(Dec. 9) - An Alabama man charged with killing his two young children let his common-law wife torture the youngsters - binding their men and feet with duct tape, forcing one tot to stand upright all night long and dressing the other within a suitcase, police said in arrest warrants released today.Remains believed to be those of 3-year-old son Jonathan Chase DeBlase were found Wednesday off a highway in Mississippi. 
John DeBlase, 27, of Mobile, was charged Wednesday with two counts of murder. His common-law wife, Heather Leavell-Keaton, 22, is being held on child-abuse charges.One arrest warrant alleges DeBlase allowed his wife to "torture, willfully abuse, cruelly beat, or otherwise willfully mistreat" his son, who was known as Chase. The warrant details a serial of bizarre punishments police believe the small boy suffered in the months leading up to his disappearance.DeBlase allowed Leavell-Keaton to "to duct-tape the child's hands to the face of his legs, tape a broom handle to his back, placing a sock in his talk and duct-taping it to his mouth, then making the child support in a tree all night when they went to bed," the warrant said.In a separate warrant, police said the mother let his wife duct-tape Natalie's hands and feet before stuffing her "within a black bag" and going it "within a wardrobe" from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. The alleged abuses are believed to have occurred after March 1, the warrant said.Police began investigating the children's disappearance in mid-November, after Leavell-Keaton, who had been living in Kentucky, went to Louisville police and asked for a restraining order against DeBlase. Officials say Leavell-Keaton told them that DeBlase "may have murdered his children" and that she feared for her own life.According to the Sun Herald, police believe Chase was killed in June and his sister slain in March.On Nov. 19, two Mobile detectives traveled to Louisville and arrested Leavell-Keaton on two counts of willful abuse and miss of a child. On Dec. 2, DeBlase was arrested in in Milton, Fla. Authorities in Mobile then charged him with two counts of aggravated child misuse and two counts of abuse of a corpse. Following his arrest, DeBlase was returned to Mobile. He is scheduled to look in court again on Jan. 4, police said.
Police are even look for the consistency of his 4-year-old sister, Natalie DeBlase.
Press-Register / AP
Arrest warrants released Thursday claim John DeBlase, left, let his common-law wife, Heather Leavell-Keaton, right, torture his two young children.
Sponsored Links
During questioning, DeBlase told police that Leavell-Keaton killed the children and that he dumped their remains in Mississippi and Alabama. Leavell-Keaton denies the allegations and says DeBlase poisoned them.Police said they do not recognise how the children died, but they have said they believe both adults responsible for the deaths.Leavell-Keaton will be returned to Alabama on Sunday. Assistant District Attorney Jo Beth Murphree said she could face additional charges."It's a very intense investigation going 24/7. If murder charges can be brought, they will be brought," Murphree told ABC News today.DeBlase's attorney, Jim Sears, has declined to notice on details of the case. Speaking with The Associated Press today, Sears said, "He's considered innocent and we'll get it from there." 
No comments:
Post a Comment