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Fresno man ordered to trial in death of toddler
A Fresno man will stand trial on murder and child-abuse charges in connection with the death of an 18-month-old girl in December, a judge ruled Friday.
Fresno County Superior Court Judge James Oppliger made his ruling after a police detective testified that Benjamin Gomez, 23, was baby-sitting Madison Garcia when she suffered a skull fracture.
An autopsy report also said Madison suffered bruises to her back, head and arm and that she died of blunt-force trauma, prosecutor Burton Francis said.
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Defense seeks venue change in Idaho boy slaying
Defense attorneys are asking a judge to move the trial of a mother and her boyfriend accused in the slaying of an Idaho boy this summer.
Melissa Jenkins and Daniel Ehrlick each are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jenkins' 8-year-old son, Robert Manwill. Thousands of residents helped search for the Boise boy for more than a week after he was reported missing. His body was found Aug. 3 in an irrigation canal near Kuna.
During a hearing Thursday, attorneys for Jenkins and Ehrlick said moving the trial from Boise is necessary given the intense publicity surrounding the case.
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Clovis woman's kin seek more info on her death
As authorities investigate the death of a Clovis woman who had been missing for three days in the rugged Sierra, her mother and stepfather Saturday said they're hoping for answers about her disappearance.
Searchers found the body of Cherie Hamilton, 20, Friday morning along granite cliffs near Wishon Reservoir. She was on a camping trip with her boyfriend and another couple when she was reported missing Tuesday.
Fresno County sheriff's officials said Friday that it appeared Hamilton suffered a fall, but they offered no additional details.
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Orosi mom testifies baby's death upset her
Nancy Ortiz, the Orosi woman on trial for murder in the death of her abandoned infant, wept alone in her room when she learned the baby girl had died.
"I went home and I cried," Ortiz, 24, said Tuesday during her trial in Tulare County Superior Court. "I couldn't believe what happened."
She said she learned of the death after going outside and hearing neighbors exclaim, "The baby is dead!"
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Orosi mother guilty of murdering newborn
A Tulare County jury needed only 35 minutes Thursday to find Nancy Ortiz guilty of second-degree murder for wrapping her newborn daughter in a black sweater and then leaving her in the back of a neighbor's pickup in December 2006.
Jurors could have found Ortiz guilty of a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, but they were not swayed by her testimony that she abandoned three babies to give them a better life, jury foreman Steven Byer said.
"She did not have the right to stick the baby out there," said Byer, 41, of Visalia. "She had choices."
When Madison Jenkins grows up, she wants to be a fashion designer. Introduce a line of clothing. Maybe open a clothing store.
Being famous also is an option for this high-achieving, 10-year-old Fresnan.
"If I see something, and it's clothes, I'll go ahead and draw a picture of it," she said.
Several years from now, her summer fashion line might debut in New York, London, Paris. Pinks, reds and violets, her favorite colors, are her main inspiration.
For now, she tinkers with ideas sketched in notebooks.
Yet it took more than an eye for style to make Jenkins an academic all-star. She has found a way to balance schoolwork -- she carries a 4.0 grade-point average at River Bluff Elementary -- and her many extracurricular activities, from the student council to volunteering at her family's church to cheerleading to the drama club.
Madison recently starred as Cinderella in a school play. Of course, she loved the costume.
"You just have a lot of fun learning," she said. "It's stuff you wouldn't do every day."
Her teacher, Megan Campagne, said Jenkins' ability to be well-rounded is why she nominated her.
"She can be a mature fourth-grader in the classroom, but outside of it, she likes Hannah Montana, she loves games, she's on the playground running around with her friends," Campagne said. "She's well-liked by her peers. She's a good kid."
Not that it's always easy for Madison, the daughter of Casey and Kim Jenkins.
"It's kinda hard sometimes," she said of balancing so much. "But I just get it done, somehow."
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2008 Academic All-Stars
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