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Although Laura’s actual age at the time of her death was 23, she had the mental capacity of an

Laura Cummings around the age of eight.

eight year-old.  She was, therefore, totally dependent on others for her care.  Her mother, however, was not the nurturing type, in fact the abuse that Laura experienced at both the hands of her mother and half-brother, Luke Wright was extensive as well as horrendous.

Police allege that over the last few months of Laura’s life, Eva Cummings and her son Wright, 31, shackled Laura to a metal chair with a sack over her head, brutally sodomized her with a broomstick and at times shoved her face in her own feces.

“Starting in November, there’s a significant escalation of her debasement as a human being,” Senior Trial Counsel Thomas M. Finnerty of the DA’s Office said. “It was happening on a daily or nightly basis.”

“It’s sadistic, and it’s allegedly sustained over a long period of time,” he said.

Mother and son also are accused of unlawfully imprisoning Laura Cummings because of her mental disability — an elevated hate crime charge.

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From as far back as 1995, the Cummings family had been investigated before for abuse and Laura was not the only victim.

The Cummings household, in North Collins, N.Y., and prior to that in Olean, both just outside of Buffalo, was well-known to Child Protective Services, Patricia Wright, 27, Laura’s half sister, told the Buffalo News.

She said she reported abuse to Erie County Child Protective Services and Erie County Family Court more than a decade ago. Patricia Wright said she, herself, was physically abused for years, resulting in a broken ankle and cracked vertebrae in her back.

Wright left the household at the age of 13 because of the abuse and was taken in by another family.

“Chaos. Almost like a living hell. No child should ever have to go through what we went through,” Patricia Wright, told CBS affiliate WIBV when asked what the apartment was like.

After charges were filed that her father was  sexually abusing Wright, the children were temporarily removed from the home.  After receiving probation for abusing Laura, David and Eva Cummings divorced and she was given custody.  He has remained estranged from his four children despite receiving counseling and expressed sadness over his youngest daughter’s death.

Laura’s adult brother, Richard Cummings, 22,  advised adult protective services that his sister was being abused but no action was taken on her behalf by the agency.  Members of the community as well as the extended family were aware that Laura was being treated inhumanely.  Guests to the house report that Laura was covered in a blanket during their visits to hide her presence.

Despite statements from both Eva Cummings and Luke Wright regarding the Laura’s death, both have plead not-guilty to the charges leveled against them.

Now law enforcement is reaching out to the public and asking anyone who has knowledge of past incidents of abuse toward Laura to come forward.  What a shame that the same action was not taken before she was strangled by her mother.

Tags: Laura Cummings

A popular Delaware pediatrician has been indicted by a grand jury that charged him with the molestation of 103 children.

Dr. Earl Bradley, 56, has been held in the Vaughn Correctional Center on a $2.9 million cash bond following his arrest last December. Bradley was initially charged with 33 felony counts, including rape and sexual exploitation of a child, but the number of victims has now more than tripled.

The accusations, in an indictment handed down Monday, stem from incidents that allegedly took place at his Lewes, Del., practice called BayBees Pediatrics where he is accused of videotaping the sex acts while the children’s parents waited in another room.

If convicted, Bradley faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“I cannot say certain things that I am feeling, and I am feeling a great deal. I am determined to see that this defendant will never, ever be in a position again to hurt another child,” Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden said in a statement following the indictment.

Tags: Earl Bradley

Courtney’s death at the age of twelve was beyond the shadow of a doubt unnecessary. The perpetrator, her stepfather, had past convictions involving sexual assault which should have sent warning flags to Courtney’s mother that he was not the type of man who should have access to her children.

Bordelon had two prior felony convictions for sexual assault and was sent to psychiatric treatment in 1979 after being accused of rape and kidnapping. He pleaded guilty to sexual battery in 1982 and was convicted of rape and crimes against nature in 1990, court records show.

He was on parole when he met LeBlanc’s mother, Jennifer Kocke, over the Internet and married her a year later. They separated after LeBlanc and her sister told their mother that Bordelon touched them inappropriately, but Kocke remained in contact with Bordelon after the split, according to court documents.

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Kocke would be convicted of child abuse for continuing to allow Bordelon around her children after the molestation charges had been levied.

Bordelon kidnapped Courtney at knife point and took her to Mississippi where he forced her to perform oral sex upon him.  He then brought her back to Louisiana where he strangled her and dumped her body in a wooded area by the Amite River in Livingston Parish. He would later confess to the murder and lead investigators to Courtney’s body.  Later he would recant saying that law enforcement had used “shady tactics” to get the confession.  However, DNA would show that blood splattered on the teen’s shirt was Bordelon’s as was the semen discovered through the rape kit.  Additionally, Bordelon’s pocket knife was found near the murder site and turned over to investigators.

Following his conviction, Bordelon asked his lawyer not to appeal his sentence and he was set for execution.  Prior to the sentence being carried out last evening, he would enjoy his last meal and a final visit with his family.

What a shame that Courtney didn’t get the same privilege.

Tags: Courtney Michell LeBlanc

If Anna had lived, she would be 21 years-old, perhaps going to college, maybe working, or even have a family.  But for Anna, those dreams would never be realized, and for many years it appeared that bringing her killer to justice would be another unfulfilled dream.  New forensic technology and the foresight of the original investigation team has finally brought closure to this case.

In 1998, the ten year-old was found stabbed to death on her front porch by her mother.  Autopsy result would show that Anna was stabbed to death and had been sexually assaulted.  Fingernail clippings were collected and saved although the technology would not be sophisticated enough to differentiate between Anna’s DNA and her attacker until almost a decade had passed.

At the time of Palmer’s murder, in September 1998, the Salt Lake City Police Department took trimmings of the little girl’s fingernails and kept them for analysis. Recently, the Sorenson Forensics Lab was able to separate Palmer’s DNA from her killer’s.

With that accurate DNA profile, an FBI database called CODIS was able to match the killer’s profile with 31-year-old Matthew John Breck.

“Technology has come so far in the last 11 years, as far as DNA especially. It was a big break in this case. It was a big help as well, and led us to the suspect, and we were able to investigate further,” said Salt Lake City police Sgt. Robin Snyder.

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Breck, who lived down the street from Anna at the time of her murder, is currently incarcerated in the Idaho State Prison after being convicted in 2001 of sodomy and lewdness on a minor.  He will be extradited to Utah to stand trial on charges of child abuse, sexual assault and aggravated murder.

The neighbors who remember Anna were happy to that the questions that have long nagged the community regarding her death have now been answered.

“She can rest in peace now,” said former neighbor Becky Sterling. “And the families that have lived here since have always known there was something different about the house, and I think that can leave too.”

“It’s a great family, and they’ve been very supportive of the police department and always very willing, of course, to help us with this investigation,” Snyder said. “We’re just very happy that we’re able to bring it to an end for them, and hopefully they can have closure now.”

Tags: Anna Palmer