BRENDAN TYLER GONZALEZ - 4 yo (1/03) - / Convicted: Father, Ivan Henk - Plattsmouth, NE

Henk Admits To Killing Son


Updated: Tue 4:07 PM, Apr 29, 2003



Ivan Henk has confessed to killing his four-year-old son, Brendan Gonzalez, saying he thought his son was the Antichrist.

The confession came during a court appearance Tuesday afternoon during which Henk was sentenced on two counts related to a police pursuit that he was involved in on the day Brendan turned up missing. That was on January 6th.

Henk has remained in custody since then and he was a suspect in Brendan's disappearance but was never charged. Police didn't have the evidence and Henk continuously denied knowledge of what happened to the boy.

Just after being sentenced on the traffic charges, as he was being led out of the courtroom, Henk turned to Brendan's mother, Rebecca Gonzalez, and said, "The reason I killed Brendan is that he was the Antichrist. He had 666 across his forehead."

Henk was taken from the courtroom by sheriff's deputies as Rebecca Gonzalez responded, "Oh, my God. Did you hear him? He just said he killed my baby."

Authorities have searched extensively for the child's body, renewing search efforts this past weekend.

Specially trained dogs were brought in and they indicated they were picking up the scent of human remains in a sandpit near Plattsmouth. They search came up empty.

DNA tests performed on blood recovered from Henk's car proved the blood was from Brendan but there was no indication of how it got there or what became of the child.


http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/312171.html

Ivan Henk Pleads Guilty to Murder


Updated: Tue 10:41 PM, Feb 01, 2005
By: Kate Ellingson

 


Just days before the murder trial was supposed to start, Henk pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty, which the Cass County Attorney was calling for if Henk was found guilty.

Brendan's mother Rebecca Gonzalez says, "The judge just asked him did you kill Brendan Gonzalez and he said yeah, so that's about as clean cut as it will get I guess."

For nearly two years Brendan Gonzalez has been missing, questions unanswered until today. Cass County Attorney, Nathan Cox says, "he plead to first degree murder, we agreed not to pursue the death penalty."

It all started January 5th, 2003 when Brendan was reported missing by his mother, Rebecca. The last known person to see Brendan, Ivan Henk, his father, who was arrested after a high speed chase and put in jail on unrelated charges. For days Cass County authorities searched the county, but still no sign of Brendan. In April of 2003, Henk was in court for the high speed chase charges.

In a courtroom outburst, he confessed to killing his son.

In May, a break in the case, Henk told authorities he dumped Brendan's body in a trash dumpster. With that information, authorities and hundreds of volunteers searched the Sarpy County landfill for weeks, but came up empty handed. Shortly after the search ended, Henk was charged with Brendan's murder. Next Monday he was set to go to trial, until this surprise plea agreement.

Plattsmouth resident Dixie Craft says, "that's strange, it's a surprise, but this day and age, nothing is that much of a surprise." Another resident, Brian Fees says, "this is good, if he did it, he should plead guilty to it, it's easier to try him that way."

Despite Henk pleading guilty, Rebecca says her friends say this is closure, but she doesn't think that's possible, "no matter what you know in your head, when you dream at night, you still have those hopes he's going to come back so until I have him, it's always there. That's still my main goal, getting Brendan home."

Rebecca would like to make a memorial park in honor of Brendan for children to play on and for parents to read about Brendan's story, so that they always remember not to take their children for granted.

To donate to help Rebecca continue to search in the landfill, you can go to www.foreverbrendan.com.

POSTED: 2/1/2005 10:45 PM CST


http://www.1011now.com/home/headlines/1220967.html

Ivan Henk Granted Hearing

Updated: Thu 5:28 PM, Jul 19, 2012
By: WOWT Email


A Nebraska father who admitted to killing his son and even told investigators where they would find evidence, has been granted a new hearing. Ivan Henk is challenging the evidence that was found.

A Nebraska father who admitted to killing his son and even told investigators where they would find evidence, has been granted a new hearing. Ivan Henk is challenging the evidence that was found.

His 4-year-old son Brendan Gonzalez disappeared from his Plattsmouth home on January 6, 2003. His body has never been found.

In April 2003, Henk appeared in court on an unrelated matter. He suddenly disrupted the courtroom and admitted to killing his son.

Henk then told investigators that he left Brendan’s body in a dumpster in Bellevue. That is where investigator David Kofoed found blood evidence. Henk eventually cut a deal and pleaded guilty in February 2005, eliminating the possibility of the death penalty.

However, after the Gonzalez case unfolded, Kofoed was found to have planted blood evidence in another murder case. That was the basis for Henk’s demand for a new evidentiary hearing.

The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Henk is entitled to a hearing to determine whether a constitutional violation occurred in his case and if that was the case, whether he was prejudiced by the violation.



http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Ivan_Henk_Granted_Hearing_163050476.html

Murdered boy’s mom wants YouTube user to stop posting son’s photos



Posted on July 4, 2014 at 10:45 PM



HOUSTON -- The mother of a slain 4-year-old wants a YouTube user to stop posting photos of her child. Brendan Gonzalez was murdered by his father in Nebraska in 2003.

Ivan Henk proudly admitted he killed his own son and placed the child’s body in a landfill.

The child’s remains have never been recovered, but his mom has accepted that he is gone.

“Nobody wants to be a part of a club like this,” said Rebecca Gonzalez. “You always think about your children whether they’re with you or not.”

Rebecca Gonzalez, who now resides just outside Houston, is experiencing a new layer of pain.

It started back in January, when a YouTube user posted a montage of her sons photos, suggesting the child is still alive.

The user suggests what Brendan looks like now and even goes as far to say that the boy is involved in a child trafficking ring.

“If someone’s posting lies about your loved one, you want to fight it. You just can’t let it go,” said Gonzalez. “You don’t need fresh wounds put on top of the old ones.”
Gonzalez has flagged the video more than 100 times.

She has repeatedly begged the user and YouTube to remove the video. It briefly disappeared but is now back up.

“She needs to leave my son out of it. We’ve been through enough. My son’s memory deserves more than that,” said Gonzalez.

The user insists that those objecting to her video are part of conspiracy to hide the truth. She says she will keep posting until they kill her or put her in jail.

Gonzalez just wants the user to leave her son’s name and pictures out of it.

“It can happen to anybody’s child, and that’s scary,” added Gonzalez. “You can’t just use people’s images of their loved ones for sick twisted missions.”

Gonzalez is now looking for attorney.


http://www.khou.com/news/local/Murdered-boys-mom-wants-YouTube-user-to-stop-posting-sons-photos-265872241.html

I wonder if some prison groupie is doing this to help free the murderer.

How sad for the mother.  How sick of the poster. 

IMO.