On March 3, I was doing my morning radio show in Panama City ,Fl. when the call came.
It was my wife. "Come home, now."
I told my boss and our listeners, "I have to go to the wife, my baby is having a hospital"
It was March 3, 1977.
And our Little Alicia, came into this world.
Back at the radio station my boss played Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" and announced her arrival.
And this March, 30 years later, our Alicia left this world.
My Alicia and her friend John Mitchell were savagely murdered while her 4 children slept nearby in the sanctity of their own home by a madman released on a OR bond. A repeat violent offender with convictions for domestic violence, stalking, kidnapping and more.
click for background diaries from nonnie9999, Patriot Daily, Got a Grip, melvin, Rippen Kitten, pico, mikk0 and srkp23.
What can we do to protect our mothers, wives, daughters and granddaughters? Ourselves?
The first Action event is scheduled for this Wednesday afternoon.
Follow me below to learn more and how you can help.
Alicia and Big Brother Jason. Isn't She Lovely?
Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST
A Vigil for Alicia and John at the Wood County Courthouse in Bowling Green, Ohio, the same courthouse where you will find the offices of the Judge who freed this monster and The Prosecuting Attorney who failed to give the judge a letter from Alicia's Mom fearing for the safety of her daughter.
From the Toledo Blade
From the Toledo Blade BOWLING GREEN — Mary Ann Robinson, a deputy in the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, said she has known about Craig Daniels, Jr., for years.
As the sheriff’s domestic violence specialist, Deputy Robinson said she had worked with Alicia Castillon as far back as 1998, when Daniels punched and kicked his then-girlfriend in the stomach until she passed out.
The deputy knew about the three-year jail sentence Daniels was given for domestic violence crimes against Castillon in 2000. And she knew about an incident in December in which Daniels tied Castillon up, beat her, put a knife to her throat, and threatened to kill her.
snip~
"I don’t know what happened in this case," Deputy Robinson said. "I just don’t know, and the whole thing makes me sick."
The deputy, of course, is not alone in her confusion.
Dozens of readers have flooded The Blade with phone calls and e-mails, furious with the circumstances surrounding the killings of Castillon, 30, and John C. Mitchell, 22.
Toledo Blade articles:
http://www.toledoblade.com/...
http://www.toledoblade.com/...
http://www.toledoblade.com/...
http://www.toledoblade.com/...
http://www.toledoblade.com/...
Alicia's Mom, Kathy Newlove ( my lovely ex) had written a letter to the Judge predicting that Daniels would kill her daughter and asking that he be kept in jail. She gave the letter to the Prosecuting Attorney, who failed to give the letter to the judge.
And obviously the judge did not look at this when he reduced bond from $30,000 to ZERO
DANIELS, CRAIG DISORDERLY COND. W/PERSISTENCE
DANIELS, CRAIG R. ASSAULT 12/17/2006
DANIELS, CRAIG R. ABDUCTION 12/17/2006
DANIELS, CRAIG R. RESISTING ARREST
DANIELS, CRAIG R. * MENACING BY STALKING
DANIELS, CRAIG R. * TELEPHONE HARASSMENT
DANIELS, CRAIG R. DISRUPTING PUBLIC SERVICES
DANIELS, CRAIG R. * DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
DANIELS, CRAIG R. DISORDERLY CONDUCT W/PERSIST
DANIELS, CRAIG R. * FELONIOUS ASSAULT
DANIELS, CRAIG R. AGGRAVATED BURGLARY
DANIELS, CRAIG R. HIT SKIP
DANIELS, CRAIG R. * FELONIOUS ASSAULT
DANIELS, CRAIG R. AGGRAVATED MENACING
DANIELS, CRAIG R. RESISTING ARREST
DANIELS, CRAIG, ASSAULT
DANIELS, CRAIG, * KIDNAPPING
DANIELS, CRAIG, AGGRAVATED BURGLARY
WHAT CAN WE DO?
A call to Northern Ohio/Southern Michigan Kossacks.
If you are concerned, I ask you to attend Alicia and John's Candlelight Vigil this Wednesday.
Our family has been asked to attend and Kathy and I will be making statements. Well, maybe I will, because I start crying when I talk about this. But I will try.
I will try to draw attention to Ohio's DOMA. (Ohio's Defense of Marriage Act) In 2004, Ohio became the 38th state to enact a defense of marriage law when the majority of voters passed Issue 1 on the Nov. 2 ballot. This was Karl Rove's Hate Ammendment against Gay Marriage that GOTV in Ohio that defeated cheated John Kerry.
From The BG News
"It scared me when heterosexuals went and voted for Issue 1, not knowing that it would affect their own community more than the homosexual community," said Nicky Damania, who organized the panel as part of Coming Out Week. "People just don't seem to care as passionately as they should about the laws affecting their lives."
The DOMA has not only affected same-sex couples but also unmarried couples throughout Ohio, said Deputy Mary Ann Robinson, Wood County Sheriff's domestic violence specialist.
Ohio's constitution now reads: "This state and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage."
Beginning in March 2005, a number of Ohio judges began ruling that unmarried couples aren't protected under Ohio's domestic violence law as a result of the amendment.
"Most of the domestic violence cases in Wood County deal with unmarried couples," said Robinson, who cited research stating only about 25 percent of domestic violence occurs with married couples.
Originally, the domestic violence law covered family and household members.
But under the DOMA only married partners can technically face domestic violence charges. Other cases of abuse must be filed as assault charges.
Public defenders and attorneys all across Ohio have been filing motions to dismiss domestic violence charges based on the DOMA.
The problem with filing domestic violence cases as assault is that repeat offenders won't face escalating charges.
In domestic violence cases, charges become more severe after the first time. The first occurrence of domestic violence is charged as a misdemeanor, but the second time it becomes a felony charge - with a minimum of one year in prison
Domestic violence charges also carry more protection for victims.
Victims of domestic violence automatically get a temporary protection order until the case is finished in court. Assault victims must file for a civil protection order.
I think there will be heavy media coverage since this has been the lead story since it happened.
Since Alicia was murdered Domestic Violence calls have increased in the Toledo area from an average of 20 per week to over 100. Tonight it was reported that protective orders are up 30% this week.
HERE'S WHERE TO GO IF YOU WANT TO HELP
The Bowling Green State University Organization for Women's Issues and the Women's Center are organizing a community response to last week's domestic violence murder of Bowling Green citizen Alicia Castillon and her friend John Mitchell.
Support for this initiative has been offered by BGSU faculty members, AAUW, and the Toledo Take Back the Night Collective, among others. Attendees may bring signs, candles, or whatever else is deemed appropriate to express grief and outrage at the loss of yet another Northwest Ohio woman to domestic violence.
100% of the murders in Wood County in the last 5 years have been a result of Domestic Violence. 100%
Sponsors: The Eberly Center for Women and the BGSU Women's Center
Location: Wood County Courthouse (corner of Court St. and North Prospect)
Contact: Mary Krueger, Ph.D. 419.372.7227 - 419.372.6020 (fax)
Website: www.bgsu.edu/offices/women
Date: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The Wood County Courthouse is located in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Bowling Green is just 25 minutes south of Toledo on Interstate 75.
The courthouse is easy to see from most of BG as it has a very tall clock tower. BG is a small city, so it will not be difficult for you to located the demonstration at the court house.
Pictures Deleted by zwoof
This is the last photo of Alicia and me together.
Wasn't She Lovely?
Thank you for the donations that have arrived so far. We will personally thank you soon.