Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => CEDU / Brown Schools and derivatives / clones => Topic started by: Anonymous on November 12, 2009, 06:38:39 PM
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DOJ investigators would like to hear from former CEDU staff members and students that may have had contact with Dr. Burnell Forgey (phyciatrist) or his "assistant" James Crummel. Investigator Bill Gleason may be conacted through the California Department of Justice, Missing Person Unit at (916) 227-3290.
http://http://alpenhornnews.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=388&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2750&hn=alpenhornnews&he=.com
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DEATH ROW SERIAL MOLESTER CONNECTED TO CEDU (http://http://alpenhornnews.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=388&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2750&hn=alpenhornnews&he=.com)
Thursday, NOV 12, 2009 The Alpenhorn News
Chuck Wyatt, Staff Writer
(http://http://alpenhornnews.com/clients/alpenhornnews/11-12-2009-10-57-11-AM-9499260.gif)
James Lee Crummel
California Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators are researching the possibility that serial child molester and child murderer, James Lee Crummel, 65 of San Quentin State Prison, had years of free, unsupervised access to the students at the now defunct CEDU School in Running Springs.
The CEDU schools in Running Springs were founded by Mel Wasserman in 1967 and promoted itself as an emotional growth-boarding school for troubled youths. Monthly costs to board a student reportedly ran as high as $3,500 dollar a month. The school closed its doors in 2005 amidst allegations of financial improprieties, allegations of sexual and physical abuse of the students, by other students and staff members and citations issued by the State of California for various violations. At a non-compliance conference, CEDU officials reportedly admitted that the rights of students under their care were systematically violated.
The current investigation is focused on the activities of Doctor Burnell Forgey and his reported assistant, Crummel.
Crummel, whose criminal history of violence against children dates back to the early 1960s, is on death row for a 2004 Riverside County murder conviction of 13-year-old James "Jamey" Trotter of Costa Mesa. Trotter disappeared over 25 years ago and his remains were discovered by a hiker in 1990 in a remote area off the Ortega Highway, but were not identified until 1996.
The hiker that discovered the remains and notified authorities was James Lee Crummel who lived on the same street as Trotter when Trotter disappeared. Investigators later discovered that Trotter would have to pass by Crummel's residence several times a day.
In that trial, the jurors found Crummel guilty of first-degree murder, and that the murder occurred while Crummel was committing lewd acts with a child, thereby making Crummel eligible for the death penalty.
After joining the Army in the early 60's, the 17-year-old Crummel was convicted of molesting two boys and a girl in Missouri, taking them into a remote wooded area where he tied the 11 and 13 year old boys to a tree and sexually assaulted them. Crummel was convicted of the crime and sentenced to prison. He was released in 1967.
In June or July of 1967, Crummel kidnapped nine-year-old Fred Clawson, who lived on the same street as Crummel, and took him into the Arizona desert where he sexually assaulted, then strangled him.
In April of 1967, before he was connected to Clawson's murder, Crummel had been tried and convicted of kidnapping and molesting a boy in Los Angeles County.
Nine months later, Crummel and his roommate moved to Wisconsin where Crummel took a 14-year-old boy into the woods, repeatedly beat him bloody with a tree branch and left him for dead in a ravine. The boy managed to crawl out of the woods the following morning.
In July of 1981, 6-year-old Jeffrey Vargo was reported missing from his Anaheim Hills home. Vargo's body was found twenty miles away at construction site. Investigators reported that Vargo had been molested and strangled. To this day, Crummel remains the prime suspect in the murder.
In 1982, Crummel was invited to a neighborhood Halloween party. Crummel reportedly arrived wearing an alien costume and had glitter on his face. During the festivities, the host became concerned when he had not seen his nine-year-old son for some time. The father found Crummel molesting his son in the boy's bedroom. The irate father and other partygoers applied a liberal dose of "street justice" then called the police. The police report indicated that glitter was collected as evidence from the area around the boy's genitals.
In 1995, Crummel, who was living in Big Bear City, had been charged with fifteen counts of child molestation. Most of the charges had to be dismissed during the trial when the State of California Supreme Court changed the statute of limitations, and the window of prosecution had passed.
That same year, former nine-year-old Crestline resident Jack (JD) Phillips disappeared while watching a parade in Big Bear. Crummel just happened to live on the same street as Phillips at the time. Phillips is still listed as missing.
At the time of his last arrest, Crummel was living with Dr. Burnell Forgey, a psychiatrist with a practice in Costa Mesa, in Forgey’s Newport Beach condominium. In addition to his private practice, Forgey counseled troubled teens at group homes around Southern California.
Crummel was described as "a faithful servant, chauffeur, maintenance, and right-hand- man" to Forgey, now deceased.
In 1997, California State Investigators were notified that Crummel was accompanying Forgey when he would travel to the youth homes. State officials said Forgey described Crummel to group home staff as his assistant, but Forgey never informed the staff that Crummel was a registered sex offender and pedophile.
In 1998, Forgey confessed that he had engaged in oral sex with a 16-year-old patient while Crummel sodomized the minor. Forgey also admitted that he gave Crummel free access to his adolescent patients' files, took Crummel with him on his rounds to group homes and would leave him alone with young patients during his visits from 1990 to 1994.
Both men were convicted of child molestation and received jail sentences.
After Forgey confessed to taking Crummel with him to youth homes, State of California officials began examining records of psychiatrists used by group homes around Southern California. During the still-in-progress investigation, it was discovered that Forgey also practiced at CEDU in Running Springs.
In an exclusive interview with The Alpenhorn News, DOJ Missing Person Investigator Bill Gleason confirmed that Forgey was a contracted psychiatrist at CEDU, and it appears that Crummel also accompanied him when he visited CEDU.
It might have been a strange coincidence, Gleason said, but the number of runaway juveniles reported from CEDU always seemed to have increased just after Forgey had sessions at the CEDU campus.
Gleason said what the DOJ is examining now is the connection between Crummel being on the CEDU campus and the disappearance of then 17-year-old John Christopher Inman on January 16, 1993 and Blake Wade Pursley, aged 14, on June 26, 1994.
A third student, Daniel Ted Yuen, aged 16 at that time, disappeared from CEDU on February 8, 2004, but is not considered a possible victim of Crummel due to the date of disappearance, and subsequent reported sightings of Yuen.
Gleason said DOJ investigators would like to hear from former CEDU staff members and students that may have had contact with Forgey or Crummel. Gleason may be conacted through the California Department of Justice, Missing Person Unit at (916) 227-3290.
Copyright © 2009 The Alpenhorn News.
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Information on the now deceased pedophile psychiatrist Dr. Forgey who abused his patients and made his patients available to twice convicted child rapist and murderer (Crummel) as posted under the psychiatric and psychological crime watch report:
Sexual Rampage - The Psychiatrist and the Child Molester
Costa Mesa, Calif source: Orange County Register, February 4, 1998 and the Los Angeles Times, May 6 & 7, 1998
Psychiatrist Burnell Forgey, 80, admitted guilt to 20 pages of allegations, that he was sharing his home with James Crummel, a career sex criminal who is suspected of killing a Costa Mesa boy, and took Crummel on rounds with him to youth group homes, where Crummel was allowed to roam free, left alone with the youths and given access to the youths' files. One of Crummel's sexual molestations was so violent he nearly beat a boy to death with a tree branch. He is now in custody on murder and sexual molestation charges, awaiting trial in San Bernardino County. Forgey is suspected of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old patient and having oral sex with him, while Crummel allegedly sodomized and orally copulated the boy. Crummel's rap sheet spans decades and includes a conviction of murdering a 9-year-old boy, which was overturned by a judge. Police are looking for other possible victims. Forgey surrendered his medical license after admitting that he was guilty as charged.
http://www.oralchelation.net/data/Psych ... ata18e.htm (http://www.oralchelation.net/data/Psychiatry/data18e.htm)
More on Forgey as reported by the L.A. times.
Arraignment Postponed for Ex-Psychiatrist
By THAO HUA, TIMES STAFF WRITER|May 07, 1998
A municipal judge on Wednesday postponed the arraignment of former psychiatrist Dr. Burnell Forgey, who is charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy three years ago, a court clerk said.
Forgey, 80, of Irvine, who was represented by Deputy Public Defender David Swanson, briefly appeared before Municipal Judge Margaret Anderson in Newport Beach to ask for the delay, the clerk said. He is scheduled to be back in court May 28, when he is expected to enter a plea in connection with charges that he had oral sex with a teenage patient who was living at a home for troubled youths.
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I want to puke. Really, I want to puke right the fuck now.
This is typical of CEDU to hire anyone with credentials, even if they are a monster like this fucker is.
Christ I hate that place and all their staff.
I can NOT believe this shit. ::puke::
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This was before my time, but I remember the investigation on the 14 year old. The CEDU explanation at the time was that the 14 year old, who was physically and mentally disabled, went off in a snow storm. There was CEDU speculation that his family picked him up and did away with him and were pursuing this investigation to cover their tracks...so typical of CEDU to not accept the responsibility for their own actions....Dr. Powell of Benchmark should know all about this; he was in charge of psych services then. The 17 year old from the high school, supposedly left during a propheet by climbing out the bathroom window, but now that this has come to light ...HMMMMMMMM! Again, typical of CEDU, I was told that he had gang connections, was a reall bad egg and probably disappeared into Mexico. They are both probably lying deep in the forest somewhere.
I wonder if either family can sue Powell or the Wasserman family for their horrendous hiring practices that ultimately ended in the disappearances of these two.
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This is more than just sobering.
This is far far far more than just "see? I told you fuckers. So there."
This is absolutely terrifying. Horror movie terrifying.
I can't imagine how chilling this must be for survivors who were at RS when this was happening, to find out about this now. Holy fucking jeepers.
God, I hope some resolution can come from this regarding the missing kids.
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This is mindblowing.
I find it highly plausible that this demon Crummel privately told cedu kids his house was a 'safe haven' should they ever decide to 'leave' cedu and provided them his address and phone #.
I googled the shit out of Crummel and Forgey but found very little.
What I did find was another sickening reminder of incompetence, arrogance, ignorance, negligence & maliciousness of the 'authorities' & 'professionals' who at the time claimed to be 'dealing' with the situation.
CEDU
- maliciousness & negligence Hiring 'qualified' psychiatrists who in reality, were evil incarnate, to meet the bare minimum psychotropic requirements to qualify for insurance $$$$ tuition assistance. Profit driven, kool aid soaked motives that result in blatant violations of state licensing standards for therapy. AKA hire a bunch of untrained hacks and 1 or 2 sick fucks with credentials for pennies on the dollar in order to achieve maximum profit. Then tell the world that 'you've figured out how to live at 'life speed' and saved countless teen lives.
The 'Authorities'
-incompetence, arrogance & ignorance How the fuck did Crummel manage to carry on committing the most heinous of crimes for close to 30 years whilst a parolee of 'the system' ? The justice system (at every level)is inherently flawed and is in desperate need of a complete overhaul.
What a perfect storm. Incompetent parents, malicious/greedy TT programs and the justice system converge to completely demolish a child and in this case violate and murder them in the most disturbing way.
Proves the point that no matter what situation you are in you must think for yourself and never let a bunch of incompetent fucks with arrogant attitudes try to convince you that they are the 'authority' and they will 'fix you' because you are the 'problem'. They will tell you that their methods are 'professional', 'time tested' and superior. Any resistance is contempt and grounds for consequences.
To the few good apples within in the broken judicial system - you are bonafide heroes - thank you. I don't know how you find the energy to deal with the red tape, lack of funding and idiocy within your respective departments. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
If it turns out that Crummel did murder these two cedu kids we can only hope that the families of the deceased will relentlessly pursue action against the benefactors of CEDU for their intentional negligence, malpractice and licensing violations.
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Too bad we can't dig up Wasserman and Forgey and kill them all over again.
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To summarize, Crummel has been serially molesting children, sometimes also murdering them, since 1961 or 62.
He's the putz in the blue suit (re. pic below).
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PEOPLE You'll See In HELL
James Lee Crummel (http://http://pysih.com/2009/07/11/james-lee-crummel/)
(http://http://pysih.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/James-Lee-Crummel.jpg)
In early 1979, young James Trotter had plenty to look forward to in life even though his parents had just divorced and he was living in a hotel while his mother was in between apartments. Despite the social and economic stigma the popular good looking kid with braces must have been going through, he had discovered that his friends would stick by his side no matter what. Thirteen is a difficult age too but the Costa Mesa beach kid was street smart and knew how to navigate his way through his urban environment. On the morning of April 19, 1979 "Jamey" grabbed his backpack and skateboard, told his mother he loved her and would see her that night, and headed out the door of the hotel room towards his bus stop. On his way to school he was murdered.
In May of 1997 James Lee Crummel was roommates with elderly psychiatrist and friend Burnell Forgey in an Orange County condo in the Newport Beach community. The condo was owned by Forgey's daughter-in-law, Madelyn Forgey. Crummel was being evicted by Madelyn and it was not because a group of investors were offering to buy the condo, which was true, it was because the group of investors were made up of Newport Beach neighbors and organizers camped outside the condo protesting after police had handed out flyers notifying the community that Crummel was a registered high risk sex offender.
Life sometimes can be so unfair. "I've been a model citizen." Crummel would whine to the Orange County Register, "I have done nothing wrong". Crummel would note he did not know where he could go and was open to donations. After all, Crummel was residing with a psychiatrist who worked with the troubled and counseled in youth homes. Why not give a man who was trying to positively work through his struggles an even break?
Later, in February of 1998, 80-years-old psychiatrist Burnell Forgey would confess that he had oral sex with a 16 year old patient while Crummel sodomized the kid. And that would be just scratching the surface. Forgey also admitted that he gave Crummel free access to his adolescent patients files, took Crummel with him on his rounds to group homes, and would leave Crummel alone with his young patients.
Bad enough right? How much worse could it possibly get? Obviously, this story is going to head into the direction that Crummel is responsible for the murder of Jamey Trotter, right? So, maybe you are wondering why I just don't get on with it? Because it is going to get much worse.
YouTube clip: (WARNING) Bad stuff Happens to good people "James Trotter" (http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhG1Q7pV_T4) (7:47)
Let go all the way back to 1967. In February, nine-year-old Frank Clawson was found strangled in the dessert near the baseball diamond where he liked to play. A belt was around his neck, his shirt was pulled up, pants partially pulled down. Who could do such a thing to a child? Little Frank was in Cub Scouts and Little League. Five days later one of his neighbors, James Lee Crummel, suddenly decided it was time to move out of state and talked his roommate into moving with him.
In Wisconsin, a trusting 14-year-old boy accepted a ride home with Crummel from football practice. The kid felt he could take care of himself and was independent and as a paperboy was used to associating with adults, so what could possibly go wrong? After Crummel repeatedly molested the kid in the woods he beat him bloody with a tree branch and left him in a ravine for dead. The beaten boy managed to crawl out of the woods the following morning.
Crummel was arrested and was facing thirty years in prison. This turned out to be a stroke of luck for the molester for the simple reason that Crummel's roommate from Pima had snitched and told authorities that Crummel had admitted to him molesting and then strangling Frank Clawson with the belt. Wisconsin authorities assured the Pima County authorities that Crummel would get at least 30 years for the abduction, rape, and attempted murder of the 14-year-old, so Pima County did not pursue murder charges. For whatever reason, Wisconsin felt the case was weak and allowed Crummel to plead down to aggravated assault. Crummel was out in five years.
The five years in prison probably did not phase Crummel who, after having joined the Army in the early 60's, had been convicted in Missouri of molesting two boys and a girl in 1962. The two boys, ages 13 and 11 had been taken into the woods, tied to a tree and raped by the 17 year old Crummel.
in April of 1967, two months after the Clawson murder and nine months before the Wisconsin ordeal with the 14 year old , Crummel had been charged and convicted in Los Angeles County of kidnapping and molesting a boy.
In 1976 Pima County learned of Crummel's release from the Wisconsin prison years earlier and went looking for him with a vengeance and finally located him in Southern California living under the name Jimmy Savage with psychiatrist Forgey. In May of 1982 Crummel was arrested and charged with the murder of 9-year-old Frank Clawson. Unfortunately, Crummel's old roommate recanted his statement that Crummel confessed to him and refused to co-operate. Crummel was released.
Crummel returned to Southern California. On Halloween he was invited to a party. He showed up wearing an alien costume and glitter on his face. The host decided to check on his 9-year-old son and caught Crummel in the boy's bedroom molesting him. The father and other party goers beat the crap out of Crummel. As evidence, police collected the glitter found around the boy’s genital area.
Crummel was charged with the molestation and for failing to register as a sex offender. On the molestation charge, Crummel was found innocent in the third trial after having split juries on the first two. Crummel did 200 days for failing to register.
On July 2, 1981 6-year-old Jeffery Vargo was reported missing in Anaheim Hills, California. Jeffery's body was found twenty miles away at a construction site. He Had been molested and strangled. James Crummel remains the prime suspect in the case.
In February of 1983, Pima county once again arrested and charged Crummel for the murder of Clawson. In November of 1983 he was found guilty of murder and he was sentenced to life. One year later, judge Michael Brown threw out the conviction on the grounds that Crummel‘s lawyer did not adequately defend Crummel. All the physical evidence related to the murder was either missing or tainted and Pima County had no choice accept to allow Crummel to plead down to simple kidnapping. Crummel was free again in 1987.
In 1995 Crummel was living in Big Bear City, California and 15 counts for molesting three boys were dropped because the statute of limitations had passed on the cases. The same year, nine-year-old Jack Phillips, disappeared from a parade in Big Bear, suspect James Crummel just happened to be on the same street at the time.
In 1990, a witness called police and told them he had been hiking and had discovered human bones in the wilderness west of Lake Elsinore, Riverside County. The witness led detectives to the site where police discovered scattered bones including a jaw bone with braces. The remains were sent to a forensic scientist who identified the bones as female.
In 1996 the remains were re-examined and this time were correctly determined to be male. The braces on the jaw bone were positively identified by Jamie Trotter's orthodontist and a follow up DNA confirmed that the boy, missing since 1979 had finally been accounted for.
The name of the hiker who had led police to Jamie Trotter’s remains: James Lee Crummel. Police discovered that in 1979 Crummel lived on the same street as Jamie Trotter between the hotel and his bus stop.
In July of 2004, Crummel, who by now was already serving a life sentence due to Orange County molestations stemming from the 1998 Forgey confession, was sentenced to death for the murder of James Trotter.
Why James Lee Crummel led police to the remains of Jamie Trotter is anyone’s guess. Perhaps he had an attack of conscience. More likely, he thought he could rub his crimes into the face of police once again, and he had done so many times in the past.
Last August on another message board we had a discussion about James Trotter and I received a PM from a relative of James Trotter who told me something I had never heard before. Discovered with the remains of James Trotter were other human remains still unidentified.
Filed under Lust | . Written on July 11th, 2009 by Lantern
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Too bad we can't dig up Wasserman and Forgey and kill them all over again.
:cheers:
Fuck ya! And John Padgett, too! Dig his fat ass up and drag it up Seymour Road in Running Springs.
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In 1990, a witness called police and told them he had been hiking and had discovered human bones in the wilderness west of Lake Elsinore, Riverside County. The witness led detectives to the site where police discovered scattered bones including a jaw bone with braces. The remains were sent to a forensic scientist who identified the bones as female.
This information was released to the public several weeks before I arrived at Cedu-RS in
late Dec. 1990. I remember how there was a huge buzz about this among the kids at Cedu - with the prevailing rumor being that the discovered remains belonged to a girl who'd split from Cedu that previous summer (I can't remember her name with certainty- but the 1st name might've been Gina). A number of Cedu staff including Tim Brace, Pam Abel, Patrick Stambusky, Steve Laird, Russ Decker, Guy Bonnano, Jill & Rudy Bentz fueled the rumor further by telling us it was true. It was scare tactic to keep the rest of us from splitting, because at that time at least 3-5 kids split from RS every week. During my first several months at Cedu, I remember sitting in rap after rap where "big brothers/sisters" (older students) cried & pleaded with their "younger siblings" (new students) not to run away, because of what happened to "poor Gina" (or whatever her name was). Cedu staff enthusiastically egged this on all the way, I mean they fucking milked it for every last
drop they could. Like I said before - this went on for months.
It sickens me how low those Cedu fuckers would stoop. Using some poor families heart breaking tragedy to further thier own agenda the way Cedu did is beyond sick or immoral
or wrong - it's beyond description - those fucking shitbags have no souls at all!
By the way I'm all for digging up Wasserman, Padget, and so on, tying their corpses to the bumper of my truck, & dragging them up and down seymour road. I'm even more for
doing it to Bonanno, Decker, Laird, Stambusky, Brace,the Bentz's, the Abels, and the rest
of those child abusing fucks still living! I know I'll never get the chance - but it sure is a pleasant thought.
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In 1990, a witness called police and told them he had been hiking and had discovered human bones in the wilderness west of Lake Elsinore, Riverside County. The witness led detectives to the site where police discovered scattered bones including a jaw bone with braces. The remains were sent to a forensic scientist who identified the bones as female.
This information was released to the public several weeks before I arrived at Cedu-RS in
late Dec. 1990. I remember how there was a huge buzz about this among the kids at Cedu - with the prevailing rumor being that the discovered remains belonged to a girl who'd split from Cedu that previous summer (I can't remember her name with certainty- but the 1st name might've been Gina). A number of Cedu staff including Tim Brace, Pam Abel, Patrick Stambusky, Steve Laird, Russ Decker, Guy Bonnano, Jill & Rudy Bentz fueled the rumor further by telling us it was true. It was scare tactic to keep the rest of us from splitting, because at that time at least 3-5 kids split from RS every week. During my first several months at Cedu, I remember sitting in rap after rap where "big brothers/sisters" (older students) cried & pleaded with their "younger siblings" (new students) not to run away, because of what happened to "poor Gina" (or whatever her name was). Cedu staff enthusiastically egged this on all the way, I mean they fucking milked it for every last
drop they could. Like I said before - this went on for months.
It sickens me how low those Cedu fuckers would stoop. Using some poor families heart breaking tragedy to further thier own agenda the way Cedu did is beyond sick or immoral
or wrong - it's beyond description - those fucking shitbags have no souls at all!
By the way I'm all for digging up Wasserman, Padget, and so on, tying their corpses to the bumper of my truck, & dragging them up and down seymour road. I'm even more for
doing it to Bonanno, Decker, Laird, Stambusky, Brace,the Bentz's, the Abels, and the rest
of those child abusing fucks still living! I know I'll never get the chance - but it sure is a pleasant thought.
Did they actually say "it was true," meaning that it was specifically "poor Gina" (or other name)?
Because ... the police were never able to identify those bones for years. CEDU personnel would likely have known that much. Apparently, the fact that the teeth had braces precluded any of the missing females in the area right off the bat.
Of course, as it turns out, that gender identification was wrong. The bones actually belonged to James "Jamey" Trotter.
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In 1990, a witness called police and told them he had been hiking and had discovered human bones in the wilderness west of Lake Elsinore, Riverside County. The witness led detectives to the site where police discovered scattered bones including a jaw bone with braces. The remains were sent to a forensic scientist who identified the bones as female.
This information was released to the public several weeks before I arrived at Cedu-RS in
late Dec. 1990. I remember how there was a huge buzz about this among the kids at Cedu - with the prevailing rumor being that the discovered remains belonged to a girl who'd split from Cedu that previous summer (I can't remember her name with certainty- but the 1st name might've been Gina). A number of Cedu staff including Tim Brace, Pam Abel, Patrick Stambusky, Steve Laird, Russ Decker, Guy Bonnano, Jill & Rudy Bentz fueled the rumor further by telling us it was true. It was scare tactic to keep the rest of us from splitting, because at that time at least 3-5 kids split from RS every week. During my first several months at Cedu, I remember sitting in rap after rap where "big brothers/sisters" (older students) cried & pleaded with their "younger siblings" (new students) not to run away, because of what happened to "poor Gina" (or whatever her name was). Cedu staff enthusiastically egged this on all the way, I mean they fucking milked it for every last
drop they could. Like I said before - this went on for months.
It sickens me how low those Cedu fuckers would stoop. Using some poor families heart breaking tragedy to further thier own agenda the way Cedu did is beyond sick or immoral
or wrong - it's beyond description - those fucking shitbags have no souls at all!
By the way I'm all for digging up Wasserman, Padget, and so on, tying their corpses to the bumper of my truck, & dragging them up and down seymour road. I'm even more for
doing it to Bonanno, Decker, Laird, Stambusky, Brace,the Bentz's, the Abels, and the rest
of those child abusing fucks still living! I know I'll never get the chance - but it sure is a pleasant thought.
Did they actually say "it was true," meaning that it was specifically "poor Gina" (or other name)?
Because ... the police were never able to identify those bones for years. CEDU personnel would likely have known that much. Apparently, the fact that the teeth had braces precluded any of the missing females in the area right off the bat.
Of course, as it turns out, that gender identification was wrong. The bones actually belonged to James "Jamey" Trotter.
Yes, Ursus - Cedu-RS staff told us this was true - and obviously they intentionally lied to
us. At Cedu-RS (during my time there), the Kids really didn't have access to TV, Media reports, recent newspapers, etcetera... All we had was Staff's word to go on. They manipulated & controlled all of the information we heard about the outside world & current events. The kids heard everything second hand, from staff. It makes your stomach turn, doesn't it? Mine sure does.
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Guilty knowledge perhaps? You can't assume they were just saying it was Gina to mess with you. It is possible they knew someone had run away and never located and might have assumed themselves that it was her. Or they might have known she died, possibly not reporting that to authorities.
When I was at RMA, we had kids who split and never turned up anywhere. One supposedly made it to Germany of all places. Or so we were told... How would they know where he wound up? If he was a teenager and ran away, and they knew he was in Germany, wouldn't they be required to notify authorities?
I am just saying, I think CEDU/RMA may have had knowledge of things, maybe not perfect knowledge, but enough to draw conclusions. We all know that when you ran away, they had the local police and even escorts hunt you down to bring you back, because you were worth more to them on campus. But we also know that staff routinely had sex with, and even molested students and I don't think it is too far-fetched that a student or two might have "disappeared" and that everyone was told they ran away. But, that the staff may have known otherwise. It was a cult after all. They knew many of the things they did were illegal. They all played the same games, and I just think telling everyone that every student ran away, on their own accord, is a very handy excuse.
The bones might not have been Gina's, but CEDU may have thought they were for many reasons. Did Gina ever turn up?
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Guilty knowledge perhaps? You can't assume they were just saying it was Gina to mess with you. It is possible they knew someone had run away and never located and might have assumed themselves that it was her. Or they might have known she died, possibly not reporting that to authorities.
When I was at RMA, we had kids who split and never turned up anywhere. One supposedly made it to Germany of all places. Or so we were told... How would they know where he wound up? If he was a teenager and ran away, and they knew he was in Germany, wouldn't they be required to notify authorities?
I am just saying, I think CEDU/RMA may have had knowledge of things, maybe not perfect knowledge, but enough to draw conclusions. We all know that when you ran away, they had the local police and even escorts hunt you down to bring you back, because you were worth more to them on campus. But we also know that staff routinely had sex with, and even molested students and I don't think it is too far-fetched that a student or two might have "disappeared" and that everyone was told they ran away. But, that the staff may have known otherwise. It was a cult after all. They knew many of the things they did were illegal. They all played the same games, and I just think telling everyone that every student ran away, on their own accord, is a very handy excuse.
The bones might not have been Gina's, but CEDU may have thought they were for many reasons. Did Gina ever turn up?
First of all, I can't say for certain that her name really was/is "Gina" - it might've been,
but I can't remember for sure. I never met the girl in question - because she split from
Cedu-RS like 6 months before my arrival there. I have no idea if "Gina" (I'll call her
that for convenience) ever resurfaced again after splitting Cedu. Cedu-RS Staff did not
make a habit of updating us on the whereabouts of Kids who'd successfully split or
otherwise left the program early. Such persons were looked at negatively by Cedu - so
when they were discussed by Staff (mostly in raps), it was in this context - IE: "Gina
split & now she's a fucking corpse!", "Nicole gave up on herself & split, now she's in a
8'x6' room at psyche ward with no window, and 4 padded walls to keep her from hurting herself!", "I got a letter from Trevor at Provo Canyon, he's stuck there for 2 more years,
he says he's so sorry for throwing away his last chance here at Cedu - he'd give anything
to be back here." and so on... Furthermore, the subject of kids who successfully ran
away (or left the program early) was generally considered taboo for discussion
amongst the kids at Cedu - sure we talked about them, but those discussions were
almost always cut short by some upper school ass-licker "pulling us up". Typically they'd
say something like "you're not supposed to talk about them, they're not in the program anymore."
Honestly, I think that the person I've been calling "Gina" is probably alive & well - and
the horrific story Cedu-RS Staff told us about her is just that - a story. Cedu saw
the opportunity arise when Jamey's remains were discovered, and they jumped on
it. Cedu exploiting some poor families tragedy for their own gain - sounds familiar
doesn't it? That's the very nature of Cedu's business.
I'm actually much more concerned about Blake (forgot his last name- can someone help
me with this), who split from Cedu-RS during the mid-1990's, and was never found.
As I understand it, Crummel the psycho was still prowling those woods back then, and
may have even met Blake while working for "Dr." Forgey at Cedu-Rs during that
time period. I also want to remind everyone that Daniel Yuen is still missing
after splitting from CEDU-RS some 7 or 8 years ago.
I'm sure there's a number of other missing persons from Cedu during their 35+ yrs. in business still unaccounted for - what former Cedu staff members know about them is
your guess as good as mine.
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Has anybody seen the movie "Driftwood"? I saw it last night and it sounded like survivor's worst nightmare. Here is the synopsis:
synopsisA 16 year-old troublemaker is sent against his will to Driftwood, a Florida hellhole run by a sadistic man, where troubled teens either toe the line or die.
I wonder if it was written by a Seed Survivor. Anyone know?
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I found a bunch of old local articles dealing with James Lee Crummel's 2004 trial for the Jamey Trotter case.
The first two deal with a typical wrench thrown in the works of justice, namely the existence of yet another serial killer operating in the area around the same time.
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North County Times
Inmate says he lied about 'freeway killer' connection to local murder case (http://http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article_ec39e9d3-a90d-574f-bedf-fa173db1b05b.html)
By: JOHN HALL - Staff Writer | Posted: Tuesday, March 30, 2004 12:00 am
RIVERSIDE -- A friend of notorious "freeway killer" William Bonin testified Monday that he lied when he told defense investigators that Bonin was responsible for the 1979 death of a teenage boy whose bones were found on Ortega Highway more than a decade ago.
Defense attorneys for James Lee Crummel, 60, contend Bonin killed Jamey Trotter, a 13-year-old Costa Mesa boy whose remains where found in January 1990, a few miles west of Lake Elsinore.
Crummel was the person who led authorities to the bones, which he said he found while hiking in the area. It wasn't until November 1996 that coroner's officials determined that the remains where those of Trotter.
Investigators reopened the case and Crummel was later arrested and charged with the teen's murder. Crummel is a convicted, serial child molester whose 1967 conviction in the murder of a 9-year-old Arizona boy was later overturned by an appellate court judge who ruled his defense was ineffective.
Crummel has since been convicted for molesting children in both Orange and San Bernardino counties and was sentenced to life in prison. Along with charging Crummel with Trotter's murder, prosecutors also allege the boy was killed during a sexual assault, meaning he could get the death penalty if convicted.
Crummel's trial is expected to begin Monday.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Dennis McConaghy is expected to rule today whether that jury will hear testimony that Bonin -- who was executed in 1996 for the deaths of 14 young men and boys -- killed Trotter.
Key to that are the statements of James Munro, 42, who is serving a life sentence for taking part in Bonin's last killing in June 1980. Although Bonin was convicted of 14 murders, often dumping strangled bodies near Southern California freeways, authorities believe he may have killed as many as 45 people.
Mary Ann Galante, the lead defense attorney for Crummel, said outside the courtroom Monday that there is strong evidence that, over the last 22 years, Munro has told five people that Bonin killed Jamey Trotter.
She said that there are "many, many similarities" between Trotter's murder and those committed by Bonin.
Galante added that Munro has given "very significant details" about Trotter and the murder, including that Trotter had a chipped front tooth, something she says was never in a newspaper or visible to Munro in any photos of Trotter.
On the witness stand, however, Munro went back on statements he previously made about Bonin killing Trotter, saying he lied and made up details about the victim and the murder.
Munro -- handcuffed and shackled, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit -- first tried to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination after taking the witness stand. McConaghy told him he didn't have that right, ordering him to answer the questions.
Defense attorney Richard Myers then asked Munro if he was interviewed in state prison by a defense investigator. After conferring with his court-appointed attorney, Richard Renner, Munro said: "I ain't testifying, your honor."
McConaghy ordered him to answer and asked him why he couldn't. After saying he wasn't sure, Munro was again told to answer and he did. Munro, after a lengthy pause, admitted knowing Bonin.
Myers grilled him about statements he made in January during a tape recorded-interview in prison with defense investigator Gilbert Brisco.
When asked whether Bonin told him he killed Trotter or gave Munro a detailed description of the boy, Munro answered by saying he told Brisco those things, "but it was a lie."
"Bonin never mentioned (Trotter's death) whatsoever," Munro said.
Myers played the interview tape and then again questioned Munro about the statements he made to the investigator.
On the tape, Munro is heard giving Brisco details such as Trotter having a chipped front tooth. He also described Bonin's preferred method of finding victims, killing them and getting rid of their bodies.
During questioning by Supervising Deputy District Attorney William Mitchell, Munro again testified that he lied, made up the details, or called on things he remembered seeing in newspaper articles.
Defense attorney Myers asked Munro to give a reason why he lied to the defense investigator.
"Payback to Bonin for ruining my life," Munro said. "I was blaming him for everything I could; for the hatred I have for that man."
Munro said he was forced to plead guilty for the murder that has sent him to prison for life.
The prosecutor asked Munro if anyone promised to help him get paroled from prison. Munro paused and stared at the defense table.
Saying, "She did," Munro testified that Galante, Crummel's attorney, made such a promise.
He explained that Galante "held my hand" and said she'd represent him free of charge if he'd help get their client, Crummel, out of his charge of murdering Trotter.
Outside the courtroom, Galante said it was Munro who asked the defense attorneys if they would help him get paroled.
"I told him we were unable, by law, to do that and specifically said I can't make any promises," Galante said. "I absolutely did not say (what Munro claims)."
Brisco, the defense attorney who interviewed Munro, is expected to testify this morning, followed by a ruling from McConaghy about the admissibility at Crummel's trial of the defense contention of Bonin's involvement in Trotter's murder.
Contact staff writer John Hall at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or [email protected].
Posted in Local on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 12:00 am Updated: 11:38 pm.
© Copyright 2009, North County Times - Californian, Escondido, CA
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North County Times
Jury won't hear 'Freeway Killer' defense in local murder case (http://http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article_abb68ef3-092d-53ae-a82c-4b27ab0ae635.html)
By: JOHN HALL - Staff Writer | Posted: Tuesday, April 6, 2004 12:00 am
RIVERSIDE -- A Superior Court judge ruled Monday that attorneys defending a man accused of killing an Orange County boy and dumping his bones near Ortega Highway will not be permitted to tell jurors they believe the boy was killed by so-called "Freeway Killer" William Bonin.
"We had a very strong argument as far as Bonin," defense attorney Mary Ann Galante said after the judge's ruling. "Our argument is that this was a decision for a jury to make."
Deputy District Attorney Bill Mitchell, however, said outside the courtroom at the county Hall of Justice that the defense is "grasping at straws in this case."
Defense attorneys tried to convince Judge Dennis McConaghy that Bonin -- not their client, James Lee Crummel -- killed James "Jamey" Trotter, a 13-year-old Costa Mesa boy who disappeared in 1979.
In January 1990, Crummel, now 60, called authorities to report finding bones while hiking along the Ortega Highway. It took six years before forensic specialists determined the bones were those of Trotter.
Authorities found that Crummel had a 1967 conviction overturned for the murder of a 9-year-old Arizona boy. An appellate court judge had ruled Crummel's defense attorneys were ineffective.
When Trotter disappeared, Crummel lived near the boy's residence.
Crummel ultimately was arrested and charged with Trotter's murder, along with a special circumstance that the slaying happened during the commission of a lewd act with a child. Since his arrest, Crummel has been tried and convicted in two other counties for child molestation and sentenced to life in prison.
If convicted of murdering Trotter, Crummel faces the death penalty.
Crummel's attorneys had produced evidence they contend proved Bonin killed Trotter during his spree of Southern California killings in 1979 and 1980. The spree resulted in convictions for 14 murders and his execution in 1996.
James Munro, who pleaded guilty to taking part in one of Bonin's killings, told a defense investigator that Bonin had told him, by name and physical description, he killed Trotter. Munro recanted that on the witness stand last week, telling the judge he had made it up.
Galante said Monday that Munro "knows too much" and that the judge didn't address the issue of Munro's telling the same details to a cellmate and a newspaper reporter years before he told the defense investigator.
When first discussing his ruling Monday, McConaghy called this "an interesting case, with more twists and curves than Lombard Street (in San Francisco)."
The judge said that during the five days he was off since testimony was last presented, he had this case on his mind. McConaghy said, as recently as Monday morning, he was "leaning toward" allowing the Bonin defense to be heard by jurors. After hearing final arguments by attorneys Monday, however, the judge ruled against the defense.
"There is substantial evidence that Bonin didn't make these statements (to Munro)," he said.
The prosecutor then asked McConaghy to admonish the defense attorneys, and the judge agreed, that they can't mention the name Bonin to jurors or say anything about serial killers operating in the area at the time Trotter disappeared.
Galante said that, while disappointed with the judge's ruling, she believes there is strong evidence in Crummel's defense.
The 10-man, two-woman jury was scheduled to hear opening statements and witness the first day of prosecution evidence Monday, but that has been delayed a week after the defense submitted new motions that McConaghy must rule on before that can happen.
Outside the Hall of Justice, the prosecutor said he was frustrated with the defense tactic.
"I think they saw their third-party motion (regarding Bonin) go up in flames and are looking for other avenues," Mitchell said.
He said he was prepared to start presenting his case Monday as scheduled, having flown witnesses in from all over the country. One person was still en route from out of state, Mitchell said.
"Now, he'll need to be turned around in Dallas" since he won't need to be here until next week, Mitchell said.
One of the defense motions involves dental X-rays received from Trotter's dentist and used to help identify the remains, Mitchell said. The defense has taken issue with the X-rays being copies and not originals, he said.
"Their expert is apparently saying he wants to see the originals, that the copies aren't good enough," Mitchell said.
The prosecution contends the copies are fine and there is no need to obtain originals.
"I've never seen the original X-rays," Mitchell said, adding that the prosecution has other evidence identifying the remains as being Trotter's.
McConaghy will rule this week on the defense motions before jurors return next week to hear opening arguments.
Contact staff writer John Hall at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or [email protected].
Posted in Local on Tuesday, April 6, 2004 12:00 am Updated: 10:39 pm.
© Copyright 2009, North County Times - Californian, Escondido, CA
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NOW comes the more pertinent nitty-gritty...
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North County Times
Testimony begins in case of murdered boy (http://http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article_e81ca244-80df-51dd-8c07-b297637069da.html)
By: JOHN HALL - Staff Writer | Posted: Tuesday, April 13, 2004 12:00 am
RIVERSIDE -- James Lee Crummel showed no signs of having hiked in dense brush the day he called authorities to report finding human remains -- the bones of a Costa Mesa boy he is charged with killing, according to testimony on the first day of his trial Monday.
Crummel, 60, alerted Riverside County sheriff's deputies to the remains several hundred yards off Ortega Highway on Jan. 28, 1990 -- the day after his 46th birthday. Six years later, in 1996, the bones were identified as those of James "Jamey" Trotter, a 13-year-old boy who disappeared 25 years ago Thursday.
In his opening statement Monday, Deputy District Attorney Bill Mitchell told the 10-man, two-woman jury in the Hall of Justice courtroom of Judge Dennis McConaghy that it may never be known why Crummel chose to show authorities the whereabouts of the remains.
Mitchell speculated it could have been "a guilty conscience or just that law enforcement wouldn't be able to connect it to him." The prosecutor then told jurors that, whatever Crummel's reason, "he didn't just happen to stumble upon the remains while hiking that day."
Sheriff's Sgt. Mark Lohman testified that he was on patrol from the Lake Elsinore sheriff's station when he and another deputy responded to Crummel's call about the remains, meeting him at a store on Ortega Highway.
Because it was dusk, or nearing dusk that January day, it was too dark to go look at the bones so Crummel gave them his contact information and was told detectives would arrange to meet him again the next day, Lohman said. The bones were found in an area where a wildland fire had previously burned, Lohman testified.
As the two deputies drove back to Lake Elsinore after meeting with Crummel, Lohman said, he mentioned to the other deputy that Crummel "did not look like he had been hiking in a burned-out area." Lohman told jurors that Crummel did not appear disheveled from a hike, smell like he'd been near a previous blaze or have any soot on him.
Retired sheriff's Sgt. Larry Nielsen testified after Lohman and was the homicide investigator assigned to meet with Crummel the day after he reported finding the bones.
Nielsen told the jury that the area to which Crummel led him and two other detectives was very densely covered with trees and underbrush.
The three detectives all wore suits that day that became "very dirty" from the brush, Nielsen said. They were so dirty, he added, that after that day the Sheriff's Department issued coveralls to detectives to prevent that from happening at another crime scene.
The retired homicide investigator also said that Crummel had "no difficulty" finding precisely where the remains were, adding that it was not a straight trek from the highway.
"He seemed to go right for the location," Nielsen testified.
The court day ended before Mitchell was finished questioning Nielsen and also before the former deputy could be cross-examined by defense attorney Mary Ann Galante.
In her opening statement, Galante told jurors the prosecution's case against Crummel is based on a series of assumptions and her client's past criminal history.
"The evidence will show Mr. Crummel has a very, very bad past," she told the jury. "At the end of this, you're not gonna like Mr. Crummel."
However, she said, although Crummel has a bad criminal history, the prosecution's case against him can't be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mitchell called Crummel a "serial child molester" during his statement to the jury, and recounted for them a number of previous convictions, dating back to the early 1960s, for sexually abusing young boys.
"The defendant is a predator who enjoyed molesting children his entire life," Mitchell said. He added that Crummel "learned over the years not to leave a witness."
Crummel is charged with committing the murder during lewd acts with a child, meaning if he is convicted as charged he faces the death penalty.
Trotter's mother and a close childhood friend also testified Monday.
The mother, Barbara Brogli, told jurors she and Jamey were temporarily living in a hotel while between apartments in April 1979. When her son left for school the morning he disappeared, the last thing she recalls him saying to her were, "I love you. I'll see you tonight."
Keith Johnson, who was 13 when Trotter disappeared, told jurors he and Jamey were best friends. Johnson said he and Trotter had planned to ditch school that day, heading instead to a pizza parlor and play video games -- but he never saw his friend again.
Galante asked Johnson a number of questions about Trotter's behavior, such as drinking and smoking marijuana. Johnson admitted the two boys smoked marijuana once or twice a day.
"We were doing what we thought we should be doing … living around Newport Beach … at that time," he said.
The trial is scheduled to resume today and is expected to continue until early June.
Contact staff writer John Hall at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or [email protected].
Posted in Local on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 12:00 am Updated: 10:36 pm.
© Copyright 2009, North County Times - Californian, Escondido, CA
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North County Times
Crummel convicted in teen's death (http://http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article_533a8d9d-9e3a-5547-a8cb-d9474182195f.html)
By: JOHN HALL - Staff Writer | Posted: Wednesday, May 19, 2004 12:00 am
RIVERSIDE -- A convicted, serial child molester was found guilty Tuesday of murdering a 13-year-old Orange County boy whose remains were found in 1990 in a remote area off Ortega Highway.
James Lee Crummel, 60, now faces the death penalty for the murder of James "Jamey" Trotter, who disappeared from his Costa Mesa neighborhood more than 25 years ago. Jurors determined Crummel not only committed first-degree murder, but also found that the murder happened as Crummel committed lewd acts with a child, a finding that allows for the death penalty.
Crummel called authorities in January 1990 to report finding human remains several hundred yards off Ortega Highway, just west of Lake Elsinore. It wasn't until 1996, however, that those remains were identified as Trotter's.
It took jurors at the Riverside County Hall of Justice about three days of deliberations before they told Superior Court Judge Dennis McConaghy on Tuesday they had reached a verdict.
"This is just the first step in the process," Supervising Deputy District Attorney Bill Mitchell said after the guilty verdict was announced. "It's just one of two to go to get the justice this guy deserves for killing Jamey."
Those jurors will hear more testimony and see more evidence presented by both sides beginning Monday morning as part of "the penalty phase," which is expected to take about a week. After that, jurors will decide whether Crummel should be put to death or sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
"I think the jury will be convinced he deserves the death penalty for his actions," Mitchell said.
Mary Ann Galante, one of Crummel's two defense attorneys in the Riverside County case, said Tuesday that she will be calling three mental health officials who will testify that Crummel has brain damage.
She said she believes the jury will have "some lingering doubt" about their guilty verdict, which she hopes will lead them to keep Crummel off death row.
Galante said she was "disappointed" by Tuesday's verdict and called the prosecution's case against her client "weak" and "very circumstantial."
The circumstantial case, Galante said, was based primarily on the remains being found by Crummel, the fact that Crummel had lived in the same area as the missing boy, and Crummel's criminal history.
"This wasn't a 'slam dunk' case for the government by any means," she said.
Mitchell disagrees. He said the evidence, even being circumstantial, was "overwhelming" and that jurors obviously saw that. The prosecutor said there were just too many "coincidences" involved for Crummel not to have been the killer.
Among those, he cited, were the remote area Jamey's remains were found, which is very similar to areas were Crummel's previous victims were taken.
Crummel's previous victims date back to 1961, when he took two boys, ages 13 and 11, into a remote wooded area in Missouri, tied them to a tree and sexually assaulted them, Mitchell said. He was later convicted in that case, and released from prison in 1967.
The same year he was released, he kidnapped a 9-year-old boy and took him to the desert in Arizona where the boy died, Mitchell said. Crummel served a short prison term in that case, but was released when an appellate court overturned the conviction.
In August 1967, Crummel abducted a 14-year-old boy, tied him up and left him for dead in a remote area of Wisconsin, Mitchell said. The boy survived and Crummel was given a life term, but released in 1972.
"This case circumstantially suggests that Jamey was picked up by Mr. Crummel, like he has done so many times before, and then taken to a remote location where he was molested and then killed," Mitchell said.
"The probability of (Crummel) just happening to find those bones in that spot is just astronomical," Mitchell said.
Between the time of Crummel's arrest and being brought to Riverside County to stand trial for the murder of Jamey Trotter, Crummel was tried and convicted in two other counties for child molestation and sentenced to life in prison.
Mitchell said it was "regretful" that Jamey's remains were unable to be identified sooner, saying that it could have saved other boys victimized by Crummel from going through what they did.
"This (murder conviction) should have happened a long time ago," Mitchell said.
Contact staff writer John Hall at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or [email protected].
Posted in Local on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 12:00 am Updated: 11:24 pm.
© Copyright 2009, North County Times - Californian, Escondido, CA
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North County Times
Jury recommends death for molester in Orange County slaying (http://http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/backpage/article_2f9a51c7-8f3e-57ab-aeba-9a06147ad3ca.html)
By: North County Times - | Posted: Tuesday, June 8, 2004 12:00 am
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - A jury recommended the death penalty Monday for a child molester convicted in the slaying 25 years ago of an Orange County teenager.
The jury in Riverside County deliberated for two days before voting to recommend the death penalty for James Lee Crummel.
Superior Court Judge Dennis McConaghy can either accept the jurors recommendation or impose a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole at a July 9 sentencing hearing.
The same jury convicted Crummel of first-degree murder with special circumstances last month of James "Jamie" Trotter, 13, who vanished on his way to catch a school bus in 1979.
Crummel is serving a 60-years-to-life sentence for molesting another Orange County boy, and was convicted of abusing children in Missouri and Wisconsin in the 1960s.
Prosecutors charged that Crummel, 60, murdered the Costa Mesa boy in April 1979 and then claimed to find his bones near Ortega Highway in 1990. Six years later the bones were identified as Trotter's. The following year, authorities arrested Crummel on suspicion of murder.
Crummel lived on the same Costa Mesa street where Trotter's family lived and photographs found in his home showed he had visited Cleveland National Forest in the 1970s, near where Trotter's bones were found, prosecutors said.
Defense attorney Mary Ann Galante argued that the case was based on assumption and that Crummel was singled out because of his criminal past.
Superior Court Judge Dennis McConaghy rejected an attempt by the defense to argue that the murder might be tied to notorious "Freeway Killer" William Bonin, who was executed in 1996 after being convicted of killing 14 boys in 1979 and 1980.
© Copyright 2009, North County Times - Californian, Escondido, CA
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North County Times
Killer of boy whose bones were near Ortega Highway gets death sentence (http://http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article_120778f2-c634-59e0-b941-57cca7e21494.html)
By: JOHN HALL - Staff Writer | Posted: Saturday, July 10, 2004 12:00 am
(http://http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/nctimes.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/1/0e/e27/10ee27cf-b6ea-5bbd-a573-eb38c28422c4.preview-300.jpg?_dc=1251438185)
James Lee Crummel, right, confers with defense attorney Richard Myers in court Monday morning.
David Carlson
RIVERSIDE -- They all knew it was coming -- that James Lee Crummel would be sent to death row -- but the victim's family still sat in the front row of the courtroom Friday, holding hands and waiting to finally hear the judge make it official.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Dennis McConaghy did just that, ordering that the 60-year-old serial child molester be transported to San Quentin's death row.
Crummel was convicted in May of killing 13-year-old Jamey Trotter, whose bones were found in a desolate area off the Ortega Highway west of Lake Elsinore in 1990. It took six more years for authorities to identify the remains as those of the missing teen.
Jamey disappeared in April 1979 from a Costa Mesa neighborhood, where he and his mother were staying in a motel while waiting to move into their new Huntington Beach home.
On Friday, Barbara Trotter Brogli said she is relieved that her son's killer will die in prison.
"I feel good that he'll never roam free again to hurt anyone else," she said after the sentencing. "I am totally convinced he killed Jamey."
One of Jamey's two older brothers, Jeffrey Trotter, is now 41 years old and said Friday that even though it's now been 25 years since the disappearance, "it's like it happened yesterday" because of memories dredged up during the court proceedings.
Jeffrey Trotter spoke at the hearing before the sentencing, saying that Crummel saw Jamey as nothing more than a toy.
"You are as guilty and as deserving of death as anyone could be," he said to Crummel.
Jeffrey Trotter said he is relying on his faith in God to help him get to a point where he can feel forgiveness for the man who killed his younger brother.
After the hearing, Trotter said he believes he will get there someday. Motioning to his chin, he said his anger is "all up here right now. I need time to push it down. How soon I'll get there, I don't know."
Much like when the jury sentenced him to death last month, Crummel stared straight ahead and showed no emotion at Friday's hearing. Crummel was convicted of first-degree murder and a special circumstance that the killing happened while he committed lewd acts on a child.
One of his attorneys, Mary Ann Galante, draped her arm across the back of Crummel's chair Friday and softly patted his back as the judge read the death sentence into the court record.
Galante said afterward that Crummel's only statement to her was to thank her and tell her that he knew she did the best she could.
Supervising Deputy District Attorney Bill Mitchell had harsh words for the man whose case he has been working on since 1996.
"The world would have been a better place without him," Mitchell said outside the courthouse. "He is what everyone considers evil and vile."
Crummel has convictions for crimes involving children dating back 43 years, when, as a 17-year-old in the U.S. Army, he abducted two boys, ages 13 and 11, tied them to a tree in the woods of Missouri and sexually assaulted them.
After serving a prison sentence for that, Crummel kidnapped a 9-year-old boy in 1967, taking him to the desert in Arizona, where the boy died. It wasn't until 1983 that Crummel was convicted for the boy's murder, and he served a short prison term before being released when an appellate court overturned the conviction.
Crummel has also been convicted of child molestations in both San Bernardino and Orange counties -- the latter resulting in a life sentence.
Mitchell said Friday that he also believes Crummel is responsible for the death of a young boy who disappeared from the Big Bear area. Authorities there investigated Crummel for that in 1995, but could not find enough evidence to charge him, the prosecutor said.
"The worst punishment possible is what Crummel deserves" for his years of crimes, ending with Jamey's murder, Mitchell said.
Contact staff writer John Hall at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or [email protected].
Posted in Local on Saturday, July 10, 2004 12:00 am Updated: 10:43 pm.
© Copyright 2009, North County Times - Californian, Escondido, CA
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(WARNING) Bad stuff Happens to good people "James Trotter"
- "cut down version":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhG1Q7pV_T4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhG1Q7pV_T4)
- full version:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video ... 7696432621 (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=1157696432621)