My First Adopted Angel

Adopted Angel in Honor of my Daughter
~Carey Lynn~
Born: 08-18-75

Carrie Elwell, 9 years old & Brandon King, 6 years old; Suffocated Shortly after 4 a.m. on a Thursday morning police officers found Carrie and Brandon dead in an old refrigerator in the basement of their home. There were no signs of trauma on the bodies, but police were trying to determine whether the deaths were accidental or homicides, police said. Autopsies determined that both children suffocated, but officials didn't know whether the two crawled into the refrigerator on their own or were locked in by someone else. A family member called police about 3:30 a.m. to report the children missing. They were last seen Wednesday evening. The children lived in the house with their mother; their mother's father, brother and husband; and another sibling, a 10-month-old boy. The basement refrigerator was plugged in and appeared to be functioning, but it wasn't being used to store food or anything else when the incident occurred, police said. Police drove away with the white Philco refrigerator strapped in the back of a police truck shortly after 11 a.m. An empty, inflatable swimming pool; a bicycle; balls; and a swing set littered the front yard of the house where the children lived. A neighbor who lives next door, said he woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of wailing and crying.
"Somebody over there was squawking and raising the roof," he said. He looked outside, but couldn't see anything. While he was watering his lawn later in the morning, a policeman told him what had happened. There were police cars and ambulances parked in front of the house.
"I knew it had to be something terrible for all the commotion," he said.

Adopted Angel in Honor of my Daughter
~Danielle Deon~
Born: 10-16-77

Danielle Jones, 15 years old, Died of head injuries. A man who wrecked his car on a country road, killing a 15-year-old passenger, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other charges. Robert J. Wise admitted he was speeding on the night of Sept. 1 when he turned off his headlights and wrecked his car. Danielle, a front seat passenger in the car, died of head injuries she suffered in the wreck. Carbon County Judge Richard W. Webb's jaw dropped when he heard that Wise had turned off his headlights just before the wreck. He asked Wise why he did it. "It was just a foolish mistake," said Wise, 21. Webb pointed to Jones' distraught mother, Penny Smale, and said: "It cost Mrs. Smale her daughter's life." Wise, who also pleaded guilty to recklessly endangering another person and traffic charges, initially denied wrongdoing. He
told state Trooper James Wheeler that he wrecked the car when he swerved to avoid an animal. However, a back seat passenger, 16-year-old Edward Cersane, told police that Wise had turned off his headlights moments before the accident. Cersane was injured in the crash. During their investigation, police also determined that Wise was traveling at least 56 mph in a 45 mph zone. During the guilty plea, the family of Jones sat together and the girl's mother stood alongside Carbon County Assistant District Attorney Joseph Matika. The family did not speak during the plea. They'll get their chance when Wise is sentenced later. Webb wanted a pre sentence investigation by the Carbon County Office of Adult Probation.