Exclusive Interview with Attorney Odai Ramischand, Father of murder victim Nikita Ramischand

Man Assaults Wife With Hot Pressing Iron (A MUST-READ)...Parental Guidance Advised

According to what Vanguard newspaper reported, for 36 year-old Mrs Mercy Nnamdi, the woman whose one-year-old son was allegedly killed by her husband recently in Ago, Okota area of Lagos, over her husband’s allegation that she was sleeping with his father, life could never have been more cruel.

This is because never in her wildest imagination had she envisaged that a man she had known almost all her life could mete such inhuman treatment on her. 

As you read this piece, Mercy is going through excruciating pains in a private hospital in Okota where doctors are battling to save her life.

In fact, the once bubbling woman looks a shadow of herself, as medical report showed that she sustained a third degree burns from the hot iron her husband of two years used on her on Saturday, April 7 2012, which was exclusively reported by Vanguard.

Presently, the badly burnt woman maintains a particular position, by sleeping on her back. She wears an adult pampers when she eases herself, with a tissue paper by her side, with which she cleans the fluid coming out from the burns. 

Help, as gathered, was far from the Imo state-born woman, as none of her neighbours attempted to go and find out what was happening when she was desperately shouting for help. 

It was learnt that their neighbours failed to respond to her cries for help because it has become a daily
occurrence.

Crime Guard gathered also that on several occasions, some of the neighbours invited policemen from Ago division who cautioned her husband after which he was made to sign an undertaking never to raise his hands on his wife.

Family sources hinted that signs of danger in the marriage reared its ugly face early after the two love birds fell in love 16 years ago, when Mary was barely 22 years old. 

But she was apparently blinded by love, hoping that her heartthrob would outgrow his anger someday, which was never to be.

Narrating what led to her being a patient in the hospital, Mary stated, “It all happened on a Saturday. I had prepared boiled yam, awaiting the arrival of my husband. After a long wait, I decided to eat mine and left his on the table. He came back few minutes to 11pm and went straight to bed. 

Then at about 1 a.m., power was restored and he went to put off the power generating set and switched over to electricity.

After that, he started ironing his customers’ clothes because he is a dry cleaner. I was later woken up by the cry of our one-year-old baby who apparently needed breast milk. 

All the while, we were outside before power was restored. Before retiring inside, I took my bath and fetched water for him to have his.

I was fast asleep when I was woken up by a sharp pain on my back. I thought it was a night mare. 

But when I opened my eyes, lo and behold, my husband was planting the hot iron he was using on the clothes on me.

Immediately I turned, he planted it on my chest. When I raised my hand to prevent it, he planted it on one of my hands . 

By then I did not know what to do. I started screaming and calling on my neighbours for help. I raised my leg to prevent him, again, he landed the hot iron on me.

As he planted the hot iron hard on my flesh, he would use a screw driver to peel off the flesh. At a point, I became too weak to shout. I begged him to stop but he would not. Rather, he would ask me to tell him how many times his father slept with me. 

Even in pains, I begged him to listen to himself and imagine what he was saying.

My response seemed to anger him the more because he would plant it harder, leaving it on my skin and at the same time, asked me to tell him the truth.”

At this point, Crime Guard asked if she was guilty of the claim. She grimaced and replied, “How can that be? The father already has a wife.” 

Pausing for a while and staring at the ceiling, a position she has been maintaining for several hours, she continued, “ at that point, my baby woke up and started crying. 

I begged him to allow me breast feed the baby. But before I could finish the statement, he placed the hot iron on my breasts, threatening to kill me if I shout. 

As he lifted the iron, I saw that the flesh from my breast had stuck to the iron surface. Again he pressed it harder on my stomach, leaving it there. 

I managed to turn, only for the iron to land on my lap. He told me there was no way of escape for me that night, that members of his gang were outside to take my corpse to an unknown destination by the time he finished with me. 

At that point, I knew the end had come for me. I managed to shout out for help with all the strength in me but I could not.

At that point, he forcefully took Ebuka from the bed and went outside. I decided to go out because I did not know what he would do next when he came back. I cannot tell how I crawled out of the room. 

But I found myself in the kitchen naked, from where two men who saw me gave new rapper to cover myself.

“As I was there, trying to fathom how I would escape from the compound, somebody shouted that my husband had killed my child. That was the last thing I heard. 

I guessed I passed out because I later opened my eyes and found myself in the hospital.”

Residents of Number 3, Lambe street, Ago confirmed to Crime Guard that they simply refused to go to Mary’s rescue that night because it was late and also that her shout for help had been one too many.

One of them said, “ Since they started living as husband and wife, there had never been a time we did not experience shout or crisis from their one-room apartment. 

It is worse any time the man came home drunk. We have even gone to report to the police when it became too much because we did not want a situation where he would kill her one day and we would be held responsible. Even at that, he did not stop.

“Several times, the woman had wanted to go back to her family but she wouldn’t. Even her father-in-law had advised her to leave when she travelled home last December because he was tired of the endless reports of his son battering his daughter in-law.” Weeping, after pausing for a while, Mary recalled how he met her 37-year-old husband. 

“We knew each other since 1996. The relationship blossomed until 2010, when he went for introduction in my village. 

I left my hair dressing skill and moved in with him with the hope of continuing later.”

But that was never to be as she revealed that rather than continuing learning hair dressing, she started selling pap, all in a bid to make ends meet and apparently as a demonstration of her love for Henry.

“He started showing his real colour later.

He started by refusing to drop money for house keep and even when I begged him to rent a shop for me, he didn’t. 

Rather, he used the money to drink beer and smoke. When I advised him against his drinking and smoking habit, he would flare up and the next thing would be to hit me. 

Several times I have begged the police to help me beg him not to raise his hands on me but he wouldn’t”Another predicament befalls Mary

Sadly, the anguished woman is faced with another predicament which is her inability to pay her medical bills. 

Already, Crime Guard gathered that her bill had amounted to N200,000. 

Following this development, the hospital is threatening to stop treatment. 

Presently, the dressing of the burns which ought to be done on daily basis has been extended to once in two or three days, as a daily dressing cost s N10,000.

Sobbing uncontrollably and at the same time questioning her choice of partner, she revealed that her family members had not shown up since the incident occurred, as none of them, according to her, was aware of the incident.

“My mother must not hear of this because it will kill her. She is presently taking care of my sister who just put to bed in Owerri.

I can not reach my relatives either because my phone is not with me and I do not have their phone numbers off hand.”

Crime Guard learnt that since the incident took place, her father in-law had been responsible for the hospital bills. 

But there is little Pa Nnamdi could do as the bill, as gathered, had gone beyond his capacity. Hospital sources disclosed that
though their management had tried to attend to Mary’s case, there are indications that it might discharge her if the accrued bill is not cleared.

One of the doctors who identified himself simply as Eze explained that “she had a third degree burn and her case may deteriorate if she does not receive adequate care. 

She even fainted last Tuesday because she was not given food and her people lacked the fund to bring her back to normal state.”

He further disclosed that Mary was rushed to the hospital in a state of coma, adding that, 

“The husband used pliers on her skin and decimated her. Then a hot iron was applied on her face, body chest, and her two breasts. 

Meanwhile, she has not been informed of the demise of her one-year-old son considering her present state.”

However, the alleged perpetrator of this dastardly act, Mr Henry Nnamdi who was arrested by neighbours, is currently at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba. 

Efforts to speak with him proved abortive.

Please, ensure you use the social media sharing below this page to spread this to your family and friends.

Culled from Vanguard Newspaper

Scene of incident, 3, Lambe Street, Ago-Okota, Lagos
http://www.nigeriafilms.com/news

Baby born with six legs

Umar Farooq was born with a rare genetic disorder called polymelia in which an embryo starts as conjoined twins in the womb.

Umar Farooq born with six legs has had four of his limbs successfully removed by surgeons in Pakistan, according to reports.

One of the twins eventually disintegrates, leaving behind extra limbs that get attached to the remaining foetus.

"A team of five experienced doctors have successfully separated the extra legs and limbs from the baby. He is very much safe and secure," Dr Jamal Raza, director of the National Institute of Child Health in Karachi, told Dawn.com.

"The extra limbs and legs were the result of a genetic disease which would affect only one in a million or more babies."

Dr Raza said that despite being born with extra limbs, Umar "was as normal as other children".

"Before surgeons could operate they said they had to work out which of the limbs belonged to the boy and which to his twin," Dr Raza told the International Business Times. 

Umar's father, Imran Sheikh, was able to pay for his son's operation after his plea for financial help was met by the governor of the Sindh province in Pakistan.

"We are a poor family. I am thankful to the government and doctors for helping in the successful operation of my baby," Mr Sheikh told the Pakistan Observer.

Ian Alleyne Arrested

Television personality and Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne was last night arrested outside the Independence Square, Port-of-Spain, offices of Caribbean Communications Network (CCN). The T&T Guardian understands that Alleyne’s arrest stemmed from broadcasts on his show on October 25 and 26 last year, during which the brutal  rape of a 13-year-old mentally-disabled girl was allegedly aired.  Senior police sources revealed that Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard was contacted by investigators late Wednesday evening for advice on possible criminal prosecution against Alleyne. Up to late yesterday, it could not be confirmed if charges were laid against Alleyne, but the Guardian understands that Gaspard advised that three charges under Section 32 (2) of the Sexual Offences Act be laid. 

The legislation states: “A person who publishes or broadcasts any matter contrary to subsection 1 is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of twenty-five thousand dollars and to imprisonment for five years.” The Guardian was reliably informed that investigators are considering laying similar charges on a senior member of staff at CCN in relation to the same broadcasts. Shortly before 7 pm yesterday, a five-member team of officers assigned to the Port-of-Spain Criminal Investigations Department (CID), and led by ASP Ajith Persad, approached security at the back gate of the Express House offices of CCN. Within minutes of the police’s arrival, Alleyne who was on air at the time, informed viewers of the police presence and intention to arrest him. Scores of boisterous fans blocked the gates of the compound while screaming out the controversial television personality’s name. 

Senior management at CCN soon entered the company’s car park to catch a glimpse of the noisy crowd. Alleyne’s attorneys Om Lalla and Derrick Balliram arrived soon after and were seen entering the building. Even as it began to rain heavily, Alleyne’s supporters stood outside the gates chanting his name. After a short press conference, ASP Persad and Cpl Andre Lopez entered the compound and attempted to detain a resistant Alleyne. He continuously pleaded with the officers to not arrest him while asking the reasons for their actions. The officers then had a short conversation with Alleyne and his attorneys before handcuffs were placed on his wrists, and he was led away to an awaiting police car. Alleyne was taken to Central Police Station on St Vincent Street where he remained with his lawyers up to late last night, senior police sources said. He is expected to appear before a Port-of-Spain magistrate this morning to face the charges.

Baby-Snatcher Admits Killing Child's Mother

A nurse in Texas who had suffered a miscarriage has admitted to shooting a young mother dead and taking her three-day old baby.

In a case that has shocked America, the mother was leaving a paediatric clinic with her child when her attacker, Verna McClain, fired at her repeatedly.

The killer then drove away with Kala Marie Golden's infant son, who was then found on Tuesday evening unharmed.

McClain has been charged with capital murder over the death of 28-year-old Ms Golden. She has pleaded guilty to shooting her victim and abducting her newborn baby.

Police issued an alert when Keegan Golden was kidnapped

Authorities have confirmed McClain had suffered a recent miscarriage. She had reportedly told her fiance that she had given birth to his child and pretended Keegan was her own baby.

Prosecutors claim McClain shot the mother as part of a plan to kidnap any child that day. Golden was tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Three-day-old Keegan Golden was found with Corina Jackson, McClain's sister. He has been handed over to his relatives.

Witnesses described seeing Golden being shot by another woman who then snatched her baby and began to drive away in a car.

The dying woman leaned into the vehicle and tried to take Keegan back, screaming: "My baby", but her attacker sped away.

McClain is thought to be a vocational nurse, married with two children but separated from her partner.

Wrongfully Jailed Police Officer Awarded £800,000 Payout

A police officer who was wrongfully jailed after a malicious prosecution brought by colleagues in Cleveland Police has been awarded more than £800,000 in compensation.

Sultan Alam was a police constable in 1994 when he was accused of being involved in a 'car ringing' scam.

He was jailed for handling stolen goods two years later.

The 49-year-old father of two said he endured ‘years of shame and humiliation’ that cost him two marriages and his health but claimed the result was all about the principle – not the money. 

He said outside court: It does not appear to me that lessons have been learned from the last 17 years. Safeguards need to be put in place or improved to ensure that this never happens again.

Cleveland Police  admitted offences including malicious prosecution at Leeds county court and will pay Mr Alam £841,430. 

The court heard the former traffic officer was ‘stitched up’ by fellow officers as a result of launching race discrimination proceedings in 1993.

A House of Lords peer has been suspended over reports that he offered a £10m "bounty" for the capture of the US President.

Lord Ahmed denied offering a 'bounty' for the capture of US President Barack Obama

Lord Nazir Ahmed's Labour Party suspension comes after claims he was said to have offered the cash for the capture of Barack Obama and White House predecessor George Bush

Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper said the remarks were made by Lord Ahmed at a reception in Haripur, Pakistan on April 13.

He allegedly made the comments at the function in response to an American reward for the capture of a prominent Pakistani radical.

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who founded the violent extremist group Lashkar e Taiba, is blamed for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which 166 people were killed.

A Labour spokeswoman said: "We have suspended Lord Ahmed pending investigation.

"If these comments are accurate we utterly condemn these remarks which are totally unacceptable.

"The international community is rightly doing all in its power to seek justice for the victims of the Mumbai bombings and halt terrorism."

The newspaper said the peer called the US bounty on Saeed "an insult to all Muslims".

"If the US can announce a reward of £10m for the captor of Hafiz Saeed, I can announce a bounty of £10m on President Obama and his predecessor George Bush," he is reported to have said.

Lord Ahmed firmly denied offering a bounty - but said he had told the meeting that Mr Bush and ex-Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair should be prosecuted for war crimes.

Speaking from Pakistan, he said no one from Labour had contacted him before announcing the suspension and challenged it to provide evidence for the decision.

"They have suspended me? That's a surprise to me. I did not know," Lord Ahmed said.

Asked about the reported comments, he said: "I never said those words.

"I did not offer a bounty. I said that there have been war crimes committed in Iraq and Afghanistan and those people who have got strong allegations against them.

"George W Bush and Tony Blair have been involved in illegal wars and should be brought to justice.

"I do not think there's anything wrong with that."

He added: "If the Labour Party want to suspend me I will deal with the Labour Party. They will have to give me some evidence."

Angry Ex Drives Boyfriend's Car Into Bowling Alley

CCTV pictures have been released, showing how a woman was - literally - driven to take revenge over a relationship split.

A jilted lover crashed her ex-boyfriend's car into the bowling alley where he worked after he changed his Facebook status to "single", a court heard.
Spurned Claire Holley, 31, got drunk and ploughed through the glass doors in her ex's Ford Focus.
She came to rest against the reception desk where he worked, Bolton Crown Court heard.
Her former boyfriend, Davy Jones, the father of one of her two children, had earlier ended the relationship and changed his Facebook status to single, the court heard.
Holley destroyed £14,000 of equipment at the Hollywood Bowl at Middlebrook in
Horwich, near Bolton, Greater Manchester, on January 25 this year.
She admitted at an earlier hearing to driving dangerously, drink-driving and two assaults on police officers as she was restrained.

The defendant was sentenced to nine months in jail, suspended for two years, when she appeared at the court.
She was also banned from the road for 18 months for drink-driving.
Holley was also given a two-year community order with a four-month curfew between 8pm and 7am.
Geoff Whelan, prosecuting, told the court Holley and Mr Jones had been in a two-year relationship and had one child together.
On January 25 she dropped Mr Jones off at his workplace but during the evening was texting him, pleading with him not to leave and to come back home.
Mr Jones turned his phone off and Holley wrote on Facebook that she was heartbroken and crushed.

Holley, of Seddon Street, Little Hulton, then left her children, aged 11 and five, with Mr Jones' sister and set off in Mr Jones's car.
She had drunk half a bottle of wine and a couple of large vodkas.
Witnesses saw her parked up and revving the engine before ploughing through bollards and the glass entrance of the bowling alley at speed.
Mr Jones was seen to run towards the smashed vehicle, shouting: "You have wrecked my car!"
Two off-duty police officers stepped in to help and were bitten and scratched by Holley as they tried to restrain her.

Recorder Robert Crawford, passing sentence, told the defendant she was spared jail by the "skin of your teeth".
Outside court, Nazir Afzal, chief crown prosecutor for the North West, said: "It was extremely fortunate that no members of the public suffered serious harm as a result of her extraordinarily dangerous driving.
"She drove her car at the public entrance to the bowling alley with reckless disregard as to what or who she would strike. The consequences could have been horrific.
"Using the car as a weapon is dangerous driving at its worst. The Crown Prosecution Service is dedicated to prosecute those who drive without regard for others."

'I BEAT ALIYAH TO DEATH'

An 18-year-old Siparia woman yesterday confessed to punching to death two-year-old Aliyah Johnson in a fit of rage because the girl drank her beer.

The woman told investigators that she punched Aliyah twice in the stomach for drinking the remains of her last beer.

Aliyah later complained of abdominal pains and was rushed to the Siparia Health Facility where she later succumbed to internal injuries.

On Wednesday, an autopsy performed on Aliyah by pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov revealed she died from blunt force abdominal trauma and acute internal blood loss. So severe was the blow to her belly that it ruptured her liver causing her to bleed to death. There was no sign of sexual abuse. Toxicology tests are to be done on tissue samples taken from Aliyah’s body.

Up to late yesterday, investigators were “tying up loose ends” and “authenticating statements” before approaching Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard today on how to proceed with the case.

The beating of Aliyah is believed to have taken place at about 5.30 pm, on Easter Sunday, inside a 10 x 10 galvanise room built under a house at Maria David Trace, San Francique in Penal.

Officers of the Siparia Police Station reported that at about 7.45 pm on Sunday, they received a report from staff at the nearby Siparia Health Facility that an unresponsive child with marks of violence about her body had been brought in for medical attention.

Shortly after the girl’s death, the woman and a 23-year-old man were detained by investigators. Up to last night, the teenager and the man were still being interrogated at the Siparia CID where they have been since Sunday night.

In her confession statement to police officers, the woman claimed she was accustomed to feeding Aliyah beer and was “sorry for her actions.”

The suspect confessed that on Easter Sunday, while in the galvanise room, she drank beer and ingested drugs and believes the potent mix may have caused her to become enraged.

She went on to express remorse for her actions and told officers she was “extremely sorry” for cutting short the life of the only human being she felt ever showed her love.

Officers of the Southern Homicide Bureau returned to the scene yesterday and seized a beer bottle from which Aliyah may have drunk before she was cuffed to death.

Following Aliyah’s death on Sunday, there were several conflicting reports on how the little girl may have died.

According to reports, on February 21, Aliyah and the suspect moved into a house the 23-year-old man shared with his relatives but conflict arose and the three of them moved downstairs into a makeshift galvanise room.

The owner of the house Ramjohn Hosein, 67, told Newsday that he always felt sorry for Aliyah whose life was a daily struggle.

“I didn’t like what I was seeing when they came here to live. Aliyah was such a nice child but she was not cared for. Up to when she was lying here on two cushions fighting for her life, (the suspect) sit down holding the child. I say, ‘call the ambulance, that child have to go to the hospital.’ (The suspect) curse me telling me that it is not my business,” Hosein said yesterday.

“I leave and walk out the road, because it could have trouble. I talk to her (suspect) about giving the child beer to drink, she steups and light she cigarette ignoring me completely.”

Hosein spoke of numerous occasions the other occupants of the house had to give Aliyah food and clothes.

“She was a child not responsible for herself. We couldn’t have the others eat and she go hungry,” Hosein added. “We see her (suspect) beat the child so badly and call her names that your belly will churn.”

Hosein gave a signed witness statement to the police yesterday.

He said he knew Aliyah was never sexually abused while living among his children and grandchildren despite all the rumours. He said he was relieved the autopsy results showed there was no sign of sexual abuse.

“She was a loving child and no one would ever want to hurt her. The only reason we never took her is because we couldn’t afford to. (The suspect) wanted us to go to court and legally adopt her. Maybe we should have done that. She would have been alive today.”

'I'm glad John Lennon is dead': Mel Gibson facing fresh outrage over rant claims

The Beatles icon was not the only target of Gibson’s attacks, according to claims by top screenwriter Joe Eszterhas.

Controversial Hollywood star Mel Gibson faced fresh outrage yesterday over claims he saidJohn Lennon deserved to die.
The astonishing allegation was made by top screenwriter Joe Eszterhas in a leaked nine-page letter to the Braveheart actor.
Eszterhas, best known for the Sharon Stone hit Basic Instinct, wrote the script for Gibson’s planned film about biblical Jewish hero Judah Maccabee.
But after his screenplay was rejected by Warner Brothers studio this week, he launched a string of attacks on Gibson, who he says sabotaged the project.
He alleges Gibson once ranted about the murdered ex-Beatle: “I’m glad he’s dead. He deserved to be shot.”
Gibson, 56, allegedly added: “He was f*****g messianic. Listen to the songs! Imagine. I hate that f*****g song,”

The music icon, who was shot dead outside his New York apartment by a demented fan in 1980, was not the only target of Gibson’s attacks, Eszterhas says.
In the letter, the screenwriter, 67, wrote that the star “hates Jews”, called the Holocaust “horses**t”.
Eszterhas – who is Jewish – also claimed Gibson only pitched The Maccabees to “deflect continuing charges of anti-Semitism”.
During an arrest for drink-driving in 2006, the Oscar-winner reportedly launched an outspoken attack on Jews, saying they were “responsible for all the wars in the world”.
Eszterhas also said Gibson referred to Jews as “oven-dodgers” and “Jewboys” and said the only reason he was making the film was “to convert the Jews to Christianity”.
The letter also says: “It seemed that most times when we discussed someone, you asked ‘He’s a Hebe (Jew) isn’t he?’ You said most ‘gatekeepers’ of American companies were ‘Hebes’ who ‘controlled their bosses’.”

Read More:

2 Year Old Aliyah beaten then bled to death

Two-year-old Aliyah Johnson suffered a blow to her belly that was so forceful her liver ruptured, causing her to bleed to death.

Pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov, after performing an autopsy on Aliyah, determined she died as a result of blunt force abdominal trauma and acute internal blood loss. 

The pathologist spent almost three hours at the Forensic Science Centre, St James carefully examining the body of the young girl, who died on Easter Sunday, to determine the cause of her death. There was no sign of sexual abuse.

Blood, urine and tissue samples have been taken for further tests including toxicology.

Police reported, at about 7.45 pm on Sunday, they received a report by staff at the Siparia District Health Facility that an unresponsive two-year-old child had been brought to the hospital, bearing marks of violence about her body, and bleeding from her vagina.

Since then, two relatives who were said to be with baby Aliyah when she suffered her injuries at a house along Maria David Trace, Siparia, have been detained at separate police stations.

One of the suspects, a woman, told police that she last saw Aliyah alive on Sunday evening when a male relative took the girl for a bath.

However, it had also been reported that the teenager had told relatives that the girl had fallen off her bed.

With the results of the autopsy at hand, police investigators have informed Newsday that they intend to officially classify the death as a murder and would be approaching the Director of Public Prosecutions, Roger Gaspard SC, in the near future, possibly as early as today.

It was said that statements were expected to be taken from the two relatives in custody late yesterday as well as from baby Aliyah’s aunt Marisa Johnson. However, up to press time it could not be confirmed if the statements had been recorded.

Speaking to Newsday yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre, following the autopsy, a very emotional Marisa Johnson said her family was still in terrible shock over the loss of baby Aliyah and that her father had taken the news the hardest, and was forced to visit his doctor repeatedly this week.

She said she was pleased so far with the work of the police investigators and she was hoping for a “proper outcome” now that the autopsy had been completed.

“According to the findings, Aliyah’s abdomen had been hit, causing her liver to rupture, which in turn caused her to bleed out through her private parts. Thankfully, there were no findings of sexual assault. The report also shows that she had several marks of violence on her skin,” Johnson said.

“Dr Alexandrov said that most likely she was beaten and the marks were a result of the acts of violence. Right now, we simply want justice for this atrocity. The person who did this must be put away,” Johnson said.

Johnson, a mother of four, explained that contrary to various media reports, baby Aliyah was not the result of an unwanted pregnancy, and she was very loved and appreciated by her mother.

“I don’t understand how this information is circulating. It is completely false. Her mother wanted that child so badly. In fact it was I who offered to take the baby from her when we found out she was having a girl, because at the time I had three sons, she was just a teen and I desperately wanted a daughter. But she said no. She was very excited to be a mom and she loved that child with all her heart,” Johnson recalled.

Funeral arrangements are expected to be made today, with the services most likely taking place on Saturday morning.

last 4 Pictures by Ian Alleyne

George Zimmerman appears in court on Trayvon Martin murder charge

George Zimmerman stands with his attorney Mark O'Mara as he enters the room to make his first appearance in front of a judge at the Seminole County Correctional Facility. Photograph: Gary W Green

George Zimmerman has made his first appearance in court, less than 24 hours he was arrested and charged with the murder of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman appeared before Judge Mark Herr in a short hearing at the Seminole County jail in Sanford.

His arraignment was set for 29 May, when his formal plea of not guilty will be entered. There was no application for bail during Thursday's hearing. It is likely that his attorney will apply for a bond hearing before the arraignment.

Speaking before the hearing, attorney Mark O'Mara said Zimmerman, 28, was planning to plead not guilty. His client, O'Mara said, had "been through a lot" since he shot and killed Martin, 17, during a confrontation in a gated community in Sanford on 26 February.

Special prosecutor Angela Corey ended 44 days of uncertainty on Wednesday when she announced that Zimmerman would be charged with second-degree murder, an offence that carries a sentence from 25 years to life in prison.

Zimmerman was not arrested at the time because police believed his claims of self-defence, enraging Martin's family and sparking six weeks of mass protests in central Florida and elsewhere.

"I would like to get him out. I need to get him out to assist me in going over all the evidence and preparing our defence," said O'Mara, who met his new client for the first time on Wednesday evening.

"He is stressed. He's tired. He's been through a lot with the way this case has been handled to date. I'm just hoping that his mental health stays well and that we can move forward in getting this case figured out."

Zimmerman has been held in protective custody since his arrest on Thursday, with his brother Robert declaring that the family was disappointed by the severity of the charge.

"They [prosecutors] have thrown the book at him," Robert Zimmerman told CNN. "I would have hoped the more courageous decision would be to say we're not prosecuting, and here's why. Our brother could have been dead, our brother had to save his life by taking a life.

"The incident has been weighing on my brother in a way I couldn't possibly describe. As a family we're devastated. We are a strong family and we have been living a somewhat altered reality for some time."

"I trust that the system, the judge, the prosecutor and I will be able to, should the need arise, to get ourselves a fair and impartial jury to hear the case," he said.

Some legal analysts believe it might be difficult for state attorney Corey to make a murder charge stick against a defence under Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law, which allows for the use of deadly force if a citizen perceives his life to be in danger.

Zimmerman has claimed he was under attack from Martin, who was unarmed, and fired in self-defence.

"The only hurdle I see is a stand-your-ground motion to dismiss that will have to be made," Kenneth Nunn, a senior professor at the University of Florida's Levin College of Law, told the Guardian.

"The burden is on the defendant to show stand your ground applies, but the standard is only a preponderance of the evidence. If Zimmerman shows that then it is dismissed and Ms Corey's case goes away at that point. The prosecutor should be able to overcome that – but it's going to be a very difficult case."

Prof Nunn said he believed Corey might also have had a possible plea bargain, or a jury's "propensity to compromise" in mind when she decided to file a murder charge.

"Going in high and settling for manslaughter would be preferable to a manslaughter charge then settling for something like a gun charge," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, said she believed that the shooting was "an accident".

"One of things I still believe in is a person should apologise when they're remorseful for what they've done," she told NBC's Today show.

"I believe it was an accident. I believe it just got out of control and he couldn't turn the clock back."

Frederica Wilson, the Miami congresswoman whose constituency includes Martin's home, said that Thursday's court hearing for Zimmerman was an important first step for the family following their protracted battle to have him arrested.

"I am thankful that the wheels of justice will continue to turn. This is just the beginning and we have a long process ahead of us," she said.

"The evidence influenced [Corey] to charge him but the outcry helped bring the case to justice. This case would never have been brought without that outcry. It was a case that almost slipped through the system without the public ever knowing about it."

News Article sourced from: guardian.co.uk

Looter Jailed For 11 Years Over Riots Blaze

Gordon Thompson has been sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in prison for setting fire to the Reeves furniture store in Croydon during the London riots.

Thompson, 34, was sentenced at the Old Bailey for arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered and burglary.

He was part of a mob which had rampaged through Croydon town centre, looting Iceland and House of Fraser, before turning his attention to family-run House of Reeves.

The blaze was so fierce that buildings on the other side of the street and tramlines in the road caught alight.

The business had begun trading on the site in 1867, and became such a part of the South London area that the road was named after the store.

Thompson boasted about starting the fire

Initially Thompson stole a laptop from inside the shop, then borrowed a cigarette lighter from another rioter and stepped inside what had been a display window, and set light to a sofa.

As the flames spread he boasted to a passer-by: "It was me. I did that. I burned Reeves Corner."

The inferno lit up the South London skyline, attracting the attention of the Skycopter which beamed live pictures which were seen around the world.

It became one of the defining images of the riots.

And the flames were so intense they leapt across the road and threatened nearby flats.

Members of the Reeves family were at the Old Bailey to see Thompson sentenced.

Outside the court Maurice Reeves, the owner of the furniture shop, said it was a "fair judgement".

"It has to be a deterrent," he said.

Earlier, his son Trevor told Sky News: "He (Thompson) just seems to be a person who's got caught up with the riots and has done something really stupid.

"I can't possibly imagine what goes through someone's mind to make them do that, especially as you're local and probably know what the place is, and what the place means to people.

"It's beyond my comprehension."

During the inferno, Monika Konczyk was inside a nearby flats. She had only moved to London from Poland three weeks earlier.

She saw Thompson start the fire, but told Sky News she did not think that within minutes she would need to flee for her life.

"I never thought I'd need to jump from the window because the fire was coming, never," she said.

But with a policeman inside her flat and others on the ground waiting to catch her, she was eventually persuaded to jump.

The moment was captured by a photographer and it became one of the iconic pictures of the summer riots.

The image led to the shy supermarket worker became famous for a few days; friends and family in Poland contacting her to make sure was safe.

Now she just hopes that the jailing of Thompson will be the end of the story.

"I'm very scared, I'm very nervous. Sometimes I'm upset and I'm thinking I only want to forget everything that's happened to me," she said.

She refused to carry on living in the flat because of the memories, but it did not make her leave England.

She said such incidents could happen all over the world.

What remained of the Reeves building was demolished within a few weeks of the inferno, and the site remains empty.

There were no plans to rebuild it until the economy improves. Instead the Reeves business continues in a smaller building across the road.

And the history lives on in photographs on the fencing which surrounds the vacant site.

There are pictures showing the Reeves store at the start of the 20th century as well as pictures of it ablaze on August 8, 2011.

video