Archive for the ‘amber alert’ tag
PA v Page – Victim: Nyia Page
03.09.10: We Have a Jury
Case BackgroundPre-TrialTrial Trial Update: 03.08.10SentenceView Sources
This is going to be an interesting case to follow once it gets started. William Page is accused of sexually assaulting and then taking his 18-month-old daughter out into the freezing cold, leaving her there to die. He then called police and claimed Nyia was kidnapped from his home.
The twist to this case is during the investigation into Nyia’s disappearance it was determined that a 6-year-old male child living in the home had allegedly been sexually assaulted by William Page a few hours prior to Nyia’s reported disappearance.
The judge on the case has ruled at this point that both cases can be tried simultaneously. William Page faces the death penalty if convicted of the murder of his daughter.
Page’s trial was set to start May 5, 2008. However, on the morning of the trial date Page was granted a continuance until January 2009. His attorney claims he needs more time to work on his client’s defense.
May 27, 2009: Page to get two trials
William Page is charged with crimes against two separate children. He is charged with the murder and sexual assault of his daughter, Nyia. He is also charged with the sexual assault of a six-year-old boy who lived in his home. That alleged sexual assault is supposed to have taken place the day before Nyia’s murder.
Last year, Judge Cashman had ruled all charges would be heard during one trial. Now Judge Cashman has reversed his decision and there will be two trials – the Nyia Page trial will begin with jury selection on October 13. It is not clear when the trial for the sexual assault against the unnamed male child will be held.
The defense basically argued the charges against Page for the sexual assault and murder are bad enough without adding another sexual assault victim to the murder trial as it would surely prejudice the jury. The defense lost in it’s bid to have Page’s confession thrown out, so it will be presented at trial.
I had been under the impression that William Page had decided to have his case decided by a judge instead of a jury but that is not the case – he will have a jury trial for the Nyia Page murder. The prosecution dropped the charge of aggravated assault for kicking Nyia in the groin. He mentioned kicking Nyia in the groin during his confession. The charge was dropped because on autopsy there was no evidence found regarding the kick to the groin.
Continuance
William Page’s non-jury trial has been continued one more time. His new trial date, October 13, 2009, is set to be heard by Judge David R. Cashman in Courtroom 310 at 9 a.m.
October 10, 2009
I checked this evening to see if Willam Page’s murder trial was going to start as scheduled. I don’t know why I was surprised to see according to court documents that Page’s trial date has been pushed back to February 8, 2010. First Page asked for a non-jury trial and he was granted that request. After that there was a series of continuances resulting in a request for a jury trial. Now, with that trial date set to begin, along comes another continuance. I don’t know why the accused should have so many rights.
February 8, 2010
Jury selection is set to begin today in the freezing death of Nyia Page. The defense attorney, Richard Narvin, has asked the judge to remove the death penalty option because his client is autistic. He wants his client to be barred from execution for the same reasons that juveniles and the mentally retarded are exempt.
I couldn’t agree less with Mr. Narvin. I wonder just how much Page’s autism clouds his judgment and in this case it would come down to his ability to know right from wrong. I would suppose it would be up to the prosecution to prove that a reasonably thinking person would understand that placing a partially clad child outside in the snow could possibly result in death. Mr. Page knew what he did was wrong because when it was discovered that Nyia was not inside the warmth of the home, instead of telling his then pregnant wife what he had done, well, he just let it be assumed that someone had come into the home and snatched her away in the middle of the night.
Page has already told investigators that he put Nyia outside in the snow because she had torn off her diaper and would not go back to bed. He also told investigators he had considered throwing Nyia into a sewer, but instead, opted for the playground. There has also been mention in the media that Nyia had trauma to her genital area. Also mentioned is that while police were investigating Nyia’s disappearance, the little boy living in the home told them that Page had molested him that night. All of these actions on the part of Page do not, in my opinion, come close to someone suffering from autism. It just sounds like someone who is a common child molester and murderer and tried to hide his actions and now does not want to pay for his crime with the ultimate penalty. It is too bad Nyia did not have the chance to decide her fate. Although, it was evident from investigators that little Nyia tried to get back to her home and save her own life, her little footprints were seen in the snow near her body.
The judge is expected to rule on the defense request this week.
February 9, 2010
Jury selection expected to begin yesterday has been delayed until Friday due to inclement weather in the region.
February 14, 2010
A hearing was held last regarding William Page’s alleged autism and whether this diagnosis should exclude him from the death penalty.
The defense psychologist said he examined Page over a two day period and determined through that evaluation and examination of past medical records that he suffers from Autism. He said records indicated that as a child Page walked on his tiptoes, separated the food on his plate, frequently washed his hands and had no friends. What struck the psychologist was Page’s lack of emotion and affect; however, his opinion is that Page is not mentally disabled.
The judge is expected to rule on the death penalty issue on Tuesday. Jury selection is expected to begin February 22.
February 16, 2010
Judge Cashman ruled today that William Page is not autistic and therefore he is still eligible to face the death penalty if he is found guilty of murdering his toddler daughter. Cashman’s ruling, in part, stated:
Cashman said Page knows the difference between right and wrong, and noted only the defense psychologist diagnosed Page with autism, “despite the fact that numerous mental health professionals have examined him over the years, including the Allegheny County Behavior Clinic.”
“If one would consider for the sake of argument that Page had demonstrated that he suffered from (autism), that personality disorder does not raise to the level of mental illness nor mental retardation so as to preclude the death penalty”1
The only problem I have with Cashman’s ruling is him referring to autism as a personality disorder. Autism is a developmental brain disorder. It just shows that he does not understand what he is ruling on and that could leave another reason for appeal.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Mark Vinson Tranquilli, Esq. District Attorney
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Jon Michael Pittman, Esq. District Attorney
Defense: Richard Narvin
Judge: David Cashman
Charges:
- Criminal Homicide
- Aggravated Assault
- Corruption Of Minors
- Kidnapping For Ransom
- Agg. Ind. Assault of Child
- Agg. Ind. Assault W/O Consent
- False Report – Falsely Incriminate Another
February 18, 2010
Jury selection begins today at the Alleghany County Courthouse. Jury selection is expected to take two weeks.
February 18, 2010: 4 p.m. PST
According to a news report WTAE, jury selection is proving to be a difficult task due to emotional nature of the charges as well as many people being familiar with the case.
I was sitting here thinking about this case this morning and I can’t believe William Page did not choose to try and get a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. It will be interesting to see what facts are presented during the trial because Page’s attorney believes his client will be exonerated.
“I’m looking forward to all the facts being presented to the jury, and after that’s done and the trial is completed, I’m confident that Mr. Page will be vindicated,” defense attorney Richard Narvin said.2
Hmm, it will be interesting.
March 9, 2010
A jury has been seated for the Page trial. The jury consists of 5 women and 7 men. Opening statements being tomorrow.
PA Amber Alert: Nyia Page, Missing & Murdered Children.
Comm. v. Page, William Lorenzo, Case Number: CP-02-CR-0002851-2007, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Last Accessed: October 10, 2009.
Daniel Malloy, Braddock Man Accused of Killing Daughter to be Tried Separately in Sex Assaults, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Last Accessed: May 27, 2009.
Bobby Kerlik, Braddock Man Faces Trial in Daughter’s Freezing Death, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Last Accessed: February 8, 2010.
Bobby Kerlik, Trial for Braddock Father Accused in Daughter’s Death Delayed, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Last Accessed: February 9, 2010.
Bobby Kerlik, Autism Diagnosis may take Death off Table for Braddock Man, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Last Accessed: February 14, 2010.
Autism, Wikipedia, Last Accessed: February 16, 2010.
Jury Selection Complete in Frozen Toddler Case, The Pittsburgh Channel.com, Last Accessed: March 9, 2010.
- Bobby Kerlik, Braddock Father is not Autistic, Judge Rules, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Last Accessed: February 16, 2010. [↩]
- Emotions Run High in Jury Pool for Frozen Toddler Death Trial, WTAE, Last Accessed: February 18, 2010. [↩]
AL vs Kevin Towles – Victim: Geontae Glass
12.18.09: Towles was Sentenced to Death by Lethal Injection on 12.15.09
Case BackgroundTrial (Updated: 10.16.09)Sentence: Updated: 12.18.09View Sources
Kevin Andre Towles is accused of beating his girlfriend’s 5-year-old son to death in December 2006.
Geontae Glass was the son of Shalinda Glass, also faces charges related to her son’s beating death. Shalinda Glass drove to a gas station and went inside. She then came outside and told people her son had been sleeping in the backseat of the car and the car had been stolen. An AMBER Alert was issued for the child. Police located the vehicle with Geontae’s body still seatbelted in the backseat. The vehicle was located on property owned by Towles. Shalinda Glass told police that Towles had beaten her son to death because he brought home a bad report card.
Towles was supposed to stand trial earlier this year. However, the judge declared a mistrial while jurors were in the process of filling out the questionaires. I am not sure why the judge declared the mistrial. If convicted Towles faces the death penalty. The trial begins on October 5, 2009 with jury selection
October 5, 2009
The trial begins today with jury selection.
October 10, 2009
So far the jury has heard that Towles allegedly beat Geontae to death the day he came home with a ‘bad’ report card. The most powerful testimony came from Geontae’s now 10-year-old sister. She testified the last time she saw her brother Geontae walking and talking was on December 3, 200t6when Kevin Towles took him out behind their house. When Kevin returned, she said he was carrying Geontae and he was limp. She said Towles just walked around after that as if everything was normal. During her testimony it was reported that Towles began crying. On another day of testimony, the pathologist said that if Geontae had received medical attention he would have survived his injuries.
October 16, 2009
The jury found Kevin Towles guilty of the murder of 5-year-old Geontae Glass. The jury deliberated for about two hours on Friday to determine whether Towles should spend the remainder of his life in prison or be put to death. The jury recommended he be put to death in a vote of 11 – 1. The judge will sentence Towles on December 15. He can keep with the jury’s suggestion or choose another punishment for Towles.
After reading the reported testimony of Dr. Emily Ward, a forensic scientist from the Huntsville office of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, regarding the severity of Geontae’s wounds observed during her examination I am not surprised the jurors voted for death.
Ward told jurors that Towles beat the five-year-old so badly that the damage went straight to his spinal cord, paralyzing him from the waist down. She says the injuries indicate Towles used no restraint in beating Geontae with a wooden stick. 1
Not that I have any sympathy whatsoever for Kevin Towles, but it always surprises me when I hear how a defense attorney attempts to keep their client from the gallows. Aside from the usual family members who took the stand and asked the jurors and the court to show mercy on their son, brother, etc., the best Towles’s attorney could do was call a psychiatrist to the stand. Of course he opined that Kevin Towles is not a cold-blooded killer and should not be put to death. He, at one point suggested that perhaps Geontae provoked Towles into attacking him. He also had to admit on cross-examination that Towles has shown no remorse for the killing. Well, I would imagine if the testimony from the forensic scientist didn’t sway all of the jurors, certainly the psychiatrist’s suggestion that the 5-year-old victim was in some way at fault swayed the rest of them to the death side of the fence. This is one of those times when a defense attorney probably wished he could object to his own witness’ testimony.
December 18, 2009
Kevin Towles was formally sentenced to death by lethal injection on Friday December 15, 2009. The sentence was pronounced by Etowah County Circuit Judge Allen Millican who said “all mitigating circumstances had been taken into consideration for the sentence”. There was no comment in the media about Towles’ reaction to the sentence.
Car Left Running Stolen with Child Inside, WSMV.com, Last Accessed: October 5, 2009.
Jury Selection Monday in Geontae Glass Case, WAAYTV.com, Last Accessed: October 5, 2009.
WAAYTV.com, Various video updates of the trial, Last Accessed: October 10, 2009.
Kevin Towles Jury Recommends Death, WAAYTV.com, Last Accessed: October 16, 2009.
Katherine Poythress, Towles Sentenced to Death in Geontae Glass Case, The Gadsentimes.com, Last Accessed: December 18, 2009.
- Carson Clark, Jury Recommends Death Penalty for Kevin Towles, WHNT.com, Last Accessed: October 16, 2009. [↩]
