Re: O.C. mother charged with murder


"tiny dancer" <tinydancer357@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%fKxj.244$Ta1.220@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
O.C. mother charged with murder
Booking photo of Paige Looney, 34, who has been charged with the murder of
her 13-month-old baby after he drowned in the family pool in Anaheim.
Police say Looney showed signs of intoxication when they arrived on the
scene.
Toxicology tests confirm that the Anaheim woman was drunk when her
13-month-old son drowned in the unfenced family pool last week.
By Christine Hanley, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
February 28, 2008
An Anaheim woman was charged with murder Wednesday in the drowning death
of her 13-month-old son after toxicology tests confirmed she had been
drunk at the time.

Paige Elizabeth Looney also was charged with two counts of child abuse and
endangerment with a sentencing enhancement for death due to child neglect.
She faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life if convicted.

Sounds like bull*** to me. The kid drowned in the pool. That's tragic but
not murder.

Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Howard Gundy declined to disclose her
blood-alcohol level, saying only that the toxicology report "wasn't good."

That sure was nice of him. He must be protecting her rights by not
disclosing the result which "wasn't good." How did that slip out?

Gundy said the murder charge stemmed from "implied malice" on Looney's
part. She had a "conscious disregard" for Eric, the toddler who drowned
Feb. 21, and his 4-year-old brother, Tanner, the prosecutor said.

Bull*** charge.

"She showed extreme indifference for the health and welfare of those
children," Gundy said.

Looney, 34, was in court Wednesday to be arraigned on the charges, but the
hearing was postponed until March 14 so she could be assigned a
court-appointed lawyer. She is being held on $1-million bond.

During the hearing, the public defender who appeared for Looney's initial
appearance, Donald T. Barkemeyer, asked the court for a bail review
hearing and for a gag order, arguing that Anaheim police should not be
allowed to provide information about the case to the public before
discussing it with the defense.

I agree with the defense. The place to disclose evidence is in court.

Judge Roger Robbins agreed to a bail review but denied a gag order, saying
he had no jurisdiction because Anaheim police were not present in court.

Looney's cousin and two aunts declined to comment as they left the
Fullerton courthouse.

Eric was the youngest of four children born to Looney by two men who are
brothers. Mark Looney is the father of a 12-year-old daughter. Steve
Looney is now married to Paige Looney and is the father of Eric, Tanner
and another son who died in 2005 at age 2.

Eric drowned Feb. 21 in the family's unfenced backyard pool in Anaheim.
His sister called 911 when she arrived home from school.

When police arrived, Paige Looney had pulled her son from the water and
was attempting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, according to police. The
boy's father, who lives at the residence part time, was not home when the
drowning occurred, police said.

This is the same woman who "showed extreme indifference for the health and
welfare of those
children," according to the Deputy District Attorney.

Looney showed signs of intoxication and empty beer cans were found about
the house and backyard, according to police. It was unclear how the boy
had gotten into the pool, which did not have a fence or barricade
surrounding it. Under state law, new pools are required to be fenced.

But old pools aren't. Why not?

Police are investigating whether the pool was "grandfathered" in before
the law went into effect. They also are reviewing the 2005 death of her
2-year-old son. The cause of death was listed as undetermined, police
said, but was linked to a preexisting heart condition.

So they don't have a case and are attempting to smear her in the media
instead of providing evidence in court.

According to police, the family on the fathers' side repeatedly complained
to Orange County Child Protective Services about the way Looney treated
her children. Terry Fisher, a spokeswoman for the agency, maintained
Wednesday that state confidentiality laws prevented her from confirming or
denying abuse reports.

Another smear by the Anaheim police.


Reached by telephone after Wednesday's hearing, Eric's paternal
grandmother said her son and other relatives on her side of the family
would not be commenting on the case until Looney was arraigned on the
charges.

The Looney children are in protective custody.

Yes, they'll be so much better there.


http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-drown28feb28,1,3727844.story




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

.

Quantcast