Articles Posted in Criminal Law

Officials have publicly identified the foster mother who was housing two young girls in an Auburn, Massachusetts home that one of them died in. Kimberly Malpass was caring for six children at the time of the heartbreaking discovery of two girls, aged two and younger, found unconscious in their home. Malpass is the biological mother of two sons, as well as the adoptive mother of a daughter, and the foster mother to three other children, all of whom were living in the house at the time. Malpass was the one who called 911 in near hysterics when she discovered the two young girls.

The investigation into the matter is still ongoing, but initial reports released for this case have indicated that upon arrival at the home in Auburn, police discovered two young children unconscious. One of the girls, a child identified as Avalena Conway-Coxon, had been cradled in the arms of Malpass prior to police arriving on scene. A neighbor said that she heard Malpass screaming at some point during the afternoon and that Malpass had run out of the house holding the young girl in her arms before she called for help. The second child, who has not yet been identified by police, was found lying by the door when they entered the premise. Both children were rushed to the hospital—Avalena was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later. The second girl remains in intensive critical care and an immediate update on her condition was not made available.

An autopsy has been performed on Avalena, but an exact cause of death has not been determined at this time. Reports have shown, however, that the young girl that has remained hospitalized showed signs of overheating as well as bruising consistent with that of a seat belt harness. Investigators are looking into the temperature inside the house as a possible contributing factor in this case.

A man from Hardwick, Massachusetts who is facing charges for severe child abuse is being held on $200,000 bail following his hearing in East Brookfield District Court this Wednesday. Randall E. Lints is accused of abusing and starving his 7 year old son Jack Loiselle, who has remained unconscious in a long term care facility since police were called to the family’s home last month. The public defender appointed to the case to assist Randall Lints says he believes the court ordered a high bail for the situation because they knew that Lints would be unable to pay the $200,000 amount. The public defender, Michael S. Hussey, called the decision a “forgone conclusion” after the announcement had been made official in court on Wednesday.

Michael Hussey also believes that the blame for what happened to this innocent child does not just lie with his client Randall Lints. Following the bail decision yesterday, Hussey spoke to reporters and said that “There may be plenty of blame to go around in terms of what lead to this terrible tragedy. The actions, decisions and choices made by previous caretakers, maybe judges, DCF workers, their supervisors, other people and certainly Mr. Lints himself.” Attorney Hussey went on to say that Lints only has a 5^th or 6^th grade level of education and that he feels as though this was a contributing factor in how Lints viewed discipline for his child. Hussey also believes that Randall Lints may have been receiving mixed messages from those around him, including DCF officials, about the proper way to punish children. Though there is no concrete evidence as of yet that DCF officials did in fact provide Lints with any sort of support in terms of how he handled punishment for his son Jack, Hussey still believes that Lints remained confused as to what was appropriate. According to statements provided by Randall Lints, he had indicated in the past that Jack suffered from behavioral issues, and that the punishments he inflicted were in retribution to these actions. And while Lints may not have fully understood how to properly deal with the behavioral issues his son was enduring, the general consensus is that the punishments were too severe for the crimes.

Among other things, Lints is being accused of locking Jack Loiselle in his room for unknown periods of time with very little food and water. Jack was unable to do things that the other children in the house were allowed to do, such as watch TV and play games. Jack loved school and was on his way to becoming a star student—but if he were to act out in any way, Lints would punish him by taking away his ability to do homework or even to go to class. Reports have also stated that Jack suffered chemical burns on his hands and feet after Lints would make him wash the floors with bleach for having an accident where Jack urinated on the floor. All of these punishments came to an end when Randall Lints had to call the police to his home upon finding Jack unresponsive in his room. At the time that law enforcement officials arrived on scene, Jack was dehydrated and weighed approximately 38 pounds. According to reports, he had allegedly lost 10-15 pounds over the period of a few short weeks. Those weeks happened to include visits from DCF—something that is generating outrage from those on the outside of the situation looking in. If DCF officials, who are supposed to be providing care and safety to children under their supervision, could not detect that something seriously wrong was taking place here then what were they doing?

The kidnapping of two children from Abington, Massachusetts sparked an Amber Alert Thursday afternoon. The two children were found safe later in the day in Yarmouth, Massachusetts and police have arrested the children’s mother in relation to the kidnapping. 7 year old Nathalia Portela Coelho and her 8 year old brother Nathan Portela Coelho were abruptly taken from their home Thursday morning by their mother after she impersonated police to enter the property where the children live with their father.

According to preliminary reports released from responding officers, the Abington police department received a phone call at approximately 9:00 AM Thursday morning alerting them of the ongoing situation. The father of Nathalia and Nathan reported that the mother of his children, Bruna Gomes, knocked on the door and declared “Abington Police, open the door,” before pepper spraying the caretaker who answered the door and forcefully letting herself inside the residence at 94 Walnut Street. After making her way inside the apartment, Bruna Gomes physically extracted her two children from the premise and fled the scene. Following the report of the kidnapping, Abington Police issued an Amber Alert detailing the vehicle Gomes was driving. Police asked for individuals across Massachusetts to be on the lookout for a blue, 2007 Nissan Quest minivan with a Massachusetts license plate reading: 985TM9.  Continue reading

The man accused of abusing a dog that came to be known as Puppy Doe over two years ago was sentenced yesterday for larceny charges brought against him in a case relating to the owner of the animal. Radoslaw Czerkawski, a 34 year old Polish immigrant, was found guilty of theft—he had stolen over $130,000 from the elderly dementia patient he had been entrusted to care for. The patient, 95 year old Janina Stock, passed away in August of 2013, and at the time of her death those investigating the matter had discovered that Czerkawski had been stealing her assets as well as neglecting to actually care for the woman. A report claims that in the entirety of the time that Czerkawski spent taking care of Janina Stock, which was roughly seven months or so, he never once took her to her see a doctor. He would frequently leave her alone while he made overnight trips to Connecticut. And according to investigators, he also severely abused, mutilated, and starved the woman’s dog.

The family of Janina Stock is still in shock about what had taken place right under their noses. They expressed a great sense of disbelief and confusion. Radoslaw Czerkawski had apparently informed the Stock family that he was in the country to become a priest. Now he has already stood trial for larceny and faces up to three to five years at MCI-Cedar Junction state prison for his crimes. He is scheduled for a hearing on August 14^th, at which time they could potentially set a trial date for his animal cruelty charges. A man that was hired by an elderly woman’s grandchildren to be her constant companion and to provide her with the care she so desperately needed, violated every possible aspect of her life shortly before her death. Continue reading