Amber Dubois vanished as she walked to school in February 2009. Investigators did not think Amber was abducted, so the case was treated as a runaway early on. Earlier this year, Amber’s body was found in California because another young girl, Chelsea King, had vanished in the area. A convicted sex offender, John Albert Gardner, was linked to both of the cases and arrested. In April 2010 Gardner confessed to killing Amber and Chelsea, and he will remain behind bars for life.
This week Amber’s mom launched a new website, TEAM AMBER RESCUE. According to the site, its mission states:
“Team Amber Rescue was formed to train volunteers in the proper search and rescue techniques so missing children can be found as quickly as possible. It was founded by Carrie McGonigle in loving tribute to her murdered daughter, Amber Leeanne DuBois.
Reported missing, the police declined to issue an Amber Alert and maintained that she was likely a runaway although possibly she could have been abducted. Carrie knew her daughter was someone’s victim, and, praying that she was still alive, worked with family, friends and volunteers to find her with searches on foot, on horse, door to door, websites, mailers, posters, media, psychics, and, even knocking on doors of known sex offenders.
Investigators say Morgan vanished on October 17, 2009 while attending a concert outside the John Paul Jones arena in Virginia. She was separated from friends around 8:30 p.m. when she walked out of the front entrance. Authorities say Morgan called her friends inside and told them she was finding a ride home, and that they shouldn’t wait for her. State police officials report Morgan was last seen by the ticket office on the University Hall side of the building. Morgan’s body was found on a farm in Albemarle County a little over three months after she vanished from the Metallica concert. Investigators told me her body could have been on the farm as many as 100 days.
Norma Lopez MISSING (photo of the shirt she was wearing the day she vanished)
Time is ticking on and one month has passed since teenager Norma Lopez was abducted and killed in Moreno Valley, California. Since then, regular classes have resumed at Valley View High and the hunt to find her killer is still active. Police told me Norma left her summer school classes at Valley View and was supposed to meet her sister, but she never made it to the location. Investigators believe she may have taken a short cut from Dracaea Avenue leading out to an area on Cottonwood Avenue, but somewhere in between authorities believe she was kidnapped. In fact, some of her personal belongings were found in a field, and there were signs of a struggle. Investigators believe she was taken against her will and may have been thrown into a newer model green SUV. That vehicle was seen fleeing from the area at a high rate of speed. Deputy Nieburger told me that that vehicle may not necessarily be connected to the murder, but the driver may have seen something. The area where Norma’s body was found is about three miles away from where she went missing, and her remains were in an open field on top of the ground.
The man suspected of stabbing 18 victims and trying to flee from the country was taken down Wednesday night at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Elias Abuelazam, 33, was booked on a Delta flight for Israel when a tip developed into a strong lead that put investigators hot on his trail. As he was waiting to get on his plane, Abuelazam was taken down around 10 p.m. I spoke with Lt. Gene Kapp of the Michigan State Police and he said since Monday they’ve received 600 tips in this case, one of which turned out to be an excellent lead. Abuelazam had his first hearing today and will not fight extradition to Michigan to face one inital charge of assault with intent to murder for a July 27, 2010 incident.
Lt. Kapp realizes that if the tip had come in just a few hours later, the alleged suspect may have been on the flight across the world. “Everyone was working hard to place him there, and the fact that we had the contacts and the communications with the federal agencies to move that quick to make the apprehension for us,” added Kapp.
A nationwide manhunt is underway for a suspect who is targeting and stabbing men. Investigators believe the suspect has attacked victims in Michigan, Virginia, and now Ohio. Out of the 16 attacks in Flint, Michigan, five have died. In Leesburg, Virginia police say that on August 3, 5, and 6th, three more attacks occurred. Chris Jones with the Leesburg Police told me two victims were attacked with a knife and another with a hammer. Over the weekend, yet another man was attacked in Toledo, Ohio. All of the cases have strong similarities and now investigators are looking for a Chevy S-10 Blazer, four-door, dark green with light tan color trim on the bottom. The vehicle has two large dents near the hood and could be a 1995-2000 model.
I spoke with Lt. TP Johnson of the Flint Police Department and he said, “What this guy is doing is driving up to them, getting out of his vehicle, pretending to have car trouble. Or asking for assistance in some way. The victims are guilty of trying to help someone asking for help. In [sic] several occasions he’s walked up and started stabbing.”
The last time you may remember seeing John Mark Karr, he was in handcuffs being extradited from Thailand to Colorado in 2006. The extradition was after a public confession to killing Jon Benet Ramsey. Investigators determined that not only was Karr not in Colorado at the time of her murder, but his DNA didn’t match and neither did his handwriting to the ransom note.
John Mark Karr
For two years Karr disappeared, and then popped back up on the radar in 2008 when he was arrested for adomestic dispute with his girlfriend in Georgia. In typical fashion, Karr laid low, that is until this year. Changes may have occurred in the two years since his last public incident, and John Mark Karr may not be “John Mark Karr anymore. There’s a good chance Karr is now a woman, and could be using the name Alexis Valoran Reich, or Delia Aleix Reich.
Just a few days ago, John Albert Gardner III was sentenced to life in prison for raping and murdering two teens in California, and now investigators say he admitted to having more victims. Investigators are looking into those other possible crimes right now, but they aren’t releasing any details yet. Chelsea King went missing on February 25, 2010, and her body was found a short time later in a park near San Diego. Then, a few days later, the bones of 14-year-old Amber Dubois were discovered. Amber went missing more than a year ago on February 13, 2009 as she walked to school. When John Albert Gardner III was arrested last month, he wasalso charged with assault for an attack he allegedly committed on December 27, 2009 on a woman in the same park whereChelsea was found.
Shaniya Davis is one of those cases that comes up in conversation frequently. I am often asked how a child could allegedly be sold by her mother as a sex slave to pay off a debt. If Shaniya was never passed off to Mario McNeill like a piece of trash, she may still be alive today. Test results show Shaniya died from asphyxiation, and McNeill is charged with first degree murder and first degree rape. He is being held without bond and is currently behind bars. Shaniya’s mother, Antoniette Davis, is charged with child abuse in the form of prostitution, human trafficking, obstructing an official investigation and filing a false police report. Unfortunately, Davis is out on bond, and has been roaming free since February 21st. She is scheduled to appear in court on June 3, 2010 to face charges.
Bradley Lockhart, Shaniya’s father, is taking a proactive approach to combat child prostitution and crimes against children. This is why he created Shaniya Speaks. The organization says the goal is, “to bring voice to Child Exploitation and Sexual Crimes against Children.” Bradley will tour the country and be the voice for his murdered child. He will use his personal experience to educate the public on these types of horrific crimes against children.
Convicted sex offender Thomas J. Leggs, Jr. appeared in Wicomico County Circuit Court today in front of a judge who granted him an automatic change of venue for his murder trial. Leggs is facing the death penalty for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 11-year-old Sarah Foxwell. A trial date has not been set, and the judge is consulting and doing research to figure out the best courtroom for a fair trial to take place.
The State’s Attorney for Wicomico County issued a release on February 9, 2010 stating, “The Grand Jury for Wicomico County indicted Thomas Leggs, Jr. for the First Degree Murder of Sarah Foxwell, in addition to First Degree Burglary, Kidnapping, Kidnapping of a Child, and First and Second Degree Sexual Offense.” Leggs is currently beingheld without bond. According to the press release, “The State will file Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty and the Notice of Intent To Seek Life Without Possibility of Parole before the end of February.”
All crimes against children make my stomach turn. There’s nothing worse than having an innocent child fall prey to a molester. Unfortunately, that seems to be the circumstances surrounding this next case. The FBI needs your help identifying this unknown man, whom they believe is preying on an innocent child. The images of the suspect were cut out to show to the public.
According to the FBI, on February 21, 2004the agency began its Endangered Child Alert Program (ECAP), “a new and aggressive approach to identify unknown individuals involved in the sexual abuse of children and the production of child pornography.”
This system uses the media exposure to feature adults preying on children. You can check out all of the active cases at the FBI website.
According toSupervisory Special Agent Jason Pack with the FBI National Press office, “ECAP is intended to aggressively pursue and thwart individuals who would abuse or harm our nation’s children. Child Exploitation continues to be a significant problem. There is no work more important than protecting America’s children and freeing them from the cycle of victimization. Through our strategic partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies, we are able to make a difference.”
Michelle Sigona is a crime fighting, victims advocate extraordinaire, but for Michelle -- the good fight doesn't stop there. In her spare time, she is a volunteer firefighter -- and now, she is tackling the issues and cases that mean the most to her....
