Archive for the ‘Amber Alerts: Deceased’ Category
NC Amber Alert – Harmony Jade Creech
11.11.09: Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Heuser.
Original PostUpdated: 11.11.09Sources
There are some stories that come out about missing children that I hesitate to blog about because I can almost feel the outcome is going to be bad. I read the story last night about missing 11-month-old Harmony Creech last night. There wasn’t much information available at that time so I decided to wait.
I read another article this afternoon and I discussed the story with a friend.
Below is what was told to police:
“…Harmony was last seen in her crib in the family’s Spring Lake home, at 1680 Ray Road, around 11 p.m. Thursday. Investigators said Harmony’s mother, Johni Michelle Heuser, claimed to be the last one to see the child after putting her to bed Thursday night.(…)”
“…A pink bed sheet, a few bibs and most of her clothing were also taken, authorities said.(…)”
“…Harnett County Sheriff Larry Rollins said the window in the baby’s room was open. The screen had been removed and was sitting outside of the house…”
The father of the missing child has been deployed to Iraq and was not in the country when Harmony was born. However, he flew into the country on Friday morning and Harmony’s grandmother picked him up at the airport, leaving a sleeping Harmony and the mother behind with her other 3 children.
When I read this account things just did not ring true. The first thing that did not ring true was not bringing this returning soldier’s new baby to the airport to greet her new father. The second thing not ringing true was the grandmother picking him up at the airport.
The last thing that did not ring true was the baby was not discovered missing until approximately 11:00 a.m. after the grandmother and father returned from the airport. Having been a mother I know children just do not sleep in until almost noon at 11 months of age.
So I discussed my misgivings with my friend. She was quick to ask me why I thought the child was dead. What could be the reason for someone killing a baby? Well, my response was of all of the babies and children I have heard of being murdered by someone, there never has been a good reason for the murder – there never can be a good reason to murder a child.
So I just checked for new developments in the story. Harmony’s body was located this afternoon in the attic of the home where she lived. Apparently she has been dead for several weeks. I suppose they needed to come up with a story to explain to the father why his daughter was not there to greet him at the airport.1
There have been no arrests made at this time. The baby’s mother, Johni Michelle Heuser, told police she discovered Harmony’s deceased body in her crib a few weeks ago and concealed the death out of fear. An autopsy will determine if there was anything the mother should have been fearful about regarding the death of her baby.
I will continue to update this story.
That poor little baby. If she did die of natural causes she deserved to have a decent burial — not stuck up in an attack like an unwanted doll.
After several hours of questioning regarding the death of her 11-month-old daughter Harmony, Johni Michelle Heuser was charged with first-degree murder. She is being housed at the Harnett County Detention Center on a no bond hold.
An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of death. Johni told authorities that she found her daughter dead in her crib a few weeks ago and decided to hide the body and the death because she was afraid. News accounts do not elaborate on the cause of that fear.2
September 4, 2008
October 20th will mark the 1 year anniversary of Harmony Jade Creech’s alleged murder at the hands of her mother. At least that will mark the anniversary of the discovery of her badly decomposed body. Harmony’s motherĂ‚Â has yet to be indicted for the crime.
In case you don’t recall Hueser reportedly discovered her baby dead in the crib several weeks prior to reporting her missing. Instead of calling authorites on the day of the discovery Hueser decided to place her dead baby in a plastic bag, place that inside a diaper box and put the box up in the corner of the attic.
She then waited until the day the baby’s father was returning from a tour of duty in Iraq to report the baby missing which prompted the activation of a statewide Amber Alert.
What a piece of work.
In January of this year authorities were awaiting test results from Harmony’s skeletal remains that had been sent to a Texas lab for analysis. Then on March 11 it was reported that the autopsy discovered nicotine in Harmony’s body and there was no way to figure out how that happened.3
On March 18 it was determined that the cause of death was inconclusive. Other tests are being conducted and the investigation is ongoing.4
November 11, 2009
Prosecutors have decided to seek the death penalty in the first-degree murder case of Johni Heuser. It has been difficult for investigators to determine exactly how Harmony Creech died in 2007. What they have determined after having Harmony’s remains examined by an anthropologist is that Harmony was starved to death.
Harmony’s remains were found in the attic of her mother’s home on Oct. 20, 2007. Investigators believe Harmony died sometime between August 31, 2007, September 30, 2007.
Death Penalty Sought Against Mother in Toddler’s Death, WRAL.com, Last Accessed: November 11, 2009.
- Missing Harnett County Baby Found Dead in Attic, WRAL.com. [↩]
- Mom Charged with Murder After Baby Found Dead, WRAL.com. [↩]
- Autopsy Finds Nicotine in 11-month-old’s Remains, WRAL.com, March 11, 2008. [↩]
- Infant’s Cause of Death Remains Under Investigation, WRAL.com, March 18, 2008. [↩]
IN Amber Alert – Collin & Monte Walker
09.21.09: Katron Walker's sentenced to 95 years. Read about it at The End of the Story
Original Post: June 13, 2006Last Updated: June 22, 2009View Sources
An Amber Alert has been issued for two Indiana brothers alleged to have been abducted at knife point from their home. Read the rest of this entry »
PA Amber Alert – Nyia Page
09.21.09: William Page's trial is set to begin on 10.13.09. Read about it at The End of the Story
An Amber Alert was issued today by the Pennsylvania State Police for Nyia Page.
Nyia Page was last seen according to her parents at approximately 12:30 a.m. this morning when they put her to bed. They went to her room at 7:30 a.m. and discovered her bed empty and Nyia no where to be found. Nya’s bedroom is located on the second floor of the home and there were several adults in the home that evening including the parents. Police say they are being questioned.
I don’t understand why the Amber Alert was issued in this case. There is no suspect information and there is no vehicle description. I certainly do feel for the parents of this missing child, but in my opinion this is an abuse of the Amber Alert system.
The update to the Amber Alert states that she may be wrapped in a large blue electric blanket. Call me crazy but if this child simply walked away from the house I doubt she is walking around wrapped in a large electric blanket. The police are searching the immediate area with the assumption that is exactly what she did – wandered away sometime during the night.
It is cold and the ground is snow-covered in the area where Nyia disappeared. I hope she is safe and the truth is that she did somehow get out of the house and wander away sometime during the night.
Anyone seeing Nyia or knowing information about her disappearance is asked to immediately call 9-1-1.
- Victim: Nyia Miangel Page
- Nyia is 23-month-old Black female with black hair brown eyes. She is 2 feet tall and weighs 30lbs. Nyia has large scars on each earlobe. When last seen Nyia was wearing a maroon sweater with blue and yellow stripes, a disposable diapers, and might be wrapped in a lite blue electric blanket.
- Suspect: None at this time
- Suspect Description: None
- Suspect Vehicle: None at this time
- Suspect Vehicle Description: None
- February 3, 2007 – 6:30 p.m. PST
-
From timesleader.com:
“…Another child found that Nyia Miangel Page was not in her bed at about 7:30 a.m. and alerted other family members, who called police after a search, authorities said…”
I wrote previously that the parents discovered Nyia missing when they went to wake her up in the morning. Additionally, Nyia was put back into bed when according to her mother she tried to climb into bed with the parents at about 12:30 a.m.
Some searchers were sent to a landfill in Monroeville this afternoon after police learned refuse collectors serviced the area this morning. There is no indication that the searchers found anything at the landfill.
Police have searched the family home. At this point they are still questioning the residents of the home and they are not naming anyone as a suspect in Nyia’s disappearance. Some news stories report the missing girl’s first name as Nya, however the NCMEC is reporting her first name as Nyia.
- February 4, 2007 7:30 p.m. PST
- Various news sources are reporting that searchers have found the body of Nyia Page in a wooded area in Rankin. Apparently the area of the discovery is just blocks away from the family home on 1st Street.
Earlier in the investigation police brought 3 adult males in for questioning. The males were at home at the time of Nya’s disappearance. The males included Nya’s father, a boyfriend of the grandmother and a 19-year-old cousin. All three were givin lie detector tests but the results were not released.
Since the discovery of the body Nya’s father has been taken back to police headquarters for further questioning and another polygraph exam. Police are also questioning Registered Sex Offenders living in the area of Braddock and North Braddock.
I will keep posting updates on this tragic outcome as they come available. - February 5, 2007 1:30 p.m. PST
- The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has completed his autopsy of Nyia Page and has ruled her death as a homicide. The cause of death is hypothermia and exposure. I am a bit confused how this death can be ruled a homicide if she died from hypothermia and exposure given the chance that she may have wandered out of the house as was initially thought. Of course I don’t believe it for a moment that she did wander out of the house.
The only other thing I can think at this point is that the baby had been beaten or assaulted in someway and whomever did it thought the child was dead and placed her in the wooded area. She was still alive and could have survived the injuries if she had been attended to by medical personnel. Instead, she was left to basically freeze to death. These are just my thoughts regarding what may have transpired in the house on 1st Street in Braddock.
Police are still conducting their investigation and no arrests have been made.
- February 6, 2008
Nyia’s father, twenty-three-year-old William Page, was charged today with Sexual Assault of a Minor, Indecent Assault, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and Corruption of a Minor. None of the charges are related to Nyia.
Twenty-three-month-old Nyia was discovered in an abandoned playground a few blocks from her home late yesterday afternoon after a search for her started on Saturday morning. The coroner has ruled her death a homicide and has ruled she died from hypothermia and exposure. When found she was wearing the sweater she was reportedly last seen wearing and nothing else.
All three men living in the home have been given polygraph examinations, however the results of those tests have not been released to the public. When asked why only the men were given the exams a representative from law enforcement explained that crimes against children of this age are usually committed by males.
William Page was taken late last night to Allegheny Police Headquarters where he was booked for the murder of his 23-month-old daughter. His arraignment will be held sometime during the night.
Nyia was the focus of an extensive search over 1 1/2 days after she was reported missing from her bed early Saturday morning. An Amber Alert was activated for the child after local police searched her home.
During the course of the investigation Mr. Page was taken into custody on sexual misconduct charges related to another child.
Mr. Page is charged with criminal homicide, filing a false police report, kidnapping and simple assault.
A few days ago Nyia’s mother was quoted in the news as hoping the police would find the ‘monster’ who killed her baby.
During the course of the investigation Nyia’s mother told police she had last seen her daughter at 12:30 a.m. when she put her back to bed after she tried to crawl in bed with her parents.
It appears that Nyia’s mother need not have looked too far to find her daughter’s killer as it appears she was sleeping in the same bed with him.
Police believe that Mr. Page took his daughter into the freezing cold and left her there still alive. When Nyia was recovered she was wearing only a sweater.
Someone emailed me an update to the story of the murder of Nyia Page. Her father is currently charged with her murder. During the process of the investigation into Nyia’s disappearance it was learned that William Lorenzo Page had sexually molested another child. When investigators were apprised of that information they were still in the process of searching for Nyia. At that point they placed William Page under arrest for charges stemming from that information.
After Nyia’s body was discovered in a wooded area a few blocks from her home her father was charged with her murder.
William Lorenzo Page appeared before the judge to face the charges against him regarding Nyia’s death. When he arrived in court he found new charges had been added to the murder charge. These new charges stem from statements made to police by William Lorenzo Page during questioning about what happened to his daughter. The new charges are indecent assault and aggravated assault.
From www.thepittsburghchannel.com:
“…The only witness to take the stand during Page’s preliminary hearing was Allegheny County Detective Robert Opferman, who told the court of a detailed confession given by Page in the days after Nyia was left outside in 7-degree temperatures.According to Opferman, Page admitted he awoke at 3 a.m. on Feb. 3 and went to the basement to drink a brandy. The detective said Page confessed that Nyia came downstairs without her diaper on and he became so frustrated that he kicked her between the legs.Then, according to Opferman, to stop the bleeding, Page admitted he penetrated the toddler with his fingers then wrapped Nyia in a blanket and took her outside. Opferman said Page considered dropping Nyia into a sewer before taking her to the woods behind Hawkins Village.According to Opferman, Page confessed that Nyia cried for 10 minutes before he left her there and went back to his Braddock home and back to bed…”
Mr. Page is lucky I will not be on his jury. There is not one thing in that statement that would lead me to believe he did not sexually assault that child. I don’t buy for one minute that he kicked her between the legs. I wonder if the information about the sexual assault of the other child on that same night will be allowed into testimony. It seems that Mr. Page was on some sort of sexual rampage and the target was children.
Poor Nyia. This piece of trash decided it was better to try and hide the sexual assault by abandoning her in the freezing cold, crying, most likely begging her Daddy to protect her from the elements. Instead he left her to freeze to death while he went home, cleaned up the blood, and crawled back into his warm bed with the mother of his child.
More updates to this case will be covered in my other blog – The End of the Story. That blog is devoted to covering the trials.
According to Alleghany County court records this morning William Lorenzo Page’s non-jury trial has been continued until October 13, 2009. His case is scheduled to be heard by Judge David R. Cashman. I won’t hold my breath on this court date because Page’s non-jury trial date has been continued 4 times previously.
Frozen Toddler’s Father in Court on Homicide Charge, The Pittsburgh Channel, October 12, 2008.
