Gas Station Clerk Murdered

Stephen Michael Haines, 18, of Gary, Ind. was charged with murder. He is being held without bond and faces a maximum of 65 years in prison for the murder of 26-year-old Gurjeet Singh. He is scheduled to go before a Lake County Indiana Superior Court Magistrate for an initial hearing.

Haines was one of four men who ran into the Gran Gas Mini Food Mart and Gas Station located at 1500 Grant St., Gary, on June 14th. The men kicked in the door to the cash register area, where Singh was working. Singh pushed back the men after they tried to grab him and was shot in the neck. Singh was taken to Methodist Hospital Northlake, where he later died. Police are still looking for the other three men.

Police said the suspects including Haines tried unsuccessfully to open the cash register. They allegedly took a VCR and a carton of cigarettes.

"It was senseless. And really all homicides are senseless but what we gather from this, there was very little resistance," said Gary Police Department Commander Anthony Titus. "It didn't have to end the way it did."

Police say there were several customers walking around the store after the crime. But only one called 911 for help. They say a woman who was in the store after the crime posted what she knew on Facebook instead of calling 911 and talking with police.



When asked what he finds most disturbing about the surveillance footage, Titus said, "The fact that people went in and out of the store and didn't call police. There is a man laying there. Nobody thinks to dial 911 or check to see if he's OK or anything."

The victim's family is happy one suspect has been arrested, but they know more people have the clues police need. A translator said Sawaran Singh, the victim's father, can't find the words to describe the pain he feels right now. He traveled from Punjab, India to pray at a visitation with family and friends.

Gurjeet Singh's uncle, Randy Singh, said his nephew was liked by regular customers. He said this was the first holdup in the nine years he has owned the store. The uncle said that most days Gurjeet worked nearly 12 hours a day, seven days a week. On his time off, he would shop or rest up for his next work shift. Before working in his uncle's store, Gurjeet studied engineering at a Canadian university for four years.


For now, a grieving father prepares to take his son's remains back to India for a funeral. The future his family planned for him is only a memory. Sawaran Singh had to make the trip here alone, because he says the U.S. embassy in New Delhi wouldn't give his wife a visa. Gurjeet Singh's mother still waits to lay her son to rest.

Police say the robbers left the store in a car registered to Haines' mother; it was later found torched. Detective James Bond credits a tip from the public for leading him to Haines.



Detective Bond released still photos from surveillance footage of the incident to the media, after which the department received various leads on the suspects' identities. Police say they've identified who the other suspects are but they need more members of the public to stand up and tell what they know.

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Black Widow Accused of Raping 10 Men

Rape - no matter how one tries to justify it - is Rape. It is a brutal, forced violation of one's body. It is wrong and there is no excuse for it. That being said, the following story does have a certain comedic value to it, which nevertheless does not detract from its seriousness.

32-year-old Valeria K. is described as a quiet, good-looking woman from the Russian city of Tambov, about 300 miles south-east of Moscow. She had two well-known hobbies. She was a devoted collector of horror movies and spiders. She was known as the Black Widow.

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Valeria K. also had another pastime that was her own little secret. She liked to rape men but in order to assure their "complete cooperation" with her plans, she would make sure to drug them first. Her drug of choice - clonidine - a powerful medication used to treat high blood pressure, ADHD and can ease withdrawal symptoms associated with narcotic use. One side effect of clonidine is drowsiness.

Valeria K. was arrested by the police and accused of drugging 10 different men and then raping them. She is now on trial.

She would meet men and, after getting acquainted with them, would lure them back to her apartment and offer them drinks - drinks laced with clonidine - that would knock them out for about 24 hours. After the men were asleep Valeria K. would go to work:

She would strip them naked, stimulate their penises and when they were sufficiently erect, she would tie a rope around the base of their organs so that they would remain erect and then proceed to rape them while they slept.

The men would eventually wake up in hospital (unsure of how they got there)  being treated for clonidine poisoning and penis trauma. However, they would all remember the friendly brunette who gave them drinks, which helped police identify the woman. Of the 10 men who fell victim to Valeria K., one refused to file a complaint against her:

One of her victim’s said he wished she hadn’t sedated him. “It was great,” the man said. “I like hot women. I only wish she hadn't used the clonidine on me.”

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Girl Burned in Voodoo Ritual

6-year-old Frantzcia Saintil will be scarred for life. She suffered second- and third-degree burns over 25% of her body, including her face, torso and legs. However, this was no accident. Frantzcia Saintil was the victim of a voodoo ritual perpetrated on her by her own mother, Marie Lauradin,29 and her grandmother, Sylvenie Thessier, 70.

Marie Lauradin, a Haitian immigrant was charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child. She faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. The grandmother, Sylvenie Thessier, was charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. She faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.



According to reports, Marie Lauradin was determined to drive the evil spirits out of her daughter, so she solicited the help of her mother to perform a voodoo ritual known as Loa.

The two women made a ring of fire, using an accelerant (probably rum), on the floor. They then stripped the little girl naked and doused her with the same accelerant and forced her into the ring of fire. They watched while the little girl become engulfed in flames and allowed the screaming child to burn. They eventually put out the flames with cold water and then, instead of seeking medical assistance, put the suffering child to bed.

It wasn't until the next evening that another relative found Frantzcia in bed and insisted on taking her to the hospital.

Lauradin allegedly told cops that she did not see any burns on her daughter until she was at the hospital.

Confronted by cops, Lauradin claimed she was boiling rice in a pot and accidentally spilled it on the girl when she was "startled." She also said it was her mom's idea to give Frantzcia a bath and put her to bed instead of taking her to the hospital.

Frantzcia was put in a medically induced coma as part of her treatment. She spent a total of 55 days in hospital recovering from her burns.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said "The child has suffered permanent scarring, both physically and emotionally."

Frantzcia was placed in foster care after leaving the hospital. It wasn't until she confided in her foster parent that the police found out what really happened to her. That was when her mother and grandmother were arrested.

Marie Lauradin listened impassively as the judge ordered her held in lieu of $50,000 bail. She was also barred from having any contact with her daughter.

"She denies these allegations," lawyer Jeff Cohen said. "This is my client's only child. My client would not hurt her."

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Cat Killer Released on Bond

Tyler Hayes Weinman, 18, was arrested early Sunday morning (6/14/09). By Wednesday afternoon he was freed on $249,500 bond after going through a psychological evaluation that determined he was not a danger to himself or anyone else.

Weinman faces a multitude of charges: 19 counts of animal cruelty, 19 counts of improperly disposing of an animal body and four counts of burglary related to the mutilation and killing of 19 cats in his neighborhood. He could face a sentence of up to 158 years in jail.



Under the terms of his release, Judge Thornton said Weinman will remain under house arrest with an electronic monitoring device and will have to attend outpatient psychotherapy classes twice a week. He will be arraigned on July 6th.

One of his lawyers, Michael Walsh, said after the hearing that police have no evidence and rushed to arrest Weinman because of intense public outcry.



"My son is innocent, and I know he didn't kill the cats. That will be proven in court. He is gentle with cats, and I am truly moved by the hundreds of people who have shown their support for him," said Douglas Weinman.

The case against accused serial cat killer Tyler Weinman is based entirely on circumstantial evidence and could depend on the county crime lab's ability to adapt DNA and other forensic tests typically used for human victims to animals.

Prosecutors are hoping items found during a search of Weinman's home – including several knives discovered hidden in Weinman's bedroom – will provide them with the proof they need. Those knives may very well be the key to the case. But forensic tests involving animal blood is not routine. Prosecutors are still waiting to learn if they can match DNA from a dead cat to possible blood found on the knives in Weinman's bedroom. If prosecutors through blood or DNA evidence can link Weinman to just one dead cat, then they believe their overall case becomes much easier to prove.

The lead prosecutor on the case, Assistant State Attorney Michael Van Zamft, acknowledged they are still trying to sort out what forensic tests are possible, including possible DNA tests.

"Do I think the evidence that we collected from the search warrants will make the case stronger? Yes I do," said Van Zamft. "Do I think our case is sufficient based on the information we had before the arrest? Yes I do."

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Linda Nef Takes Plea Deal

Linda Nef, the 46-year-old school teacher, who admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old boy, a student in her class, may avoid doing any jail time. Nef and another teacher, Valynne Bowers, 40, were both accused of having sex with the same boy at Bountiful Junior High School.

Nef was originally charged with two first-degree felonies: 1) Rape of a child and 2) Sodomy on a child, which carry mandatory prison terms of 25 years to life.

On Tuesday (6/16/09) Linda Nef went before 2nd District Judge Rodney Page and pleaded guilty to first-degree felony attempted aggravated abuse of a child. The plea gives the judge the option of imposing either probation or a prison term of three years to life. The judge ordered a pre-sentencing report for Nef before she is sentenced July 21.

The plea deal was worked out between the defense and the prosecution along with the victim and his family. Davis County Attorney Richard Larsen said the victim and his family wanted the possibility of probation left open for Nef.

"The victim and his family are very much in favor of resolving [the case] this way," Larsen told the judge.

Sean Druyon, Linda Nef's lawyer, said Nef had already undergone a psycho-sexual evaluation that found she was not a pedophile and not a danger to re-offend.

The second teacher involved in the sex scandal, Valynne Bowers, may also make a plea deal with Davis County prosecutors. Defense attorney Rich Gallegos asked for more time for them to work on a plea bargain. This occurred before Linda Nef cut a deal with prosecutors.

"I'm hopeful that we can work out a deal where she can get some type of probation sentence," Gallegos said. "Likely associated with that is jail time."

Valynne Bowers is charged with first-degree felony rape and forcible sodomy. Her case is considered less serious than that of Linda Nef because her relationship with the victim began when he was 14 years old. Nef began her relationship when the victim was only 13 years old. Bowers is due back in court on June 29 for a potential resolution in the case.

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