Missing Ind. girl found dead, babysitter arrested

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20111227/D9RSR9E82.html

By TOM LOBIANCO

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - The neighbor who was babysitting a 9-year-old Indiana girl when she went missing last week will be formally charged with murder Tuesday, a heartbreaking turn for the girl's relatives who considered him a family friend.

Authorities said Monday night that Aliahna Lemmon had been found dead and Mike Plumadore, who was watching Aliahna and her two sisters when she went missing Friday, was being held on a murder charge. He and Aliahna's family lived in the same mobile home park in Fort Wayne.

"He was a trusted family friend," Aliahna's step-grandfather, David Story, told The Associated Press late Monday, saying he was surprised by the arrest.

Plumadore, 39, is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning.

FULL story at link.

[Atman]

1. I was looking for the stories about every other murder in the US, but couldn't find 'em.

Just this scary babysitter story. Because nothing terrifies a parent like the thought of their entrusted caregiver turning out to be a heinous child-killer. That's the only reason this local story is national news...it SCARY!

[Quantess]

13. Also, he apparently dismembered the girl and hid body parts in the freezer.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20111227/D9RSUQ400.html

[Myrina]

14. What a sick, sick fuck.

That poor little girl.

[JI7]

20. it wasn't even just a babysitter they hired , but a friend

[CTyankee]

2. I read the story this morning on aol. It is so sad.

The parents are very poor. Her mother was sick with the flu and her father was working two jobs. They live in a trailer park.

There is a sense of desperation in this story. Desperately poor, disadvantaged. The child had health problems and had a behavior disorder. The babysitter had a criminal record, altho he wasn't on the child molester list. What a horrible tragedy.

[DeathToTheOil]

3. As per Usual

It isn't the "weird stranger" you have to look out for.

[Sienna86]

4. So sad.

The trailer park, according to the article I read, is home to approximately fifteen sex offenders. I'm wondering why the high concentration of offenders in that park. I could find no indication the babysitting neighbor had a prior criminal record.

[LiberalFighter]

8. They are limited to where they can live. Not too many options available.

[go west young man]

18. 15 offenders out of 24 trailers.

man thats a compelling statistic and says a lot about our country.

[Xipe Totec]

6. Overgeneralizations are not good either

You're passing judgement on half the population of the planet.

[sce56]

16. I would take a lot of offense to that hidden answer as I was Mr Mom for five years!

I raised my two youngest from when one was almost two and the other almost one since I was already retired it allowed my wife to follow her carear and I thought would be a breeze! One of the hardest jobs I ever had was watching over them two for those five years but I did have a lot of fun since it was in Okinawa and Hawaii that I was living while doing that work.

[Posteritatis]

9. Classy. (nt)

[redqueen]

10. That is odiously sexist.

I appreciate where you're coming from, but it doesn't matter what you think men are or are not 'raised to be', men are humans. Most of them aren't beasts who would hurt children. Most women aren't either, but plenty of mothers do that to their very own children.

For many of us who come from abusive backgrounds, it only seems like common sense to assume the worst. You can see to the safety of your children without being sexist about it.

I knew a man who was sexually abused by his female babysitter. So yeah, there go the misconceptions about who is or is not worthy of trust based on their genitalia.

[DesertRat]

11. Often times these crimes are commited by family members. n/t

[Codeine]

12. That's a nasty over-generalization. nt

[dmallind]

23. Not only that but bullshit. 29% of kids killed by mothers

31% by fathers. Rest neither. Statistically insignificant gender gap. In fact when you compare that to OVERALL murder rates which are far higher amongst men there is a huge shift amongst own-child victims (as opposed to other categories of victim) away from male perpetrators.

[MrMickeysMom]

15. Isn't there a "gut feeling" about trusting your baby-sitter?

How do you trust someone without knowing about their history?

Hindsight is 20/20 in lots of life's decisions, I realize, but... why wouldn't anyone be able to vet the history of the "trusted family friend"?

[ljm2002]

17. According to the story I read this morning...

...the man had taken care of the girl's grandfather while he was sick and dying, and in fact was still living in the grandfather's trailer. So it seems there was at least some history there, and he had earned the family's trust.

Not to mention, as someone else pointed out, this story has poverty and desperation written all over it. Three young girls, Daddy works 2 or 3 jobs while mom is home sick with the flu. Under those circumstances, it is not surprising they turned to him to take care of the girls for awhile.

What a terrible tragedy.

[Faygo Kid]

19. +1.

Poverty and desperation. We are going to see a rebellion against the Kochs in 2012. But for this incident, as a decent person, give me a baseball bat and turn me loose.

[MrMickeysMom]

21. Yes... I guess you're right...

...and it IS GOD AWFUL.

What does it say about a nation that should have progressed at the doorstep of entering the year 2012?

Jesus, this stuff can only be getting more prevalent.

[evilkumquat]

22. I think this is the suspect's Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/mplumadore1?sk=wall

I found it earlier while Googling the his name.

The victim's picture was featured in his photos section under "The Kids" this morning, but the page was "updated four hours ago" and she's no longer there.

[tawadi]

24. Ewww