Two women charged with manslaughter in 4-year old's death

  Matt Kozar, Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- A mother and daughter running a daycare center were arrested Friday night in Brooklyn and charged with manslaughter for the death of a 4-year-old boy.

The boy died in a sweltering van.

The boy was at a daycare center in Sunrise, Florida, but the mother and daughter were arrested in Brooklyn.

That's where cops say after the child died, they opened another daycare center.

Neighbors say US Marshals and police officers raided the building and took two women away in handcuffs.

They were fugitives, wanted for their involvement in the death of a 4-year-old in Florida.

He was enrolled in their daycare.

But even while hiding out in Brooklyn, investigators allege the women were still advertising daycare services.

43-year-old Cecily Roberts and her 20-year-old daughter Camile Gordon are behind bars, but not after leading authorities on a chase from Florida to a house in Brooklyn.

"I knew her as a little girl," said Olivia Hill, a neighbor.

People who live in the Flatbush neighborhood say Roberts grew up there and has family in the area.

"(When you hear a child died under her care?) That's heart breaking. That's heart breaking. I'm a great grandmother. 75-years-old. So things like that upset me," Hill said.

"It's just tragic to come home and not see your son," said Fantasia Goldson, mother of victim.

The mother of 4-year-old Jordan Coleman is in mourning.

Her son died August 1st when he was locked inside Robert's daycare SUV in Broward County, Florida for two and half hours on a hot day.

A third woman involved in the incident,19-year-old Paris Ward, was arrested and charged in Florida.

Police say Cecily Roberts and her 20-year-old daughter fled to Brooklyn and even tried to advertise daycare services out of a home, although neighbors say they haven't seen any parents dropping off their kids.

"The sign's been there for a couple years, but to be honest, I've never seen any kids coming or going to the place," said Tony Brown, a neighbor.

The daycare banner above the front door has since been removed.

The city's health department tells Eyewitness News they're investigating, but so far they have not found any evidence that child care was being provided there.

In the driveway, there is a van with Florida plates that neighbors say belongs to Roberts.

The license plate reads: "Kids deserve justice."

"I don't believe she would do something like that. I don't believe that. No, No. I don't believe that. She's not that type of person," Hill said.

All three women are facing one count of aggravated manslaughter.

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Man convicted of manslaughter in NYPD death

NYPD Officer Alain Schaberger was killed when a suspect allegedly pushed him over a railing, causing him to fall to his death on Sunday, March 13, 2011. (AP Photo / NYPD)

  Eyewitness NewsBROOKLYN (WABC) -- A man accused of pushing an NYPD officer to his death in Brooklyn was convicted of aggravated manslaughter but found not guilty of murder Wednesday.

George Villaneuva could still face life in prison for pushing officer Alain Schaberger off a stoop in Boerum Hill on March 13, 2011.

Schaberger was attempting to arrest Villaneuva on a domestic violence charge when he tumbled over a railing and plunged about nine feet.

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Casey Anthony Reveals New Theory for Caylee's Death

In jailhouse interviews with two psychiatrists, Casey Anthony revealed yet a different theory for how her 2-year-old daughter Caylee may have died.

Anthony, 25, told two doctors in separate interviews that she suspects her father George Anthony took the little girl from the bed mother and daughter shared, had some sort of sexual episode with her, and then drowned her to cover it up.

"She said, 'I think he held her underwater, maybe he was doing something to her and he tried to cover it up,'" Dr. Jeffery Danziger recalled Anthony saying in his deposition that was released today.

Anthony told Danziger that she called her mother Cindy Anthony four times, but could not reach her. It was not until several hours later that her mother called back and, at that point, a shocked Anthony "froze."

"I hoped he'd step up to be my dad and take responsibility," she told Danziger.

Danziger said Anthony implied that her father's eventual suicide attempt was, "his way out of the grief or guilt and I'm left to take the wrap [sic]."

"This was said with a measure of anger," the doctor said, and said she added, "I'll be damned if I take responsibility for this."

George Anthony's attorney Mark Lippman issued a statement today saying that Anthony was "made aware of these statements in the deposition prior to the trial of his daughter in 2011 and no new information has been disclosed today."

"As he has repeatedly said prior to the trial, during the trial and after the trial he never molested any member of his family including Casey Anthony and he had nothing to do with the death of Caylee Marie Anthony including what happened to her remains after she allegedly drowned," Lippman wrote.

Casey Anthony's Other Theory for Daughter's Murder

Anthony conceded to the doctor that she eventually told her mother "everything but the truth," but couldn't explain why. She said that she really didn't know at the time what had ultimately happened to Caylee.

"I was hoping she [Caylee] was somewhere, that she was still okay," Danziger recalled her saying.

For months after Anthony was confronted with Caylee's disapearance, Casey Anthony insisted her daughter had been kidnapped by a fictitious babysitter. At the opening of her murder trial, her lawyer admitted the child hadn't been kidnapped, but had drowned in the family's pool.

Anthony was acquitted of killing Caylee during a sensational trial last summer.

In interviewing Anthony, Danziger was repeatedly struck by her upbeat mood. At one point he said during the deposition, "What puzzled me was why is she so blasted cheerful."

Both psychiatrists noted in their depositions noted Anthony's unusually calm demeanor as she spoke about her daughter's death and her accusation that she was molested by her father and brother.

Danziger recounted his "puzzlement" with Anthony's "nice, sweet and pleasant demeanor" as she sat behind bars as the prime suspect in the death of her daughter.

"Her demeanor, the best way to say it, is she was calm, cooperative and pleasant as if we were discussing someone who had a parking ticket," Danziger said in an April 7, 2011 deposition.

He notes that she was in a good mood, reading books, sleeping fine and had a good appetite.

"No feeling of guilt, not hopeless," he said.

"This is someone who is sitting in jail. Her child is missing, presumed dead," Danziger said. "While she had not yet been charged with murder, obviously, she's charged with crimes and is being accused by the whole world in the disappearance of the child. You would expect that that would provoke some measure of distress."

The second psychiatrist who interviewed Anthony, Dr. William Weitz, also noticed her lack of emotion over Caylee disappearance.

He noted Anthony's "complete separation of emotion and affect from the various questions that she's asked to respond to."

"She seems detached from a lot of her feeling and emotion, even in times that one might expect they'd be more reactive and intense," Weitz said.

Weitz said that her reactions could be construed as defense mechanisms, possibly related to her accusations of years of sexual abuse from her father George Anthony and her brother Lee Anthony.

In her interviews with the doctors she detailed accusations of sex abuse that were mentioned during her murder trial.

She said her father molested her from age 8 to 11 which Danziger recorded as "disgusting, demeaning, intercourse, oral, everything."

Although the father reportedly stopped when she was 11 or 12, she claimed her brother Lee molested her from age 12 to 15. "Sometimes wake up to him or wake up bra over my head or unclasped. Wake up once his hands on my chest," the doctor read from his notes from the interview with Anthony.

She claimed that her father assaulted her again when she was 18. "Tried to fight back when I was older. I'm not a big person," the doctor quoted her as saying.

Anthony described to Weitz the years of the alleged sexual abuse she endured at the hands of her father and brother. Anthony told the doctor she never told anyone about her father's abuse, but told her mother about the alleged abuse from her brother.

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Building reopening after Midtown elevator death

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- The Midtown office building where an elevator crushed a woman to death is reopening Tuesday with partial elevator service.

But at least one witness to last month's accident says she'll never step foot in an elevator again.

Tuesday marks the first time many nervous workers will return to 285 Madison Avenue since the accident that left 41-year-old Suzanne Hart dead.

But only half of the building's occupants are returning to work. The elevators that served floors 12 to 25 have passed inspection and are resuming operation, but floors 3 through 10 are still shut down. That's the elevator bank where Hart was killed.

Investigators say her leg was caught in the door when the elevator rose suddenly, dragging her between floors. Now, one of the people inside the elevator car at the time of the accident has filed a lawsuit.

According to the Daily News, 36-year-old Kathleen Mullahy says she is so traumtized by the incident, she can no ride in elevators. Mullahy and another worker were trapped in the stuck elevator after Hart's death.

She is suing both Y&R, the advertising agency where she and Hart worked, and the elevator repair company that worked on the elevator just hours before the deadly accident.

Offices on the lower floors will remain closed until the Department of Buildings has completed its investigation.

Y&R is planning to move to a new location in 2013.

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NJ woman charged in penis silicone injection death

  Eyewitness NewsNEWARK -- A New Jersey woman who police say injected a man's penis with silicone, resulting in his death, has been charged with manslaughter.

The Essex County prosecutor's office says 34-year-old Kasia Rivera gave 22-year-old Justin Street the injection on May 5. Such injections often are used to enlarge body parts, such as the buttocks.

Street died the day after his injection. His death was ruled a homicide following an investigation and a medical examiner's determination he died of a silicone embolism.

Rivera also faces charges for the unauthorized practice of medicine. She was arrested Friday and is being held on $75,000 bail. It's unclear if she has a lawyer. No telephone listing could be found for her home in East Orange. (Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Bronx boy's death ruled a homicide

  Eyewitness NewsTHE BRONX (WABC) -- Police in the Bronx are investigating the murder of a five-year-old boy.

Jamar Johnson was found unconscious Friday night in an apartment in the Edenwald section.

He died a short time later.

The medical examiner ruled his death of homicide.

There are no arrests.

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Mysterious toddler death in the Bronx

  Eyewitness NewsTHE BRONX (WABC) -- Police in the Bronx are trying to figure out what caused the tragic death of a toddler.

Emergency crews responded to East 140th street in Port Morris just after 4 a.m. on Saturday.

Paramedics found Anita Ortiz, 3, unresponsive.

She died a short time later.

The medical examiner will determine what caused her death.

No charges have been filed.

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Brooklyn boy mauled to death by family dog

Web produced by Dan Hosea, Eyewitness NewsBROOKLYN (WABC) -- A tragedy in Brooklyn: a little boy is mauled to death by the family dog in a gruesome and bloody scene.

Investigators still don't know what caused the dog to attack.

But now the Administration for Children's Services has removed the victim's siblings from the home.

The vicious attack happened Friday night in the family's apartment on Pacific Street in the Ocean Hill section of Brooklyn.

Many people who live in the neighborhood say they were always concerned about the dog involved in the attack.

Some are even saying it was a ticking time bomb that was just waiting to explode.

Four-year-old Jayelin Graham's lifeless body was rushed to Brookdale Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

He was bitten on the head, neck and torso by the Cane Corso mastiff in his mother's apartment.

The little boy's aunt, Calandra Jubeark said, "Within a split second it happened."

That quick her nephew Jayelin was viciously attacked and mauled to death.

The boy's mother telling her sister, "She said, 'The dog wouldn't let go.' It's painful," Jubeark said.

The gruesome aftermath of the attack was evident in the bloodstained hallway where tensions ran high after the mother came out screaming for help.

Several residents helped to subdue the dog which was in the apartment with other children.

Police tranquilized the dog after the attack.

The mother was emotionally distraught over the horrible death of her four-year-old child.

Her grandfather led her back into the apartment where the attack occurred.

"What a horrible way to die. I've got a lot of frustrations, a lot of emotions, a lot of anger." the grandfather said.

Residents and Jayelin's paternal aunt, D'Neisha Graham, say the boy was living in filthy conditions with dog feces and urine in the apartment.

"If you walk in there it is disgusting. It was very nasty. Nobody, anybody, let alone a child, could stay in that house," Graham said.

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Woman's cause of death changed from accident to homicide

  Eyewitness NewsJERSEY CITY (WABC) -- The death of a Jersey City woman who appeared to have died from a fall in front of her home has now been ruled a homicide.

Two people are charged with felony murder and a third person is being sought.

Judith Bobrow, 66, was found on the evening of October 11, 2010 lying face down in front of the porch of her home at 191 Union Street in Jersey City.

She was transported to Jersey City Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. The medical examiner ruled her death accidental.

During the course of a separate, unrelated homicide investigation, the victim's debit card was found in possession of 20-year-old Antonio Nash-Johnson, the third suspect who is still on the loose.

As a result, Bobrow's case was reopened, and information led investigators to the two suspects. Donte Carlisle and Kenneth Miller were interviewed and, according to the complaint, made statements implicating each other in the robbery.

The new information was given to the medical examiner and Bobrow's death was changed to a homicide.

She died of blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen, according to the medical examiner's officer. It's believed she was knocked to the ground, held down and assaulted and that's what caused her death.

The prosecutor says that based on the position of the victim's body in relation to the front stairs and the way she was found, her injuries could have been consistent with a fall. There were no witnesses to the assault.

Carlisle and Miller, already in custody on unrelated charges, now face felony murder charges.

Antonio Nash-Johnson of Forest Avenue in Jersey City is being sought in connection with her robbery and death.

Anyone with information on Bobrow's death is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.

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