Involuntary Manslaughter

A 13-year-old girl whose body was found buried under trash bags behind a Northeast Baltimore rowhouse had been shot by her young companions while playing with a rifle, according to relatives and police who arrested two youths Monday. The boys, 12 and 13, were being held on juvenile charges of involuntary manslaughter, and police did not release their names. Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi described the case as "an absolute unspeakable tragedy," while the relatives of Monae Turnage said the charges were not severe enough.

A fatal shooting is rare along the tree-lined streets that lead to historic Federal Hill park, where residents and tourists take in sweeping views of the Inner Harbor. So it was especially unusual when two people were killed there on consecutive days in the summer of 2008. There hasn't been another such incident since then. Four years later, police say they've solved one of the murders, arresting 32-year-old Dundalk resident Jason Hamel for the June 20, 2008 killing of 35-year-old Keyva Bluitt.  Bluitt was sitting in a vehicle at about 9:15 p.m. when witnesses said they saw several people jump into a blue Toyota and then heard a shot fired.

A man who was convicted of killing a Baltimore police detective by throwing a chunk of concrete has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Sian James was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for hurling the concrete at Detective Brian Stevenson last year during a fight over a parking space in Canton last October. Stevenson was hit in the head.

The children gathered to remember 13-year-old Monae Turnage as the rest of the city wonders what exactly an off-duty Baltimore police officer did to allegedly help the girl's classmates who are charged with involuntary manslaughter in her shooting. View a photo gallery of the vigil . Read complete coverage of case . Police officials have confirmed that the officer, identified by law enforcement sources as John A. Ward, 32, a four year veteran of the force who sometimes patrolled the very Darley Park neighborhood where Monae was shot, is part of an extensive criminal investigation.

Baltimore police Sgt. Stephen R. Pagotto, whose routine traffic stop in Northeast Baltimore last February ended in the fatal shooting of a motorist, became the first city officer in memory to be convicted of a crime for shooting in the line of duty.A jury of seven women and five men pronounced the 40-year-old sergeant guilty of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless endangerment after 5 1/2 hours of deliberations and three weeks of testimony, in a trial that examined just how far an officer can deviate from his training when he believes his life is in danger.

The prosecution and the defense formed an unusual alliance yesterday, seeking to throw out a conviction for a crime they said doesn't exist -- but a Baltimore County Circuit judge disagreed."

A Columbia woman whose conviction in the 2005 strangulation of a fellow Loyola College doctoral student was overturned in September agreed to a plea deal yesterday in Howard County Circuit Court that freed her from prison. The state Court of Special Appeals had ruled that Melissa Burch Harton, 27, was entitled to a new trial after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter because Howard County detectives waited until she made incriminating statements to advise her of her Miranda rights.

When 16-month-old Ashton Timothy Preston toddled across the kitchen in search of a bottle in December 2004, Elaine Marie Butler shook her head at him. Butler, who had taken the boy and his recovering addict mother in after meeting at church, was trying to wean him off bottles. So she gave him a Mickey Mouse cup - filled with what was later found to be methadone. Within hours, the boy was dead. Yesterday, Butler's attorney and prosecutors agreed on the events that led to the boy ingesting the drug.

A fatal shooting is rare along the tree-lined streets that lead to historic Federal Hill park, where residents and tourists take in sweeping views of the Inner Harbor. So it was especially unusual when two people were killed there on consecutive days in the summer of 2008. There hasn't been another such incident since then. Four years later, police say they've solved one of the murders, arresting 32-year-old Dundalk resident Jason Hamel for the June 20, 2008 killing of 35-year-old Keyva Bluitt.  Bluitt was sitting in a vehicle at about 9:15 p.m. when witnesses said they saw several people jump into a blue Toyota and then heard a shot fired.

A teen-ager who fired a gun inside White Marsh Mall in October -- attempting to win back a girlfriend -- has been found guilty of a crime that apparently doesn't exist.The defense attorney and prosecutor say they will move to strike the verdict of attempted involuntary manslaughter issued by Baltimore County Circuit Judge Thomas J. Bollinger, who heard the nonjury trial of 19-year-old John Matthew Miller on July 10 and 11."There isn't such an animal," said defense attorney Richard M. Karceski, who filed a motion to that effect last week in anticipation of sentencing Sept.

A Baltimore police officer who sources say had the gun used in the accidental fatal shooting of a 13-year-old girl has been suspended and is now part of a criminal investigation in which two children already have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. The sources have said the .22 caliber long rifle that killed Monae Turnage inside her Darley Avenue rowhouse was found in the officer's personal vehicle. That revelation adds to an already horrific police account of the children dragging her body out of a rowhouse and hiding it under trash bags in a back yard until the victim's brother found it 19 hours later.

A 13-year-old girl whose body was found buried under trash bags behind a Northeast Baltimore rowhouse had been shot by her young companions while playing with a rifle, according to relatives and police who arrested two youths Monday. The boys, 12 and 13, were being held on juvenile charges of involuntary manslaughter, and police did not release their names. Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi described the case as "an absolute unspeakable tragedy," while the relatives of Monae Turnage said the charges were not severe enough.

Though George Huguely V is charged with premeditated murder in the 2010 death of his University of Virginia girlfriend, Yeardley Love, attorneys following the case say it's unlikely that the jury will find he intended to kill her when members begin deliberating Wednesday in Charlottesville, Va., Circuit Court. But that doesn't mean he won't be found culpable. Even his lawyers have said that Huguely, who admits drunkenly assaulting Love, bears responsibility for her death. Just what he might be guilty of - along with the time he's assigned to serve in prison - will depend upon the jury's interpretation of key evidence, which includes an hourlong videotaped statement that Huguely gave to police.

A 21-year-old Pasadena man pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Thursday for shoving a stranger who couldn't swim into the Inner Harbor in 2008 — an act previously characterized by one Baltimore judge as complete stupidity. Wayne Black, who was 18 when he pushed 22-year-old Ankush Gupta into the water and ran, will be sentenced to four years in prison at his sentencing, scheduled for Aug. 30, per an agreement cut with Baltimore Circuit Judge M. Brooke Murdock. His mother dabbed tears from her eyes as the deal was done, while Gupta's friends and family sat stone-faced on the other side of the courtroom.

A man who was convicted of killing a Baltimore police detective by throwing a chunk of concrete has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Sian James was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for hurling the concrete at Detective Brian Stevenson last year during a fight over a parking space in Canton last October. Stevenson was hit in the head.

A 29-year-old accused of killing her baby and burying him in Druid Hill Park pleaded guilty Wednesday to involuntary manslaughter and was given a 10-year suspended sentence. While Lakesha Haynie was able to walk free for the first time since her arrest 10 months ago, she will be on probation for five years, must report to the Department of Social Services if she becomes pregnant again and is forbidden to have unsupervised contact with children ages 6 and younger. She must also attend a counseling program at Planned Parenthood on Jan. 24. Baltimore Circuit Judge Charles J. Peters told Haynie that if she violates any of the terms of her probation, "this court will not hesitate to put you in jail" for the rest of the 10-year sentence.

The children gathered to remember 13-year-old Monae Turnage as the rest of the city wonders what exactly an off-duty Baltimore police officer did to allegedly help the girl's classmates who are charged with involuntary manslaughter in her shooting. View a photo gallery of the vigil . Read complete coverage of case . Police officials have confirmed that the officer, identified by law enforcement sources as John A. Ward, 32, a four year veteran of the force who sometimes patrolled the very Darley Park neighborhood where Monae was shot, is part of an extensive criminal investigation.

A Baltimore police officer who sources say had the gun used in the accidental fatal shooting of a 13-year-old girl has been suspended and is now part of a criminal investigation in which two children already have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. The sources have said the .22 caliber long rifle that killed Monae Turnage inside her Darley Avenue rowhouse was found in the officer's personal vehicle. That revelation adds to an already horrific police account of the children dragging her body out of a rowhouse and hiding it under trash bags in a back yard until the victim's brother found it 19 hours later.

Accompanied by his mother and a lawyer, Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon, suspected of killing a man during a New Year's Eve party, surrendered Monday to police in the Dominican Republic and said the shooting had been an accident. Police said Simon, in blue jeans and a dark purple shirt, handed over a gun used in the incident, which resulted in the death of a 25-year-old man and the wounding of his 17-year-old half brother. Authorities said Simon fled after the 4 a.m. shootings Saturday and later they issued an arrest warrant for him. A spokesman for the National Police, Lt. Gonzalez Mateo, told The Baltimore Sun that the case remained under investigation and that any possible charges would have to await the detectives' conclusion.

A 23-year-old Westminster woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter in the 2008 asphyxiation death of her newborn son, whose body was found by police in a trash bin behind St. John's United Methodist Church in Baltimore, where she lived while training with a Christian service organization. Melanie Beth Blevins was given a 10-year suspended sentence and ordered to perform 900 hours of community service over the next three years, as well as to continue the psychiatric care she has been under since she gave birth.