De'Marquise Elkins hid a gun under sofa morning 13-month-old was fatally
shot, witnesses say
Friend of family testified he drove Elkins' mother and sister to a fishing hole
where gun was later found
Jacksonville.com
Posted: August 26, 2013
Defense rests in De'Marquise Elkins' murder trial in toddler's slaying, closing
arguments at 9 a.m. Friday
Mother of slain Brunswick toddler IDs De'Marquise Elkins
Co-defendant in child's slaying points out Elkins as person who fired the gun
18-year-old fatally shot baby in stroller, his younger companion tells Ga. court
Witnesses give grisly details of toddler's slaying in first day of De'Marquise
Elkins trial
Lack of blacks and young people in jury pool violates De'Marquise Elkins
constitutional rights, public defender argues
Public defender says too few African-Americans in jury pool for De'Marquise
Elkins' murder trial
Jury selection underway in Cobb County in shooting death of Brunswick toddler
Bail set for sister of teenager charged in slaying of 13-month-old Brunswick boy
Brunswick hosting town hall meeting in wake of 13-month-old boy's slaying
Possible murder weapon found in Brunswick slaying
Brunswick church hosts candlelight vigil for slain baby
Headlines by FeedBurner
Videos
By Walter C. Jones
MARIETTA - A Brunswick man accused of killing a 13-month-old hid a pistol that
his mother later took to a pond where police found it, prosecution witnesses
testified Monday.
That testimony came at the onset of the second week of the trial of De’
Marquise Elkins, 18, and his mother, Karimah Elkins. Because of pretrial news
coverage in and around Brunswick, De’Marquise Elkins is being tried in Marietta
for murder, aggravated assault, attempted robbery and other charges. His
mother is on trial with him on charges of lying to police and disposing of the
weapon.
Her daughter Sabrina Elkins is also charged with evidence tampering but will be
tried separately.
After prosecutors showed the jury video of De’Marquise Elkins entering and
leaving a neighbor’s apartment in the McIntyre Court housing project, they
called upon two residents of the public housing complex to testify.
One resident, Danielle Williams, a lifelong friend of the family, told the jury De’
Marquise Elkins came to her apartment the morning of the murder and asked
permission to hide his revolver under her sofa. That afternoon, Karimah Elkins
and Sabrina Elkins arrived to retrieve it.
“Did you direct them to the love seat?” District Attorney Jackie Johnson asked
Williams.
“No, ma’am,” Williams answered.
“They knew right where to go?” Johnson said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Williams said.
Ronald Elkins, a cousin of De’Marquise and Sabrina, testified that the noise of
them getting the gun from beneath the love seat awoke him.
“They were lifting up the furniture,” he said.
Ronald Elkins testified that he removed the bullets from the gun for the safety
of his grandchild, who was in the apartment, before handing it to Karimah Elkins.
A longtime friend of Karimah Elkins, Willie Merrell, testified that he gave her and
Sabrina Elkins a ride to a favorite fishing spot, a saltwater pond off U.S. 17 just
north of Brunswick.
“It wasn’t a good day for fishing,” he said.
After they arrived at the spot, he saw the women discussing something he
couldn’t understand.
“I didn’t see them do anything. I heard a splash,” he said.
Other witnesses recounted recovering the gun with a metal detector in waist-
deep water at 1 a.m. five days after the shooting.
A detective showed jurors the pistol just before the noon recess.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation ballistics expert Brian Leppard testified Monday
afternoon he had examined the recovered revolver and the bullets from the
baby and its mother. He had test fired eight shots but found only two had
unique characteristics that could be used for identification.
The others lacked most characteristics because the hollow-point lead bullets
were so soft, he said.
Public Defender Kevin Gough said such analysis wasn’t very helpful to
prosecutors because cheap handguns called Saturday Night Specials are so
plentiful.
“It would be fair to say there were millions of handguns made that would fire this
bullet,” Gough said.
Leppard didn’t argue.
“To say that it’s in the millions, that is a reasonable number that would be
possibly right,” he said.
Leppard also determined that ammunition that investigators found didn’t match.
He also concluded that the one that killed Antonio Santiago had a different
maker than bullets found at De’Marquise Elkins’ home, at Danielle Williams’
apartment and at the apartment of co-defendant Dominique Lang, who is being
tried separately.
Gough also got Leppard to concede there could have been two guns used in
the shootings.
Prosecutors expect to wrap up their case Tuesday with testimony from the
victim’s mother, Sherry West, which both sides predicted could be long and
emotional. Attorneys for De’Marquise and Kamirah Elkins are prepared to begin
their defense Tuesday afternoon in what could be a long day.
Judge Stephen Kelley said he plans to open court early and stay late each day
so that the trial will be finished before the long holiday weekend.
Still, Gough warned that the trial could last until Friday.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2013-08-
26/story/demarquise-elkins-hid-gun-under-sofa-morning-13-month-old-was-
fatally#ixzz2dUchiaLw
shot, witnesses say
Friend of family testified he drove Elkins' mother and sister to a fishing hole
where gun was later found
Jacksonville.com
Posted: August 26, 2013
Defense rests in De'Marquise Elkins' murder trial in toddler's slaying, closing
arguments at 9 a.m. Friday
Mother of slain Brunswick toddler IDs De'Marquise Elkins
Co-defendant in child's slaying points out Elkins as person who fired the gun
18-year-old fatally shot baby in stroller, his younger companion tells Ga. court
Witnesses give grisly details of toddler's slaying in first day of De'Marquise
Elkins trial
Lack of blacks and young people in jury pool violates De'Marquise Elkins
constitutional rights, public defender argues
Public defender says too few African-Americans in jury pool for De'Marquise
Elkins' murder trial
Jury selection underway in Cobb County in shooting death of Brunswick toddler
Bail set for sister of teenager charged in slaying of 13-month-old Brunswick boy
Brunswick hosting town hall meeting in wake of 13-month-old boy's slaying
Possible murder weapon found in Brunswick slaying
Brunswick church hosts candlelight vigil for slain baby
Headlines by FeedBurner
Videos
By Walter C. Jones
MARIETTA - A Brunswick man accused of killing a 13-month-old hid a pistol that
his mother later took to a pond where police found it, prosecution witnesses
testified Monday.
That testimony came at the onset of the second week of the trial of De’
Marquise Elkins, 18, and his mother, Karimah Elkins. Because of pretrial news
coverage in and around Brunswick, De’Marquise Elkins is being tried in Marietta
for murder, aggravated assault, attempted robbery and other charges. His
mother is on trial with him on charges of lying to police and disposing of the
weapon.
Her daughter Sabrina Elkins is also charged with evidence tampering but will be
tried separately.
After prosecutors showed the jury video of De’Marquise Elkins entering and
leaving a neighbor’s apartment in the McIntyre Court housing project, they
called upon two residents of the public housing complex to testify.
One resident, Danielle Williams, a lifelong friend of the family, told the jury De’
Marquise Elkins came to her apartment the morning of the murder and asked
permission to hide his revolver under her sofa. That afternoon, Karimah Elkins
and Sabrina Elkins arrived to retrieve it.
“Did you direct them to the love seat?” District Attorney Jackie Johnson asked
Williams.
“No, ma’am,” Williams answered.
“They knew right where to go?” Johnson said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Williams said.
Ronald Elkins, a cousin of De’Marquise and Sabrina, testified that the noise of
them getting the gun from beneath the love seat awoke him.
“They were lifting up the furniture,” he said.
Ronald Elkins testified that he removed the bullets from the gun for the safety
of his grandchild, who was in the apartment, before handing it to Karimah Elkins.
A longtime friend of Karimah Elkins, Willie Merrell, testified that he gave her and
Sabrina Elkins a ride to a favorite fishing spot, a saltwater pond off U.S. 17 just
north of Brunswick.
“It wasn’t a good day for fishing,” he said.
After they arrived at the spot, he saw the women discussing something he
couldn’t understand.
“I didn’t see them do anything. I heard a splash,” he said.
Other witnesses recounted recovering the gun with a metal detector in waist-
deep water at 1 a.m. five days after the shooting.
A detective showed jurors the pistol just before the noon recess.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation ballistics expert Brian Leppard testified Monday
afternoon he had examined the recovered revolver and the bullets from the
baby and its mother. He had test fired eight shots but found only two had
unique characteristics that could be used for identification.
The others lacked most characteristics because the hollow-point lead bullets
were so soft, he said.
Public Defender Kevin Gough said such analysis wasn’t very helpful to
prosecutors because cheap handguns called Saturday Night Specials are so
plentiful.
“It would be fair to say there were millions of handguns made that would fire this
bullet,” Gough said.
Leppard didn’t argue.
“To say that it’s in the millions, that is a reasonable number that would be
possibly right,” he said.
Leppard also determined that ammunition that investigators found didn’t match.
He also concluded that the one that killed Antonio Santiago had a different
maker than bullets found at De’Marquise Elkins’ home, at Danielle Williams’
apartment and at the apartment of co-defendant Dominique Lang, who is being
tried separately.
Gough also got Leppard to concede there could have been two guns used in
the shootings.
Prosecutors expect to wrap up their case Tuesday with testimony from the
victim’s mother, Sherry West, which both sides predicted could be long and
emotional. Attorneys for De’Marquise and Kamirah Elkins are prepared to begin
their defense Tuesday afternoon in what could be a long day.
Judge Stephen Kelley said he plans to open court early and stay late each day
so that the trial will be finished before the long holiday weekend.
Still, Gough warned that the trial could last until Friday.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2013-08-
26/story/demarquise-elkins-hid-gun-under-sofa-morning-13-month-old-was-
fatally#ixzz2dUchiaLw
The trial in this case left too many questions unanswered.
Two black teenagers have been convicted, and it seems they were involved. But
the mother's behavior was so strange, including not allowing a bullet to be
removed from her leg, that it seems there may have been a second gun, and that
the mother may have been involved in planning the incident.
White mother lied on innocent black boys; murdered her own
son in Georgia
by Yvette Caslin
7/28/2013
Sherry West, 42, mother of baby Antonio Santiago slain on March 14, 2013, told CNN’s
Piers Morgan she wants the alleged teen killers to die during an on-camera interview.
“A life for a life,” she said.
De’Marquis Elkins, 17, and Dominique Lang, 15, were arrested and charged with
murdering the 13-month-old. Their trial was set for this August but their public defender,
Jonathan Lockwood, uncovered some shocking evidence.
She lied!
The gunshot residue was found on both West [the mother] and baby Antonio’s
father, Louis, who was initially reported no where near the crime scene.
Back in March, West told police that while on her way home from the post
office two black boys attempted to rob her. When she told them that she didn’t
have any money, they shot baby Antonio in the face, then shot her in the leg
before running away.
The state forensic report says, “This supports the possibility that [Louis
Santiago] discharged a firearm, was in close proximity to a firearm upon
discharge, or came into contact with an item whose surface bears GSR
[gunshot residue].”
Remember, accused Elkins’ mother Karimah Aisha Elkins, 36, and aunt Katrina Latrelle
Elkins, 33, were arrested and charged with making false statements. A gun was found
but authorities never indicated it was a murder weapon.
Also, West’s daughter Ashley Glassey, 21, said she didn’t want to wrongly
accuse her mother but had her doubts because her stories were conflicting
and she may have committed the murder for insurance money.
Police have not named Sherry West or Louis Santiago suspects in their son’s murder;
however, Santiago is in jail for aggravated stalking of West.
“He went nuts … he was throwing things through the window and terrorizing
me, saying that I killed my baby and it should have been me,” West tells CBS.
Two black teenagers have been convicted, and it seems they were involved. But
the mother's behavior was so strange, including not allowing a bullet to be
removed from her leg, that it seems there may have been a second gun, and that
the mother may have been involved in planning the incident.
White mother lied on innocent black boys; murdered her own
son in Georgia
by Yvette Caslin
7/28/2013
Sherry West, 42, mother of baby Antonio Santiago slain on March 14, 2013, told CNN’s
Piers Morgan she wants the alleged teen killers to die during an on-camera interview.
“A life for a life,” she said.
De’Marquis Elkins, 17, and Dominique Lang, 15, were arrested and charged with
murdering the 13-month-old. Their trial was set for this August but their public defender,
Jonathan Lockwood, uncovered some shocking evidence.
She lied!
The gunshot residue was found on both West [the mother] and baby Antonio’s
father, Louis, who was initially reported no where near the crime scene.
Back in March, West told police that while on her way home from the post
office two black boys attempted to rob her. When she told them that she didn’t
have any money, they shot baby Antonio in the face, then shot her in the leg
before running away.
The state forensic report says, “This supports the possibility that [Louis
Santiago] discharged a firearm, was in close proximity to a firearm upon
discharge, or came into contact with an item whose surface bears GSR
[gunshot residue].”
Remember, accused Elkins’ mother Karimah Aisha Elkins, 36, and aunt Katrina Latrelle
Elkins, 33, were arrested and charged with making false statements. A gun was found
but authorities never indicated it was a murder weapon.
Also, West’s daughter Ashley Glassey, 21, said she didn’t want to wrongly
accuse her mother but had her doubts because her stories were conflicting
and she may have committed the murder for insurance money.
Police have not named Sherry West or Louis Santiago suspects in their son’s murder;
however, Santiago is in jail for aggravated stalking of West.
“He went nuts … he was throwing things through the window and terrorizing
me, saying that I killed my baby and it should have been me,” West tells CBS.
Baby Santiago Killing; Mother Gives Conflicting Stories, Father’
s Alibi Doesn’t Check Out
Author: Randa Morris
July 27, 2013
Sherry West began making talk show and news interview appearances just days after the young
Antonio Santiago was killed. She appeared on CNN on March 26th, giving the following statement.
“I was walking home from the post office from mailing a letter and I was 5 minutes from my home. I
was approached by a young man and some other boy that was hiding behind him, and he yelled at
me, give me your money, and I proceeded to tell him that I don’t have any. And he shot — pulled out a
gun and shot at the ground.
“And I didn’t see any shells, so I thought the gun was a cap gun or a bee-bee gun. I thought he was
using a toy gun to scare me. Then he shot at my head and the bullet grazed my ear and the side of my
head. And then he shot me in the leg. And I still thought that it was a fake gun. And you know,
neighbors had BB guns, and it stung. I injured my leg moving furniture days before and I was on pain
medicine, so I didn’t feel it. But I felt stinging. And then it got numb.
“And I didn’t realize, you know, that it was real. It didn’t look like a real gun. And apparently he kept
asking me and I kept telling him I don’t have any.
And he shot my baby in the face. And then I knew it was a real gun. And I screamed and I was scared
to scream because I thought he was going to shoot me in the head and not miss that time. And then
when I kept screaming for someone to call the police and the EMT, he shoved me and grabbed me
and then he ran. And then I wasn’t sure if he was gone, but I quickly, limping, wheeled my baby into a
yard next to me, into the gate.”
Prior to her CNN appearance, West spoke with the Associated Press, on March 23, giving a statement
which nearly mirrors the one above. West tells the AP that “two boys” approached her while she was
out walking with her baby. The boys demand money, which she tells them she doesn’t have. One of
them shoots the gun at the ground, then shoots her the first, time, grazing her ear. The same boy then
shoots her in the leg before shooting the baby in the face. One small discrepancy between these two
statements, however, is that in her statements to the AP she says one of the boys tried to grab her
purse and then he shoved her, before shooting her in the ear. During the AP interview West shows
her ear to the camera, although if there is an injury, it does not appear to be visible in the video.
In another on-camera interview just hours after the shooting, when West invited reporters from Fox
News 30 (WAWS Jacksonville) into her home, her statement varies again. In this interview she says “I
put my arms over my baby and he shoves me and then he shot my baby right in the head.”
In another statement made to a WTLV reporter, West reportedly said that the killer “fired the first shot
into the ground, then shot her in the left ear and upper left leg. The gunman then walked around the
stroller and shot her child once in the face.” This discription of events was also given to reporters at
Yahoo News. There is no mention of her trying to sheild the baby with her arms, in fact this discription
suggests that in order to shoot the baby, the killer had to walk around the stroller, away from where
West was standing, in order to shoot the child.
Sherry West also told reporters that the tests for gun shot residue which the police performed
immediately following the killing came back negative. On March 25, CNN reported:
“Immediately after the shooting, detectives searched her home for a gun and conducted gun residue
tests on both her and the baby’s father, West said, adding that the tests were negative and the search
did not turn up a gun. Citing the ongoing investigation, police spokesman Todd Rhodes declined to
comment when asked about the search and those tests.
West also said she relinquished a jacket she was wearing at the time of the shooting to a detective.
She told police she was grabbed or shoved briefly by the suspected shooter, and they hope to lift a
fingerprint off the jacket, she said.”
Early in July defense attorneys for the two accused teens were able to access the investigation file on
the Baby Santiago case. It was discovered that the hands of both Sherry West and the baby’s father,
Luis Santiago tested positive for gunshot powder residue. Luis Santiago told police he was shopping
at Walmart when the child was killed, however later evidence indicates that Santiago was not at
Walmart at the time of little Antonio’s death.
West recently stated that the gun shot residue on her hands must have come from a struggle with the
killers. In none of the statements made prior to the discovery of gun shot residue on her hands, does
West ever claim to have struggled with the killers after the gun was fired. Since the evidence has been
released to the public, however, she appears to be attempting to change her story again. Some
media outlets have reported that West is now saying that she tried to get the gun away from the killers.
Police have stated that the parents of Baby Santiago have never been suspects in the shooting death
of baby Santiago. One question is why not? Most police investigations of infant and child homicides
do focus on the parents first.
According to a 2010 CNN News report there are about 550 homicides of small children in the U.S.
every year, of which at least 350 are committed by a parent. The article states:
“Cheryl Meyer, a psychologist at Wright State University in Ohio and co-author of several books on the
subject, said it’s probable that a mother kills a child somewhere in the U.S. once every three days.”
Meyers also went on to say that:
“women who kill with purpose tend to be devoted mothers in their 30s who have suffered some kind
of loss, and who murder all of their children at once by a violent means such as a knife or a gun.”
It is a well-known fact that Sherry West had a son, Shaun West, who was killed in a stabbing incident
in 2008.
Additionally, Nadine Kaslow, psychologist at Emory University, also told CNN that:
“The vast majority of mothers who kill their children have a form of diagnosable mental illness, but
most are not receiving appropriate treatment for it at the time of the murders. A high number of them
are economically underprivileged, and they are commonly single, unemployed parents. They may
have been the victims of trauma or abuse.”
Sherry West’s daughter, Ashley Glassey told police in March that she had concerns that her mother
might have killed her brother. Glassey stated that her mother has been diagnosed as bi-polar with
schizophrenic tendencies. What’s more, she told police that her mother also changed her story when
speaking to her the night Antonio was killed, saying she was shot first, then saying the baby was shot
first. Police had not followed up with Glassey or the media, as of the date of publication.
Something else strikes me odd as the Baby Santiago case. There are hundreds of accounts of the
shooting from March 21, 2013, the day that it occurred. Yet, there are no descriptions of the alleged
killers to be found, even from the days when police were supposedly engaging in a man hunt for two
killers on the loose. There is no information from before the arrests regarding the height or weight of
the suspects, the clothing they were wearing, any identifying marks, and there is no composite
sketch… Details released by police and media reports from those who interviewed Sherry West are
strangely absent of almost all identifying characteristics. What we do know about who police were
supposed to be looking for may come as a surprise. Several media outlets reported that in the hours
immediately after the shooting, West stated she believed the killers were between 10 and 15 years
old and that she thought the younger suspect could be as young as 5 years old. From a Yahoo News
Report on March 22:
“Police were combing school records and canvassing neighborhoods searching for the pair. While
police have said the two boys were between the ages of 10 and 15, the mother says she believes the
younger boy was as young as 5 years old.”
No-one other than Sherry West witnessed the shooting, therefore this should have been the only
description police had to follow up on. And yet police appear to have located two suspects who do not
match the mother’s description at all. The police “investigation” involved searching local school
attendance records to see who was not there on the day Antonio Santiago was killed…
Baby Santiago was killed on March 21. On March 25, Sherry West was packing up her bags and
headed out of town. CNN reported that she said she was going “a thousand miles away.” What’s
more, she refused to have the bullet removed from her leg, even
though it surely could be used as evidence to help convict her child’s
killers. It could if it was fired from the same gun that killed Antonio
Santiago and if that gun was the same one which police say was
tossed into the river by the two accused teens. As long as the bullet
remains lodged in her leg, how can the police or anyone else know
for sure where it came from?
s Alibi Doesn’t Check Out
Author: Randa Morris
July 27, 2013
Sherry West began making talk show and news interview appearances just days after the young
Antonio Santiago was killed. She appeared on CNN on March 26th, giving the following statement.
“I was walking home from the post office from mailing a letter and I was 5 minutes from my home. I
was approached by a young man and some other boy that was hiding behind him, and he yelled at
me, give me your money, and I proceeded to tell him that I don’t have any. And he shot — pulled out a
gun and shot at the ground.
“And I didn’t see any shells, so I thought the gun was a cap gun or a bee-bee gun. I thought he was
using a toy gun to scare me. Then he shot at my head and the bullet grazed my ear and the side of my
head. And then he shot me in the leg. And I still thought that it was a fake gun. And you know,
neighbors had BB guns, and it stung. I injured my leg moving furniture days before and I was on pain
medicine, so I didn’t feel it. But I felt stinging. And then it got numb.
“And I didn’t realize, you know, that it was real. It didn’t look like a real gun. And apparently he kept
asking me and I kept telling him I don’t have any.
And he shot my baby in the face. And then I knew it was a real gun. And I screamed and I was scared
to scream because I thought he was going to shoot me in the head and not miss that time. And then
when I kept screaming for someone to call the police and the EMT, he shoved me and grabbed me
and then he ran. And then I wasn’t sure if he was gone, but I quickly, limping, wheeled my baby into a
yard next to me, into the gate.”
Prior to her CNN appearance, West spoke with the Associated Press, on March 23, giving a statement
which nearly mirrors the one above. West tells the AP that “two boys” approached her while she was
out walking with her baby. The boys demand money, which she tells them she doesn’t have. One of
them shoots the gun at the ground, then shoots her the first, time, grazing her ear. The same boy then
shoots her in the leg before shooting the baby in the face. One small discrepancy between these two
statements, however, is that in her statements to the AP she says one of the boys tried to grab her
purse and then he shoved her, before shooting her in the ear. During the AP interview West shows
her ear to the camera, although if there is an injury, it does not appear to be visible in the video.
In another on-camera interview just hours after the shooting, when West invited reporters from Fox
News 30 (WAWS Jacksonville) into her home, her statement varies again. In this interview she says “I
put my arms over my baby and he shoves me and then he shot my baby right in the head.”
In another statement made to a WTLV reporter, West reportedly said that the killer “fired the first shot
into the ground, then shot her in the left ear and upper left leg. The gunman then walked around the
stroller and shot her child once in the face.” This discription of events was also given to reporters at
Yahoo News. There is no mention of her trying to sheild the baby with her arms, in fact this discription
suggests that in order to shoot the baby, the killer had to walk around the stroller, away from where
West was standing, in order to shoot the child.
Sherry West also told reporters that the tests for gun shot residue which the police performed
immediately following the killing came back negative. On March 25, CNN reported:
“Immediately after the shooting, detectives searched her home for a gun and conducted gun residue
tests on both her and the baby’s father, West said, adding that the tests were negative and the search
did not turn up a gun. Citing the ongoing investigation, police spokesman Todd Rhodes declined to
comment when asked about the search and those tests.
West also said she relinquished a jacket she was wearing at the time of the shooting to a detective.
She told police she was grabbed or shoved briefly by the suspected shooter, and they hope to lift a
fingerprint off the jacket, she said.”
Early in July defense attorneys for the two accused teens were able to access the investigation file on
the Baby Santiago case. It was discovered that the hands of both Sherry West and the baby’s father,
Luis Santiago tested positive for gunshot powder residue. Luis Santiago told police he was shopping
at Walmart when the child was killed, however later evidence indicates that Santiago was not at
Walmart at the time of little Antonio’s death.
West recently stated that the gun shot residue on her hands must have come from a struggle with the
killers. In none of the statements made prior to the discovery of gun shot residue on her hands, does
West ever claim to have struggled with the killers after the gun was fired. Since the evidence has been
released to the public, however, she appears to be attempting to change her story again. Some
media outlets have reported that West is now saying that she tried to get the gun away from the killers.
Police have stated that the parents of Baby Santiago have never been suspects in the shooting death
of baby Santiago. One question is why not? Most police investigations of infant and child homicides
do focus on the parents first.
According to a 2010 CNN News report there are about 550 homicides of small children in the U.S.
every year, of which at least 350 are committed by a parent. The article states:
“Cheryl Meyer, a psychologist at Wright State University in Ohio and co-author of several books on the
subject, said it’s probable that a mother kills a child somewhere in the U.S. once every three days.”
Meyers also went on to say that:
“women who kill with purpose tend to be devoted mothers in their 30s who have suffered some kind
of loss, and who murder all of their children at once by a violent means such as a knife or a gun.”
It is a well-known fact that Sherry West had a son, Shaun West, who was killed in a stabbing incident
in 2008.
Additionally, Nadine Kaslow, psychologist at Emory University, also told CNN that:
“The vast majority of mothers who kill their children have a form of diagnosable mental illness, but
most are not receiving appropriate treatment for it at the time of the murders. A high number of them
are economically underprivileged, and they are commonly single, unemployed parents. They may
have been the victims of trauma or abuse.”
Sherry West’s daughter, Ashley Glassey told police in March that she had concerns that her mother
might have killed her brother. Glassey stated that her mother has been diagnosed as bi-polar with
schizophrenic tendencies. What’s more, she told police that her mother also changed her story when
speaking to her the night Antonio was killed, saying she was shot first, then saying the baby was shot
first. Police had not followed up with Glassey or the media, as of the date of publication.
Something else strikes me odd as the Baby Santiago case. There are hundreds of accounts of the
shooting from March 21, 2013, the day that it occurred. Yet, there are no descriptions of the alleged
killers to be found, even from the days when police were supposedly engaging in a man hunt for two
killers on the loose. There is no information from before the arrests regarding the height or weight of
the suspects, the clothing they were wearing, any identifying marks, and there is no composite
sketch… Details released by police and media reports from those who interviewed Sherry West are
strangely absent of almost all identifying characteristics. What we do know about who police were
supposed to be looking for may come as a surprise. Several media outlets reported that in the hours
immediately after the shooting, West stated she believed the killers were between 10 and 15 years
old and that she thought the younger suspect could be as young as 5 years old. From a Yahoo News
Report on March 22:
“Police were combing school records and canvassing neighborhoods searching for the pair. While
police have said the two boys were between the ages of 10 and 15, the mother says she believes the
younger boy was as young as 5 years old.”
No-one other than Sherry West witnessed the shooting, therefore this should have been the only
description police had to follow up on. And yet police appear to have located two suspects who do not
match the mother’s description at all. The police “investigation” involved searching local school
attendance records to see who was not there on the day Antonio Santiago was killed…
Baby Santiago was killed on March 21. On March 25, Sherry West was packing up her bags and
headed out of town. CNN reported that she said she was going “a thousand miles away.” What’s
more, she refused to have the bullet removed from her leg, even
though it surely could be used as evidence to help convict her child’s
killers. It could if it was fired from the same gun that killed Antonio
Santiago and if that gun was the same one which police say was
tossed into the river by the two accused teens. As long as the bullet
remains lodged in her leg, how can the police or anyone else know
for sure where it came from?
False police reports
The killing of baby Santiago in his stroller: Is everybody
lying in this case?
Why did Sherry West refuse to allow bullet to be removed from her leg? Was there
another gun involved?
Was there another shooter?
Why would the victims change their stories?
What mother would refuse to give her purse to protect her baby?
The killing of baby Santiago in his stroller: Is everybody
lying in this case?
Why did Sherry West refuse to allow bullet to be removed from her leg? Was there
another gun involved?
Was there another shooter?
Why would the victims change their stories?
What mother would refuse to give her purse to protect her baby?
False police report in Chula
Vista Elementary School
District/California Teachers
Association / Richard Werlin
/ Robin Donlan case
Vista Elementary School
District/California Teachers
Association / Richard Werlin
/ Robin Donlan case
Blog posts
Innocence Project (Role
Model Lawyers Blog)
Innocence Project (Law
Enforcement Blog)
Innocence Project (SDER)
Innocence Project (Role
Model Lawyers Blog)
Innocence Project (Law
Enforcement Blog)
Innocence Project (SDER)
Dishonesty in schools blog posts
Dishonesty in government blog
posts
Dishonesty in court cases blog
posts
Dishonesty in government blog
posts
Dishonesty in court cases blog
posts
| San Diego Education Report |
| SDER |
San Diego
Education Report
Education Report
| SDER |
| SDER |
| SDER |
Why This Website
Stutz Artiano Shinoff
& Holtz v. Maura
Larkins defamation
SDCOE
CVESD
Castle Park
Elementary School
Law Enforcement
CTA
CVE
Stutz Artiano Shinoff
& Holtz
Silence is Golden
Schools and Violence
Office Admin Hearings
Larkins OAH Hearing
Stutz Artiano Shinoff
& Holtz v. Maura
Larkins defamation
SDCOE
CVESD
Castle Park
Elementary School
Law Enforcement
CTA
CVE
Stutz Artiano Shinoff
& Holtz
Silence is Golden
Schools and Violence
Office Admin Hearings
Larkins OAH Hearing
Aug 22, 2013
Witness admits lying to cops in
Ga. baby-murder case
By Walter C. Jones
Morris News Service
MARIETTA, Ga. -- The jury in the
Brunswick baby-killing case
heard testimony today from a
boy who was with the accused
shooter at the scene, but he also
acknowledged lying to police.
Earlier today, defense attorneys
complained of threats to other
witnesses and accused police of
failing to investigate.
In his testimony, Dominique
Lang, 14, pointed out De’
Marquise Elkins, 18, across the
courtroom as the one who fired
the gun March 21 during a
botched robbery that killed 13-
month-old Antonio Santiago. The
baby’s mother, Sherry West, was
also shot in the leg and wounded
in the ear.
Dominique said Elkins struck
West with the revolver and then
threatened the baby.
“He counted down five seconds.
... He was like 5, 4, 3, and she
stopped him,” Dominique said,
adding that the mother and
Elkins then struggled over the
purse while standing over the
stroller Antonio was seated in.
Elkins threatened the baby again
and counted down a second
time, according to Dominique.
“She still refused to give him her
purse,” he testified.
Dominique saw Elkins fire a shot
into the ground and one into
West’s thigh. The witness
gestured toward the courtroom
floor as he said Elkins pointed
the gun either toward West’s
stomach or at Antonio but said
he didn’t see the third shot fired.
Dominique is also charged with
the murder but will be tried
separately from Elkins who is on
trial in Cobb County Superior
Court. The case was moved
because of the amount of pre-
trial news coverage in Brunswick.
Prosecutors have not given
Dominique any promises that
they would not use his testimony
in Elkins’ trial against the boy in
his own case. However,
Dominique’s lawyer sat silently
by as he testified.
A day earlier, Dominique testified
in a hearing without the jury
present, wearing a prison
jumpsuit and shackles. Today,
he was not shackled and wore
slacks and a plaid, long-sleeved
shirt.
In today’s cross examination,
defense attorney Jonathan
Lockwood got Dominique to
admit to repeatedly lying to
investigators when questioned
the day after the murder, even
muttering to himself in the
interrogation room before
officers arrived.
“That was you practicing the lies
you were about to tell police?”
Lockwood asked.
“Yes, sir,” Dominique replied.
The boy had originally denied
involvement. Next, he said he
hadn’t seen any of the shots
fired.
When Lockwood pressed,
Dominique acknowledged
changing his story at the urging
of a detective.
“He was pushing me to say that,”
the witness said.
“So, if people push you to say
things, you’ll lie. Is that right?”
Lockwood asked.
“Yes, sir,” the boy replied.
Just before the lunch break,
Lockwood wrapped up his cross
examination.
“You’d have to agree that you’re
not the most honest person,” the
lawyer said.
“Yes, sir,” Dominique said.
Also today, Elkins’ lead attorney,
Kevin Gough, announced he had
filed a motion this morning for
dismissal based on complaints
from witnesses that they had
been threatened by Antonio’s
father, Louis Santiago.
Gough told Glynn County
Superior Court Judge Stephen
Kelley that two witnesses had
come forward with complaints to
the Glynn County Police
Department but that no
investigation was launched.
Gough called that “outrageous
misbehavior” by the government.
Kelley, though, said he had not
had time to read the motion and
suspected prosecutors had not
either. The judge said a hearing
could be held on that matter
later, possibly Sunday evening.
District Attorney Jackie Johnson
estimated that her witnesses will
still be testifying through Monday
afternoon before the defense
begins presenting its case.
Also on trial with Elkins is his
mother, Karimah Aisha Elkins,
36, who is charged with lying to
police and disposing of the
murder weapon.
False Police Reports
Two Seattle police officers fired after body camera worn by
bus driver catches them in a huge lie
by Shaun King
Daily Kos staff
Aug 26, 2015
Maybe we all need to be wearing body cameras
On November 14, 2014, Kelvin Kirkpatrick, an African-American Metro bus driver with
over 20 years of experience in Seattle, requested that sheriff's officers remove sleeping
homeless men from his bus, per company policy. The officers weren't helpful and even
lied to Kirkpatrick about why they weren't being helpful. He got back on his bus and got
back to work.
Little did he know that two of the officers involved would flat out lie about the entire
encounter in a report that they completed, stating that he dropped f-bombs and
berated them. The thing is, that never happened—and a body camera, worn by the bus
driver himself, captured the entire ordeal as you can see below the fold.
The firings resulted from an investigation into a complaint filed by King County Sheriff’s
Office Sergeant Lou Caballero after an early morning argument on Nov. 14 between
him and driver Kelvin Kirkpatrick in downtown Seattle, internal Sheriff’s Office
documents showed.
During the argument, Kirkpatrick, a 20-year transit veteran, criticized Caballero and his
deputies for not removing non-paying “sleepers” from his bus.
Caballero said Kirkpatrick yelled at him: “You got three fucking deputies out here that
don’t do nothing.” Another deputy, Amy Shoblom, attested to that in a witness
statement.
Both officers have now been fired, but it shows you the frightening ease with which
officers will not only make shit up, but back each other up on the fiction.
Two Seattle police officers fired after body camera worn by
bus driver catches them in a huge lie
by Shaun King
Daily Kos staff
Aug 26, 2015
Maybe we all need to be wearing body cameras
On November 14, 2014, Kelvin Kirkpatrick, an African-American Metro bus driver with
over 20 years of experience in Seattle, requested that sheriff's officers remove sleeping
homeless men from his bus, per company policy. The officers weren't helpful and even
lied to Kirkpatrick about why they weren't being helpful. He got back on his bus and got
back to work.
Little did he know that two of the officers involved would flat out lie about the entire
encounter in a report that they completed, stating that he dropped f-bombs and
berated them. The thing is, that never happened—and a body camera, worn by the bus
driver himself, captured the entire ordeal as you can see below the fold.
The firings resulted from an investigation into a complaint filed by King County Sheriff’s
Office Sergeant Lou Caballero after an early morning argument on Nov. 14 between
him and driver Kelvin Kirkpatrick in downtown Seattle, internal Sheriff’s Office
documents showed.
During the argument, Kirkpatrick, a 20-year transit veteran, criticized Caballero and his
deputies for not removing non-paying “sleepers” from his bus.
Caballero said Kirkpatrick yelled at him: “You got three fucking deputies out here that
don’t do nothing.” Another deputy, Amy Shoblom, attested to that in a witness
statement.
Both officers have now been fired, but it shows you the frightening ease with which
officers will not only make shit up, but back each other up on the fiction.
False Police Reports--many of them made by police
Cop fabricated claim that gunman fired at his cruiser
by Jake Carter
Rapid News Network
September 5, 2015
An officer who allegedly fabricated a claim that a gunman fired at his cruiser before
it crashed into a tree and caught on fire was charged Friday, police officials said.
He is facing charges of misleading a criminal investigation, communicating false
information to emergency services, malicious destruction of property over $250 and
unlawful discharge of a firearm, according to Mills police.
The report prompted a massive manhunt, with local departments and state police
searching Millis, Medfield and Norfolk with dozens of cruisers, ATVs and a
helicopter.
Police won’t say if Johnson admitted to the alleged plot, but say ballistics evidence
from Forest Road shows the shots weren’t ever fired by a suspect, and that there
never was a gunman around town.
“The proof signifies that photographs weren’t fired by a suspect and there’s no
gunman at giant in or across the city”, Dwyer stated.
Johnson, whose name was made public earlier this week, will now face charges for
his story.
“We immediately conferred with Millis Police”, she said.
Also, in response to receiving two threats to schools on Wednesday, police
searched them but found nothing hazardous.
In a statement released late on Thursday, the Millis Police Department issued an
apology. He was a dispatcher hired as a part-time officer and was training to
become a full-time officer, Dwyer said.
According to CNN News on September 4, this started out as another police officer
being targeted, but ended as a cop concocting this story and now revealed as fake.
Millis Police always have a greater presence during the first few days of school and
we appreciate the great work they do, along with the Millis Fire Department, to help
our students feel safe.
by Jake Carter
Rapid News Network
September 5, 2015
An officer who allegedly fabricated a claim that a gunman fired at his cruiser before
it crashed into a tree and caught on fire was charged Friday, police officials said.
He is facing charges of misleading a criminal investigation, communicating false
information to emergency services, malicious destruction of property over $250 and
unlawful discharge of a firearm, according to Mills police.
The report prompted a massive manhunt, with local departments and state police
searching Millis, Medfield and Norfolk with dozens of cruisers, ATVs and a
helicopter.
Police won’t say if Johnson admitted to the alleged plot, but say ballistics evidence
from Forest Road shows the shots weren’t ever fired by a suspect, and that there
never was a gunman around town.
“The proof signifies that photographs weren’t fired by a suspect and there’s no
gunman at giant in or across the city”, Dwyer stated.
Johnson, whose name was made public earlier this week, will now face charges for
his story.
“We immediately conferred with Millis Police”, she said.
Also, in response to receiving two threats to schools on Wednesday, police
searched them but found nothing hazardous.
In a statement released late on Thursday, the Millis Police Department issued an
apology. He was a dispatcher hired as a part-time officer and was training to
become a full-time officer, Dwyer said.
According to CNN News on September 4, this started out as another police officer
being targeted, but ended as a cop concocting this story and now revealed as fake.
Millis Police always have a greater presence during the first few days of school and
we appreciate the great work they do, along with the Millis Fire Department, to help
our students feel safe.
Ex-Los Angeles top cop Lee Baca faces six months in
prison for lying to investigators
BY Nancy Dillon
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
February 10, 2016
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, 73, falsely told investigators he had no idea his
deputies planned to approach and threaten an FBI agent in 2011 because she was
probing allegations of corruption and civil rights violations inside his former lockups, the
U.S. attorney's office said.
He once ran the nation's largest urban jail system but was on the threshold of a
possible six-month prison sentence Wednesday.
In a dramatic turn for a former top cop, retired Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca
was due in a federal courtroom to plead guilty to a single felony charge of lying to
investigators, prosecutors said.
Baca, 73, falsely told investigators he had no idea his deputies planned to approach
and threaten an FBI agent in 2011 because she was probing allegations of corruption
and civil rights violations inside his former lockups, the U.S. attorney's office said.
The plea deal calls for a maximum of six months behind bars, but the actual sentence
will be determined by a federal judge, according to court filings obtained by the Daily
News.
Under his plea agreement, Baca now admits he secretly directed deputies to "isolate"
an inmate suspected of being an FBI informant and "do everything but put handcuffs"
on the FBI agent sniffing around his jails.
As a result, two deputies approached the agent outside her home on September 26,
2011, and threatened her with arrest, prosecutors said.
Officials said it was during a 2013 meeting with the FBI and assistant U.S. attorneys that
Baca denied any participation in the 2011 meetings.
Baca's actions were part of an "extensive scheme" to thwart a sweeping probe that so
far has resulted in the convictions of eight LASD deputies with ranks as high as captain,
prosecutors said.
Wednesday's shock announcement came after Baca's former top aide, Paul Tanaka,
was indicted last May for obstructing the federal probe of the 2011 beating of a
handcuffed jail visitor.
A month after Tanaka's indictment, three sheriff's deputies were convicted of beating
the handcuffed visitor bloody and then fabricating a report to cover up the crime.
The visitor, Gabriel Carrillo, was restrained and assaulted in February 2011 after
deputies found him and his girlfriend illegally carrying cellphones while visiting Carrillo's
brother at Men's Central Jail.
Carrillo allegedly trash talked the deputies before the attack.
The deputies claimed he initiated the violent encounter when he was un-cuffed for
fingerprinting, but prosecutors said his injuries indicated both arms were shackled
during the beatdown.
"Former Sheriff Lee Baca deserves punishment," George Hofstetter President of the
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS), said in a statement Wednesday.
"The plea agreement sends a strong message that no one is above the law. There
must be zero tolerance for this type of failed leadership. This by no means undermines
the dedication and hard work of the more than 9,000 deputy sheriffs who put their lives
on the line protecting L.A. County residents," he said.
"With this admission of guilt, the environment that created this type of corruption is out
of the department and we begin a new day of restoring confidence and trust," he said.
A native of east Los Angeles who grew up poor and joined the department in 1965,
Baca was sworn in as the county's 30th sheriff in 1998.
He retired in 2014 — before the end of his final term — amid the FBI probe.
A federal judge last year denied a motion seeking immunity for Baca to testify in
Tanaka's defense.
Tanaka is scheduled to go to trial on March 22.
prison for lying to investigators
BY Nancy Dillon
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
February 10, 2016
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, 73, falsely told investigators he had no idea his
deputies planned to approach and threaten an FBI agent in 2011 because she was
probing allegations of corruption and civil rights violations inside his former lockups, the
U.S. attorney's office said.
He once ran the nation's largest urban jail system but was on the threshold of a
possible six-month prison sentence Wednesday.
In a dramatic turn for a former top cop, retired Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca
was due in a federal courtroom to plead guilty to a single felony charge of lying to
investigators, prosecutors said.
Baca, 73, falsely told investigators he had no idea his deputies planned to approach
and threaten an FBI agent in 2011 because she was probing allegations of corruption
and civil rights violations inside his former lockups, the U.S. attorney's office said.
The plea deal calls for a maximum of six months behind bars, but the actual sentence
will be determined by a federal judge, according to court filings obtained by the Daily
News.
Under his plea agreement, Baca now admits he secretly directed deputies to "isolate"
an inmate suspected of being an FBI informant and "do everything but put handcuffs"
on the FBI agent sniffing around his jails.
As a result, two deputies approached the agent outside her home on September 26,
2011, and threatened her with arrest, prosecutors said.
Officials said it was during a 2013 meeting with the FBI and assistant U.S. attorneys that
Baca denied any participation in the 2011 meetings.
Baca's actions were part of an "extensive scheme" to thwart a sweeping probe that so
far has resulted in the convictions of eight LASD deputies with ranks as high as captain,
prosecutors said.
Wednesday's shock announcement came after Baca's former top aide, Paul Tanaka,
was indicted last May for obstructing the federal probe of the 2011 beating of a
handcuffed jail visitor.
A month after Tanaka's indictment, three sheriff's deputies were convicted of beating
the handcuffed visitor bloody and then fabricating a report to cover up the crime.
The visitor, Gabriel Carrillo, was restrained and assaulted in February 2011 after
deputies found him and his girlfriend illegally carrying cellphones while visiting Carrillo's
brother at Men's Central Jail.
Carrillo allegedly trash talked the deputies before the attack.
The deputies claimed he initiated the violent encounter when he was un-cuffed for
fingerprinting, but prosecutors said his injuries indicated both arms were shackled
during the beatdown.
"Former Sheriff Lee Baca deserves punishment," George Hofstetter President of the
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS), said in a statement Wednesday.
"The plea agreement sends a strong message that no one is above the law. There
must be zero tolerance for this type of failed leadership. This by no means undermines
the dedication and hard work of the more than 9,000 deputy sheriffs who put their lives
on the line protecting L.A. County residents," he said.
"With this admission of guilt, the environment that created this type of corruption is out
of the department and we begin a new day of restoring confidence and trust," he said.
A native of east Los Angeles who grew up poor and joined the department in 1965,
Baca was sworn in as the county's 30th sheriff in 1998.
He retired in 2014 — before the end of his final term — amid the FBI probe.
A federal judge last year denied a motion seeking immunity for Baca to testify in
Tanaka's defense.
Tanaka is scheduled to go to trial on March 22.