Encouraged by Crowd Teen Commits Suicide

Shaun Dykes, 17, from Kilburn, Derbyshire in Britain was a troubled, gay teen who had just recently broken up with his boyfriend, 18-year-old David Challands with whom he was living. His life ended on Saturday, 27 September 2008. He commited suicide by jumping 60 ft to his death from the top of a multi-story car park at the Westfield Shopping Center in Derby city. See a TV report of the incident here.

Police negotiators, who spent over two hours trying to dissuade 17-year-old Shaun Dykes from jumping from the roof said their work was made much more difficult by heckling from the crowd which had gathered on London Road below. According to witnesses, as the negotiators were trying to convince Shaun to come away from the edge of the roof, people in the crowd below were taunting the teen with shouts of: "How far can you bounce?", "Go on, jump", "Get on with it" , "Stop wasting time" and "You're wasting tax-payers' money."

At the inquest, on Thursday, January 15, 2009, Louise Pinder, deputy assistant coroner for Derby Coroner's Court, said she thought it was a "great shame" the people goading Shaun had not been identified and brought to justice.

"I find it incomprehensible that while two police negotiators were talking with such sensitivity and taking such care with Shaun that those members of the public below were acting so insensitively and with no apparent concern for a fellow human being."

She returned a verdict that Shaun Dykes, of Elm Tree Avenue, took his own life, saying it was "abundantly clear" there were a number of factors leading to his death. The coroner said: "Those individuals who taunted Shaun are responsible, at least in part, for his death."

Inspector Barry Thacker, one of the negotiators gave this account of what was happening just moments before Shaun jumped to his death:

"Hand on heart, I felt we made some progress towards the end. He asked us to stop talking because we were giving him too many options, and I could see in his eyes that he was weighing up the positive things in his life. I took that as a positive sign.

"But when he heard the shouts he would disengage from us, look at the people on London Road, close his eyes and start counting down from 10 - obviously a sign he was preparing to jump. That happened on three or four occasions, but we managed to get him back."

Seconds before he died he reached for Insp Thacker's hand to help him down, but was distracted by shouts of: "You're wasting tax-payers' money." The inspector said he then turned again, closed his eyes and jumped.

After Shaun Dykes jumped to his death, in what can only be described as gruesome and sickening, some of the spectators in the crowd who had been goading the disturbed young man to jump, broke through the police cordon to take pictures of the dead teen, using their cellphones.

Commenting on the behavior of the crowd, Superintendent Andy Hough, of Derbyshire police, said he was disturbed and disappointed by what had happened:

People were at the police cordon shouting for the man to jump,' Superintendent Hough said. 'I find it a disturbing and shocking reflection on society when people feel inclined to do that. Negotiators were working with the man threatening to jump and it was their job to talk to him in the hope of changing his mind. We really need the public to work with us, not against us. It was a very disappointing situation.'

Just days before his suicide, Shaun had broken up with his boyfriend, David Challands, 18, of Avis Avenue, Marlpool. Shaun was suffering from depression and had twice before tried to take his own life. David said of his former boyfriend:

"I knew he was unstable half-way through our relationship. He would tell me about feeling depressed, he thought nobody cared about him. Daily, I had to reassure him that everyone was there for him. He said if I left him he would kill himself, and I knew that he would, so I felt like I had to stay with him." He added that he ended the relationship as he "really just couldn't do it anymore".

Shaun was a student at Heanor Gate Science College in Heanor, Derbyshire. Earlier Shaun's mother Tina told the inquest her son felt under pressure because his GCSEs were approaching. His headteacher Rob Howard said: “One or two students were standing near people goading him to jump.

“One student told me he could not believe people place such little value on life. It’s almost like they are in a television show. The sad thing is that a couple of the students, if they could have got close enough, felt that they could have made a difference.”

Lindsey Reid, 17, Shaun’s best friend since he was four, said: “He was the joker, always smiling. He’s not the sort of person you’d expect to do this.”

Sexting Teens face Child Porn Charges

Sexting is one of those words that you will probably not find in the dictionary, not yet anyway. Born from the convergence of sex and text messaging, it has become a widespread phenomena among young teens, where nude or partially nude pictures are sent via cellphones.

Sexting is what landed six students - 3 girls aged 14 to 15-years-old and 3 boys aged 16 to 17-years-old -  at Greensburg Salem High School in Greensburg, Pa., in serious trouble with the law: They all face child porn charges. The girls are accused of taking nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves and sending them to three male classmates via their cellphones.

The female students face charges of manufacturing, disseminating or possessing child pornography while the boys face charges of possession of child pornography.

It all began when school officials seized a cell phone from a male student who was using it in violation of school rules and found a nude photo of a classmate on it. Police were called in and their investigation led them to other phones containing more photos. The school district issued a statement saying that the investigation turned up “no evidence of  inappropriate activity on school grounds … other than the violation of the electronic devices policy.”

Capt. George Seranko, of the Greenburg police said that the first photograph was “a self portrait taken of a juvenile female taking pictures of her body, nude."

The police decided to file child pornography charges to send a strong message to other minors who might consider sending such photos to friends.

"It's very dangerous," Seranko said. "Once it's on a cell phone, that cell phone can be put on the Internet where everyone in the world can get access to that juvenile picture. You don't realize what you are doing until it's already done."

However one Philadelphia defense attorney, Patrick Artur, thinks the police have gone too far. He said the prosecution of minors for photos they took themselves runs counter to the purpose of both state and federal child pornography laws: Preventing the sexual abuse of children by “dirty old men in raincoats.”

“It’s clearly overkill,” Arthur said. “… The letter of the law seems to have been violated, but this is not the type of defendant that the legislature envisioned” in passing the statute.

Under Pennsylvania law there is no mandatory minimum sentence for child pornography, so even if the teens were convicted they would not necessarily face the prospect of jail time. But nevertheless a conviction would carry very serious consequences - including forcing them to register as sexual offenders for at least 10 years.

According to a national study, by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, most teenagers who were sending the explicit messages were sending them to boyfriends or girlfriends, while others said they were sending the pictures in a bold move to secure a date, or to someone they had got to know online.

In fact the study found that sexting starts at a young age and becomes more frequent as teens become young adults. The survey was conducted among 653 teens (ages 13-19) and 627 young adults (ages 20-26)—between September 25, 2008 and October 3, 2008. The complete report can be found here. Some of the findings were:

How many teens say they have sent/posted nude or semi-nude pictures or video of themselves?

• 20% of teens overall


• 22% of teen girls


• 18% of teen boys


• 11% of young teen girls (ages 13-16)

How many young adults are sending or posting nude or seminude images of themselves?

• 33% of young adults overall


• 36% of young adult women


• 31% of young adult men

How many teens are sending or posting sexually suggestive messages?

• 39% of all teens


• 37% of teen girls


• 40% of teen boys


• 48% of teens say they have received such messages

How many young adults are sending or posting sexually suggestive messages?

• 59% of all young adults


• 56% of young adult women


• 62% of young adult men


• 64% of young adults say they have received such messages

Authorities have been taking an increased interest in sexting resulting in many young people facing arrest and prosecution for sending and receiving the obscene messages. Jim Brown, a school officer at Glen Este High School in Ohio said:

“If I were to go through the cell phones in this building right now of 1,500 students, I would venture to say that half to two-thirds have indecent photos, either of themselves or somebody else in school."

He said that what started as a bit of fun was starting to have severe consequences, ranging from humiliation at school when the pictures are spread amongst students, to the loss of jobs or college scholarships after the photographs are posted on websites. When kids are 14 or 15, Brown said, they don't often make the right decisions.

"They think, 'I have the right to decide what's best for me.' The next thing you know, it's on YouTube, and you become an international star because you're exposing part of your body. ... Then, they want to retrieve their good reputation, and they can't."

Jim Brown also says that parents have a role to play by paying more attention to their kids' use of technology. "It's 'Kids Gone Wild,' with technology being provided by the parents," he said.

Adolf Hitler Removed From Parents Home

3-Year-Old Adolf  Hitler Campbell and his two younger sisters JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell were removed from their parents home by New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS), for unknown reasons. Kate Bernyk, a spokeswoman for the DYFS, said confidentiality laws barred her from commenting on the case or even confirming that the Campbell children were involved.

Little Adolf  Hitler Campbell gained national notoriety when his father, Heath Campbell, tried to order a birthday cake with his son's name on it. The local ShopRite refused to inscribed the name "Adolf  Hitler" on the cake, claiming that the name was offensive. Heath, who has named all three of his children after Nazi characters, eventually got the cake engraved with his son's name by a nearby Walmart.

Why the children were removed from the Campbell house remains a mystery. Sgt. John Harris of the Holland Township Police Department says, as far as he knows, there have been no problems with the Campbell family.

"I’ve dealt with the family for years and as far as the children are concerned, I have never had any reports of any abuse with the children," Harris said. "As far as I know, he’s always been very good with the children."

Even though DYFS spokeswoman, Kate Bernyk , would not comment specifically on the Campbell case she indicated that there was good reason for removing the children and that the action taken was in consultation with other pertinent authorities.

Speaking generally, Bernyk said the state's "decision to remove a child is based on the safety and well being of the child and the risk to that child, and that decision is made in conjunction with the courts and the county family court judge."

"DYFS would never remove a child simply based on that child's name," Bernyk said.

Whatever the reasons for removing the children, Heath Campbell, 35, and his wife, Deborah, 25, have an appointment in court to deal with this matter. Forensic psychologist N.G. Berrill said naming a boy Hitler could be considered child abuse.

"Part of it is the infantile nature of the parents’ behavior," Berrill said. "You can name your dog something weird, but they think they’re making some kind of bold statement with the children, not appreciating that the children will have separate lives and will be looked at in a negative light until they’re able to change their name. It is abuse."

The Campbell house is a monument to the Nazi's. There are swastikas prominently displayed in each room of their home. They say they aren’t racists but believe races shouldn’t mix. Heath says he named his son Adolf  Hitler because he liked the name and because “no one else in the world would have that name.”

I Want My Kidney Back

Going through a divorce can be a very traumatic experience. There are a myriad of things to fight over: property, money, the kids, visitation, custody etc. Well, the Batista's are going through one of those messy divorces, but with a unique twist. Dr. Richard Batista, from Ronkonkoma, NY, is demanding that Mrs. Dawnell Batista return the kidney he gave to her - or pay him $1.5 million. He is claiming that his wife was having an affair.

"I saved her life and then, to be betrayed like this, is unfathomable. It's incomprehensible," said Dr. Richard Batista, 49. "I feel humbled and betrayed and disregarded. This divorce is killing me."

“In theory, we are asking for the return of the kidney,” said Dominic Barbara, Dr. Batista’s lawyer. “Of course, he wouldn’t really ask for that, but the value of it.”

Dr. Richard Batista, 49, a vascular surgeon at Nassau University Medical Center, married his wife Dawnell, on Aug. 31, 1990. According to the doctor, the marriage went well for the first two years and then began a "slow downward trend." In June 2001 Dawnell needed a third kidney transplant. As a baby, her father had donated her first kidney and years later a brother donated the second one. It was discovered that Dr. Batista's kidneys were a 1-in-700,000 match and he gladly donated one of them to his wife, allowing her to skip a waiting list of 6,748 people awaiting kidneys in New York State.

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"My first priority was to save her life," Batista said at a news conference in Garden City. "The second bonus was to turn the marriage around. When I donated ... the next day I was on my feet going down the hallway to visit her in the adjoining room - there was no greater feeling on this planet. I did the right thing for her to this day. I could still do it again.”

Initially, Batista said he was happy with his gift of life: "I was walking on a cloud. I did the right thing for her and to this day I would do it again." The transplant certainly gave Mrs Batista a new lease of life. She went back to college to earn a master's degree in nursing and took up karate, but Mr Batista claimed that she repaid his kindness with infidelity. He said that she had an affair with a physical therapist that she began seeing after she injured herself while working towards her black belt. The therapist, David Cazalet, has vehemently denied the allegation.

"We're friends - we've never had an affair," he insisted, calling Batista a "big monster."

"I feel bad for her because he's a wackadoo," he said.

Dr. Batista claims that he requested the return of his kidney - or its monetary value - because his wife was preventing him from seeing his three daughters, aged 8, 11 and 14 after visitation had been agreed upon. The divorce proceedings had already stretched out for more than three years. His lawyer, Dominic Barbara, said the $1.5 million his client feels he's entitled to reflects damages, including how much money she made as a result of being able to continue working and not having to go on dialysis. "A price can't be placed on a human organ but it does have value," he said.

Dawnell Batista, 44, a nurse from Massapequa, filed for divorce in July 2005.  The divorce papers were served on Dr. Batista while he was in surgery. According to Dawnell, Richard was the one who had ruined their marriage with his obsessive belief that she was fooling around. He even went as far as to examine her underwear for evidence that she had been with another man.

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In a Mineola court, stating that she has never been unfaithful, Douglas Rothkopf, Dawnell's lawyer, accused Richard Batista of harming the couple's three children, ages 14, 11 and 8, by holding what he called a "grotesque" press conference on the issue and catapulting the family's problems into the media spotlight.

But Richard Batista's lawyer, Dominic Barbara of Garden City, said his client has the right to tell his story publicly, and that it is Dawnell Batista who should be ashamed.

"This is a man who put his life on the line, and his wife has treated him like a piece of dirt," he said.

The couple was in court to debate whether a judge should impose a gag order in the case. Court referee A. Jeffrey Grob reserved decision on Rothkopf's request for a later date, allowing the public battle to continue.

Medical ethicists agreed that the case is a nonstarter. Arthur Caplan of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics said the likelihood of Batista getting either his kidney or cash was "somewhere between impossible and completely impossible."

Robert Veatch, a medical ethicist at Georgetown University's Kennedy Institute of Ethics, noted that "it's illegal for an organ to be exchanged for anything of value." Organs in the United States may not be bought or sold. Donating an organ is a gift and legally, "when you give something, you can't get it back," he said.

"It's her kidney now and . . . taking the kidney out would mean she would have to go on dialysis or it would kill her," Veatch said.

Stepfather Shoots Stepson

Michael Keith Bass, 21, was not having a good day: First, he gets shot by his stepfather, Richard Hayes, 37; then, when the authorities arrive, both of them get arrested.

Bass and Hayes both live at 2980 Burgaw Highway Lot 6, Jacksonville, N.C. where the incident occurred. Bass was shot by Hayes with a small caliber bullet, entering his left side. The bullet went right through his body. Hayes said he shot his stepson because he had a bad neck and he thought Bass was going to fight him.

When the authorities arrived Bass was holding a bloody towel to his abdomen, saying that his stepfather had shot him. Onslow County Sheriff deputies arrested Richard Hayes. They charged him with assault inflicting serious bodily injury and possession of a stolen firearm. His bond was set at $10,000.

However, during their investigation, the deputies discovered that Michael Keith Bass had two outstanding warrants for failing to appear in court on other criminal charges. Bass was no stranger to the court system. He was recently released from prison after serving time for felony breaking-and-entering. Bass was taken to Onslow Memorial Hospital where he was treated for his injuries. After being released from hospital Bass was arrested and sent to jail, with his stepfather, on $10,000 bail.

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There's an old saying that comes to mind: Like Father Like Son!!