Cops: Man kills newlywed wife, then himself

This is a very odd suicide, something is missing. Whatever caused this man to kill his new wife is unknown, but after doing that it is likley he -knowing what prison is like for sex offenders- decided life was not worth living. It is a good thing his wife's daughter was staying elsewhere that night.

11-27-2009 Illinois:

A West Side man apparently shot to death his newlywed wife and then turned the gun on himself, Chicago police said this morning.

Antwone Coleman's body was found first late Thursday night, in the street in the 3300 block of West Monroe Street, a couple of blocks from the couple's residence in the 3400 block of West Madison Street. He had an apparent self-inflicted bullet wound to his head, police said.

As police investigated, they found the body of his wife, Claudette Coleman, 30, in the couple's third-floor Garfield Park apartment with a gunshot wound to her head.

Police came to the apartment about 1:55 a.m.

The couple were married Oct. 10, according to police.

Police said Antwone Coleman, 28, had a criminal record that included convictions for domestic battery and aggravated battery to a police officer. He was also a registered sex offender.

The older brother of Claudette Coleman said this morning that they were shocked to learn of her new husband's lengthy criminal record and said they knew nothing of any possible violence between the couple.

"It was news to us," said a distraught Artis Wilson outside his sister's apartment building in Garfield Park.

Wilson said that the couple had just spent Thanksgiving with family Thursday and that there were no signs of any trouble.

They were as "normal as you can get," Wilson said.

The couple grew up together, but Wilson said the family did not know of Antwone Coleman's criminal history.

Claudette Coleman was the mother of a 10-year-old daughter, Wilson said.

A friend of the family said Claudette Coleman's daughter had stayed with her great grandmother last night. ..Source.. Erika Slife and staff

MO- Gunman who killed ex-girlfriend in O'Fallon, Mo. was registered sex offender

11-16-2008 Missouri:

St. Johns Mercy Urgent Care Center in O'Fallon, Mo. will remain closed this weekend and reopen Monday.

On Friday, Gary Sheets, 45, held hostage his ex-girlfriend, who worked as a lab technician. Police said he shot and killed Jenenne Meadows, 47, before the SWAT team shot and killed him.

Sheets was convicted in 1998 of sexual assault against a 27-year-old woman in Colorado and served 3 years in prison.

Jeff Lesinski knew the suspect since high school at Ritenor. He believes his friend was frustrated from not being able to get a job after being labeled a felon. Lesinski said, "I think what he did was horrible and unforgivable but I can see how he got pushed into it but it doesn't make it right. I'm sorry for Jenenne and her kids. I'm sorry for his mom and his family. It's a terrible tragedy."

The victim had 3 children, the youngest being a teen.

Her family and neighbors asked for privacy. ..News Source.. by KSDK

WI- Wis. charges say gunman had `nothing to lose'

Bizarre story of a Michigan man, after committing a sex offense, goes nuts because he fears the label of "Sex Offender," so he goes out and kills innocent teens to bait police into coming within range of his gun so he could kill them as well.

8-7-2008 Wisconsin:

MARINETTE, Wis. (AP) — Scott J. Johnson hid in the woods knowing police were coming after him.

He had nothing to lose, plotting to kill as many officers as he could after luring them to a nearby river by ambushing a group of teenagers, according to a criminal complaint.

Johnson gunned down three teens as they relaxed near a bridge spanning the Menominee River between Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula that is a popular swimming site, prosecutors said Wednesday.

"His plan was to shoot anyone who showed up to help," Marinette County District Attorney Brent DeBord said.

But Johnson apparently reconsidered after shooting the teens, the complaint said. Following an all-night manhunt, he surrendered to authorities, disabling his military-type rifle in a way that would be obvious to them, DeBord said.

Johnson, 38, of Kingsford, Mich., was charged Wednesday with three counts of first-degree intentional homicide. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Johnson's public defender, Len Kachinsky, said he plans to hold his first meeting with Johnson before a court hearing Thursday.

"I think people should maintain an open mind and withhold judgment until the evidence is in," Kachinsky said.

The complaint tells a chilling story of a disaffected man who had thought about committing a random shooting for the past four or five years and prepared by stashing weapons in the woods.

"He stated that the sole purpose of his hiding this equipment was for when a day like this came," DeBord said.

Johnson finally decided to execute his plan last week after suspecting that a woman he had recently sexually assaulted would tell her ordeal to police, the complaint said.

He has not been charged with sexual assault, but more charges could still be filed, DeBord said at a news conference Wednesday at which he read the complaint but declined to take questions.

The complaint gives the following account:

Johnson said he lured the woman near the bridge the evening before the shooting, sexually assaulted her and tried to talk her out of calling police. He decided to wait there and kill any law enforcers who arrived to investigate. When none did, he returned home.

He left his home the next day and when he returned, his mother told him police were looking for him. Expecting to go to jail and fearing the label of sex offender, he decided "he had nothing to lose and the only power he had in this life was `to take.'"

He returned to the bridge, where he counted eight teenagers. He recovered his hidden Armalite 7.62 mm military-type rifle and an ammunition box with .308 cartridges that he had stowed at least a year before.

He found a hill on the Wisconsin side where he could shoot. He planned to wait until the youths were back on the Michigan side and shoot them as "bait" to lure law enforcers he could then also shoot.

But he was startled when four of the teens began to climb up toward him, instead of taking the path he expected. When the teens approached, he felt trapped and jumped up, firing about 17 shots. He saw people fall as he began to reload but decided not to fire again.

Johnson spent the night in the woods and turned himself in the next morning as an intensive manhunt was under way.

"Before exiting the woods, he disabled the firearm in a way so that law enforcement could see that the gun was disabled," DeBord said.

Two teens, Tiffany Pohlson, 17, and Anthony Spigarelli, 18, died instantly from single shots to the head. The third, Bryan Mort, 19, died of a shot to the torso. A 20-year-old man suffered superficial shrapnel wounds. All four were from Michigan.

The location of the wounds suggested all four were fleeing, said Scott Celello, undersheriff for Dickinson County, Mich.

Johnson's mother, Judy Johnson, had said her son was honorably discharged from the Army in 1994 without serving overseas and has been unemployed. She described him as despondent since his wife left him in 2001 and took their two children with her. She said she worried he might "do something stupid."

DeBord is handling the case because the shots were fired from the Wisconsin side. Michigan authorities are still investigating and could file additional charges, he said.

Christopher Ninomiya, the Dickinson County district attorney, did not immediately return a message left Wednesday seeking comment. ..News Source.. by DINESH RAMDE

Killer Targeted Sex Offenders

NOTE: Luz's father was accused of molesting him, but was not a convicted sex offender.

Be sure to see the video in the first story. To summerize this story: Chrisopher Lunz claimed he was abused as a child by father, and that is why he killed him. However, before he was imprisoned he claims he targeted other child molesters. One is Gerald Estes -from Georgia- who is missing to this date. Authorities have no proof of that claim but Lunz's word. Now, after being convicted of killing his father while in prison he also killed his cellmate (Nathaniel Taylor) who was a convicted child molester.

12-9-2009 Florida:

Before he killed himself a convicted murderer claimed he targeted child molesters here in the mountains. Christopher Lunz served time in prison for killing his own father.

Now Macon County investigators believe he killed Gerald Estes. Estes was accused of molesting young boys.

Chrisopher Lunz sent a letter to a Macon County detective going into graphic detail of how he and another man tortuted and killed Estes then burned his remains.


Lunz claims he targeted child molesters.

During his trial for murdering his father he said he'd been molested as a child.

This may explain why he targeted suspected pedophiles like Estes.

After getting the letter, admitting he killed Estes, the Macon County Sheriff's Office tried to reach Lunz at a Florida prison.

But he'd already killed himself after killing another prisoner who was also a convicted child molester. They believe there may be more victims out there. ..Source.. by News ABC13


IN LETTER, CONVICTED MURDERED SAYS HE KILLED A MACON COUNTY MAN

FRANKLIN-New details have surfaced in the case involving a convicted murderer who killed himself.

Christopher Lunz, a North Carolina resident made headlines a few years ago after being convicted for the murder of his own father, who he claimed sexually abused him during his childhood and was serving life in prison in a north Florida facility.

However, the case took another turn in September when the 41 year old Lunz allegedly took his own life while in prison. He had also allegedly killed a cell mate of his who was charged with child sex crimes.

But now the case becomes more startling as local authorities say they received a letter from Lunz in which he claims he killed a Macon County man awaiting trial on child sex crimes.

We spoke with Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland who has more details on this bizarre case, “When we received the letter we met with the District Attorney’s Office the same day and then we attempted to make contact with Lunz the following day. The problem was between the time he wrote the letter and it was delivered to us he had been involved in another homicide within the prison system and had also committed suicide.”

The letter stated that Lunz had picked up Gerald Estes from the Franklin motel then proceeded to torture and kill him.

Holland says Lunz actually confessed to the killing of Estes to the Sheriff’s Office before writing the letter, but after an investigation no hard evidence was uncovered, “We conducted searches and the SBI was involved as well.

We looked in various locations where he claimed to have burned and discarded the body. The problem was we were unable to find any kind of evidence related to Gerald Estes.”

Authorities say they did discover what was concluded to be human hair during the investigation, but it still wasn’t enough to prove Estes is dead.

Sheriff Holland goes on to say the letter states Lunz wanted to come back to North Carolina and lead investigators to the body if they would ensure he got the death penalty.

Holland said that wasn’t possible.

He adds another individual was involved in the alleged killing of Estes and that person did pass a polygraph test.

As for whether or not Estes was actually killed that is unknown but no one has reportedly seen him since he left the motel, “Mr. Estes did not check out of the hotel, but he did leave his belongings behind. Now we know that the reason he left them behind is because he was with Christopher Lunz,” Holland said.

Holland is hopeful that the investigation being conducted by the state of Florida will reveal more evidence on Gerald Estes. He says he will stay in the system until more evidence is produced, but they are not actively searching for a body. ..Source.. by WFSC Radio News/Keith Giles, November 23, 2009



Pinellas murderer commits suicide after fatally stabbing cellmate

9-22-2009 Florida:

NEW PORT RICHEY - If taken at his word, Christopher Lunz wanted to die.

After being convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of his father, Lunz begged a Pinellas County jury to sentence him to death in 2006. Instead, jurors recommended life in prison.

But Lunz, 41, made good on his death wish today, killing himself inside Florida State Prison in Raiford. His suicide came roughly 30 hours after he stabbed his cellmate to death and injured a second inmate while at Franklin Correctional Institution in Carrabelle, authorities say.

Lunz had been housed at Franklin since August 2006. He was only taken to the more secure Raiford facility after prison officials found convicted child molester Nathaniel Taylor dead Monday morning in the cell he shared with Lunz.

Taylor, 46, was serving time for violating parole on convictions out of Volusia County. He was scheduled to be released in 2016.

Prison officers opened cell doors at 4:55 a.m. Monday and immediately heard Lunz say he had a hostage and warn officers to stay back, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger. An officer talked Lunz into surrendering a shank and noticed Taylor's body.

Officials did not identify the injured inmate but said his injuries were not life-threatening.

Plessinger said she didn't know how Lunz made the shank or the manner of his suicide.

"The details are all pretty sketchy until the investigation gets a little further along," she said.

Lunz and co-defendant William Westerman were charged with first-degree murder in 2005. Authorities said the men drove from their home in North Carolina to Palm Harbor in March 2003 to kill 56-year-old David Lunz. Investigators said Christopher Lunz wanted his father dead so he could inherit his estate, which was valued at nearly $400,000.

The case made headlines when it went to trial in June 2006, partly because Lunz acted as his own attorney for most of the proceedings. Westerman made a deal with prosecutors and testified against his former mentor and roommate, admitting that he shot David Lunz but saying he did so on Christopher Lunz's orders.

Westerman, 29, is serving a 30-year sentence.

Lunz brimmed with confidence during his trial, even planning a press conference to announce what he thought would be a not guilty verdict. It wasn't to be. His dream of vindication shattered, Lunz pleaded for a death sentence during the trial's penalty phase.

"I don't mind," he testified. "I'm not too happy. I'm 38 years old, and I've never been in love, never been on a date."

He also testified that his father was killed for raping him as a child and beating his mother. Lunz called himself a serial killer and said he had killed more than 20 other men who had raped children.

The jury still refused to recommend death.

"I should have known better," Lunz said after he received the life sentence. "I should have known if you ask for death, they give you life." ..Source.. by TODD LESKANIC | The Tampa Tribune


Christopher Lunz Found Guilty In Dad's Killing

6-9-2006 Florida:

CLEARWATER - A man who orchestrated his father's slaying was convicted of first-degree murder Thursday, quashing his plans for a victory celebration.

Instead, jurors return to court today to hear evidence before recommending whether Christopher Lunz should be executed for the March 2003 murder of David Lunz in his Palm Harbor home.

Lunz, 38, represented himself and was so sure he convinced jurors of his innocence that he was planning a news conference to discuss his victory, said two defense attorneys appointed to assist him.

They acknowledged - as did many watching the case - that Lunz did a remarkable job representing himself, despite having demanded that his trial be staged quickly before the defense team had a chance to examine all the evidence and interview all the witnesses.

"From an attorney's standpoint, I don't think the case was fully developed. We never followed up on his [possible] alibi," defense lawyer Keith Hammond said. "As for all the evidence on the table, he did as well as any attorney could do. But I don't think we had all the evidence and the state had three years to prepare."

Lunz and the man who pulled the trigger were charged with his father's murder late last year after a gun stolen from David Lunz's home was found on the bank of a lake near where the killers lived in North Carolina.

William Westerman, 26, quickly confessed to the crime and said Lunz ordered him to shoot his father with a sawed-off shotgun after the son attacked his father during what Westerman thought was supposed to be a friendly visit, authorities said. He testified against his former roommate and mentor and will receive a 30-year prison term in exchange for his cooperation.

Assistant State Attorney Mark McGarry told jurors Lunz hoped to inherit an estate worth nearly $400,000 from his father, whom he had not seen or visited for decades. It turned out the elder Lunz did not include his son in his will.

In opening statements earlier this week, Lunz told jurors Westerman acted alone and that prosecutors had no evidence he ever visited Florida in March 2003. The lack of evidence tying him to the murder scene turned out to be true, but Lunz apologized to the jury during his closing arguments Thursday for failing to present any alibi witnesses.

Late Wednesday, Hammond told Circuit Judge Dee Anna Farnell the defense team was awaiting word from a North Carolina couple who might have testified Lunz was visiting their home the day his father was killed. But Lunz chose to rest his case without calling any witnesses, even though Farnell offered to give him time to contact the couple.

Instead, Lunz chose to focus on the lack of physical evidence tying him to the murder scene.

His father died after a violent struggle, and there was blood all though his house, Lunz told the jury in his closing argument.

Westerman testified Lunz attacked his father and struggled with him, yet there was no DNA, not a single hair or fingerprint left behind, he said.

"There was not one single piece of evidence to put me there, but there was of William Westerman," he said.

When Lunz returns to court today, it will be under extraordinary security. Nine bailiffs surrounded him as the verdict was read Thursday, and Lunz has been wearing a harness that can deliver an electrical shock, if needed, by a bailiff.

At a hearing last week, security officials told the judge they had evidence Lunz may have been planning an escape, said Dyril Flanagan, a second defense attorney assisting during the trial. Also, the judge was told Lunz is under investigation for five other murders, although no details were provided, Flanagan said. ..Source.. by DAVID SOMMER


Murderer, now dead, said he ‘did in’ accused molester

11-25-2009 Georgia:

Estes awaiting trial when Lunz nabbed, killed him, Lunz wrote

Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland confirmed details surrounding some bizarre twists in the case of a convicted murderer who apparently killed himself a few weeks ago after allegedly committing additional murders in a Florida prison.

Christopher Lunz was living here when sheriff’s deputies arrested him in the murder of his father in Florida in 2003. He had claimed his father had sexually abused him when he was a child. Lunz was extradited to Florida and was convicted in 2006 and was serving a life term there when he allegedly killed one inmate, stabbed another and left him for dead, then killed himself the next day, Holland said. At least one of his latest alleged victims was a convicted sex molester.

Before the recent slayings and his own death, Lunz sent local authorities a letter in which he claimed also to have killed Gerald Estes, who was awaiting trial here on charges of sex crimes against a minor. Holland said he believed the Estes proceedings dated to 2006.

“He’s still listed as missing, we’re still trying to locate him,” Holland said, though, “We don’t have an investigator working on it full-time.

“There’s still an outstanding warrant for [Estes’] arrest and failure to appear,” Holland said. “Until we find definite evidence [of his demise], he’ll remain that way.”

Authorities have searched sites Lunz pointed them to in looking for Estes’ remains, but no evidence was found of his death.

Holland confirmed that an accomplice in the murder of Lunz’s father, who is also serving a life term in Florida, took and passed a polygraph test in which he claimed he assisted Lunz in Estes’ murder, which supposedly took place after they picked Estes up from the Franklin hotel where he’d been staying.

Reports said Lunz wrote his recent letter restating his claim to have killed Estes and offering to help locate the body in order to make a deal to be executed, but Holland said that wouldn’t have been possible.

Estes’ belongings were left behind at the hotel where he was last seen and were never claimed by him, the sheriff said. ..Source.. by David Tell , Staff Writer

Sex offender ‘killed his family’

12-8-2009 United Kingdom:

Convicted sex offender Arthur McElhill killed himself and his family in a house fire in Omagh, County Tyrone, a coroner has ruled.

McElhill burned the house down because his partner threatened to leave him, Northern Ireland coroner Suzanne Anderson found o Tuesday.

Arthur McElhill, Lorraine McGovern and their five children died in the blaze at Lammy Crescent in 2007.

He had been having sex with an under-age girl in the weeks before the fire.

The inquest also heard of McElhill’s previous suicide attempts, and his use of a Bebo social-networking account in his son’s name to groom teenage girls for sex. ..Source.. by RocketNews.com


Sex abuser McElhill killed his family in Omagh fire

12-8-2009 United Kingdom:

Convicted sex offender Arthur McElhill killed himself and his family in a house fire in Omagh, County Tyrone, a coroner has ruled.

Coroner Suzanne Anderson said McElhill burned the house down because his partner, Lorraine McGovern, threatened to leave him.

McElhill, Ms McGovern and their five children died in the blaze at Lammy Crescent in November 2007.

He had been having sex with a 16-year-old girl in the weeks before the fire.

"I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Arthur McElhill and Lorraine McGovern had been up all night and that she was about to leave, taking with her at least some of her children, when the fire was started by Arthur McElhill," said Ms Anderson.

However, the coroner said she could not prove conclusively that McElhill had intended to commit suicide, noting that he had broken an upstairs window in an apparent bid to escape the home as the blaze took hold.

The coroner said that McElhill and Ms McGovern had gone out on the evening before the fire and left their children in the care of the 16-year-old girl he had been having sex with.

Ms Anderson said that when they returned a neighbour heard McElhill shout to McGovern that she couldn't run.

'Groomed girls'

She concluded that Ms McGovern was likely to be in the process of leaving him and this, coupled with his fear of facing prison because of his illicit relationship, contributed to him starting the fire.

The inquest also heard of McElhill's previous suicide attempts and his use of a Bebo social-networking account in his son's name to groom teenage girls for sex.

It also heard he had two previous convictions for rape.

The evidence that his wife was planning to leave included five full bottles of baby milk which were found in an upstairs bedroom.

Detective Chief Inspector Scott had told the inquest: "I don't think it was for one night. It would be inconceivable that they would need so much milk."

In a statement released after the verdict, McElhill's parents said their lives had been "devastated and shattered".

"Our pain is immeasurable and it will endure for the rest of our lives," they added.

Outside Omagh Courthouse, a solicitor speaking on behalf of Ms McGovern's parents, Theresa and Kevin, said the couple were relieved the proceedings had concluded.

"We are mindful that the McElhill family have also suffered greatly and we extend to them our sincere sympathy," the statement said.

They also paid tribute to the firefighters and other emergency services who battled in vain to try to save the family. ..Source.. by BBC