. Castro is extremely committed to the well-being and positive future for his daughter, who he loves dearly," Schlachet said. "And if people find that to be a disconnect from what he's alleged to have done, then the people will just have to deal with it. We just know how he feels about his little girl."
Castro's attorneys say that how he came into contact with the women will be revealed "as the case progresses." And they say they may seek a change of venue to get a fair trial.
"I know the media wants to jump to conclusions, and all the people in the community want to say terrible things about the person who's accused," Schlachet added. "We are not even at the beginning of the process. If this was a marathon race, we're not even at the starting line yet."
Castro brothers break silence on Cleveland case
Ariel Castro's brothers say they were as shocked as everyone else to learn of his alleged crimes, and they have no sympathy for the man they now call a monster.
Pedro Castro and Onil Castro gave CNN an exclusive interview about their 52-year-old brother, who is accused of kidnapping three women—Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus—holding them captive in his west Cleveland home and raping them repeatedly over a decade. Berry's 6-year-old daughter, who police say was fathered by Ariel Castro, was also rescued from the home.
The women had several miscarriages during their captivity, police said.
"I don't know how my brother got away with it for so many years," Pedro Castro, 54, told CNN's Martin Savidge. "If I knew, I would have reported it—brother or no brother.”
Pedro said he didn't go to Ariel's house very much, "but when I did, he would let me in not past the kitchen." He found it a little unusual, but said he accepted it because Ariel was "a strange dude."
Inside the house, Pedro said, "the radio was playing all of the time. If not the radio, the TV. Something had to be on at all time in the kitchen. So I couldn't hear nothing else but the radio or the TV."
All three brothers were arrested last week. Pedro and Onil were cleared by investigators and released.
The two, who did not live with Ariel, were arrested because they were with him, police said. "It was an investigative stop," Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said at a press conference Thursday. "You can only imagine the chaos. We had enough probable cause to bring them into custody."
Ariel was charged Thursday with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape. He's being held on an $8 million bond.
“I hope he rots in that jail," Onil said.
The brothers both described Ariel as a loner.
"He always stayed to himself with his music," Onil Castro, 50, said. "And like I said, there would be times when we wouldn't see him for a month, two weeks. Mama used to say 'Check your brother, check on your brother. He lives alone in that house. He's a loner. You don't know if he's OK or what's going on.' So I would text him and he would text me back. 'What are you doing?' 'I'm fine.'"
Onil was a passenger in Ariel Castro's car when police pulled them over Monday. "I said, 'What did you do, run a stop sign or a red light or something?'" Onil said. "[Ariel] says, 'No, no. I don't know.'"
The men were held in separate cells in a Cleveland jail. Onil said he saw Ariel once when his brother was allowed to use a restroom. "When he walked past me, he goes, 'Onil, you're never going to see me again. I love you bro.' And that was it," Onil said. "And he put his fist up for a bump."
Pedro and Onil said they didn't know what they were being held for until questioned by investigators. Onil described his interrogation:
He says "Have you ever seen this girl?" and I said, "No, I've never seen that girl." And then he showed me the other one. "Have you ever seen this girl?" and I said, "No, I've never seen that girl." And he says, "That's Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry," and my heart fell. I just dropped, not physically, but I just, I just hit the ground. I told him, "They don't look like the girls who have been pinned up and posted up," and he said, "Yeah, that's how malnourished they are."
Onil added: "This has torn my heart apart. This has killed me. I am a walking corpse right now."
Despite their release, the pair have gone into hiding because they say they have received death threats.
"I don't want to be hunted down like a dog for a crime that I did not commit," Pedro Castro said. "I don't want to be locked up in my house because somebody out there is going to do harm to me. I want to be free like I was."
He added: "You already got your monster. Please give us our freedom. I want the world to know this."
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"He doesn't have a television, doesn't have radio, doesn't have magazines, no access to newspapers," Jaye Schlachet, another Castro lawyer, said. "He's completely isolated from society."
Boo hoo hoo
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Free Burgers For Life: Cleveland Kidnapping Hero Charles Ramsey Gets His Own “Chuck Card”
By Josh Wolford
You remember Charles Ramsey, right? He’s the normal guy turned hero after he helped rescue Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, all of whom were being held prisoner on Cleveland, Ohio’s West Side. Out of that nightmare of a story, Ramsey was one bright spot – a genuine, unassuming, utterly hilarious hero with a love for McDonald’s.
Now, it looks like some local Cleveland establishments are looking to say thanks to Ramsey – in a great, big, juicy way.
According to The Cleveland Plain Dealer, about a dozen restaurants have partnered to give Ramsey free burgers for life. This includes AMP 150 at the Marriott Cleveland Airport; Washington Place Bistro and Inn in Little Italy; Fahrenheit restaurant in Tremont; Market Garden Brewery, Bier Markt, Bar Cento and Nano Brew in Ohio City; Welshfield Inn in Troy Township; Hodges and Pura Vida in downtown Cleveland; 87 West at Crocker Park in Westlake; Orchard House restaurant in Brunswick; Flour restaurant in Moreland Hills, and the Allegheny Grille in Foxburg, Pennsylvania.
“We want to honor our local hero with local food,” said Scott Kuhn, who runs a few of the eateries involved in the gift. “He stopped his meal midway through to help those women. We’re now making sure he has other opportunities to go out and fully enjoy his burger.”
Ramsey will be gifted with the only “Chuck Card,” which will entitled him to at least a free burger in all participating restaurants.
He sure wasn’t shy about his love of burgers. Remember this classic line?
“I’m eating my McDonald’s; I come outside; I see this girl going nuts,” he said, “…I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms. Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway!”
Oh Charles. We hope you enjoy your burgers. We really do.
VIDEO - Neighbor Charles Ramsey : 'I Got Amanda Berry, Send the Police Out' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lBu4JDic95U)
(http://cdn.ientry.com/sites/webpronews/pictures/ramseyburgers11_616.jpg)
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Wow cool
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What's all this talk on the internet about a spanish dude name caderro was the one who really rescued the girls and ramsey took the credit for it, has anyone heard of such??
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That Chuck card come with an insurance card too? Will the local cardiologists chip in with free bipass' too?
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Defense hints at plea in Ohio kidnapping-rape case
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN | Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) — A man accused of holding three women captive in his home for about a decade pleaded not guilty Wednesday, and the defense hinted that it would like to avoid trial with a plea agreement if the death penalty was ruled out.
Attorney Craig Weintraub addressed the death penalty issue after his client, 52-year-old Ariel Castro, pleaded not guilty to hundreds of charges including rape and kidnapping.
Castro, dressed in an orange jail outfit with his hands and ankles shackled and a full dark beard grown in jail, kept his chin tucked on his chest through the brief court appearance. He didn't speak or glance at his two attorneys standing by his side.
Weintraub said the defense was working to avoid an "unnecessary trial" involving the death penalty.
Current charges Castro faces involving an alleged forced miscarriage don't include death penalty specifications, but the prosecutor says that's under review.
"Mr. Castro currently faces hundreds of years in prison with the current charges," Weintraub said after the arraignment. "It is our hope that we can continue to work toward a resolution to avoid having an unnecessary trial about aggravated murder and the death penalty."
Joe Frolik, spokesman for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty, said the defense remarks were under review.
The 329-count indictment returned Friday covered only the period from August 2002, when the first of the women disappeared, to February 2007. More charges could be filed.
A statement issued on behalf of the women said days like the arraignment "are not easy" and added: "We are hopeful for a just and prompt resolution. We have great faith in the prosecutor's office and the court."
The grand jury charged Castro with two counts of aggravated murder related to one act, saying he purposely caused the unlawful termination of one of the women's pregnancies. He also was indicted on 139 counts of rape, 177 counts of kidnapping, seven counts of gross sexual imposition, three counts of felonious assault and one count of possession of criminal tools.
News that the women had been found alive electrified the Cleveland area, where two of the victims were household names after years of searches, publicity and vigils. But elation soon turned to shock as allegations about their treatment began to emerge.
The indictment alleges Castro repeatedly restrained the women, sometimes chaining them to a pole in a basement, to a bedroom heater or inside a van. It says one of the women tried to escape and he assaulted her with a vacuum cord around her neck.
Later, he moved them to upstairs rooms where they were kept as virtual prisoners, according to investigators.
All the while, Castro continued driving a school bus and playing bass in local bands, with fellow musicians saying they never suspected a thing. He was fired as a bus driver last fall after leaving his bus unattended for several hours.
Castro has been held on $8 million bail. Last week he was taken off suicide prevention watch in jail. Cuyahoga County jail logs show him spending most of his time sleeping, lying on his bunk, watching TV and occasionally drawing.
Castro was arrested May 6, shortly after one of the women broke through a door and yelled to neighbors for help.
She told a police dispatcher in a dramatic 911 call: "Help me. I'm Amanda Berry. I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years, and I'm, I'm here, I'm free now."
The women — Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight — disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old. Each said they had accepted a ride from Castro, who remained friends with DeJesus' family and even attended vigils over the years marking her disappearance.
The women haven't spoken publicly since their rescue.
Berry, 27, told officers that she was forced to give birth in a plastic pool in the house so it would be easier to clean up. Berry said she, her baby and the two other women rescued with her had never been to a doctor during their captivity.
Knight, 32, said her five pregnancies ended after Castro starved her for at least two weeks and "repeatedly punched her in the stomach until she miscarried," authorities said.
She also said Castro forced her to deliver Berry's baby under threat of death if the baby died. She said that when the newborn stopped breathing, she revived her through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
The picture of Castro as a friendly musician began to erode soon after the women were freed, as family members told of a man who terrorized his common-law wife, beating her and locking her in an apartment and the same house where the women were later kept.
Castro's two brothers were arrested the same day but were released at a hearing a few days later after it was determined they weren't aware of the activities their brother is accused of. They denounced him in later interviews.
The Associated Press does not usually identify people who may be victims of sexual assault, but the names of the three women were widely circulated by their families, friends and law enforcement authorities for years during their disappearances and after they were found.
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Ariel Castro agrees to plead guilty over Cleveland abductions
Castro – charged with 997 counts including kidnap and rape – agrees deal with prosecuctors that will spare him death penalty
A Cleveland man accused of abducting three woman and holding them captive at his home for a decade has agreed to plead guilty, in a move that will spare him from a death sentence.
Ariel Castro – charged with 977 counts over the kidnap, rape and brutal treatment of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight – has agreed a deal with prosecutors under which he will serve life without parole, plus 1,000 years.
Asked in court Friday if he understood that he would spend the rest of his days behind bars, the 53-year-old replied: "I do understand that, your honour". He added: "I knew I was pretty much going to get the book thrown at me."
Castro had been due to stand trial over an indictment sheet that included two counts of aggravated murder over allegations that he punched and starved one of his captives until she miscarried.
The three victims – all of whom disappeared between 2002 and 2004 – escaped on 6 May, when one of them kicked out part of a door whilst being aided by a neighbour alerted to her screams for help.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/26/ariel-castro-pleads-guilty-cleveland-abductions
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Cleveland Kidnapper Ariel Castro Dead
Convicted 52-year-old found hanging in his cell; a review of the incident is under way
By Per Liljas Sept. 04, 2013
Follow @TIME
Notorious kidnapper Ariel Castro was found hanging in his cell at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, on Tuesday.
He had been sentenced to life plus 1,000 years for keeping Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus locked up inside his basement in Cleveland for over a decade while sexually assaulting them.
Read more: http://nation.time.com/2013/09/04/cleveland-kidnapper-ariel-castro-dead/#ixzz2dxNaIti9
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Yuh hear castro lawyer? Like he get paid for every death threat.
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4 charged with severing pot clinic owner's privates
Four have been charged with kidnapping, torture, burglary and inflicting bodily injury.
AP 3:59 a.m. EST November 9, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/08/marijuana-dispensary-penis/3480751/
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Four people were charged with kidnapping a California marijuana dispensary owner, torturing him with a blowtorch and cutting off his penis during a robbery because they thought he was burying piles of cash in the desert, authorities said Friday.
Ryan Anthony Kevorkian, 34, and Naomi Josette Kevorkian, 33, were arrested Friday in Fresno, a day after the FBI arrested 34-year-old Hossein Nayeri in Prague in the Czech Republic, Orange County authorities said in a statement.
Nayeri was expected to face extradition proceedings.
Another man, Kyle Shirakawa Handley, 34, was arrested in October of last year.
The four have been charged with kidnapping for ransom, aggravated mayhem, torture, burglary and a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury. They were being held without bail and could face up to life in prison without possibility of parole if convicted, prosecutors said.
It was not immediately known whether the Kevorkians and Nayeri had obtained lawyers.
Handley pleaded not guilty to the charges last month.
"It is my hope that by bringing to justice these three additional people it will become clear that Mr. Handley was not involved in this demonic criminal enterprise," Robert K. Weinberg, Handley's attorney, said Friday.
Prosecutors said the victim was a prosperous medical marijuana dispensary owner who took some of his pot suppliers — including Handley — to Las Vegas last year for an extravagant weekend.
After the trip, Handley told some friends that the dispensary owner was extremely wealthy and they came up with a plan to kidnap and rob him, according to a statement from the county district attorney's office and Newport Beach police.
Four weeks before the kidnapping, the would-be robbers began shadowing the dispensary owner, following him on frequent trips he made to the desert outside of Palm Springs.
He went out to discuss a possible investment deal, but the four wrongly believed he was driving there "to bury large amounts of cash," according to the statement.
On Oct. 2, 2012, Handley, Nayeri and Ryan Kevorkian went to the man's Newport Beach home, stole cash, bound and beat him and kidnapped him along with his roommate's girlfriend, then drove them out to a desert spot in a van, authorities contend.
Throughout the drive, they allegedly burned the dispensary owner with a blowtorch.
At the spot where the men believed the victim had hidden his money, they cut off his penis, poured bleach on him in an effort to destroy any DNA evidence and dumped him and the woman on the side of the road, authorities alleged.
The three men then drove away with the penis so that it couldn't be reattached, authorities claimed.
"The woman ran over a mile to a main road in the dark, while still bound with zip ties, and flagged down a police car," according to the statement.
The man survived his injuries.
After the crime, Nayeri fled to Iran, where he remained for several months, prosecutors said. He was arrested in Prague while changing flights from Iran to Spain to visit family, authorities said.
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Sister pleads: Keep Carolyn in your prayers.
By Carolyn Kissoon (Express).
Missing San Fernando businesswoman Carolyn Katwaroo worked hard to build a life for herself.
Katwaroo operated a wholesale business on her own, importing vegetables. And she ensured her relatives were always happy and comfortable.
That was how Katwaroo’s younger sister, Karen Katwaroo, remembered her yesterday as she pleaded with citizens to keep the missing woman in their prayers.
She said, “Don’t give up on her. Please keep looking for her. If anyone saw anything at all, anything strange, please inform the police. Keep reposting my sister’s picture, so if anyone sees her they can call the police. Please don’t forget my sister.”
Katwaroo was last seen leaving her Block 5, Cedar Drive, Palmiste, home around 8 p.m. last Friday. Her white Mercedes Benz was found the next day abandoned at Union Hall, San Fernando.
Katwaroo, 43, attended ASJA Girls’ College, San Fernando, and then moved to Barrackpore Secondary School, where she pursued A-Level studies.
She then studied business management at San Fernando Technical Institute and began a career in banking.
That was, however, short-lived, as Katwaroo soon got married and migrated to Philadelphia, USA.
“Then she came back to Trinidad and worked hard to build a life for herself. She worked hard to accomplish everything she has, and it is unfortunate that this has happened now,” her sister said.
Katwaroo was described as a generous, fun-loving person. Her favourite pastime was spending time with her dog.
No ransom demand
Relatives said they were uncertain where Katwaroo was headed on Friday night. Her boyfriend called her cellphone around 11 p.m., but there was no answer.
The following morning, a neighbour spotted Katwaroo’s vehicle parked on the roadside, the Express was told.
A report was filed at the San Fernando Police Station and the Anti-Kidnapping Squad was contacted. Investigators said there was no ransom demand.
Anyone with information can contact the San Fernando Police Station at 652-2564, or the Anti-Kidnapping Squad at 679-3165.
(http://www.trinidadexpress.com/storyimage/TT/20150915/LOCAL/150919731/AR/0/AR-150919731.jpg&MaxW=730&imageversion=Article)
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New government in office bout a week and kidnappings start back after a 4-5 year absence? Pretty suspicious to me
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New government in office bout a week and kidnappings start back after a 4-5 year absence? Pretty suspicious to me
There have been kidnappings for the last 5 years as well, an average of 3-4 per year. I don't think it's time to pull out the tinfoil hat just yet.
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New government in office bout a week and kidnappings start back after a 4-5 year absence? Pretty suspicious to me
There have been kidnappings for the last 5 years as well, an average of 3-4 per year. I don't think it's time to pull out the tinfoil hat just yet.
What we will see happening now that a PNM government is in power is that the true murder and kidnapping figures will start being released to the public.
During the past 5 years there has been an on-going a PR exercise of not reporting the real muder and kidnapping figures so as to make the government in Power appear like they were doing a good job in that area.
Once we close our borders to guns, drugs and human trafficing then the figures will finaly turn around and start to decrease but it will takes some time before things turn around.
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What we will see happening now that a PNM government is in power is that the true murder and kidnapping figures will start being released to the public.
During the past 5 years there has been an on-going a PR exercise of not reporting the real muder and kidnapping figures so as to make the government in Power appear like they were doing a good job in that area.
Pardner, are you suffering from memory loss? Police fully releasing statistics has been an issue for decades, not the last 5 years. Martin Joseph was accused of instructing the police not to release murder statistics, and that was a big issue during the last PNM government. Manning/Joseph were accused big time of manipulating/hiding statistics to minimize crime, especially around the CHOGM/Summit of the Americas. It continued and the UNC/PP did it as well.
Look I hope this new administration is more transparent, but this obscuring statistics wasn't restricted to the UNC/PP. The real solution is to make the police more independent of the government of the day, and also enhance the statistics office/media relations of the Police. In an ideal world, no Minister of National Security should ever be able to influence what statistics do/don't get released.
Once we close our borders to guns, drugs and human trafficing then the figures will finaly turn around and start to decrease but it will takes some time before things turn around.
I'd love to see that as well, and I'm hopeful for it.
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What we will see happening now that a PNM government is in power is that the true murder and kidnapping figures will start being released to the public.
During the past 5 years there has been an on-going a PR exercise of not reporting the real muder and kidnapping figures so as to make the government in Power appear like they were doing a good job in that area.
Pardner, are you suffering from memory loss? Police fully releasing statistics has been an issue for decades, not the last 5 years. Martin Joseph was accused of instructing the police not to release murder statistics, and that was a big issue during the last PNM government. Manning/Joseph were accused big time of manipulating/hiding statistics to minimize crime, especially around the CHOGM/Summit of the Americas. It continued and the UNC/PP did it as well.
Look I hope this new administration is more transparent, but this obscuring statistics wasn't restricted to the UNC/PP. The real solution is to make the police more independent of the government of the day, and also enhance the statistics office/media relations of the Police. In an ideal world, no Minister of National Security should ever be able to influence what statistics do/don't get released.
Once we close our borders to guns, drugs and human trafficing then the figures will finaly turn around and start to decrease but it will takes some time before things turn around.
I'd love to see that as well, and I'm hopeful for it.
don't know how our Constitution dealt with police power specifically as it relates to our leaders, but it sure seems like it have nutten in place to prosecute high office holders without fear of victimization.....look both a minister and senior police officer break aviation laws and nothing seems to be happening in both instances...........one even get a certain CRIME PREVENTION tv personality to come to his defense even threatening d complainant openly.
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don't know how our Constitution dealt with police power specifically as it relates to our leaders, but it sure seems like it have nutten in place to prosecute high office holders without fear of victimization.....look both a minister and senior police officer break aviation laws and nothing seems to be happening in both instances...........one even get a certain CRIME PREVENTION tv personality to come to his defense even threatening d complainant openly.
There's the Police Complaints Authority Act (and the Police Complaints Authority that enforces the act), but unfortunately since it's inception in 2006 it is a bit toothless (has limited powers), continues to be interfered with politically, and has been largely ineffective in providing oversight of the police service.
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don't know how our Constitution dealt with police power specifically as it relates to our leaders, but it sure seems like it have nutten in place to prosecute high office holders without fear of victimization.....look both a minister and senior police officer break aviation laws and nothing seems to be happening in both instances...........one even get a certain CRIME PREVENTION tv personality to come to his defense even threatening d complainant openly.
There's the Police Complaints Authority Act (and the Police Complaints Authority that enforces the act), but unfortunately since it's inception in 2006 it is a bit toothless (has limited powers), continues to be interfered with politically, and has been largely ineffective in providing oversight of the police service.
Not speaking of police specifically but ministers and prime ministers, speaks volumes that in d states and other developed nations that even sitting Presidents and prime ministers can be charged with crimes, here ah friend of ah minister friend could could intimidate ah police officer and get him to back off, we laws need to start addressing class equality in very serious or organized crime will always florish in T&T.
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New government in office bout a week and kidnappings start back after a 4-5 year absence? Pretty suspicious to me
that is ridiculous. i remember being in trinidad for christmas 2009 and the kidnappings had subsided under the AKS and sautt, that was only a few months before the election 2010. and who knows i this is a kidnapping or a simple murder like the so many people who has been gone missing since may 24 2010. there is no contact from the woman or anyone else who maybe hold her for ransom. for all we know this chick is probably deceased. and pnm hasn't been in office a good week and we are already getting anti pnm rhetoric. what nonsense.
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Why is this considered a kidnapping when no ransom has been demanded?
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New government in office bout a week and kidnappings start back after a 4-5 year absence? Pretty suspicious to me
Actually, there has been an upsurge in this kind of activity since around late last year into early this year. What I've found very disconcerting is that people seem to be vanishing into thin air as opposed to a ransom being demanded and relatives being returned (in some cases).
Kirby Mohammed, the lady from COSTAAT and the businesswoman from last weekend comes to mind offhand.....I find that turn of events scary.....well more scary than the previous scourge, if I can even classify either in terms of less or more scary but yuh get mih point.....
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(https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/12049380_10208077516885526_1198173132571850027_n.jpg?oh=102473c8401d1ef9c238ee9ee1822228&oe=569ECB11)
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PM makes plea for information to help find Andrea
By Mark Bassant (T&T Guardian).
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday pleaded with citizens to come forward with information on the kidnapping of Andrea Bharatt, 23, as he addressed a news conference in Port-of-Spain.
“When these things happen there are people among us in the population who know what happened. And all I could say is that to whoever is listening - if you know something about this young lady and what is happening to her, just remember that the upholder is worse than the thief,” he said.
Bharatt, a clerk attached to the Arima Magistrate’s Court was kidnapped after entering a what appeared to be a taxi - a white Nissan Versa. Since then four suspects were detained for questioning in her disappearance.
“If you know something, you can safely say something to the authorities to assist us in recovering her. In these crimes and similar crimes and crimes in general, there’s usually- almost always- somebody who knows something that is useful to the investigation and search. Please if you are that person, come forward or get the information to law enforcement or somebody who would get it to law enforcement to the search can be focused and have a better chance at being successful,” Dr Rowley said.
The prime minister said he refuses to believe, from what he has seen, that there are people who do not know what has happened.
Another day without success
Meanwhile, for a third straight day, police officers and hunters scoured miles of forest around the Fishing Pond area in Sangre Grande in the hope of finding additional clues.
While police confirmed to Guardian Media they had uncovered a potential clue on Tuesday, they were hoping yesterday to build on this and extended their search to other forested areas from where they had begun on Monday in Nonpariel Road in Fishing Pond Sangre Grande.
On Wednesday they extended this search further north with the assistance of hunters near the Gordon Farm settlement area and later at Phanchoo Road in Fishing Pond.
Several hunters combed the Gordon Farm area for more than four hours but found nothing. Ren Gopiesingh, one of the hunters, said they made thorough checks throughout that area but did not find anything that could assist the police in their investigation.
“We just want the public to say anything that can help the police Think about what her father and family is going through,” he said.
Close to two pm, a convoy of police vehicles left the Sangre Grande Police Station and made their way deep into the Fishing Pond area into Phanchoo Road.
The road which is approximately two miles, comes to a dead-end and is heavily forested. Close to 50 officers entered the forested area and spent several hours hoping to find any further clues that could assist them in locating Bharatt.
A senior police source told Guardian Media, “We got some intelligence and we had to search this area. During their search, they found a weed field that was destroyed but nothing was found. People are saying things on social media that’s not true,” he said.
Police Commissioner Gary Griffith issued a statement yesterday calling on people to desist from spreading false information connected to Bharatt’s case.
Claims being made on social media were that Bharatt had died and some people had been calling the family offering condolences.
The senior source said they had not obtained any other definitive clues up to late yesterday evening, but were hoping to resume their search today.
Reward reaches $500,000
The rewards offered for information leading to the safe return of Bharatt reached $500,000, due mostly to a big pledge by Crime Show host Ian Alleyne.
Alleyne yesterday offered to pay a reward of $400,000 to anyone with information that could lead to finding her.
He made the announcement on his weekday Crime Watch show yesterday, asking anyone with information to contact him.
Meanwhile, Colin Bissoondath, president of Full Throttle Hunting Club who has been assisting the police in their search, has pledged $25,000.
“It’s time to find Andrea. Crime Stoppers have put out a reward of $50,000 and Mode Alive $25,000 and now I am pledging a reward of $25,000. So that makes $100,000. We need to find her. I am taking it personally and I have not eaten or slept since then. If someone knows something, make a phone call. I am pleading with the public,” said Bissoondath.
Attorney: Suspects released
Meanwhile attorney Fareed Ali, who is representing two suspects, ages 20 and 26, claimed last night they were released by police.
The suspects, who both have the same first name and live in different areas of Arima, were released shortly after 6 pm yesterday evening.
According to Ali, one man is unemployed while the other is a PH taxi driver.
“The TTPS in examining the phone records of one of the male suspects were able to locate a female correspondent who was possession of an item that allegedly belonged to the missing Andrea Bharatt,” Ali said.
Ali, who is also representing the woman, also said that another man was arrested allegedly through her direction. She remains in police custody.
Police, however, maintained that all suspects remain in custody.
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Beaten suspect in Bharatt kidnapping dies
JENSEN LA VENDE (T&T NEWSDAY).
THE suspect in the Andrea Bharatt abduction who was allegedly beaten by police on Tuesday has died.
Police said Andrew Morris, who was held at his Arima home, died between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. He was the father of one.
Police sources say Morris, who was arrested by officers of the Special Operation Response Team (SORT), was beaten in front of his family when he was held around 3 am, and again while in police custody.
Police sources said part of the beating allegedly took place at the Malabar Police Station.
Another man, police said, gave them information about Bharatt's bank card, which Morris is said to have used to withdraw cash.
Bharatt, 22, a clerk at the Arima Magistres' Court, went missing after getting into a car she believed to be a taxi last Friday afternoon at King Street, Arima. A co-worker who travelled with her was dropped off safely, but Bharatt never arrived home.
Police and members of the Defence Force have been searching the forested area in Sangre Grande, joined by hunters and hikers.
A total of $75,000 in rewards has been offered for information that will help find Bharatt.
(https://newsday.co.tt/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/12585765-1-1004x1024.jpg)
STILL MISSING: Andrea Bharatt. -
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Woman arrested in Andrea's kidnapping
T&T Express Reports.
Two suspects in the Andrea Bharatt kidnapping were released from custody without charges on Wednesday.
This according to defence attorney Fareed Ali, who said that a woman was among the three still in custody.
In a statement, Ali said that two men, ages 20 and 26, who were arrested on Sunday by a team of Special Operations Response Team (SORT) officers and detained at the Arima Police Station were released from police custody on Wednesday.
The two are from the Arima district. One is unemployed and the other a PH taxi driver, said Ali.
He said police, in examining the phone records of one of the male suspects, located a woman who was possession of an item that allegedly belonged to Bharatt.
The woman was arrested on Sunday and remains in custody.
The questioning of the woman led to the arrest of a man, said Ali.
Of the six persons held, one died on Monday, but the death of this suspect, Andrew Morris, only became known in a police press release on Wednesday evening.
Another is in hospital, purported being treated for injuries while attempting to escape the police.
Ali said he is also representing the woman.
Wednesday made it six days since anyone has seen Bharatt, a clerk at the Arima Magistrates’ Court.
An extensive search has been carried out in the forests around Sangre Grande involving police officers, soldiers and volunteers. Nothing has been found.
Last Friday, Bharatt got into a taxi at King Street, Arima, with a co-worker.
The taxi, a Nissan Versa, carried false "H" plates.
Bharatt and her friend were in the back seat. There was a man in the front passenger seat.
The friend dropped off shortly after at Cleaver Heights, Arima.
Bharatt never made it to her home at 110 Arima Old Road, Arima, where she lived with her father Randolph.
He called his daughter’s phone but a man answered saying she was not available.
The father pleaded to hear his child’s voice but the man responded, “This is about money. If you don’t pay the ransom I will cut off your daughter’s ears and send it to you.”
An investigation led to the arrests of suspects.
One of the men has been charged with 70 offences including rape, kidnapping and false imprisonment.
More than 40 of those charges are pending but he was out on bail.
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Woman arrested in Andrea's kidnapping
T&T Express Reports.
Two suspects in the Andrea Bharatt kidnapping were released from custody without charges on Wednesday.
This according to defence attorney Fareed Ali, who said that a woman was among the three still in custody.
In a statement, Ali said that two men, ages 20 and 26, who were arrested on Sunday by a team of Special Operations Response Team (SORT) officers and detained at the Arima Police Station were released from police custody on Wednesday.
The two are from the Arima district. One is unemployed and the other a PH taxi driver, said Ali.
He said police, in examining the phone records of one of the male suspects, located a woman who was possession of an item that allegedly belonged to Bharatt.
The woman was arrested on Sunday and remains in custody.
The questioning of the woman led to the arrest of a man, said Ali.
Of the six persons held, one died on Monday, but the death of this suspect, Andrew Morris, only became known in a police press release on Wednesday evening.
Another is in hospital, purported being treated for injuries while attempting to escape the police.
Ali said he is also representing the woman.
Wednesday made it six days since anyone has seen Bharatt, a clerk at the Arima Magistrates’ Court.
An extensive search has been carried out in the forests around Sangre Grande involving police officers, soldiers and volunteers. Nothing has been found.
Last Friday, Bharatt got into a taxi at King Street, Arima, with a co-worker.
The taxi, a Nissan Versa, carried false "H" plates.
Bharatt and her friend were in the back seat. There was a man in the front passenger seat.
The friend dropped off shortly after at Cleaver Heights, Arima.
Bharatt never made it to her home at 110 Arima Old Road, Arima, where she lived with her father Randolph.
He called his daughter’s phone but a man answered saying she was not available.
The father pleaded to hear his child’s voice but the man responded, “This is about money. If you don’t pay the ransom I will cut off your daughter’s ears and send it to you.”
An investigation led to the arrests of suspects.
One of the men has been charged with 70 offences including rape, kidnapping and false imprisonment.
More than 40 of those charges are pending but he was out on bail.
Joke ting!
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Andrea’s decomposed body found in Heights of Aripo
By Mark Bassant (T&T Guardian)
Agony and heartbreak for the nation and family of 23-year-old Andrea Bharatt as her decomposed body was found off a precipice in the Heights of Aripo in Arima just after noon yesterday.
Bharatt’s kidnapping six days ago had triggered an outpouring of prayers and unity by a nation that had banded together determined to find the missing woman and bring her safely home to her family.
Her disappearance bled the hearts of parents across the country who could understand the hurt and pain that consumed her father, Randolph Bharatt, daily as he hung on to hope that his daughter would be found safe and sound.
But that realisation was shattered when her father got the dreaded call by police to come to the Heights of Aripo to identify the female body that was discovered.
The discovery of the body, investigators told Guardian Media, was made by 22-year-old Jody Sutherland, a self-employed landscaper, while driving his vehicle along the winding road of the Heights or Aripo close to 12.25 pm.
Sutherland told police he was looking for scrap iron when he peered over the precipice on the eastern side of the roadway and saw what appeared to be the body of a young woman clothed in pink underwear and a multicoloured top.
The body, police said, appeared to be in a decomposed state and lying face down.
Shortly after 3 pm, Andrea’s father was hustled to the crime scene with worry etched on his face.
He was taken beyond the police tape that ensured that the media and other onlookers were kept a safe distance as officers of the Crime Scene Unit processed the scene.
Several police officers stood in a huddle with Andrea’s father as other relatives poured in and joined him as they waited anxiously for the police and fire officials to retrieve the body.
The body was found in a heavily forested forest over a steep precipice approximately 20-30 feet down.
Police had obtained a rope to assist in retrieving the woman’s body, but the services of the Fire Land and Search Unit were soon called in to ensure that the body was extracted easily from the rugged terrain.
Andrea’s father and other relatives were later allowed to view the body and investigators said based on the clothing found on the woman’s body, her father and other relatives were able to confirm it was Andrea.
Police Commissioner Gary Griffith issued a media statement shortly after 4 pm confirming the news that the body found was Andrea.
Within half an hour of arriving, Randolph Bharatt was escorted from the crime scene.
He put on a brave face as he walked past members of the media, a woman police officer clenching his hands tightly and another officer urging her “to hold him.”
The father, mourning the loss of his only daughter, a clerk from the Arima Magistrate’s Court, was whisked into a private vehicle.
Just a few vehicles up the roadway, another relative who had also been on the crime scene wept uncontrollably in the back seat of a van as she was consoled by several police officers who shielded her from the glare of media cameras.
Several hunters who had been lending their assistance to the police for Andrea over the last three days had also gathered at the crime scene, hoping that the body that had been found was not her.
But their optimism was quickly dashed after they were later told by police that the relatives had identified the body as Andrea.
“It’s really heartbreaking. We really thought this might have turned out differently. We hope this will help the nation to band together and be one another’s keeper,” said one hunter.
Bharatt’s kidnapping had triggered a massive search in east Trinidad since Monday as police and hunters scoured several forested areas in the Fishing Pond area in Sangre Grande and had also searched parts of the Valencia area on Wednesday as well as the Windy Hill area in Arouca.
Yesterday, the search ended in Heights of Aripo and now the nation bleeds for Andrea—another young woman’s life snuffed out by cold-blooded killers.
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Breaking News - Main suspect in Andrea's murder is dead
By Mark Bassant (T&T Guardian).
The man said by police to be the main suspect in the kidnapping and murder of Andrea Bharatt is dead.
Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith confirmed to Guardian Media that Joel Belcon, 37, died while being treated at the Mount Hope hospital.
Other senior police sources told Guardian Media that he died around 2:40 pm.
Belcon sources said was the man that drove the Nissan Versa in which Bharatt was kidnapped on January 29.
Belcon, a known sex offender was detained with several other persons two days later for questioning into her disappearance.
He made an attempt to escape from police custody at Jacob Settlement in Sangre Grande last Sunday.
Belcon, alias Devon Charles, investigators believe is responsible for the disappearance of several women -including one woman who went missing 13 years ago.
(https://www.guardian.co.tt/image-3.3019354.136720.20210208211515.10af3857b0?size=1024)
Joel Balcon - Main suspect in the murder of Andrea Bharatt
RELATED NEWS
More human remains found in Heights of Aripo
KEN CHEE HING (T&T NEWSDAY).
A MAJOR exercise on Sunday involving dozens of police officers, soldiers, hunters and trackers led to the discovery of human skeletal remains in the forests off the road in the Heights of Aripo on Sunday.
The remains were found not far from where the body of kidnap victim Andrea Bharatt was found last week Thursday – six days after she was snatched shortly after getting into a car she thought was a taxi on the Cleaver Road/Arima Old Road taxi stand.
At least six people were detained in connection with Bharatt's murder, but one has since died while in police custody and another suspect remains in hospital.
Hours after Bharatt's body was recovered, police found another set of human remains in the Heights of Aripo. The discovery on Sunday will be the third body found in this area within the past week. Up to a short time ago, police were still at the Heights of Aripo investigating.
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Over 500 businesses shut today in solidarity.
T&T Guardian Reports.
Over 500 businesses have announced they will be closed today as murder victim Andrea Bharatt is laid to rest.
The decision to shut down comes after over a hundred demonstrations across the country to highlight violence against women and call for legislators to pass necessary laws to cause it to cease.
Bharatt, 23, was kidnapped on January 29 and her decomposing body was found in the Heights of Aripo one week later on February 4.
The shutdown stems from a call made by a group, An Act for Change, which wanted women to stay away from work.
Other demonstrators turned it into a call for workplaces to shut down entirely.
By noon yesterday, lists began circulating on social media with the names of businesses who announced their decisions to close and by late yesterday that list grew to over 500, made up of mainly small and medium-sized businesses.
Among those remaining closed are Xtra Foods Supermarkets, auto parts stores, insurance enterprises, food outlets, cosmetic/fashion stores, hardware, medical labs and legal services. One agricultural outfit is closing for three days.
List compiled from social media posts
Attorney at law, Kandace Bharath-Nahous told Guardian Media she and a colleague compiled the list, taking hours to do so, using Facebook posts.
“One page had a few running posts, where the businesses were listed and they also had, for the most part, photos of messages that the businesses would have sent to them, confirming they were closing and then within the comments on those posts, with the list, other businesses have confirmed they are closing and I have also received probably 100 messages from Facebook and WhatsApp from businesses that have confirmed that they are closing tomorrow,” Bharath-Nahous said.
Asked why she began putting together the list, she said, “I think that we were all as a nation rocked by the recent events. The tipping point was the brutal murder of Andrea and before her, Ashanti. I say tipping point because this is where many people, including myself, feel that this situation cannot go on. As a woman, I do not feel safe in my country, in my home, in my office…anywhere really and I would have been the victim of crime on two occasions at least.”
She said she believes Andrea’s murder has to be the point where the country unites and puts aside its political beliefs to call for real change.
Businessman Ganesh Diptee was one of the first to announce yesterday that his business place, Diptee’s Hardware, would be closed today.
He sent out a call to the rest of the business community, saying, “I would like to ask other business people to join into this movement to keep it at the top of the agenda of the powers that be so that changes can be effected.”
White ribbon initiative
Secondary school teacher, Seema Suraj, who organised last Sunday’s motorcade from Chaguanas to the Queen’s Park Savannah is calling on citizens to wear a white ribbon today in Bharatt’s memory.
Suraj said she will be supporting the call to stay away from work and will spend her day in demonstrations around the Savannah and in front of the Parliament.
She said the white ribbon initiative came about as a way to show support for those who have been abused or attacked.
“I see the need for people to have a platform to be comfortable to speak about their experiences and we will be there to provide support to empower them—it’s not just for women but men and children too,” Suraj said.
She will officially launch the initiative next Saturday.
Meanwhile, one of the founders of ‘An Act to Change, Nadia Juman has sent out a call for radio stations to play uplifting music all day today.
Juman suggested among them, the song ‘No Greater Time,’ a collaborative music project created by over 35 local musicians.
“We need lyrics that have an uplifting vibe to support the movement to spread the word that we need unity to bring about change, this is a crisis of violence,” Juman said.
One man has since been charged for her murder, while two suspects have died in police custody. A woman has also been charged with receiving stolen items.
(https://www.guardian.co.tt/image-3.3023644.137241.20210212043056.dc3fe7670b?size=1024)
Scores of people walk along the Criosse in San Juan during a candlelight vigil for Andrea Bharatt and other female victims of violence last night. ...ANISTO ALVES
(https://www.guardian.co.tt/image-3.3023588.137241.20210212043056.3c06f81cd0?size=1024)
A woman lights a candle at a vigil for Andrea Bharatt during a candle light vigil in Freeport last night. ...SHARLENE RAMPERSAD
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George charged for Bharatt's murder
SHANE SUPERVILLE (T&T NEWSDAY)
A 24-year-old Malabar man has been charged with the murder of 22-year-old court clerk Andrea Bharatt.
Sources said Negus George of 7th Street, Gooding Trace, Malabar, was charged on Thursday morning with Bharatt's murder after investigators received advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard on Wednesday afternoon.
A 37-year-old female relative who was also arrested is expected to be charged with receiving stolen items, including Bharatt's clothing and cellphone.
Investigators from the Arima CID laid the charges.
Bharatt's body was found in the Heights of Aripo on February 4.
(https://newsday.co.tt/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/NEGUS-GEORGE-1024x976.jpg)
Negus George - Photo courtesy TTPS
(https://newsday.co.tt/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GISELLE-HOBSON-1024x915.jpg)
Giselle Hobson - Photo courtesy TTPS
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File photo from candlelight vigil opposite the Red House for Andrea Bharatt and other victims who lost their lives to violent crimes on Monday. - AYANNA KINSALE
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People talking about the safety of the country and the ease of which crimes like these occur but if we some politicians but country before self. Just maybe there could be some harder deterance in place to deal with the criminal elements of society.
It's a downright shame that some lawyers are living off ' criminality'! When you read about the alleged killers in this case and learn of their prior convictions, you wonder how were they enjoying the freedom to roam and eventuality commit a senseless deed.
How is it that an opposition of this country would take such a stance to oppose supporting legislature to pass a bill to be more stringent with criminals?
Then people crying out for the government to do more? Yuh cannot put a police in every house in every car in every village in every corner as a deterrent to criminal activity! However if criminals were to u derstand that when caught- u der overwhelming proof there is no trial no lawyer waiting for a pay off- no life - no death row - no years of taxpayers money to support a life in prison but two choices- Firing squad or public hanging!!!
Who doh hear must feel- no amnesty - no court of appeals - no cases to London or U.K. A wanton crime against humanity USA allow for humanity to be as swift and justified in administering justice.
The means must justify the end- if proven criminals beyond a doubt should, meet with their fate in the course of their capture then so be it!!
Enough of the 'gangster mercenaries for hire free lancing' of criminals in our society! Last year I read of a Man who while supervising on the job in Trincity mall, was shot by a man who walked on the site in broad daylight! No cameras no one identified the culprit and that criminal is walking around breathing today! The victim turned out to be a distant relative I learned afterwards- a Church going family man - sad sad .
We are all victims of these criminals - victims of fear - to step into a taxi to be at home without multiple locks barricading us - imprisoning us in our homes- fear of walking the streets of uttering a word to anyone- in case it may offend - yes callous criminals are moving about without fear of reprisals armed and dangerous they are fearless in throughout their prowling-
Yes opposition get rid of your arrogance and support government legislature to deal more severely with these derelicts of society.
Our COP was justified in his assertions that the police could on.y do so much because it seems than when the work is done to capture these criminals , then the lawyers go to work and find all kinda loopholes to ensure their freedom- this is the breakdown in our society - criminals supporting lawyers both getting rich of each other.
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Law body wants foreign cops to probe death of Bharatt murder suspect
SEAN DOUGLAS (T&T NEWSDAY).
THE Law Association on Sunday called for foreign police to probe the death of Andrew Morris, a suspect in the kidnapping and murder of Andrea Bharatt.
Bharatt, 23, a court clerk, was kidnapped on January 29 and her decomposing body was found in the Heights of Aripo. She was cremated last Friday.
The association cited a media report relating to Morris's arrest two days after Bharrat's abduction and the results of a private autopsy.
The statement referred to the results of an autopsy by Prof Hubert Daisley which found "multiple injuries of blunt force trauma covering most of the anterior chest wall, the abdomen and posterior chest/back, both upper limbs and lower limbs.”
Daisley concluded death was from "severe blunt force trauma to his chest, abdomen, limbs and skull.”
The association said, "These reports put into question the accuracy of the explanation given by the police for Mr Morris’s death in police custody, that he fell off a chair, and give rise to the obvious need for the institution of a prompt, thorough and independent criminal investigation into the possible homicide of Mr Morris."
The association also raised concern about the circumstances surrounding the death of Joel Balcon in police custody. Balcon was identified as the main suspect in Bharatt's murder and was reportedly injured when he tried to escape from police.
"The circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Morris also call for outside, regional assistance in order that any concerns of a cover up may be avoided.
"The association calls upon the Minister of National Security and the Director of Public Prosecutions to do all within the remit of their respective offices to ensure that a thorough and independent investigation is promptly carried out into the deaths of Mr Morris and Mr Balcon."
The Police Complaints Authority is investigating the deaths of the two suspects.
The association said it also supported foreign police probing the Drugs Sou Sou fiasco, given that police officers were allegedly involved in the scheme.
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Law society should be lobbying tbemselves as to why these criminals were free to roam the streets to commit these henieous crimes.