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LOVELAND, Colo. -- A man arrested on suspicion of killing a process server who had handed him divorce papers was also strangling his two children when deputies burst into his home, authorities said Thursday. Deputies were called to the home at about 8 p.m. Wednesday after the man's wife called 911 for help. Upon arrival, deputies made a tactical entry into the home and found the bloody body of the process server. The suspect -- identified as 45-year-old James Whitler -- was lying on top of his children, with hands around their throats, authorities said. One of the children had also been stabbed. "The father had the two children on the ground. There was a lot of blood at the scene. He was obviously choking both of the children," Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said. "When the suspect refused commands, Sgt. Gerry Baker tased the suspect once but with no effect. The second time he was tased, deputies were able to subdue him and place him under arrest," sheriff's spokeswoman Eloise Campanella said in a news release. The 10-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl were unconscious. They were rushed to Medical Center of the Rockies where they were treated for their injuries and were listed in good condition. Deputies said the suspect's wife, Lisa Whitler, sustained minor injuries but refused medical treatment. She had called 911 after the process server was attacked. The sheriff's office said she and her husband were going through a messy separation. She notified him, I think it was probably around the 17th, that she was going to get a divorce," Alderden said. So when the process server, 57-year-old Stephen Allen of Fort Collins, delivered divorce papers and a restraining order to Whitler, it shouldn't have been a surprise to Whitler, authorities said. Things appeared to be calm. Things went well," Alderden said. "He said he was going to get his suitcase and start packing -- actually had one of the children bring the suitcase to him. He went upstairs and packed and came downstairs with his stuff and his baseball bat," said neighbor Steve Rogers, who heard the story from Lisa Whitler after she ran outside to call for help. Process server, Stephen Allen was beaten with a baseball bat and stabbed with a kitchen knife, the sheriff's office said. The process server died from multiple blunt force trauma and sharp force injuries, according to the Larimer County coroner. He was a big teddy bear,” said Jane Morris, Allen’s girlfriend. Morris told a reporter the last time she spoke with him was around 3 p.m. Wednesday. Allen made no mention of serving Whitler, Morris said. She later found it odd Allen did not call her Wednesday night – the first time in their four and a half year relationship. Morris learned of Allen’s death Thursday morning from a friend. Despite a rough exterior, Morris said Allen was really “a caring, gentle man who loved the Lord.” Process server, Stephen Allen is survived by a brother, three adult children, three grandchildren with one on the way, according Morris. Process server, Stephen Allen was a Larimer County sheriff's deputy in 1984 and 1985 but he was not armed when he went to the couple's home as a private process server, the sheriff said. The sheriff's office said Allen and Lisa Whitler even took the precaution of going through the home earlier in the day and removing a shotgun from the house. Whitler was booked into the Larimer County Detention Center on suspicion of first-degree murder, two counts of criminal attempt to commit murder, and child abuse. He has no previous arrest record, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Whitler was a campus monitor at Mountain View High School in Loveland until a few months ago. He was one of three paid unarmed security guards at the school, the newspaper reported. Neighbors said they saw no evidence of violence at the home. James Whitler was president of the homeowner's association.
"They were just average, normal kind of folks, it seems," Rogers said.
Branson, Missouri Table Rock Lake.
April 15th 2008 Officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expect to release 27,000 cubic feet of water from Bull Shoals Dam through April 15th 2008. Table Rock Lake, Branson, Missouri crested about two feet above flood pool, at 933.25 feet MSL topping the old record of 932.51 set on May 6, 1961. The Branson, Missouri Dam Table Rock release topped out at 48,100 CFS over the weekend. Branson, Missouri Table Rock Dam Corps officials expected to continue spillway releases through April 14th 2008.
PI hired by Wausau, Wisconsin
Wausau has hire has hired a private investigator to look into Wausau Community Development Authority and the city Community Development Department. The person conducting the investigation has no ties to city government, said City Attorney Bill Nagle, who serves as Wausau's human resources director. Nagle declined to provide the name of the individual or to specify what aspects of the two agencies are under review. Former CDA employee Wendy Jasurda placed Mike Morrissey, the director in charge of both agencies, on paid leave March 25th 2008 after being named in discrimination complaint filed. Mike Morrissey fired Wendy Jasurda on Aug 24th 2008 for supposedly misusing her CDA credit card. She is scheduled to appear in court on a charge of misdemeanor theft. Wendy Jasurda filed a complaint, March 14th 2008 with the state Department of Workforce Development, includes an allegation of a personal relationship between Mike Morrissey and Kristen Fish, assistant community development director. Fish said Monday she would be leaving the department after April 22 to take a job with a local manufacturer. She announced her resignation in a letter to Mayor Jim Tipple dated April 8. Mayor Jim Tipple stated he placed Mike Morrissey on leave for many reasons. He first asked Marathon County officials to investigate the department, but County Administrator Mort McBain turned down Mayor Jim Tipple's request. In her complaint, Wendy Jasurda contends that though she was immediately fired for misuse of public property, Mike Morrissey wasn't disciplined after being personally reimbursed for a work-related trip charged to a CDA credit card. In addition, the complaint alleges Morrissey and Fish misused city property by excessively using city-issued cell phones for personal use.
Every January is National Stalking Awareness Month.
Stalking is a crime described as one who intentionally will harass or follow a person repeatedly.
Here are some facts of stalking.
-1 of 12 women will be stalked.
-1 of 45 men will be stalked.
-87% of stalkers are male.
-The average lenth for a stalking is 1.8 years
-76% of female victims know their stalker.
-64% of male victims know their stalker.
If you or someone you know are concerned about being stalked you should give our
private
investigators a call.
Rowan Ford
UPDATE
May 5th 2008
Barry County, Cassville, Missouri Prosecutor Johnnie Earl Cox filed a notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty and Notice of Statutory Aggravating Circumstances today with the Missouri courts.
MARCH 10th 2008
David Spears and Chris Collings remain in custody at the Barry County Cassville, Missouri Jail.
David Spears and Chris Collings are due in Barry County, Missouri Court on Tuesday, March 18, 2008.
UPDATE JANUARY 22nd 2008
CASSVILLE, Mo. Two men charged with the rape and murder of a 9-year-old Stella girl pleaded innocent Tuesday.
David W. Spears, 27, and Chris Collings, 32, are charged in Barry County with first-degree murder, forcible rape and statutory rape for the alleged abduction, sexual assault and murder of Rowan Ford in November.
Both Spears and Collings reportedly have confessed to the rape and murder. Spears was Rowan’s stepfather.
Investigators believe Rowan was abducted early Nov. 3 from her home in Stella, Missouri in Newton County, raped and murdered in Barry County, Missouri and her body disposed of in McDonald County Missouri.
The body was found in a sinkhole near Powell, Missouri after a nearly weeklong search that involved the Newton County Sheriff’s Department, the McDonald County Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI.
Spears and Collings remain in custody at the Barry County Missouri Jail.
The next hearing for David W. Spears has been set for 10 a.m. March 18. Chris Collings’ next hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. the same day.
November 11, 2007 11:49 PM STELLA, Mo.
Both defendants in the brutal rape and murder of 9-year-old Rowan Ford have confessed to the crime, the Newton County sheriff said Sunday.
David Spears, 25, of Stella, Missouri and Chris Collings, 32, of Wheaton, Missouri are charged with one count each of first-degree murder, forcible rape and statutory rape in the girl’s death.
STELLA, Mo. — Both defendants in the brutal rape and murder of 9-year-old Rowan Ford have confessed to the crime, the Newton County sheriff said Sunday.
Investigators are continuing to work on determining what happened the night Rowan was abducted from her home, Copeland said.
“He (Spears) was pointing out to this man where would be good places to put a body,” Copeland said.
One of those places was the sinkhole in McDonald County Missouri where the girl’s body ultimately was found, the sheriff said.
“It’s about 15 to 20 feet down, and it was getting dark,” Copeland said of the time David Spears reportedly pointed out the site during the search.
Rowan’s body was found the next morning, which was Friday, by McDonald County deputies Jake Boles and Mike Hall in the sinkhole near Powell, Missouri.
April 25th 2008 Joplin, Missouri.
Carrol D. Bryant
He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of second-degree child molestation in Jasper County, Missouri Circuit Court after cutting a deal with the Jasper County prosecutor’s office. Joplin, Missouri man pleads guilty to a lesser child sex charge. Circuit Judge David Mouton accepted the plea and sentenced Bryant to one year in jail, with execution of the sentence suspended and the defendant placed on unsupervised probation for a year.
Bryant had been facing a charge of first-degree statutory sodomy for allegedly touching the girl inappropriately. A conviction for that offense carries 10 to 30 years, or up to life, in prison in Missouri.
Assistant Prosecutor John Nicholas said the plea agreement was offered to the defendant following consultation with the girl and her mother. He said they were eager to avoid the trauma of the girl having to testify in court but also wanted to ensure that Bryant would admit his guilt and have to register as a sex offender. 2nd degree child molestation is a Class A misdemeanor in Missouri and a conviction requires registration as a sex offender.
The Barry and Lawrence County Crime Stoppers.
The Barry and Lawrence County Crime Stoppers offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of those committing crimes in the bi-county area. The group has received a total of five tips in the month of March. The tips led to the arrest of two of the wanted suspects. Board chairman John Strong urged board members and law enforcement representatives to make contact with local service clubs in their surrounding communities in order to arrange for presentations on the newly formed Barry and Lawrence County Crime Stoppers.
Missouri ONLINE PREDATOR UPDATE MARCH 13th 2008.
Associate Division of Newton County Circuit Court Neosho, Missouri. former mayor of Collins, Missouri will stand trial on three charges of enticing a child, based on testimony Monday by Diamond police detective Jim Murray who conducts Internet sting operations targeting alleged sexual predators.
Associate Division of Newton County Circuit Court Neosho, Missouri. former mayor of Collins, Missouri will stand trial on three charges of enticing a child, based on testimony Monday by Diamond police detective Jim Murray who conducts Internet sting operations targeting alleged sexual predators.
The detective was the lone witness to testify in the Associate Division of Newton County Circuit Court at the hearing for Allen D. Kauffman, 62, of Collins, Missouri who also resigned his post as a church pastor ahead of being bound over for trial on three counts of child enticement.
Online Predators caught by retired small town Missouri police chief.
January 11th 2008
Acting as a 13 year old girl surfing the web
69 Year old Jim Murray has netted 20 arrests since 2002. 63 year old Allen Kauffman is his latest catch. The mayor of Collins, Missouri.
Allen Kauffman resigned as mayor of Collins, Mo and as the pastor of the Temple Lot Church after his arrest January 11th 2008.
FMLA Claim
Proved Fraud by
Private Investigator
In a Family and Medical Leave Act case recently decided by the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, an employee was videotaped by a private investigator going to the gym, and running errands on days when he had called in sick. It's not a surprise that a private investigator caught him on video doing these tasks, but it is surprising that he sued. Incredibly, he claimed that he was fired for taking protected medical leave. It apparently hadn't occurred to him that a private investigator was hired to get video proof that he wasn't sick in the first place. There was more than enough justification for his firing thanks to the PI video. In October 2001, Brian Colburn was a machine operator at the Parker Hannifin Corporation. In October, he claimed to be ill with multiply symptoms. Later that month, he began to take intermittent leave for migraine headaches. From October until January 2002, he took 25 days off under the FMLA. During the same period, Colburn applied for short-term disability. In his application, he reported that he couldn't drive, because of migraines. In January 2002, Parker Hannifin became suspicious of Colburn's claims. He hadn't produced the requested medical information. The company hired a private investigator that followed and videotaped Colburn on January 28 and 29 — both days when he had called in sick, telling his supervisor that he had a severe migraine. The next day, he went to the gym again, rented another video, and purchased a six-pack of beer. The PI videotaped Colburn traveling to the gym, renting videos, and picking up what appeared to be bottles from a variety store. At some point during his travels, he stopped to place a call to his supervisor and inform him that he would be out for a second consecutive day because of illness. When presented with the video and the investigator's report, Parker Hannifin's HR department decided to tell Colburn that he was fired for his actions. Colburn sued. The trial court threw out the case without a trial thanks to the private investigators video. Colburn appealed. The First Circuit heard the appeal. The First Circuit made short work of Colburn's claim. He argued that Parker Hannifin's hiring of an investigator and departing from its normal disciplinary procedure to fire him immediately was evidence that the stated reason for discharging him was a pretext. The court disagreed, pointing out that: Hiring investigators was a step the company had taken at least five times in the past with respect to other employees; and the company's discipline policy clearly provided for immediate dismissal for serious misconduct. The First Circuit upheld the trial court's dismissal of the case. Of course, videotapes of the kind produced in Colburn's case can be very helpful but often aren't available. The key is evidence, preferably written and recorded at the time of the events, showing that the reason was real. Colburn v. Parker Hannifin, 2005 WL 3080925
