what the hell is wrong with people ?

nation/world
Children of slain pregnant woman found dead in washer, dryer of their apartment
'You could find them by the smell'
The Associated Press
Originally published September 24, 2006, 11:01 AM EDT
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. // Authorities on Sunday were trying to pinpoint the cause of death for three children an investigator says were found decomposing inside the washer and dryer of their apartment, hours after a woman was accused of killing their pregnant mother and her fetus.

Saturday night's discovery inside apartment 28J at the John DeShields public housing complex came two days after the mother of the children -- ages 7, 2 and 1 -- was found in a weedy lot, her abdomen torn open and the fetus missing.





Investigators carried out a furious two-day search, including scouring an 1,100-acre state park, for the children they said were last seen Monday with 24-year-old Tiffany Hall, a family friend prosecutors charged Saturday afternoon with killing Jimella Tunstall and her fetus.

Hours later, Hall pointed authorities to Tunstall's apartment that investigators had briefly visited earlier in search of photographs of the children for media outlets to publicize as the search pressed on, said Ace Hart, a deputy St. Clair County coroner.

Hall "fessed up where the kids were. She didn't say she killed them," Hart said Sunday, saying he understood why investigators may have overlooked the children during their previous trip to the apartment. "Who would be looking in the washer and dryer?"

But by Saturday night, Hart said, "you could find them by the smell."

Two of the children were nude, the third wearing only underpants, Hart said. The oldest, 7-year-old DeMond Tunstall, was found in the dryer, the younger two children -- 2-year-old Ivan Tunstall-Collins and 1-year-old Jinela Tunstall -- in the washer.

Hall remained jailed Sunday in nearby Belleville on $5 million bond, charged with first-degree murder in Tunstall's death and with intentional homicide of an unborn child.

Autopsies on the children were scheduled for Sunday, Hart said.

Illinois State Police Capt. Craig Koehler declined to say late Saturday whether Hall was suspected in the children's deaths. The cause of their deaths had not been determined, he said.

"Any time you have three deceased children, it's a very emotional time," Koehler said, fighting back tears. "All these investigators have worked tirelessly with one outcome in mind -- to find these children alive."

An autopsy showed that Jimella Tunstall, 23, whose body was found Thursday, bled to death after sustaining an abdominal wound caused by a sharp object, believed to be scissors, Hart has said. Authorities believe her womb was cut open after she was knocked unconscious.

Relatives say Tunstall grew up with Hall and had let her baby-sit her children.

Officials suspect Tunstall, who was seven months pregnant, was slain on or about Sept. 15, said Robert Haida, St. Clair County's prosecutor. The same day, Hall summoned police to a park, saying she had given birth to a stillborn child, Hart said.

Hall and the baby were taken to a hospital, where she would not let doctors examine her and offered conflicting reasons for why she went into labor, alternately saying she had consensual sex and was raped, Hart said. The dead baby showed no signs of trauma, and an autopsy the next day failed to pinpoint a cause of death, Hart said.

Authorities say Hall acknowledged to her boyfriend during the baby's funeral Thursday that the child wasn't his, and that she had killed the mother to get it. The boyfriend, reportedly a sailor home on leave, told police, who arrested his girlfriend hours later, investigators said.

Hall has two children of her own. Koehler said they are "safe and sound."

Hall likely will be arraigned Monday on the two charges, each carrying a 20 to 60 years or life in prison, Haida said. The murder count could be punishable by the death penalty.

DNA tests should determine definitively whether the baby was the one Tunstall was carrying, Hart said.




Copyright © 2006, The Associated Press



[Edited 9/24/06 12:21pm]

'Frying' her is one step thinking, a reactionary reptilian self-perpetuating moronity striking a blow towards our own species. It holds a mirror up to us all. The only sensible, level-headed option is to ask her a lot of questions and attempt to learn from her answers.

I read this earlier on msn news but it said nothing about the washer and Dryer. So disturbing makes me want to go home and hug my boys. She will probably get the DP if that state allows it and greatfullly deserves it.

Number23 said:

And sell one of her kidneys and lungs

Number23 said:

oh, please. where's the immediate righteous gratification in THAT? lame.

Anx said:

I bet you're sitting there wrapped in your flag burning pages of the Koran to keep warm.

Number23 said:

lol is there any answer that would justify this. Hopefully there is some type of Psychiatric diagnosis but damb when does it quit.

GaryTheNoTrashCougar said:

To whom?

there's nothing anybody who kills a mother, her fetus and her three children could possibly say that makes saving her life worth saving. she'll probably plead insanity like andrea yates and get off scot free. john wayne gacy and jeffrey dahmer killed dozens of people and never gave satisfactory reasons for the shit they did. the only reason she shouldn't be executed MAYBE is because she has 2 kids. they need not suffer for the mother's sins.

Number23 said:

The Arabs, white women go for high prices in Saudi.

irrisistableB said:

No, but if the state kills killers, it should also rid itself of Down Syndrome sufferers, retarded, terminally ill and disabled citizens. Why not take FULL advantage of this immediate way of getting rid of an immediate problem?

Fury said:

There are no sins. It's a silly concept thought up by clever people to keep you under control.

GaryTheNoTrashCougar said:

suprise!!! its an african-american woman this time. crime knows no color

irrisistableB said:

irrisistableB said:

Please don't drag the tone and intent of this thread any lower by making it a pro death sentence/racism hybrid.

Number23 said:

Go on, you know you want to

Number23 said:

OMG I dont see the handicap as a "problem to be rid of" How are they even in the same catagory as a person who cuts open a 7 month pregnant abdomen takes the premature baby then goes and kills 3 innocent children. I hope she does get a fair trial and that there is some answers but come on retarded and downs that is a disability not a choice. what she did was a choice that will be studied and talked about and be true crime story on snapped in a year then forgotten about.

sounds like one of those women who are desparate to keep their man so they go steal a baby. the kids were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. very sad and idiotic i think to let her fry is to let her off easy.

Number23 said:

some crimes are so horrific that it's somewhat natural to think in those terms, but i agree wholeheartedly with 23.

This took place right across the river from where I live. It's so sad that the detectives were actually in the apartment, but didn't complete a thorough search. Everyone here (at least the Black people) were outraged that an Amber Alert wasn't issued when the childeren were missing. The Collinsville police said that they didn't want to "over issue" Amber Alerts and that they weren't even sure at that time that the children were abducted. Apparently any alert issued wouldn't have mattered anyway because the children were already dead.

Terilicious said:

I cant believe no amber alert for 3 children gone! whats it good for then. nancy grace will have a field day with this monday on cnn.

irrisistableB said:

hate to say it, but if they white and blonde, cnn, msnbc, fox and court tv would be running around the clock coverage. everyday in this country, children are murdered or go missing. just seems like they have to fit a certain mold to become the sensationalistic story that propels ratings. i think they're still running natalie holloway specials from aruba

irrisistableB said:

I don't know, maybe. I've seen it broadcasted on CNN already and no one mentioned the fact that there wasn't an alert issued.

Fury said:

very true.....jonbenet too. In my community a 7 year old hispanic girl was taken from a bus stop and noone can recall her name shes been gone for 10 years

Number23 said:

wrapping myself in the flag would be unpatriotic. my flag is wrapped around my blow-up doll.

Anx said:

I agree with Fury, this b!tch should die. Some MFers don't belong on the planet. If this happened to someone in my family, I'd beg the judge for the DP. If not that, then life in prison. Put her in the general population - hopefully this waste of space will get jailhouse justice.