NOAH CROOKHAM - 2 yo (2008) - Denver CO

by TomTerrific0420 Thu Mar 11, 2010 2:25 pm

Earl Ryan's first-degree-murder trial opened Tuesday with defense and
prosecuting attorneys portraying Angela Crookham as a woman who played two
hostile men against each other in a battle that ended with her 2-year-old son
dead.
Ryan, who is being tried in Denver District Court, is accused of shooting
Crookham's son, Noah, to death as the boy's father carried him out of his
mother's home Oct. 12, 2008. NOAH CROOKHAM - 2 yo (2008) - Denver CO 20100309__20100310_B02_CD10RYAN%7Ep1_200

NOAH CROOKHAM - 2 yo (2008) - Denver CO 20100309__20100310_B02_CD10RYAN%7Ep1_200

Ryan lived in a basement apartment at 1243 Madison St. Angela Crookham lived
in the unit upstairs.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Michelle Amico told the jury that Tom and
Angela Crookham's marriage had unraveled in late 2007.
Tom Crookham was so despondent that he attempted suicide with a knife. He
later befriended Ryan and "spilled his guts," telling Ryan about his failed
marriage and his attempted suicide and that he wanted to reconcile with his
wife, Amico said.
Tom Crookham had no idea Ryan had affections for his wife and had been
intimate with her, Amico said.
When Ryan realized Angela Crookham was letting her husband back into her
life, Amico said, Ryan bought a .357-caliber Magnum pistol.
The next morning, Tom Crookham came to the house for breakfast and the two
men argued. Ryan ran downstairs and returned with his gun. Ryan began firing at
Tom, who scooped up Noah in his right arm on his way out the front door, Amico
said.
As he listened to the story in the courtroom, Ryan lowered his head and began
to cry.
Before starting her opening statement, defense attorney Jennifer Henslee
placed large photos of Ryan and Noah cuddling in front of the jury. She then
told them that Ryan fired his gun in the air the day Noah died, never intending
to hurt anyone.
"Earl Ryan was a slow fuse that Angela Crookham lit 10 months before he
exploded that day," Henslee said. "When he learned three hours (after the
shooting) that Noah had died, he was absolutely, utterly devastated.
"Angela Crookham had been telling Earl that Tom was abusive, dangerous and
that she was scared for her life. She told Earl that Tom Crookham had a Jekyll
and Hyde personality with an explosive temper," Henslee said. "She told Earl
about his suicide attempts with a knife, that he had been throwing things,
punching walls."
As Angela Crookham began to reconcile with her estranged husband, she told
him Ryan had raped her and was obsessive, jealous and dangerous, Henslee said.
"She used the same descriptors for Earl Ryan that she used for Tom."
When the men argued, all Tom Crookham was thinking was "about the guy who had
raped his wife," Henslee said. But Ryan "fired up, never intending to shoot
Tom."
The trial is expected to last two weeks.

by MililaniGirl Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:47 pm

Denver man pleads guilty to shooting 2-year-old
By Mike McPhee
The Denver Post

NOAH CROOKHAM - 2 yo (2008) - Denver CO 20100310__RyanEarl~p1_200

NOAH CROOKHAM - 2 yo (2008) - Denver CO 20100309__noah.crookham~p1_200

POSTED: 03/10/2010 01:01:00 PM MST
UPDATED: 03/10/2010 01:11:43 PM MST

As the second day of a first-degree murder trial got underway this morning in Denver District Court, defendant Earl Ryan unexpectedly pleaded guilty to lesser charges related to the shooting death of a 2-year-old on Oct. 12, 2008.

Ryan, 41, had been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault, and faced up to life in prison if convicted.

After opening arguments Monday, during which Ryan lowered his head and cried as prosecutors described the morning Noah Crookham was killed, Ryan this morning accepted an offer from Chief Deputy DA Michelle Amico and pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death and second-degree assault.

He now faces up to 28 years in prison. He will be sentenced May 4 at 1:30 p.m. by Denver District Court Judge Brian R. Whitney.

Ryan had been living in the basement of a duplex rented by Noah's mother, Angela Crookham, at 1243 Madison St. in Denver's Congress Park neighborhood.

The morning Noah died, Angela Crookham's estranged husband, Thomas Crookham, visited the family for breakfast after attending church with them. Ryan confronted Thomas Crookham and the two argued. Ryan went downstairs and returned with a .357 magnum pistol and began shooting at the other man, who grabbed Noah in his right arm as he ran out the front door.

A bullet traveled through Crookham's hand into Noah's chest. The boy was pronounced dead a few hours later.

Ryan threatened to commit suicide with the gun on the front porch but was talked out of it during a two-hour talk with Denver Police Sgt. Greg Jones.

Ryan has been in custody since the shooting.

Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14647908

by MililaniGirl Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:51 pm

Mom's boyfriend gets 28 years in shooting death of 2-year-old
By Felisa Cardona
The Denver Post
Updated: 05/05/2010 02:50:02 AM CDT

The fading scent on a little red Elmo doll is nearly all Tom Crookham has left of his 2-year-old son, Noah.

"Sometimes I still give it a kiss and hope that it smells like him," Crookham said Tuesday during a sentencing hearing for his son's killer. "These are the only things we have left."

Crookham told Denver District Judge Brian Whitney he forgives Earl Ryan for killing Noah but wants to see justice done.

Whitney sentenced Ryan to 28 years in prison, the maximum term for the crime of child abuse resulting in the death of Noah and the second-degree assault of Crookham.

Ryan was initially charged with first-degree murder and faced life in prison. During the middle of his trial, he decided to accept a plea deal from prosecutors.

Noah was killed Oct. 12, 2008, during an argument between his father and Ryan, who had been in a romantic relationship with the boy's mother, Angela Crookham.

The argument took place at Angela Crookham's duplex at 1243 Madison St. while she and her estranged husband were cooking breakfast with Noah.

Ryan pulled a .357-caliber revolver, and Tom Crookham ran out of the duplex and scooped up Noah in his arms.

Ryan followed and fired three shots at Crookham.

A single bullet went through Crookham's hand and into Noah's chest.

"I killed Noah Thomas Crookham," Ryan said. "I chose wrongly to fire a gun, and everything that resulted from that is 100 percent my responsibility,

100 percent my fault, 100 percent my guilt and 100 percent my shame. I want to say I am sorry. I have no excuse."
Ryan, 41, told the judge he loved Noah, treated him as his own and did not intend to kill him.

The judge said he believes Ryan is remorseful but he does not believe Ryan didn't see Noah in his father's arms while shooting the gun.

Prosecutor Michelle Amico and defense lawyers Lisa Moses and Jennifer Henslee wept during the three-hour hearing. Although both sides acknowledged Ryan, a man with no criminal history, was remorseful for his crime, they differed over the motive.

Moses and Henslee said he acted out only because Angela Crookham had manipulated him into thinking Tom Crookham was abusive and dangerous and he felt he was protecting her.

"It's hard to talk about the mother of this child and what she did to manipulate this man," Henslee said. "I believe that story needs to be told."

Amico said Ryan was jealous that the woman he loved was going to get back together with her husband.

"He wanted her and Noah as his family," Amico said, "and there is nothing wrong with that. Wanting to be this great boyfriend and wanting to be a father figure to a kid you know and love — but you can't fire the gun. You can't fire the gun."

http://www.twincities.com/crime/ci_15018063?source=rss&nclick_check=1

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NOAH CROOKHAM - 2 yo (2008) - Denver CO

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