Police ID Man found dead after car pulled from Plainfield creek

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Fransiscan brother’s death ruled suicide

1-26-2013 Pennsylvania:

A western Pennsylvania police chief says the death of a Franciscan friar named in sex abuse settlements at Warren John F. Kennedy High School was a suicide.

Blair Township Police Chief Roger White told the Associated Press that an autopsy by the Blair County coroner had confirmed that 62-year-old Brother Stephen Baker died of self-inflicted wounds.

White said officers were called at about 7:35 a.m. Saturday to St. Bernardine Monastery, where another resident had found Baker not breathing. He declined to say how Baker died or whether he left a note.

The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown earlier said Father Patrick Quinn, provincial of the Franciscan order, had confirmed the death. Bishop George Murray called for prayers for abuse victims, Baker’s family “and the repose of his soul.”

Retired cop commits suicide after computer seized in child porn case

1-15-2013 Arizona:

GLENDALE, AZ (CBS5) - Glendale investigators said a retired Phoenix police sergeant killed himself after a computer from his home was seized during a child pornography investigation.

Glendale Sgt. Brent Coombs said AOL contacted Glendale police Jan. 9 with information that a computer from retired Phoenix Police Sgt. Don Casey Jr.'s, 59, home had accessed child pornographic images.

Detectives seized the computer from the home that morning. Casey was questioned, as were other adults in the house, Coombs said. However, there was not enough evidence to make an arrest.

"At that point, detectives did not have enough cause to arrest anybody," Coombs said.

"[It's] just that things were coming from that particular computer, so further investigation had to be done," he said.

Investigators began a forensic analysis on the computer and the hard drive. However, on Thursday the investigation took a tragic turn.

"Thursday afternoon about 1 p.m., our police department's dispatch center received a phone call from a person identifying himself as Don Casey," Coombs said.

During that call, Casey told dispatchers he was going to kill himself. Police rushed to the remote scene off New River Road and found Casey dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"Unfortunately when we got there, we found an adult male on the ground, away from a vehicle," Coombs said.

Investigators said it could be days, if not weeks before it can be determined who accessed the child pornography from the home's computer.

A man who answered the door at Casey's home declined to comment. Casey retired from Phoenix police in 2005 after more than 20 years at the department. ..Source.. by Greg Argos

Man accused of child sex abuse found dead

1-18-2013 Utah:

A former Vernal middle school vice principal was found dead one week before he was set to go to court for child sex abuse charges.

Police said David Papadakos, 43, was found dead in his car along SR-121 Thursday, in an apparent suicide.

Papadakos was arrested and booked into the Uintah County Jail in October for over a dozen charges stemming from alleged sexual abuse of a child.

He was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on January 24 to determine if he would have to go to trial. ..Source.. by FOX13News.com

Colleagues shocked at death, investigation of former Sen. Gil Koetzle

1-11-2013 South Dakota:

South Dakota lawmakers remember Gil Koetzle, who killed himself the day after law enforcement searched his home, as a hard-working legislator who had respect from both sides of the political spectrum.

They also are expressing shock at the suicide and the child pornography investigation of the veteran Democratic lawmaker.

“If you’d have asked me to name 1,000 people who had a problem with that, Gil would have been the 1000th,” said Bernie Hunhoff, a Yankton representative who served with Koetzle in Pierre.

Koetzle, 60, a retired firefighter who served 16 years in the Legislature, was found dead in his Sioux Falls home one day after a police raid that took computers and marijuana as part of a child pornography investigation.

Sex Offender Commits Suicide at Time of Arrest

1-9-2013 West Virginia:

WAYNE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A convicted sex offender took his life Tuesday when State Police went to his home to arrest him.

West Virginia State Police tell WSAZ.com that during a recent compliance check, Charles Endicott, 73, of Fort Gay, had a gun that he was not permitted to have in his possession.

Tuesday, a trooper went to his home to execute an arrest warrant and when the trooper identified himself, State Police say Endicott committed suicide.

Endicott was convicted of being a sex offender in 1993 in Scott County, Kentucky. He was found guilty of third-degree sexual assault of a female who was 10-years-old. He spent 10 years in prison for his crime. ..Source.. by WSAZ.com

State trooper pleads not guilty to charges he failed to report dad’s alleged sex crimes

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Former Casper Mayor Facing Child Porn Charges Found Dead

1-7-2013 Wyoming:

Authorities are investigating the death of a former Casper mayor facing felony charges in a child pornography case. The body of 66-year-old Larry Clapp was discovered Monday.

According to officials, Clapp died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In November, Clapp appeared in court following an investigation that court documents discovered pornographic images of children on Clapp’s computer

Clapp, a Casper attorney, served as the city’s mayor in 1988, and also served in the state legislature for two years.

According to the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigations, last July, members of the Computer Crime Team Task Force Unit was investigating a file sharing network which had child pornography available.

Investigators downloaded two files made available from a computer IP address that was traced back to Clapp’s computer.

Investigators executed a search warrant, and reported finding more than 100 movie files with names that appeared to contain child pornography on an external hard drive, some dating back as early as 2005.

When asked by investigators how long he had been doing this, he only replied…”You have the computer”…and did not say anything else.

Clapp had been free on $10,000 bond awaiting trial prior to his death. ..Source.. by Rich Denison