On the Beat in the Bluegrass

on January 9, 2009

. 11 Comments

By Ashlee Clark - aclark@herald-leader.com

A Frankfort couple accused of abusing their infant son are scheduled to appear in court next week for an arraignment.
John Travillian, 21, and Ashley Travillian, 19, were arrested Thursday after a grand jury indicted them on a charge of criminal abuse.

Their arraignment has been scheduled for Jan 16. The couple were being held at the Franklin County Regional Jail Friday.

John Travillian’s bond was set at $50,000 cash; his wife’s bond was $20,000 cash.

A neighbor who was baby-sitting 3-month-old Joshua Travillian Dec. 20 called police after she noticed bruises that covered the baby’s body.

Joshua was taken to Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville for examination, and doctors discovered he also had a broken right leg, said Detective Mike Johnson of the Frankfort police department.

Johnson said Joshua looked like “a solid bruise” when he was taken to the hospital.

“I’ve seen a lot of child abuse cases. This one was pretty bad,” Johnson said. “Probably the only ones I’ve seen worse ended up in a fatality.”

Herald-Leader reporter Shawntaye Hopkins contributed to this story.

Police say John Travillian admitted that he abused Joshua. Authorities also held Ashley Travillian responsible because they say she did nothing to prevent the abuse.

“The grand jury felt that by the doctor’s report, there is no way she could not have known this,” Johnson said. Joshua and his 14-month-old sister are now in foster care.

Settlement reached in teen’s Kentucky Kingdom accident

Published

on November 21, 2008

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By Bruce Schreiner
The Associated Press

UPDATED AT 6:51 P.M. LOUISVILLE — An amusement park said Friday it has reached a settlement with the family of a Louisville teenager whose feet were severed when a thrill ride malfunctioned last year.

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom said the settlement would provide “lifetime care” for Kaitlyn Lasitter, who was 13 when a cable on the ride snapped in June 2007, cutting off her feet. Doctors were able to reattach her right foot but not her left one, and some of her left leg was amputated.

Kentucky Kingdom spokeswoman Carolyn McLean said terms of the settlement were confidential.

“We deeply regret the tragedy that Kaitlyn suffered and she remains in our thoughts and prayers,” the Louisville amusement park said in a statement.

Repeated calls to Kaitlyn’s father Randy and the family’s attorney were not immediately returned.

The family sued the amusement park, claiming the park failed to maintain the Superman Tower of Power ride and equipment and to ensure riders’ safety. The ride, which ascended several stories before dropping riders at speeds of more than 50 mph, has since been dismantled.

The amusement park denied liability in court filings. A trial had been set for early 2010.

A Kentucky Department of Agriculture report placed blame for the accident on a faulty cable and slow response by an operator. The report said Kaitlyn would likely have suffered only cuts and scrapes with swifter action from the ride’s operators.

Kaitlyn has undergone several surgeries since the accident. In late September, Randy Lasitter said his daughter was suffering “excruciating pain” as she faced more surgery in Nashville, Tenn.

In recounting the accident in a court document, Kaitlyn recalled a burning smell and said she felt she was going to die. Speaking in Washington on another occasion, Kaitlyn called her ordeal “horrific” and said “nobody should ever have to go through what I’ve been through.”

Kaitlyn, a former softball and soccer player, described putting on weight from inactivity, being made fun of, having friends and boys treat her differently and missing out on being a teenager.

The settlement was signed Thursday by Jefferson County Circuit Judge Barry Willett.

Kentucky Kingdom had filed suit against Intamin Ltd., the manufacturer of the ride, but McLean said Friday that claim had also been settled.

A call to Intamin’s office in Maryland was not immediately returned Friday.

Former Louisville police chief dies by self-inflicted gunshot

Published

on November 7, 2008

in Police

. 1 Comment

Jon Higgins, who worked his way up through the ranks to become chief of Louisville’s police department in 1977, only to see his administration racked with scandal, died on Sunday at his home in Prospect. He was 75.

Higgins died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Sam Weakley said.

Read the full story in the Courier-Journal.

Worker killed in Louisville

Published

on October 15, 2008

in Police

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville police say a worker has died after apparently coming in contact with a live power line.

Officer Phil Russell says emergency crews were called to the Citgo Petroleum plant just before 3 p.m. EDT Tuesday. Russell says the man died at the scene.

Russell told The Courier-Journal that the man was working in a truck with an elevating bucket compartment and apparently hit the live line.

It’s not clear who the man was working for, and his name hasn’t been released.

Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com

Man accused of sexually abusing family pet; cocker spaniel recovering at animal shelter

Published

on October 13, 2008

in Police

. 27 Comments

LOUISVILLE - A Louisville man is jailed, charged with torturing a family member’s dog. Authorities say it may not have been the first time he’s been accused of that type of behavior.

A spokeswoman at Metro Animal Control says its the first time she can remember in her 5-year history at the agency that someone’s been charged with sexually abusing an animal, but the person reporting the crime says the same man may have injured another of their pets.

Continue reading the story at WHAS.com.

Woman charged with arson after house fire

Published

on September 25, 2008

in Police

. 0 Comments

The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE — Authorities say a woman has been charged with arson after investigators said she set fire to a Louisville home she rented.

Louisville Fire and Rescue spokesman Sgt. Sal Melendez says the fire also damaged two neighboring houses.

Forty-seven-year-old Dianne Williamson was charged Wednesday with one count of first-degree arson and two counts of third-degree arson.

Firefighters were called to the fire around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Melendez says Williamson was the only resident of the home where the fire was set. He says that because of the intensity of the fire and the closeness of the buildings, the houses on either side were also damaged.

Ignatow’s death: No sign of foul play

Published

on September 3, 2008

. 1 Comment

LOUISVILLE — A deputy coroner said there’s no evidence of foul play in the death of a Louisville man who admitted killing his girlfriend after a jury acquitted him 17 years ago.

Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Rita Taylor said Mel Ignatow’s autopsy has been done, but a cause of death hasn’t been determined pending the outcome of toxicology tests. It will be several weeks before those results are known, Taylor said.

Ignatow admitted killing 36-year-old Brenda Schaefer after film was found in 1992 in the heating duct of a house he had owned. The film showed Ignatow torturing Schaefer the night she died in 1988. The legal doctrine of double jeopardy prevented prosecutors from trying Ignatow again for her death.

A jury had found Ignatow not guilty of the crime in 1991 and released him. He eventually served five years in federal prison and four in state prison in two separate perjury cases and was released less than two years ago.

Ignatow’s son, Michael, said he went to his father’s apartment on Monday and found him in the doorway of his bedroom. Michael Ignatow made the visit after not hearing from his father since Friday, despite multiple phone calls.

Michael Ignatow said his father fell through a glass table over the weekend and walked around various rooms of his apartment, yet never called for help before dying. Mel Ignatow, 70, was pronounced dead on Monday at his apartment.

“It didn’t appear he even tried to get to his phone,” Michael Ignatow said. “That was a little bizarre.”

Michael Ignatow speculated that his father may not have known the extent of his injuries, including an arm laceration or, given his father’s declining health, he might not have wanted help.

Judge dismisses challenge to deer, elk ban

Published

on September 1, 2008