Arizona plans to seek the death penalty for Maribel Loera and Rafael Loera for the murder of their eleven year old adopted daughter. According to police reports Maribel Loera and Rafael Loera would murder their eleven year old adopted daughter whose body was left in the attic of the family home for years before the murderous pair would set the home on fire in order to cover up the brutal murder. The couple who were arrested in January 2020 will fight a host of charges including first degree murder and if convicted could send the pair to Arizona death row
Maribel Loera and Rafael Loera More News
State prosecutors in Arizona are seeking the death penalty against a married couple accused of killing their 11-year-old adopted daughter, hiding her body in the attic of their home for several years, and then setting the house on fire. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office this week formally filed Notices of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty against Maribel Loera and Rafael Loera, both of whom are facing a slew of felony charges in connection with the death of Ana Loera
As previously reported by Law&Crime, the Loeras in January 2020 were both arrested and later charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, conspiracy to commit child abuse, concealment of a body, and arson of an occupied structure.
If convicted on the first-degree murder charges, prosecutors said they plan to present evidence of aggravating factors at the sentencing phase of the trial showing that the Loeras’ conduct was “especially heinous, cruel, or depraved” and justify putting the adoptive parents to death.
“If not yet admitted into evidence, the State will offer additional evidence from guilt phase witnesses relevant to the aggravating factors, including the cruelty suffered by the victim,” prosecutors wrote in the filing. “For example, the State will be calling the Medical Examiner and Forensic Anthropologist to discuss cruelty elements.”
The cruelty elements of Arizona law require prosecutors to include the mental, emotional, and physical suffering of the victim. The heinous and depraved elements of the law look at factors such as the helplessness of the victim, the senselessness of the crime, and violations of a special caretaker relationship, among other things.
Officers with the Phoenix Police Department and firefighters with the Phoenix Fire Department on Jan. 28, 2020 responded to a 911 call reporting a fire at the Loeras’ home. The call came in only an hour after the Department of Child Safety removed three children from the home due to allegations of severe abuse
After firefighters were able to subdue the blaze, authorities entered the home and found Ana’s skeletal remains stuffed in the attic.
Under questioning from investigators, Rafael allegedly admitted to siphoning gasoline from his car which he then used to set the house on fire. Citing court records, Phoenix NBC affiliate KPNX reported that Rafael also confessed that he wrapped Ana’s dead body “in a blanket and stashed it in the attic of the home.”
Rafael reportedly told police that Ana fell very ill in the summer of 2017 but that he “waited several days before trying to seek medical attention,” The Associated Pressreported. When he finally decided to take Ana to see a doctor, Rafael allegedly said that he put her in the car and started driving. He then claimed the girl began convulsing and vomiting and then died before they reached the hospital. He reportedly claimed he didn’t report her death because he didn’t want his other children to be taken away, so he stashed the body in the attic. Two of those other children were Ana’s siblings
Despite Rafael’s claims that Ana died in July 2017, investigators with Phoenix police said witnesses had last seen Ana alive in 2016.
Rafael and Maribel are currently scheduled to be tried on March 1.
The Dougherty Gang was a group of three siblings whose brief crime spree caught the attention of the Nation. The Dougherty Gang consisted of Lee Grace Dougherty and her two brothers Ryan Dougherty and Dylan Dougherty. In this article on My Crime Library we are going to take a closer look at the bizarre crime spree of the Dougherty Gang
Early Years Of The Dougherty Gang
The Dougherty Gang were from Florida and everything came to a terrible end when Ryan had to attend court to answer to charges of “sending a minor harmful information” and “lewd and lascivious conduct.” which came from an incident where Ryan was texting a girl who he thought was thirteen years old but turned out to be eleven years old. Ryan Dougherty had entered the courtroom thinking he was facing five years of probation however he was in for a surprise.
Ryan Dougherty was sentenced to two years of house arrest, ten years of probation and if he screwed up was facing fifteen years in prison. However the part of sentencing that stopped Ryan cold was that he was to be placed on Florida Sex Offender list.
After leaving the courtroom Ryan Dougherty would head over to his probation officer who would tell him that he was not allowed to have any contact with anyone under the age of 18 and would not allow to attend his girlfriend’s birth nor live in her house. Ryan would freak out.
Ryan’s nightmare was not over as he was told that he would have to wear a ankle bracelet which would cost $240, which was a quarter of Ryan’s income. The most pressing item though was that Ryan would need two pieces of identification within the next 48 hours or he was on his way to prison. Ryan Dougherty who did not have a mailbox was frantic he was headed to prison for no mailbox would mean obtaining another piece of identification was nearly impossible.
Ryan would head home and call his brother Dylan Dougherty and sister Lee Grace Dougherty to explain the predicament that he had found himself in. The three siblings would write note to each other as they believed that the ankle bracelet had an audio feature so that his probation officer could hear of their plans. In the end the three siblings came up with a horrible plan that would see all of them end in prison for a very long time.
The Crime Spree Begins – The Dougherty Gang
The next morning Ryan Dougherty and Dylan Dougherty would pack the vehicle with a number of guns, a ton of ammunition, clothes, food and water. A few miles down the road Ryan ankle bracelet would be cut off and thrown into a bush. Ryan who had a heavy foot was speeding down a Florida road when he was spotted by a Zephyrhills police officer. Ryan tried to outrun the Officer however it was not until someone from their vehicle would fire a number of gunshots at the officer ending with his vehicle being disabled due to a flat tire. The Dougherty Gang would somehow be able to escape the police dragnet and get out of Florida and ended up in Georgia.
Georgia Bank Robbery – The Dougherty Gang
The Dougherty Gang would enter the CertusBank in Valdosta, Georgia where two of them were heavily armed. The photo later released by the FBI (pictured above) is believed to be Lee Grace Dougherty. The robbery for the Dougherty gang went rather smooth as they were able to get away with just over $5000. However now they had a new problem as the FBI.
The Dougherty Gang would stick to the back roads and would drive all over the country until they ended up in Colorado.
Police Shootout – The Dougherty Gang
The Dougherty Gang would end up in Colorado as they tried to figure out how they were going to cross the border into Mexico however their plans were soon halted when they attracted an undercover police officer and once again a police chase began.
Ryan Dougherty would get their vehicle up to 120 miles per hour however the police chase was not going to let them go. Soon after the vehicle would run over a spike strip that would instantly flatten a number of the vehicles tires. The vehicle would smash into a guardrail and the Daugherty gang would find themselves outside of the vehicle and surrounded by armed police officers. The police would shoot Lee Grace Daugherty as she threatened police with a weapon. Soon after all three would be in custody going to jail after stopping at the hospital for treatment
Dougherty Gang Aftermath
Now the three Daugherty siblings were in a jail in Colorado and were facing a host of charges stemming from shooting at the police officer in Florida, the bank robbery in Georgia and the final police chase in Colorado. After a lot of legal wrangling the three siblings would receive thirty five years in prison for the bank robbery in Georgia, Ryan Daugherty would receive 18 years for his part in Colorado where his sister Lee Grace would receive 24 years and Dylan would receive 34 years. Ryan Dougherty would receive an additional 40 years in prison for shooting at a police officer and failing to register as a sex offender. Needless to say it will be a long time before they ever get out of jail
DC Number: V29355 Name: DOUGHERTY, RYAN E Race: WHITE Sex: MALE Birth Date: 08/21/1989 Initial Receipt Date: 07/25/2014 Current Facility: FEDERAL CUSTODY Current Custody: PENDING Current Release Date: 07/06/2054
The three “Dougherty gang” siblings, who went on a multi-state crime spree in 2011, were sentenced to prison today in Colorado. Among them, they will serve 74 years behind bars.
Ryan Dougherty, 22, the last to be sentenced, was given 18 years in prison. He had faced a maximum of 20 years after pleading guilty to five counts of menacing.
Earlier today, his sister, Lee Grace Dougherty was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Dylan Dougherty, 27, received a 32-year sentence.
Lee Grace Dougherty, 29, had faced a maximum of 28 years for pleading guilty to first-degree assault and two counts of menacing.
Dylan Dougherty was the only one of the three to be given the maximum sentence. He pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree assault, according to ABC News’ Denver affiliate KMGH. The siblings’ crimes included a Colorado shootout with police and a daring bank robbery in Georgia.
“Contrary to a lot of people’s beliefs, I never intended to…I never tried to…I never wanted to hurt anybody,” an emotional Dylan Dougherty told the Huerfano County judge.
“It is true that I acted out of desperation and I am sorry for the choices that I made,” he said tearfully. “I don’t know really what things differently I would have done, but I truly am sorry to anyone who was involved.”
He apologized to police and to bystanders who could have been hurt, and said that his actions were “not to my character.”
Officials in Georgia are waiting for the siblings to be extradited for charges related to the bank robbery. After today’s sentencing in Colorado, they are expected to be transported to Albany, Ga., by the U.S. Marshals Service for a hearing May 15.
The three were allegedly driving as fast as 100 miles per hour on Aug. 2 when a Zephyrhills, Fla., police officer tried to pull them over. They fired 20 shots at the officer and escaped when one of the bullets hit the police car’s tire. The officer was not injured.
Later that day, the Dougherty gang allegedly robbed a Valdosta, Ga., bank while wearing masks and firing rounds at the ceiling from an AK-47 rifle.
Police caught up with the three on Aug. 10, 2011 in Colorado after receiving a tip that they had been spotted buying camping equipment. After a 20-mile chase down a Colorado Interstate, the Doughertys’ car flipped over and landed on top of a guard rail.
The siblings share a lengthy criminal history that included 20 felonies among them before the additional 70 charges they racked up from their 2011 crime spree. Their previous charges range from drug possession to battery and burglary.
Three Florida siblings involved in a cross-country crime spree were sentenced by a federal judge Monday to more than 35 years in jail.
Senior Judge Hugh Lawson sentenced Ryan Dougherty, Lee Grace Dougherty and Dylan Dougherty Stanley to identical sentences for their role in the August 2011 robbery of a South Georgia bank. Their spree began in Florida and ended in a shootout in Colorado.
Lawson went beyond normal sentencing guidelines, saying that even though the trio was young and impulsive, the “escapade” could not be condoned.
“Let me say this – this was a crazy dangerous thing,” Lawson said from the bench. “I just think it is a miracle that no one was killed.”
Dylan Dougherty Stanley and Lee Grace Dougherty did not voice opposition to the sentence, but Ryan Dougherty called the judge’s decision rash and “not in line with the crimes I’ve committed.”
Before the sentences were announced, the three siblings apologized to the employees at the Valdosta bank where the robbery took place. Dylan Dougherty Stanley acknowledged that it was a “scary situation” for them.
Lawson sentenced each sibling to 35 years and 8 months, and to five years of supervised release after their prison sentences. He said that with good conduct they could get out of jail after 30 years.
The three have already pleaded guilty to Colorado charges stemming from their capture in August 2011. Ryan Dougherty got 18 years, Lee Grace Dougherty received 24 years and Dylan Dougherty Stanley got 32 years for those charges.
They still face charges in Florida, where they are accused of shooting at an officer during a high-speed chase.
The sentencing hearing took more than two hours, and all three siblings were in the courtroom. Ryan Dougherty and Lee Grace Dougherty wore orange prison uniforms; Dylan Dougherty Stanley wore a gray-striped one. All were handcuffed and in leg chains.
Attorneys for the siblings argued that certain factors should not have been considered in their sentence, including what they did in Colorado. The attorneys argued with the judge about whether their high-speed chase and shootout there a week after the robbery was part of their “immediate flight” after the Valdosta bank robbery.
Lawson rejected the objections and said the three were in Colorado because they were in “continuous flight.”
The siblings became wanted fugitives Aug. 2, 2011, when they fled from a police officer trying to pull over their car for speeding northeast of Tampa, Fla. The chase reached speeds of 100 mph, and at least 20 gunshots were fired from the fleeing car at the pursuing officer. The suspects got away after a bullet burst a tire on the police car.
A few hours after the chase and 210 miles away, the three fugitives put on masks and sunglasses before storming into the Certus Bank in Valdosta. Security cameras recorded Stanley, armed with an AK-47 style assault rifle, and his sister, with a machine pistol, firing one shot apiece into the ceiling.
Their brother, meanwhile, stuffed $5,168 from teller drawers into a tool bag, and the three escaped. No one was injured.
The hunt ended eight days after it began when two retired law officers in Colorado spotted the suspects in the San Isabel National Forest. The fugitives again tried to escape, leading police on a 20-mile chase on Interstate 25 that ended in Walsenburg, about 150 miles south of Denver.
Shots were fired at the officers before troopers used spike strips to puncture the tires of the suspects’ Subaru. Lee Dougherty bolted from the crash on foot. An officer shot her in the leg after she pointed a pistol at him, authorities said.
In court Monday, the lawyer for Lee Grace Dougherty said she pointed her weapon at the officer in Colorado only because she was afraid someone would shoot her brother and because she was suicidal and wanted police to shoot her.
John Gee Edwards, a Valdosta attorney, told the judge that the three siblings endured an abusive childhood and that Lee Grace Dougherty had been hospitalized for depression and anxiety.
Seventeen year old Ethan Orton has been charged with two counts of murder for stabbing his parents to death. According to sources this alleged teen killer would stab to death his parents at their Cedar Rapids Iowa home. Casey Arthur Orton, 42, and Misty Scott-Slade, 41, were found deceased in their home back in October 14 2021. Ethan Orton lawyers may be planning an insantity defense which will be difficult after the seventeen year old was found competent to stand trial. If convicted on the murder charges Ethan Orton may spend the rest of his life in prison.
Ethan Orton More News
A Cedar Rapids teen charged with fatally stabbing his parents in October may claim insanity and diminished responsibility at his murder trial set for next month.
Ethan Alexander Orton, 17, charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree murder, was found competent to stand trial last week by a judge following a psychiatric evaluation.
He is accused of fatally stabbing his parents, Casey Arthur Orton, 42, and Misty Scott-Slade, 41, on Oct. 14 at their home in northeast Cedar Rapids.
Orton’s lawyers filed a notice of defense Tuesday, stating he “may rely on the defenses of insanity and diminished responsibility” at his Feb. 8 trial.
A competency evaluation helps a judge determine if a defendant understands the charges against him and if he is able to assist his lawyers with his defense at trial.
An insanity defense is a tougher threshold to meet because a jury must decide if a defendant will be held criminally responsible for his actions.
Guy Cook, a Des Moines lawyer, said the insanity defense under Iowa Law is tough to prove and rarely successful.
The prosecution must first prove the defendant committed the crime and then the burden shifts to the defense to prove the individual was legally insane when he or she committed the crime, he said.
“Simply put, the defendant must prove at the time he committed the crime he did not know right from wrong,” Cook told The Gazette on Wednesday.
According to Iowa code, insanity doesn’t have to exist for any specific length of time before or after a crime. The defendant must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that insanity is more likely true. This is a lesser burden to prove than beyond a reasonable doubt.
Cook said if a jury finds a defendant not guilty by reason of insanity, the judge commits the person to a state mental institution — the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville. The commitment continues as long as the person remains a danger to himself or others.
Closely related to the insanity defense is the defense of diminished responsibility, which also is difficult to prove, Cook said. The defense has to prove a defendant was unable to form the specific criminal intent to commit the crime.
“In other words, at the time of the crime, the defendant was unable to form the premeditated, deliberate, specific intent to kill,” Cook said. “Diminished responsibility, even if proven, however, does not entirely relieve the defendant of responsibility for his actions. It only prevents a conviction on first degree murder.”
A jury could find this defendant guilty on a lesser included charge, such as second-degree murder or manslaughter.
“Only a tiny fraction of defendants succeed with such a defense,” Cook pointed out. “Indeed in Iowa, over the years only a scattering of defendants have been successful with these defenses.”
Local prosecutors said they couldn’t recall any recent not-guilty verdicts because of insanity.
Among those who tried were Alexander Kozak, who claimed diminshed capacity, was convicted in Johnson County for killing a woman at the Coralville Mall in 2016 and Nicholas Luerkens, convicted in Linn County for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend in a Marion grocery store parking lot in 2015.
On appeal, Luerkens was granted a new trial because the court found the trial judge should have allowed the jury to consider his insanity defense. The trial judge ruled the defense hadn’t submitted sufficient evidence to present the insanity claim to the jury. In 2018, Luerkens pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and is serving a life sentence without parole.
The court found the trial judge didn’t give an instruction to the jury regarding Davis’ insanity defense on the first-degree murder charge but did provide the instruction for lesser charges the jurors could consider.
The error allowed the jury to wrongly conclude the insanity defense didn’t apply to the first-degree murder charge, according to the court ruling.
Davis has a new trial set for Aug. 13.
Orton’s trial remains set for Feb. 8, but 6th Judicial District Judge Ian Thornhill said last week he would understand if more time is needed.
Ethan Orton would have to waive his right to trial within 90 days before the trial is rescheduled.
The court proceedings against Orton were temporarily suspended until the competency evaluation was completed.
Cedar Rapids police received a 911 call about 2:10 a.m. Oct. 14 regarding suspicious noises coming from the Orton house at 361 Carnaby Dr. NE, according to a criminal complaint.
Officers said they found the teen soaked in blood outside the home and that Ethan Orton admitted to killing his parents, who were found inside the home. He stabbed both parents with a knife and used an ax to finish killing his mother, he told investigators.
Ethan Orton said he killed them “to take charge of his life,” according to the complaint.
The teen remains in jail under a $2 million cash-only bail. First-degree murder is a life sentence without parole, but because he is a juvenile, he would have the opportunity for parole if convicted.
Darrell Brooks has been arrested for the massacre in Wisconsin that has left five people dead and 49 injured. According to Waukesha Wisconsin police Darrell Brooks was driving the red SUV that plowed into crowds of people gathered at a Santa Clause parade. Darrell Brooks who was bailed out of jail after trying to run over his girlfriend and child earlier in November. Right now no motive is known for the senseless attack though some are pointing at the recent Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal. Among the many questions being asked today is why this violent felon was even allowed to post bail. Needless to say this is a breaking story.
Darrell Brooks Waukesha Timeline
4:00 pm – Waukesha Christmas parade begins
4:38 pm – A red SUV is observed traveling at a high rate of speed being chased by police cars
The red SUV barely misses a little girl dancing in the road
The red SUV strikes a marching band leaving several injured
The red SUV strikes several girls carrying pompoms
The red SUV leaves the area chased by police, gunshots are fired
Darrell Brooks More News
Police confirmed that five people were killed and 48 were injured, including two children in critical condition, when a 39-year-old man driving a maroon SUV plowed into a crowd at a parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
The suspect, Darrell Brooks, will be charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide and other offenses, according to police chief Dan Thompson.
Moments before the tragedy, Brooks was involved in a domestic violence incident that he was fleeing. Authorities said that it is “not a terrorist event.”
Milwaukee prosecutors are conducting an internal review into their own office’s decision to make an “inappropriately low” bail recommendation for Darrell Brooks Jr., the man suspected of plowing an SUV through a crowd in nearby Waukesha during a Christmas parade.
The horror left at least five people dead and 48 injured – including 18 children rushed to Children’s Wisconsin hospital in Milwaukee. Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said during an afternoon news conference that prosecutors plan to bring five counts of first-degree intentional homicide and additional charges.
Brooks has multiple pending cases in Milwaukee County – including a 2020 case involving two counts of second-degree recklessly endangering and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a spokesperson for Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm. Bail was originally set at $10,000 and later reduced to $7,500, the district attorney’s office said
But due to a court scheduling conflict that would have deprived Brooks of his right to a speedy trial his bail was again reduced, this time to just $500, which he posted on Feb. 21, 2021, according to prosecutors.
Earlier this month, Milwaukee authorities charged Brooks with another reckless endangering out, felony bail jumping, battery, obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct. He allegedly ran a woman over with what may have been the same SUV that wreaked havoc on the Christmas parade. He was released on $1,000 cash bail on Nov. 11.
“The State’s bail recommendation in this case was inappropriately low in light of the nature of the recent charges and the pending charges against Mr. Brooks,” Chisholm’s office said Monday. “The bail recommendation in this case is not consistent with the approach of the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office toward matters involving violent crime, nor was it consistent with the risk assessment of the defendant prior to setting of bail.”
The DA’s office said an internal review of the bail recommendation decision is underway.
In a recent case, a woman told police that Brooks charged into her hotel room, shouted profanity at her, and took her cellphone before driving away. He allegedly circled back later, found her walking to a nearby gas station and punched her after she refused to get into his car. When she started to walk away, he allegedly ran her over with his vehicle.
Perez Reed a suspected serial killer has now been charged with six murders. According to police Perez Reed who was initially charged with four murders in Missouri is now facing two more murder charges in Kansas. Below is Perez Reed timeline
Perez Reed Timeline
September 12 – Perez Reed would shoot a man several times in the chest. The man would survive
September 13 – Reed would shoot and kill 16-year-old Marnay Haynes
September 16 – Perez would shoot a woman in the face who thankfully would survive her injuries. That same day police would find the body of 49 year old Pamela Abercrombie
September 18 – Police believe that Perez shot and killed Carey Ross whose body would be found on the 19th
September 26 – Perez Reed would shoot and kill Lester Robinson
October 28 – Perez Reed would travel from St Louis to Kansas City where he would murder 35-year-old Damon Irvin
October 29 – Police would find the body of 25-year-old Rau’Daja Fairrow
Is Perez Reed A Serial Killer
The FBI who has been investigating the Perez Reed murders have been hesitant to name him a serial killer as he is not following the normal behavior of such behavior. Of course normally when someone is a spree killer all of the murders would have taken place during the same day. In the end it does not really matter what he is classified as for six people have lost their lives.
Perez Reed More News
A suspected serial killeraccused of four homicides in Missouri was charged Thursday with two more counts of first-degree murder in Kansas, authorities said.
Perez Reed, 26, was accused of killing two people identified by police in Kansas City, Kansas, as Damon Irvin and Rau’daja Fairrow at an apartment complex in late October.
Authorities discovered their bodies while conducting a welfare check.
Reed, who was arrested Nov. 5 in Independence, Missouri, has also been charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the city and county of St. Louis, court records show.
He faces multiple allegations of assault and armed criminal action, as well as a federal weapons charge.
When Reed was arrested, he had a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a caliber federal investigators said matched shell casings found at unsolved shootings in and around St. Louis, the FBI said in a statement.
The FBI added that the victims found in Kansas City were shot and killed in a manner “consistent” with the St. Louis shootings.
The four Missouri victims were shot in the head on separate days in September. They have been identified as Marnay Haynes, 16; Lester Robinson, 40; Pamela Abercrombie, 49; and Carey Ross, 24.
St. Louis County Lt. Craig Longworth has said there was no known connection between the victims.
A possible motive wasn’t immediately clear. Reed, who was being held on $2 million bond, has denied hurting anyone, according to an affidavit.
The public defender’s office in St. Louis, which is representing Reed, couldn’t immediately be reached. It wasn’t clear if he had a lawyer in the Kansas City cases
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