Robert Seman, Alleged Rapist And Murderer, Jumps To Death From Courthouse Balcony

4-11-17 Ohio:

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A man charged with setting a fire that killed a girl he was accused of raping and her grandparents jumped to his death from a fourth-floor courthouse balcony on Monday, the day before jury selection in his death penalty trial.

Forty-eight-year-old Robert Seman Jr. was being led by deputies from a courtroom after a status conference to a holding cell at the Mahoning County Courthouse in Youngstown when he killed himself, Sheriff Jerry Greene told the Youngstown Vindicator.

"According to a couple of the attorneys and basically everybody there, it seemed like he was in pretty good spirits,'' Greene said. "He was talking about the future of his trial, and he just decided to jump.''

Seman could have faced the death penalty if convicted in the deaths of 10-year-old Corrine Gump, 63-year-old William Schmidt and 61-year-old Judith Schmidt. The March 2015 fire at the family's home occurred the day Seman's trial in Corrine's rape was scheduled to begin in Youngstown. Investigators concluded that the fire was fuelled by gasoline. Burns were found on Seman's body after his arrest, prosecutors said.

Child porn suspect found dead at home

2-21-17 Michigan:

Arrested last week, Fenton Township man on sex offender registry faced federal charges

A Fenton Township man arrested last week for allegedly having hundreds of child pornography images on his work computer was found dead at his home Monday afternoon.

According to 911 dispatch, emergency responders were sent to Steven Dale Brown’s home at 1:45 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 20. Responders were advised that a 60-year-old male in the garage was in full arrest, possible suicide.

Brown, 60, of Fenton Township was arrested last week and charged in federal court on child pornography charges. His arrest came, according to court records, after a federal search warrant was executed at the home during the early morning hours of Thursday, Feb. 16.

Man found dead in Lakeville identified, new details released

11-18-16 Indiana:

LAKEVILLE, Ind. - The Metro Homicide Unit is investigating the death of a man whose body was found after police conducting a welfare check knocked on his door, then heard a gunshot, according to St. Joseph County Sheriff Michael D. Grzegorek.

Grzegorek said the resident, Brian Trowbridge, 52, was the subject of an investigation by the Special Victims Unit regarding allegations of inappropriate conduct between him and a minor.

Trowbridge knew of the allegations and SVU investigators became concerned he may harm himself.

Detectives asked St. Joseph County uniform officers to conduct a welfare check at his home in the 21000 block of Osborne Road in Lakeville.

Man imprisoned for brutal home invasion, sexual assault found dead

2-13-2016 Wisconsin:

A Milwaukee man imprisoned for a terrorizing home invasion and sexual assault on the city's south side was found hanging in a cell at the Columbia Correctional Institution, authorities said Friday.

Prison staff brought down and unsuccessfully attempted to revive Julio Quiles-Guzman, 25, when he was found about 5 a.m., Thursday, according to a news release from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.

Initial results of an autopsy Friday indicate Quiles-Guzman committed suicide, according to the release.

In January, 2014 Quiles-Guzman was convicted of first-degree sexual assault/use of a dangerous weapon and robbery with the of threat of force for the June, 2013 home invasion on S. Muskego Ave., according to court records and a criminal complaint.

He was sentenced to 42 years in prison and 18 years of extended supervision, according to the records.

According to the complaint, he and two other men forced their way into a couple's home and bound them at gunpoint in front of their 4-year-old son.

Former Notre Dame professor and alleged sex offender commits suicide

Feb-2016 Texas:

Reverend Virgilio Elizondo, 80, a former Notre Dame Theology professor and accused sex abuser, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his San Antonio home on Monday.

In a 1983 lawsuit brought forth by an unidentified San Antonio man, Elizondo and another priest, Rev. Jesus Armando Dominguez, were accused of sexual abuse. The Archdiocese of San Antonio was also named in the lawsuit after failing to bring to light the multiple sexual abuse incidents in their cathedrals.

The accuser originally came to Elizondo for guidance after being sexually abused on multiple occasions by Dominguez. However, instead of providing the man with the proper counsel, Elizondo allegedly fondled and kissed him. Elizondo fervently denied these allegations.

According to Thomas J. Henry, the accuser’s representation in the lawsuit, the next step in the litigation was discovery production and the taking of depositions. This step could have potentially unveiled the truth about what happened over 30 years ago.

Dominguez was found guilty on 58 criminal accounts of sexual abuse and as a result was dismissed from the church, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Sex offender kills self, as authorities knock on the door

10-8-15 Ohio:

JACKSON— A sex offender, wanted by law enforcement, took his life as authorities were knocking on his door.

Jackson County Sheriff Tedd Frazier reported Wednesday afternoon that his deputies, along with an US Marshal, went to 9243 Beaver Pike, Jackson, just before 1 p.m. Wednesday, to serve arrest warrants to a man believed to be living in the trailer. As authorities were knocking on the door of the home, Frazier said that the resident shot himself in the head with a .380 pistol. Frazier said the single shot, ended the man’s life.

Authorities identified 51-year-old Michael Shannon Shrewsbury of the Beaver Pike address, as both the man who ended his own life, as well as the man they were looking to serve arrest warrants to.

Frazier said that Shrewsbury was wanted on felony warrants for failing to register as a sex offender, as well as a warrant from West Virginia. The US Marshal’s office became involved due to the multi-state warrants for Shrewsbury’s arrest. Authorities were at the residence to take Shrewsbury into custody.

Body Found in Vacant Paynesville Home ID'd as Fugitive

9-9-15 Minnesota:

A body found in a vacant Paynesville home Wednesday has been identified as a convicted and non-compliant sex offender wanted on several warrants.

The Ramsey County medical examiner has identified the body as 28-year-old Ryan Clover. The preliminary autopsy found that Clover died of asphyxia due to hanging, and the manner of death has been ruled suicide.

Paynesville police were called Wednesday to an unknown death on the 400 block of West Mill Street. Clover's last known address was in Isanti County. A property inspector discovered his body during a monthly inspection.

Officers checked the perimeter of the home and noticed signs of entry through a side window on the property. The officer entered the home and found the body in the stairway, police said.

Providence high school basketball coach who was accused of teen sex assault kills himself

6-15-15 Rhode Island:

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — A longtime high school basketball coach charged last week with sexually assaulting a teenage boy killed himself on Monday just hours after defending himself in an email to a newspaper.

Tyrone Dale, who was 45 years old, hanged himself in Pawtucket on Monday evening and was pronounced dead at a hospital, Providence police said.

Dale had served as a part-time seasonal employee of the Providence public schools and the Providence recreation department. He coached girls' basketball at the Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex. He also coached at the West End Recreation Center.

Dale was charged with sexual assault on Friday. A 15-year-old boy said Dale pulled his shorts down and fondled him at the recreation center last month, according to a police report. The boy told police he felt nervous and intimidated and recorded the sexual assault on his cellphone, the report said.

Registered sex offender caught half naked with teen dies

4-30-15 Kansas:

OVERLAND PARK, KS (KCTV) - A registered sex offender was found dead this week just hours after he fled from police after being caught half naked with a teen boy.

Scott Preston Moore 46 was found unconscious Monday morning inside an Overland Park home. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died.

Moore has repeatedly been accused of sex crimes in the Kansas City area and Massachusetts.

Autopsy results are pending. Authorities have not said whether Moore took his own life.

Officers went to his family member's home searching for him Monday morning after he had repeatedly fled from officers in both Missouri and Kansas.

Akron sex offender kills himself during chase with Colorado police

4-27-15 Ohio:

A registered sex offender charged with having a sexual relationship with an Akron teenager stabbed himself Saturday after fleeing from police in Olathe, Colorado, officials said.

John E. Reynolds, 25, stabbed himself in the heart with a letter opener, according to Dr. Thomas Canfield, the Montrose County, Colorado coroner. He ruled Reynolds' death a suicide.

Olathe police tried to stop Reynolds' car about 12:30 a.m. Saturday on a highway in the western Colorado town about 100 miles southwest of Aspen.

Reynolds ran from police for about 100 yards. He showed the knife at police officers, who used a stun gun on him, according to the Olathe police. Police have not said whether officers used a stun gun on Reynolds before or after he stabbed himself.

Reynolds was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The incident remains under investigation by the 7th Judicial District Critical Incident Team, which investigates officer-involved incidents. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is also investigating.

Medical Examiner: Delaware fugitive hanged himself

1-7-2015 Virginia:

UPDATE 1/8/14: On Thursday the medical examiner determined the cause and manner of death to be suicide by hanging.

NEWPORT NEWS—The fugitive at the center of a daylong standoff with a police tactical team at a motel has died, a police spokesman confirmed.

Shortly before 5 p.m., members of a SWAT team carried Jawan Colson out of a room at the Midtown Motel along Jefferson Avenue and helped paramedics put him into an ambulance.

He was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to police.

The standoff began around noon Wednesday when the U.S. Marshals Service discovered a fugitive from Delaware barricaded inside a room at the motel.

The Marshal's office in Delaware says Colson was wanted for Failure to Register as a sex offender and 1st Degree Rape.

The 30-year-old as also wanted on three counts of rape, one count of strangulation, and unlawful imprisonment among other charges, according to the Newport News Police Department.

Sebastian County Inmate Dies After Suicide Attempt

7-3-2014 Arkansas:

A Fort Smith sex offender who attempted suicide June 25 at the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center died two days later in a local hospital.

Marcus Tucker, 29, died June 27 at Sparks Regional Medical Center. He had been admitted in critical condition leading up to his death, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

On June 25, Tucker had just returned from a 9 a.m. Circuit Court appearance in which he had pleaded not guilty to rape. Deputies went to Tucker’s cell about 10 a.m. to serve him a protection order when they found him in the act of harming himself, according to a news release from Lt. Philip Pevehouse with the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies and detention center medical personnel immediately began life-saving procedures on Tucker, and Fort Smith firefighters and EMS responded to the scene, the release states.

Tucker was taken to Sparks, where he died two days later.

The Sheriff’s Office began an internal investigation in reference to policy matters regarding the incident, Pevehouse stated in the release.

An Arkansas State Police investigation is active, according to state police spokesman Bill Sadler.

“Upon completion of the case file, it will be submitted to the sheriff and prosecutor for consideration,” he said Thursday.

On June 21, Fort Smith police arrested Tucker on suspicion of rape. Authorities placed a parole violation on his booking and issued a petition to revoke a suspended sentence on June 23, according to the release.

Tucker previously was convicted of Internet stalking of a child in Crawford County in February 2012 and fourth-degree sexual abuse in Sebastian County in March 2012, according to court documents.

He was sentenced to six years in prison plus 10 years suspended on the Crawford County charge and six years in prison on the Sebastian County charge. The sentences ran concurrently. Tucker was released from prison this spring, according to court documents. ..Source.. by Stacy Ryburn

State ferry worker, sex offender found dead in jail

7-12-2014 Washington:

A convicted sex offender who was caught taking photos of young girls while working on a Washington state ferry was found dead in his jail cell Saturday, the result of an apparent suicide.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that staff at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac found 50-year-old Steven Allen Dailey in his cell, unresponsive. The staff tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead by emergency medical personnel who responded.

A prison spokesman said foul play is not suspected and that the FBI is investigating it as an apparent suicide.

Dailey was taken into custody after a passenger spotted him taking photos of young girls July 3 on the Tillicum ferry, which runs from West Seattle to Vashon Island and Port Orchard. The passenger reported it to staff, who contacted police.

Dailey had been convicted of possessing child pornography in 2009. Federal court records state he had been caught taking part in a peer-to-peer child porn site. They found more than 500 images and 78 videos in his possession, some of them so graphic in nature, that he was given 10 years probation, which federal prosecutors say is unusually long.

Crisis, mystery unfold after pedophile teacher kills himself in MN

5-13-2014 Minnesota:

He was one of the most beloved teachers in the small world of international schools that serve the children of diplomats, well-off American expatriates and local elites. He was often the first to arrive in the morning, and the last to leave each day. He led students on class trips to exotic places, treating them to cookies and milk at bedtime.

That was the public persona of William Vahey, carefully crafted over four decades until a maid cleaning his home in Nicaragua stole a 16-gigabyte memory drive. There, in photograph after photograph, was evidence that the model teacher had molested scores of adolescent boys, possibly more, in a career spanning 10 schools on four continents.

The discovery of a man the FBI regards as one of the most prolific pedophiles in memory has set off a crisis in the close-knit community of international schools, where horrified parents are being told their children may have been victims of a favorite teacher, and administrators are scurrying to close teacher-vetting loopholes revealed by Vahey's abuses.

"With the sheer volume, the sheer number of incidents in which this man molested, it surprises me that somehow this was not picked up by someone," said John Magagna, the founding director of Search Associates, the world's largest international school recruiting firm. "I don't know what went wrong."

GPD: Suspect in fatal stabbing commits suicide in Daytona Beach

1-14-2014 Florida:

A woman was stabbed to death in her car early Monday morning in a parking garage at North Florida Regional Medical Center.

Investigators say the assailant was her estranged husband, a registered sex offender, who later took his own life as police arrived at a location in Daytona Beach.

The woman has been identified as Casey Renee Wilsey, 37, of Bronson. GPD reported receiving a call at 8:58 a.m. in which the caller said a woman was dead in a vehicle parked on the third floor garage near the Women's Center entrance.

GPD officers responded and found Wilsey dead, apparently from a stab wound to her torso.

Based on information from family members, investigators determined the likely suspect was Wilsey's estranged husband, Walker Gage Wilsey Sr., 46. According to Levy County public records, Casey Wilsey had petitioned for an injunction against domestic violence in November and, in December, petitioned for a divorce.

Police said Casey Wilsey was not an employee of the hospital but she worked in the complex. It appears that Walker Wilsey waited for her to arrive at work, then attacked her in the parking garage while she was still inside of her vehicle, police said.

Investigators believe Walker Wilsey fled in a white F-350 diesel pickup truck with a camo-style bottom “wrap.”

GPD investigators asked multiple agencies, including Daytona Beach police, to check possible addresses for Walker Wilsey.

Accused Child Molester Kills Himself

9-19-2013 Mississippi:

(Hernando, MS) A man accused of molesting children in DeSoto killed himself.

Even after his death, James Marchand’s family still believes he’s innocent, but alleged victims keep coming forward.

Investigators say a total of ten young girls say Marchand molested them.

As prosecutors built their case, Marchand decided to end his life Wednesday.

Although Marchand will never be brought to trial, one mother believes it will spare his victims from testifying.

Her little girl had to do it seven years ago.

“She was molested by James Marchand,” she said.

Iowa police: Sex offender suspected of abducting 2 girls found dead; 1 girl still missing

5-21-2013 Iowa:

Authorities say a convicted sex offender who was suspected of abducting two girls from an Iowa bus stop has been found dead.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says 42-year-old Michael Klunder was found dead Monday night at a rural property northeast of Dayton, which is about 60 miles north of Des Moines. His cause of death hasn't been released.

Klunder is accused of abducting a 15-year-old girl and 12-year-old girl on Monday. The 12-year-old was able to escape and told authorities she and the other girl were taken to an agricultural facility after accepting a ride from a stranger.

The 15-year-old is still missing. Dozens of law enforcement agents are searching for Kathlynn Shepard. Authorities say they're releasing her name and photo in an effort to find her alive.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A man suspected of abducting two girls from a bus stop in central Iowa has been found dead, but a massive search for one of the girls continues, authorities said Tuesday.

Sex offender hangs self at county jail

6-20-2012 Georgia:

A Lumpkin County Detention Center inmate apparently committed suicide last Tuesday when he hung himself with a blanket shortly after arriving in his holding cell, said law enforcement officials.

Woodrow Arthur Doles, II 47, had been on Georgia’s registered sex offender’s list since 1995 and was in the process of being charged with several new offenses which included child molestation, sexual battery, enticing a child for indecent purposes, kidnapping, simple battery and simple battery of a police officer.

Investigator Wesley Burnett said the Winters Mountain Road resident was intoxicated and combative when he arrived at the detention center at around 3:30 p.m.

However, Doles showed no apparent suicidal tendencies in the approximate four hours leading up to his death, added Burnett.

“He was checked on multiple times,” he said. “”He was actually brought out of his cell at one point to use the phone.”

Just before 7 p.m. Doles reportedly told guards he was cold and requested a blanket. He had not yet joined the general inmate population and was alone in a holding cell at the time.

After receiving the blanket, Doles reportedly fashioned a make-shift noose, tied an end of the blanket to his holding cell door handle and leaned forward.

The death was captured on jail surveillance cameras but not witnessed by any guards while it occurred, said Burnett.

“Someone doesn’t look at the monitors 24 hours a day,” he said. “But as soon as an officer saw him on the monitor they went to assist.”

Officers reportedly performed CPR on Doles and attempted to revive him with an on-site set of defibrillator panels.

Emergency service workers quickly arrived on the scene and took over the effort.

Doles was soon declared dead at the detention center.

Officers from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were notified and are currently investigating the incident. ..Source.. by Matt Aiken

Amber Alert canceled after mom, 2 kids found safe; suspect shot himself

3-31-2012 Texas:

HOUSTON—A man shot himself after kidnapping a woman and her two children Saturday morning. He is the same suspect involved in a police chase following an assault on the same　victim on Thursday, according to Houston police.

On Thursday, 22-year-old Courtney Dickerson escaped from police after assaulting a woman in the Medical Center. Investigators said Dickerson attacked the victim, who was an ex-girlfriend of the suspect, on her way to work and forced her to drive to an apartment complex by knifepoint. After assaulting her, he stole her car.

Officers chased him through southwest Houston. During the pursuit, he bailed out of the vehicle and took off running. Police weren’t able to catch up with him.

The victim and her 2-year-old and 4-year-old daughters were then abducted around 11:30 p.m. on Friday from the 8100 block of Lawler St. by Dickerson, a registered sex offender. Police issued a double Amber Alert.

Dickerson was spotted near his registered address and again chased by the police. He again fled from his vehicle on foot and shot himself in the head. He was taken to Ben Taub hospital where he died.

The victims were safely located and reunited with family and the Amber Alert has been cancelled.

"(Dickerson) said that he wasn’t going to let them take him alive when they were chasing him," said Diana Walton, the victims’ aunt.

Friends said Dickerson knew the woman for 10 months. Police said she made several reports of abuse against him.

Dickerson was also wanted for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in 2010 but was never arrested. ..Source.. by khou.com

Man Found Dead After Fleeing From Local Police Identified

3-21-2012 Montana:

TEMPLE (March 24, 2012)— A man found dead after a major manhunt Friday night has been identified.

45-year-old Terry Lee Turner was found dead around 8:30 p.m. Friday evening.

Temple police were looking Friday night for a man they described as armed and extremely dangerous who fired a shot as he fled from officers near Wayne’s Kwik Stop at 23118 S.E. H.K. Dodgen Loop.

Police had been working with law enforcement authorities in Montana to locate Mr. Turner on several felony arrest warrants, and had received reports Turner was at the RV park behind the store.

Turner was wanted for two counts of failure to register as a sex offender, two counts of felony sexual assault, and bond forfeiture.

An initial investigation indicates Turners cause of death was an apparent suicide.

His body has been sent to the Southwest Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas for an autopsy.

A handgun recovered by his side only shows to have been fired once. ..Source.. by KWTX.com