Missing and Murdered Children

Original Post: June 17, 2009Last Updated: 06.21.2010View Sources

This story is eerily similar to the October 2008 disappearance of two-year-old Tangena Hussain in Michigan. She has never been found.

Last night Gary, Indiana police received a call about a missing two-year-old female. According to the babysitter, Angelica Castillo, 18, she left the toddler in her car while she ran into a the Glen Park Gas Station, at 1401 E. Ridge Rd. in Gary, Indiana to purchase a gallon of milk and cigarettes. According to the babysitter, when she returned to the vehicle the child was gone. She called police at 9:30p.m.

According to the child’s mother, the babysitter is her cousin and her daughter has been staying with the cousin for about eight days. She says the last time she spoke to her daughter it was either Thursday or Friday.

I don’t know. If I had left my two-year-old with relatives for a planned two-week summer stay I think I would be calling my child each night to say good-night and to see how she was adjusting to the visit. I watched the video of the interview with the mother and she seems sort of detached about the whole thing. I could not see if she was crying real tears or not because of the sunglasses she was wearing during the interview. The father seems more concerned and has made statement that he does not believe the babysitter’s account of what happened.

“I think it was more like, ‘I made a mistake, I did something,’” said Jada’s father Clarence Justice. “To me, that’s the vibes I got is like, ‘I did something.’ I don’t want to speak on it, I don’t want to speak on the worst.’”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to feel. There are so many different speculations,” said Jada’s mother Melissa Swiontek. “I feel like I’m going to find her. I mean, I do feel like she can’t be gone, like it’s not even happening.”¹

As in the Hussain disappearance, there is no video to show what went on at the vehicle.

However, in this disappearance witnesses have come forward stating they did not see a child in the car. The storekeeper stated the babysitter was only in the store a little over a minute and search dogs have not picked up Jada’s scent at the gas station. I don’t know how search dogs work but maybe they can’t pick up a scent because it was raining that night.

Other concerns involve fresh burns on the boyfriend’s arms and face for which he has not given a reasonable explanation. The boyfriend and babysitter are still being questioned by Gary, Indiana police.

Strangely enough as of this evening an AMBER Alert has not been issued for the this child. Michigan authorities issued an AMBER Alert for Tangena when she was reported missing under similar circumstances. I don’t suppose an AMBER Alert will help in this situation anyway. It didn’t help find Tangena.

If you know the whereabouts of Jada Justice or the circumstances surrounding her disappearance you are asked to call either the Hobart, Indiana Police Department at 1-219-942-1125 or the F.B.I. hotline at 317-639-3301.

Jada is a 2-year-old black female. She is 2’2″ tall and weighs 35lbs. Jada has brown eyes and black hair. Her date of birth is August 3, 2006. When last seen Jada was wearing an orange skirt and striped shirt.

The FBI has entered the case as of this evening. They are treating the case as a possible abduction. Law enforcement, the FBI, and family members converged on the convenience store property this evening. They were searching the area and handing out Jada’s picture.

Law enforcement are trying to put together a time line. They are asking people to come forward and tell them the last time they saw Jada, where she was, and who she was with at the time.

Police plan to charge the 18-year-old babysitter with felony child neglect for leaving Jada in the car unattended. Police also served a search warrant on the babysitter’s home. The took away some articles of clothing.

Updates

Sunday June 21, 2009

There really isn’t much to write about regarding Jada’s disappearance. By that I mean she is still ‘missing’. Police do not buy into the claim the babysitter, Angelica Castillo, of how Jada disappeared. The home the 18-year-old former gang member shares with her boyfriend was searched. Investigators did some digging in the backyard of the home; however, they determined the child was not buried there.

Angelica Castillo was arrested on charges of felony child neglect, but the charges were later dropped.

Police believe there are witnesses out there who know what happened to Jada. They may have witnessed something that they don’t realize is important to the investigation. They are asking for the public’s help. They want to know the following information:

Police are looking for anyone who may have seen her (Angelica Castillo) or her boyfriend, Tim Tkachik, between Sunday June 14 and Tuesday June 16. They may have been driving either a 1991 maroon Cadillac Fleetwood or a 1999 Chevy Tahoe…
…”We believe there are individuals who have information important to this investigation who have not yet come forward because they did not feel their information was important, they thought someone else may have reported it, or they believe it was not relevant,” said Deputy Chief Jeff White, Hobart Police.²

(The bold text in the quote above was added by me for clarification purposes).

Police announced there would be no search conducted for Jada today. They did not give a reason for halting the search; however, they did say the search would resume tomorrow. I don’t know, maybe the search was put on hold because it is Father’s Day.

Jada’s mother, Melissa Swiontek, issued a plea in the media on Friday night.

“I have no idea. I just want her home. I have no idea. She just needs to come home. Somebody has an idea. Somebody knows something and they need to talk,” said Melissa Swiontek, Jada’s (sic) mothe.³

Rewards & Contacts

The family is offering a $6,000 reward for information leading to Jada’s recovery.

• FBI: 1-800-FBI
• Gary Police Commander Anthony Titus: (219) 881-1237, (219) 881-1229, (219) 881-1209 or (219) 881-1210.

The FBI is treating Jada’s disappearance as a possible abduction. Gary and Hobart Police contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to see if an AMBER Alert could now be issued for Jada. The answer was no, that Jada’s disappearance does not meet their criteria for an AMBER Alert. OK, I am scratching my head once again regarding the decision of who qualifies for an AMBER Alert.

Gary police contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, but learned the case involving Jada did not meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert because investigators do not have detailed information on a suspect.⁴

I say BULL***.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has recently issued AMBER Alerts in the following cases on their AMBER Alert site:

1. Haleigh Cummings – Florida No longer active: Still Missing
   She was discovered missing from her Florida home in the middle of the night in February 2009. There were no witnesses to her alleged abduction and no suspects or suspect vehicle. The AMBER Alert is still in effect.
2. Daisja Weaver – Texas No longer active: Daisja’s father was tried and found guilty of Daisja’s murder. Her body still has not been found.
   Daisjai’s mother reported that her child was abducted in the middle of the night from her apartment by an unknown Hispanic male wearing a hoodie type sweatshirt. He allegedly tried to sexually assault the woman and when she fought him off the suspect grabbed her baby and escaped over the balcony.
   During the investigation the mother came forward and told authorities that she and the baby’s father threw the child’s body in the local river after the father killed the child. Both parents are in jail. The body has not been found. Why is the AMBER Alert still in effect?
3. Emanuel Guzman – Colorado No longer active: Still Missing
   In the Guzman case, the non-custodial parents are the suspects and they are wanted for child abuse. At the time the child was reported missing CPS had just been given jurisdiction over the child because the parents failed to make a court appearance. In my opinion, the NCMEC has issued this AMBER Alert to help CPS in Colorado clean up their mess. Emmanuel had gone to the hospital with severe burns on his hands. For whatever reason he was allowed to go home with his parents. The burns happened in April of this year and the court date that was missed was in May. In my opinion, CPS should have been given at least temporary custody of Emmanuel and placed in a foster home at least so he could get care for his burns. Burns caused by child abuse have patterns indicating intentional or deliberate injury to the child.
4. Gabriela Patricia Velazquez – North Carolina Located safe on June 22, 2009
   Police think Gabriela, 14, was maybe taken from the Monroe County National Guard Armory by Ciro Alonso Salina, 20. They don’t have a description of a vehicle or direction of travel. They also do not have a picture of Salina. Gabriela is described as a Hispanic girl, 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 120 pounds. She has black hair, brown eyes and a birthmark on her right calf. She was last seen wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and high heels. Salina is described as a Hispanic man, 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, black dress pants and black shoes. Police ask if you see them or recognize their names making purchases call 9-1-1.

   Does this case rise to the AMBER Alert criteria? We don’t know if Gabriela left of her own accord. There is no picture of the suspect. Many Hispanic males could fit Salina’s physical description.

5. Tangena Hussain – Michigan No longer active: Still Missing, Tangena’s mother left the United States and returned to her country of Bangladesh. The boyfriend was tried and found guilty of a sex offense against a teenager. He is currently serving time on that conviction.
   The circumstances of Tangena’s disappearance are almost identical to Jada’s disappearance. The mother’s boyfriend stopped at a gas station convenience store to purchase juice and gum. He left 2-year-old Tangena in the car parked on the side of the convenience store. He claims the doors to the car were locked. When he returned a few minutes later to the car Tangena was no longer in the vehicle. Instead of calling authorities right away, the boyfriend drove to a mall to pick up the girl’s mother from work. They then drove to back to the gas station and notified authorities. Tangena has not been found. Her AMBER Alert no longer appears on the NCMEC site.

Out of the five cases listed above with AMBER Alert status only two cases had suspect information. The other three cases, Weaver, Cummings and Hussain had no suspect information.

Somebody is not telling the truth regarding the AMBER Alert issue as far as Jada’s case is concerned. Here is the answer to the question from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on who issues AMBER Alerts:

Does NCMEC issue AMBER Alerts?
NCMEC releases AMBER Alerts to secondary distributors, once we are notified by law enforcement that an Alert has been released for a specific geographical area. Once NCMEC validates the AMBER Alert, it is entered into a secure system and transmitted to authorized secondary distributors for dissemination to customers within the geographic areas specified.
Secondary distributors are defined as companies, businesses, or organizations that have the capability to deliver geographically targeted messages to their customers; and have a signed Memorandum of Understanding with NCMEC. Internet service providers (ISPs) are an example of secondary distributors.
Only law enforcement can initiate and release AMBER Alerts for primary distribution.⁵

The emphasis is mine in the above quote. Who is telling the truth or misleading the public?

Thursday June 25, 2009

Police received a tip this afternoon that led them to a field in LaPorte county, Indiana. The location is approximately thirty miles from the gas station where Jada was reportedly last seen. A body was found there this afternoon – it is believed to be the body of missing Jada Justice. A coroner was called to the scene. Authorities say they have two people in custody. If the investigation goes as planned may come as soon as Friday.

June 28, 2009

No matter how long I write about missing and murdered children I don’t think I will ever get over how utterly cruel people can be, especially when the children murdered are related to the accused.

Engelica Castillo and her boyfriend were arrested last Friday morning and charged with murder among other lesser charges in connection with the death of 2-year-old Jada Justice. Engelica is or was Jada’s older cousin. Jada was left in her care for what was supposed to be a six week stay while Jada’s mother went out-of-town.

According to the interview with police Engelica’s boyfriend, Timothy Tkachik, claims Engelica is the one who administered the series of blows to Jada’s body and head that took her life, the last blow sending her head into contact with a nearby table.

Tkachik claims that one morning in June, Engelica became upset with Jada because of an issue with potty training and she began to spank Jada. When Jada refused to cry from the spanking this upset Engelica and she proceeded to strike the child about the head and pull her hair. At some point Jada fell striking her head on a table. Still not happy with Jada’s behavior, Engelica stood Jada in a corner for a ‘time out’. Jada was not complying so Engelica proceeded to rap the child in the head with her knuckles.

Oh wait, I forgot to mention, this was happening the morning after Engelica and Tkachik did several lines of heroin the night before.

At some point that afternoon it was time for the couple to go out a score some more heroin so they put Jada in her car seat and left to run that little errand. According to Tkachik while driving to the connection’s house they realized Jada was no longer breathing. They drove back to the house and went inside with the child and tried to administer CPR but it did not work. Doing what any normal person would do, Tkachik, noticing the bumps and bruises all over Jada’s body, decided to place Jada inside three garbage bags and put her body in the basement. They then went out to continue with their heroin purchase, returned home and went to bed for the night.

Just like any addict’s worst nightmare, when they awoke they realized the nightmare was really their life and they still had to figure out what to do with Jada’s body. Of course, the only thing to do was to burn her body. So they set off to purchase a metal trash can, propane and charcoal. After making their purchase they set off to a remote area where they found a hole. Tkachik placed Jada’s body inside the hole still encased in the garbage bags. Something happened with the fire when he threw the lit charcoal bag in the hole and the fire exploded in his face. That is where he got those burns he had so much trouble explaining. After still failing to rid themselves of Jada’s body, they decided to leave her there and go do some more heroin to help them think better.

Tkachik went back out and retrieved Jada’s partially burned body and placed it in the back of his truck. He then went to purchase a plastic container and cement and went back to the house. He took Jada’s body back down to the basement and there he encased her body in cement inside of the plastic container, using a space heater to speed up the hardening of the cement. When the cement had hardened enough he and Engelica went to a former haunt of Tkachik’s father. I use this term loosely. Many years ago when the Tkachik was still a child his father took his mother and his aunt to the same spot and shot them dead. He then turned the gun on himself. This is the area Tkachik chose for Jada’s final resting place. He brought along a power saw of some sort so he could cut away the plastic from the cement. (He did not want to leave any fingerprints behind). Then he and Engelica shoved Jada’s cement encased body into the swamp. With the dirty deed accomplished they decided it was time for Engelica to give her Camille-like performance at the Gary, Indiana gas station feigning Jada’s abduction.

It not only makes me weary to relate this story, it sickens me as well.

Trial Dates

Engelica Castillo will be the first of two co-defendants to stand trial for Jada Justice’s murder. Her trial date is set for December 7, 2009. Castillo is charged with murder, neglect of a dependent, battery and false informing for the June 2009 death of 2-year-old Jada Justice.

October 26, 2009

Castillo’s trial date has been pushed back to March 2010 because prosecutors have decided to pursue a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for her. The defense claims it will take more time and money now to prepare for the defense. They will have to hire experts regarding mitigating circumstances. This means experts who will look into Castillo’s childhood to see if there were problems in her childhood that could have caused her to murder Jada. Yep.

June 21, 2010

Timothy Tkachik, the co-defendant in Jada’s murder entered a plea of guilty today to two counts of neglect of a dependent. In exchange for the plea arrangement, the prosecution has dropped charges of murder, battery, and false reporting. Tkchik has also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors by testifying against his girlfriend, Engelica Castillo in her murder trial later this summer.

There is no honor among thieves or murderers.

Sources

Guilty Plea in Death of NW Indiana Toddler, WLS-TV Chicago, Illinois, Last Accessed: 06.21.2010.

1. Mai Martinez, 2-Year-Old Vanishes from Car in Gary, CBS2Chicago.com, Last Accessed: June 17, 2009. [↩]
2. John Garcia, Police Ask for Tips in Search for Missing Girl, WLS-TV Chicago, Last Accessed: June 21, 2009. [↩]
3. Ibid. [↩]
4. Mai Martinez, 2-Year-Old Vanishes from Car in Gary, CBS2Chicago.com, Last Accessed: June 17, 2009. [↩]
5. NCMEC [↩]

Original Post: May 11, 2010 | I read the story this morning about little Ethan going missing in the middle of the night from his mother’s and step-father’s home. According to his mother, Ethan had just arrived ten days ago to visit for the summer. He normally resides with his father in Virginia. His mother also told police that Ethan had a habit of “running off” and had done so at least five times in the last ten nights. She had gone after him on those prior occasions and had been able to locate her 4-year-old, but not last night.

There was just something not right about the story. I knew he was already dead. I didn’t write about Ethan’s disappearance. I checked the news this evening to see if Ethan had been located, and was met by the following headline:

4-Year-Old Layton Boy was Murdered, Police say

According to the article police believe Ethan was murdered by his new stepfather and then of course, he and Ethan’s mother tried to cover up the crime by burying Ethan’s body in a remote area thirty miles away. The happy couple just tied the knot May 1. *note sarcasm*

Nathan Sloop, 31, was arrested for investigation of aggravated murder, child abuse, obstruction of justice and desecration of a corpse. Stephanie Sloop, 27, was arrested for investigation of child abuse, obstruction of justice and desecration of a corpse.¹

Now, instead of Ethan’s father looking forward to welcoming him home at the end of the summer, he has to plan for his son’s funeral. I just wonder what Ethan could have done to deserve what he got.

Updates 

May 12, 2010

The preliminary information released today regarding what happened to Ethan Stacy at the hands of his stepfather and mother is horrifying to say the least. I will never understand the absolutely heartless and truly barbaric ways people can treat their another person’s child let alone their own child or allow someone else to harm their child.

According to the new accounts I have read, the stepfather, Nathan Sloop, began abusing Ethan almost as soon as he arrived to stay the summer in Utah. Police confiscated pictures from the cell phone of Ethan’s mother, Stephanie Sloop. Those photographs show the progression of Ethan’s injuries over a period of a week. Why she was taking pictures of her son’s injuries instead of taking him the hell out of harm’s way is something I just can’t understand. According to police reports all of this abuse was done in the name of discipline.

The injuries resulted from the stepfather, Nathanael Sloop, “engaging in a systematic and progressively more violent pattern of abuse toward Ethan,” detectives wrote in interview summaries. The documents say Sloop was angry with the child and “tried everything” to discipline him; however, they don’t say why the boy was being disciplined.²

Sloop told police that he had hit Ethan and caused his face to swell. One would think that at that point Stephanie would have done something to save Ethan. No, what she did on May 6 was to lock Ethan in a bedroom for a few hours so they could take a 10 mile trip to get married. Yep, she locked her injured little boy in a room and left him alone to go get married to the brute who was beating her son. She said she didn’t take Ethan with them to get married because she was afraid people at the courthouse might ask questions about Ethan’s injuries. Can you imagine how badly beaten he must have been to make her worry about what people would say if they saw his little face all swollen and bruised? It gets worse.

Ethan died on Saturday night, they found him dead in his bed Sunday morning. According to Stephanie Sloop, Ethan had been vomiting, laying around and refusing food three days before he died. So that would have been starting on Wednesday or Thursday. On Friday she found Ethan badly burned from his feet to his buttocks apparently from being scalded in the tub – she told police she thought Nathan was responsible. I don’t understand this part. They forced Ethan to drink two 16-ounce bottles of water, a 16-ounce bottle of Kool-Aid, and a glass of orange juice over a two hour period of time. They did try to treat his pain and swelling with Motrin and Benedryl.

It wasn’t enough for Nathan Sloop that he had killed Ethan. Of course he did not want to pay for his actions so he had to hide the body and then make up some sort of story. So this is what they did:

…used a hammer to disfigure his face and teeth before burying his body in the mountains…to delay, prevent identification…wrapped his body in plastic…
Stephanie Sloop told investigators she bought two cans of lighter fluid for Nathanael Sloop to burn the body before it was buried. The reports didn’t say whether that was actually done. ³

What a horrific ending for this little boy’s short life. The saddest thing of all is he didn’t want to go visit his mom. According to family members he never even wanted to talk to her on the phone when she called. At least Utah has the death penalty, I hope it is sought for both of these monsters. Of course there will probably be a plea arrangement where she will agree to testify against him in exchange for a punishment which will amount to a slap on the wrist.

Sources 

Pat Reavy, Layton Police Search for Missing 4-Year-Old Boy, Deseret News, Last Accessed: 05.11.10

1. Pat Reavy, 4-Year-Old Layton Boy was Murdered, Police Say, Deseret News, Last Accessed: 05.11.10 [↩]
2. Utah Man Beat Boy to Death, Disfigured Him, ABC3340.com, Last Accessed: 05.13.10. [↩]
3. Ibid. [↩]

Original Post: December 15, 2009Updated: 4.16.10Sources

The story is so familiar it is becoming very tiring. Mother has small child and live-in boyfriend. Boyfriend is not the biological father of the child. Mother leaves her child in the care of the boyfriend. Child is reported missing. Boyfriend is taken into custody and charged with misdemeanor child endangerment and a parole violation. Mother speaks to the media and is pretty much not wanting to discuss those “nasty rumors” circulating about her son’s hands being burned two months ago while he was in the care of the boyfriend. She just wants everyone to focus on finding her little boy.

As I said in the previous paragraph, this scenario is becoming far too commonplace and the outcomes are usually tragic.

Marc Anthony Bookal, 4, was last seen inside his Newburgh City, New York apartment by his mother’s boyfriend, Cory Byrd, 30. Cory told police he was getting the child ready to go visit relatives at about 1 p.m. on Monday December 14. He then noticed the front door to the apartment was open and Marc was no where to be found. He checked at a neighbor’s home where Marc liked to play, but he was not there. It has not been reported in the media who called authorities to report Marc’s disappearance, how long it took between the discovered disappearance and the reporting of the disappearance, or where Marc’s mother was while he was in the care of Cory Byrd.

Police checked the area block by block. They say there were no sightings of the 4-year-old walking down the street by himself. There have been no sightings of a 4-year-old walking around by himself in the middle of the night last night either.

Today, police arrested Cory Byrd and charged him with child endangerment, a misdemeanor, for allowing him to wander outside by himself. They also charged him with a parole violation. I have been covering stories about missing and murdered children for quite a few years now and I cannot recall one time when a caretaker or parent was taken into custody for child endangerment when their child disappeared from inside the house “for allowing the child to wander off”. Maybe authorities have good reason to put him behind bars based on his past history with children.

According to an article published in August 1998, Cory Byrd was jailed after he was charged with seriously harming his 1-year-old son. The injuries to 1-year-old Christian Caston included the following:

“…a fractured skull, several broken ribs, a broken wrist and a perforated liver,…”

¹

Just like Marc’s injuries two months ago and his current disappearance, at the time of Christian’s injuries there was no one else caring for the child except for Cory Byrd. Bryd served several years in prison for the assault on his son and on other charges and was recently paroled in April of this year.

I wonder why Marc’s mother allowed her boyfriend to remain in the home, let alone babysit her son given the fact Marc sustained burns to his hands just two months ago while in the care of Cory Byrd and given his criminal history. Police have asked her to come down to headquarters for further questioning; however, she says she isn’t going anywhere until she finds her son. She wants police to stop thinking of her boyfriend as a suspect and look for her son. I wonder when she will get a clue.

Journalists are taught to be objective when reporting about a story. They usually tread carefully when describing situations that have happened where children have been abused. Having said that, I was surprised to read the following in a story written by Times Herald-Record reporter Michael Randall regarding Byrd’s past conviction:

Ten years ago, Byrd was convicted of first-degree reckless endangerment, a felony, and sentenced to 1 1/3 to four years in prison for beating up another of Bookal’s sons, who was 14 months old at the time.

Child protective services is now investigating the disappearance to determine if there was neglect involved. It appears it is once again a case of too little too late.

It is the season for miracles. Maybe Marc did wander off.

Marc Anthony Bookal

Marc is a 4-year-old Black male with light skin. He is 3’5″ tall and weighs approximately 45 pounds. Marc has a medium-length brown Afro and brown eyes. When last seen he was wearing a red, long-sleeved shirt, white Nike sneakers, and gray sweatpants. He is not wearing a jacket.

Anyone with information is urged to call Newburgh City Police Department at (845) 561-3131

Updates 

Latest Update

December 16, 2009: 3 p.m. PST

It is really to say but Marc has not been located. Today authorities are focusing their search on the city’s waterfront and have expanded the water search to include the Hudson River. They are also searching along the railroad tracks. To me, it sounds as if they are looking for his body. As I said previously, Marc’s mother should get a clue, go into that jail, and knock Cory Byrd upside his sorry head and demand he tell her where he put her son’s body. Of course, she is not ready to get a clue.

December 17, 2009: 1:20 p.m. PST

According to RecordOnline.com, the press conference planned by police for this afternoon in front of Marc Bookal’s home has been unexpectedly canceled. No reason was given for the change in plans.

December 17, 2009: 6:30 p.m. PST

I think this picture says it all about how desolate the search for Marc is becoming in the fourth day. It is such a vast body of water, if he is in the water his body will probably never be found. I read somewhere today the reason for searching the waterfront and the river is because the bloodhounds hit on a scent.

The media has not mentioned police interviewing area sex offenders and I am not sure why that has not been mentioned or if it has or has not been done. A search of the New York state Sex Offender Registry for zip code 12550 revealed several registered sex offenders. The law only allows for Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders to appear on the public registry because they are deemed the most likely to reoffend and pose more of a danger to the community.

It appears that most of the registered sex offenders live together in various addresses within that zip code. I am guessing that the majority are being housed in area motels. What is troubling is there are two registered sex offenders living on Marc Bookal’s street.

“A” indicates Marc’s address at 11 Benkard Avenue. “B” indicates a registered sex offender living across the street from Marc’s home. MapQuest said it takes 3 seconds to get from point “A” to point “B” and that is driving directions. “B” is a Level 3 sex offender. “C” indicates the other registered sex offender living on Marc’s street. He is a Level 2 sex offender. I hope police have questioned these two sex offenders living so closely to the location of Marc’s disappearance. I am not going to give the addresses or names of these sex offenders because they have not even been questioned. I am only mentioning them for the reasons stated above – have the police checked them out?

December 18, 2009: 5:30 p.m. PST

Marc is still missing and the search is still ongoing with the addition of search and recovery dogs from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Cory Byrd is still in jail. When he was arrested on Monday he asked for an attorney during questioning so police have not been able to question him since that time. Today, they asked him to take a polygraph examination and authorities are waiting for an answer from his attorney regarding taking that exam. I wonder if Christina has asked Byrd why he needs a lawyer.

If I believed Byrd’s story about Marc wandering away from home, and if, Marc got lost most likely he succumbed to the elements or dehydration on Monday night. Marc was not wearing a coat when he disappeared and now there is a winter storm watch in effect for this weekend. I really don’t believe Byrd’s story.

December 19, 2009: 2:45 p.m. PST

Police announced today during a news conference that an anonymous donor has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of Marc Bookal. Police also stated that due to the impending snow storm, expected this evening, the search for Marc will be suspended until Monday. They have made an extra effort to search in the area around Marc’s home and the surrounding neighborhood today. They also asked people in the area to be aware of anything that seems out of place around their homes and report it to police.

December 21, 2009: 4:45 p.m. PST

Marc is still missing. Police reported today that Marc’s mother, Christina Bookal and his biological father, Yul Bookal, have both taken polygraph examinations. Police did not mention the results of those tests. They are still waiting for an answer from Cody Byrd’s attorney for the request made earlier in the week for his client to agree to submit to a polygraph examination and further questioning.

Meanwhile, the reward fund has grown to $16,000. Another anonymous donor added $5,000 to the pot and the organization Carlie’s Crusade Foundation is offering an additional $1,000. Authorities are also seeking more leads including anyone having video surveillance footage in the Southeast corner of the city. Police want to review that video. If you would like to make a donation to the reward fund you can contact police. To make a donation to the Carlie’s Crusade reward contact their website Carlie’s Crusade Foundation or call them at (800)496-6720 or 309-2961.

I haven’t seen the plea in the media yet by Christina Bookal to the person who has her son to please bring him home. However, his father did make that plea early on. All I have seen from Christina is a plea for the police to stop looking at her boyfriend as a suspect and to start looking for her son.

December 22, 2009: 10:30 a.m. PST

Police revealed today that Marc’s biological parents both appeared truthful in their responses on the polygraph exams. Police also revealed today that Cody Byrd declined through his attorney to submit to a polygraph exam. I can say that this is no surprise to me. Of course he has the right to refuse the exam and in most states the results are not admissible in court; however, if he has nothing to hide and if it would help clear him of any involvement in Marc’s disappearance, why not take the exam? There is only one reason I can think of that he would refuse to take the polygraph and that is he has something to hide. I am not saying he is guilty of doing something to Marc, I am just saying he must have something to hide.

It was also announced today that the Carlie’s Crusade Foundation has changed the terms of their $1,000 reward offer. Originally it was offered for information leading to Marc’s safe return. Now they have changed the terms to any information leading to Marc’s location no matter the outcome. Police too, are becoming less hopeful of finding Marc alive. It has been 8 days.

December 28, 2009: 3 p.m. PST

Mark is still missing and his mother is still criticizing the police investigation into his disappearance. She is upset because they will not share with her where they are searching or what leads they are following. Christine also is of the opinion that police were not as thorough from the beginning as they should have been:

“If it were one of theirs, they’d have the whole … town flipped upside down,” she said.

²

I have my own opinion about Christine. She does not mention whether she went to visit her boyfriend in jail to ask him to please take the polygraph examination he has refused to take. She does not mention whether she asked her boyfriend why he won’t submit to the polygraph exam.

I admit, I do not live in Newburgh. However, the news coverage has shown a tireless search for Mark by police officers in terrible weather conditions. It would be nice if Christine showed just a bit of gratitude for the effort being made to find her son, the son she left in the care of a convicted child abuser. She is not the victim.

January 8, 2010: 3 p.m. PST

Just days after police announced the end of their ground search for Marc Bookal and one day after it was announced that Cory Byrd hired a high-profile attorney to defend him, police resumed the ground search. They said they received new information and are concentrating their search in the area of Marc Bookal’s street. The search included a vacant elementary school and some other buildings in the area and is expected to continue through Saturday.

Cory Byrd’s new attorney, Gary Greenwald, told the media that there is more to the disappearance than what the public knows. Spoken like a true defense attorney, Greenwald gave the following explanation regarding his new client’s refusal to submit to a lie detector test:

“The people who are observing this case don’t know the circumstances of how that was asked of him,” Greenwald said of the polygraph test.

He declined to detail those circumstances in advance of his client’s court appearances but said people should keep an open mind until the facts come out.

³

The first thought that came into my mind when I read the above quote was the police either did not say “Would you please take a polygraph exam?” or they didn’t smile when asking Byrd to take the test. Of course I am being sarcastic.

I wonder who is paying for this attorney Greenwald’s services. He has his own law firm with several offices and was a former mayor. He is replacing Byrd’s legal aid attorney. Since one has to qualify for legal aid service by showing a lack of income or low income, it makes me wonder how Byrd can now afford a private attorney.

January 16, 2010

Cory Byrd appeared in court with his attorney yesterday. There was no discussion regarding the charges for which he is currently being held – endangering the welfare of a child and his parole violation. Instead, his attorney produced a demand for information from the prosecution detailing a list of items they want access to which the prosecution declined to turn over. Among the items Byrd’s attorney wants access to are search warrants, results of urine samples and a copy of the arrest report. The prosecution said they will submit in writing to the court on Tuesday their reasons for denying the demands. The prosecution is also considering taking the case against Byrd to a Grand Jury. I am thinking they are seeking to indict Byrd on murder charges. The judge said he will rule on the demand January 25.

Of course Christina Bookal was in court to support her man. I only say that because of what she said to the press after the court hearing:

But Christina Bookal, who remains convinced the boy is still alive, said after attending Byrd’s court appearance that she’s not satisfied that all possible steps are being taken. She continued to criticize police for focusing on Byrd.

“I’m quite sure there are plenty of people who saw something,” she said. “My 4-year-old is out there somewhere. Bring my son home.”

⁴

No, Christina, Cory needs to tell what happened to Marc.

March 5, 2010

Marc is still missing. The charge against Cory Byrd of endangering the welfare of a child was dropped just after the snow thawed enough to allow the court proceeding to continue. Byrd is not quite completely out of the woods. Byrd was still facing the violation of probation charge and the judge sentenced him to 15 months in jail. Apparently when Byrd was arrested the day of Marc’s disappearance he tested positive for marijuana and that violated his parole. I am going to guess that he will only be serving just a little over a year of the 15 month sentence because he has been incarcerated since December.

The reason the prosecutors gave for dropping the child endangerment charge is they did not want to have to turn over information they have gathered during their investigation to the defense. Also, they do not have enough evidence to charge Byrd with homicide at this time. If they jump the gun and charge him too soon with homicide and he beats the charge then he can never stand trial for the crime again. It is better to wait until they have solid proof that Byrd harmed Marc.

March 24, 2010: 2 p.m. PST

Authorities are reporting they have located a small body behind a home in Newburgh they believe to be that of Marc Bookal. The home in question is located at 20-22 Edwards Street – about three blocks from Marc’s home. Authorities have notified Marc’s mother of the discovery.

April 16, 2010

The remains located inside a garbage bag, about 3 blocks from the home of Marc Bookal have been positively identified as the missing boy’s. Authorities say Marc’s death was the result of a homicide. No charges have been filed as of this writing.

Police are asking anyone who has information regarding this case to contact contact the City of Newburgh Police Department at 569-7509, or Lt. Patrick Arnold at 569-7508.

Sources 

Stepfather of Missing Newburgh Boy Marc Anthony Bookal Arrested, Charged with Letting Boy Wander, WPIX.com, Last Accessed: December 15, 2009.

New York State Department of Correctional Services, Last Accessed: December 15, 2009.

Michael Randall, Police Searching Newburgh Waterfront, River for Missing Boy, RecordOnline.com, Last Accessed: December 16, 2009.

Video: Search Efforts Along the Hudson River for Missing Boy, RecordOnline.com, Last Accessed: December 16, 2009.

The Search for Marc Bookal, RecordOnline – Times Herald-Record, Last Accessed: December 18, 2009.

Michael Randall, Newburgh Police Want Mother’s Boyfriend in Missing Boy Case to take Polygraph Test, RecordOnline.com, Last Accessed: December 18, 2009.

Paul Brooks, Reward for Missing Boy Rises to $16,000, RecordOnline.com, Last Accessed: December 21, 2009.

Doyle Murphy, Reward Acknowledges Possibility of Grim Outcome, RecordOnline.com, Last Accessed: December 22, 2009.

Michael Randall, Police Resume Ground Search for Missing 4-Year-Old, RecordOnline.com, Last Accessed: January 8, 2010.

Doyle Murphy, Corey Byrd Gets 15 Months for Parole Violation, RecordOnline.com, Last Accessed: March 5, 2010.

Doyle Murphy, Newburgh Police Believe They’ve Found the Remains of Missing Boy, RecordOnline, Last Accessed: March 24, 2010.

Police ID Body in Bag as Missing Newburgh Boy, WCBSTV.com, Last Accessed: April 16, 2010.

1. Heather Yakin, Baby is Critical; Father Charged, RecordOnline.com, Last Accessed: December 16, 2009. [↩]
2. Doyle Murphy, Missing Newburgh Boy’s Mom Wants More Info, RecordOnline.com, Last Accessed: December 29, 2009. [↩]
3. Doyle Murphy, Greenwald to Defend Boyfriend of Missing Boy’s Mom, RecordOnline.com, Last Accessed: January 8, 2010. [↩]
4. Michael Randall, Defense Demands Evidence in Newburgh’s Missing Child Case, RecordOnline.com, Last Accessed: January 16, 2010. [↩]