FL - Coralrose Fullwood, 6, found murdered, North Port, 17 Sept 2006

[BhamMama]

I did watch it but was kinda confused still. Not sure what they gained by not telling the family anything. Guess it caught me off guard that they'd do that. No matter what they think, the family, grandparents etc, should be told something I think.

Concerning them taking the kids. As far as any of us know, there is no reason to do so. They could have just as easily asked for permission to interview them then take steps if refused. There have been no complaints, the police have not said anything about them being arrested or anyone being abused. We see other people in trouble or if something horrible happened and they dont take their kids.

I think the family is yes, depressed but more angry over the fact that they've called and called only to be told nothing but the police went out and made a statement to the press. But I would be angry if someone took my children the way they did with no answers, esp if I had done nothing wrong. Florida plays tricks with human resources department just like our state does. Come on a Friday for instance so they have all weekend to question or visit doctors and they dont have to talk to you because offices are closed on the weekends.

I've had dealings with human resources here and they make up rules as they go along sometimes. Fathers trying to make trouble for mothers because they want to hurt the mothers etc. But now they can't do that because homeschooling is no longer considered educational neglect as it was a couple of years ago. Tying up the system with silly stuff like that when much more important issues with kids hurting should be taken care of. Not saying their job isn't hard, but they aren't always fair either.

I'm sure we'll get answers but it is confusing.

 

[sleuthin4fun]

I in know way want to bash the parents about this. It is just something that I would not do. I am sure that in their wildest dreams they could not imagine something like this would happen

Mr. Lewis retired from the Sarasota Police dept soon after the Carlie case was over, he was so emotional thru-out her investigation...now here he is again- I cant imagine 2 cases like this and being the lead in both--
I am having trouble with the K-9 dogs not locating her, but someone randomly walking their dog discovers the little angel? How very sad this is........

on another note, I cant decide my feeling on the poster looking for a babysitter- my gut reaction is how could a parent do that- but we dont know the exact details- I hope there was no address- just a phone # to call--- remember they were new to the area...day care is so very expensive....I just hate to see the parents being bashed right now for what maybe alot of us would consider irresponsible....lets wait and find out more about this...imo-

 

[sleuthin4fun]

This is stndard policy also at my chhildrens school. All the school doors are locked during the day except for one. Everyone is to go in and out the same door. You are met there by security. You must sign in and show your I.D. The also have security cameras there that look at all hallways the elevators and stairwells. You are absolutely not allowed to removed your child from school if you do not have I.D. When this first started I thought it was an overreation , I I now believe that we can not be too safe.

I live in Canada, and once when I was up near Hamilton, Ontario, picking up my grandchildren from school, they would not release them to me, even though my name was on the approved list at the principal's office, until I went out and got my ID from the car. My granddaughter was hugging me, the teachers knew me to see me, as I'd been there before, and yet I had to go and show my licence. They apologized but said it was the new school policy.'

Also, once when I was meeting the school bus ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THEIR HOUSE, when just my granddaughter was getting off, the bus driver couldn't let her off the bus, because he hadn't had a note that I would meet her.. My daughter had forgotten to inform the school that day before work. My granddaughter was so upset and trying to get into my arms off the steps of the bus, and crying, but they had to take her back to the school, and I had to go back and pick her up after I got my daughter to call them.

I didn't feel that it was too much security (well...not totally) because I'd much rather have it this way than the lack of it. It might have been upsetting for my granddaughter, and inconvenient for me, but I'm glad to know that these kids will not be put in a situation where they could easily be abducted.

 

[Beyond Belief]

I read this morning the children had returned home.

 

[RiverRat]

As detectives waited for autopsy results, Police Capt. Robert Estrada said the death is still being called suspicious but is being treated as a homicide.

"We treat all suspicious deaths like a homicide, but we cannot rule a death a homicide until we get the report from the medical examiner," he said.

While the investigation continued, Florida Department of Children and Families officials showed up at the Fort Myers home of Coralrose's grandparents, where her family had gathered. They had with them a warrant and a Lee County Sheriff's deputy and demanded the slain girl's siblings be turned over for questioning and to remain in the DCF's custody due to the children being in imminent danger. DCF tried to remove the children earlier Monday, but without the warrant, the family turned them away.

Estrada said he could not comment as to why DCF wanted the children.

Coralrose's father, Dale Fullwood, told police he came home at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday. He said he saw his daughter sleeping at their home in the 2700 block of Calabash Drive.

When the family awoke around 7 a.m., Coralrose and her blanket were gone.

http://www.sun-herald.com/newsarchive2/091906/tp1ch6.htm?date=091906&story=tp1ch6.htm

Police released few details surrounding Coralrose's death, but officers from NPPD and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement scoured the normally quiet neighborhood on Sunday and Monday looking for clues. Some went door-to-door, interviewing neighbors. Investigators said they also met with four registered sexual offenders who live in the same neighborhood.

Two of the Fullwood children have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, including Coralrose, their aunt said. Two others suffer from autism. Coralrose's mother, Ellen, works in a Port Charlotte nursing home, and her father works at Motor Sports Cafe in Fort Myers. They could not be reached for comment Monday.

 

[RiverRat]

I reserved comment yesterday, but I will pipe in to say that my blood ran cold when I read the fact that there was a flyer with the Baby Girl's picture advertising the babysitting job. You just do not do that in today's world......but then again - so far - my feelings are leaning to the possibility that - once again - There is No Intruder. This is a local case for me and the closer they hit to home, the harder the initial blow is, so bear with me and I will try to keep the local reports coming.

 

[RiverRat]

http://www.sun-herald.com/newsarchive2/091906/tp2ch7.htm?date=091906&story=tp2ch7.htm

Often, Coralrose would race her siblings home from a bus stop, he said.

However, in recent months, the parents kept the kids inside quite a bit because "other punks in the neighborhood" were causing problems, he said.

Tibbs said all four children would come down to her house to play or chat with her as she worked on projects in her garage.

"We just became good friends," Tibbs said.

She said Dale Fullwood was the first neighbor to welcome her after she moved in a few years ago.

"As a licensed mental health counselor, I never saw them do anything that required reporting," she said.

Code compliance officers were summoned to the house several times, and Cape Coral went there once in response to a battery complaint, according to a city report.

The battery involved two of the older siblings, a city records clerk said.

Ryan Rivera, 17, said Coralrose was known to sneak out of her bedroom window and wander.

He said Coralrose once asked him for a ride on his motorized scooter. He refused, but as he was riding away, "I saw her inching out the window in her underwear."

He said police found the girl a while later walking down a busy parkway in the area.

 

[RiverRat]

What resources did the North Port Police Department call when they learned a child was missing?

The police department called on the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office to use that agency's helicopter for the search, along with blood-hounds, K-9 unit and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Crime Scene Unit. The police department currently has more than 30 people from different agencies working on the case.

According to Stella, the department initially called the Child Abduction Response Team. This consists of groups of police officers trained by the FDLE. They bring their resources to whatever town they are asked. North Port had CART members from Lee County and Tampa on the way with airboats to search local canals.

"We called to turn them around because we found the missing girl," Stella said. "CART would have helped in every way possible."


Why didn't the city call Community Health Action Team members?

According to North Port Police Officer Eric Stender, the department was using its law enforcement resources (blood hounds, helicopter) when the missing girl was found by a man walking his dog.

Stella said once law enforcement officers did their search and investigation, the department would have called for civic and trained individuals to help.


Why weren't photos of the missing girl distributed to neighbors?

The police department did make hundreds of fliers and planned to give them out. While setting up a command post near the missing girl's home, her body was found.


What is the Code Red phone calling system? Who can activate it? Why did some people get different messages?

The city of North Port recently installed Code Red or reverse 9-1-1 system. This was implemented to warn or provide residents with recorded information deemed important by the following public officials -- the city manager, assistant city manager, police chief, fire chief, solid waste manager and public works director. Some people received multiple repeat messages. This is something the city is tweaking so it will not happen in the future. However, others received information asking them to contact the police department with concerns. This is because some phones have call interception. Connecting the call actually takes time away from the recorded message. This can sometimes cause confusion to the resident who does not hear the full message.


What can parents do to safeguard their children?

According to Stella, parents can log onto the Missing & Exploited Children Web site at www.ncmec.org and click to resources for parents and guardians. There are a number of valuable resources and tools for parents.

http://www.sun-herald.com/newsarchive2/091906/tp3ch8.htm?date=091906&story=tp3ch8.htm

 

[gardenmom]

While the investigation continued, Florida Department of Children and Families officials showed up at the Fort Myers home of Coralrose's grandparents, where her family had gathered. They had with them a warrant and a Lee County Sheriff's deputy and demanded the slain girl's siblings be turned over for questioning and to remain in the DCF's custody due to the children being in imminent danger. DCF tried to remove the children earlier Monday, but without the warrant, the family turned them away.

How curious that they were considered in imminant danger. Imagine what would have happened had Burke Ramsey been swept away and questioned like this. :twocents:

 

[RiverRat]

Coralrose's father, Dale, said he was the last to see her. He said he checked on her at 2 a.m. Sunday after he got home from his bartending job. They discovered Coralrose was missing about 7 a.m., as they prepared to go to temple in Fort Myers, he said.

http://heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060919/NEWS/609190567/1014/NEWS0106

In a brief interview, the Fullwoods said they have been married for 14 years and moved to North Port two months ago.

State records show that Dale Fullwood has one arrest, which occurred a decade before he met his current wife.

In 1980, he was arrested for a traffic violation and for attempting to elude police.

The Fullwoods said they lived in Cape Coral for most of their marriage, and records show that police were dispatched several times to their former address.

In March 2001, the Fullwoods reported that one of their sons was missing, only to find him five minutes after making the report, police records show.

In December 2001, police went to the home after Ellen-Beth Fullwood got into an argument with her teenaged son because he came home late, records show.

In March of this year, Dale Fullwood called the police and reported a child in the neighborhood had hit his daughter with a toy sword, police records show.

Police records show no emergency responses to the North Port residence.

The couple attempted to file for bankruptcy last September, with more than $21,000 in debt, court records show.

The case was dismissed in August 2006 because the family failed to attend a meeting of creditors, which is required by bankruptcy laws. According to court documents, about $5,000 of the debt was from hospitals.

The family moved to the three-bedroom, two-bath house on Calabash Lane in North Port this summer. It was a rent-to-own deal, they said.

They said they wanted to be closer to Ellen-Beth Fullwood's job as a speech therapist in Port Charlotte and to get away from the explosive development in Cape Coral.

They converted a den and formal dining room into bedrooms, so each of the five children could have his or her own room. Ellen-Beth Fullwood also has two older children who did not live there.

Dale Fullwood said he was planning to paint Coralrose's room pink, at her request.

Ellen-Beth Fullwood said her daughter was not the tomboy neighbors say she was. They called her Rosie. She loved butterflies and the color pink.

She was a "little ray of sunshine," Dale Fullwood said.

During the first week of school, Dale Fullwood invited neighborhood children over to his house for a party.

They were looking for a babysitter, and Ellen-Beth Fullwood said it was her idea to post a flier in the neighborhood with a picture of the children, their phone number, and an offer of $5 an hour.

Coralrose's body was discovered Sunday behind a home that's being built at the corner of Linda Drive and Pronto Lane, five hours after her parents discovered her missing from her bed two blocks away.

The family was planning Coralrose's memorial service before the DCF officials arrived on Sunday.

 

[richandfamous]

poor little girl
I'm just sick

 

[kgeaux]

I reserved comment yesterday, but I will pipe in to say that my blood ran cold when I read the fact that there was a flyer with the Baby Girl's picture advertising the babysitting job. You just do not do that in today's world......but then again - so far - my feelings are leaning to the possibility that - once again - There is No Intruder. This is a local case for me and the closer they hit to home, the harder the initial blow is, so bear with me and I will try to keep the local reports coming.

That flyer has me so confused. The initial article said that the family jumped right in to the community, working to improve the location of the bus stop due to criminal activity known to be in the area. And then they put up a poster advertising, right there? Something is not right. Even if the poster had no address, these sound like involved, concerned, savvy parents. Either they have made a huge mistake with tragic consequences, or something is not right.


"Everyday, Coral's mom took her and her two other children to the bus stop," she said.

Mottla said Coralrose's family moved here about a month ago from Cape Coral. Mottla said she quickly grew to know the family because Coralrose's parents started a petition to get the school bus stop moved for the children's safety. They were concerned about heavy traffic and possible criminal activity.
"It was bad for a while because some parents were angry about it," Mottla said. "Then parents came to an agreement and things got better."

 

[BhamMama]

What's with this new trend of touting their finacial status in news reports? What does that have to do with anything at all?

 

[richandfamous]

What's with this new trend of touting their finacial status in news reports? What does that have to do with anything at all?

because if they have money problems they did it for the money and if they are too wealthy they did it and paid to cover it up.......media is vicious!

however, someone said in a post above that they wonder what would have happened if Burke had been taken by DCF and questioned...wow, what a thought! They probably should have taken him right away to question him. If I ever do anything wrong, I know to leave the state right away so the cops can't get to me or my children as easily. The Ramseys pulled that off pretty good.
I think the parents and/or grandparents of Coralrose should have let the cops question the other children if they have nothing to hide.

 

[s_finch]

Could you imagine taking your kids pic and hanging on a telephone pole or something for the whole freaking free world to see, and then have one of them call to actually babysit. What is this world coming too, I mean seriously. I dont get it. Its like putting your kid on craigslist or something.:doh:

I don't know about these parents and I agree that was a DUMB thing to do but,,,,,,,,, some people are so naive. My hubby wants to believe the world is safe. He works in a profession that requires a lot of education and intellect, but yet is dumb to real world dangers. Whenever he hears of something like this, he immediately doesn't want to know about it, he says, "I'd like to think those things don't happen" :bang: Would you believe we have a road crew out here building a road, very slowly I might add, and I've been taking extra safety precautions with the kids, keeping them in, etc... and then yesterday while making sure the phone company was getting the severed phone line fixed (road crew dug through it accidentally), the track hoe operator for the road crew says to me, "So where's your husband, asleep? I know he said he works late" :bang: :bang: I told hubby I couldn't believe he'd tell a stranger that he isn't home until late, late at night. That means 5 total strangers know me and the kids are here alone a lot, and we live in a fairly secluded area. :banghead:

Sorry for the ramble/rant. I don't see how being naive, or stupid, helps anything, especially when it comes to safety.

 

[j2mirish]

because if they have money problems they did it for the money and if they are too wealthy they did it and paid to cover it up.......media is vicious!

however, someone said in a post above that they wonder what would have happened if Burke had been taken by DCF and questioned...wow, what a thought! They probably should have taken him right away to question him. If I ever do anything wrong, I know to leave the state right away so the cops can't get to me or my children as easily. The Ramseys pulled that off pretty good.
I think the parents and/or grandparents of Coralrose should have let the cops question the other children if they have nothing to hide.

I can understand them being questioned, but I cant say that I agree they should have been swept off in a van, taken from the parents- can you imagine the fear?

 

[southcitymom]

...Investigators said they also met with four registered sexual offenders who live in the same neighborhood...

It doesn't make me feel very good that there were four sex registered sex offenders living in that neighborhood!

 

[RiverRat]

It doesn't make me feel very good that there were four sex registered sex offenders living in that neighborhood!

Anymore - I am surprised that there are only four......

 

[j2mirish]

Anymore - I am surprised that there are only four......

isnt that the pitiful truth:sick:

 

[SewingDeb]

Is that saying that they are giving out info to the press but not the family? Is that what I heard?

If so, they have every right to be angry!

Even worse, they heard that her body had been found from the media, not the police.