Angelene Plummer was the ultimate innocent murder victim.
Firemonkey
Trial to begin in tot's slaying
Father's friend could face death penalty
by Jim Walsh - Jul. 21, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Angelene Plummer was the ultimate innocent murder victim.
She was barely 3 years old. She was developmentally delayed and unable
to talk, communicating only with screams. She died a brutal death.
More than three years later, Christopher Langin, 33, the man her
father called "The Enforcer" - a family friend given authority to
discipline Angelene and two other children - faces a death-penalty
trial scheduled to start Wednesday with jury selection.
"Gone home early to the arms of Jesus and loved by all," reads
Angelene's gravestone at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Mesa.
Firefighters and sheriff's deputies who responded to the family's home
in a county island east of Mesa on Feb. 8, 2005, were so shaken by the
slaying that they paid for Angelene's funeral and burial.
Michael Edward Plummer, 30, the child's father, is already paying for
Angelene's death.
He was sentenced a year ago to 18 years in prison for child abuse
after prosecutors argued that his negligence in allowing Langin to
care for his daughter created an opportunity for Langin to kill her.
Among the most interesting legal issues looming as the trial begins
before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Teresa Sanders in Mesa is
whether Michael Plummer will accept prosecutors' offer for immunity
from further charges to testify against Langin, a high-school friend.
"He's paying for what Christopher did," said Susan Plummer, Michael
Plummer's mother and Angelene's grandmother. "His lawyer is advising
him not to testify. I don't trust the state of Arizona anymore."
Angelene was found in a fetid trailer behind the family's home.
Deputies said she was beaten, strangled, stabbed and burned.
She suffered injuries from head to toe, but the cause of death was
blunt force trauma to her head, according to court records.
Although Michael Plummer knew Langin had a history of substance abuse
and violence, he allowed Langin to baby-sit Angelene for nearly 24
hours without checking on her, Deputy County Attorney Patricia Stevens
wrote in a June 1, 2007, sentencing memorandum.
Plummer "knew that Langin had a physically violent relationship with
his prior girlfriend - to the point that (Plummer) had to take a sword
away from Langin on one occasion in the trailer when Langin was
threatening to harm his girlfriend," Stevens wrote.
Superior Court Judge Timothy Ryan appointed Randall V. Reese, a public
defender who represented Plummer during his trial last year, to also
represent him during Langin's trial, according to court records.
But Susan Plummer said her son has not been offered a deal of any sort
in return for his testimony.
Robert Storrs, Langin's defense attorney, said he could not comment on
Langin's defense. He said the trial could take four months.
Langin is charged with first-degree murder, child abuse and aggravated
assault and faces the death penalty.
In court documents, Storrs gave a long list of reasons to spare Langin
from the death penalty if he were found guilty, including
"methamphetamine induced psychosis," significant brain impairment and
"long-standing substance abuse disorder."
The document lists a psychiatrist and several psychologists as expert
witnesses who would testify in the penalty phase.
Langin had no prior record of criminal arrests in Arizona. In
Plummer's sentencing memorandum, Stevens wrote that he knew that
Langin "drank a large amount of whiskey nightly and used marijuana and
methamphetamine on occasion."
Reach the reporter at jim .walsh@arizonarepublic .com or 602-444-7984
Dan Sullivan
> http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/07/21/20...
A nightly consumption of a large amount of whiskey.
Isn't that what everyone looks for in a babysitter?
And the occasional pot to calm him down.
And the occasional meth to pick him up.
But he did have the father's permission to discipline the child,
right, grag?
Will the defense cite Santosky, I wonder.
Weigh in on this, grag.
It is quite similar to your own situation.
Only instead of killing the girl physically, you humiliated her and
destroyed her childhood.
Dragon's Girl
> http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/07/21/20...
>
Hey, I have a nifty idea. Let's have a real discussion here.
Can anyone point out what factors might have prevented the death of
this child?
Don't be shy. Name anyone and everyone responsible, and include why
you feel that they are responsible.
Here's mine:
Number one, the safety of children, first and foremost, lies with the
parents, or caregivers, whichever the case may be.
It is the duty of parents to ensure the safety of their children at
all times.
Fact is, that's not always possible.
Sometimes we have to leave our children to the care of others while we
work, attend to personal issues, are hospitalized, while they attend
school, etc. You never know a person, really. How many people
thought that Gacy was the best neighbor and friend only to find out
that he murdered over 30 young men and buried them in his crawl space?
So, what does a parent do?
Beginning with looking at the character of your caregivers is a start.
It seems that this father knew the character of his chosen caregiver,
knew of at least one violent outburst, but left his child with the man
anyway.
What's next? How about background checks? I offered an ex relative
an opportunity to babysit my grandson, and even though I'd known her
for almost twenty years, I still got a background check on her.
(though that was partly because DFS insisted, but I knew the check
would come back clean in any event because she's just a good woman).
How about checking them out online? You can search court records. If
someone has been evicted twenty times that can kinda tell you that
they aren't real responsible, and IMHO, not real honest because they
don't pay what they owe.
When a parent takes every step possible to ensure the safety of their
kids and they still fail?
Well, that's where DFS comes in. Do I think that a parent should lose
their child because they left the child in the care of a bad day care
worker? No, I think that they daycare should lose it's license
because THEY are responsible, not the parent.
Do I think that a parent should face consequences like this guy, who
knew of violence, drug and alcohol use and STILL left his child with
the man? Yes, you bet.
This isn't a case like the guy who accidentally gave his kids too much
OTC meds. That was an accident, and although what he did was
irresponsible and caused the death of his two young sons, I'm sure
that the inner turmoil that he will face for the rest of his life
would be far more punishment than the courts could ever lay on him.
No, this is a case of a parent with an exceptional needs child
irresponsibly placing the child in the care of someone who was ill
equipped to give the child appropriate care.
This is a case of a parent knowing the communications ability of his
child could be staggering (screaming) to someone unable to calm the
child, interpret the child's needs, or simply control themselves.
I can count, on both my hands, the number of people who have been
entrusted with caring for my kids over the last 22 years. Less than
ten.
I didn't even let my own mother babysit my kids because she was
forgetful sometimes, and I feared that she would send the kids out to
play and forget that they were out there in the yard.
So...I don't think that there is any punishment too harsh for this
parent. What he did was akin to sending the little girl out to play
in the street.
And I hope that he doesn't have any other kids that he can exercise
this kind of neglect on.
If he does, I feel that it is absolutely the responsibility of the
state to remove those children and place them with relatives.
joe
wrote:
Me too - lets take this parent hating drivel to an on topic group :)
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Firemonkey
> On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:34:13 -0400, Dragon's Girl <bettywir...@yahoo.com>
>
> - Show quoted text -
I did a seach of this group on 'parent hating drivel' veeeerrrryyy
interesting.
Dragon's Girl
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> I did a seach of this group on 'parent hating drivel' veeeerrrryyy
> interesting.
Did ya?
Hmmmm.
And what did ya find?
Dragon's Girl
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> I did a seach of this group on 'parent hating drivel' veeeerrrryyy
> interesting.
O.
Never mind.
I see. ;)
