Archive for the ‘friday morning’ tag
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. [↩]
TX Missing Child – Kendrick Jackson
Kendrick Jackson's father, Roderick Fountain, has been charged with his murder.
Three-year-old Kendrick Jackson has been missing from his father’s Houston, Texas apartment since 9:30 a.m. Friday. This is not the first time that Kendrick has been reported missing. The first time was during Hurricane Katrina when he was separated from his family during that tragedy, but this time it is a different type of disappearance.
According to Kendrick’s father, Roderick Fountain, Kendrick was watching television and he was doing some household chores. Following is a quote from Roderick Fountain about how he discovered his son missing:
He was watching TV; I was doing the house chores, washing, father Roderick Fountain said. Come back down and notice the door was kinda cracked, and he was gone. Unlocked the door and slipped out.
I am thinking from the above quote that possibly Roderick Fountain went to the laundry room outside of the apartment and left his son inside the apartment, locking the door behind him. Perhaps Kendrick noticed his father was gone and went to search for him. This seems to me what may have happened to this little guy.
According to a news report yesterday, a woman came forward stating that she had seen Kendrick on I believe Friday morning standing at a bus stop across the street from his home. She said she was stuck in traffic, noticed the boy but did not know that he was missing. She realized when she came home from work and watched the news that the boy she had seen at the bus stop, with an adult male, fit Kendrick’s description. According to further news reports regarding this sighting, apparently the adult male standing with Kendrick at that bus stop does not fit the description of Roderick Fountain.
As of today, the FBI has joined the case. Kendrick’s mother and father were questioned last night, and further questioning was conducted this morning at the police station.
I watched a video of Kendrick’s father. He looks visibly shaken and cried at the beginning of the interview.
I ran a check of sex offenders in the area and there is one sex offender who lives about one half block from the home of Kendrick’s father. I hope Kendrick did not run into him when he left the apartment.
The last time Kendrick was seen he was wearing a white t-shirt and pajama shorts with pictures of baseballs and footballs on them. Kendrick is a black male with brown eyes and black hair; 3′ tall weighing 30 lbs.
Click2Houston.com is reporting that police have halted the search for Kendrick at this time. They believe that he is no longer in the area. They will resume the search after they evaluate leads. Family members were administered lie detector tests. Police declined to state which family members were administered lie detector tests.
Father Arrested
Apparently the tears meant guilty.
KHOU.com is reporting this afternoon that Roderick Fountain, father of Kendrick Jackson has been arrested on a misdemeanor warrant of filing a false police report in the disappearance of his 3-year-old son Kendrick Jackson.
Roderick Fountain reported his son missing on Friday morning at approximately 11 a.m.
Police have determined that Mr. Fountain was in the area of Sheldon Road and Interstate 10 during the early morning hours of Friday, April 7 between 2 and 5:50 a.m.
Texas Equusearch has set up a command post at the First Assembly Church of God in that area to continue the search.
Meanwhile, the boy’s father, Roderick Fountain, faces an upgraded charge of felony injury to a child. Authorities say Fountain hit 3-year-old Jackson on or around April 5. He reported him missing on April 7.
Police also stated in their news conference that Mr. Fountain has changed his story 4 – 5 times, and has also tried to convince others to lie to investigators.
Texas Equusearch is concentrating their search on the wooded areas and waterways along Interstate 10 near Baytown, an area when Roderick Fountain was known to frequent. Texas Equusearch founder, Tim Miller feels that this search is now a recovery mission:
“Unfortunately, I think this is a recovery mission. There have been miracles before and we are hoping for that miracle, but this is not looking good at all,” Miller said.
The area that is being searched is large and the search is being aided with the use of a drone airplane. The drone flies over the area and sends back images to a computer. There has been an area of interest identified in one of the bodies of water; divers will search that area today.
Kendrick’s mother, Keyanna Jackson, is of the belief that Roderick Fountain is innocent of the charges against him.
“He wouldn’t do nothing to hurt his child – his own son he made. He wouldn’t do nothing,” Jackson said.
I have not seen any reports of Kendrick’s mother or other family members out searching for him. Perhaps investigators have asked them to stay away from the search area, but if the mother truly believes that someone has her son then I would think she would be out searching or at least passing out fliers. Keyanna’s mother, who raised Kendrick from birth up until a few months ago, says her niece is in ‘denial’ about Roderick Fountain.
Day 7 of Search
Today marks the seventh day of the search for missing 3-year-old Kendrick Jackson from Houston, TX.
Roderick Terrell Fountain, Kendrick’s father was supposed to appear in court yesterday to answer charges of filing a false police report and injury to a child. He asked for more time to retain an attorney so the hearing was postponed until May 8th.
Searchers are still concentrating in and near the San Jacinto River in East Harris County, TX . Also, investigators are searching Roderick Fountain’s Lexus for evidence.
CPS is seeking Roderick Fountain’s 8 other children for questioning. They have located and interviewed 3 of those children and indications are that those interviews have been very helpful to the investigation into the the disappearance of little Kendrick.
Searchers are now expanding their search efforts to include the Trinity River. They are interested in locating what was captured as an image floating on the river on a digital camera two days ago.
Search Scaled Back
KHOU.com is reporting this morning that Texas Equusearch is scaling back their search for 3-year-old Kendrick Jackson.
Tim Miller told reporters that they will be cleaning up the command center today and will only be using a handful of trained volunteers to search for the child. The handful of volunteers will include cadaver dog handlers and divers.
Kendrick Jackson’s father, Roderick Fountain, is in custody of charges of filing a false police report and injury to a child. He is the prime suspect in the disappearance of his son and he still continues to be uncooperative with investigators.
Roderick Fountain, father of missing child Kendrick Jackson, appeared in court today for a bond hearing. Bond was granted at $100,000. If Roderick Fountain can come up with 10% of that amount he could walk out of jail later today.
He is charged with injury to a child for allegedly striking Kendrick and leaving bruises. The other charge is filing a false police report. Investigators believe Roderick Fountain knows what happened to his son. So far, he has been uncooperative with the investigators in helping to locate his son. Roderick Fountain’s attorney indicated in court this afternoon that “his client is innocent and had nothing to do with the disappearance of his son.”
- June 18, 2009
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A Houston, Texas grand jury handed up an indictment for felony murder in the case of missing 3-year-old Kendrick Jackson. Prosecutors went to the grand jury on Thursday with new evidence. The indictment for felony murder alleges that Kendrick’s death happened during the commission of a felony – injury to a child. Roderick Fountain, already serving a ten year sentence for felon in possession of a firearm, will be transported to Houston to stand trial on the murder charge. If convicted Fountain could face a life sentence. Kendrick’s body still has not been found.
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April 18, 2009
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Roderick Fountain was never charged with the murder of his missing son, Kendrick Jackson back in April 2006. Kendrick has never been found. Roderick Fountain was sentenced to 15 years in prison for Felon in Possession of a Firearm, so he does sit in jail for something.
According to ABC.com, new information has come to light connecting Roderick Fountain to the murder of 3-year-old Kendrick Jackson. Prosecutors did not elaborate on what that new information is or how long it will take to file murder charges against Fountain. Unless a body is located winning the conviction will be difficult.
According to KTRK Legal Analyst Joel Androphy:
…To tie someone to the crime, someone would have to see him kill the boy, hurt the young boy, hide the body, someone’s going to have to overhear a conversation where he admitted something…
I hope Fountain shows enough compassion at this point to tell authorities where Kendrick’s body is so he can have a decent burial.
Brian Rogers, Houston Dad Charged with Killing Missing Boy, Houston Chronicle, Last Accessed: June 18, 2009.
KY AMBER Alert: Breanna Woodside
An AMBER Alert is currently in effect in Kentucky for 2-year-old Breanna Woodside. According to authorities 
she was picked up at 6:30 Friday morning by her father from the Frankfort Police Department Headquarters for a scheduled visit. Breanna was supposed to be returned to her mother by 4p.m. Friday afternoon, but the child was never brought home.
Breanna is considered to be in extreme danger because her father, 30-year-old Miles Woodside, is believed to be armed and suicidal.
If you see Breanna, the vehicle or Miles Woodside, you are asked to call 9-1-1.
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Victim: Breanna Woodside
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Breanna is 3′ tall and weighs approximately 35 pounds. She has long blond hair and hazel eyes. When last seen she was wearing purple sweatpants, a purple and pink striped shirt, a black jacket with pink lining and blue shoes.
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Suspect: Miles Woodside
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Miles Woodside is a 30-year-old white male with red hair and blue eyes. His head is currently shaved. He is 6’1″ and weighs approximately 190 pounds. When last seen Miles was wearing loose blue jeans and tennis shoes.
Believed to be armed and suicidal
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Suspect Vehicle
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Miles Woodside is believed to be driving a silver 1997 model Lincoln Town car with Kentucky license plate KY-064BAA.
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March 3, 2009
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The search for Breanna and Miles Woodside ended this afternoon in Monterrey, Mexico. The suspect vehicle was located in Tennessee earlier today. The keys were still in the vehicle; however, Breanna’s car seat was missing. According to the Times-Journal, Miles Woodside called a taxi and asked for a ride to the bus station on Saturday. He told the taxi driver he was going to Colorado. He left the car seat in the taxi.
Miles Woodside phoned his mother at 5:30a.m. today and told her he was fine and so was his daughter. He did not tell her where he was located and when she asked him to come home he hung up the phone. It is not clear how police located Miles and Breanna in Monterrey, Mexico.
Miles will be facing several charges. He was taken into custody by FBI agents on felony warrants from Kentucky.
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March 2, 2009
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Alabama authorities have activated a statewide AMBER Alert to aid in the search for Breanna Woodside. Miles Woodside’s mother made a public plea today asking her son to turn himself in and return Breanna to her mother.
Monday morning, Thomas Woodside’s mother, Mary Love, made an emotional plea for her son to surrender and bring her granddaughter to safety.
Love spoke this morning alongside Fort Payne Police and other authorities to issue a plea for her son to return Breanna Woodside safely. In tears, she asked for her son to come home.
Love says she has not seen either her son or granddaughter during this ordeal.
Miles Woodside’s childhood friend, Bobby Clements, said he ate dinner with Miles Breanna at a Fort Payne McDonald’s on Friday night. Clements said Woodside told him he was getting tired of fighting the Kentucky court system regarding visitation with his daughter. Bobby Clements also said he gave Miles $40 so he and Breanna could stay at a local motel. Police went to the Econo Lodge where Woodside intended to stay. Employees of the motel indicated that Miles had indeed stayed there Friday night; however, they did not see Breanna nor was there evidence of her staying there, i.e., soiled diapers in the trash.
There was also another apparent sighting of Miles Woodside at a Hampton Cove Walmart on Sunday afternoon. Police are trying to obtain surveillance footage from that location.
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March 1, 2009
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Breanna is still missing with her father. Authorities say they have spoken to a reliable source who said they saw Miles Woodside and his daughter on Friday afternoon in Alabama. The source indicated that Breanna appeared to be safe and healthy.
Miles Woodsides’ uncle, Jim Goodman, made a public plea to his nephew:
“We urge you and beg you to do the right thing,” said Jim Goodman during a press conference in Frankfort.
Goodman told reporters that Woodside loves his daughter very much and “worships the ground she walks on.” He said he believes Woodside will “come to his senses and do the right thing.”
Goodman said he saw Woodside with his daughter about two weeks ago and had no reason to believe something like this would happen.
Investigators stated at today’s news conference that they are receiving assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and that agency will be distributing posters to cover a wide area. I hope this means they are going to start distributing the poster through the Poster Partner Program. I have not received ANY missing posters in the past month through the NCMEC Poster Partner Program. I have e-mailed them twice to inquire about the lack of poster distribution; however, they have not responded to those e-mails. Usually the NCMEC does not respond to e-mail inquiries. I hope the Kentucky authorities are not going to put a lot of faith in the NCMEC distribution of missing posters outside the local area.
Amber Alert Issued for Frankfort Toddler, WAVE3.com, February 28, 2009.
Staff & Wire Reports, Breaking News: Police Find Missing Girl, The Times-Journal, March 3, 2009.
