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.
Investigators say DNA analysis confirms the remains found in Mount Cobb, Pennsylvania are in fact those of a missing aspiring dancer from Texas. Authorities say Laura Garza, 25, vanished from a Brooklynnightclub with a registered sex offender. Her body was found earlier this month. Although she has been positively identified, we are waiting to learn the official cause of death in this case. We will also learn if Laura was killed in New York, or in the rural area of Pennsylvania.
Investigators say Michael Mele is not charged in this case at this time, although he was the man seen leaving the Marquee club with Laura 16 months ago. Reports indicate Mele’s body had scratches and a possible bite mark after the attack, and patches of carpet were missing out of his apartment.
Thoughts and prayers go out to Laura’s family and friends, and hoping her killer will be brought to justice soon.
San Diego State University officials are issuing a warning about a registered sex offender lurking around campus. Police say Jessie James Spruill, 34, has been seen on the college grounds, specifically aroundVilla Alvarado Residence Hall and Love Library. According to the registered California sex offender list, Spruill is guilty of assault with intent to commit rape, sodomy or oral copulation. He has atattoo on his chest, and alist of aliases that include:
PALMER, JOSIAH J
PALMER, JOSIAH JOYL
SPRUILL, JESSE JAMES
If you have any information on Spruill’s whereabouts, please contact police: (619) 594-1991.
Convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner is charged with murder in the disappearance of missing teen Chelsea King. The District Attorney filed the charges and the complaint was read at an arraignment earlier this week when Gardner made his first appearance. Gardner entered a plea of not guilty. I spoke with the District Attorney in San Diego, and he tells me that a status hearing will take place next week, and a preliminary hearing is set for March 18, 2010. At the preliminary hearing, the court will decide if there is enough evidence to move forward with a trial. The charges come after a body was found earlier this week in Lake Hodges, an area near where Chelsea King went missing while she was running through the Rancho Bernardo Community Park. We are still waiting for a positive ID on the body. Investigators say thatChelsea, 17, was a runner for her high school, and parked her car nearby as she went to exercise. Inside her vehicle, police found a cell phone and other personal belongings.
Convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner is charged today with murder in the disappearance of missing teen Chelsea King. The District Attorney filed the charges and the complaint was read at today’s arraignment when Gardner made his first appearance. Gardner entered a plea of not guilty. The charges come after a body was found yesterday in Lake Hodges, an area near where Chelsea King went missing last week while she was running through the Rancho Bernardo Community Park. We are waiting for a positive ID on that body. Investigators say thatChelsea, 17, was a runner for her high school, and parked her car nearby as she went to exercise. Inside her vehicle, police found a cell phone and other personal belongings.
Registered sex offender John Albert Gardner was arrested on Sunday and held on preliminary charges of suspicion of murder and rape in the disappearance of the missing teen. Gardner has a conviction for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age, and served five years in prison. He was staying with his mother in the Rancho Bernardo Community where Chelsea went missing. It is widely reported that 10 years ago, Dr. Matthew Carroll, a psychiatrist who spent time and interviewed Gardner after his conviction said he lacked remorse for the incident, making him “an extremely poor candidate for any sexual offender treatment.”
6:45 p.m. BREAKING NEWS COMING IN… Investigators confirm human remains were found in the area they were searching for missing teen Chelsea King. Authorities say the body was covered in a shallow grave, and was near the area where evidence was found a few days ago. At this time, the remains appear to be Chelsea King. The medical examiner will make an official confirmation on those remains by tomorrow morning.
Since last Saturday, more than 4,500 volunteers have donated their time to look for missing teen Chelsea King. Right now the focus is on and near Lake Hodges where she went missing. Authorities say Chelsea vanished last Thursday after she went for a jog at the Rancho Bernardo Community Park. Chelsea, 17, is an avid runner for a local high school. She left her car in the park nearby, and her cell phone was inside the vehicle.
Registered sex offender, John Albert Gardner, is being held on preliminary charges of suspicion of murder and rape in the disappearance of missing teen, Chelsea King. Gardner has a conviction for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age, and he was staying with his mother in the Rancho Bernardo Community where Chelsea went missing. Authorities say Chelsea vanished last Thursday after she went for a jog at the Rancho Bernardo Community Park. Chelsea, 17, is an avid runner for a local high school. She left her car in the park nearby, and her cell phone was inside the vehicle. Gardner is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court, and investigators have 72 hours to file official charges.
Investigators say physical evidence found at Lake Hodges lead them to Gardner, and there may be a chance he is linked to a December 27, 2009 attack on another jogger in area. The victim in that incident told investigators she was tackled by a suspect who demanded money from her. At this point, Gardner is not charged with that attack. At a press conference last night, authorities said Gardner could have played a role in the Amber Dubois case as well. Amber disappeared more than a year ago as she walked to a nearby high school.
The Sarah Foxwell case came to a tragic end on Christmas morning, just a couple weeks ago. The 11-year-old child was taken out of her bedroom she shared with her 6-year-old sister in the middle of the night allegedly by a convicted sex offender, Thomas Leggs. Police say Leggs knew the family, because he dated Sarah’s aunt, who is also her legal guardian. Police believe Sarah was snatched around 1 a.m. on December 22, 2009. Sarah’s 6-year-old sister told police she woke up to “Mr. Tommy” in their bedroom talking to Sarah. Investigators were called at 10:02 a.m. and based on the information they compiled, police were able to arrest Leggs and charge him with abduction and burglary within two hours. Sarah’s aunt told investigators that she had not seen Leggs since 32 days before the abduction. On Christmas morning, thousands of volunteers including parents and children gave up opening gifts to search for Sarah. Sheriff Lewis of the Wicomico County Sheriff’s office told me that one little boy even emptied his piggy bank, put it in a baggie and handed it to the Sheriff to donate it to the fund to find the child.
Sadly, Sarah’s body was found on the Maryland-Delaware line later that day. Her autopsy is complete, and the Sheriff told me Sarah has many causes of death all relating back to homicide, but he is not ready to release any more details about the struggle the child went through. Leggs is not only a sex offender in two states, Maryland and Delaware, but he is also facing charges out of Ocean City, Maryland from an incident stemming from September 11, 2009 where police say a woman woke up in the middle of the night to a naked Leggs standing at the end of her bed masturbating. If Leggs is in fact guilty and responsible for Sarah’s death, and Sheriff Lewis thinks he is, there is an obvious escalation in sexual attacks from the alleged September 11, 2009 incident to the time when Sarah was abducted, either before or in between police fear there may be other victims who may not have come forward.
I am in the process of nailing down a detailed timeline for Anthony Edward Sowell, and the disturbing case surrounding the six bodies of African American females rotting inside his home in Cleveland, OH.
Please keep in mind, at this point Anthony Sowell has not formally been charged with the murders of the women found in his home–but investigators do tell me they are preparing to formally charge him soon. Sowell was a United States Marine, and it makes me wonder how someone could take such a wrong turn in life.
As the hours go on, and as dates and locations are confirmed, this timeline will expand and incidents will be further detailed.
August 19, 1959 – Anthony Edward Sowell was born (according to the Ohio Attorney General’s office of sex offenderregistry)
July 11, 1977 – Sowell Enlisted in the United States Marine Corp. (according to GySgt Nun, United States Marine CorpMedia Chief)
January 22, 1985 – Sowell ends service with the Marines (according to GySgt. Nun, United States Marine CorpMedia Chief)
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....
