Two Teens Charged After Girl, 5, Found Dead Inside Garbage Can

[TheMorningStar]

Niagara Falls Police said just before noon on Monday that missing five-year-old girl Isabella Sarah Tennant has been found dead. Police have a person of interest in custody. He is 16 years old. She had last been seen at her grandmother's house on the 400 block of 6th Street Sunday night. The Niagara County Sheriff's office K-9 assisted in the search which ended in an alleyway between 3rd and 4th streets in the City of Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls Police have scheduled a press conference for 2 p.m. Monday.

http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/179490/1/Isabella-Sarah-Tennant-Found-Dead-in-an-Alley-

 

[Dakota]

Niagara Falls Police have two 16-year-old boys in custody in connection with the murder of five-year-old Isabella Tennant.

Police are expected to charge one of the teens with murder in the second-degree. The other is suspected of acting as an accomplice, according to a police press conference that was held Monday afternoon.
[...]

Family members told police that one of the teens was the last person to see Tennant Sunday night. In the course of questioning the teen, police decided to hold him as a person of interest.

A search of the neighborhood, including the Niagara County Sheriff's K-9, was in progress when the second teen came forward and told police the location of the girl's body.

http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/179506/37/16-Year-Old-to-be-Charged-with-Murder-of-Isabella-Tennant

She was last seen alive around 10:30 p.m. Sunday by a 16-year-old boy who often did chores for the great-grandmother. Her family reported her missing around 6 a.m. and her body was found fully clothed four hours later in an alley a few blocks away.

"As far as we know, he was a trusted family friend," Thompson said. "It's a terrible crime. It tears at your heart."

One of the suspects came to police on his own Monday morning and helped lead investigators to the body. Thompson said there were signs of injuries.

"I imagine it was his conscience," Thompson said.

http://www.wistv.com/story/19386251/body-of-western-ny-girl-5-found-in-alley

 

[Morgana]

See, this is what I'm talking about when I'm always telling my kids that just because you play with someone or they are nice, that does not mean they are your friend--you do not really know them! I don't care if you are family, I always pay attention to possible signs and warnings and I always tell my kids to be aware of others' behavior/speech because you never know. Even when it comes to my fiance, whom my children love and he exhibits great patience, my children know if there is anything they find uncomfortable, even with him, I want to know. Children are easy targets. It's not to be paranoid, but be smart, and always leave an open road for communications with your kids. In today's society, particularly the high tech society, social interraction is more difficult as online interraction becomes the norm as well as the vast exposure to shit that makes some people do or be curious about some shit they should of left alone!!!

Here we have children as perpetrators and as a victim... and again, a close family friend..."oh he was a nice boy, always helped out, great manners" ... See all the manners and nice bullshit will blind you from a hidden agenda that someone may have. Nowadays it seems criminal behavior and deviation in children are appearing much earlier. This is truly alarming!!! If we won't kill and/or can't rehabilitate adults for these types of crimes, what does it mean for a teenager who commits these crimes?

I certainly hope that upon further investigation that there aren't signs of any sexual abuse. Fuck, she was only 5 years old....But a young child missing sometime in the middle of the night means there's going to be more foul shit unfolding in this story!

I'm angry...another dead young child. So senseless, so wrong, never enough justice as no matter what you believe in-- they physically can't come back! They have been robbed of their life!!!!

 

[CbabyRKO]

weepin jesus on the cross. 16y/o kids how fucked up is that.

 

[AngelFire]

Wonder how she died.

I am always suspicious of older kids that like to play with the lil ones. Sure there are some that will entertain a wee one but that gets old quick and the kid in them will eventually book it….unless you have some dark intentions and then you might just continue on the “playing” to get the kid to trust you. Ahh, I don’t even want to try to think like a criminal asshole, it makes me sick

 

[Dakota]

Freeman / Best

Authorities said 16-year-old John Freeman and 18-year-old Tyler Best are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday morning in Niagara Falls City Court. An autopsy of the body of Isabella Tennant is also scheduled for Tuesday.

The arrests came after Best came to police Monday morning and led them to a garbage can containing a trash bag holding Isabella's body. He told them he had helped Freeman dispose of it after Freeman had killed her, police said.
[...]

Police have charged Freeman as an adult, and he faces a murder charge. Best is charged with tampering with evidence.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/body-western-ny-girl-found-alley-17087710#.UDytwaPF-7s

The child would stay with her grandmother while her mother, who lives in Cheektowaga, was working at her job at Player's nightclub in Niagara Falls.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/335155/28/Missing-5-year-old-found-dead

From a press release issued by the Niagara Falls Police Department Monday night:

The 5 year old, Isabella Tennant was staying overnight at 450 Sixth Street- the home of her great-grandmother. She was discovered missing just after 6:00 a.m. when her mother arrived to pick-her-up. The great grandmother, Sharon Lascelle, said she went to bed just after 11:00 p.m. and Isabella was playing with a 16 year old neighbor, John Freeman. A search was immediately conducted with assistance of numerous agencies, including a bloodhound from the Niagara Co. Sheriffs Office, however she was not located.

Just after 9 a.m. Tyler Best came to Police Headquarters and told detectives that he had information concerning this investigation. Based on the information that was given to detectives by Best Niagara Falls Police were able to locate Isabella's deceased body in a trash can in the alley of the 500 block of Third St. Detective's also interviewed John Freeman. From these interviews we learned that Isabella was killed by Freeman and the two males then placed Isabella into a trash bag and put her in a garbage can. They then moved the garbage can to the location where we found her on Third Street. At this time we believe Freeman killed Isabella with his bare hands (no weapons involved) and that Best was only involved after she was deceased and assisted with moving her remains.

Freeman was described by family members of the victim as a "close" and "trusted" family friend. They also said it was also not uncommon for him to be in the home and around Isabella unsupervised. Best and Freeman are described as close friends.

http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/179506/1/Isabella-Tennant-Murder-Suspect-a-Trusted-Family-Friend


Rest in Peace Isabella "Bella" Tennant https://www.facebook.com/RestInPeaceIsabellaBellaTennant

 

[SqueezeBoxx]

Really?? Unsupervised with a 16 year old boy after 11:00 pm?? Really?? Are you kidding me? And you go off to bed?? Completely irresponsible! And obviously deadly! I wonder what other things this little child has endured in her short life??!!

 

[JGo555]

Wonder how she died.

I am always suspicious of older kids that like to play with the lil ones. Sure there are some that will entertain a wee one but that gets old quick and the kid in them will eventually book it….unless you have some dark intentions and then you might just continue on the “playingâ€￾ to get the kid to trust you. Ahh, I don’t even want to try to think like a criminal asshole, it makes me sick

Not necessarily. My brother since we were little kids has liked babies. Now he has a problem that he might not be able have children and he wants them even more. He's a great uncle & cousin. He ALWAYS wants to babysit, but he NEVER changes diapers. Children go right back to their parents when they're soiled but as soon as they're clean, he takes them back.

 

[AngelFire]

Not necessarily. My brother since we were little kids has liked babies. Now he has a problem that he might not be able have children and he wants them even more. He's a great uncle & cousin. He ALWAYS wants to babysit, but he NEVER changes diapers. Children go right back to their parents when they're soiled but as soon as they're clean, he takes them back.

My husband and his brothers were also like that. But that is the exception not the norm. Kids want to be with kids their own age. A teenager that likes to hang out with a 5 or 6 year old girl, well that makes me suspicious.

 

[MommysLosingIt]

I don't care how trusted a family friend they are, no 5 year old belongs out of bed after 11 pm, especially not to play with a 16 year old.

 

[TheMorningStar]

Two teenagers charged in connection with the death of a 5-year-old upstate New York girl have been arraigned.Sixteen-year-old John Freeman and 18-year-old Tyler Best appeared in Niagara Falls City Court on Tuesday, about 24 hours after Isabella Tennant's body was found dumped in a trash can.
Freeman is charged with second-degree murder. Police say Best led them to the body. He has been charged with evidence tampering.
A judge entered not-guilty pleas on behalf of both teens. A court clerk says they were sent to jail and ordered back in court Sept. 7.
Police haven't said how Isabella was killed. An autopsy was being done Tuesday.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap...L_LTEw?docId=85909c06568b4cc8978faa42d611cab9

 

[Dakota]

Crystal Walker is a single mom from Cheektowaga who works about 50 hours a week, and in her home Tuesday afternoon, she told News 4 what she wants everyone to know about her daughter.
[...]

Holding Bella's favorite stuffed bunny, her mother described how the girl would spend two nights a week at her great grandmother's house in Niagara Falls when Walker worked late hours.

"And I do blame my grandmother because she...she was responsible at the time. But then again I can't because it wasn't her fault, she trusted this kid," Walker sighed.

The great grandmother went to bed at around 11 p.m. Sunday night, leaving Bella in the care of 16-year-old Freeman, who lived three doors down but came over almost every day.

"I always told my grandmother he was a mooch and to stop letting them come over whenever they want. They would just walk in the house and make a drink," Walker said.

She still has no idea why Freeman would kill the little girl.

"I don't...and when we were looking for her, we went straight to his house because we knew he was there on the computer and he said, 'Oh, I just left and she was coloring' and didn't even ask to help us look for her," said Walker.

"And I don't understand...he could've just left her in the basement and made it look like she fell, but instead he took her little body three streets away and put her in a garbage can...Who does that?"

Walker worked two jobs to raise her daughter in their home in Cheektowaga. Bella's father was still a big part of her life and would take her a few days a week, but now Walker has lost her only child, who's forever tattooed on her arm and her heart.
[...]

Video of full interview: http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/niagara/video-mom-on-murder-of-5-yr-old-bella

 

[Dakota]

Police believe they know who killed 5-year-old Isabella Tennant, and the coroner determined how the little girl died.

What puzzles them, and everyone else connected to the case, is why?
[...]

"The cause of death was a mechanical obstruction of the airway and compression of the neck," said Niagara County Coroner Cindy Lou Joyce.

Joyce was unable to comment on what was used to cause the obstruction and stop the girl from breathing, but did confirm that it was not considered a "total strangulation."
[...]

Morinello said both remain eligible for Youthful Offender status until they plead guilty or are convicted by a jury and he made additional efforts to protect their identities and suppress the release of any statements to the general public.

Freeman's attorney Robert Viola said in court that he will also seek a competency hearing.

Best will be represented by attorney James J. Faso. Both attorneys were assigned by the public defender's office.

But the motive crime remains a mystery, according to police.
[...]

Best's mother, Kelly Best, said she went with her son to the police department when he told her what had happened.

"I know it was wrong, but he's a good kid. He just made some wrong choices and got in with the wrong people," said Best.

She said her son lived in Buffalo, but often stayed in Niagara Falls with his friend, Freeman.

Phillip DiDonna of Niagara Falls was at the courtroom Tuesday. He said John Freeman had been one of his cadets in the city's Junior Military Academy when he was 14. DiDonna said the group was designed to keep kids out of trouble and take responsibility for their own actions.

"I'm shocked. I'm heartbroken that one of my cadets would do this after learning all he did in the cadet program," DiDonna said. "He was a squad leader. He never had any violent tendencies. I had great hopes for his future.

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/niagara-falls/article1027054.ece

 

[Killroy]

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. *–*Two teenage boys have been charged in connection to the murder of 5-year-old Isabella Tennant.
The girl was spending the night at her great-grandmother’s house when 16-year-old*John Freeman allegedly killed Bella with his bare hands. Her official cause of death was listed as mechanical obstruction of the airway and compression of the neck. There were no signs of sexual assault.
After he killed Bella, he placed her body in a garbage bag and had one of his friends,*18-year-old Tyler Best, help*place the little girl’s body in a garbage can three streets away. Best ended up going to police the next day and showing police where Bella’s body had been stashed.
Freeman was arrested and charged second-degree murder while Best was charged with tampering with evidence. Both have pleaded not guilty when they appeared in court on Tuesday and ordered back to jail until their Sept. 7 court date.
Bella’s mother, Crystal Walker, told reporters that she was working late that night at a sports bar, and that Freeman often took advantage of her grandmother’s kind heart. She said Freeman was a mooch and that even though she had often asked her grandmother not to let Freeman take advantage of her, her grandmother would still let Freeman stay in her home on occasion.…

This article was written by Morbid for The Dreamin Demon - the Internet's self-appointed buzzkill - and is not allowed to be copied on other sites.


"Read the full Front Page article..."

 

[Dakota]

The lawyer for a Niagara Falls teenager says that people who know the boy are perplexed at the thought that he could have strangled a 5-year-old girl and dumped her body in the trash.

"It literally makes no sense," attorney Robert Viola said Friday following a brief court appearance during which the case against 16-year-old John Freeman was sent to a grand jury. "There is no explanation that we've either been able to receive or been able to develop in interviewing him."
[...]

"My limited investigation to date indicates that this is not typical behavior and is something that hasn't in any way ever been suggested as a problem in the past," Viola said. "We're as perplexed as I think everybody is."

Authorities have said there were no signs that Isabella was sexually abused.
[...]

Freeman, a gangly teen who had a mop of wavy hair at the time of his Aug. 27 arrest, appeared in court with a shaved head, though his lawyer did not know why. He spoke only to answer the judge's questions about whether he understood what was happening.

"He is extremely, extremely upset, remorseful concerning this whole proceeding, what he's been accused of, what he's alleged to have done," Viola said afterward, "and he's really overwhelmed."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/07/john-freeman-tyler-best-niagara-falls_n_1864031.html

 

[Kimberix]

"He is extremely, extremely upset, remorseful concerning this whole proceeding, what he's been accused of, what he's alleged to have done," Viola said afterward, "and he's really overwhelmed."

so upset and remorseful he was found just sitting on the freakin computer without a care in the world...and then dosen't even pretend to express concern???? not buyin that one at all!

 

[Abroad]

"And I don't understand...he could've just left her in the basement and made it look like she fell, but instead he took her little body three streets away and put her in a garbage can...Who does that?"

She would rather the murdering bastard had told that her child had died in an accident? I suppose it is the indignity of the trash can she is wishing her child's body could have been spared; but really!

It is a bit like the "I blame grannie and yet I cannot blame her"-statement. It is as if the poor woman is having an argument with herself in public. Sometimes journos are scum for letting people talk.

 

[Dakota]

The Niagara Falls teen accused in the murder of a 5-year-old girl is moving forward with a potential insanity defense, his lawyer said.

Defense attorney Robert Viola told prosecutors and Niagara County Court Judge Matthew J. Murphy III on Thursday that John Robert Freeman Jr. will undergo thee days of examination by a forensic psychologist as he looks to gather psychiatric evidence in the case. The examination will take place Feb. 11 to 13.

After that, a report from the psychologist will be sent to Murphy and the prosecutors. Prosecutors are also expected to ask for an opportunity to have their own expert psychologist examine Freeman.
[...]

It’s believed Freeman may have provided some motive for the killing in a statement he made to Falls Police detectives. Both detectives and prosecutors have declined to comment on the motive for the slaying.

http://tonawanda-news.com/local/x1525008362/Insanity-defense-moves-ahead

 

[Dakota]

No insanity defense needed:

Accused child killer John Freeman, in a stunning move, pled guilty to two counts in the murder of 5-year-old Isabella Tenant during a hearing Wednesday in Niagara County Court.

He pled to the charges he was facing — second-degree murder and tampering with evidence.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 5.

Freeman was in court Wednesday to hear a ruling from Niagara County Court Judge Matthew J. Murphy III on whether his defense in the Tennant murder case would be able to use a so-called "insanity defense."

http://niagara-gazette.com/local/x4...Freeman-pleads-guilty-in-Isabella-Tenant-case

 

[Momzilla]

Wow, strange move? Then again, EVERYTHING about this case is strange! I wonder if we'll ever know how or why he killed her?

Because he pled guilty, Freeman faces at least 20 years to life in prison when he is sentenced September 5, 2013.


Tennant's mother, Crystal Walker, issued this statement regarding the guilty plea:


"The pain of losing my daughter will never subside. She was my best friend and my everything. I still feel as though I'm living someone else's life. I'm glad he finally pleaded out instead of dragging this out any longer."


Another suspect, Tyler Scott Best, 19, led police to Tennant's body. Best is accused of helping Freeman move Tennant's body. Police do not believe Best was involved in her death.

 

[Dakota]

A teen linked to the death of a 5-year-old girl was in Niagara County Court Friday for a plea deal.

Tyler Best pleaded guilty to both counts of tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. Authorities say Best received a phone call from his friend John Freeman after Freeman had strangled Bella Tennant on August 26th of last year in Niagara Falls.
[...]

Niagara Falls Police Captain William Thompson said, "He was able to lead us to the location of the victim. She was in a trash can underneath some bags of trash in a garbage bag."

Best's uncle, Al Parker, said, "I was the one that, along with his mother, that brought him in that morning. We were the ones that notified the police that, in face, little Bella was gone. So it was pretty dramatic then, and it continues to be a dramatic, heart-rending event."

Best will be sentenced September 27. The teen has been in prison since he admitted helping move the little girl's body, so 11 months will count towards any sentence he receives.

Judge Matthew Murphy asked Best why he helped Freeman. Best respond that, considering the circumstances, he felt threatened by Freeman's presence. However, he admitted it was a bad decision.

Freeman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in July and is scheduled to receive a sentence of 20 years to life when he returns to court for sentencing in September.

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/local/teen-to-face-judge-in-tennant-case

 

[Mata Hari]

Sorry for bumping an old thread but I just read this when I clicked random article. WTF? This is terrible. I too would really like to know WHY he did it. Doesn't pleading guilty mean you have to say what you did?

 

[Alf]

Sorry for bumping an old thread but I just read this when I clicked random article. WTF? This is terrible. I too would really like to know WHY he did it. Doesn't pleading guilty mean you have to say what you did?

Only if he gets allocution.

--Al

 

[Mega Ultra]

Niagara Gazette — LOCKPORT — John Freeman stood at the defense table in Judge Matthew J. Murphy III’s courtroom Thursday afternoon, hung his head and cried.

Across from the admitted killer of little Isabella Tennant, stood her uncle, Jack Tennant. He was in court representing his brother, Isabella’s father, Michael, and read a withering statement from him.

“I’m truly sorry I couldn’t muster the strength to be in a room with the disgusting animal who strangled a 5-year-old girl,” Tennant said, reading from his brother’s words. “This disgusting animal killed my daughter. There is not one second I am not in pain. Freeman, do yourself a favor and hope you die before you see the light of day. I will be watching and waiting for you.”

Then, in a reference to Freeman, and his co-defendant Tyler Best, Tennant said, “I hope those two burn and rot in hell.”

Given an opportunity to reply, Freeman in a mumbled voice that was barely audible in the courtroom, expressed remorse. Turning slightly, to look at Isabella’s family members and friends, he said, “I’m so sorry for all their family. I’m just sorry. I can’t say anything else.”

If Freeman was at a loss for words, Second Assistant District Attorney Holly Sloma was not.

“This was a brutal killing,” she said. “He killed her with his bare hands.”

[...]

Freeman’s defense had considered a possible insanity defense in the case. But abandoned that when experts could only identity that Freeman may have had fetal alcohol syndrome, a diagnosis his attorneys said was insufficient for an insanity plea.

The experts said the syndrome might have caused Freeman to act irrationally when he, while watching Isabella, could not get her to go to sleep. Sloma scoffed at that explanation.

“We know that the last words Isabella spoke were, ‘It’s your turn to color.’ I’m puzzled how that triggered the brutal murder of a little girl,” she said. “This is what makes him so dangerous, He couldn’t even tell us why (he killed Isabella).”

[...]

Murphy had already agreed to a sentence of 22 years to life in prison for Freeman’s guilty plea to charges of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence.

Outside the courtroom, Jack Tennant rejected Freeman’s remorse and said the sentence was what he had expected.

“(Freeman’s) not sorry. He’s definitely not sorry,” Tennant said. “The judge followed the law. I’d be satisfied if (Freeman) never saw the light of day.”

http://niagara-gazette.com/courts/x...sentencing-no-solace-to-slain-5-year-old-girl

 

[Robynne]

I can tell you why.... He's a fucking sociopath. My bet is that he wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone. And what better opportunity than a five year old girl you're coloring with while no one else is around?

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Isabella Sara "Bella" Tennant
(June 6, 2007 - August 27, 2012)

Remembering Bella

Time has still not eased the pain or explained why this little angel was taken so soon.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Remembering Isabella

 

[Sejanus]

Christ on a cracker.
This is gut wrenching.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A Few More Of An Angel