Author: J.P. Knowles

Four Tennessee daycare workers were charged earlier this month with overdosing children under their care. It turns out that they were giving them up to 10 times the legal limit of the hormone melatonin so they would sleep longer.

Jaime Clark, 45, Kristin Clark, 22, and Jordan Darnell, 22, of now-closed MiMi’s Daycare in Indian Mound, Tennessee, were charged with child abuse and neglect on May 5 after parents filed complaints in March. Ethan Pulley, 21, was charged with fabricating/tampering with evidence.

An attorney representing nine of the 26 children who were overdosed said that a whistleblower had come forward and told his team just how high the dosages were.

“There was a whistleblower who came forward and talked to us early this week and told us she worked there for a day and during her employment they requested she give the students three 10 milligram melatonin gummy bears with their lunch,” attorney Rocky McElhaney said. “She didn’t feel comfortable with that. She didn’t do it and she didn’t report for her job the next day.”

The dosage of melatonin given to the children was over one and a half times the maximum adult dose.

Sometimes parents were unable to wake their children when they picked them up at the end of the day, Stewart County Sheriff’s Detective Dana Salthill.

“When they would pick them up, they would sleep all the way home and sometimes reports of children staying up most of the night, so their sleeping habits are off,” she said earlier this month. “They also made some disclosures that there was melatonin going on at lunchtime at the daycare center.”

Investigators said the children ranged in age from infants to six years old and that the daycare had been dosing children for at least two years.

A South Carolina mother and her two children are recovering after being attacked in late April by a pit bull while trying to help an elderly neighbor with dementia.

Bethany Hastings said the family had gone outside and found their neighbor who had wandered onto their property. Hastings said she and her two children took the woman home in their golf cart, and when they arrived, their neighbor’s pit bull was loose.

“He came running over to us and jumped in the golf cart,” Hastings said.

Hastings said the dog went for her 2-year-old son and then her 4-year-old daughter.

“First he got my brother, and then second he got me, and then third he got my mom,” 4-year-old Lainey Bayles said.

Hastings, who is a nurse, said she managed to get the dog away from her kids and held him down for 15 minutes until help arrived. She said during that time the dog continued to attack her.

“I didn’t have a choice,” she said. “If I had let go, he would have gotten me or them again.”

All three were taken to the hospital where Hastings and her son were released that night but Lainey spent four days in the hospital with two of those being in the pediatric intensive care unit. Lainey will have to undergo several procedures throughout the coming year.

Authorities say the dog was euthanized.

An Oklahoma woman and her friend have been arrested after they planted child pornography on her husband’s cell phone. Lacey Hucks enlisted the help of her friend, Angel Moore, in a revenge plot against her estranged husband, Brandon Hucks. The couple was involved in a bitter custody fight and had an upcoming court date.

Hucks and Moore used Brandon’s old cell phone to take nearly 900 screenshots of child pornography they had found on the dark web.

The women went to the Wynnewood Police Department on April 18, to report what they had “found” on Brandon Hucks’ phone. Initially, Hucks’ husband was arrested but when investigators found no evidence of child pornography on his current phone they became suspicious of Hucks’ and Moore’s story. Moore confessed to the crime but told police she believed they had done the right.

“This is kind of a crazy deal because there is a plot against a man over custody of children,” said Garvin County Sheriff Jim Mullett. “The women got together and thought to conspire to put him in jail and get him out of the picture.”

https://youtu.be/ogOxT3G1GW0

Both women were charged with conspiracy and false reporting. Hucks, 33, is currently held with a $250,000 bond according to Garvin County detention records. Moore, 44, has been released on bail.

The possession of a single image of child pornography has a five year prison sentence as well as a fine of up to $5,000.

The leaders of Finland said Thursday they intend to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) “without delay,” with Russia to threatening “military-technical” action in response.

Finland shares a border with Russia, and support for joining NATO has grown there since the invasion of Ukraine in February. Finland will likely be allowed to join NATO quickly, and Sweden is set to follow suit.

“Nato membership would strengthen Finland’s security,” Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a joint statement. “As a member of Nato, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance. Finland must apply for Nato membership without delay.”

Russia warned that Finland joining NATO “will cause serious damage to bilateral Russian-Finnish relations and the maintaining of stability and security in the Northern European region.” They went on to describe Finland’s announcement as “a radical change in the country’s foreign policy.”

“Russia will be forced to take retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature, in order to neutralize the threats to its national security that arise from this,” the Russian statement read.

Russia’s foreign minister also noted that “Helsinki must be aware of the responsibility and consequences of such a move.”

Finland’s plan to join NATO coincides with both Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine and concern that Russia may move beyond Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg noted that Finland would be gladly welcomed into the alliance.

“Finland is one of NATO’s closest partners, a mature democracy, a member of the European Union, and an important contributor to Euro-Atlantic security,” Stoltenberg said.

A Texas man is on the run after a home surveillance video caught him burglarizing a residence and fleeing from police, but not before he mowed the homeowner’s front and back yards, according to the Port Arthur Police Department.

Marcus Renard Hubbard is accused of burglarizing the southeast Texas home on the evening of April 1.

Home surveillance video shows Marcus Renard Hubbard taking a push lawnmower from the home, filling it with gas, then mowing the victim’s lawn.

The suspect fled when police arrived, dragging the lawnmower behind him. He eventually ditched the mower in a nearby alley and got away.

Hubbard has an outstanding warrant for burglary of a building. Anyone with information about his whereabouts can call the Port Arthur Police Department at 409-983-8600.

An Oregon mother sent a YouTube “murder suicide” playlist to her ex-wife before killing their two children and herself Tuesday.

Ashley Palmer and Jenavie Palmer were involved in a custody battle when Ashley sent her former spouse a link to the playlist in a text message around midnight before the murder/ sudicide. The message included the words, “mother children murder suicide 2022,” along with the playlist.

Jenavie said she contacted police after receiving the text message and playlist link, they responded to the apartment but did not gain entry. Police told Jenavie to wait until morning to check on her children.

At approximately 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, police discovered the bodies of Ashley, the couple’s 6-year-old daughter Kayleana and their 8-year-old-son Xavier during a welfare check at Ashley’s apartment. According to police the victims died of gunshot wounds.

Ashley divorced Jenavie in 2018 and was facing the prospect of having to share custody of their children. She was due to return the children to Jenavie on Tuesday.

A person in South Africa was sitting on the toilet, minding his own business, when he looked up to see a large, chunky black mamba staring him down.

Snake catcher Nick Evans, said on Facebook that he attended the “rather exciting” call at a house in the Seaview area.

Evans and fellow snake catcher, Grant Cavanagh, had already made one trip to the property earlier in the day but could not find the snake. Then at around 7 p.m. the same day, Cavanagh called Evans to say the snake had returned.

Black mambas are highly venomous and their bite can kill a person in under 30 minutes. The species are typically shy and reclusive, unless directly provoked.

“I was thinking how I was going to do this. I couldn’t hold up the board and catch the mamba at the same time. It looked a bit big to flip over, plus, if I did that, the mamba may flee,” he said. “Grant volunteered to stand below, and hold the masonite up with a broom, while I restrained the mamba. I reached toward the startled mamba, and dragged its head towards me, so I could restrain it. It took a short while to reverse back into the tongs, but it eventually did. I passed the tail down to Grant, as I climbed down with the head.

Black mambas are the longest snakes in Africa and can reach lengths of up to 14 feet. This snake was relatively small for the species, measuring around 7.5 foot, although “it was certainly well-fed,” Evans said.

“Everyone there… was excited to see it, although the family was more excited about it being taken away,” he said.

Evans responded to another call about a black mamba later that night in the Savannah Park area.

This black mamba was also “well-fed and powerful,” but proved to be a simpler catch than the previous one.

The United Kingdom Government has confirmed a case of Monkeypox in their region and has issued warnings about the rare, but potentially deadly disease on Saturday.

The patient is receiving medical care and is under observation in a specialized infectious disease unit at The Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, in London. Individuals infected with this rare form of Monkeypox are likely to suffer symptoms such as “fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion,” according to the government.

“A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, then spreading to other parts of the body. The rash changes and goes through different stages before finally forming a scab, which later falls off,” the statement said.

The hospital is said to have imposed “strict infection prevention procedures,” and the government has cautioned about the potential severity of this illness, but has indicated that there is a “very low risk of transmission to the general population.” This singular case has been traced back to the patient’s recent trip to Nigeria, where it is believed they contracted the disease.

Dr. Colin Brown, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections, UKHSA, has indicated that “monkeypox does not spread easily between people and the overall risk to the general public is very low,” the government noted.

Chicago Alderman Michele Smith of Chicago’s 43rd ward said a group of roughly 400 people, aged 14-21, took over the streets of downtown Chicago. Videos posted to social media show the group jumping on vehicles and taking over the streets of downtown Chicago and North Avenue Beach at an event that was “anonymously promoted via social media and encouraged people to bring their own alcohol and drugs.”

“The event advertising said it was open to all ages and would feature a drinking contest, boxing matches, and twerking contests. This promoted event was unpermitted by the City and the Park District,” she said in a Thursday statement. “Police received advance warning of the event and placed extensive resources at every entrance to the beach, including the pedestrian bridge.”

Chicago officers recovered “a significant amount of alcohol” from the event. When the group began to disperse from North Avenue Beach, Chicago small groups gathered at gas stations and other businesses in the area, but “no one was hurt, and very few arrests were necessary,” Smith said.

A group that gathered near Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mansion, prompted police to proactively block the area with staged snow plows.

CPD said that “police responded to a crowd of youths which were dispersed from the beach and monitored as they left the area,” and made “one arrest…for open alcohol on the public way.”

Paul Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and budget director for the city, posted video footage of a mass of people jumping on buses during the chaotic night.

“Tonight downtown is in absolute chaos. Juveniles jumping on top of buses, cars, terrorizing residents, tourists & businesses,” he wrote. “These mass groups fought the CPD & only minimal arrests were made. Why? Because CPD isn’t allowed to, they have no plan & they don’t have enough manpower.”

In a May 9 op-ed for the Chicago Tribune, Vallas pointed to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Police Chief David Brown’s “closure of the city’s Juvenile Intervention and Support Center” (JISC) as a reason behind a recent surge in juvenile crime.

A California child was tortured and killed by her own family while they were performing an exorcism on her, newly released court documents show.

Santa Clara County prosecutors said the 3-year-old little girl was strangled by her mother, uncle, and grandfather in a small church in San Jose in September 2021. Family members “believed the child was possessed by a demon and were at the church praying for her,” according to Deputy District Attorney Rebekah Wise.

Her grandfather “was identified as the leader of the Church and claimed he was a certified pastor,” Wise continued. Her mother, Claudia Elisa Hernandez, 25, was charged in February with felony assault on a child and is currently in jail without bail.

The mother said she believed the girl was possessed because she would wake during the night and scream or cry. The girl’s mother, uncle and grandfather held her down by the torso, neck, and legs for several hours, while they tried to make her vomit by sticking their fingers down her throat.

Church officials claim the family performed the exorcism to “liberate her of her evil spirits.”

The child eventually lost consciousness, suffering “multiple injuries around her eyes, face, neck, and chest,” according to court documents. She endured 12 hours of torture before she died. It was more than 2 hours later when first responders were called, the child was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her death was ruled a homicide by suffocation and smothering. The mother was denied bail as she was deemed to be a “high flight risk.”

Hernandez posted a YouTube video in January discussing her daughter’s death. “I could sit here and be negative. But there’s no point in me doing that. I cannot change what is. It is what it is,” she said. She was charged in the murder six days after uploading the video onto YouTube. If found guilty, she faces 25 years to life in prison.