Answering Marriage Seller Assertions, Talking Points, and Questions - Part 12

Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here and Part 3 here and Part 4 here and Part 5 here and Part 6 here and Part 7 here and Part 8 here and Part 9 here and Part 10 here. and Part 11 here.


Single men commit more violent crime.

This can be true without the implication being "More men should sign a terrible state contract."

A) Do you mean to imply that if a violent criminal signs a terrible state contract, he'll become a good citizen? Are you telling women to marry violent criminals?

B) Maybe, just maybe, women are less likely to marry and stay married to violent men?

C) Younger men tend to commit more violent crime AND younger men are less likely to be married.

D) There is no proof that getting a terrible state contract will make a violent person less violent.

E) Do you think I'm going to go around committing violent crimes if I don't sign a terrible state contract?


Unmarried women do damage to society including by dependence on government.

This is one I've heard from Dennis Prager. Most people probably dismiss it immediately. But I'll address it just in case someone tries it with you.

A) I'm not obligated to sign a terrible state contract to modify the behavior of a woman.

B) Maybe that's why they are unmarried; because they are destructive?

C) We can encourage women to be better and independent without sacrificing men to do it.


Even if marrying could be conclusively shown to make men and women better, that wouldn't mean it is an obligation or the only or best way to do it, especially with current state contracts.

Home Security

I previously wrote an entry on managing danger that focused on being out and about. What about home security?

Like so many other things in life, if you remain a Free Man, home security is less complicated. You only have to worry about your own protection and you don't have to worry about protecting anyone else, save your temporary guests.

If you have the means, having 24/7/365 armed security on-site is going to provide the most security. Few people can have that, though. Likewise with living in a walled, gated compound.

The bad news is, if someone really, really wants to get into your home, they can, especially if they are people of means. The good news is it is becoming easier and easier to increase your home security, which will discourage potential malefactors, buy you some time to protect yourself if they are getting in, and can capture evidence for prosecution.

What you should do depends on things like where you live, what is in your home, and who might try to get into it and why. If you live on a rural farm it's a far different matter than living in a major city or an adjacent suburb.

Proof of Evil

 

Be warned: This contains reports indicating extreme and murderous child abuse.

Disclaimer: I’m dealing with a news report. I am not responsible for errors and omissions in that news report. I don’t claim any direct knowledge of the people or events described below. The mother’s last name is spelled two ways in the article.

I frequently post on X (Twitter) links to stories of terrible things happening to parents because they’re parents, and terrible things happening to children, often at the hands of their parents. This story warrants an entire blog post.

This article is from Will Conybeare at KTLA, and given how things have been going there, he might have been let go since he wrote it.

The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services is being sued over the death of a 14-month-old who attorneys say was subjected to prolonged abuse at the hands of two Long Beach residents with past criminal convictions who had the infant placed in their care.

The taxpayers of LA county will be paying any judgement or settlement, along with attorneys fees.

An investigation into the case of the child, identified initially at Tilly S., began on Nov. 7, 2025, when officers with the Long Beach Police Department were dispatched to Miller Children’s Hospital after the toddler was found unresponsive and with signs of trauma. The girl, just over the age of one, was placed on life support but died from her injuries three days later.

On Nov. 25, 2025, two people — Alfredo Muñoz Jr. and Kelly Anelalani Muñoz — were arrested in connection with the infant’s death after detectives found she had suffered extensive ongoing abuse from them, and that her death was the result of that abuse. The couple was charged on Dec. 2 with one count each of murder, torture and assault on a child causing death.

At least there is a criminal case against the alleged abusers. No lawsuit against them? Well, their pockets probably aren’t that deep, unlike Joe Taxpayer.

Alfredo Muñoz Jr. is Tilly’s biological father, and Kelly Muñoz her stepmother; Tilly’s biological mother, Alexis Servin, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, relinquished custody for personal reasons, her attorney Brian Claypool said.

So Tilly’s mother had “personal reasons” to give up custody. Gee, what do you think those could be? What are the odds she wouldn’t be available because she was going to be working in the International Space Station? In my opinion, if I had to guess, the guess would be she was either too messed up to care for a child or she didn’t want to bother.

However, Alexis’ parents — Tilly’s grandparents — were “ready and willing” to care for the infant.

The people who raised Alexis?

Here come the blood boiling details.

Lawyers say that an autopsy of Tilly, who was “under the care, custody and control of the L.A. Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) at all relevant times,” revealed she endured prolonged abuse that led to injuries including acute blunt head trauma with skull fractures, multiple hemorrhages, a severe spinal cord injury and multiple skeletal fractures. Skeletal findings included healing fractures of multiple ribs, the femur and the tibia that were sustained weeks prior to Tilly’s death.

“The autopsy report confirms Tilly’s death was the result of the combination, severity, distribution, and differing ages of these injuries indicate repetitive inflicted trauma,” the complaint states, adding that Tilly’s official cause of death was found to be a catastrophic brain injury, cerebral edema, brainstem compression, and hypoxic-ischemic injury.

Is there any sane person who’d say it would be unjust to have a public lynching of the murderers?

Legal representatives for Alexis Severin, in the wake of the 14-month-old’s death — one that was described as “tragic” by L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman — are now pointing the blame at DCFS, alleging the department should have known that Alfredo Muñoz Jr. and Kelly Muñoz posed “an extreme and foreseeable danger to any child placed in their care.”

That’s a fair accusation, as we’ll see. But unless Alexis is alleging Alfredo forced Tilly’s conception on her, keep in mind that Alexis was in position to know Alfredo wasn’t a good man, yet allowed him to knock her up. And again, why couldn’t she have/keep custody? Doesn’t Alexis have any blame in this?

Both Alfredo Jr., 41, and Kelly, 34, had prior felony convictions for willful cruelty to a child from a 2021 case. The former was described in the complaint as having an “extensive” criminal history dating back decades:

Alexis didn’t know any of that? Really? And it sounds like Alfredo and Kelly were together for years. How did Alexis get into the mix? Did she choose to let an evil, married man stick it in her and knock her up? He was a father already, and according to a letter the article quotes, considered unable to care for the children he already had. What a turn on! What woman can resist that???

• 1999: Muñoz was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, a felony, and sentenced in 2000 to five years in the California Youth Authority 
• 2006: Muñoz was convicted of possessing a switchblade knife, a misdemeanor, and sentenced to 30 days in a county jail
• 2009: Muñoz was charged with three misdemeanors (use/being under the influence of a controlled substance, resisting arrest and providing false information to an officer) and two infractions (operating a bicycle in the dark on a highway and not having reflectors on the bicycle pedals) — all were dropped except the resisting arrest charge, for which he was sentenced to a year of summary probation
• 2010: Muñoz was convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to three years of formal probation; he violated his parole in 2012 and was sent to a county jail for 16 months
• 2012: Muñoz was convicted in federal court of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to 41 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was also required to go to outpatient substance abuse treatment
• April 2016: Muñoz was convicted of carrying a dirk or dagger, a felony, and sentenced to three years of probation. He violated the terms of his probation in 2017, for which he spent two years in state prison
• July 2016: Muñoz had a misdemeanor petty theft dismissed in furtherance of justice
• 2021: Muñoz was charged with two felony counts of willful cruelty to a child resulting in possible injury or death and felony possession of a firearm by a narcotic addict. He was only convicted of one count of willful cruelty to a child resulting in possible injury or death and sentenced to four years in state prison

Was Alfredo let out early? Or did “time served” get him out in time to knock up Alexis? Or was he allowed conjugal visits? Anything’s possible in California. Notice his light sentence for a serious crime after being a repeat criminal.

Kelly Muñoz has three prior convictions, the complaint states:

• 2012: Muñoz was convicted of possessing drug paraphernalia and sentenced to 44 days in jail
• 2013: Muñoz was convicted of methamphetamine possession and sentenced to three years of summary probation, five days of community service and a $150 fine
• 2021: Muñoz was charged on the same day as Alfredo Muñoz Jr. with two counts of willful cruelty to a child resulting in possible injury or death; she was convicted on one count and the other count was dismissed. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years of formal probation

Delightful people.

The complaint states that Tilly was placed with the Muñozes not long after Alfredo Jr. had been released from his four-year sentence for willful cruelty to a child.

Again, if that’s true, when and how did he knock up Alexis? Or did he knock her up the moment he got out and nine months later, “not long,” a newborn was given up by her mother? 

“Tilly Servin’s death was caused by the failures of DCFS and the County of Los Angeles,” the complaint adds.

The “dad” and his wife had something to do with it. But again, they don’t have deep pockets.

Were the grandparents seriously shady, or did DCFS simply have such a preference for biological parent bonds that they preferred giving the girl to a convicted child abuser?

Well, there you have it. Hopefully other inmates will do their thing and carry out prison justice.

Maybe someone from DCFS will be fired. They’re probably severely overworked and constrained. But it sure looks like taxpayers are going to be, once again, soaked. I know there are millions of people in that county, but it seems like there’s always a kid being tortured to death and authorities knew about it before they are murdered.

And to bring this back to what I blog about most: How many women have allowed that guy to knock them up? How many women have polished his knob? He’s apparently what turns some women on.

Ponder that.

They Do Everying But Name the Guy a Murderer - UPDATED

The first suspect in criminal homicide cases is usually going to be either the last person who saw (or admitted to seeing) the victim alive, or the victim's spouse (ah, marriage), A good example of the first scenario is this tragic case unfolding right now in Orange County, California. A university student by the name of Blaze Bernstein went missing, and then was found dead over a week later. This article by Kelly Puente in the Orange County Register cites a police document, referring to the "friend" of the victim:

The body of 19-year-old pre-med college student Blaze Bernstein was found Tuesday in brush near a Foothill Ranch park where he went missing more than a week ago, and records show that a high-school classmate who reportedly was the last known person to see him alive appeared nervous when interviewed by detectives.

That's just the start of it.

What Women Like

Today's example of what women like - like so much they will have intercourse with such men, apparently without effective contraception - comes from a recent Dear Abby column:

I have a 14-year-old daughter I have raised alone. Her father has never been in her life, nor has he been in the lives of his other children with other women. He has a long history of criminal behavior and mental illness.

Note that the guy being described has obviously had sex with many women, women who don't use contraception effectively.

Knocking Up Teacher

Melissa Pamer and Tony Shin at NBC’s Los Angeles O & O has this story which has been all over the news around here:

A Redlands high school teacher accused of having a baby allegedly fathered by a teen student pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 41 counts of sex and oral copulation with a minor.

Laura Elizabeth Whitehurst, 28, was arrested July 1 after the mother of a Citrus Valley High student contacted school officials about the suspected relationship between her son and the English teacher.

She was charged Monday with crimes alleged to have involved the boy -- who was 16 when the relationship began, according to police -- and two other teen students who are now adults.

Later:

Authorities said Whitehurst had given birth June 18 to a baby fathered by the student with whom she had had a nearly year-long affair. The boy attended the baby’s birth, according to court documents.

Later:

Then, at least two other men came forward and said they had had sexual relations with Whitehurst in 2007 and 2008.

One of the alleged victims spoke to NBC4 Southern California, saying he never felt victimized but wanted to share his story so that others might come forward to tell police about their experiences with Whitehurst.

Finally:

Whitehurst is charged with 30 counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, and 11 counts of oral copulation of a person under 18.

If convicted as charged, Whitehurst could face up to 29 years in state prison, the District's Attorney's Office said.

So there's yet another criminal case that's hit the news lately about a young female teacher "having sex" with multiple minor male students. Unless the teacher is decidedly unattractive (this latest one isn't), one of the common responses to this is along the lines of:

Dagum It! Mangum It!

Look who is back in the news! Yes, it is Crystal Mangum, the woman I previously wrote about here. She's still auditioning for a show on E!, apparently.

Authorities say former Duke Lacrosse accuser Crystal Mangum was arrested overnight Sunday for allegedly stabbing her boyfriend in the chest.

Authorities say around 3 a.m., officers responded to a stabbing at a home in the 3000 block of Century Oaks Drive.

When police arrived, they found a 46-year-old man stabbed in the chest.

The man suffered serious injuries and was taken to Duke University Hospital for treatment.

Three in the morning. You'd think a 46-year-old man would know better than to be with this woman. Apparently not.

Investigators say the victim is Mangum's boyfriend and say they believe the stabbing occurred during an argument at the apartment the couple shared.

Shacking up!

A man who claims he's the victim's cousin says Mangum and the victim had a brief relationship.

Not brief enough to keep them from shacking up. This is how brief the relationship should've been:

Guy: "Crystal's a pretty name. What's your last name?”
Mangum: "Mangum"
Guy: [Googles "Crystal Mangum" on his phone.] [Pause] [Starts to run.] "See ya!"

"I mean he was excited," said the man. "He was like, 'man, guess who I'm dating now.' He was excited, but I told him 'man, you know her background, be careful, you know what I mean.'"

She has minor kids. She was charged with attempted murder. She lamely accused the Duke Lacrosse players of rape. She was a stripper. Anyone one of those alone should have been a big enough red flag, but this guy thought it would be exciting to shack up with her. If you need that kind of excitement, how about jumping out of an airplane without checking your parachute first?

Mangum, 32, was later arrested at a nearby apartment and charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.

Nearby apartment? Was she moving on to the next in line?

After the debacle of her allegations against the Duke players:

Mangum went into hiding, then graduated from NCCU in 2008 with a degree in police psychology.

Has NCCU invited her back to speak?

Later that year she released a memoir, "The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story".

Then last year, Mangum was arrested and charged with attempted murder, arson and child abuse after a domestic dispute with her ex-boyfriend - a different man than the person involved in the incident Sunday.

In December, the jury found Mangum guilty of child abuse, but they couldn't agree on a first-degree felony arson charge, which could have landed Mangum in jail for seven years.

Can we pair her with Charlie Sheen?

Some of these comments below are good.

"benis.magee" 4/3/11 10:10 PM EDT:

I feel sorry for her kids and all of their fathers.

Those poor kids. I pray someone with decent parental skills and a stable home gets custody. Shame on the guys who have knocked this woman up.

"Simplemind2" 4/4/11 6:55 AM EDT

I guess Ms. Crystal Mangum's "Last Dance for Grace" is not that graceful after all.

"coffeecan" 4/4/11 10:24 AM EDT:

Thank God that the parents of the lacrosse players had backbones and money to fight the false charges.

I'll write it again... false rape allegations made things harder for actual rape victims.

UPDATE: The apparent victim has died.

A Waste of Human Potential

People can be convinced to do just about anything, given the right conditions. You don't have to be stupid to allow yourself to fall into a trap. In fact, it often takes someone of high intelligence to be convinced to do some really bizarre things (think cultists who commit suicide together). Check out this Associated Press story by Jeff Karoub about Steven Demink, a very evil man who convinced some mothers to do some evil things. Please don’t think I’m excusing the mothers.

In real life, Steven Demink didn't have children, a college degree or a lasting career. Online, prosecutors say, he presented himself as Dalton St. Clair, an attractive single father and psychologist — a fantasy image authorities say the Michigan man used to persuade mothers across the country to commit unspeakable acts on their children.

Demink, 41, of Redford Township [Michigan, I’m thinking], preyed on single mothers for more than a year, prosecutors say, convincing them to sexually assault their children as a form of therapy. After pleading guilty Monday to six charges related to the sexual exploitation of children, Demink faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced in June.

How was he able to do this?

Demink's alter-ego was a single father of a 14-year-old girl, prosecutors said, and he posted pictures of male models as his headshots.

It's a good thing he really didn’t actually have children.

In some cases, court documents say, Demink promised the women a date if they followed through with his directions.

Playing on desperation for a walking ATM can get you far.

Since authorities arrested him in October, seven children were rescued and at least three mothers have been arrested. Prosecutors say all of the children are now safe.

Isn't that a little like saying that an arson burn victim is now safe because she is no longer on fire?

Authorities say Demink chatted with mothers from New Hampshire, Florida, Idaho and elsewhere, persuading them to engage in sexual acts with their children and send images via e-mail or through a live web stream. The children ranged in age from 3 to 15.

Of course Florida had to be part of this. So many strange stories involve that state.

Demink told U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen that before his arrest, he worked as a car salesman for about six months and before that for about five years at a local bank.

As if people didn't hate bankers and car salesmen enough already.

He said he completed a U.S. Customs and Border Protection training program in 2002 and worked for the Immigration and Naturalization Service for about a year.

That explains a lot.

As part of his plea agreement with prosecutors, seven charges against Demink were dropped.

I'm assuming the plea agreement was meant to spare victims a trial?

In one case, Demink started online chats with an Oregon woman about the sexual development of her 8-year-old autistic son, according to the plea agreement. He told her to engage in sexually explicit conduct with her son as a way to teach him about sex, prosecutors say, and she did so while Demink watched on a web camera.

You wonder how someone could fall for this, but people fall for all sorts of foolishness. I'm sure if we could be taken through how this happened step by step, we'd have a better understanding of how the mother could have suspended her judgment enough to do this. A lot of it could be the power we give to psychologists.

A Teton County Sheriff's Office report from December 2009 said the Idaho woman met "Daltonst28" on an online dating site called singleparentmeet.com. She told police she performed sex acts on her young son as directed by her online male friend.

The woman's mother, Eileen Schwab of Idaho, said she knows little of how Demink convinced her daughter to follow his orders. She said her daughter was "depressed and lonesome" after her divorce.

Good for Schwab. She decided to protect her grandchildren and the children of others over her protecting her own daughter from legal consequences.

Demink's attorney, Timothy Dinan, said his client "has expressed a lot of remorse" for what he did and has taken responsibility by pleading guilty.

He's probably just sorry he got caught. What a waste of human potential.

I'm glad law enforcement isn't letting the mothers off of the hook. I do wonder if the charges would have been the same and if the news article would have been the same if the sexes were switched - if this had been about some women convincing single fathers to molest their daughters.

Learn how to think clearly, critically, and discern. Don't blindly accept whatever "experts" tell you. Ask them to explain how they came to their conclusions. Some very intelligent and educated people have believed some very wrong things. Look for contradictions. And if something doesn't pass the smell test, think very hard more than once about it.

Update on Sexual Assault Convicts

Yay! As Joseph Serna wrote in the Daily Pilot, California’s Supreme Court rebuffed a request to review a petition (got that?) by three punks who assaulted a teenaged minor. They wanted their convictions overturned and not to have to register as sex offenders.

Warning – the details get disturbing.

Greg Haidl, 25, the son of former Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, was convicted five years ago of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in 2002. Greg Haidl and his two accomplices, Keith Spann and Kyle Nachreiner, both 25, were minors when they sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl while she was passed out on Haidl's pool table in his garage in Corona del Mar.

The boys inserted a pool cue into her anus and her vagina, where they also inserted a Snapple bottle and lit cigarette, among other items. The group videotaped the attack, which a friend later found and turned over to police.

Note to criminals: Keep evidence of your crime.

The men were seeking to have their convictions overturned because some testimony about the girl's sexual past was not allowed at trial.

I don’t care if she did a chain every weekend. Well, I would care. But it isn’t relevant. It's like saying you are entitled to go into someone's wallet without asking and steal money because that person has previously given away their money to others and you. Only it is worse because it is her body.

If some young man is convicted of running around flashing adult women from ten yards away, and five years down the road he's behaved himself and matured and asks to get his designation as a sex offender removed, that I think is a fair request. But the sex offender registry is made for people who physically abuse other people in the worst ways. These guys had skilled legal representation. They were connected. And they still got convicted. They're guilty.

Read my previous comments on this case.

A Real Housewife of Orange County

Erika I. Ritchie of the Orange County Register reports on some interesting doings in Lake Forest, California. Looks like more script material for Law & Order: SVU. For the sake of discussion, I will assume the article accurately reports the relevant information of a truthful police report and truthful statements from the wife. Remember, everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law... blah blah blah...

So the hubby was arrested after turning himself in. He is accused of beating and duct-taping his wife. But there's more. A lot more.

Alireza Sazegari, 31, was arrested on witness intimidation, spousal abuse, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon, said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.

Can’t you just see this guy on Dr. Phil?

According to police reports, Orange County sheriff's deputies responded Wednesday morning to the couple's home in the 25000 block of Rivendell after the wife's friend found her beaten and bound in duct tape in the bathroom.

Thank God for that friend.

The 30-year-old wife, who's name has not been released, told police that her husband frequently beat her and didn't let her leave the house unless she was with him or unless she went to work, said Deputy Richard Nelson. She also told them that she is limited to specific rooms in the house.

Please tell me that they don’t have any children. If they don't, one might wonder why she didn't flee while at work. But she’s most likely developed something like the Stockholm Syndrome.

Deputies found 20 cameras in the house that appeared to be remotely monitored by Sazegari via his iPhone, Nelson said.

Freak.

The wife told police that her husband became angry after she spoke to an unauthorized man. She said he beat her and forced her to call in sick at work, Nelson said.

An "unauthorized man"? Unauthorized by her husband, I presume. Or is that some bizarre new euphemism for an illegal alien?

She told deputies that she'd been warned by Sazegari not to leave the bathroom and that if police became involved Sazegari had threatened to kill her. She told police that Sazegari had taken her cell phone and locked the house phone, Nelson said.

Deputies also found $10,000 worth of surveillance cameras and fingerprint-activated door locks, Nelson said.

He'll have better conditions and less supervision in prison.

What are the odds that this marriage was essentially forced?

What are the odds he'll still get chicks?

This is an example of where I would be in favor of a woman getting just about everything in a divorce. Should a guy like that really get half of the marital assets? No way. Just think... their money (which means her money, too) will go to pay for his defense. Ugh.

Another Rapist Off the Streets

When I saw this story, I knew something rotten was going on. Either a guy was being slandered in the worst way, or a defense attorney was adding to the pain of rape victims. The jury decided it was the latter, finding Carlos Aguirre Jr. of Wilmington guilty on all counts. Long Beach Press-Telegram writer Tracy Manzer reports.

The 25-year-old Wilmington man was initially charged with six felony counts stemming from rapes of the victims - ages 14 to 16 - from 2004 to 2006.

Included in the filing was a count of possession of ecstasy and marijuana for sale - drugs that were used to incapacitate his victims - and a count of possession of child pornography for some 120 images found on his computer - featuring an 18-minute video of one victim being raped by Aguirre and a 12-year-old boy.

Six additional rape counts were added to the case shortly before trial.

Prison was made for guys like this. In the old days, he would have been beaten to death by men in the family of these girls. But we’re much gentler and orderly now.

All the counts stem from incidents in which Aguirre was an adult, though jurors heard from several witnesses that he began molesting his niece when she and Aguirre were children.

I would guess someone did something to him when he was younger. But at some point, a person is fully responsible for their actions and must break the cycle.

Aguirre's niece said the abuse started when was 5 and included her uncle forcing her 8-year-old brother to have sex with her as well as the molestation of she and her half-sister at the same time.

Multiple witnesses testified that Aguirre was convicted of raping his other niece when he was juvenile, resulting in the defendant serving two years in a juvenile detention facility.

It obviously didn't help, other than keeping him from hurting innocent people for two years. But I do have to wonder – what kind of parent, knowing what this guy did, allowed him around their children?

[Defense attorney] Russ argued that victim's problems in high school, her struggles with depression and alcohol and her father's taking away her car prompted her to lash out at her uncle.

People do tend to have problems when they've been raped, or are being raised by the kind of people that allow them to be around rapists. Oh, and yeah... a typical reaction of a teen who is mad at a parent is to accuse someone else of rape, right? I know people have a right to a legal defense, but I don’t think I could defend a client in a case that would require me to verbally attack minor rape victims.

He's facing a sentence of more than 100 years plus multiple life terms. The best thing he can do now is admit what he did, apologize, beg for forgiveness, expose anyone else he knows who aided his crimes, and write from prison to warn others how to avoid becoming vicitims of people like him.

Hey, Trust Me!

I'm fascinated by con artists, fakes, frauds, and scammers who mostly rely on human nature to pull of their scams. For example, they simply behave as though they belong some place that they don't and thus gain access they shouldn’t. Perhaps they’ve created a false background for themselves, especially with apparent connections to the rich and powerful. Sometimes, they "fake it until they make it". I've actually encountered a few con artists of this sort in-person – thankfully, I haven't lost any money or credibility to them.

I know of one that got caught in his lies and exposed and disappeared off the face of the planet, but only after gaining access to restricted properties and rubbing elbows with industry titans.

I know of another who is still going strong. He sells stuff online, and most customers seem to be happy, though every now and then I'll come across someone who didn't get the products for which they paid. This guy used a fake background and nonexistent business partners to launch his business. Actually, as far as I can tell, he is doing some good work, but I can't help but look at his work and think about how it was all enabled by fraudulent claims this guy made about himself.

Another person I know creates different personas for himself and appears on game shows, "reality" television, and entertainment news segments where he can keep his face concealed (providing "scandalous" information). I already knew to be skeptical about what I see on television that is supposedly "real", but now I know even more.

You see these tactics to a lesser extent with guys who are just looking to score with some woman they don't know. For example, my father told me of a guy who would go shoot pool with a buddy and would talk with his buddy as if he was a gynecologist. Women he didn't know would approach him to discuss their personal situations, and of course one thing would lead to another...

I bring this up because recently, Richard Winton had an article in the Los Angeles Times about a con artist.

Los Angeles police detectives said a smooth-talking con artist has used an elaborate scheme to steal thousands of dollars in cash and belongings from a salsa band, one of Israel's top basketball teams and Mexico's Chivas soccer team.

Investigators allege that the man used websites and social media to learn about visiting teams, artists and tourists' movements in downtown Los Angeles, then charmed his way into their private hotel rooms and suites when the visitors were away.

"These out-of-town visitors are often unfamiliar with their surroundings and are often carrying lots of cash," Police Lt. Paul Vernon said.

And, of course, the visitors think the con is with the facility or host, and the facility or host thinks the con is with the visitors.

This is a little like crashing a wedding. The groom's guests will think you know the bride, and vice-versa. I heard a caller to a radio show say he and his buddies would hook up with women by noting in the news when a young person around their ages had passed away, showing up at the services, and then pretending to have been friends of the deceased. Grieving young women, already emotional and looking for comfort, feel a connection to another mourner. And how many of us know all of our friend's or coworker's or cousin's friends?

These people take advantage of people having their guards down, confusion, and unfamiliarity – as well as people wanting to believe well of others and not wanting to seem rude or mean or step on the wrong toes. Sometimes, like a lot of "psychics", these people are very good at reading body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, and taking hints from your appearance, and picking up things you've said in front of them that you don't even remember you said.

Whether meeting a potential love interest, going on vacation, throwing a party, or hiring someone, there are ways to safeguard against this sort of thing, and sometimes, we should. Con artists range from silly to murderous.

Another Statistic

Looks like we have another case of a bad boy knocking up a woman, then making her life hell until he finally murdered her. Ah, but there will be no trial for him. This comes from the Orange County Register, and takes place in beautiful Anaheim, home of the Angels and Disneyland.

A man wanted on suspicion of abducting his 5-year-old son and killing the boy's mother and her boyfriend earlier in the day was shot by police Wednesday night and later declared dead, officials said.

About 6 p.m., undercover officers fired at and wounded Anthony Castillo, 31, who they suspect killed Heather Courtney Sorensen, 31, and Stephen Rene Serna, 35, according to Anaheim police Sgt. Rick Martinez.

Stephen chose to date a single mother of a minor child – which is a no-no, whether you are just looking for sex or a looking for marriage. Sadly, he paid for it with his life. His poor family.

Martinez said Castillo was armed and a gun was found near him.

Even if there had been no gun found, it would have been reasonable for cops to assume he was armed, after what he did.

Castillo is suspected of shooting to death Sorensen, the mother of his son, and her boyfriend, Serna, during a confrontation around 5:45 a.m.

More proof that Serna was neither a category 3 nor 4. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been there at that time. Category 4 types don't linger after the deed, and don't shack up.

Castillo showed up at the apartment – armed with a gun – and got into a shouting argument with Sorensen, Martinez said. The confrontation ended when Castillo fatally shot the two, police said.

This is one of the things that can go very wrong when you get involved with the wrong people.

After the shooting, Castillo was seen running through the apartment complex with his 5-year-old son… An Amber Alert was issued to help locate the missing child, and he was found safe around 10 a.m. at his grandparents' home

At least the son wasn't physically harmed. He's been subjected to enough evil with the drama he's no doubt lived with since he was born, and being present at the murder of his mother.

Castillo has had previous encounters with law enforcement as recently as two weeks ago, when police were called to Sorensen’s apartment regarding a domestic dispute involving Castillo, Martinez said.

Sounds like a real prince.

What a horrible story all around. The one upside is that the taxpayers will not be paying for a trial, endless appeals, and lifetime incarceration with food and medical care for the murderer. I don't know for certain another person's heart or their relationship with God (or whether their brain was literally broken to the point of uncontainable insanity), but as someone who does believe in both Heaven and Hell, I can take a guess where Castillo is spending eternity.

Ladies, be very careful who you let in to your body.

Scary Parole Possibility

It’s like a plot from Law & Order: SVU. I wouldn’t be surprised if they use this.

A prosecutor from Orange County, California, traveled to a state prison to argue against paroling a serial child molester who was a fugitive for almost 30 years. Larry Welborn of the Orange County Register has the story. And if you go to the website, you can see a picture of this guy. Creepy.

George Joseph England, 65, was captured in Florida in 2006, extradited to Orange County and sentenced to four consecutive one-year-to-life-in-prison terms for molesting three young girls in Costa Mesa in the mid 1970s.

He also molested a Vietnamese girl – whom he purchased from her mother while the war raged in Vietnam – for years while he claimed her as his adopted daughter, according to prosecutors.

Have you lost your appetite yet?

When he sentenced England to prison in September 2006, Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald said "I expect that you will die in prison."

But after serving only three years for the molestations in Costa Mesa, England became eligible for his first parole hearing because of the laws that were on the books in the 1970s.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Olivieri, of the DA's Special Prosecutions Unit, will attend the hearing to oppose parole for England on behalf of the Orange County District Attorney.

I hope Ms. Olivieri was highly persuasive.

He was convicted of those charges in Orange County Superior Court in 1977, but was allowed to remain free in lieu of bail pending his sentencing so that he could tidy up his affairs.

But instead of showing up in court, England removed the Vietnamese girl from protective custody and fled, spending the next 29 years as a fugitive until he was captured in Florida.

Oh, Floridian alligators - you failed me. You could have incapacitated this guy in such a way and place so that the abundant insects of Florida could have had their way with him over several painful days. Oh well. Prison must be loads of fun for this guy.

UPDATE: He was denied parole for now, but he'll be up for release again soon.

Suspected Burglar Killed

If you've read my past blog entries on crime, you know that I think that just about anything bad that happens to you while you are trying to commit a property or personal crime is your own darn fault. I have little sympathy for someone hurt or killed while trying to harm someone else.

Jack Leonard and Robin Mayper report in this Los Angeles Times blog:

A suspected burglar was killed early today [Sunday] when a heavy metal gate fell on him as he tried to break into a South Los Angeles business complex, authorities said.

Police believe the man was trying to slip past the gate in the 1800 block of East 41st Place near Alameda Street when he was crushed, said Los Angeles Police Lt. Faryl Fletcher

I would include the guy's name, but they didn't have it yet.

The real tragedy is that some family member of this guy will probably get lots of money from the gate manufacturer and the property owner.

What is Wrong With This Picture?

It's another bright and sunny day in Santa Ana, California. Denisse Salazar of the Orange County Register has this article of interest.

Susie Young Kim, 37, was shot and killed just after 1 a.m. April 10 at 17th Street and Grand Avenue near a Food 4 Less supermarket in Santa Ana after a 30-minute [high speed] pursuit through Buena Park, Anaheim, Fullerton and Santa Ana.

That saved us the expense of having her go through the court and correctional systems, right? Well, keep reading.

Kim's 13-month-old daughter, who was in a car seat in the back seat of the black Toyota sedan she was driving, was unharmed. She was taken to Orangewood Children's Home and then placed under the care of her grandparents and father.

Thank God. How evil of her to put her child in that situation.

But guess what? Susie Young Kim's parents have filed a claim against the city!

The claim was filed June 24 by attorney Dale K. Galipo on behalf of Kim's parents, Yung Kim and Nancy Kim, and on behalf of her daughter, Angelica Kim Contreras, and the estate of Susie Young Kim.

That's what we call nerve. Audacity.

The claim asks for $20 million in damages, including for funeral expenses, legal costs, severe emotional distress, survival and punitive damages.

And what about Susie Young Kim's responsibility in all of this?

The claim alleges that the Santa Ana Police Department's officers involved in the incident "used excessive deadly force, which resulted in the death of Susie Young Kim."

Why have the officers never used excessive force against me? Oh, that's right. Because I don't put myself in that position. I don't drive like a maniac and refuse to pull over.

It goes on to say that the officers involved also "knowingly endangered the passenger child by using unnecessary deadly force and negligently handling the vehicle pursuit."

Susie Young Kim endangered the child, if the newspaper has it right.

Galipo said that based on his independent investigation to date, the officer fired from the side and there were no bullet holes to the front of the windshield.

Which might have been what spared the child.

After the incident, Buena Park police Sgt. Bill Kohanek said officers saw a car seat in the back seat and broadcast that over police radio, but he also said it's not uncommon for officers to miss transmissions.

I've driven many times with a car seat that didn't have a child in it. Especially at 1am.

Santa Ana has 45 days to respond to the claim. After that, a lawsuit can be filed. Galipo said they intend to file a lawsuit unless the city wants to reach a settlement.

Ka-ching!!! Blood money.

Galipo said it's unclear why Kim did not immediately stop when a Buena Park police officer tried to pull her over.

Oh, of course it is. I'm sure she had a perfectly good reason not to stop. Everyone does that with a 13-month-old in the car. At 1am.

I'm so sick of people who commit crimes (or the people who raised them) getting seven figure paydays at taxpayer expense.

Hey Yung Kim and Nancy Kim – how about a formal public apology for the actions of your daughter? You know, some day, that child is going to find out what her mother did. Poor thing... that child is the real victim in all of this, and her mother is mostly to blame, if the newspaper's report has it right.

Teen Arrested in Cat Mutilations

This is how serial killers start.

And recently, it came to light that a celebrity was also going to be mutilating a kitty.

Another Darwin Award Candidate

Another vandal has been killed in traffic. This time, it was 17-year-old Blake Locko of Riverside, California. Riverside is east of Los Angeles. Apparently, Blake was vandalizing the center divider of the 60 Freeway. Larry Gordon reports on the LATimes.com blog.

Blake Locko of Riverside was standing in the westbound carpool lane just east of Hall Avenue about 2:30 a.m. when he was first hit by a car and thrown over a 5-foot-high concrete divider onto eastbound lanes, where he was then hit by several other vehicles, the CHP said. Locko died at the scene, and one of the drivers was treated at Riverside Community Hospital for neck injuries.

What, was he up early for work? Had he been up late studying? Where were his parents? Those drivers can sue his parents for psychological damages as well as medical bills and damage to their vehicles – as if losing their son wasn't enough pain.

If your minor child is out at 2:30 a.m. without supervision, chances are they are not doing something legal, productive, or moral.

Darwin Award Candidate Announced Today

I know we're not supposed to take glee in the death of another human being, but I can't bring myself to shed a tear for Darwin Award candidate Jaime Herrera, 25, of Los Angeles.

You see, today he was defacing public property with spray-paint graffiti - a traffic sign, no less, which is important for traffic safety – and then he ran across notoriously busy Interstate 5 near downtown Los Angeles. Yes, that freeway is busy even and 4:30am.

While he was running – trespassing after "tagging" public property - he was struck and killed by someone driving a Toyota Camry. A buddy who was with him survived, and I'm sure will have lots of good memories about what a brilliant use of their time they made with their morning today.

Here is the real tragedy in all of this:

The freeway was backed up for miles this morning as three lanes were closed for more than an hour.

Click through to read the LATimes.com blog entry by Corina Knoll, and whatever comments have been approved.

Graffiti is one of my biggest pet peeves. And crimes of ignorance or omission or even desperation or passion are one thing. I have no sympathy for someone who chooses to engage in such senseless criminal activity such as tagging and then gets injured or killed as a result.

Let’s Use Graffiti Vandals For Target Practice

Enough is enough. We as a society have tried and tried to control the graffiti problem. In the greater Los Angeles area, it is an ongoing and seemingly increasing problem. The illegal alien problem and the illegitimacy problem are no doubt helping to make it worse.

So many steps have been taken – locking up paint and markers, graffiti hotlines, painting over graffiti within and few business days. Still, it is there. Vandals defacing and destroying property just to mark their territories like dogs. Only, dogs are more admirable.

Graffiti lowers property values, creates a hostile environment, is ecologically harmful, destroys property, costs a lot of fight, clean up, and prosecute, and assists with gang activity.

The time has come to fight graffiti by allowing the police and the average citizen to shoot graffiti vandals if they witness them doing the deed. How quickly would it cut down on graffiti if a homeowner group could hire someone to drive around in a Humvee overnight, armed and ready to shoot any graffiti vandals? Or if the cops could slow down just enough to point a rifle out the cruiser window and shoot up some punk and radio for an ambulance as they keep driving down the street? Sure, some graffiti vandals would arm themselves to fight back, but I think most would quickly realize that putting their unreadable scribble on a brick wall isn’t worth the likelihood (not low probability… likelihood) of getting shot.

Sure, there would be the risk of people dumping their murder victims by a wall and planting a spray can in their hand as a way to cover up their crime, but I think the investigations into those attempted cover-ups would be worth it.