AZ - Timothy Romans, 39, & Vincent Romero, 29, slain, St Johns, 5 Nov 2008 - #2

[Trino]

Often, there is no some bad reason for the mother not to have the child. She was not from St. Johns, so they could be more sympathetic to the father? From what I read in the news, she was calling him regularly. And she probably also tried to have the boy living with her, since it was said that the father opposed by claims regarding the story of the blowing smoke in the child's ear. Also, since smoking was not allowed in the house, maybe it was because than the mother would have the child with her, since the above story would be irrelevant.
So, we have no clear picture of what was happening.
I think they both wanted the child.
I also don't think she is trying to make the father look bad, the opposite, she said he was agood father, and he and the boy loved each other.

Eryn Thomas did not see the boy for over two years. What mother could do this? Lately, of course, she was seeing him once a month and calling him.

 

[Ms Suzanne]

Hi
The prosecuters were at first going to try him as an adult for both murders right?The story has changed?I agree the story or evidence is not coming back as they thought it would.In my opinion they should not have even arrested this little boy untill "ALL" the evidence was back.I'm sorry,but I believe this will be a case in class rooms later of how not to do a case.

suzanne

 

[secretsmk]

Eryn Thomas did not see the boy for over two years. What mother could do this? Lately, of course, she was seeing him once a month and calling him.

How do you know this, I hope is not from gossip blog?
Do you have a link, I would like to read that.

 

[Shock]

Thank you, suzannec4444! Where is the evidence. Rumors and an illegal video? That's all they have.
The kid walks.

 

[Ms Suzanne]

Hi
Your welcome.Do they even have the forensic evidence back yet?

suzanne

 

[secretsmk]

This link was provided by a friend from another forum, thank you JD:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/us/01child.html?_r=1

"A lawyer for an 8-year-old Arizona boy accused in the shooting deaths of his father and another man said Sunday he would not decide whether to accept a plea bargain until the prosecution produced forensic evidence and psychologists completed evaluations to determine if the boy was competent to stand trial."
A must-read, IMO.

 

[Shock]

Don't know if they have a full report, but the preliminary findings should have been quick.
A .22 cal bullet is soft lead therefore rifle markings (barrel) can not be found (the bullet will flatten).
They would do a spent casing exam, trying to match the firing pin strike point to the murder weapon, but that doesn't really prove, or point to, one specfic gun. It isn't like DNA evidence. The odds are much less likely.

“when an empty rim fire cartridge is found at the scene of a shooting, it is often easy to say what type of arm was used; but it is seldom possible to identify a rimfire cartridge to a definite individual gun by the impression of the file marks it left on the head, as is so often done in the case of a center-fire cartridge.”

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Hi
Quote
Remember bio mother...he was the one who got custody...not you.

Her name is Eryn Thomas.Not bio mother.This is a pretty harsh statement.We do not really know her.That's not fair to her.It is his mother this little boy wanted to be with.

suzanne

Actually, isn't her last name something else now. I remember reading it. Maybe it was the GMA interview. She must be remarried.

I'll see if I can find the link. But really it is no big deal imo anyway Suzanne. She is the bio mother and it helps to keep the two mothers in this case separated. Not many at all refer to the step mom as Tiffany either.

imoo

 

[Shock]

Eryn Thomas Bloomfield.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

http://www.lawofficer.com/news-and-...l;jsessionid=7796848263E37578233AB206A8447B45

Note several key definitions relating to firearms. The diameter of the interior of the firearms barrel is called the bore. Shotguns are smooth-bore weapons while rifles and pistols have rifling. The caliber is the diameter of a bullet. Because the bullet’s caliber is slightly larger than the bore, the rifling grips the bullet as it travels through the barrel, causing the bullet to rotate. In the firearm barrel’s interior, the high sides are called “lands” and the low sides are called “grooves.”

The bullet’s rotation through a rifled barrel causes striation on the bullet. When a spent bullet is located at a crime scene or taken from a victim’s body, investigators can use a comparison microscope to compare the marks on a bullet with those test fired in the laboratory through the gun. In cases where a bullet but not a firearm is recovered, the class characteristics of a fired bullet yield information about the weapon the bullet was fired from, such as a range of makes and models that suggests the type of weapon. More often than not you’ll recover only bullet fragments from a crime scene because bullets are damaged by impact with objects such as walls, floors and human bones.

Cartridge & Shell Casings
When it strikes the cartridge case to fire the bullet, the firing pin leaves an impression in the soft metal, which you can also examine under a comparison microscope. On a center-fire type cartridge, the firing pin must strike the center of the cartridge to ignite the powder. On a rim-fire cartridge the firing pin can strike anywhere around the base of the cartridge to ignite the powder.

The slide action of a semi-automatic or automatic firearm may contain marks made when the casing is pulled out of the chamber, or ejector marks made when a cartridge is forced out of the weapon. And because someone loaded the weapon, it’s always possible you can locate fingerprints on a cartridge case

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Motion for defendant to submit physical evidence.

http://apps.supremecourt.az.gov/docs/Cases/JV2008065/ORDER FOR PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.pdf

 

[chiperoni]

I guess it was ok for the father to have a renter who had problems with drugs living in the household with his eight year old son? Which is worse drugs or cigarette smoke? BTW when a mother loses custody, many times it's a case of economics especially if she hasn't any skills or money to provide a home. Could she even afford an attorney? She married Romero very young. Right now she is certainly stepping up to the plate in a very heartbreaking situation. She said in her interview that her son loved his father and did not cast aspersions on her ex. We need to hear the whole story.

 

[Shock]

You can not get striation marks from a solid lead bullet. They are too soft. Only jacketed bullets in pristine condition can be matched.

You make a good point that a semi-automatic firearm makes ejection marks. If any of the St. Johns casings have these marks it means that the single action .22 wasn't used.

If that is true St. Johns case is finished.

 

[Ms Suzanne]

Hi
Ok,It's just out of respect for her I will call her Eryn Thomas Bloomfield. Not bio mom.It's just common curtesy.

suzanne

 

[gitana1]

The boy called his step-mother "MOM." We have no information that the boy had a preference for Eryn Thomas. Although they had joint custody, it takes a lot of negative info to have a child placed in the father's physical custody.

As a family law attorney, I can tell you that this is not necessarily true. All it takes in many cases to get custody, whether you are the father, or not, is more money than the other parent. In my experience, blowing smoke in a child's ear (an Asian remedy) and smoking around a child with lung problems is not enough to deny custody. It would be quite easy to issue an order that there be no smoking around the child. My feeling is that a huge reason they did not give mom custody was the "status quo". Mom apparently did not see the child as much as dad and the Court wanted to keep things the same as before the case. I do not know why mom did not see her child. It could be because she lived elsewhere and could not afford to travel. I have seen a few very loving parents who lose out on seeing their children as much as they would like due to financial issues. I don't know the background. Perhaps she moved because she had financial support where she went and thought the court would allow the child to go with her. That did not happen.
In California, the current law on "move away" cases states that if a custodial parent decides to move out of state and it is not found to be in the child's best interest to go, the other parent gets primary custody, even if the custodial parent then decides NOT to move. Too late, you take the chance. The Court has to rule based on the understanding that the custodial parent is moving, no matter what the court rules as to where the child will live. So if that parent changes his or her mind when the court rules against a move, it's too late. Kid goes to the other parent. This could have happened to the mom here.
Bottom line though, if dad had better attorneys and more money to fight fror custody, he could win. The system rewards those who have the money to litigate, unfortunately.
Off topic, as far as the loyalties this child may or may not have to his step-mother, the fact that he referred to her as "mom" does nothing for me. Again, in my experience litigating in this horrible field of law, I have seen many cases where children are forced, coerced, or, if they are small enough, persuaded to call a step-parent "mom" or "dad', whether they like it or not, or understand it or not. Clearly, when you look at the interactions between the kid and the two mother figures in his life since arrest, the biological mother is there for him and it appears the step-mom has abandoned him. I don't believe she has visited him since his arrest. Does not seem unreasonable given the circumstances, I know, but the fact is, if step-mom viewed this child as her little boy, I think she would be there. Ask yourselves, if you believed your 8 year old son killed your husband, his father, in cold blood, your 8 year old, would you say, "See ya!" And cut him from your life forever? Remember The Bad Seed? The mother (I know, it's fiction, but it still seems relevant) LOVED her evil child so much. She did not want her to be gawked at as a child sociopath,to be examined and tested and written about by psychiatrists, etc., and she did not want ther locked up for life. Yet, the kid was monstrously evil. But, that's a mother. So, mom killed the child and then herself (at least she tried to). A horrible Greek tragedy and while it was not something I would advocate, I can understand why a mother would do that to protect society and spare her child from a life of incareration. She knew the child was a danger but still loved the kid so much and did what she could to resolve the situation. But to just abandon the child? Simply abandoning a little boy, no matter what he has done, does not seem to fit what mother's instinct would mandate. (Instead, I feel a mom would fight to get the child help and continue to love and try to protect him. Remember, he's not an adult). Yet, it appears stepmom may have done just that. Long story short, that speaks volumes to me as to the bond between step-mom and child.

 

[gitana1]

I guess it was ok for the father to have a renter who had problems with drugs living in the household with his eight year old son? Which is worse drugs or cigarette smoke? BTW when a mother loses custody, many times it's a case of economics especially if she hasn't any skills or money to provide a home. Could she even afford an attorney? She married Romero very young. Right now she is certainly stepping up to the plate in a very heartbreaking situation. She said in her interview that her son loved his father and did not cast aspersions on her ex. We need to hear the whole story.

You beat me to it!

 

[Shock]

Drug deals and money. What's up with the five 100 dollar bills in the crime scene photos?

 

[Ms Suzanne]

Hi
Quote
Bottom line though, if dad had better attorneys and more money to fight fror custody, he could win. The system rewards those who have the money to litigate, unfortunately.

Sadly this is true.I was able to get a pro bono attorney because he had his own attorney.But we had a very fair Judge.

suzanne

 

[SoobsinMI]

Off topic, as far as the loyalties this child may or may not have to his step-mother, the fact that he referred to her as "mom" does nothing for me. Again, in my experience litigating in this horrible field of law, I have seen many cases where children are forced, coerced, or, if they are small enough, persuaded to call a step-parent "mom" or "dad', whether they like it or not, or understand it or not.

Thank you, I was going to say the same thing. Especially given the fact that this was a young child, and she was the only female parental figure around.

 

[Shock]

Why would a father delegate punishment of his only child to a stepmom? Would it reduce the affection of the child towards his dad?