Kidnapping is when an individual taken unwantedly with force. Sometimes people do it for a ransom, and others do it for enjoyment or pleasure. This one of the worst things someone could endure during their lifetime. It will scar people emotionally and physically. Sadly, in this case, two kids were kidnapped 4 years apart by the same man.
This kidnapper’s name is Michael J. Devlin. He put these kids through pain no one should have to endure. At the time of these kidnappings, he was a manager at a pizza parlor in Kirkwood, Missouri. He was raised in Webster Grove, and owned a one bedroom apartment. The kids he kidnapped were Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby (O’Neil).
Shawn Hornbeck is now a kidnapping survivor who had 4 years taken away from his life. He is now 25 years old and attends a private school in St. Louis, Missouri. He also has a job at a factory in Pevely. Shawn was only 11 years old when he was taken (O’Neil). He was riding his bike to his friend’s house when Michael Devlin pushed him off his bike and put him in his truck (“Kidnapped Boy Recounts). Devlin used a handgun
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to gain control over Shawn. He then took Shawn out of the county and concealed his whereabouts for 4 years. During the next 4 years, Michael put Shawn through pain no one should ever endure. Investigators have said that Devlin subjected Shawn to a particularly intense month of abuse at the start of the captivity, tying him to a futon and duct-taping his mouth.
At one point, Devlin tried to strangle him but stopped after Shawn promised he would never tell anyone (“Kidnapped Boy Recounts”). Devlin made Shawn take on the last name Shawn Devlin instead of Hornbeck. Devlin also admitted in court that he took pornographic images and videos of Shawn and taking him across state lines to engage in sex acts (“Pedophile Used”). Those were few of many things Devlin did to Shawn. Eventually, throughout the 4 years, Devlin let Shawn hangout with buddies, get a cell phone, and go on dates (O’Neil). Shawn could have easily escaped. However, Shawn didn’t because he said that Devlin would have killed him (“Kidnapped Boy Recounts”). Four years after Shawn was kidnapped, Ben Ownby was
kidnapped. Ben Ownby is also a kidnapping survivor. He is now 23 and lives in the St. Louis area. He also goes to college in St. Louis. Ben was only 13 years old when he was kidnapped. Luckily, he was only taken for four days (O’Neil). Devlin took Owbny when he was getting off his bus in Franklin County. While this happened, Ben’s neighbor, witnessed the interaction and told police the description of the vehicle. Devlin took Hornbeck with him to kidnap Ben. Shawn said he tried everything he could do to stop Devlin from doing this again (“Kidnapped Boy Recounts”). Once Ben was in the truck, Devlin took them back to his one bedroom apartment in the 400 block of South Holmes Avenue, near the Pacific Union Rail Line in Kirkwood (O’Neil). However, nothing really happened to Ownby because of Shawn. Shawn threw himself of the sword many times so that Ben would have to go through any undue torture. On the other hand, Devlin told Shawn that he was going to kill Ownby, but luckily Ben’s neighbor, Mitchell, reported Devlin’s truck to the police which lead to the former pizzeria managers arrest (“Pedophile Used”). Both the boys were found alive and fine. Devlin on the other hand, was arrested and sentenced to court. He was charged with 24 life sentences, making him ineligible for parole until he is more than 100 years old. Also, he has to serve 170 years in federal prison time (O’Neil). He won’t be getting out anytime soon.
A horrific murder happened in tiny Skidmore on December of 2004. Lisa Montgomery and Bobbi Jo Stinnett met and found out that they had much in common and became good friends (Nunes 85-86). Surprisingly, Bobbi and Lisa met in an internet chat room. Bobbi was into puppy breeding and she occasionally served as a judge. Lisa lived in Kansas where her close friends were shocked about what she was talking about. Of course, Lisa shrugged it off and she sent an email to Bobbi saying that she wanted to see the puppies (Nunes 85-86). When Lisa met Bobbi Jo she had a fake name which was Darlene Fisher because she didn’t want Bobbi to know her real identity. When Lisa sent Bobbi the email she had a criminal intent on her mind. She was planning to choke Bobbi into unconsciousness and then cut open her womb and steal Bobbi’s unborn baby. When Lisa arrived at the house she threw a rope around Bobbi’s neck and choked her until she was unconscious. That is when Lisa took a knife and started to cut open Bobbi’s stomach. Lisa had to cut through skin, fat, and muscle to get to Bobbi’s uterus. Bobbi’s baby was in eight-month gestation; Lisa cut and tied the baby’s cord. Lisa stole the baby and fled to her house in Kansas. Unfort...
In November of 1980 A young girl, 12 years old, named Christine Weller went missing. She would later prove to be one of Olson's first murder victims. Christine was abducted from her home in Surrey, BC. Her mutilated body ...
January 13, 1996, nine-year-old Amber Rene Hagerman was abducted while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. That afternoon, Amber, and her brother were at their Grandparents house. Amber Hagerman, and her five-year-old brother, Ricky, pedaled their bicycles to an abandoned grocery store. This was a typical place for children to ride their bikes because it was an abandoned parking lot with lots of room to play and ride. Minutes later, Ricky turned to head back home, about a block away. Jim Kevil, a 78-year-old retiree, stood in his backyard not far...
Alicia Pereira was the first. In 1972, five-year-old Alicia disappeared after her brother left her alone in a hotel lobby. One minute she was playing around, and the next she was gone. Rand was the prime suspect in this case. Although they never proved Andre killed her, little Alicia was never seen again. There isn't much to his next victim. Her name was Audrey Lyn Nerenberg, and she was 18 years old. Just like Alicia, Audrey was never seen again after the day she went missing in 1977. In 1981, Holly Ann Hughes, a seven-year-old girl did not return home after she went with a friend to get candy from a local store. Andre Rand saw Holly at the store, drove by her in his Volkswagen, pulled her in, and drove off. Holly’s parents filled out a Missing Person’s report. Unfortunately, they never got their daughter back. Why did Rand leave her friend? Who knows why. Tiahease Jackson, in 1983, was 11 years old when she went missing. She did not return home after her mother sent her to get groceries. Tiahease was last seen on August 14th, 1983. This was 12 days after Andre was released from a previous prison sentence. Like Alicia, Audrey, and Holly, Tiahease was never seen again. Henry was his oldest victim, at the age of 22. In 1984, Henry Gafforio disappeared. Some say, Henry was “slow.” Not physically slow, but mentally slow. He was last seen with Rand at a local diner. Now this next
In July of 1994, a little girl named, Megan Kanka, was raped and strangled. They found her body near her home in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. The story of thing young girl has shocked the nation. The man responsible for this brutal act is named, Jesse Timmendequas. He had been convicted twice prior to this attack.
A book titled Taken, by Edward Bloor is a fascinating story of adventure and kidnapping that is set in the year 2035. In this futuristic book, kidnapping is a rather common practice. Children that are raised by very rich families are often the ones that are kidnapped, or "taken" because the parents could provide more ransom money. For this reason, all rich children would move to highly secured neighborhoods, and hire butlers that doubled as security guards. The children were then required to take classes on what to do if they were taken.
Michael and Derrick both struck a deal in exchange for implicating Andy as the one who fired the fatal shots. Under Colorado’s felony murder rule, Andy could be found guilty of first-degree murder just for simply participating in a violent felony. Of the three boys, Andy would be the only one to stand trial for first-degree murder, which could carry a mandatory sentence of life without parole. In May 2001, Andy went to trial, after a brief deliberation, the jury found Andy guilty of robbery and murder in the first-degree. Andy has been serving his sentence in a Colorado State Penitentiary, the state’s “supermax” high-security prison for the past 9 ye...
Crime Scenario: This case is about a missing 9 year old boy who lives with his mother, younger sister, and his mother 's boyfriend. The child has been missing for over 24 hours and the boyfriend seems very protective of the mother and answers most of the questions about the disappearance. The scene is overwrought with the media, neighbors, and volunteers offering to help with the search for the missing boy.
abducted "identified" him. Butler, who was on 10 years probation at the time for a previous rape
Sex trafficking is a sex act by force where money is involved. Buying or selling someone for sexual acts. Examples are strip clubs, porn, and prostitution. Sex trafficking is todays slavery. Many of those involved in sex trafficking were minors when they first got involved and have been involved for many
Child abduction or child theft is the unauthorized removal of a minor (a child under the age of legal adulthood) from the custody of the child's natural parents or legally appointed guardians. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_abductionChild abduction has always been an issue in the United States over the past one hundred and forty years, but was not recognized until the late 1970s and 1980s. The subject grew and grew as parents and the public grew with fascination with this crime. It was drawing a lot of attention especially because Americans were watching the news. Parents were living in terror, with the fear that their children could get kidnapped. By the 1980s Americans began to grow with much fear due to the publicity surrounding a series of kidnappings of young boys. During this time the parents of the victims created foundation to assist in finding other children and brought the subject to the attention of national authorities, including congressional panels. They helped to stimulate the passage of laws and authorized new FBI oversight and provided funding for a new agency, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.http://origins.osu.edu/article/child-kidnapping-america/page/0/1
Imagine a little boy going missing at the age of seven, and whom has remained missing for the past seven years. This is exactly what happened to Kyron Horman, a seven year old boy who went missing on June 4, 2010 from Skyline Elementary. Kryon was last seen that morning with his stepmom, Terri Moulton Horman, on June 4th at his school’s science fair before he went missing. Police officers and search and rescue members have been looking for him since 2010, but he is still nowhere to be found. There are many theories behind his disappearance.
Persons found guilty of committing the crime of kidnapping risk being imprisoned or heavily find. Additionally, during a kidnap some other offense might occur such as assault and battery. False Imprisonment and Kidnapping are comparative terms but unmistakable as per their legal definitions. While both include persuasively taking an individual away without his consent, false imprisonment is more correctly used in particular cases where a person is confined in a bounded place and denied his or her freedom. Kidnapping is a broader term and includes the unlawful taking of an individual without his consent using threats, deceit, or force with an end goal of confining him or her (Robbins, 2014).
The definition of kidnapping is taking away a person against his or her will through force or threat and holding such person in false imprisonment; holding a person without any legal authority or right to do so. There are many reasons this horrible crime is committed. Some kidnap for ransom, to succeed in other crimes, gain custody of their child, and even political reasons. Although most of us associate strangers to be the committers of such a crime, a lot of victims are actually kidnapped by someone they know or even a relative ("Criminal Law Lawyer Source").