On February 2, 2008 6-month old Jean Pierre Tillman (called J.P. by his family) was murdered by his 22-yr old father Gregory Tillman. The baby's parents had an argument earlier in the morning in which mom was assaulted by dad. She left J.P. in the care of his father when she went out to the flea market. The defendant called her and told her that if she didn't come home, he was going to send J.P. to the hospital. Jury selection, opening arguments and testimony by J.P.'s mother and aunt occurred yesterday.
This morning we heard from law enforcement and the medical examiner. Tillman claimed at the time that he and the baby were in the shower and he accidentally dropped him. Testimony revealed that there was a heartbeat, but no brain function. J.P.'s left leg and skull were fractured. There were approximately 10 blows to his head. The cause of death was a combination of the blows and drowning. There was additional evidence presented of an old burn injury near J.P.'s anus for which no medical treatment was sought because DCF would then be notified.
Yesterday during jury selection CourtWatch notified the Sentinel and the Newsdesks at all the TV stations in Orlando of this case. Yet nobody is here today. Everyone seems to be slogging through more Casey Anthony discovery material. Caylee's death is tragic - no doubt about it. But so is little J.P.'s death. This case doesn't have the drama that the Anthony family has provided. But it has a grieving mom who could use the support of the community. Why, in spite of our efforts to alert them to this case, has the media not cared to cover the trial? Could it be because the victim wasn't a cute little white toddler and was black/hispanic instead? Does that make J.P.'s life less valuable than Caylee's? Or are we more interested in cases where mom is the perpetrator instead of dad?
Kudos to the prosecutor, Robin Wilkinson and the victim advocate (whose name I don't know yet), for the job they're doing. Thank you for caring.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query tillman. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query tillman. Sort by date Show all posts
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The Sentinel Responds
Little JP got some attention: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_homicide/2009/04/little-jp-tillman-gets-some-attention.html
His father, Gregory Tillman, was sentenced to life in prison yesterday for killing his 6 month old son. I guess he thought he could do better than the State's offer of a 25-yr sentence for a plea. Thankfully, the jury told him otherwise. Robin Wilkinson, the prosecutor in this case, advises that no offer was made to Tillman. I stand corrected. I confused this case with Michael Alan Barker, convicted of killing 1-yr old Amber Shevalier. Barker was sentenced to 25 years.
I understand the need for plea agreements, particularly since the System is incredibly overburdened with cases. But after knowing as much as I now do about the circumstances surrounding JP's death, I wonder why an offer was made at all. It angers me that our legislature won't adequately fund the court system to the degree that the State could devote its energies to more prosecutions and fewer plea agreements. Perhaps if the citizens would express outrage at wasteful spending, and would pressure their legislators to spend OUR money on public safety (not just police officers, but also prosecutors, victim adovcates, support staff, etc.), our judicial system would do a better job of holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes.
His father, Gregory Tillman, was sentenced to life in prison yesterday for killing his 6 month old son. I guess he thought he could do better than the State's offer of a 25-yr sentence for a plea. Thankfully, the jury told him otherwise. Robin Wilkinson, the prosecutor in this case, advises that no offer was made to Tillman. I stand corrected. I confused this case with Michael Alan Barker, convicted of killing 1-yr old Amber Shevalier. Barker was sentenced to 25 years.
I understand the need for plea agreements, particularly since the System is incredibly overburdened with cases. But after knowing as much as I now do about the circumstances surrounding JP's death, I wonder why an offer was made at all. It angers me that our legislature won't adequately fund the court system to the degree that the State could devote its energies to more prosecutions and fewer plea agreements. Perhaps if the citizens would express outrage at wasteful spending, and would pressure their legislators to spend OUR money on public safety (not just police officers, but also prosecutors, victim adovcates, support staff, etc.), our judicial system would do a better job of holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Child Killer Gets 18 Months in Prison
Brian del Pino (age at time of offense, 21 yrs), was sentenced last week to 18 months (not years, months) in the Department of Corrections for the 2006 manslaughter death of his girlfriend's 22 month old son, Cameron Andrews. He also agreed to serve 10 years probation and take both anger management and parenting classes.
Eighteen months prison for killing a toddler?
I attempted to contact the Seminole County Assistant State Attorney who handled the case, Anna Valentini, to ask her what the circumstances surrounding the plea negotiations were in this case. Sometimes, plea agreements are the best the State can do when victims are unwilling to testify against their perpetrator. Sometimes the other evidence is not very strong and a jury could easily find reasonable doubt as to the defendant's guilt. When I know more about the particulars in del Pino's case, I will post an update.
Just for comparison, here are the dispositions of others in our community who were charged in the deaths of children since 2007.
Victim: Presayis Skawski (3 months)Offense Date: 5/4/07
Orange County case 2007CF012311: Pled to Aggravated Manslaughter of Child
Sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Defendant: Benedict Krawczak (mother's boyfriend)
Offense Date: 5/13/07
Orange County case 2007CF007321: Pled to 2nd Degree Murder
Sentenced to 28 years prison + 5 years probation. More info here.
Defendant: Ventrel "Maurice" Gammons (father)
Offense Date: 5/17/07
Seminole County case 2007CF005849: Jury verdict - guilty of 1st Degree Murder and Aggravated Child Abuse.
Sentenced to LIFE in prison.
Defendant: William Randolph Pickett II (father)
Offense Date: 7/31/07
Orange County case 2007CF015174: Pled to Manslaughter w/Weapon
Sentenced to 111 months prison
Defendant: Tangela Key (mother)
Offense Date: 9/29/07
Orange County case 2007CF14975: Pled to Neglect of Child Causing Great Harm
Sentenced to 1 year jail + 10 years probation. More info here.
Co-defendants: Kelly Lorraine Shevalier (mother) & Michael Alan Barker (mother's boyfriend)
Offense Date: 1/4/08
Orange County case 2008CF000179 (Shevalier) & 2008CF000159 (Barker)
Barker pled to 2nd Degree Murder and was sentenced to 25 years prison.
Shevalier pled to Neglect of Child got 3 years probation. Shevalier photo not currently available
Defendant: Gregory Tillman (father)
Offense Date: 2/9/08
Orange County case 2008CF001784: Jury found defendant guilty of 1st Degree Murder, Aggravated Child Abuse and Battery.
Sentenced to LIFE in prison. More info here.
Defendant: Tony Gonsoulin (uncle)
Offense Date: 7/3/08
Seminole County case 2008CF003416: Pled to 2nd degree murder
Sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Defendant: Edwin Gabriel Ramos (mother's boyfriend)
Offense Date: 9/10/08
Orange County case 2008CF013887: Pled to 2nd degree murder
Sentenced to 30 years in prison + 20 years probation.
Defendant: Katie Furtaw (mother)
Offense Date: 8/11/09
Orange County case 2009CF012414: Charges dropped
More info here.
Several cases are still working their way through the system. For a complete list, click here.
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