I wonder if the injuries have to be intentionally delivered?
They do not. Here's the pertinent part of the code: "Any parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 who
by willful act or omission or refusal to provide any necessary care for the child's health causes or permits serious injury to the life or health of such child shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony."
https://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-371.1
I have an uncle that has been arrested 8 times for driving without a license in VA (one county south of Noah) and he has 8 mugshots to show for it.
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The second offense of driving without a license is a greater charge. It would make sense that a person is arrested after doing so multiple times. But not the first time. I think VA is very strict compared to other states with that.
I'm not defending the parents, I absolutely think at this point they are responsible. However, I think if he fell in by himself, there would be evidence of drowning that would have been obvious to the medical examiner upon the initial autopsy. That leaves someone placing him in the tank after he was deceased. (I hate typing that) Even though LE believes that Noah was killed and placed (someone tried to hide him) in the septic tank, they need proof of who that person was before charging that person (or in this case, I believe two people) That evidence may be what they are hoping to find with the additional autopsy results.
You make sense and it is no defense because Noah could've died from something worse than drowning before being placed in that tank.
I didn't buy the exhausted mum napping from the start. Not when it was reported that she was exhausted from working nights, yet the paper reported that the family were out Saturday night. Firstly, if you were that exhausted that you needed to sleep for hours when solely responsible for looking after 2 children, wouldn't you sleep Saturday night rather than go out? Especially if you had to get up early Sunday morning to drop your partner to work for 7.00am. The whole timeline didn't sound right from the start.
Taken from:
http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/p...cle_86971938-fb24-5957-9562-89fb1f087864.html So, not even someone from Dad's place of work could confirm the family dropping him off?
Then there were the clothes - Noah went missing on Sunday morning wearing exactly the same clothes as he had worn on the Saturday night, right down to the coat and boots. Just made me think that Saturday night was the time that was important, not Sunday morning. Yes, children can wear the same clothes two days running, but it just seemed too convenient to me.
Well yeah, that info. would tend to change things. Going out and not sleeping Saturday, wearing the same clothes, etc. I can see why you had that suspicion early on.
Thank you, Git. Now that I'm almost caught up, I understand. I was thinking that maybe the A 4 was referring to a specific sub charge. I'm still confused about the "classes" of the charges. Can you elaborate?
A class 4 felony is greater than a class 6. The mother was charged with a class 4 but the dad only with class 6 felonies, it appears:
Class 4 Felonies
A Class 4 felony is punishable by two to ten years imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000. (Va. Ann. Code § 18.2-10.)
Pimping is a Class 4 felony in Virginia. For more information on prostitution and related crimes and penalties, see
Prostitution, Pimping, and Pandering Laws in Virginia.
Class 6 Felonies
Class 6 felonies are the least serious felonies in Virginia. Like Class 5 felonies, Class 6 felonies are wobblers, punishable by:
- one to five years in prison (felony), or
- up to 12 months in jail and a fine of $2,500.
(Va. Ann. Code § 18.2-10.)
Donating or attempting to donate blood infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an example of a Class 6 felony.
For more information on this and similar crimes, see
Transmitting an STD in Virginia.
http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.co...e/state-felony-laws/virginia-felony-class.htm
What they mean by "wobbler" is that the crime can be charged with either a misdemeanor OR a felony. They chose felony for Paul Thomas, although it is the least serious felony available.