In a horrifying video that’s sparked outrage in Oklahoma, Arkansas and beyond, 26-year-old mom Christina Marie Hawkins of Arkoma is seen repeatedly hitting her small daughter in the stomach, then hurling the screaming girl across the room. Now, Hawkins, who is free on $20,000 bond is claiming that she was in the middle of a mental breakdown when that video was shot.

More »

A Los Angeles elementary school teacher accused of playing weird sex games with unsuspecting kids might have gone undiscovered if it weren’t for an old-fashioned habit: In an age when many people shoot digital photos print them out themselves or just leave them on the computer, Mark Berndt allegedly took his photos to be developed.

More »

Jonathan James died in July 2011 after he was deprived of water by his father and step mother for five days. Both have been charged with first-degree felony injury to a child. Jonathan’s step mother, Tina Alberson, was tried this January. His blind father, Michael James, who blames his wife for Jonathan’s death, awaits trial.

More »

On January 30, 1989, criminal defense lawyer Joel Steinberg was convicted of manslaughter in the death of 6-year-old Lisa Steinberg, a child he had illegally adopted. Lisa died after a torturous existence in the Steinberg household, where Steinberg’s girlfriend Hedda Nussbaum and adopted infant Mitchell were also believed to have endured abuse.

More »

A Linwood, Washington, grandmother took her granddaughter, 4, to the hospital on January 13, 2013, after she noticed that the girl’s body was covered with red marks. Hospital workers quickly determined that the girl was not suffering from chicken pocks, as the grandmother had thought, but was the victim of child abuse, allegedly at the hands of her stepfather, Stetson Tedder.

More »

Geralyn Graham, 66, was accused of killing foster child Rilya Wilson, who disappeared a decade ago and whose body has never been found. During her trial, Geralyn’s ex-lover testified to witnessing the woman abuse the 4-year-old in increasingly brutal and contrived ways. Rilya’s name is an acronym for “Remember, I Love You Always.”

More »

A review of our most read, most shared, and most popular blog entries of 2012, which also happen to be a few of the year’s most heinous crimes.

More »

A 16-year-old North Carolina boy will spend 25 to 32 years in prison for killing his father and his father’s young wife. Matthew Liewald was 15 years old when he shot Christian Liewald, 43 and Cassie Buckaloo, 24, in their Pineville home.

More »

Authorities in Richland Hills, Tex., say they received a disturbing 911 call just after midnight this morning. “I shed some innocent blood,” said the male caller, explaining, “I inscribed a pentagram on my son.”

More »

A young High Point, N.C., couple is behind bars after their 2-week-old infant was found unresponsive at their home Tuesday. Police determined that the child, who was pronounced dead at a local hospital, “died as a result of a criminal homicide.”

More »