Asheville
Rape (3 counts), Aggravated Sodomy (2 counts) and Sexual Battery [Columbus]
In August 2004, abortionist Eric A. Buffong was arrested twice for rape, aggravated sodomy and sexual battery committed against his patients.
The Composite State Board of Medical Examiners signed an August 30, 2004 order suspending the abortionist's medical license and stating that "Dr. Eric A. Buffong's continued ability to practice as a physician poses a threat to the public health, safety, and welfare and imperatively requires emergency action ..."
Also, police in Jacksonville, North Carolina, have said they are resuming a 1997 rape case involving another of Buffong's patients.
The State Board's suspension order cited a fourth allegation from another woman who claimed that Buffong raped and sodomized her after he performed a hysterectomy, and passed on a venereal disease to her.
References: "Second Woman Accuses Gynecologist of Sexual Assault." Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, August 21, 2004; "Gynecologist Held Without Bond in Assault Case." Marietta [Georgia] Daily Journal, August 23, 2004; Christopher Boyce. "Board Suspends Doctor's License." The Ledger-Enquirer, September 10, 2004.
Death Threat
On October 4, 1994, at the Western Carolina Medical Clinic abortion mill, a pro-abortionist pointed a gun at sidewalk counselor Jo Ann Ellington and threatened her with it.
Reference: Operation Rescue National, Violence and Disruption Report, December 20, 1994.
Vandalism (12 incidents)
Twelve times in 1994, pro-abortionists vandalized a memorial to aborted preborn babies. Twice it was dragged from the ground with chains attached to a vehicle.
Reference: Operation Rescue National, Violence and Disruption Report, December 20, 1994.
Burlington
First-Degree Murder
Jerry Lynn Stuart and his live-in girlfriend, 20-year-old April Renee Greer, were expecting a baby. In fact, April was eight and a half months pregnant, and just days away from delivering her child. But Stuart did not want the child.
So he solved his problem by beating April to death, chopping up her body, and stuffing the pieces of her and her near-term preborn baby into a trash can sealed with duct tape.
On March 17, 2003, police found April's remains when the trash can she had been stuffed into washed into a farmer's field from nearby Back Creek after a heavy rainstorm. She had last been seen on February 21.
Burlington police Major Randy Jones said that a class ring from Southern Alamance High School inscribed with Greer's name, along with a scar on her left knee, a metal plate in her left ankle and a near-term preborn child helped the state medical examiner's office identify the body.
Sheriff Terry Johnson of Alamance County said it appeared that the body had been in the container for more than a month.
Stuart was charged with first-degree murder in the case. On May 24, 2005, a jury sentenced him to life in prison for the murder.
References: Associated Press. "Boyfriend Arrested in Alamance Dismembered Body Case." ABC Eyewitness News 11 [Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville, North Carolina], April 23, 2003; "Boyfriend of Pregnant Woman, Found Dead in Trash Can, is Charged in Case." The Winston-Salem Journal, April 24, 2003; Bryan Robinson. "Why Pregnant Women Become Murder Victims." ABCNEWS.com, April 25, 2003; "Man is Sentenced to Life in Prison in Death, Dismemberment of Girlfriend." Winston-Salem Journal, May 25, 2005.
Charlotte
First-Degree Murder (2 counts), Solicitation to Commit First-Degree Murder (2 counts), Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Forced Abortion (3 incidents) and Death Threats (2 incidents) [Concord]
According to sworn affidavits, arrest records, and other court records, the following events occurred in and around Concord, North Carolina.
Tyrone Raynard Gladden's ex-girlfriend, Tara Chambers, was pregnant with his child, and he was not happy about the situation at all. He had previously forced Tara to have three abortions, but this time she stood firm and refused to kill their preborn child.
So Gladden began to look for a hit man to kill Tara and her preborn child. He said that he would pay $10,000 to someone to "get rid of" Chambers, saying he couldn't afford child support. One witness told police that between January and April 2002, Gladden asked approximately 20 times about finding a hitman. A third unnamed witness said Gladden offered him or her $1,000 to "do him a favor" by killing his pregnant girlfriend. The witness refused, and Gladden said he would kill the witness if he or she told anyone about the request.
Finally, Gladden went through Clarence Eugene "Mack" Graber and hired Melvin Anthony West to kill Tara Chambers. West went to Tara's home in Concord in June 2002 and murdered her. Her preborn daughter, whom she had already named T'Kaiya, was born before Tara died, but died a month after her mother did.
Another witness told police that Gladden tried to hire him or her to kill another of his ex-girlfriends, who has a daughter with him, but the witness refused. Other witnesses said that Gladden had threatened Chambers, by pointing a gun at her and holding a knife to her chest.
On May 17, 2004, Gladden was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder. He was also charged with three other counts of solicitation to commit murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.
Also on May 17, Melvin Anthony West of Salisbury was also indicted on two counts of first-degree murder. He is also charged with conspiracy to commit murder. On the same day, Clarence Eugene "Mack" Graber, also of Salisbury, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder.
North Carolina does not currently have an unborn victims law.
References: Jaime Levy. "Ex-Boyfriend, Others Face Charges in 2002 Slayings: Police Say Suspect Wanted Hitman to Kill Pregnant Ex-Girlfriend." Charlotte Observer, May 19, 2004; "North Carolina Man Charged Under Unborn Victims Law." Steven Ertelt's LifeNews at http://www.lifenews.com, May 31, 2004.
Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder (2 counts)
Rae Carruth, who played for the National Football League's Carolina Panthers, and 24-year-old Cherica Adams were expecting a child. Adams was eight months pregnant. According to prosecutor Gentry Caudill, "He wanted her to have an abortion, but she was adamant in her refusal. She wanted to have that baby."
He hired a hit man to shoot Adams in her car in 1999. He and his three accomplices laid a trap, and Carruth helped close it by blocking Adams' car so another man could pull alongside and shoot her. Prosecutors played a recording of Adams' cell phone call for help. In it, she told the 911 operator that Carruth "was in the car in front of me and he slowed down and someone pulled up beside me and did this." The final 8 minutes of the 12-minute recording were filled with sounds of Adams moaning in pain, complaining she was cold. Carruth covered his face with his hands several times as the recording played.
Nicole Michaels, a paramedic who was the first to reach Adams, testified that a police officer asked the victim if she knew who shot her. Adams answered, "Rae, my baby's daddy." Before she died, Adams gave statements and wrote notes, saying that Carruth blocked her car, then left the scene.
The preborn baby survived after being delivered by emergency Caesarean section. Adams died a month later. The baby was named Chancellor and was born with cerebral palsy.
Former girlfriend Candace Smith testified that "He said, "I can't get in trouble, can I, because I didn't actually pull the trigger? He said police could check his car and his clothes and not find any gunpowder."
Smith told jurors that the former NFL receiver also told her that he paid men involved in the shooting over time to avoid raising suspicions and that he "saw the guys pull up and shoot into her car." He then drove away to the house of Hannibal Navies, a Carolina Panthers teammate, she said.
Co-defendant Michael Kennedy, who drove the shooter's car, stuck to his story that Carruth hatched a plan to kill Adams to avoid paying child support. Carruth already was paying another woman about $5,000 a month, Kennedy said.
Carruth's trial for murder started on November 14, 2000.
Two other men were also charged with murder: Michael Eugene Kennedy, 25, accused of driving the car from which the shots were fired, and Stanley Drew "Boss" Abraham, a passenger in the car. They were tried separately.
Carruth was sentenced in February 2001 to at least 18 years and 11 months and a maximum of 24 years and four months in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using an instrument with the intent to destroy an unborn child. He was acquitted of first-degree murder.
On March 6, 2001, Michael Kennedy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Carruth's pregnant girlfriend, and Superior Court Judge Charles Lamm, who also presided over Carruth's trial, sentenced him to a minimum of 11 years, eight months in prison and a maximum of 14 years, two months for the slaying of Cherica Adams.
The confessed triggerman, Van Brett Watkins, was sentenced to at least 40 years in prison in a plea agreement after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He told jurors Carruth paid him $2,000. Michael Eugene Kennedy, who drove the attack car, is serving at least 11 years and eight months in prison. Stanley Drew "Boss" Abraham, who was also in the attack car, spent 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to several charges.
In October of 2003, a judge granted Cherica's mother Saundra Adams $5.8 million for the death of Cherica and Chance's future medical care. Chance was born following the shooting, though he will suffer from cerebral palsy the rest of his life and will require medical care and other extra attention.
Compensatory damages total $1.4 million for all four men responsible for the shooting. Carruth and gunman Van Brett Watkins are also responsible for more than $4.3 million in punitive damages.
References: "Football Star Wanted Girlfriend Killed Because She Wouldn't Get Abortion." Associated Press; November 20, 2000; Steven Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet at http://www.prolifeinfo.org/infonet.html, November 21, 2000; "Football Player May Have Confessed in Shooting of Pregnant Wife." Pro-Life Infonet, November 30, 2000; Associated Press, November 29, 2000; Jenna Fryer. "Co-Defendant Says Carruth Asked Him to Find Gun, Car." Associated Press, November 21, 2000; "Carruth May Take Stand, Teammate Testifies." Associated Press; December 12, 2000; Pro-Life Infonet, December 13, 2000; "Triggerman: Carruth Planned Slaying of Pregnant Girlfriend." Associated Press; December 20, 2000; Pro-Life Infonet, December 21, 2000; "Question Looms in Rae Carruth Trial." Associated Press, January 2, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 3, 2001; "Rae Carruth Doesn't Take Stand in Trail." Associated Press, January 3, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 4, 2001; "Ex-Lover Testifies Against Carruth, Taxpayers Foot His Defense Bill." Associated Press, January 6, 2000; Pro-Life Infonet, January 7, 2001; "Carruth Defense Lawyers Call More Witnesses." Associated Press, January 8, 2000; Pro-Life Infonet, January 9, 2001; "Testimony Ends With a Twist in Carruth Trial." Associated Press, January 9, 2000; Pro-Life Infonet, January 10, 2001; "Defense Wraps Up in Carruth Murder Case." Associated Press, January 15, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 16, 2001; "Carruth Murder Trial Case Goes to the Jury." Associated Press, January 16, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 17, 2001; "Jurors Discuss Carruth Murder Trial Case." Associated Press, January 17, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 18, 2001; "Carruth Jury Deadlocked on Verdict Decision." Associated Press, January 18, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 19, 2001; "Carruth Acquitted of Murder Charge, Faces Short Prison Term." Associated Press, January 20, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 20, 2001; "Carruth Awaits Sentencing After Jury Verdict." Associated Press, January 21, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 22, 2001 (#1); "Rae Carruth Sentenced to 18 Years." Associated Press, January 22, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 22, 2001 (#2); Paul Nowell. "Carruth Co-Defendant Sentenced to Almost 12 Years Behind Bars." Associated Press, March 7, 2001; "Carruth Sued for Wrongful Death Following Pregnancy-Murder Case." Pro-Life Infonet, December 18, 2001; "Judge Awards Compensation in Rae Carruth Unborn Victims Case." Steven Ertelt's LifeNews.com, October 16, 2003.
Botched Abortions (9 incidents), Unprofessional Conduct (20 incidents), and Illegal Dumping of Medical Waste
Abortionist Harold R. Hoke gruesomely botched several abortions and was investigated for dumping the bodies of preborn babies and other "medical waste" at the Colwick Towers dumpster in the Summer of 1992. Hoke claimed his Hallmark Clinic sent such material out through a disposal firm, but the firm's records showed no materials received from Hoke for 2 months. "On August 12 and August 22, a Charlotte Observer reporter saw a considerable amount of fetal tissue removed from the dumpster adjacent to the clinic. The remains, deposited in 10 to 15 large plastic trash bags, included readily identifiable body parts. Among them were a left forearm and hand, a left leg and foot, a right forearm and hand, part of a right foot, and a spinal column and rib cage. In several cases the remains had been dumped in trash bags along with ordinary garbage: coffee grounds, cigarette butts and remnants of chicken dinners." Hoke is quoted as responding, "I don't care what you saw. If you saw a little green monster there, somebody else put it there." Such dumping was in violation of state law requiring certain packaging and incineration of such materials.
Hoke's privileges were denied at one hospital in early 1970s, and rescinded at another in 1983. The second hospital alleged he was unqualified. In 1974 the North Carolina Board of Medical Examiners brought 20 charges of "dishonorable and unprofessional conduct" against Hoke, alleging negligent handling of abortions, performing abortions without adequate pregnancy tests, knowingly performing abortions on non-pregnant women, false representations in his brochure describing Hallmark Clinic, soliciting false accusations against other doctors with whom he had disputes, and mental condition rendering him unfit to practice medicine. Two additional charges the board noted later that year alleged unnecessary surgery and a misdemeanor charge in Georgia.
References: Charlotte Observer, September 2, 1992; Gaston County Superior Court File #74CVS5135; Mecklenburg County Superior Court Files #73CVS3081, #82CVS406 and #84CVS8994; Charlotte District Court Case #CC7501; Cumberland County Superior Court File #84CVS1681; Union County Superior Court Case #84CV0148; United States District Court, Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division C.C. #85-551-M; United States District Court, South Carolina, Greenville Division C.A. #83-1585-14; and Bartow County Superior Court Civil Action File #10529.
Theft
The members of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Charlotte erected 44 three-foot by four-foot crosses on their church lawn, representing the number of babies killed by abortion in the United States every quarter hour. Over the weekend of January 12, 2002, pro-abortionists stole all of the crosses.
Church member Diane Hoefling said that "[The display] was disturbing, but it's supposed to be. The purpose was to get people to think." The annual display, which has been erected seven years running, is called the Cemetery of Innocents.
Frustrated that pro-abortionists want to restrict "free speech" rights to themselves, the church replaced the crosses five days later. Several people, including members of a Baptist Church, offered to help replace the pro-life display.
References: Melissa Manware. "Anti-Abortion Display Stolen Off Church Lawn." Charlotte Observer, January 15, 2002; Steve Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet at http://www.prolifeinfo.org, January 16, 2002; "Carpenter Replaces Crosses on Church Lawn." Charlotte Observer, January 18, 2002.
Fayetteville
First-Degree Murder (3 counts) [Fort Bragg]
Early on the morning of February 17, 1970, Special Forces officer Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald called the Fayetteville, North Carolina police department to report that his pregnant wife, Colette, and two young daughters, five-year-old Kimberly and two-year-old Kristen, had been murdered by a marauding gang of hippies shouting "Kill the pigs, acid is groovy."
Kimberly's head had been smashed in and she had numerous stab wounds in her neck. Kristen had been stabbed numerous times in the chest and back. Colette's face and head had been cruelly battered.
MacDonald claimed to have done his best to fight them off, received some superficial wounds in the process. He described the murderers as "Three men — a woman — one man was colored, he wore a field jacket, sergeant's stripes. The woman, blond hair, floppy hat, short skirt, muddy boots — she carried a light, I think a candle."
In 1979, a jury found MacDonald guilty of three counts of first-degree murder, and he has remained in prison since that time despite several lengthy appeals and a groundswell of support for the doctor among a number of influential people.
Crime experts and prosecutors speculated that MacDonald, a methamphetamine user, badly or fatally injured his wife or one of his daughters in a drug-fueled rage. Rather than stop there, he killed his entire family and then concocted his "fatal vision" of the stereotypical drugged-out hippies slaughtering his entire family with him valiantly, but futilely, defending them.
References: Joe McGinniss. Fatal Vision [New American Library, March 1999], ISBN 0451165667; and John Boston. "Tragedy at Fort Bragg." Court TV's Crime Library at http://www.crimelibrary.com/macdonald/mac/macmain.htm.
Greensboro
First-Degree Murder
Tanika Rachelle Fox was pregnant by her boyfriend Shawn Kristopher Holliman. She wanted to keep her baby. He did not want to be a father. So, on December 14, 1999, he shot her dead.
Guilford County District Attorney Stuart Albright said Holliman shot Fox twice in the head because she was pregnant and refused to get an abortion. Holliman, 21, who once held jobs at a fast-food restaurant and a mattress store, stood trial in June of 2001 and was convicted of first-degree murder.
Albright said during the May 22, 2001 hearing in Guilford County Superior Court, "(Holliman) already had two children. "He was getting ready to have a third and couldn't afford it. She didn't have an abortion, so he killed her."
"It's tough," said Dudley High School resource officer Jonathan Heard, choking back tears as he described Fox as a member of his family. "The viciousness of the crime is still right here with our kids," the Greensboro police officer said. "It was heinous."
"It was shocking to hear about it," said Mae Hayes, 45, who used to baby-sit Fox. Hayes recalled how Fox loved playing with babies and would sing to herself after walking home from church, Hayes said. "Everybody liked her," she said.
In 2000, the students at her high school dedicated their yearbook in her name.
References: "Friends, Family Remember Slain Teen Who Refused Abortion." Greensboro News & Record, June 11, 2001; Steven Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet at http://www.prolifeinfo.org/infonet.html, June 13, 2001; State of North Carolina v. Shawn Kristopher Holliman, Appeal of December 31, 2002, heard in the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Case number COA02-133.
Raleigh
Fatal Botched Abortion and Malpractice (2 incidents)
Abortionist Clarence J. Washington killed Mary Ann Dancy, the mother of five by lacerating her cervix during an abortion at the Fleming Center. She went home that evening, her condition worsened, and she died that night after emergency surgery at Halifax Memorial Hospital. News articles claimed that he botched at least two other abortions.
Reference: Raleigh News & Observer, July 29, 1992 and July 21, 1993.
Fraud and Income Tax Evasion
Abortionist William E. Brenner, a member of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) Standards Committee, was charged with overstating fetal age in order to charge more for abortions at his Triangle Women's Health Center abortion mill. After Brenner was sentenced to 4 months in federal prison for tax evasion, his son told a reporter Brenner "was vacationing in the Bahamas before going to prison," and that "his father hoped to continue practicing while incarcerated." News articles said that Brenner allegedly "avoided paying thousands of dollars in taxes by diverting income to foreign corporations and bank accounts," and that "he wrote off several personal items as business assets."
Brenner was a former teacher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He opened the Triangle Women's Health Center abortion mill in 1982. He had his medical license suspended for one month in 1990 for improper disposal of aborted preborn babies, and for overbilling of insurance companies.
References: Raleigh News & Observer, August 29, 1992; Chapel Hill News, March 24, 1993; "North Carolina Abortionist Loses Medical License." The Abortion Injury Report [American Rights Coalition], May 1993, page 1.
Sanford
First-Degree Murder and Attempted First-Degree Murder
On September 17, 2005, Hector Salcedo shot his girlfriend, Maria Reyes, who was six months pregnant, in the chest. He then drove her from their home to Central Carolina Hospital, where doctors performed an emergency Caesarian section and delivered their baby. But the baby was too premature and died a few days later.
Salcedo told police that he had found Maria shot in their driveway, but that he was just a neighbor and an acquaintance. But the police soon determined that she had been shot inside the house and began looking for Salcedo, who had disappeared. Salcedo was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his baby, and with attempted first-degree murder for his assault on Maria.
United States marshals finally apprehended Salcedo on March 22, 2006, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, as he worked with a construction crew. Captain David Smith of the Sanford Police Department said that "He had totally changed his appearance. He'd cut his hair and dyed it, and he grew facial hair."
Salcedo had been arrested several times before on charges of assault, assault by pointing a gun and communicating threats, but all of the charges were eventually dismissed.
References: "Pregnant Woman Shot, Boyfriend Suspected." WTVD-TV Television 11 News [ABC, Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina], September 19, 2005; "Sanford Man Charged With Newborn's Death." WTVD-TV Television 11 News [ABC, Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina], September 25, 2005; Gordon Anderson. "Marshals Catch Man Accused of Shooting Pregnant Girlfriend." The Sanford Herald, March 27, 2006.
Winston-Salem
First-Degree Murder, Assault (2 incidents) and Mutilation of a Corpse
Roselyn Dethrow was five months pregnant with Ricky Royster's child. She was ten years older than him, he was dating other women, and he was not happy about her pregnancy.
So he decided to solve the problem his way. Royster demanded that Roselyn have an abortion, but, when she refused, he tried to make her miscarry by kicking her in the stomach and poisoning her.
On October 8, 2002, he suffocated Roselyn with a pillow in his apartment. His former girlfriend JoAnn Bizzell let herself in, and found him crouching over the body, muttering over and over "I screwed up. I screwed up." Then she helped him dispose of Roselyn's body. They took her to a nearby park. Bizzell removed her pants and underwear to make it look as if she had been raped, and Royster mutilated her body by slashing her throat from ear to ear and cutting her chest and right thigh, hoping to make the murder look like a random attack and divert attention from himself.
On October 10, a city mowing crew found Roselyn's body.
Dr. David Winston, a Forsyth County medical examiner, found that Roselyn had a head injury, and noted that she had many cuts on her neck, chest and right thigh, inflicted after she died in an apparent attempt to confuse investigators. Winston, who has supervised and conducted more than 1,400 autopsies, said "I can count on one hand the instances I've seen something like this."
Ricky Royster was charged with first-degree murder.
During Royster's trial, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Martin described his motivation — that he just didn't want a child to interfere with his bachelor lifestyle, so he decided to abort both mother and baby. "A baby would mean less freedom and less money for himself," she said.
JoAnn Bizzell was charged with accessory after the fact to murder for helping Royster cover up the crime by attempting to hide Dethrow's body and some of her belongings.
A jury found Royster guilty of one count of first-degree murder.
References: Victoria Cherrie. "Autopsy Sheds Light on Slaying of Woman Found in Park: Cuts on Her Body Were Made After She Died, Pathologists Say." Winston-Salem Journal, November 22, 2002; Lisa Hoppenjans. "Fetus Photo Won't be Allowed in Murder Trial: Judge Says He Wants to Make Sure Case Doesn't Turn Into Argument About When Life Begins." Winston-Salem Journal, March 22, 2005; Lisa Hoppenjans. "Outcry Hinders Witness Account: Murder Trial Interrupted; Two Excluded from Court." Winston-Salem Journal, April 2, 2005; Lisa Hoppenjans. "Ex-Girlfriend Testifies in Murder Trial: Suspect's Ex-Girlfriend Says He was Dazed After Killing Pregnant Woman." Winston-Salem Journal, April 6, 2005; Lisa Hoppenjans. "Many Testify Man is 'Nice:' Suspect Charged with Killing, Mutilating His Pregnant Girlfriend." Winston-Salem Journal, April 7, 2005; Lisa Hoppenjans. "Jury Finds Man Guilty: Royster Convicted of First-Degree Murder; Death Penalty Possible." Winston-Salem Journal, April 12, 2005; Lisa Hoppenjans. "Son Tells Jury in Royster Trial How Life's Changed Without Mom: Jury Could Give Ricky Royster the Death Penalty." Winston-Salem Journal, April 13, 2005; Lisa Hoppenjans. "Jurors Reject Death Penalty: Man Convicted of Killing His Pregnant Girlfriend to Spend Life in Prison." Winston-Salem Journal, April 15, 2005.
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