Police: Dover woman abused 2-year-old son's corpse

[Chase]

A Dover woman was arrested Wednesday after state police detectives searched her home and found a wrapped package containing the remains of her toddler son.

Karen N. Hooks, 33, of Squire Circle, was charged with abuse of a corpse, police spokesman Master Cpl. Gary Fournier said.

The investigation into the disappearance into Hook’s son began July 9 after detectives received information from the state Division of Family Services that the woman was due to give birth in June and was no longer pregnant, and her 2-year-old son, Justice, was missing.

A relative of the homeowner living in the first block of Squire Circle in the Royal Grant development told investigators that she was concerned because Hooks was reportedly pregnant and was supposed to have had the baby in June.

She also was concerned that something had happened to Hooks’ son, who she had not seen since last August.

When detectives spokes with Hooks on July 13, she told them Justice was being cared for by a friend in Smyrna and denied that she was recently pregnant.

Detectives, however, could not confirm the story about her son and were concerned with his welfare.

They obtained a warrant to search her home and found a suspiciously wrapped package in a storage area that Hooks shared with a roommate, Fournier said.

“Their suspicions were raised by the way the package was wrapped,” he said.

When they unwrapped it, they found what appeared to be human remains inside.

The contents of the box were taken to the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Georgetown, and it was determined that they were that of a male child.

They could not immediately determine how the boy died without completion of other testing, Fournier said.

Homicide detectives and the medical examiner are still investigating the circumstances of the child’s death.

Hooks is now being held in the Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution in lieu of $1,000 cash bail.






WTF is wrong with people these days?

and also, WTF, $1,000 cash bail? for possibly killing 2 kids? am i reading that wrong?

[Mark]

postpartum depression?

[Joe Walther]

Hooks is now being held in the Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution in lieu of $1,000 cash bail.

WTF is wrong with people these days?

and also, WTF, $1,000 cash bail? for possibly killing 2 kids? am i reading that wrong?

So far, the only charge the police have leveled is abuse of a corpse, which is a class A misdomeaner. Bail is set at an amount that is commensurate with the crime as charged. The purpose of bail is to assure that a defendant will show up for all court appearances. It's not punitive in the sense that it's part of some pre-punishment just in case a defendant is convicted.

Had the police had more evidence to support arresting her for other crimes, they would have done so. In the meantime they can't lock people up because they MIGHT have committed other crimes. Otherwise people could well end up in jail on nothing more than someone's hunch.

The bail amount is appropriate for a class A misdomeaner. If the medical examiner finds probable cause for additional charges, they'll be added to what they already have and bail, if still appropriate, will be increased accordingly.

[Chase]

i don't understand how after your lied to them, the cops can find a wrapped, dead body, of your 2 year old, in your closet, while your baby has disappeared, and only charge you with abuse of a corpse....just doesn't make sense.

[Jessica]

i don't understand how after your lied to them, the cops can find a wrapped, dead body, of your 2 year old, in your closet, while your baby has disappeared, and only charge you with abuse of a corpse....just doesn't make sense.

I guess because the 2-year-old's death hasn't been ruled a homicide. They wanted to bring her in, charge her, and possibly hold her while the ME makes that determination. As sick as it sounds, some people live with dead relatives for years because they aren't emotionally or financially able to make arrangements or accept the death. I would expect other charges to follow. Obviously this woman was on DFS's radar for a reason, as they knew she was expecting and when she was due.

I hope someone finds out what happened to the other baby as well...

[Chase]

the death of a 2-year-old dover-area boy has been determined to be a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma, according to court records.

bail still set at 1000

[Jessica]

bail still set at 1000

Hopefully there are some additional charges and that bail goes waaaaay up.

[Kid Lester]

Yeah, I saw that bail figure earlier and figured just like Joe says. She's not going anywhere for long. If she can even put the cash together.

[Joe Walther]

bail still set at 1000

Here’s the way it works.

The police arrest this woman because they have enough evidence to charge her with abuse of a corpse, a Class “A” misdemeanor. Depending on timing and logistical circumstances, they either take her to a state police barracks and arraign her via video cam; or they take her straight to the Kent County Court of Common Pleas for an arraignment.

Either way, they arrested her and charged her with abuse of a corpse. A Court of Common Plea judge reviewed the charges, decided there’s probable cause, took her plea, and set bail. This ends the matter relative to the charges as far as the presiding judge is concerned.

She failed to post bail and the police took her all the way to New Castle County to the Baylor Correctional Facility because it’s the only one in the state. There she will remain on the charge of abuse of a corpse until she—not likely—or someone on her behalf—even less likely—comes up with the bail money.

In the meantime, state police detectives continue investigating. The medical examiner issues a finding of homicide in the death of her 2-year-old son. This means that they KNOW that someone killed the child. But, until they have enough evidence—either direct, circumstantial, or a combination of both—they don’t KNOW that she did it.

They’re probably “pretty sure;” but “pretty sure” is not good enough to go back to Baylor, re-arrest her, and formerly charge her with some level of homicide.

But as soon as they establish probable cause, they’ll present it to a prosecutor who will then decide which charges to use and authorize the state police to re-arrest her. But until this takes place, she sits in a cell at Baylor because she can’t make the bail.

Once they re-arrest her, they’ll take her before a Kent County Superior Court Judge who will then arraign her on felony charges, and if the charges are bailable, a new bail will be set, otherwise, the police take her back to Baylor to await trial, etc.

While the Court of Common Pleas will no longer be involved, the misdemeanor charge of abuse of a corpse won’t be dropped—well… maybe it will be in the event of a plea bargain; the state will gladly drop a class “A” misdemeanor in return for a guilty plea to a felony—but if this does not happen, the matter, including the misdemeanor, will be resolved through Kent County Superior Court.

But, remember, bail is not a punitive measure. Its sole purpose is to make sure that a defendant sticks around for all court appearances. If she’s not charged with first-degree or second-degree murder, bail is probably on the table.

If bail is set, it will be substantially higher than $1,000 cash. But regardless, she’s not likely to make it. She couldn’t make it on the misdemeanor charge at only $1,000.

The bottom line of all of this is that the public is perfectly free to make an arrest and issue charges based on all sorts of intuitively OBVIOUS assumptions. However, the Delaware State Police enjoy no such luxury; and neither do state prosecutors.

They have to possess hard, cold, factual evidence that links this woman to whatever felony charges they decide. As well, the evidence has to hold up in a criminal court of law beyond a reasonable doubt.

[Panama Girl]

Wasn't she supposed to have given birth recently? Where's the supposed other child? Assuming there actually was one...

[Jessica]

This case made HLN's Nancy Grace show. Rita Cosby was the guest host in Grace's place. They showed some pictures of the house and gave some additional information that I haven't heard confirmed anywhere else - blood on the basement floor, a smell of rot that the roommate complained to police about, a failure by DFS to monitor the child believed to be found dead. Some interesting stuff. Still no answers about what may have happened to the child she was pregnant with. So sad.

[Kid Lester]

Update

http://www.delawareonline.com/articl...nclick_check=1

They still don't know how this boy died. OR what happened to the other pregnancy.

sigh

[Jessica]

"When the basement flooded last fall, the roommate recalls Hooks said “she had to do something with [her son].”

That is one of the most appalling things I've ever seen in print.

I hope that while this woman and her uterus are locked away for a few years the investigators can determine what happened to Justice (a paradoxical name if I've ever heard one) and possibly what happened to her other pregnancy. If those things happen, there should be enough additional charges to keep her in jail for a very long time.

[EpicWin]

i don't understand how after your lied to them, the cops can find a wrapped, dead body, of your 2 year old, in your closet, while your baby has disappeared, and only charge you with abuse of a corpse....just doesn't make sense.

Welcome to Delaware.