All posts by Marc Klaas

I am President of the KlaasKids Foundation and BeyondMissing, Inc. Both organizations are 501(c)(3) public benefit non profit organizations.

What Should Have Happened – Polly Klaas

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On October 2, 1993 Polly and the two girls who spent the night at her slumber party woke up at about 9:00 am, rolled up their sleeping bags, washed up, brushed their teeth and ate blueberry pancakes for breakfast. They’d been up the night before playing Nintendo and a favorite board game called Perfect Match. After Kate and Gillian left about an hour later Polly helped her mom Eve and half-sister Annie pack for their weekend trip to Monterey, about three-hours down the coast from their home in Petaluma, CA. On the way to the car Polly locked the back door, which had been left unlocked the night before. Polly was spending the weekend with her dad in Sausalito

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This should have happened because Richard Allen Davis was properly denied parole at a hearing three months previously. Davis was a known threat to society. When he was a child Davis tortured and killed animals. During the course of his extensive criminal history he was sentenced to more than 200 years behind bars. In 1978 he was diagnosed as a sexually sadistic psychopath. He chose to victimize women who were isolated and alone.
On June 27, 1993 Davis was paroled after serving less than half of a sixteen-year-sentence for kidnapping, pistol whipping, and robbing $6,000 from his victim. During August and September 1993, many people in Petaluma crossed paths with Richard Allen Davis. On September 27, Daryl Stone went to Wickersham Park, diagonally across the street from Polly’s house. He passed within twenty feet of Richard Davis who was sitting on a park bench with a heavy set, ruddy complexioned woman about a hundred and fifty yards from Polly’s house. Davis was wearing dirty jeans and a sweatshirt with cut sleeves. They were drinking liquor from a bottle in a paper bag, talking loudly. Their demeanor and attitude disgusted Stone. He did not want to be in the park with the crude couple, so he went home, one block away.
What should have happened is that he called the police who then dispatched a patrolman to the scene. Because the interaction was prompted by a citizen complaint the officer had probable cause to run a criminal history on the crude, disheveled drifter whose arms were covered in prison tattoos. The officer arrested him on the spot because Davis, who did not live in Petaluma, was in violation of his parole. The career criminal was returned to San Quentin prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence for kidnapping and pistol whipping his previous victim.
California lawmakers, unconcerned with public safety, released Davis from prison in 2001. Three months later Davis was loitering in Sausalito, California’s Dunphy Park. He had been spending quite a lot of time in that park lately because he had his eye on a pretty and carefree twelve-year-old girl who passed by daily. It was a balmy spring afternoon when he stole a bicycle that belonged to one of a group of boys that were fishing along the shoreline. He was immediately arrested.
Given the nature of his criminal history the Marin County District Attorney decided to prosecute Davis under California’s Three-Strikes-and-You’re Out penalty enhancement statute. Davis was convicted and sentenced to twenty-five-years to life in prison. He died before his sentence was completed.

This is what should have happened. Too bad reality got in the way and no one was held accountable and hearts were broken. Life goes on.
Posted in legislation, missing children, Polly Klaas | Tagged | Leave a reply

My Name is Lloyd Jones and I Murder Children

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I knew that what I was doing was wrong, but amazingly, it wasn’t against the law. After all, I’d been convicted of rape ten years before. They say that I’m a predator, but I’m simply taking advantage of an opportunity to find women…or girls to have sex with. That’s why I have so many profiles on social networking and dating sites. That’s why I posted a picture of my junk on one of them. That she was only sixteen-years-old and I’m thirty-six isn’t my problem. I mean, she came to me of her own free will. She even got into the car. That was probably her biggest mistake. It was certainly her last mistake.
Next time I’ll have to remember to cover my tracks better, because if I had been more careful, I probably wouldn’t be in jail facing the death penalty right now. You know, get a disposable phone, and bury my identity even deeper when I create a social networking profile online. I probably should have thought it through and established a somewhat viable alibi. Next time I won’t bury the evidence on family property.
It wasn’t really worth it, but God, do I love fresh meat. You know, chickens and girls really are alike. They both squawk when you wring their necks. That’s when she became disposable. What did she think anyway, that I wanted to meet her that night to go out for a Coke? Oh, wait! That is what I told her isn’t it? Whatever! If she could have keep her mouths shut and do as I told her everything would have turned out okay.
Well, not really, because the thrill really is in the kill. You know, the end game. To have the power of God: Hell I am God. She was mine and I pulled the plug on her worthless life: hehehehe! Her neck was so soft, so pliable, delicate and small. Another beautiful memory to ensure that I will not be alone in my cell: something divine to carry to my grave.
Sometimes life is sweet. I sure hope that they don’t execute me. Wait! Of course they won’t. They don’t execute anybody anymore. Hehehehe! Life is really and truly sweet. After all, I do have my memories.
At approximately 7:30 pm on February 10, 2012 36-year-old convicted rapist Lloyd Jones lured 16-year-old Angela Allen to her death. He didn’t lurk in the bushes outside her home. Instead he used a social networking profile under the guise of a teenaged boy. If you live in California sign the CASE Act petition today so we can vote for a safer California in November. If you live in Alabama, support the Alabamians Against Sexual Exploitation Act that just sailed through the State senate. Both of these pieces of legislation will require registered sex offenders to include Internet identifiers as a component of their annual registration procedure. This will allow social networks to monitor or eliminate relevant profiles from their online communities.
Posted in Angela Allen, legislation, missing children | Tagged | 6 Comments on My Name is Lloyd Jones and I Murder Children

Speed Freak Killer Gives It Up for a Candy Bar

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Wesley Shermantine is the scum of the earth. On death row for murdering four people, Shermantine and his partner in crime Loren Herzog are suspected of killing as many as two-dozen people during an unchecked crime spree throughout the 1980’s and 90’s. At long last, more than a decade after being sent to death row, Shermantine is squealing like a pig, leading the authorities to where the bodies are buried. Thus far more than 1,000 bone fragments have been recovered from the first of three bone yards. Two victims have been identified.

Shermantine didn’t give up the killing fields to unburden himself before the Lord, and he didn’t have an attack of conscience. He wasn’t trying to do the right thing by giving resolution to the families of his victims, and he wasn’t negotiating for a reduced sentence or even to get off of death row. No, Wesley Shermantine wanted a candy bar.

That he puts such a small value on life should come as no surprise. Shermantine and his childhood friend Loren Herzog engaged a methamphetamine fueled killing spree that spanned two decades and terrorized a Central California community around Stockton, California. They killed in drug induced frenzy, they covered their crimes by eliminating witnesses, but mostly they killed for the thrill. Their victims were mostly young, defenseless women who had no idea what they were getting into, and were ultimately unable to extricate themselves from the grip of unrelenting evil. Shermantine bragged of kidnapping, raping, torturing and killing more than 20 victims.

Last month Shermantine accepted Sacramento, California based bounty hunter Leonard Padilla’s $33,000 offer for information leading to the recovery of his victims. He claims that he wants to use the money to pay victim restitution, purchase headstones for his deceased parents, and fund an inmate account that will allow him to purchase candy bars from the prison commissary. We know that Shermantine is a narcissistic psychopath who lacks conscience, so dismissing victim restitution as motivation is a no brainer. Perhaps he does want to purchase headstones for his parents, but they will be tiny and cheap. In the final analysis it is instant gratification, the ability to stuff his fat face with Mars bars that really flushes Shermantine’s toilet: that and the fact that in September, 2010 Loren Herzog was inexplicably paroled for his complicity in their criminal enterprise.

On January, 17, 2012 the bounty hunter called Herzog and told him that his partner in crime was leading the authorities to their mass graves. Later that day Herzog hanged himself in his state-issued trailer just outside the gates of the High Desert State Prison in Susanville: one down one to go.

The debate rages on. Is Shermantine the beneficiary of blood money, or is this a legitimate means of bringing resolution to the families of the missing? Although they refused Shermantine’s offer to reveal their daughter’s remains in exchange for $10,000 years ago, Cyndi Vanderheiden’s parents are grateful to Leonard Padilla for finally bringing their daughter home. Upon learning that their daughter’s remains had been identified Chevy Wheeler’s mother told the Associated Press that, “This is a happy day. We can finally have some closure.” However, Susan Kizer, the mother of missing Gayle Marks, also believed to be a victim of the speed freak killers, said that she’s offended by the $33,000 deal. “He has been found guilty of murder,” she said. “Why should he get any kind of pleasure, anything that would bring him any pleasure from all that?”

Philosophically, I am opposed to profiting from crime. Therefore, I understand and empathize with Ms. Kizer’s outrage. But as the father of a child who was missing for 65-days I can tell you that knowing enables relief. It provides resolution, and although the hole in your heart will never heal, you will be able to compartmentalize the tragedy knowing that resolution has been achieved. Knowing that your child is not being tortured, being able to bring them home for burial, so that they can at long last rest in peace is a benefit that cannot be calculated.

Let Shermantine gorge his fat face with Snickers and Almond Joy’s. Studies prove that eating too much sugar has serious health consequences. With a little luck he will contract diabetes and/or heart disease and die sooner rather than later. Unless of course Padilla doesn’t actually pay the money as promised and Shermantine’s lust is denied. Now that would be an ironic, and fair, resolution to the sordid saga of the speed freak killers!
Posted in missing adult, psychopath | Tagged | Leave a reply

Alabama Legislature Steps Up to Protect Kids!

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I have been part of an effort in California to legislate a Megan’s Law update by including internet identifiers as part of the registration process. Last year two bills carefully drafted to address this singular issue (AB 755 – SB 57) were killed in committee, meaning they never made it to the floor of the respective houses for an up and down vote. It makes one wonder why California’s lawmakers prioritize the privacy of registered sex offenders ahead of the safety of children? The Alabama State Legislature has no such compunctions. This afternoon I testified on behalf of the Alabamians Against Sexual Exploitation Act, which will bridge the gap between Megan’s Law and the 21stCentury, and do more. Much more!
“Mr. Chairman and members of the committee I want to thank you for affording me the opportunity to talk about this very important issue. Sometimes, when we get our priorities mixed up we need a reality check. The Alabamians Against Sexual Exploitation Act is that reality check.

Human trafficking is a criminal business that profits from enslaving people for sexual servitude and forced labor. It is the fastest growing and second largest criminal industry in the world today (second only to drug trafficking and tied with illegal arms). According to the Trafficking in Victims Protection Act, which was signed into law by President George Bush in 2000, human sex trafficking occurs when, ‘a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age.’

Since 2000, we have learned that the U.S. is as much a supply country as it is a demand country. In fact, we are supplying much of our own demand. Every year between 1.6 and 2.8 million children run away annually in the U.S., half of those runaways are girls.  Within 48 hours of hitting the streets, one third of these children are lured or recruited into the underground world of prostitution or pornography. The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12-14. For boys, the entry age is 11-13. These kids are victims of human trafficking and each and every one is somebody’s child.

We glamorize pimp culture in music, on TV and at the movies. We create pimp celebrities and legitimize them in mainstream media. We photograph pimps at Players Balls and marvel at their ostentatious displays of wealth when we should be putting them in prison. Pimp-controlled commercial sexual exploitation of children is linked to escort and massage services, private dancing, drink and photographic clubs, major sporting and recreational events, major cultural events, conventions and tourist destination.

At the same time we criminalize kids who find themselves under the control of pimps. These kids are often portrayed as criminals, drug addled crack whores who are incarcerated rather than assisted once law enforcement brings them in off of the street. These kids are not criminals, they are victims. Many of them are missing. Many, but not all have run away or are throwaway children.

It is not so “Hard Out There for a Pimp”. Pimps are human traffickers and should be prosecuted as such. Under the Alabamians for Sexual Exploitation Act pimps will be prosecuted, imprisoned and forced to register as sex offenders. They will pay fines that will fund victim services for the children they have exploited.
But wait, there’s more. Sex offender registration and community notification, otherwise known as Megan’s Law was adopted by all 50-states in the late 90’s. Megan’s Law is based on the premise that convicted sex offenders pose a threat to society and that the public deserves to know when they are in the community. When Megan’s Law was enacted the Internet was not the ubiquitous presence that it is today. The Alabamians Against Sexual Exploitation Act will also allow Alabama to bridge Megan’s Law into the 21st Century.

We know who the registered sex offenders are in our neighborhoods and towns, but not in our virtual, online communities. The Alabamians Against Sexual Exploitation Act requires registered sex offenders to provide Internet email addresses, social networking profiles and other online identifiers so that social networking sites can scour relevant profiles from their online communities.

The concept of convicted sex offenders including their Internet identifiers as a component of the sex offender registration process was successfully legislated in New York in 2008 and has thus far been responsible for removing more than 24,000 sex offender profiles from social networking sites.

I urge the members of the committee to vote YES on The Alabamians Against Sexual Exploitation Act.”


Posted in Alabamians Against Sexual Exploitation, CASE Act, legislation | Tagged | Leave a reply

Powell Family Secrets

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“It is a federal crime to knowingly possess, manufacture, distribute, or access with intent to view child pornography (18 U.S.C. §2252).  In addition, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have laws criminalizing the possession, manufacture, and distribution of child pornography.  As a result, a person who violates these laws may face federal and/or state charges.”

Images of animated incestuous sex were found on Josh Powell’s computer after his wife Susan was reported missing in 2009. According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department the images were realistic computer-generated depictions of parent-child sex. So, why, after Utah authorities discovered these images, was Josh allowed to retain custody of his children? Why did Chuck Cox, Susan’s father and the boy’s grandfather, only learn about this revelation this morning as he was being interviewed on the Today Show?

In Utah, possession of child pornography is classified as a felony of the second degree. The penalty for individuals convicted of a felony of the second degree is 1-15 years in prison and a possible $10,000 fine. The authorities found child pornography on Josh’s computer shortly after his wife Susan disappeared, so they knew that he was guilty of a felony of the second degree. Yet, they allowed him to leave the state unimpeded. Had they pursued those charges instead, Josh would be in prison right now and Charley and Braden would still be alive.

The newly revealed incest animation was referenced during a court appearance last week. Josh was attempting to regain custody of his children which he lost when his father, with whom he was living, was arrested on child pornography and voyeurism related charges last September. At a custody hearing last week, the judge ruled that Josh would have to undergo an extensive psychosexual evaluation, polygraph test, and counseling before he could regain custody of the boys. There is no way that Josh could hold up under such close scrutiny. Like a rat in a corner, Josh Powell had nowhere to run, and there was no place left to hide.

Since acquiring custody in September 2011, the boys, once “disconnected, like robots,” were “slowly but surely realizing that they were safe and happy.” Where they used to run away from their grandparents when they talked about Susan, they now engaged the conversation. For the first time since their mother’s 2009 disappearance Charlie and Braden were in a nurturing environment that allowed them to share their feelings and perhaps even their secrets.

One of the reasons Chuck and Judy Cox wanted custody of the children was to protect them from their father. Charlie and Braden’s intuition was acute, but for naught. They disliked attending the supervised visitations with daddy. Last Sunday Josh Powell committed the ultimate act of abuse against his two boys. Was he simply trying to cover up the truth about what happened to Susan, or was something even more sinister going on?

Many incarcerated sex offenders justify their behavior by telling you that they were abused when they were children. In other words, they were caught up in a generational cycle of abuse, mirroring behavior that was perpetrated upon them and paying it forward to the next generation of children. I won’t pretend to understand the psychology of this behavior; only that it occurs often enough that should be taken seriously.

We now know that Josh Powell and his father Steven both kept secrets. They both had child pornography on their computers. Steven videotaped women and children, including Susan, without their knowledge. Josh had a very troubled past that included attempted suicide, a threat to murder his mother with a butcher knife, and killing his sister’s pet hamster. One has to wonder what prompts a young boy to acts of extreme violence, and why those acts are only now being revealed. What other dark secrets are buried in the Powell family history?

The final burning question that will never be answered might explain the whole sordid mess. Did Josh murder his wife because she caught him having sex with one or both of their young sons?
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The Son of a Bitch Tried to Chop Off Their Heads!

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No wonder he always looked like he was sucking on lemons. He was holding back a taste much more acerbic than lemon juice. First he killed their mother, his wife, and concocted a cockamamie alibi that carried him forth until he could commit the ultimate betrayal. Then the son of a bitch tried to chop off their heads before immolating them in a homemade inferno that also spat him back into the hell from which he came.

The disappearance of Susan Powell was never a real mystery. Josh murdered Susan on December 6, 2009. The weather was bitter cold. I can almost imagine Susan watching the 5:00 pm weatherman predict that a winter storm was projected to drop more than a foot of snow overnight. Of course she agreed when he closed his forecast with, “You do not need to travel tonight.”

Susan, her husband and sons, were reported missing by her parents the next morning. Josh and the boys showed up later that evening, but not Susan. She was never seen again!
Josh’s story was a poorly fabricated lie. But it seemed to fool the authorities, because, as we found out only after the fact, her disappearance was not reclassified as a murder until almost two years later. Josh was considered a “person of interest”, but apparently not enough interest to actually hinder his style.
About a month later Josh packed up the boys and moved out of state to live with his father, another lemon-sucking pervert, in Puyallup, Washington. Josh and his father Steven launched a campaign to assassinate Susan’s character and threatened to publish her childhood journals online. A judge issued a permanent injunction stopping that plan. Shortly thereafter Steven Powell was arrested on child pornography and voyeurism related charges. Steven’s daughter Jennifer Graves expressed relief after hearing that her father had been arrested, telling a reporter, “They’re getting him off the streets now and he won’t be able to take advantage of innocents in the future.” Steven remains in Jail, but somehow Josh was able to slither under the radar one more time.

He lost custody of the children to Susan’s parents, but not access. A judge gave him supervised visits. The boys began to blossom once they escaped Josh’s toxic influence. I’m using toxic as a synonym for evil here. They may have even begun to talk about the night Susan disappeared. I wonder if Josh was aware that his son Braden may have drawn a picture of a van with three people in it and told caregivers it showed his family going camping and that, “Mommy’s in the trunk.”  We could ask him, but…oh no, we can’t because he’s in Hell and still not cooperating with the authorities.

Josh Powell carried more red flags than a Chinese New Year parade. He showed no remorse or regret that his wife was missing. His alibi was a pitiful fabrication. He wasn’t cooperating with the police. His own sister hated him. His father was a known pervert. He segregated the kids from Susan’s family as he allowed them to be exposed to perversion. He tried to assassinate Susan’s character. It was all there in plain sight. Why couldn’t the court see the facts that screamed from the headlines for more than two years?
Posted in Josh Powell, predator, psychopath | Tagged | 9 Comments on The Son of a Bitch Tried to Chop Off Their Heads!

Baby Ayla and the Code of Silence

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I had a long phone conversation with Justin DiPietro the other day. He seems like a genuine fellow and readily answered the questions I posed to him regarding the disappearance of his daughter baby Ayla. I am not going to divulge anything that is not already in the public arena as I don’t want to betray his confidence. However, the one thing that I continue to find troubling about this case is the code of silence that Justin adopted early on. Whether it was self-imposed or requested by law enforcement, the collateral damage done to his character and reputation is as large as it is far reaching.

It has been more than four weeks since baby Ayla disappeared from her bedroom in the house that she shared with Justin, and he has only recently made himself available to the press. In the meantime baby Ayla’s mother Trista Reynolds has attacked Justin as relentlessly and effectively as General Sherman scorched the earth on his march against the Confederate states in the Civil War. On December 19, two days after the little girl was reported missing in Waterville, Maine, Trista told Nancy Grace that Justin was “vindictive” and “verbally abusive”. She further claimed that he has refused to let her have Ayla for even one day since he took custody of her in October and that Ayla would return from visits with Justin, “With bruises on her or…with a pulled muscle”.

The next day, on December 20, Justin issued a statement through the Waterville Police Department saying that he “has no idea what happened to Ayla,” and disputing prior media claims by Reynolds that the two hadn’t been in communication with one another in recent weeks. On December 23, Trista told the Today Show, “I trusted him to keep her safe, and now she is missing and I don’t know where she is. I blame him right now. He did not protect her the way he was supposed to.”On the 28th, Justin issued a second statement through Waterville police, repeating that he doesn’t know what happened to Ayla and thanking community members for their support. The next day Trista told Matt Lauer, “He says he’s not in hiding, but why won’t he come out, why won’t he talk to me? What’s he so afraid of?” On Dec. 30, the State Police take over jurisdiction after it is announced that they now suspect foul play in the disappearance of baby Ayla.
Finally, on Jan. 2, Justin appeared on the Today Show justifying his silence, saying that in the first few days, “I was emotionally incapable of coming out to do an interview.” He also said that the police initially advised him against doing media interviews because it could hinder the investigation. Within the last several days Justin has been embroiled in a public controversy over the results of his polygraph exam. My advice to Justin, and to Trista is to keep it simple and tell the truth. If you do that you won’t have to backtrack.

Justin’s public appearances have been erratic and forced, but ineloquence is not a crime, it is simply an inconvenience. However, one thing does stand out: he has refrained from attacking Trista Reynolds. He has not mentioned her substance abuse issues, her lack of a permanent address, or her failure to travel fifty-miles to the scene of the crime to physically confront him. Instead he kept the focus on his missing daughter. I believe that speaks to his credit.

I have long believed that the parents have a duty to advocate on behalf of their missing children. Even if you are paralyzed by grief and fear it is important to find the strength within to be there for your child. You want to get the public invested and you want to ensure that law enforcement maintains an aggressive and active investigation. As baby Ayla’s case demonstrates, public advocacy also provides you with an opportunity to defend yourself. To fail to do so is to create, as Justin succinctly put it, “A helpless situation”.

Is Justin DiPietro involved in baby Ayla’s disappearance? I have no way of knowing, just as I have no way of knowing if Trista Reynolds has any anything to do with this ongoing mystery. However, I do know a few things. I am absolutely convinced that this is not a stranger abduction. Strangers don’t lurk in sub-zero temperatures any more than they target children with broken arms. I also know that these are troubled young adults who have a toxic relationship. I still believe that the universe of potential suspects is small and that the answer to what happened to baby Ayla exists within the murky waters of dysfunction. We need to stop chasing shadows and leave the investigation to the authorities.  If they dig deep enough they will learn the truth.
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An Act of Moral Cowardice

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Petaluma’s Polly Klaas Foundation was honored by the US Dept. of Justice this week, being named the 2011 Missing Children Nonprofit of the year by the United States Department of Justice’ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

In Oct. 1993, Violet and I founded the Polly Klaas Foundation (PKF) to protect ourselves from potential speculation that we would misappropriate money donated to help find Polly, who had been kidnapped on Oct. 1. Upon learning of Polly’s tragic death on Dec. 4, it was our intention to lobby for laws that would protect children, use the remaining $283,000 to help find other missing children, and continue fundraising. On October 21, 1994, without my knowledge or permission, the PKF board of directors secured a trademark for the name Polly Klaas. In November 1994, in an act of stunning moral cowardice, the board of directors of the PKF voted me off the board during a secret meeting that I was not privy to. When they informed me via telephone I felt as if I had lost my daughter yet again. Violet and I were no longer welcome at the Foundation that we had created and hoped would become Polly’s legacy.

In September, 1994 several events foretold our rocky path and lonely crusade. On the 13th I stood on the podium with President Clinton on the White House south lawn when he signed The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The President gave me the first pen that he used to sign the bill. Among other things the Crime Bill provided for 100,000 new cops, allocated $6.1-billion in prevention funds for at risk children, and nearly $10-billion for prison construction costs.

Days later the board of directors informed me that I would no longer be allowed to pursue criminal justice legislation, arguing that a non-profit organization is prohibited from advocating for new laws. They knew that this was not true and continued supporting and promoting legislation long after they gave me the boot.

Before the month was out I had submitted a separate non-profit application to create the KlaasKids Foundation, from which to lobby, advocate and promote legislation. The PKF board said that I had created a conflict of interest by finding an avenue that would allow me to pursue goals that they forbade me from pursuing. This became the justification for kicking me out of the Polly Klaas Foundation. Ironically, one of the stated goals on the Polly Klaas Foundation’s current mission statement is to effect legislation which, “Will ensure that children can be safe in their own homes and communities.”

When Violet and I were shown the door we had $2,000, a fledgling non-profit that would become the KlaasKids Foundation and sense of urgency. We believed that there was no time to lose, because otherwise everyone would forget. We struggled. She worked a regular job, I volunteered my time. We lived frugally, turning our home into an office, with a small loft devoted to personal space. We worked 18-hour days writing, advocating, traveling and otherwise pursuing our window of opportunity. Fortunately, our voice was being heard on television, radio, in the op-ed pages of newspapers and at KlaasKids events throughout the country.

As KlaasKids built a solid reputation for action and accomplishment the PKF struggled. With just a few months of operating expenses left in their account, they launched a high profile car donation program. For the next several years a confused public donated millions of dollars worth of vehicles as the PKF produced minimal results.

How do I know this to be true? Because over the past two days many people, even some that I have known for years, congratulated me for the OJJDP recognition as the 2011 Missing Children Nonprofit of the year. 


The KlaasKids Foundation may not have won any awards, but I will stack our accomplishments up against any other missing children’s NPO. Below I have outlined some of KlaasKids 2010 accomplishments. I have left off our Print-A-Thon programs and the tens of thousands of free Child ID Kits that we distribute throughout the year.

·        KlaasKids offers multiple levels of support for the missing and their families. From grassroots search-and-rescue assistance, to human trafficking intervention; from legislative support to providing experts to the media, KlaasKids remains at the forefront of safety innovation and proactive advocacy.
  • In 2010, KlaasKids’ search and rescue efforts provided assistance in 86 cases. Our search center has also played an active role in 33 missing person/trafficking cases. Of those, eight out of nine children were rescued from human trafficking. In the other 25 cases, nine were safely located, four were recovered, and 12 remain missing.
  • KlaasKids actively advocated for California’s Chelsea’s Law, which increases prison time, prohibits sex offenders from entering parks frequented by children, and increases use of trackable GPS devices to monitor paroled offenders.
  • We also supported California laws AB 33, which requires law enforcement to establish written procedures on how to handle missing child cases;
  • AB 34, which will reduce the time to notify the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and California’s Violent Crime Information Center (VCIC) from four hours to two;
  • AB 1022, which establishes a position in the Department of Justice for a new director to oversee missing children recovery processes.
  • KlaasKids also continues to work with the Flying J chain of truck stops to bring a broadcast quality suite of television options to America’s 2,000,000-plus long haul truck drivers, so that they can become an army of first responders whenever a televised Amber Alert is issued in the United States. 
  • In September, KlaasKids initiated a lawsuit against California’s Department of Mental Health (DMH) for releasing tens of thousands of potential sexually violent predators in violation of Jessica’s Law, which was passed in 2006 Jessica’s Law mandates that, prior to release from prison, violent sex offenders who meet certain offense criteria be evaluated in person by two expert psychiatrists or psychologists. If the experts agree that the prisoner is a violent sexual predator with a high risk of reoffending, they must be referred to the District Attorney for civil commitment proceedings. However, in many cases since 2007, the DMH has provided only a cursory “paper screening,” or records review, of potential predators by only one mental health professional in lieu of an expert panel in-person evaluation.
  • On the proactive front, KlaasKids long-standing relationship with Fight Crime: Invest in Kids has paid great dividends. As you will read in this edition, the California branch of this national non-profit organization, led by more than 400 police chiefs, sheriffs, district attorneys, and crime survivors, has ensured that California is the nation’s leader in supporting after-school programs.
Posted in KlaasKids Foundation, legislation | Tagged | 5 Comments on An Act of Moral Cowardice

The Devil Next Door

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From the killers Facebook page

Who rolled out the red carpet for this monster? 9-year-old Aliahna Lemmon is dead. Her babysitter, 39-year-old Michael Plumadore, has been arrested for murdering her.

From the killers MySpace page

But, it gets worse: much worse. Despite having three felony convictions for battery, auto theft and forgery, Plumadore was deemed fit to not only care for, but have unsupervised access to three defenseless young girls. According to Aliahna’s grandmother Aliahna and her two six-year-old sisters were staying with Plumadore for about a week because Aliahna’s stepfather works at night and sleeps during the day and her mother was recovering from the flu. Plumadore was the last person to see Aliahna, who suffered from both physical and emotional problems, alive.

Aliahna was reported missing on 12/23, and on 12/26 Plumadore admitted that he killed her by “striking her in the head multiple times with a brick while she was standing on the front steps of his residence.” He subsequently dismembered her body by cutting it up with a hacksaw and placed small pieces of her body in freezer bags and disposed of them in a dumpster located nearby. Finally, he kept her head, feet and hands in the freezer at home.
Defense attorneys love to point out that our prisons are filled with individuals who have been caught in indiscretions. That hard luck men and women have been driven by circumstance to commit crimes. However, as this and so many other cases point out, the truth is much harsher and more difficult to accept: evil exists! There are certain individuals with a propensity to victimize others. Many of these individuals go through their lives committing crime after crime after crime with no consequence for their actions. Occasionally, they will get caught breaking the law. Then the criminal justice system will work with them to mitigate the nature of the crime, allow them to plea down to a lesser offense, and oftentimes escape prison altogether. This is why individuals with horrific criminal pasts are walking free to commit these horrific atrocities.
I know all too well the horror of losing a child to violence, but what was Aliahana’s mother thinking when she allowed her three daughter to stay with Plumadore for a week? Did she know that he was a three time loser? Surely, she knew that their trailer park was a haven for registered sex offenders. I understand that she was getting over the flu, but that does not justify shirking her parental responsibility. At best it provides a pitiful excuse.
It is our responsibility as adults to ensure the safety and well being of children. In cases where families fail government agencies are supposed to step in and fill the gap. Her mother sent her to sleep with the devil and government failed to protect her from a three time loser.   In Aliahna’s case both family and government failed and the result is a horror beyond imagination.
As government budgets are cut dramatically the release of vicious criminals is easily justified. We must be vigilant to ensure that the safety of children is not compromised by bottom line politicians who use budget shortfalls to justify the release of violent criminals.

 

Posted in Aliahna Lemmon, missing children | Tagged | 2 Comments on The Devil Next Door

Jonathan’s Gift

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During the course of one year I lost my only child to violence, my youngest brother to the ravages of illness and a grandmother to time. I survived these tragedies a better, stronger, and more determined person, because I was nurtured by the grace of angels.

The hand of God touched me on the day Polly was born. The first time I held her in my arms I experienced the power of unconditional love. This perfect baby was mine, and I would love and protect her forever. For me, this was the miracle of birth.

I was fortunate that Polly was my companion on this earthly pilgrimage. The strength of her commitment enhanced my understanding of the human condition and provided me with clarity of vision. The depth of her emotion taught me that caring for others could strengthen my own self worth and expand my horizons beyond material values. The purity of her love defined her final act. She faced her worst fears with courage worthy of the most seasoned combat veteran. On shaky knees, as the devil was stealing her into the night, her final words were, “Please don’t hurt my mother and sister.” My greatest teacher was only twelve-years-old.

That night the angels dipped their wings over Petaluma and re-claimed one of their own. In life Polly shared her gifts with those who were touched by her presence, but in death she touched us all. The welfare of a little lost girl surmounted religious, ethnic and political barriers. Millions of eyes were looking for her and millions of hands were clasped in prayer for her safe return. Her presence on earth set a course that millions of years of evolution, thousands of years of legislation and hundreds of years of struggle and strife couldn’t accomplish. She brought us together as one. Those were Polly’s angels.

The nation rose like a phoenix in the wake of Polly’s tragedy and demanded answers. For sixty-five days we navigated the murky waters of despair toward a fate that tantalized us with glimmers of light, and then doused our hopes with uncertain veils of darkness. Finally the prayers of Polly’s angels were answered, but not as we expected. Polly’s unselfish bravery in the face of doom provided the target and her commitment of love gave us the weapon to use in the eternal struggle between good and evil. In bitter irony we discovered that in order to win the war, we sometimes have to lose a battle.

Seven months later I visited my brother Jonathan on his deathbed. He seemed to be recovering and was excited to see me. I held his hand as he told me the following story. “Earlier today Polly visited me. She fluttered above me like a butterfly on tiny wings. I asked her why her wings were so small? She said that it was because she wasn’t ready to go yet. Then Polly said, ‘Get ready Uncle Jonny, because you will be joining me soon and there are a great big pair of wings waiting for you.’ I asked her if I should hurry? Polly said, ‘No, Uncle Jon, you want your wings to get as big as they can, and together we will take a ride that is better than anything at Disneyland.” Two days later Jonathan died. Now he is with Polly on a fantastic voyage.

My grandmother was very old, bed ridden and fragile, so we didn’t tell her about either of these misfortunes. Besides, she was riding horses, and wanted to get to the top of the mountain where Polly was waiting for her and the sun was disappearing over the horizon. She is now with Polly, and the sun has set and I know something that I never realized before. The angel we were seeking was guiding us all along.

Posted in Marc Klaas, Polly Klaas | Tagged | 4 Comments on Jonathan’s Gift