NATALIE and CHASE DEBLASE - 5 and 3 yo (2010) - Mobile AL

(Dec. 10) -- An Alabama man charged with killing his two young children and dumping their bodies was ordered held today on $500,000 bond.

Appearing in a Mobile County courtroom, John DeBlase, 27, tried to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of mental defect, but the judge would not accept it, local media outlets reported.

Judge Charles McKnight set two bonds of $250,000, one for each count of murder against DeBlase. Another court date was set for Jan. 4.

Blase was charged Wednesday after authorities said he directed them to skeletal remains believed to be those of his 3-year-old son, Jonathan Chase DeBlase, who was known by his middle name. Police are still looking for the body of Chase's 4-year-old sister, Natalie DeBlase.

The remains believed to be Chase's were found off a highway in Mississippi. Forensic scientists have completed an examination but declined to release their findings, the Press-Register reported.

During today's hearing, attorney John Thompson, standing in for DeBlase's lawyer, Don Sears, attempted to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of mental defect, but the judge would not accept it.

"This is not the appropriate time for that. If there were appropriate evidence for that, circuit court would be the appropriate place for that," Assistant District Attorney Jo Beth Murphree said, according to WKRG-5.

DeBlase's common-law wife, Heather Leavell-Keaton, has been held in a Kentucky jail on child abuse charges and is expected to be hit with additional charges when she is returned to Alabama. She was picked up around 1 p.m. today to be transported back to Mobile, CBS's Crimesider said.

http://www.aolnews.com/crime/article/john-deblase-held-on-500000-bond-in-murders-of-his-young-children/19756010

Crews resume search for Natalie Deblase


Search for 5-year-old to begin Saturday




MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) - First thing Saturday morning, a team of about 100 people will comb the woods near Citronelle searching for the remains of five-year-old Natalie DeBlase.

Police say her father, John DeBlase, admitted dumping her body and her brother's body in the woods several months ago.
Along with the scores of investigators, more than a dozen dogs will carefully examine an area northwest of Citronelle.
Wednesday, search teams found what is believed to be the remains of Jonathan Chase's under a pile of sticks in Vancleave, Mississippi.

Mobile Police are confident they'll be able to find Natalie's body and help bring closure to the family.
One week ago, the 27-year-old father told investigators that he dumped the body of three-year-old Jonathan Chase in Vancleave and five-year-old Natalie in Citronelle.
Search crews tried to look for her last week, but had no luck.
"We're gonna be searching about a six mile area in and around Citronelle to see if we can find any sort of remains of Natalie DeBlase," Mobile police spokesman Chris Levy said.
The wooded area is very vast, thick, and filled with bears and coyotes.
"We're gonna make sure that when we leave there, we know that we feel like we've covered that area as thorough as possible," Levy said.
Mobile Police were in Citronelle earlier Friday mapping out the area and testing their radios.

If they don't find the body on Saturday, the police spokesman says they will gather together, regroup and figure out where to go from there.
http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/mobile_county/crews-resume-search-for-natalie-deblase

Remains Of Natalie DeBlase Found
Mobile Police have found human remains near a home on Beverly Jeffries Highway in Citronelle. They believe they are those of 5-year-old Natalie DeBlase.


snipped....
CITRONELLE, Alabama - The search for Natalie Deblase's body is finally over.

About 100 police officers, firefighters, search and rescue personnel and K-9 handlers began searching a wooded area on Beverly Jeffreys Highway in Citronelle at 8:30 a.m. It took them about half an hour to find what they believe to be Natalie's remains. They were found not far from a home.

The following agencies helped conduct the search:
Mobile Police
Mobile Fire Rescue
North Baldwin Search and Rescue
Citronelle Volunteer Fire Department
Foley Police Department
Citronelle Police
South West Panhandle Search and Rescue
First Response K9 - Tallahasee, FL
K9 Search and Rescue - Atlanta
SW Florida K9
Baldwin County SO
Long Beach MS PD
University of South Alabama - Center for Archeological Studies
Calcedeavor PD
St. Cloud Police Department (FL)
North Alabama Search Dog Association
Red Cross
Orange County (FL) Search and Rescue

Police chose to search the area based on information they got from Natalie's father, John DeBlase. DeBlase is currently behind bars at Mobile Metro Jail on $700,000 bond. Police say he killed Natalie and Chase and then confessed to dumping the bodies.

http://www.wkrg.com/alabama/article/mpd-says-remains-of-natalie-deblase-found/1203241/Dec-11-2010_11-51-am/

OK.... so let me get this straight.. The step-monster JUST went and told police , but the kids have been missing sometime since march-june?? I read something about an Amber Alert also? And from what I am getting the only reason she went to the police was because she was afraid of him hurting their child? But when she went to the police she said that he said the kids were unresponsive and wouldnt let her see them? I know that last part has to be BS because they have been missing longer than Nov. seems as if she is saying that she made up that story to keep herself out of trouble, cause she obviously had to have known they were missing for months. I am so saddened by this story. Its really sad when ppl that don't even know these children care more than their "family". I really hope they both are charged w/ 2 counts murder, b/c as far as I am concerned she is just as guilty as he is. RIP little ones

Both adults, father & not-mom need to be hung.

Can't see any reason for this one to drag out in the courts and waste money, they BOTH are guilty and if ya' can't hang them then lock them up and throw away the key.

I think he will take a plea, and the step-mom will go to trial. Just IMO.

Local search team finds 5-year-old Mobile girl's remains (PHOTOS)
Comments 0
December 13, 2010 12:19 PM
Angel McCurdy
Daily News

CITRONELLE, Ala. — Five-year-old Natalie DeBlase’s body was found Sunday in Citronelle, Ala. shortly after a local search team began looking for the girl who was last seen in Mobile in March.

Natalie’s skeletal remains were found nearly a week after her brother, 3-year-old Chase DeBlase, was found in the woods of rural Mississippi. The Mobile Police Department began investigating the disappearance of the two children late last month.

Click here to read more on the DeBlase children case »

The Southwest Panhandle Search and Rescue sent 33 searchers and 14 K-9 units, along with other first responders and officers with the Mobile Police Department, to locate the remains.

Teams found the body near a county road about 25 minutes after beginning their search.

Cindy Sarver, public information officer for the team, said the search team has assisted in multiple investigations, two high profile stories dealt with recovering the body of missing 21-year-old Daphne woman Brianna Parish in 2008 and finding the bodies of four children thrown off the Dauphin Island bridge in 2009.

“The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office has made a memorandum of understanding with the search and rescue team,” Sarver said. “The team uses donated equipment from the Sheriff’s Office and has even done practices in the area.”

She said in addition to helping locate bodies, the team is also educating children in Santa Rosa County on what to do if they are lost in wooded areas. Along with other how-to knowledge on what to do if a child gets lost.

Members of the search and rescue team span from Milton to Mobile and assist in searches along the Gulf Coast.

“We’re all trying to do something to help in these terrible situations,” Sarver said of the team “If we can bring somebody closure, it’s worth it and our team wants to help.”
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/year-35702-old-citronelle.html

December 13, 2010 1:35 PM Stepmother Heather Leavell-Keaton Extradited


Heather Leavell-Keaton (AP Photo/Louisville Metropolitan Dept. of Corrections)
MOBILE, Ala. (CBS/AP) Searchers discovered human remains Saturday in the woods off a deserted Alabama road believed to be Natalie DeBlase, the 5-year-old daughter of a man already charged with murdering her and her younger brother, police said.Police said search teams uncovered the remains near a county road in Citronelle, about 30 miles north of Mobile. Investigators believe the remains are those of Natalie, who would have turned 5 in late November. Skeletal remains found last Wednesday in the woods of rural Mississippi are believed to be those of her 3-year-old brother, Chase. The children's father, 27-year-old John DeBlase, is charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of corpse abuse after he told authorities that he dumped his 5-year-old daughter Natalie in the woods north of Mobile in March and discarded 3-year-old Chase's body, dressed in only a diaper and stuffed into a plastic garbage bag, in Mississippi in June. Police have said Heather Leavell-Keaton, DeBlase's common-law wife who's accused of torturing Chase and Natalie, is also responsible for the killings. She was extradited from Kentucky and booked into an Alabama jail early Monday, held without bail. Leavell-Keaton has been charged with child abuse, but not with the deaths. However, Mobile County Assistant District Attorney Jo Beth Murphee said Friday that authorities would soon upgrade Leavell-Keaton's charges from child abuse to more serious aggravated child abuse counts. She was also to be charged with two counts of corpse abuse, according to authorities. According to arrest warrants in the case, between March 1 and November 19, 2010, DeBlase allowed Leavell-Keaton to bind the girl's hands and feet with duct tape, put a sock in her mouth and stuff her in a suitcase in a closet for about 14 hours, reports CBS affiliate WKRG. The warrants also detail how Leavell-Keaton duct-taped the young boy's hands to the side of his legs, strapped a broom handle to his back and shoved a sock in his mouth. The boy was then forced to stand in a corner all night while the adults went to bed. DeBlase's court-appointed attorney, Jim Sears, has said DeBlase maintains his innocence and claims that Leavell-Keaton killed the children. She has accused DeBlase for the deaths. Attorneys for DeBlase have said he will plead not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Sears said Friday that comments made by friends that called into question DeBlase's mental health are "certainly not without reason."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20025466-504083.html

Police: New charges for girlfriend of father arrested in kids' deaths
By the CNN Wire StaffDecember 13, 2010 10:25 p.m. EST

(CNN) -- Police have ratcheted up charges against the girlfriend of an Alabama father, days after searchers found fragmented remains they say are of the second of the man's young children, tossed along the side of a remote highway.





Mobile, Alabama, police spokesman Christopher Levy said Monday that Heather Keaton would be charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of abuse of a corpse -- one count each for the deaths of Jonathan DeBlase, 3, and his sister Natalie, 4.

The children's father, John Joseph DeBlase, 27, was arrested December 3 and is now charged with two counts of murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse.

John DeBlase's lawyer, Jim Sears, said Monday that his client maintains "his innocence in regards to the death of the children." Sears added that DeBlase might consider pleading not guilty by reason of disease or mental defect (equivalent to an insanity plea in other jurisdictions).

The investigation kicked off November 18, when Keaton told Louisville, Kentucky, police that she needed protection from DeBlase, who she claimed was holding her against her will. She was arrested in early December and charged, at the time, with two counts of willful abuse and neglect of a child.

Around 1 a.m. Monday, Keaton arrived from Kentucky to face the four additional charges, according Levy. By early in the afternoon, she had not been questioned by Mobile police.

Her arrest followed the discovery Saturday morning of remains that authorities believe are those of young Natalie DeBlase.

Searchers had planned to canvas woods abutting a six-mile stretch of highway just northwest of Citronelle, Alabama, about 50 miles north of Mobile, based on information provided by John DeBlase. But they found the remains -- less than half of a young body, including a skull and miscellaneous bones -- around 9 a.m., within 30 minutes of starting the search.

"We didn't cover hardly any of it, because we found her so quickly," said Levy. "She was where he said she would be."

Levy said the girl was not buried, but had been laid "in the woods, not far from the roadway," just as DeBlase had told authorities.

The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences is examining the remains to confirm that they belonged to Natalie.

The girl was last seen in March, when authorities believe she was killed. Jonathan DeBlase had not been seen since June, police said. Investigators believe he was slain around that time.

Remains that police believe are those of the young boy were found last Wednesday near Vancleave, Mississippi. The cause of death for both sets of remains has not yet been determined, police said.

DeBlase and Keaton blame each other for the siblings' deaths, authorities said.

Police, who did not know the children were missing until November 19, contend that DeBlase allowed Keaton to abuse the children by restraining them with tape, putting socks in their mouths and confining them.

A day earlier, Keaton signed a domestic violence petition in Louisville that said, "I feel he may have murdered his children, because he said they were non-responsive. He would not let me check on them."

She said DeBlase had told her "choices were made ... and he had to do what he had to do."

According to a police complaint, DeBlase between March 1 and November 19 allowed Keaton to tape Natalie's hands and feet, put a sock in her mouth and place her in a suitcase that was put in a closet for 14 hours.

He also allowed Keaton to tape Jonathan's hands to the side of his legs, tape a broom handle to his back, place a sock in his mouth and then make the child stand in a corner all night when the couple went to bed, according to the complaint.

DeBlase and Keaton have one infant daughter together, according to Keaton's account in the Kentucky police report. Police said one reason Keaton claimed she needed protection from DeBlase was that she feared for the safety of the infant, who was with her in Kentucky.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/13/alabama.missing.children/index.html?hpt=T2

Memorial service set for DeBlase children



A memorial service will take place Jan. 8 for Natalie DeBlase and her brother, Jonathan “Chase” DeBlase, at noon in the chapel of Mobile Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, officials said Wednesday.
Investigators have said that Natalie, 4, and Chase, 3, were killed earlier this year, and their bodies dumped in different locations.

Family members will receive friends at funeral home beginning at 10 a.m. until the service starts, according to the funeral home officials.
Meanwhile, Mobile County prosecutors continue to review evidence to determine whether their stepmother, Heather Leavell-Keaton, 22, will be charged in their deaths, Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr., said Wednesday.

Read more......

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/12/memorial_service_set_for_debla.html

[b]Hello, I have been following this forum for a while now, and I completely believe that the step mother should have to face murder charges as well as the father for what they have done to these beautiful children! I will be following closely to see if they will charge her, I can hardly stand the sight of them!

Heather Leavell-Keaton told police that her common-law husband
poisoned his 2 young children, who had a toxic smell on their breath and
were throwing up black vomit before they died last year, according to
police testimony in court his morning.But John DeBlase told
police that his children died in their house after Leavell-Keaton
stuffed the girl in a suitcase for more than 8 hours and tied the young
boy to a broomstick with duct tape and put a sock in his mouth, a Mobile
detective testified.DeBlase, 27, faces 2 counts of felony murder
and 2 counts of abuse of a corpse. Leavell-Keaton, 22, faces 2 counts
of aggravated child abuse and 2 counts of abuse of a corpse.Natalie DeBlase, 4, and Jonathan Chase DeBlase, 3, were reported missing on Nov. 18 and hadn’t been seen in months. Investigators
discovered Chase's remains in a wooded area near Vancleave in coastal
Mississippi on Dec. 8, and Natalie's body was found near Citronelle in
north Mobile County three days later.DeBlase is being held in jail on $506,000 in bail. Leavell-Keaton is being held on $206,000 bail.Detective
Angela Prine said that both Leavell-Keaton and DeBlase described
finding Natalie dead on March 4 and Chase dead on June 20 -- and dumping
their bodies on the day each died.Testimony is continuing in Mobile County District Judge Charlie McKnight’s courtroom.

Ala. man says woman tortured, killed his two kids

January 7, 2011 3:00:00 PM
MOBILE, Ala. - A woman who is charged with abusing two young children
called them "demon spawns from hell" and allegedly beat them while they
were bound with duct tape and let them die, according to testimony at a
court hearing Friday.
But investigators also said the woman told police that the children's
father, 27-year-old John DeBlase, used rat poison to kill his children
and dumped their bodies in woods of south Mississippi and Alabama. He is
charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of corpse abuse
in the deaths of 3-year-old Chase and 4-year-old Natalie DeBlase.

The conflicting testimony was given at a preliminary hearing for DeBlase
and his common-law wife, Heather Leavell-Keaton, 22. The judge ruled
there was probable cause to send the case to a grand jury.
Leavell-Keaton, who is legally blind and not the biological mother, is
charged with aggravated child abuse and abuse of a corpse.
After Thursday's hearing, a prosecutor said charges against Leavell-Keaton could be upgraded to murder.
"Investigations go where they go and it is not uncommon for charges to
be upgraded," said Joe Beth Murphree, assistant district attorney for
Mobile County.
Testimony related in court by Angela Prine of the Mobile Police
Department included DeBlase's statement to detectives that Natalie died
last March 4 after Leavell-Keaton duct-taped her hands, feet and mouth
and put her in a suitcase. DeBlase said he went to school and returned
about 10 p.m., finding Natalie still in the suitcase and dead.
Leavell-Keaton sat in a chair at the side of the court and appear to
mutter to herself as Prine read DeBlase's statements. Later,
Leavell-Keaton mouthed, "That's a lie."
Attorneys for DeBlase have said he maintains his innocence.
According to DeBlase's statement to detectives, the girl's body was
buried after he stopped at a store to buy a shovel and drove to a rural
site, with Leavell-Keaton and his son in the car.
He said Chase died last June 20 after Leavell-Keaton got angry during
potty training and the child urinated on himself. She duct-taped his
hands and legs, bound a broomstick behind his back, and later stuffed a
sock in his mouth, according to the father's statement to detectives.
DeBlase went to bed, saying he was still stressed out about Natalie's
death and wanted Chase freed by the time he got up, but the boy was dead
in the morning.
According to the testimony, he put the body in a garbage bag and drove to Mississippi to bury it.
The police department's Prine testified that DeBlase first told
detectives his children were kidnapped by masked men at a park on
Fathers' Day. He later said the children were tortured and killed by
Levell-Keaton.
But Prine testified that Leavell-Keaton told detectives DeBlase killed
the children. She described to detectives how each had vomited a black
substance before dying.
Prine also read interviews from various witnesses who described abuse by
Leavell-Keaton of the children. Prine said Dana Mullins told detectives
the family lived nearby for three weeks in December 2008 and that
Leavell-Keaton beat Natalie, forced her to sit for lengthy periods in a
chair and called her "evil brat" and "whore."
Creighton Hobbs, an acquaintance of DeBlase's, said he saw
Leavell-Keaton shake the children, call them "demon spawns from hell"
and put them in a corner.
The bodies were found in December when Leavell-Keaton, seeking a
protective order after moving to Kentucky, disclosed they were dead.
Authorities said DeBlase took them to the sites.
The couple had separate arraignments Thursday. DeBlase, his hands in
handcuffs, looked down and showed no reaction as details of the
children's torture and deaths were read.
According to testimony, the biological mother, Corrine Heathcock, had not seen the children in more than a year when they died.
Darryl Bender, an attorney for Leavell-Keaton, said his client, lived in
fear for her life and in fear for the life of her now 7-month-old
infant. He said toxicology tests might prove his client to be correct in
her statements that the children were poisoned.
And Bender questioned why none of the people who gave statements to
detectives about the children's abuse called authorities to report the
couple.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=9518

Exactly

Natalie and Chase DeBlase are dancing in the courtyard of heaven and
are no longer victims, their grandfather said at a memorial for the
children today.
"They’re in God’s hands now," Richard DeBlase said as he choked back
tears at the Mobile Memorial Gardens Funeral Home. About 170 people
attended the service celebrating the children’s lives.
John DeBlase, Richard’s DeBlase’s son and the children’s father, is
charged with two counts felony murder, two counts aggravated child abuse
and two counts corpse abuse.
Natalie, 4, and Chase, 3, were reported missing, and possibly dead,
on Nov. 18, and police learned that the children’s biological mother in
Mobile hadn’t seen them in more than a year.
Investigators discovered Chase’s remains in a wooded area near
Vancleave in coastal Mississippi on Dec. 8, and Natalie’s body was found
near Citronelle in north Mobile County three days later.
Heather Leavell-Keaton, John DeBlase’s common-law wife, was charged
Friday with capital murder in connection with the deaths of her two
young stepchildren. Both have been jailed since early December.
According to testimony at a hearing Friday, Leavell-Keaton told
police that her common-law husband poisoned the children, but John
DeBlase has said they died of abuse by Leavell-Keaton.
Numerous people attending the memorial shook their heads in disbelief
that Natalie and Chase were dead. Many people commented during the
two-hour visitation that the children’s deaths were senseless, and the
couple’s actions were puzzling.
Richard DeBlase also was struggling to understand what his son did,
and said he plans to testify for the prosecution in the case.
"John’s called the house a few times," Richard DeBlase said, "but, I
can’t bring myself to answer it. He was raised better than this. I’m
confused at the hold Heather seems to have on him. I can’t believe John
would not give them to us if they didn’t want them. I might forgive him
someday, but it won’t be soon."
With tears glistening on his checks, Richard DeBlase told stories to
friends and family members about the children during happier times —
Natalie calling Christmas lights gumdrops, and Chase flirting with
numerous girls of an array of ages.
"Natalie said to me one day, ‘Papaw, you have a great big heart and I
have a little bitty heart, but I sure love you with my little bitty
heart a whole lot,’" Richard DeBlase said as tears flowed down his face
again.
The grandfather told a tale about Chase eating ice cream for the first time.
"He just laughed and giggled and enjoyed it so much that people in
the restaurant would stop and watch him," Richard DeBlase said. "Those
children were my world."
Although questions have been raised as to why the DeBlase family did
not report signs of the children’s abuse to the authorities, Richard
DeBlase said the criticism is unjustified.
"We tried," Deblase said. "We went to their trailer in Citronelle,
beat on the door and were told to leave. We called and asked to speak
the Natalie on the phone, and we were denied."
DeBlase recounted numerous attempts to see or converse with the children during the last year.
"But we were always told something like they were asleep, they were
being punished, they were eating, they were sick, they were in the bath.
There was always an excuse," the grandfather said. "We knew something
was wrong, but we didn’t know what. DHS said we could not report just
that they would not allow us to see the kids. Grandparents have few
rights."
DeBlase said he plans to contact several state legislators and attempt to garner more rights for grandparents.
"We would have taken Jonathan Chase and Natalie," Deblase said. "We
would have raised them. We got no help from anyone. If nothing more
comes from this, hopefully, no other family will have to go through
this."
Martha Reed, John DeBlase’s cousin, said she thinks a grandparents
bill of rights in Alabama would be the only good that could come from
the children’s deaths.
"My aunt and uncle tried to see those babies," Reed said. "We called
at least once a month and asked them to come over and do stuff with us,
but they always said ‘no.’ John said he and Heather wanted to be a
happy, little family and wanted us left out of it. It broke our hearts."

Reed twirled her 5-year-old daughter, Aalyah’s, hair.
Reed said Aalyah and Natalie were only five days apart in age.
"They should have grown up together," Reed said.
"They should have gone to school together," she said. "They should
have been able to grow up together, fight over clothes and makeup.
Aalyah is only 5, and she asks questions. How can I make a 5-year-old
understand when I don’t?"

The woman accused of torturing Natalie and Chase DeBlase was back in court Monday morning facing capital murder charges.

District Court Judge George Hardesty denied bond for Heather
Leavell-Keaton, 22, on the new charges, which were authorized late
Friday afternoon by Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson.

Judge Hardesty asked defense attorney Ray Pierson, who was in the
courtroom on other business, to represent Keaton during the hearing.
Keaton's family had hired a Birmingham attorney, Darryl Bender, to
represent Keaton on charges of child abuse and abuse of a corpse.
Bender was not notified of the new capital murder charges.

Keaton told investigators in Louisville, Kentucky that she believed the
children were poisoned by their father, John DeBlase, 22. But,
DeBlase, who was charged with two counts of murder in December, insists
the children died after being tortured by their stepfather.

DeBlase told police he found Natalie dead at their apartment in West
Mobile after Keaton duct taped her hands and feet, put a sock in her
mouth and stuffed her in a suitcase for more than 9 hours. DeBlase
admitted he knew Natalie was in the suitcase but went to school and told
Keaton "she better be out when I get back."

DeBlase then told police his son, Chase, died after Keaton duct taped
his hands to the side of his legs, strapped a broom handle to his back,
shoved a sock in his mouth and forced him to stand in a corner all night
while the adults slept.

Based on what Keaton and DeBlase have told investigators, prosecutors
believe Natalie was killed on March 4, 2010 and Chase was killed on
Father's Day, June 20, 2010.

Keaton and DeBlase are both charged with abuse of a corpse for allegedly
dumping the children's bodies on the side of the road. Natalie's body
was found near a Beverly Jeffries Highway in Citronelle, while Chase's
body, wearing only a diaper, was found in a wooded area in Vancleave,
Mississippi. Police found a sock and duct tape near Chase's body.

During a preliminary hearing Friday morning, the lead investigator
testified about statements from friends of John DeBlase, who described
the abuse they witnessed against the children during their short lives.
Most of the friends identified Keaton, who until late Friday afternoon
was only charged with aggravated child abuse and abuse of a corpse, as
the abuser.

Creighton Hobbs, who says the children called him "uncle", told police
Keaton yelled at the children, calling them "demon spawns from hell" and
often said she hated the children and "wished they were dead." Another
friend, who told police the children were often bruised and hungry,
recalled an occasion when Keaton and DeBlase ate Wendy's hamburgers and
only gave the children lettuce. No one who witnessed the abuse ever
reported it to police or to the Department of Human Resources before the
children's death.

Blind Stepmother Pleads Not Guilty To Capital Murder Charges




The woman accused of torturing Natalie and Chase DeBlase pleaded not guilty to capital murder charges Tuesday.



MOBILE, Alabama - The woman accused of torturing Natalie and Chase DeBlase pleaded not guilty to capital murder charges Tuesday.

Heather Leavell-Keaton, 22, who was initially charged with child abuse and abuse of a corpse, appeared in court on the upgraded murder charges with two court appointed attorneys, Richard Horne and Jim Vollmer.

The prosecutor has declined to discuss what brought about the capital murder charges, but testimony during a preliminary hearing on related charges suggests the children died after being tortured by Keaton.

The children’s father, John DeBlase, who is also facing murder charges, told police he found Natalie dead at their apartment in West Mobile after Keaton duct taped her hands and feet, put a sock in her mouth and stuffed her in a suitcase for more than 9 hours. DeBlase admitted he knew Natalie was in the suitcase but went to school and told Keaton "she better be out when I get back."

DeBlase then told police his son, Chase, died after Keaton duct taped his hands to the side of his legs, strapped a broom handle to his back, shoved a sock in his mouth and forced him to stand in a corner all night while the adults slept.

Meanwhile, Keaton, who is legally blind, has blamed DeBlase for the children’s death, telling police she believes the children were poisoned by their father.

Based on what Keaton and DeBlase have told investigators, prosecutors believe Natalie was killed on March 4, 2010 and Chase was killed on Father's Day, June 20, 2010.

Keaton and DeBlase are both charged with abuse of a corpse for allegedly dumping the children's bodies on the side of the road. Natalie's body was found near a Beverly Jeffries Highway in Citronelle, while Chase's body, wearing only a diaper, was found in a wooded area in Vancleave, Mississippi. Police found a sock and duct tape near Chase's body.

A preliminary hearing on Keaton's capital murder charges is scheduled for February 18.

http://www.wkrg.com/alabama/article/blind-stepmother-pleads-not-guilty-to-capital-murder-charges/1204090/Jan-18-2011_11-32-am/

Details of Deblase Children's Death Investigation Revealed in Court

Published: 10:54 am
Updated: 11:04 am

Excerpt:

(MOBILE, Ala.) - . . .

During the preliminary hearing, the investigator said the inmate told police that Keaton and John DeBlase, the children's father, first bought antifreeze and fed it to their dog in order to see how long it would take to kill a living thing.

She told police Keaton told her they began putting antifreeze in the children's food. She said Natalie DeBlase was first to show the effects of the antifreeze. When her organs began shutting down, she said Keaton told her she and DeBlase put Natalie in a bathtub, where she died.

READ MORE: http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Details-of-Deblase-Childrens-Death-Investigation/IFSkiyvxuU2w5DS9E_zy-g.cspx

DeBlase case: Capital murder brought against father of slain Mobile County kids

Published: Friday, August 19, 2011, 12:52 PM
Updated: Friday, August 19, 2011, 12:56 PM
Brendan Kirby



MOBILE, Alabama — A grand jury here this morning indicted a couple on capital murder charges in the deaths of 2 young children in what the county’s top prosecutor called the most depraved crime of her career.

The indictment affirmed the initial charges filed against Heather Leavell-Keaton but upgraded the charges against her common-law husband, John DeBlase, who originally had been arrested on felony murder charges. The grand jury also charged Leavell-Keaton with 2 counts of aggravated child abuse.

Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich said the upgraded charges against DeBlase are based on new evidence, which she declined to specify.

“This is the most vile case I’ve ever been associated with,” said Rich, who has been a prosecutor for 16 years.

DeBlase’s attorney, James Sears, could not immediately be reached for comment today.

An attorney for Leavell-Keaton, James Vollmer, said he was not surprised by the charges. “We’ve been expecting an indictment for capital murder the whole time,” he said.

Vollmer said he would not be able to comment further until prosecutors disclose their evidence to the defense. “We don’t know what they’re claiming their evidence is,” he said.

DeBlase-children.jpgView full sizeJonathan Chase DeBlase, Natalie DeBlase

The indictment, which charges the defendants with 2 counts of capital murder, alleges that DeBlase, 27, and Leavell-Keaton, 22, last year intentionally caused the deaths of 4-year-old Natalie and 3-year-old Chase by poisoning and/or asphyxiation and/or starvation and/or dehydration.

“We have reason to believe any one or more of these killed the children, based on the evidence that we will be presenting,” said Rich, who will lead a team of prosecutors trying the case.

After their arrests, both defendants sought to shift the blame to each other. Leavell-Keaton, the children’s stepmother, told authorities that she noticed a toxic odor on their breath and saw them throwing up black vomit. She said she believed their father poisoned them, according to police testimony.

An investigator testified that John DeBlase, though, told police that he found his children dead after Leavell-Keaton stuffed the girl in a suitcase and tied the boy to a broomstick with duct tape and put a sock in his mouth.

“The conduct and treatment of these children up to their deaths was just disgusting,” Rich said today. “We feel like the evidence shows, and obviously the grand jury has found probable cause, that both of these defendants engaged in acts that caused the deaths of these 2 children.”

At a preliminary hearing in February, Mobile police Detective Angela Prine testified that Leavell-Keaton slowly poisoned the children by pouring antifreeze into their food because she no longer wanted to be responsible for raising them.

Investigators in December found the bodies of both children dumped in separate wooded areas. That was a month after both had been reported missing. Neither had been seen in months. Prine testified that Natalie, whose body was found near Citronelle, died in a bathtub in March 2010. She testified that Chase, whose body was found near Vancleave, Mississippi, died in June of last year.

If convicted of capital murder, the defendants would face the death penalty to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/08/grand_jury_upgrades_charges_to.html

DeBlase case: Father, stepmother of slain children plead not guilty to capital murder
Published: Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 4:13 PM

MOBILE, Alabama -- A couple accused of torturing and poisoning two children to death pleaded not guilty by mental disease in court this afternoon.
A judge ordered that a state forensic psychologist evaluate John DeBlase, the children’s father.
His common-law wife, Heather Leveall-Keaton, has already been evaluated although a report has not yet been completed, court officials said.
DeBlase, 27, and Leavell-Keaton, 22, are charged with capital murder in the deaths of 4-year-old Natalie DeBlase and 3-year-old Chase DeBlase.
Investigators in December found the siblings’ bodies dumped in separate wooded areas in Mississippi and Alabama one month after they were reported missing.
In arraignment hearings Wednesday, DeBlase — who appeared to have dramatically lost weight while in jail — and Leavell-Keaton entered pleas of not guilty or not guilty by reason of mental disease or mental defect.

Both are being held in Mobile County Metro Jail, although they are driven to court separately and kept apart.
Defense attorney Jim Sears said that DeBlase has mental health problems, but he declined to be more specific.
A Mobile County grand jury last week upgraded charges against the father from felony murder to capital murder.
Sears said that DeBlase found out about the new charges in jail watching the local news on TV.
“He’s heartbroken that his children are dead,” Sears said. “He was very firm in saying he had nothing to do with the death of his children.”
Indictments allege that DeBlase and Leavell-Keaton intentionally killed the children by poisoning and/or asphyxiation and/or starvation and/or dehydration.

Natalie DeBlase is shown in an undated photo. (Photo courtesy Corrine Heathcock)
If convicted of capital murder, the defendants would face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Leavell-Keaton also faces two counts of aggravated child abuse. She is accused of burning, scratching, beating and starving the children.
District Attorney Ashley Rich said on Wednesday that there is no evidence indicating that the couple are insane.
Rich wouldn’t comment when asked whether prosecutors could say exactly how the children died.
In previous court hearings, police have said that Leavell-Keaton slowly poisoned the children by pouring antifreeze into their food because she no longer wanted to be responsible for raising them.
Police said Natalie, whose body was found near Citronelle, died in March 2010, and Chase, whose body was found near Vancleave, Miss., died in June 2010.

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/08/father_stepmother_of_slain_deb.html

Snipped from the article:
Sears said that DeBlase found out about the new charges in jail watching the local news on TV.
“He’s heartbroken that his children are dead,” Sears said. “He was very firm in saying he had nothing to do with the death of his children.”

What a disgusting piece of garbage. He slowly murdered his children and watched while his cruel wife did the same and he's heartbroken! These murderers should be put through the same torture they imposed on their helpless children. I just found this site the other day and these stories have broken my heart. I never imagined there was so much child abuse going on. I am truly astonished that parents can do these horrific things to their flesh and blood. Even wild animals take care of their own babies and protect them. These people are the scum of the earth.

Woman accused in killings of DeBlase children moving to mental health hospital
Published: Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 3:26 PM

MOBILE, Alabama -- A woman accused of abusing and poisoning 2 children in Mobile will be moved to a state mental health facility tomorrow for determination of whether she can stand trial on capital murder charges, according to prosecutors.
Heather Leavell-Keaton, 22, is accused of killing 4-year-old Natalie DeBlase and 3-year-old Chase DeBlase, the children of her common-law husband, who has also been charged with capital murder.
Leavell-Keaton pleaded not guilty or not guilty by reason of mental disease or mental defect.
A state psychologist evaluated Leavell-Keaton to investigate whether she is competent to stand trial and whether she was competent at the time of the alleged slayings.
Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich said that the psychologist could not immediately make a decision, and he recommended further observation.

Leavell-Keaton will be transferred from Mobile County Metro Jail — where she has been held with no bail — to Bryce Hospital, an Alabama Department of Mental Health facility in Tuscaloosa, according to Rich.
The psychologist’s report has been sealed from the public by Mobile County Circuit Judge Rick Stout, court officials said.
Police have said that Leavell-Keaton slowly poisoned the children by pouring antifreeze into their food because she no longer wanted to be responsible for raising them.
She is charged with two counts of capital murder and two counts of aggravated child abuse.
This morning, Leavell-Keaton, who suffers from vision loss, appeared in court for a brief hearing on the status of her case.
In court, defense attorney Richard Horne said that in some criminal cases, defendants receiving treatment at mental health facilities have “stayed there for a significant period of time.”

Investigators in December found the siblings’ bodies dumped separately in wooded areas in Mississippi and Alabama one month after they were reported missing. They hadn’t been seen in months.
Police said Natalie, whose body was found near Citronelle, Ala., died in March 2010, and Chase, whose body was found near Vancleave, died in June 2010.
The children’s father, John DeBlase, 27, also pleaded not guilty or not guilty by reason of mental disease or mental defect to capital murder charge in August. A judge ordered a mental evaluation of DeBlase.
Prosecutors have previously said that there is no evidence the couple are insane or unable to stand trial.


http://blog.al.com/live/2011/09/woman_accused_in_killings_of_d.html

Prosecution seeks new indictments in killing of DeBlase children

Published: Thursday, July 26, 2012, 4:24 PM
Updated: Thursday, July 26, 2012, 4:48 PM
Katherine Sayre, Press-Register

MOBILE, Alabama -- Prosecutors plan to seek new indictments next month in the capital murder cases against Heather Leavell-Keaton and John DeBlase, the couple accused of abusing and killing DeBlase’s two young children and dumping their bodies in wooded areas of Alabama and Mississippi.

District Attorney Ashley Rich, in a hearing this afternoon, said the new indictments will bring three counts of capital murder against each of the defendants. They currently each face four charges of capital murder.

Rich said the change is a legal technicality, and the new indictments won’t change the allegations or the sentence the couple would ultimately receive, if convicted.The prosecution is seeking the death penalty.

Leavell-Keaton, 23, and DeBlase, 28, stand accused of killing 4-year-old Natalie DeBlase and 3-year-old Chase DeBlase, who are John DeBlase’s children from a previous relationship.

Investigators in December 2010 found the young siblings’ bodies dumped separately in wooded areas in Mississippi and Alabama one month after they were reported missing. Police have said the children suffered beatings, torture, dehydration and poisoning by antifreeze.

DeBlase is scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 15, while his former girlfriend, Leavell-Keaton, is scheduled to stand trial in January.

Alabama law defines capital murder by several definitions. DeBlase and Leavell-Keaton are currently charged with two counts of killing a child under the age of 14 -- one for each of the children -- and two counts of killing multiple victims in the same crime.

The defense disputed the legality of charging each defendant with capital murder twice under the same definition of multiple victims, and the prosecution agreed that legally, the indictment should be amended.

Rich said the Mobile County grand jury will report a new indictment on Aug. 20.

Meanwhile, Rich declined to comment on why the prosecution chose to bring DeBlase to trial first.

“We’re very anxious to get this case to trial,” Rich said.

Police have said that Leavell-Keaton, who suffers from vision loss, slowly poisoned the children by pouring antifreeze into their food because she no longer wanted to be responsible for raising them. Leavell-Keaton and DeBlase are blaming each other for killing the children, according to the prosecution.

Natalie, whose body was found near Citronelle, died in March 2010, and Chase, whose body was found near Vancleave, Mississippi, died in June 2010, although they weren’t reported missing until months later.

Jim Sears, defense attorney for John DeBlase, said he will ask Circuit Judge Rick Stout to move the trial outside of Mobile County because of the widespread public attention the case has received, including interviews given by DeBlase’s father, who had “pretty rough things to say about the entire situation.”

http://blog.al.com/live/2012/07/prosecution_seeks_new_indictme.html

Deblase trial delayed for third time

Updated: Thursday, 13 Sep 2012, 10:07 PM CDT
Published : Thursday, 13 Sep 2012, 10:06 PM CDT
Paige Malone

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Thursday a Mobile County judge granted the defense another delay in the Deblase murder case.

John Deblase and his common law wife Heather Keaton are accused of torturing and killing Deblase’s two young children, Chase and Jonathan Deblase.

The two pleaded not guilty by reason by mental defect. Deblase has already been evaluated by the prosecutions expert. District Attorney Ashley Rich says it showed he was competent.

Neither Deblase nor Keaton has been evaluated by the defense, one of the reasons for the delay.

Rich says the defense told the judge they needed more time. This is the third time this trial has been delayed.

"We will continue to get our witnesses prepared for the case every time they get a continuance because we intend to see this through to the fullest and make sure that justice is done,” said Rich.

Deblase and Keaton will be tried separately. Deblase was set to go to trial next month, but that’s been pushed to January. Keaton’s trial date has not been set.

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/mobile_county/deblase-trial-delayed-for-third-time

Judge reluctantly postpones trial of Mobile man accused of killing children

By Brendan Kirby | bkirby@al.com
on December 05, 2012 at 5:35 PM

MOBILE, Alabama – The judge in the John DeBlase child murder case this afternoon reluctantly postponed the Mobile man’s capital murder trial – again.

Attorneys for DeBlase, who stands accused of killing his two young children and dumping their bodies in the woods, asked for the delay to give their expert witness more time to review DNA evidence. Mobile County Circuit Judge Rick Stout said he was not inclined postpone the case and proposed holding off before making a decision.

But Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich said she had several witnesses flying in from out of state and that if the judge were going to delay the trial, he should do it now. He agreed but admonished the lawyers to get the case ready.

“I’ve said it before: We need to get this case tried,” he said.

Instead of Jan. 7, the case now will be tried on April 1, which was to be the date that co-defendant Heather Leavell-Keaton’s trial was supposed to start. That trial now will begin June 4.

The April date is the fourth trial setting in the case.

Defense attorney Ashley Cameron said that the case is complicated and the consequences for her client dire. With the possibility of the death penalty, she said, it was better to make sure the defense had all the time it needed.

“I don’t really understand why there’s such urgency to get this case to trial,” she said.

The latest issue had to do with DNA testimony. Cameron said her expert witness needed more time. She said she accidentally had misplaced the DNA report prepared by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences and had to ask prosecutors to give her another copy last week.

That, Stout said, is indicative of how the case has proceeded.

On another issue, the judge ordered the defense to give him by Thursday a preliminary report of a consultant helping to prepare for the penalty phase of DeBlase’s trial if the jury convicts him. During that phase, defense lawyers will be able to put on any evidence they have to convince the jury that their client should not be executed.

Cameron argued that prosecutors are not entitled to have the opinions of the expert witness.

“That’s stuff that we feel we don’t have to turn over, and the rules say we don’t have to turn over,” she said.

Rich argued that since the defense has wide latitude to present mitigation evidence – hearsay rules do not apply, for instance – prosecutors should have the right to know what claims the defense plans to make so they have a chance to counter it.

“I’ll agree with that. I think that puts you at an unfair disadvantage,” the judge said.

Stout said he would review the preliminary report and decide whether it should be given to the prosecution.

http://blog.al.com/live/2012/12/judge_reluctantly_postpones_tr.html