Tag: Women

Posted on: Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Hearing begins for Schofield soldier

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

Spc. Jeffery White
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Spc. Felicia LaDuke
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WAHIAWA – Army Spc. Felicia LaDuke had a young son she loved, but on the night of Oct. 7, 2005, she had a baby sitter, and was in white pants, a black blouse and new high heels looking forward to a night out at the clubs, friends said.

Instead, she got a late phone call from Spc. Jeffery White, the child’s father, and with whom she had been involved in a custody and child support battle, according to testimony yesterday at a military court hearing at Wheeler Army Airfield.

“I was leaning against the cell phone and I heard Jeffery White tell her, ‘I need to see you because I need to talk to you about some personal (stuff),’ ” said Korina Walker, a friend of LaDuke’s.

It was the last time she would see LaDuke alive.

The 22-year-old Schofield Barracks soldier and Iraq war veteran was found face up in tall grass by Ka’ena Point, a party spot service members called “the end of the world.”

She had been strangled to death and run over three times by a vehicle, police said.

White had been ridiculed by his platoon for seeing LaDuke, and once said “it would be much easier for me to just kill her than to pay child support,” testified Spc. Ricky Walker, a onetime friend of White’s.

Walker said he didn’t believe White was serious.

White, charged with LaDuke’s murder, yesterday heard the testimony at an Article 32 hearing similar to a civilian preliminary hearing and grand jury.

A recommendation will be made on whether to try White at court-martial.

Prosecutor Capt. David Clark said in order to make the case eligible for the death penalty, he would ask the investigating officer to find that the murder was aggravated because it was for the purpose of receiving money or value, and that it was preceded by physical harm or mental suffering.

White, 21, of Houston, is charged with premeditated murder, communicating threats and obstruction of justice under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Yesterday’s testimony at the Wheeler courthouse opened the hearing that military officials said is expected to last most of the week.

The prosecution said it had about a dozen witnesses to call, while the defense has about 20 names on its list.

Honolulu police detective Jimmy Anderson, who had responded to Ka’ena Point, said he was told White and LaDuke met to discuss child custody, and that White strangled LaDuke, threw her out of the car and ran her over three times.

Honolulu police previously said they had statements that White drove LaDuke’s rental car back to a spot near Schofield Barracks, and that he returned with a friend hours later and showed where the body was located.

The Army in November took over the prosecution of White.

LaDuke had previously deployed to Iraq, leaving her son, Elijah, now 2, with a relative in Minnesota.

White, meanwhile, served in Afghanistan, and defense attorney Capt. Yolanda McCray asked about his experience in combat.

“Did he tell you he got hit a lot (by attackers?),” McCray asked.

Ricky Walker said White had told him that he had, and that before the deployment and marriage to wife Amanda, he was a “goofy, cool-type person.” Afterward he was serious and wasn’t the same person, Walker said.

White and LaDuke each accused the other of being a bad parent, acquaintances said. The prosecution witnesses also said White made statements that he initiated a child custody case only because he didn’t want to pay child support.

Korina Walker said LaDuke “was a very good mom” who once spent her entire paycheck to buy her son clothes and toys.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Source: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Apr/25/ln/FP604250340.html

StarBulletin.com

Thursday, March 2, 2006

Suspect facing more counts of sex assault

An Oahu grand jury has re-indicted a 30-year-old man, allegedly found in the bed of a 14-year-old Waialae boy by his stepfather, adding four more first-degree sexual assault charges and upgrading an electronic enticement charge.

Joseph Colasacco was indicted yesterday on five counts of first-degree sexual assault, one count of third-degree sexual assault, four counts of promoting pornography for minors and three counts of first-degree electronic enticement of a child.

He reportedly met the boy on the Internet site MySpace.com and met in person at specified locations, allegedly committing first-degree electronic enticement of a child.

Colasacco was a civilian employee on a military installation, said Jim Fulton, the city prosecutor’s spokesman.

The indictment said he allegedly performed various sexual acts on the boy on Jan. 30 and Feb. 8.

In addition to the four new sexual assault charges, the second-degree electronic enticement of a child charge in the Feb. 16 indictment was raised to a first-degree charge in the latest indictment.

On Feb. 12, police were called to the boy’s Waialae home, where his father caught Colasacco in the boy’s bed pretending to be asleep, a police affidavit said.

Colasacco posted $200,000 bail and was released Feb. 17. A jury trial is set for April 24.

Posted on: Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Slain soldier just re-enlisted

Advertiser Staff and News Reports

Felicia LaDuke had just returned from a seven-month deployment to Iraq, re-enlisted for three more years and was looking forward to transferring from Schofield Barracks to Fort Bliss, Texas, when she was killed on Friday, a North Dakota paper reported.

“She called home and had just passed her PT (physical training) test and was so happy,” her father, Steve LaDuke, told The Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald yesterday. “She did 14 minutes, 7 seconds on her two-mile run. She was just so happy. …

“She can make it through Iraq with all those lunatics shooting at soldiers and then she comes home and gets murdered by one. An American soldier.”

Spc. Jeffery White, 21, of Houston, is accused of strangling and using a car to run over LaDuke, 22, near Ka’ena Point. LaDuke and White have a 20-month-old son and court papers state they had disputes over custody and child support payments. White made his first appearance in District Court yesterday, and said nothing. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow in District Court. He’s being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

His wife was in the gallery along with six uniformed Army soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield and some civilians. All declined comment after the hearing, with the soldiers adding that the Army told them not to say anything.

LaDuke’s father told the Herald that she and White broke up when Felicia was pregnant with Elijah, their son. Felicia’s step-sister, Amanda Glass, 18, moved to Hawai’i earlier this year and was caring for Elijah when her sister was killed, Steve LaDuke told the paper. The baby had been staying with relatives in South Dakota while his daughter was deployed, he added.

Felicia LaDuke was an Army specialist assigned to Schofield Barracks. She had recently told her father she was looking forward to a transfer to Fort Bliss, Texas, the paper said. Born in Grand Forks, N.D., she lived in the Angus, Minn., area until she was 4 and graduated from Warroad High School in 2002. That summer she invited an Army recruiter to their home and signed up, Steve LaDuke said.

Felicia LaDuke was a truck driver with the division’s 25th Transportation Company, 524th Combat Support Battalion. In March, she returned from a deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, which her dad said lasted seven months. While in Iraq she drove in convoys between Tikrit and Baghdad, sometimes working as the door gunner.

The family isn’t sure when Felicia’s body will be sent home, but her father said the funeral will be in Warroad Baptist Church, where Felicia LaDuke was baptized.
Advertiser staff writer Mike Gordon and Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald reporter Stephen J. Lee contributed to this report.

Source: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Oct/12/ln/FP510120341.html

Authorities Say Soldier Strangled, Ran Over Ex-Girlfriend

Officials Say Victim, Suspect Fighting For Child’s Custody

POSTED: 5:38 pm HST October 10, 2005
UPDATED: 9:34 am HST October 11, 2005

HONOLULU — Police Monday charged a 21-year-old Schofield Barracks soldier with the murder of his former girlfriend.

Investigators combed the area where the body was discovered near Kaena Point on Saturday.

The victim has been identified as Felicia LaDuke, 22. Authorities said LaDuke and Jeffery White (pictured, right) have a child together, but he is married to someone else.

White had told friends he was going to kill LaDuke, according to documents. Then on Saturday he told witnesses he strangled LaDuke, then pushed her out of the car and ran over her body.

Investigators said a few hours later, White returned to the scene and ran over her again to make sure she was dead.

The medical examiners office said an autopsy will be conducted Tuesday to determine the cause of death.

White is expected to make is first court appearance on Tuesday.

Source: http://www.kitv.com/news/5082473/detail.html

Police Arrest Schofield Soldier After Woman Found Dead

Police Reports Indicate Victim, Suspect In Custody Battle

POSTED: 10:38 pm HST October 9, 2005
UPDATED: 5:25 pm HST October 10, 2005

HONOLULU — Honolulu police arrested a man in connection with the death of a woman found dead near Kaena Point this weekend.

Officials said they believe this case was a domestic battle involving two Schofield Barracks soldiers.

Military police discovered the body of Felicia La Duke, 22, Saturday afternoon. Honolulu police detectives were later called to the scene. La Duke had been beaten, strangled and run over by a car, sources said.

La Duke had been in a custody battle over her child with her ex-boyfriend, according to official reports.

Military police initially arrested Jeffery White, 21, also stationed at Schofield Barracks. Honolulu police then took him into custody.

Police said White is now married to another woman. No charges have been filed yet.

Source: http://www.kitv.com/news/5077566/detail.html