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DURHAM, N.C. (AP) —
The anguish in the man's voice on the 911 call was clear.
He was telling the dispatcher on the other end of the line that he had just tried to drown his children in a pond and he was so distraught and disoriented that he couldn't describe where he was.
"Please send an ambulance. My daughters are in the lake, drowning. Both of my young daughters."
Alan Tysheen Eugene Lassiter sobbed as he struggled to explain where he was so police could come to help. Later in the call, he told a bystander: "I just drowned my two daughters in the lake back there."
Now, authorities are left looking for answers as to why Lassiter ended up Sunday night at an apartment complex where he didn't live trying to end his children's lives.
Lassiter, 29, was charged with three counts of attempted murder and jailed Monday on a bond of $2 million, according to the Durham County Jail. His 3- and 5-year-old daughters were rescued from the water by an off-duty sheriff's deputy and hospitalized. His 7-year-old son escaped and ran for help, police said.
On the 911 call, Lassiter alternates between expletive-laden rage and distraught sobs and blames officials for trying to take away his children as he dealt with a personal problem.
"All I was trying to do was get help," he said. "Instead they turned their back on me. The whole system, and tried to take my kids."
It is not known if Lassiter has a lawyer. The person who lived at the listed address for Lassiter in Raleigh said she did not know him and phone calls to family members were not returned.
Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez said at a news conference Monday he did not know whether the family had been the subject of earlier calls for intervention by police or social service workers.
Olivia James, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said the agency doesn't discuss individual cases to protect people's privacy.
It also is not clear whether the girls were thrown or pushed into the pond before they were rescued by the deputy, who performed CPR until an ambulance arrived, Lopez said.
The pond is about the length of a football field. It is about 6 feet deep at its deepest point.
The 3-year-old girl was in critical condition and the 5-year-old girl in stable condition, police said. Their mother was with them at a local hospital Monday, police said.
BOSTON (AP) —
The mother of a little girl who was dubbed Baby Doe after her body washed up on a Boston Harbor island inside a trash bag was ordered held on $1 million cash bond Monday, and the mother's boyfriend was denied bail on murder charges.
Rachelle Bond, the mother of 2-year-old Bella Bond, and Michael McCarthy appeared in court for their arraignments. McCarthy is charged with killing Bella, whose body was found by a dog walker on Deer Island in June. Rachelle Bond is charged as an accessory after the fact.
Joe Amoroso, who says he is Bella's biological father, yelled as McCarthy was being led out of the courtroom: "Mike McCarthy, you're done! You won't last a day."
A composite image of the chubby-cheeked girl with deep brown eyes had been viewed by millions as authorities tried to identify her. The big break came almost three months later when Boston police received a tip and a search warrant was executed Thursday at her mother's apartment. Assistant District Attorney David Deakin said Monday that a lifelong friend of McCarthy told police he had lived with the couple and Bella earlier this year but moved out because he was appalled at how they treated her. According to the friend, the couple had locked Bella inside a closet at least twice for 30 minutes to an hour while she screamed, the prosecutor said. The friend also said both told him Bella was possessed by demons, Deakin said.
The prosecutor said Bond, 40, told police that one night in late May, Bella didn't want to go to bed and was fussy. McCarthy, 35, said he would go into the bedroom to calm her down, Deakin said.
A little while later, when Bond realized she didn't hear any noise coming from the room, she went to check on Bella and found her lying on a bed and McCarthy standing over her with his hand near her abdomen, the prosecutor said. Deakin said Bond reported that Bella's head was swollen and she was gray and that she knew her daughter was dead when she picked her up. According to Bond, McCarthy said, "She was a demon anyway. IT was her time to die."
Bond's lawyer, Janice Bassil, asked the judge to set a low cash bail, $250, and allow her to be under house arrest with an electronic bracelet. The comment drew murmurs and snickers from people in the courtroom.
The judge instead ordered Bond held on $1 million cash bail and McCarthy held without bail.
Earlier during Monday's arraignment, a woman was escorted out of the courtroom after she yelled at Bond: "I hope you rot in hell!"
EAST SELMA, Ala. (AP) —
The pastor and members of the congregation that wrestled a gun away from a man police say opened fired in an Alabama church are being praised as heroes. James Junior Minter, 26, is being held without bond in the shooting of his infant son, the child's mother and the church pastor, Earl Carswell, who tried to intervene Sunday morning, according to District Attorney Michael Jackson.
Selma police Lt. Curtis Muhannad said officials believe Minter was upset over a recent breakup with the 24-year-old woman and visitation issues with their son. His former girlfriend's name hasn't been released. Police have said the couple's domestic dispute was the likely motivation.
Minter was arrested shortly after police say he opened fire during a church service at Oasis Tabernacle Church in East Selma, Alabama. He's expected in court Monday afternoon, Jackson said. Witnesses told police Minter entered the white, single-story church that sits on a tree lined, two-lane road and sat in the front row between the woman and the baby, according to a statement released by the Selma Police Department. Minter then pulled out a handgun and started shooting, the statement said. The girlfriend, 24, fell to the ground, and Minter fired at her, striking her in the jaw and shoulder. The baby, a 1-month-old boy, was shot in the hand. Carswell, 61, then grabbed Minter and was shot in the leg. Members of the congregation helped subdue Minter and managed to wrest away his gun, according to police. Minter then ran out of the church. The pastor, woman and baby are in stable condition.
After he fled the scene, Minter was captured by police less than a mile away. His vehicle was left at the scene and a gun was recovered at the church, the statement said. Former Selma Mayor and Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church minister James Perkins visited the scene and said he paused service at Ebenezer to pray for the victims Sunday morning.
Minter was being held at the Dallas County jail.