2 boys beaten in Phoenix park

[Pandabear]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,472318,00.html

Arizona Boys in Critical Condition After Attack in Park




PHOENIX — Two Phoenix boys have been found severely beaten in a park, and police arrested a man suspected of following them to the playground.

The 7- and 10-year-old cousins were in extremely critical condition Wednesday after the attack Tuesday.

Police said the beatings appeared to be random.

Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said officers going door-to-door in the neighborhood in search of clues arrested Joe Sauceda Gallegos after he appeared nervous when they showed up.

Thompson said the 36-year-old Gallegos was booked into Maricopa County Jail on two counts of child abuse and dangerous crimes against children. Thompson didn't know if he had retained a lawyer.

[Pandabear]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,473096,00.html

Suspect in Phoenix Child Beating Faces Murder Charges



PHOENIX — The suspect in a brutal and apparently random attack of two young boys at a park will face murder charges after both victims died Friday, police said.

Edwin Pellecier and Jesse Ramirez suffered severe head injuries when they were repeatedly bludgeoned Tuesday afternoon, Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said. Seven-year-old Jesse died early Friday and his 10-year-old cousin, Edwin, was pronounced dead hours later.

Police arrested Joe Sauceda Gallegos, 36, within hours of the attack on Tuesday.

A first-degree murder charge was added after Jesse's death and a second was planned after Edwin died, Thompson said. He was charged earlier with two counts of child abuse and dangerous crimes against children. Bail was set at $1 million.

Doctors believe the boys were bludgeoned repeatedly with a baseball bat or similar object. Police say they found a bat in Gallegos' home along with clothing that appeared to be bloodstained.

"It was just a brutal, vicious attack that didn't need to happen," Thompson said.

Court records did not list an attorney for Gallegos.

Thompson said Gallegos, who lived nearby, followed the boys to the small community park and attacked them, then walked back to his home. Police don't know a motive.

Police said video from a surveillance camera mounted in front of a house near the park showed the boys walking toward the park, followed a minute later by a man carrying an object that looked like a bat. A neighborhood resident said the man looked like Gallegos.

An uncle of Gallegos, Joe Sauceda, told police he believed Gallegos had been diagnosed as a schizophrenic. The uncle also said Gallegos had told authorities about six months ago that he killed his sons in his attic, but police never found any such victims at the house. Gallegos' sons live with their mother in Colorado and are the same ages of the boys who were attacked.

[Roamer]

What a vicious, senseless crime! I hope Sheriff Joe makes him very UNcomfortable in the Maricopa County Jail.

May those two little boys fly with the angels.

[Nut44x4]

Man charged with bat beating of 2 boys in Phoenix
21 hours ago

PHOENIX (AP) — A man suspected of brutally beating two boys with a baseball bat at a Phoenix park has been charged with first-degree murder.

The Maricopa County attorney's office also charged Joe Sauceda Gallegos on Monday with child abuse and dangerous crimes against children. A court appearance is scheduled Tuesday. Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek the death penalty.

Ten-year-old Edwin Pellecier and 7-year-old Jesse Ramirez died Friday after being beaten Dec. 23. Police have said the suspect apparently followed the cousins when they went to the park to play.

Gallegos remains jailed on $1 million bail. Court records don't list an attorney.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g1fIxrS8kcGS4JsDkpooeeHf5riQD95CPI700

PHOENIX

Man charged in fatal beating of two boys

A man suspected of brutally beating two boys with a baseball bat at a Phoenix park was charged Monday with first-degree murder. The Maricopa County attorney's office also charged the suspect, Joe Sauceda Gallegos, with child abuse and dangerous crimes against children. A court appearance is scheduled for today.
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