HOUSTON - Houston police will be reviewing singer Chris Brown's public apology for beating his ex-girlfriend, R&B superstar Rihanna.
But this review is about learning, not legal action.
The videotaped apology, released Monday, is to be included in a program intended to sensitize patrol cops to the dynamics of domestic violence.
"The next time I do training with police officers, which will be in a few weeks, I'm going to also show that video and ask people what they think," said Jennifer Varela, a clinical social worker with the District Attorney's office.
Varela plans to pair the confessional video with another clip in which Chris Brown remembers growing up with domestic violence.
"I had a stepfather that used to abuse my mom when I was 7 or 8," Brown recalls in that three-year-old interview, "and I always said when I turn 15, 16, and get big, I'm gonna kill him."
The two clips together encapsulate the "cycle of domestic violence," according to Varela and Jane Waters, chief of the DA's Family Criminal Law section.
In Waters' eyes, the public was quick to condemn the victim when news broke in February that Rihanna had been battered by her singer boyfriend.
"There was a theory about it was really a car accident that caused the injuries, she gave him some sort of disease and they were blaming her without even knowing what had happened."
Waters says, the public apology should lay to rest that kind of chatter.
"I have told Rihanna countless times and I am telling you today that I am truly, truly sorry," Brown says in the two-minute clip.
Last month, Brown pled guilty to felony assault. His sentence: five-years' probation plus community service.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Mother of slain woman shatters silence on teen dating
Indianapolis - The brutal murder of a child would crush the heart of any parent. It was a real-life horror for an Indianapolis woman in a high-profile murder case. Debbie Norris is shattering the silence on teen dating abuse to make sure her daughter's legacy lives on.
The pain is still written all over her face. Debbie Norris is a mother in mourning.
"What I would give for just one more hug," Norris said.
Debbie Norris lives alone now in a home no longer filled with the love and laughter of her only child - 20-year-old Heather - murdered two years ago.
"I couldn't have asked for a better daughter," Norris said.
Heather was a basketball player at Perry Meridian High School, an avid reader of all things Harry Potter and a good friend to many.
"She had a good heart, a really good heart," said Norris, who misses snuggling on the couch watching television with Heather.
Debbie Norris is comforted by memories of Heather. Her house is filled with Heather's portraits and Heather's bedroom remains untouched since the day she was killed. Norris also cares for Heather's beloved cat, Mystie.
"She'll go down in her room and lay down there," Norris said.
Sometimes she dreams that Heather will return."I keep praying that she will walk through that door. That this isn't real," she said.
She feels that way because Heather's murder, in part, remains unsolved. Heather's former boyfriend Joshua Bean, convicted of the crime last September, is serving a 68-year prison sentence.
"He took my heart, my soul, my life," Norris said.
Bean confessed to stabbing Heather at his home, burning her body, dismembering it and tossing pieces in area dumpsters. But Heather's body has never been found.
"It's hard because there's no closure," Norris explained. "There's nothing physically there for me to look at to make it real. It's so hard to believe it sometimes."
So hard to believe that sometimes Debbie Norris holds onto the past, listening to Heather's voice on her cell phone. But in her heart, Norris knows Heather's voice is silenced. So she created a website in her memory called Heather's Voice.
"Heather is still alive as long as her voice is heard."
The website educates teenagers about dating violence and Norris takes Heather's story to schools, churches, and youth groups.
"I want them to know that this could happen to anybody. Never thought it would happen to us."
Debbie Norris tells teens the signs of dating abuse - signs she says Heather faced, as a teenager when she first started dating Joshua: jealousy, possessiveness, isolation and control. She saw Heather's personality change.
"When she would break up with him it was her bubbly self and when she was with him, she was quiet. She withdrew from her friends, from her family."
Heather filed domestic violence charges against Joshua twice for allegedly beating her. Debbie warns teens, "if you get hit once, you're going to get hit again. You have to take control of who you are and not let somebody control you."
From the depths of her sorrow, this mother speaks out to save other children. She says Heather would have done the same. "Heather walked out of the kitchen, stood in front of the window one day and she said, 'Mom,' out of the clear blue, she said, 'You know what? I believe I was put on this earth to help people.'"
In Heather's absence, Debbie Norris is helping as Heather's voice. "I think Heather would say, 'Gosh, Mom. Thanks. Thanks for doing this for me.'"
Sixty percent of teenage girls and 40 percent of teenage boys have faced dating violence. Teach your children to 'choose respect' through healthy relationships.
The pain is still written all over her face. Debbie Norris is a mother in mourning.
"What I would give for just one more hug," Norris said.
Debbie Norris lives alone now in a home no longer filled with the love and laughter of her only child - 20-year-old Heather - murdered two years ago.
"I couldn't have asked for a better daughter," Norris said.
Heather was a basketball player at Perry Meridian High School, an avid reader of all things Harry Potter and a good friend to many.
"She had a good heart, a really good heart," said Norris, who misses snuggling on the couch watching television with Heather.
Debbie Norris is comforted by memories of Heather. Her house is filled with Heather's portraits and Heather's bedroom remains untouched since the day she was killed. Norris also cares for Heather's beloved cat, Mystie.
"She'll go down in her room and lay down there," Norris said.
Sometimes she dreams that Heather will return."I keep praying that she will walk through that door. That this isn't real," she said.
She feels that way because Heather's murder, in part, remains unsolved. Heather's former boyfriend Joshua Bean, convicted of the crime last September, is serving a 68-year prison sentence.
"He took my heart, my soul, my life," Norris said.
Bean confessed to stabbing Heather at his home, burning her body, dismembering it and tossing pieces in area dumpsters. But Heather's body has never been found.
"It's hard because there's no closure," Norris explained. "There's nothing physically there for me to look at to make it real. It's so hard to believe it sometimes."
So hard to believe that sometimes Debbie Norris holds onto the past, listening to Heather's voice on her cell phone. But in her heart, Norris knows Heather's voice is silenced. So she created a website in her memory called Heather's Voice.
"Heather is still alive as long as her voice is heard."
The website educates teenagers about dating violence and Norris takes Heather's story to schools, churches, and youth groups.
"I want them to know that this could happen to anybody. Never thought it would happen to us."
Debbie Norris tells teens the signs of dating abuse - signs she says Heather faced, as a teenager when she first started dating Joshua: jealousy, possessiveness, isolation and control. She saw Heather's personality change.
"When she would break up with him it was her bubbly self and when she was with him, she was quiet. She withdrew from her friends, from her family."
Heather filed domestic violence charges against Joshua twice for allegedly beating her. Debbie warns teens, "if you get hit once, you're going to get hit again. You have to take control of who you are and not let somebody control you."
From the depths of her sorrow, this mother speaks out to save other children. She says Heather would have done the same. "Heather walked out of the kitchen, stood in front of the window one day and she said, 'Mom,' out of the clear blue, she said, 'You know what? I believe I was put on this earth to help people.'"
In Heather's absence, Debbie Norris is helping as Heather's voice. "I think Heather would say, 'Gosh, Mom. Thanks. Thanks for doing this for me.'"
Sixty percent of teenage girls and 40 percent of teenage boys have faced dating violence. Teach your children to 'choose respect' through healthy relationships.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Teen held in ex-girlfriend's muder
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI) - The New Bedford teenager accused of shooting two other teenagers, killing one of them, was ordered held without bail following his arraignment in District Court Friday morning.
Police arrested Erick Cournoyer, 17, of Collins Street Thursday night. He is charged with multiple felonies in connection with a shooting outside his home Wednesday night. Bianca Maria Rosado, 18, was killed in the shooting. Her boyfriend, 17-year-old Victor Camacho, was also shot, but survived.
Cournoyer is is charged with murder, armed assault with intent to murder and possession of an illegal firearm. During court proceedings, prosecutors revealed Cournoyer is the victim's ex-boyfriend.
Rosado and Camacho have a 15-month-old son together.
Outside court, family members of both victims were visibly upset.
"We love her and we miss her. The best goes out to her family," said Eddie Broyle, family member of Camacho. "[Victor's] a great kid a great father. He's a loving kid. That's all I got to say."
Police arrested Erick Cournoyer, 17, of Collins Street Thursday night. He is charged with multiple felonies in connection with a shooting outside his home Wednesday night. Bianca Maria Rosado, 18, was killed in the shooting. Her boyfriend, 17-year-old Victor Camacho, was also shot, but survived.
Cournoyer is is charged with murder, armed assault with intent to murder and possession of an illegal firearm. During court proceedings, prosecutors revealed Cournoyer is the victim's ex-boyfriend.
Rosado and Camacho have a 15-month-old son together.
Outside court, family members of both victims were visibly upset.
"We love her and we miss her. The best goes out to her family," said Eddie Broyle, family member of Camacho. "[Victor's] a great kid a great father. He's a loving kid. That's all I got to say."
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Family, friends in shock over couple's death
July 6, 2009 04:17 PM EDT
Greenwood - Eyewitness News is learning more about the events leading up to the shooting death of a Greenwood teenager. Police say a 21-year-old Ian York shot and killed his 19-year-old fiancee Kelly Roome over the weekend. It happened in Marysville, California, where the two shared an apartment. Police later shot and killed York in Santa Clara.
Some of Kelly Roome's friends say what happened Saturday wasn't the first sign of trouble.
"Everybody loved her because she was just fun," said BreAnn Archer, friend.
Her contagious smile is what friends remember about Kelly Roome. She was a fun-loving, strong-willed 19-year-old who loved her family and her fiance Ian York.
"That was her guy, Ian was," said Archer.
So it is with unparalleled sadness and confusion that her young friends now try to understand the violence that claimed her life. Police say Saturday night the couple had an argument in an apartment they shared in California, where York was stationed with the Air Force.
York opened fire, hitting Roome in the chest. She died at the hospital. York was killed in an apparent shootout with police Sunday.
"She was always, to me, invincible which is why I can't believe it," said Chrissa Freese, friend.
Friends of the recent graduate of Greenwood High school where she played basketball and was crowned homecoming queen still reel from the shock Monday and wonder if they could have seen it coming.
"He was like the really, really jealous type," said Archer.
Although they admit they didn't know him well, Roome's friends describe her fiance as controlling and say the two argued often. It was they believe a fit of jealousy that led to the argument and eventually Kelly's death.
"I was talking to her very best friend Kristin this morning and she said the fight had been about either her arm around another guy or touching another guy," said Freese.
Military service
Ian York, who was training to be a police officer, was a 2006 graduate of Greenwood High School. His family says he just returned from Kuwait in February. Since then, they say he was "depressed" and frustrated that he couldn't be home with his family.
For friends and family, there may never be enough answers.
"I don't know what drives somebody to kill but the reason that he did it we still don't know and it doesn't matter and it doesn't change anything. Our daughter is gone and we will never, ever get to see her again. All we have are these pictures," said Daniel Roome, Kelly's father.
All they have to hang onto are memories of a young girl with a passion for life and whose own ended too quickly.
Friends say Kelly Roome had lived in California a month but had broken off the engagement. She was planning to come home Saturday but a flight delay kept her there.
York's family speaks
York's family said Monday he was planning to turn himself in.
"He truly loved her that's why it's just so - it was a big mistake - a tragedy for both families. It shouldn't have been because I can't even imagine him doing something like this," said Cindy York, Ian York's mother.
York's mother said she was on the phone with her son when he was shot by police. She said he called to apologize about what happened.
Ian York's family is also in shock.
"He loved his family," said Tierra Hernandez, displaying photos of Ian York, who was her uncle. Hernandez says he treated her like a daughter.
The Airman 1st Class, who had a three-year-old son, was devoted to family. It is his family who now struggles to understand the circumstances surrounding his death.
"I don't know what happened, but that's not his character," said Cindy York. "He was going to turn himself in. That's what he said."
"She was on the phone. He said, 'Mom, they're right behind me. She said, 'Ian, stop.' Then she heard him get shot. I took the phone from her I said, 'Hello, hello?'" said Tabitha York, Ian's sister.
"He was calling everybody, texting everybody to say he was sorry, that it was an accident he didn't mean to do it," said Kevin York, Ian's father.
"He loved her. I know he loved her," said Tabitha York.
"It's just a sad situation," said Cindy York.
Military police and local authorities continue to investigate what happened this weekend. His family - and the family of the young woman shot to death - hope for answers soon.
Greenwood - Eyewitness News is learning more about the events leading up to the shooting death of a Greenwood teenager. Police say a 21-year-old Ian York shot and killed his 19-year-old fiancee Kelly Roome over the weekend. It happened in Marysville, California, where the two shared an apartment. Police later shot and killed York in Santa Clara.
Some of Kelly Roome's friends say what happened Saturday wasn't the first sign of trouble.
"Everybody loved her because she was just fun," said BreAnn Archer, friend.
Her contagious smile is what friends remember about Kelly Roome. She was a fun-loving, strong-willed 19-year-old who loved her family and her fiance Ian York.
"That was her guy, Ian was," said Archer.
So it is with unparalleled sadness and confusion that her young friends now try to understand the violence that claimed her life. Police say Saturday night the couple had an argument in an apartment they shared in California, where York was stationed with the Air Force.
York opened fire, hitting Roome in the chest. She died at the hospital. York was killed in an apparent shootout with police Sunday.
"She was always, to me, invincible which is why I can't believe it," said Chrissa Freese, friend.
Friends of the recent graduate of Greenwood High school where she played basketball and was crowned homecoming queen still reel from the shock Monday and wonder if they could have seen it coming.
"He was like the really, really jealous type," said Archer.
Although they admit they didn't know him well, Roome's friends describe her fiance as controlling and say the two argued often. It was they believe a fit of jealousy that led to the argument and eventually Kelly's death.
"I was talking to her very best friend Kristin this morning and she said the fight had been about either her arm around another guy or touching another guy," said Freese.
Military service
Ian York, who was training to be a police officer, was a 2006 graduate of Greenwood High School. His family says he just returned from Kuwait in February. Since then, they say he was "depressed" and frustrated that he couldn't be home with his family.
For friends and family, there may never be enough answers.
"I don't know what drives somebody to kill but the reason that he did it we still don't know and it doesn't matter and it doesn't change anything. Our daughter is gone and we will never, ever get to see her again. All we have are these pictures," said Daniel Roome, Kelly's father.
All they have to hang onto are memories of a young girl with a passion for life and whose own ended too quickly.
Friends say Kelly Roome had lived in California a month but had broken off the engagement. She was planning to come home Saturday but a flight delay kept her there.
York's family speaks
York's family said Monday he was planning to turn himself in.
"He truly loved her that's why it's just so - it was a big mistake - a tragedy for both families. It shouldn't have been because I can't even imagine him doing something like this," said Cindy York, Ian York's mother.
York's mother said she was on the phone with her son when he was shot by police. She said he called to apologize about what happened.
Ian York's family is also in shock.
"He loved his family," said Tierra Hernandez, displaying photos of Ian York, who was her uncle. Hernandez says he treated her like a daughter.
The Airman 1st Class, who had a three-year-old son, was devoted to family. It is his family who now struggles to understand the circumstances surrounding his death.
"I don't know what happened, but that's not his character," said Cindy York. "He was going to turn himself in. That's what he said."
"She was on the phone. He said, 'Mom, they're right behind me. She said, 'Ian, stop.' Then she heard him get shot. I took the phone from her I said, 'Hello, hello?'" said Tabitha York, Ian's sister.
"He was calling everybody, texting everybody to say he was sorry, that it was an accident he didn't mean to do it," said Kevin York, Ian's father.
"He loved her. I know he loved her," said Tabitha York.
"It's just a sad situation," said Cindy York.
Military police and local authorities continue to investigate what happened this weekend. His family - and the family of the young woman shot to death - hope for answers soon.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Teen gets 25 years in slaying of girlfriend
A 19-year-old East Baltimore man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for executing his 14-year-old girlfriend, whom he had known for only a few weeks, by shooting her in her right temple at close range.
During the emotional hearing, in which Charles Jakes pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and a gun charge, the victim’s mother pounded her fists on a bench and screamed at the defendant: “Nothing you say will bring my child back. … Read the Bible. You reap what you sow.”
During the emotional hearing, in which Charles Jakes pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and a gun charge, the victim’s mother pounded her fists on a bench and screamed at the defendant: “Nothing you say will bring my child back. … Read the Bible. You reap what you sow.”
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