Person of interest committed suicide after police interview about Daniel Morcombe

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Pedophile priest leaps to death

10-14-2010 Canada:

OTTAWA - A pedophile priest convicted in the 1980s of sexually assaulting seven altar boys killed himself Tuesday.

Though police are not confirming his identity, sources say the man found dead at the base of a 24-storey west-end highrise is Dale Crampton.

A neighbour discovered him next to the building at about 5 a.m. The disgraced former priest had leapt to his death.

Crampton, who at one time was highly revered in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese at Ottawa's St. Maurice parish, pleaded guilty in 1986 to indecently assaulting seven altar boys over the course of about a decade.

The one-time Catholic school board trustee and RCMP chaplain served eight months in prison.

"It was a tragic story all the way through," said Ottawa Police Sgt. Al McConnell, who led the investigation that ended in Crampton's conviction. "There was a lot of damaged boys and people slamming doors in our faces because they couldn't believe at that time a priest could be (molesting boys). He was a very popular priest and a lot of people had difficulties with that case."

The conviction wasn't the end of Crampton's sordid story.

Crampton's misdeeds came back to haunt him last year when a historical victim, only known publicly as Alex, launched a $2-million civil lawsuit against Crampton and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa.

The 41-year-old claimant was a 14-year-old altar boy when Crampton sexually molested him as they watched a hockey game in the rectory of St. Maurice parish.

The Archdiocese of Ottawa came to an undisclosed settlement with the victim on Oct. 9, 2009. Just over a year later, Crampton is dead, leaving only a note with instructions detailing whom to contact about his death and little else.

Calls to the Archdiocese of Ottawa for comment were not immediately returned Wednesday.

Throughout the 2009 case, another six victims came forward, said Rob Talach, the London, Ont., lawyer who represented Alex.

"They ranged from ambivalence to true sadness. I mean, no one celebrates the loss of life," Talach said of the victims' reactions to news of Crampton's death.

"There was a common theme that those in the process of seeking some form of closure felt that would now be incomplete."

McConnell couldn't confirm Crampton's death Wednesday, but said if true, "it closes a very unpleasant chapter in a lot of people's lives."

"This whole thing has been a tragedy, not only for the victims, but for the church, for the state, for society and for the priest himself," McConnell said. ..Source.. by JUSTIN SADLER, QMI Agency

Prisoner found hanged in his cell at HMP Leeds

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Man Who Committed Suicide A Molestation Suspect

10-22-2010 California:

Sacramento Co. Sheriff's Dept. Believes There Could Be More Victims In Child Molestation Case

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― An Orangevale man who had been reported missing in the Sierra and was later found to have committed suicide was a registered sex offender and the suspect in a current child molestation investigation.

Jamie "Jim" Lewis was reported missing on Monday after failing to return from a one-day trip to the Sierra to ride his ATV. On Tuesday, his body was found and Placer County Sheriff's Deputies declared his death a suicide.

Now, Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputies say Lewis was a registered sex offender and was the suspect in a current child molestation case. They believe Lewis became aware of the investigation and believe his suicide was connected to the current case.

Sheriff's detectives also believe there may be victims in addition to those who have already been identified. In order to bring the case to a close and to insure any victims get the assistance and services available to them, detectives are asking anyone who believes their child had contact with, and may have been victimized by, Jamie "Jim" Lewis to contact the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department at (916) 874-5115. ..Source.. by CBS13.com

Concord man who killed himself this morning was a registered sex offender

10-22-2010 California:

The Concord man who shot and killed himself this morning on Vista Del Monte Drive, was a registered sex offender.

21-year-old Jeremy Barlow was convicted for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age, and because of that, his profile (minus his photo), can be found on the Megan’s Law website.

As CLAYCORD.com first reported, neighbors in the area of the Monument Boulevard side-street called the police after hearing one gunshot at about midnight on Thursday morning.

Barlow was found just minutes later, and died at the hospital. ..Source..

Man who committed suicide at traffic stop was accused of sex abuse

10-18-2010 Florida:

Details emerged Monday about the allegations made against Joaquin Miguel, who shot himself Friday night.

A man who killed himself during a traffic stop Friday night was wanted by police because two females told detectives earlier that day that he sexually abused them for years, including an incident that morning.

Joaquin Miguel, 52, shot himself at the intersection of Dogwood Drive and Oxalis Avenue at about 9:50 p.m.

Earlier that day, a female told Orlando police that Miguel sexually abused her for several years, including that morning. ..Source.. by Amy L. Edwards, Orlando Sentinel

Ex-Radio Prod. Facing Child Sex Crimes Kills Self

10-19-2010 Florida:

Steve Brancik, former radio producer for the "Paul and Young Ron" morning show on WBGG/Miami has been found dead in a Hollywood home.

Hollywood Police Lt. Manny Marino has confirmed that Brancik, 44, committed suicide Monday night in a home located in the 19-hundred block of Dewey Street.

In August of 2009, Brancik was arrested and charged with four counts of lewd or lascivious molestation involving a person 12 to 16 years old and one count of lewd and lascivious exhibition.

According to the Hollywood Police report, over the span of two years Brancik intentionally touched or kissed a boy on four separate occasions; the first incident allegedly occurred when the boy was only 12-years old. In one incident, Brancik allegedly put his hands down the boy's shorts, kissed him and attempted to put his tongue in the boy's mouth. Some of the incidents reportedly happened at Brancik's home, while others occurred in the boy's home in Deerfield Beach.

Following his arrest, Brancik was fired by the station's parent company Clear Channel Communications. ..Source.. by CXBS4

Alisa Maier found alive, suspected kidnapper commits suicide, Amber Alert canceled

7-8-2010 Missouri:

Alisa Maier, the four-year-old girl who was abducted from her Missouri home has been found alive. The investigation led authorities from the St. Louis County Police Department to zero in on a convicted sex offender, Paul Smith. When approached by authorities, Paul Smith shot himself. He died last night at 10:30 p.m. Authorities have said that their investigation into who abducted Alisa Maier is now over.

During a press conference, St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch spoke of the media’s speculation that Paul Smith was the suspect in the case. He said, “We believe at this point we have plenty of evidence to believe that the person you previously reported as a person of interest, Paul Smith, is the suspect. There is no reason to believe at this point anyone else was involved."

According to Chief Fitch, when Alisa Maier was found alive she was wearing new clothes. The clothes were tracked back to a Wal-Mart store in Troy, Missouri. Surveillance video showed the now deceased suspect, Paul Smith purchase the clothes. Alisa was not with the suspect at the time her purchased the clothing. When Smith purchased the clothes he bought cigarettes that required him to reveal his birth date. With that information, investigators tracked him down.

Authorities located Paul Smith, a convicted sex offender, at a home located at 309 Highway D in Hawk Point, Missouri. Officers went to the home to conduct their investigation and upon their arrival, Paul Smith shot himself.

Paul Smith was convicted in 1995 of sodomizing a ten year old boy. He had recently been released from prison. ..Source.. Charisse Van Horn

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Missouri Man Eyed in Abduction Case Fatally Shoots Self

7-8-2010 Missouri:

A Missouri sex offender who shot himself as police approached to question him about the kidnapping of 4-year-old Alisa Maier has died.

The man died Wednesday night at a hospital in St. Charles, Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Al Nothum told The Associated Press. The Lincoln County sheriff's department earlier told AOL News it could not confirm the report.

Alisa's 6-year-old brother, Blake, was the only witness to her abduction. He told police a man driving a dark four-door sedan pulled up in front of their house Monday night and ordered her into the car. She was found a day later wandering around a car wash parking lot in a St. Louis suburb more than 80 miles from her home. Details were reported by several news agencies.

On Wednesday, police following up on more than 100 leads approached the Hawk Point, Mo., home of a man they refused to publicly identify, but whom many local news outlets named as Paul Sterling Smith. His house was about halfway between Alisa's home in the town of Louisiana and Fenton, the St. Louis suburb where she was found.

At 4:30 p.m., Smith was outside his home spray-painting his car silver, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. When police approached, they realized that Smith had a handgun and ordered him to drop it. He refused and then shot himself in the head, the newspaper reported. He had been listed in critical condition before his death was reported.

Local Fox News affiliate KTVI also identified the man as Paul S. Smith, 38, and said he was listed on the Missouri sex offender registry as having sodomized a 10-year-old boy in 1995. He also served prison time on charges of tampering with a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property, the station reported.

Smith's roommate at the Hawk Point house is reportedly James Oellermann, a fellow sex offender on the state's registry. The 54-year-old was convicted of first-degree child molestation of a 7-year-old girl, and sentenced in 2004 to five years in prison, the Post-Dispatch reported. He also had a prior conviction for possession of child pornography. Oellermann isn't believed to be involved in Alisa's kidnapping, however.

Even after Smith shot himself, police still refused to call him a suspect in the case. "We're not saying this is a suspect. He's a person of interest," Nothum said in comments carried by several news agencies.

Family members told NBC that when Alisa saw the man's picture on TV on Wednesday night, she said: "That's the man who cut my hair, Daddy." And when Blake saw the photo, he said: "That's the man who took Alisa," according to NBC's "Today."

Authorities also wouldn't comment on whether Alisa was sexually assaulted during her roughly 26-hour ordeal. She was examined at a St. Louis hospital for nearly three hours on Tuesday night, where she was also reunited with her parents.


The girl's great-aunt, Angela Reddick, told the AP that Alisa was unharmed and hasn't been assaulted in any way.

"The only thing he did was cut her hair to change her appearance -- he tried to disguise the fact she was a girl," Reddick said of the kidnapper. "Evidently this man did not harm her and was not mean to her. She's doing great."

Church billboards and electronic bank signs in the Maiers' hometown of Louisiana carried celebratory messages about her rescue, and well-wishers left balloons and teddy bears on the family's front porch, the AP reported.

"I turned on the news and my wife and I both started crying and fell down to our knees and thanked the Lord," Terry Cook, a pastor who helped organize a candlelight vigil while Alisa was still missing, told the AP. ..Source..

Local teen commits suicide in prison

3-20-2010 New York:

A Hudson Falls teen who was serving a prison sentence for child sexual abuse hanged himself Friday in a state prison in Dutchess County, officials said.

Adam D. Wheeler's death came just weeks after he was paroled from state prison, but he was sent back because he didn't find a "suitable" residence after he was paroled, officials said.

Wheeler, 19, died at Downstate Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Fishkill, where he was being held in recent weeks on a 2007 conviction for first-degree sexual abuse.

He was sentenced to 3 years in prison and 5 years on parole in that case, and was paroled in December.

But according to the state Division of Parole, he was charged with violating his parole because he did not find a residence that his parole officer approved of.

Carol Weaver, a spokeswoman for the Division of Parole, said the agency was working with the Washington County Department of Social Services to find some place for Wheeler to live, but parole officials did not believe he was cooperating with them.

He was returned to prison on Feb. 9, and would not have been eligible for release again until December.

Linda Foglia, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Correctional Services, acknowledged Wheeler's death occurred in Downstate Correctional Facility, but said she could not disclose the cause of death because of privacy rules.

Oklahoma City sex offender who shot himself when police arrived dies in hospital

10-7-2010 Oklahoma:

A registered sex offender who shot himself in the face when officers arrived at his south Oklahoma City home Tuesday died this afternoon.

Larry Dale Kirby, 43, was wanted for questioning in connection with the kidnapping and sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl. Kirby died at OU Medical Center about 5 p.m. today, Oklahoma City police Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow said.

Detectives went to Kirby's home at 3500 S Harvey Ave. about 2 p.m. Tuesday to talk to him about the kidnapping and assault reported Sept. 29 in the area of SW 59 and Blackwelder Avenue, Oklahoma City police Capt. Patrick Stewart said.

At the time of his death today, Kirby was being held at the hospital under an out-of-custody arrest on a complaint of failure to register as a sex offender.

No complaints were filed in connection with the Sept. 29 incident and detectives have not uncovered any evidence linking him to the crime, Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow said.

"Our detectives were following an investigative lead that led them to believe he was possibly the suspect in the attack," Stewart said.

Oklahoma City school officials issued warnings to patrons last week with specifics about the attack and urged parents to not let children walk to and from school by themselves.

The girl, a Jefferson Middle School student, told police a man approached her from behind about 7:45 a.m. Sept. 29, put a gun to her head and threatened to kill her if she screamed. He drove her around for about a half-hour before sexually assaulting her, police said.

Police officers entered Kirby's home Tuesday and he was behind a locked door, Stewart said. Police were about to open the door when they heard a gunshot, Stewart said.

Kirby was convicted in Oklahoma County in 1985 for second-degree burglary, in 1990 for sale of an alcoholic beverage to a minor and in 1998 for lewd proposals to or acts with a child under 16. Records show he was convicted of methamphetamine possession in 2005.

He served about two and half years in prison. ..Source.. by ROBERT MEDLEY Oklahoman