Sheriff’s deputies say the incident does not appear to be an accident and have arrested and charge a 14-year-old under the suspicion that he killed the boy.

“The children are not in danger – this teenage boy hurting their children – he is in custody,” said Sheriff Margaret Mims.

Although there is some comfort in knowing this, it does nothing to alleviate the family’s loss. Since the discovery friends, family, neighbors, and community leaders have laid flowers and paid their respects at the makeshift memorial set in front of the Mercado residence.

To help the Mercado family, you can donate money at any Westamerica Bank branch under the “Alex Mercado Memorial Fund.”

Peoria law enforcement officials investigating the case have stated that they expect to change the original charge of aggravated assault against the father, Hassan Almaleki, 48, to more severe counts after meeting with prosecutors. Authorities explained that Hassan had become infuriated by his daughter’s style of dress and her resistance towards his traditional Iraqi rules and way of life.

Following the failed “honor killing” Hassan drove to Mexico City, and after abandoning his vehicle, caught a plain to Britain where he was denied entry and sent back to the United States where he was apprehended at an Atlanta airport.

Although honor killing has deep roots in many societies. It is the murder of a family member who has brought upon dishonor upon the family by one or more fellow family members.

The United Nations Population Fund estimates that annually up to 5,000 people fall victim to honor killings.

The search continues for three Dickinson State University softball players after a friend received a hysterical phone call from one of them in which they mentioned water. Two calls were made to the friend but both ended abruptly.

Authorities do not suspect any foul play. Instead, one of the girl’s father, Lenny Gemar, believes that it was an accident that happened when the girls went to stargaze at a nearby lake – a frequent past-time of theirs.

Dickinson is a “pretty small town” that lacks an active nightlife, he said, and the women were known to go out to the lake to stargaze and chat.

The three students, Kyrstin Gemar, 22, Afton Williamson, 20, and Ashley Neufeld, 21, were last seen at 10:45 p.m. on Sunday evening.

In addition to the planes that scoured the rural area where the women are thought to be, divers from the Dickinson Fire Department were searching a nearby lake.

The couple, Homer L. Stanton and Jo Ann Staton, had gone missing after leaving a restaurant on Friday night.  They were found by officials, beaten to death, at two separate locations.  Both Homer and Jo Ann had died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Authorities are stating that the Fullbright had murdered the couple with the motive of robbery.  Homer Stanton was a jewelery trader, and allegedly agreed to a transaction with Fullbright on Friday night.  When they met, Fullbright robbed and killed them.  Their car was found with blood stains, but no bodies were inside.

Police found the bodies 6 days apart.  Homer Stanton was found in Greenville County on Sunday, while Jo Ann was found today in Iva.  If convicted, Fullbright may face life in prison without parole.

Luqman Ameen Abdullah, the purported leader of the group was fatally shot during Wednesday’s raids after he fired at law enforcement officers. An FBI dog was killed in the shoot-out. He was quoted in a criminal complaint as saying, “If they’re coming to get me, I’ll just strap a bomb on and blow up everybody.”

Abdullah was one of at least 11 men charged on Tuesday with conspiracy to commit federal crimes, including theft from interstate shipments, mail fraud to obtain the proceeds of arson, illegal possession and sale of firearms, and tampering with motor vehicle identification numbers, the FBI said in a news release.

There are currently nine suspects in custody and two others remain at large.

The men charged, excluding Luqman Abdullah, were identified as Mohammad Abdul Bassir, aka Franklin D. Roosevelt Williams, who is serving a prison term at Ojibway Correctional Facility in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; Muhammad Abdul Salaam; Abdul Saboor; Abdullah Beard; Ali Abdul Raqib; Garry Laverne Porter; Adam Hussain Ibraheem; Mujahid Carswell; Mohammad Philistine; and Yassir Ali Khan.

The last two on the above list are charged but still at large. Philistine, also known as Mohammad Alsahi, is a 33-year-old resident of Ontario and Khan, 30, who is believed to be a resident of Ontario and Warren, Michigan.

All of the defendants are members of the group Ummah, a nationwide group made up of mostly African-American Muslims, including some converts.

When police stopped a vehicle matching the caller’s description, they were stunned by the men’s disguises.

In a failed bid to disguise themselves, Matthew Allan McNelly, 23, and Joey Lee Miller, 20, streaked their faces with permanent black marker.

Both men were charged with attempted burglary, and McNelly was charged additionally with operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Carroll Police Chief Cayler said police believe one of the alleged burglars targeted the home because he suspected his girlfriend had a relationship with the man who lived there.

“They probably were just not thinking straight and figured we’ll go out and scare the guy or whatever. [They were] being dumb and combine that with alcohol and it was the perfect storm.”

“We’re very skilled investigators and the black faces gave them right away,” Cayler said jokingly. “I have to assume the officers were kind of laughing at the time. I’ve never heard of coloring your face with a permanent marker.”

Neither have we.

Jose Carlos Montano, 18, was arrested on charges of felony rape, rape in concert with force, and penetration with a foreign object, said Richmond Police Lt. Mark Gagan. He is being held in lieu of $1.3 million bail.

Police said that as many as 10 people participated in raping and beating the girl in a dimly lit back alley at the high school, while another 10 people watched without calling 911.

Four other teenage suspects were arraigned Thursday on charges connected to the rape – Cody Ray Smith, described by the court as older than 14, pleaded not guilty to charges of rape with a foreign object and rape by force; Ari Morales and Marcelles James Peter also appeared with Smith, but did not enter a plea. The court described Morales as younger than 16, but did not give an age for Peter.

All three juveniles, who donned bulletproof vests at the hearing, were charged as adults.

The fourth person, Manuel Ortega, 19, appeared separately without an attorney and did not enter a plea. He did not wear a protective vest.

The boy was found on Tuesday morning, having locked himself in the van where he and his 2-year-old brother were attacked by their mother.  Covered in blood, he explained to the police that he was injured in the throat by his mother, and that his mother also attacked his baby brother.  The explanation is where the startling audio clip was recorded.

Kehoe has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and child endangerment causing serious injury.  In a plot to cover her attacks, authorities say that Kehoe left her sons to die in the van, walking to a nearby pond to commit suicide with the same knife, a hunting knife that she had bought a month earlier.

Realizing that she was not going to die, authorities say Kehoe walked to the nearest home to deliver a canned story about how a stranger kidnapped her family and killed her sons.  In her story, she survived the attack, but her sons did not.

Unfortunately for her, her 7-year-old son did not die, and delivered what should be the finishing blow on Kehoe’s defense.  She has pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against her.

It was known to the court that Kehoe and her attorney’s were planning for an insanity plea.  Kehoe’s attempts at a cover-up, including scattering an unused first-aid kit around the scene and writing a note documenting the attack, may in fact destroy her chance for a successful insanity plea.  Kehoe, the prosecutor said, had been planning the attack for a month with the purchase of the hunting knife and duct tape.  She lied to her husband in order to be alone with her children.

If convicted, Kehoe will face life in prison without parole for first-degree murder.