8 year old kidnapped in Topeka

[Lzen]

I know this happened a couple days ago, but thought I'd post it anyway since it doesn't appear to be a repost. This is scary for me since this happened in the city where I live. How can anyone do something like this?

http://cjonline.com/news/2012-03-14/...-million-davis

By Ann Marie Bush
THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL


The aftermath of the slaying and sexual assault of an 8-year-old Topeka girl took several avenues Wednesday.


The family talked about Ahliyah Irvin’s personality and how the crime occurred. The suspect’s bond was set at a staggering $10 million. And a Shawnee County District Court official spoke about why a judge put the suspect on probation in another violent case just a few days before Ahliyah’s death.


‘A NORMAL DAY’
Ahliyah Nachell Irvin was a lot like other girls her age. She enjoyed painting her fingernails, liked to dance and loved pop singer Justin Bieber.
“She was just Ahliyah,” Ahliyah’s grandmother Sharon Miller said while wiping away tears. “She had her own little personality. She had a beautiful personality.”


Ahliyah, who was a second-grader at Highland Park Central Elementary School, woke up Monday and went to school.


“It was a normal day,” said Melinda Weeden, a close family friend.
Ahliyah and her siblings had been living with Weeden’s daughter, Alysia Majette, at the Highland Park Townhomes.


Ahliyah and other neighbor children played outside at a playground at the complex Monday evening, Weeden said.


Ahliyah ate supper and fell asleep in the living room on the main floor.
“They were in bed by 9:30 p.m.,” said Weeden, who stayed the night at her daughter’s home after she got off work.


Between 4:35 and 4:40 a.m., Weeden was awakened by Angela Ortega, Ahliyah’s mother, and was told Ahliyah was missing.


“Mommy mode kicked in, and everyone started looking for her,” Weeden said.
Family members and friends frantically scoured the townhome and the complex. They even knocked on doors, including the one where Billy Frank Davis Jr. lived. Davis has been arrested in connection with Ahliyah’s death.
“He slammed the door in their face,” Weeden said.


At 4:47 a.m., Weeden said she called police.


“Everyone ran back to my daughter’s place,” she said.


Police officers showed up, and the family waited.


“The next thing you know, ambulances pull up,” Weeden said.


A law enforcement officer found Ahliyah’s body at the complex about 45 minutes later.


Weeden said law enforcement sources haven’t told the family details about Ahliyah’s death, including where her body was found, but they have heard many rumors.


Although the family said they don’t know Davis personally, he was an acquaintance of a family friend. Family members also said Davis had been living at the townhome complex with a woman at the time of Ahliyah’s death.


Davis entered Majette’s residence through a basement window, Weeden said. She also said Davis knew there were several women staying at the townhome.


“I think his intention was to grab the first person who was a woman who would spark his interest,” Weeden said. “He found Ahliyah.”



‘A GIRLIE GIRL’
The 8-year-old girl’s mother, Angela M. Ortega, is struggling with her daughter’s death, said Sherry Mason, Ortega’s sister.
“She just wants to hold her,” Mason said Wednesday morning.
Ahliyah was “a girlie girl” who loved the color red and enjoyed wearing fake fingernails, Mason said.


Ahliyah was born Feb. 8, 2004, in Topeka, to Ortega and Randy M. Irvin Sr. She had two sisters and one brother. Funeral services are planned for 2 p.m. Friday.


“She turned every bad day into a good day,” Weeden said.



BILLY FRANK DAVIS JR.
Bond was set at $10 million Wednesday in Shawnee County District Court for Davis, 28, of Topeka.


Davis was booked into the Shawnee County Jail at 6:08 p.m. Tuesday in connection with aggravated burglary, aggravated kidnapping, rape and felony first-degree murder.


Davis appeared before Judge Frank Yeoman at 10:30 a.m. via video, said Matt Patterson, senior assistant district attorney.


Davis remained quiet during the first appearance, Patterson said.
Attorney Mark Manna from the Northeast Kansas Conflicts Office has been appointed as Davis’ counsel. The office said it had no comment.


“It’s definitely a very high bond,” said court administrator Cathy Leonhart.
Leonhart said the high bond is “primarily for public safety,” but it also is for Davis’ safety.


Kansas Department of Corrections and Shawnee County District Court records show Davis was serving two years of intensive supervised probation. Shawnee County District Court Judge Mark Braun sentenced him March 5 after he pleaded no contest and was found guilty of aggravated assault and aggravated battery stemming from a Dec. 30, 2011, attack in a central Topeka apartment where gunshots were fired and a man was beaten with a chair.


That man, Larry Smith, told The Topeka Capital-Journal that Davis pointed a gun at him and pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed.


Manna also represented Davis in the assault case.


Family and others in the community have questioned why Braun placed Davis on probation.


“We are upset,” Mason said. “We’re just letting it go now.”
According to state guidelines, the sentence for Davis would have been presumptive probation.


“He did, in fact, follow the sentencing grid,” Leonhart said of Braun’s decision. “It was definitely within the (Kansas sentencing) guidelines.”
Davis was a veteran and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to judge’s notes contained in court documents.


Corrections department records also show Davis with prior convictions in 2009 and 2010 in Geary County that included criminal threat, domestic battery, criminal damage and violation of a protective order.



THE INVESTIGATION
The investigation into Ahliyah’s death continued Wednesday, said police Capt. Jerry Stanley.


The Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office hadn’t formally filed charges because prosecutors are waiting on police reports and a charging affidavit.
About 50 law enforcement officers from the police department, Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Kansas Highway Patrol and Topeka Unified School District 501 joined the search Tuesday for Davis.
He was caught late Tuesday morning in the 4000 block of S.E. Truman, where he was found hiding in logs and bushes, said Topeka Police Chief Ron Miller.



A second person of interest, Dashawn Hughes, 18, of Topeka, was questioned by Topeka police officers late Tuesday. Hughes wasn’t arrested in connection with Ahliyah’s death, Stanley said. He was booked into the Shawnee County Jail in connection with two juvenile cases.



MEMORIAL
On Wednesday morning, flowers, plants, candles and stuffed animals were placed outside the home where Ahliyah was kidnapped.


A car wash to benefit Ahliyah’s family took place Wednesday in the parking lot of Burger King, 3690 S.W. Topeka Blvd. A memorial fund also has been established at CoreFirst. Contributions can be sent to Ahliyah N. Irvin Memorial Fund, c/o CoreFirst, P.O. Box 5049, Topeka, KS 66605.


The community has shown a lot of support for Ahliyah’s family, Weeden said.


“We truly thank the community for what they did,” she said. “You hear so much bad about Topeka, but there are people who truly care in this community. But tragedy shouldn’t be the only time we pull together.”

Ann Marie Bush can be reached at (785) 295-1207 or ann.bush@cjonline.com.
Follow Ann Marie on Twitter @AnnieScribe.