Previous Page | Next Page
Representatives of the Cruise Lines International Association, CLIA, has asked the Coast Guard to draft a “comprehensive reporting regime” for cruise lines to follow. This in the wake of the widely publicized disappearance of George Allen Smith IV aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise. The controversy surrounding George Smith’s disappearance lead to a Congressional hearing lead by US Representative Christopher Shays, R-CT.
U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., also held hearings on cruise line safety, questioning whether the industry did enough to track and report crime and other problems that occur on its ships.
Crye said that while cases of missing passengers, injuries and crimes aboard cruise ships are rare, the public scrutiny has caused the industry to consider establishing more uniform reporting standards.
Shays’ hearing raised questions about who is contacted and under what circumstances should the contact be made. Multiple agencies, such as the FBI, U.S. Coast Guard and foreign police, can sometimes get involved, although they each have different reporting standards. Crye said his trade group has asked the Coast Guard to draft a “comprehensive reporting regime” for cruise lines to follow.
“We’re ready to execute it as an industry,” Crye said.
(Greenwhich Times)
Comments from the Shays hearings on the cruise line industry and safety issues.
“Ocean travel puts passengers and crew in a distant, isolated environment and subjects them to unique risks and vulnerabilities. Like small cities, cruise ships experience crimes — from petty to profoundly tragic. But city dwellers know the risks of urban life, and no one falls off a city never to be heard from again. Cruise passengers can be blinded to the very real perils of the sea by ship operators unwilling to interrupt the party for security warnings. And after an incident occurs, a thorough investigation can be profoundly difficult when the crime scene literally floats away, on schedule, to its next port of call.
“Jurisdictional and bureaucratic tangles can also impede investigation and resolution of crimes at sea. For purely economic reasons, most commercial ships fly under foreign flags. Passengers cannot assume the protection of U.S. laws and law enforcement will be available in time, if at all. When events involve citizens of different nations, in the territorial waters of a third, all three can assert some jurisdictional claim. While these legal and diplomatic niceties are being resolved, the crime trail grows cold and crucial evidence may go overboard or melt into the crowd ashore.
Full House of US Representative memo
Attachments
Victims rights advocates; however, hope that Shays and Congress will pass legislation rather than hoping that the cruise line industry voluntarily complies with incidents reports. One would think that if the cruise line had been sincere it would not have taken all the negative publicity to act now. The George Smith case shed a spot light on the cruise ship industry as the Smith family has been unrelenting in their efforts for answers and laws/guidelines for cruise ships to adhere to so such events never occur again. The Smith family and Congress took notice of the numerous occurrences that has happened aboard cruise lines. They have had their chance to fix the problem, now its time for someone to tell them what to do.
Thirteen cruisers are presumed to have gone overboard in the past two years, according to the International Council of Cruise Lines. Nearly 11 million people took cruises in 2004 — 8.3 million of them Americans, the council says.
According to the FBI, about 50 U.S. cruisers are crime victims or disappear each year. Half the reported incidents involve sexual assaults; 20% are assaults; and 10% involve a missing person.
Shays said in an interview Thursday that cruise lines aren’t forthcoming about reporting bad things that happen to passengers. “Statistics are only provided on a voluntary basis,” he said. “They have a huge incentive to underplay crime.”
(USA Today)
June 10th, 2006 at 05:34pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder, Cruise ship, George Allen Smith IV, Missing, Missing Adult |
no comments
Authorities in Tennessee have captured a registered sex offender, Jerry Buck Inman, in connection with the bikini strangulation death of a Clemson University junior Tiffany Marie Souers.
Tennessee police arrested Jerry Buck Inman, 35, during a traffic stop near his parents’ home in Dandridge, Tenn., on charges of murder, rape and kidnapping, for the death of Tiffany Marie Souers, according to Jefferson County Sheriff David Davenport (Fox News)
Registered sex offender taken into custody near his parents’ home in Tenn.
Jerry Buck Inman, who was wanted on arrest warrants for murder, rape and kidnapping, was taken into custody without resistance during a traffic stop about a mile from his parents’ home in Dandridge, Tenn., Sheriff David Davenport said.
The family of Tiffany Marie Souers were obviously relieved at the arrest of this sexual predator who has been linked to the murder of their daughter by DNA.
Souers’ brother said he was smiling from ear-to-ear when he learned Inman had been arrested. “I gave my mom a hug and she said she felt happy for the first time in a while,” 16-year-old Trevor Souers said. “I was just really relieved.”
Once again, why are we not surprised that the alleged murderer is a repeat sex offender. Aren’t they always? When is this country going to start treating these people for what they are? Why is it OK for these predators to be walking the street and a danger to us all? Law abiding innocent people do not care any longer what these predator’s problems are in life. They are a danger and have to be locked away.
The 35-year-old construction worker was registered as a sex offender in Florida in September after he was released from prison for kidnapping and sexual battery. He also was registered in North Carolina. His last address is listed as Dandridge, Tenn. His mother, Vera McArthur, told The Greenville News earlier Tuesday that her son is bipolar and often suicidal, and had no idea South Carolina authorities were looking for him. She said he had been doing construction work in Tennessee and hasn’t been in South Carolina recently as far as she knows. “He just takes off and is gone a couple of days,” McArthur told the newspaper. (MSNBC)
UPDATE: Inman Confessed to Bikini Slay, Two Other Attacks
A convicted sex offender charged Wednesday with first-degree murder, kidnapping and rape in the bikini strangulation death of a Clemson University junior has confessed to the murder and two other sexual attacks in two other states, authorities said.
Jerry Buck Inman, 35, confessed to the May 26 murder of Tiffany Marie Souers, 20, as well as two sexual attacks of blond women in Tennessee and Alabama, The Anderson Independent-Mail reported Wednesday.
(Fox News)
June 7th, 2006 at 08:56am
Posted by
Administrator |
arrested, Crime/Murder, sex offender, sexual assault, Tiffany Marie Souers |
no comments
Authorities in South Carolina have issued a warrant for murder, rape and kidnapping 
for Jerry Buck Inman of Tennessee in the murder of Tiffany Sours. The Clemson University student was strangled with her bikini top in her apartment. According to authorities there was a DNA match from Jerry Buck Inman in Tiffany Souer’s apartment. Why were the authorities able to get a DNA match? You guessed it. Jerry Buck Inman is a released registered sex offender.
When are we ever going to learn that these heinous individuals cannot be let out of jail as they are just going to re-offend?
Inman has not been arrested. He is considered extremely dangerous and is likely in a green Chevrolet Camaro or an Econoline van, prosecutor Bob Ariail said.
Authorities said the construction worker is a registered sex offender from Tennessee although that information couldn’t be immediately confirmed on the Internet.
Inman also had a felony record from North Carolina and Florida, but Stewart wouldn’t elaborate. Ariail did say that he still thinks this is the first time the suspect has killed someone.
(Fox News)
Be on the look out for this damgerous individual with the following characteristics:
Scars, Marks, Tattoos: Tattoo Back:Skull; Tattoo Left Chest:Tiger; Tattoo Left Hand:Skull Pentagram; Tattoo Left Leg:Skull Dagger; Tattoo Neck:Bat; Tattoo Right Arm:Skull Dragon Cross Memory Of Broth; Tattoo Right Hand:Skull; Tattoo Stomach:Female Gun;
-
Race: White
-
Sex: Male
-
Height: 5′ 10″
-
Weight: 159 lbs.
-
Hair: Brown
-
Eyes: Brown
Sex offender sought in Clemson student’s death
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Authorities said Tuesday they were searching for a registered sex offender in the death of a Clemson University student strangled with her bikini top.
Jerry Buck Inman is wanted on arrest warrants for murder, rape and kidnapping. His DNA matched samples taken from Tiffany Marie Souers’ apartment, said State Law Enforcement Division Chief Robert Stewart.
The 35-year-old construction worker was registered as a sex offender in Florida for kidnapping and sexual battery. His last address is listed as Dandridge, Tenn.
(MSNBC)
Warrants issued in Clemson student murder
Inman, described as a construction worker, became a suspect after DNA samples from the crime scene were submitted to a national database and returned his name from two states, S.C. State Law Enforcement Division chief Robert Stewart said at the news conference.
Inman is registered as a sex offender in Florida. The so-called “cold hit” matches — DNA matches that bring an entirely new suspect to light — were confirmed this afternoon, Ariail said.
(The State.com)
Discussion Forum for Tiffany Sours.
June 6th, 2006 at 10:11pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder, sex offender, sexual assault, Tiffany Marie Souers |
one comment
What a shock, John Allen Muhammad was found guilty on all 6 counts of first degree 
murder for the six slayings in Montgomery County. One might say the verdict was “over-kill” as John Allen Muhammad has already been convicted in Virginia, where he is awaiting execution. In a case like this that was so premeditated and heinous, one can never be too sure.
After all the lenient judges we have heard about lately in dealing with murdered and child molesters, my cap is off to Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge James L. Ryan with his no nonsense approach in dealing with this man who has caused so many families grief.
After the jury’s decision was announced, he asked the judge: “Your honor, may I speak?”
“No sir,” Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge James L. Ryan responded.
Muhammad was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
(Washington Post)
read the rest here…
May 30th, 2006 at 06:49pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder |
no comments
Dominic and Nancy Ianiero, a Woodbridge, Ontario couple, were murdered while attending their daughter’s wedding in Cancun, Mexico. Initially Mexican authorities considered two Canadian women from Thunder Bay, Ontario,as suspects in the case. Now a crime scene investigator, Jorge Frenandez Lopez, in Mexico leaked graphic photos of a murdered Canadian couple to a tabloid newspaper.
The photos show the bodies of Dominic and Nancy Ianiero, a Woodbridge, Ont. couple, lying in a large pool of blood in their hotel room at a Cancun holiday resort.
Attorney General Bello Melchor Rodriguez said Jorge Frenandez Lopez, an investigator in the case, had admitted to releasing the photos. No decision had been made on whether Lopez would face criminal charges, but Rodriguez delivered a stern scolding.
The pictures that were released were met with much warranted outrage from the family of the Ianiero’s. I hope MR. Lopez made some nice money with the release of these photos as he should be fired and prosecuted for what he did.
“This type of employee doesn’t deserve to stay inside this institution,” he said in a statement.
The gruesome images were run on the front page of the Mexican newspaper Quequi, on Thursday, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with Mexican President Vicente Fox and U.S. President George Bush.
Dominic Ianiero is shown with his throat slashed, while Nancy Ianiero is pictured lying face down near the door, wearing what appears to be a night gown.
(CTV.CA)
April 1st, 2006 at 05:04pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder, Ianiero, Mexico |
one comment
Benjamin Martin, 30, has been arrested and charged with the murder of his mother, Nancy Martin, 51. It was reported that the two got into an argument that ended in Benjamin Martin killing his mother.
Benjamin Martin, 30, killed his mother, Nancy Martin, 51, on March 10, Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said.
Martin was arrested Wednesday night after relatives convinced him to lead police to his mother’s body, which had been dumped in a bush near a garage off a rural road in nearby Monroe Township.
Authorities were ready to arrest the unemployed Martin even before he came forward, Dalton said.
One dead and another life ruined all over a fight about the neatness of a home according to reports.
But, Dalton said, Nancy Martin was unhappy about how the house looked inside and confronted her son after she arrived. It was unclear whether he was expecting her visit.
Dalton said Benjamin Martin responded to his mother’s criticism by striking her neck with a blunt object and strangling her.
Her body apparently remained inside the home for four days before Benjamin Martin put it in her rental car and drove to the out-of-the-way place where he dumped his mother before leaving the car in a parking lot. The car was discovered March 21.
(WNBC)
Missing woman found slain; son charged
March 30th, 2006 at 11:26pm
Posted by
Administrator |
arrested, Crime/Murder, Missing |
no comments
At this mornings court appearance, Mary Winkler waives rights to a preliminary hearing and also to bond. She will go back to jail and await the outcome of the grand jury as to indictments against her for the murder of her husband, Matthew Winkler.
Winkler’s lawyers told the judge she would not request that a bond be set. Now she will remain in jail until she appears before a grand jury in June. If she is indicted by the grand jury, then a trial date will be set.
(WTVF 5)
Todays court appearance was to address the following issues:
That hearing was set for Thursday, March 30, at 9 a.m., at which time Gray said he will address the matter of bail and decide whether or not to bind the case over to the Grand Jury. Representing the state were 25th Judicial District Attorney Elizabeth Rice and co-council Van McMahan. In addition to Farese, his son, Steve Farese, Jr., Memphis attorney Leslie Ballin and Mark Garner of Atlanta are representing Mrs. Winkler.
March 30th, 2006 at 10:13am
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder, Mary Winkler |
2 comments
The attorney for Mary Winkler says his client is very depressed and very sad. 
Winkler was very somber during her court appearance the other day. With all the speculation as to the motive and the manner of the murder of her husband; Mary Winkler’s condition is some what understandable.
Thirty-two-year-old Mary Winkler made her first court appearance Monday in Selmer. She said nothing at the arraignment except “no sir” in a clear and strong voice when the judge asked if she had any questions about the charges against her. When Winkler shuffled through a side door in chains, several church members in the courtroom sobbed and dabbed at their eyes. Winkler did not look at them but kept her head down.
(WMCTV)
Attorney says minister’s wife ‘very confused’ 
Mary Winkler, the woman charged with killing her minister husband, is “very confused and overwhelmed” by what’s happening, her lawyer told NBC News on Tuesday.
She is “very detached, very detached from the gravity of the overall situation, very reserved, very quiet, very confused and overwhelmed,” Steve Farese said on the “Today” show.
(MSNBC)
Mary Winkler’s attorney, Steve Farese, stated that he wanted a psychological evaluation performed on his client. Winkler has supposedly confessed to the crime and has even told authorities the motive; however, they have refused to disclose it.
Tennessee officials have said they know a motive but have refused to disclose it. Farese said it is possible the motive will not be presented until a trial, adding, “but they will have to tell us in discovery.”
The Winkler case has drawn national attention due to the nature of the crime and the victim, a pastor, involved in the murder. The case had all the makings of a media frenzy when first a pastor was found shot to death, his wife and three children were missing causing an Amber Alert to be issued. As Mary Winkler’s attorney stated, its a circus.
Scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday in Selmer is a preliminary hearing, at which Tennessee prosecutors must make only a prima facie or “sufficient evidence” case to move the investigation toward a possible indictment.
“This is a media circus,” he observed Monday. “Everybody was there except the Taiwan Times, and they probably will be there Thursday.”
(Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)
Archive of Mary Winkler Posts
March 29th, 2006 at 12:48am
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder, Mary Winkler |
5 comments
Darryl Littlejohn, the bouncer of The Falls bar, today pleaded not guilty to the first degree murder charge against him in the death of Imette St. Guillen.
Suspect pleads not guilty to first-degree murder.
NEW YORK (CNN) — A nightclub bouncer has been formally charged in the slaying of a New York graduate student, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office said Thursday.
The office said Darryl Littlejohn has been indicted on one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. He entered not guilty pleas during his arraignment Thursday afternoon.
March 23rd, 2006 at 04:54pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder, Darryl Littlejohn, Imette St. Guillen, Rape |
no comments
Fox News is reporting that Darryl Littlejohn, The Falls bouncer, has been indicted for 
Murder of Imette St. Guillen. The heinous murder and rape of Imette St. Guillen shocked the collective conscience and souls of all.
Archive for the ‘Imette St. Guillen’
Grand Jury Indicts Littlejohn in Murder of N.Y. Grad Student
NEW YORK — A bouncer with a long rap sheet has been charged with murder in the death of a graduate student from Boston who was savagely raped, strangled and dumped last month in a desolate area of Brooklyn, a law enforcement official said Wednesday.
(FOX News)
Littlejohn indicted in St. Guillen murder
Littlejohn, 41, will be arrested at Riker’s Island tonight where he is being held on probation violations, sources tell the Herald today.
He will then be booked and fingerprinted at the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn, not far from the deserted area where St. Guillen’s body was found Feb. 25.
St. Guillen’s family is en route to New York City to be present at tomorrow’s arraignment of Littlejohn. New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly is also expected to hold a press conference tomorrow.
(The Boston Herald)
March 22nd, 2006 at 03:51pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Crime/Murder, Darryl Littlejohn, Imette St. Guillen, Rape, sexual assault |
2 comments
Previous Page | Next Page
