~New information released ~ John DeBlase, Tells Authorities Location of His Buried Children/ DeBlase held on murder charges; Bond set at $500,000/ Bond set at $206,000 for stepmother, Heather Keaton, accused of torturing the DeBlase children.

The father of two missing children in Mobile, Ala., told authorities that his children are dead and that he had buried them, according to FOX10 News.
John DeBlase, 27, allegedly made these revelations during a thorough interview with police, leading investigators to search for the childrens' bodies within a 100-mile radius of Mobile, according to FOX10 News.
On Saturday, investigators planned to assemble a massive search party.
"We want to make sure that we find these children and that they're buried properly," said Michael Williams, the Mobile police chief.
The children, Natalie, 5, and Jonathan, 3, were last seen with their father back in July. Since then, no family member came forward to report the children missing. Their stepmother, Heather Leavell-Keaton, was arrested Wednesday in Louisville, Ky.
"We received a call from the Louisville, Kentucky Police Department, stating that a man had walked into the police station up there and told them that there were some kids that were from Mobile that were dead," said Chris Levy, a police spokesman. The man was believed to be Leavell-Keaton’s brother.
While he was being escorted to a police cruiser, DeBlase reportedly told the press that the stepmother did it.
The childrens' biological mother has spoken with FOX10 News within the past few days, but she was too distraught to speak on Friday evening.


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Oh my. May those little angels rest in paradise...and their "father" rot in hell.

I believe that there is some belief that the stepmother killled the children.

Ala. cops: Father says 2 missing kids dead, buried
(AP) – 7 hours ago

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — A father told investigators that his two young children missing since the summer are dead and buried, prompting corpse-abuse charges for the man and a search by cadaver dogs for the youngsters' bodies, police said.

The father, John DeBlase, and the children's stepmother have also been charged with child abuse.

Mobile Police Chief Michael Williams said Deblase told authorities about an area where he remembers burying the bodies of 5-year-old Natalie DeBlase and 3-year-old Chase DeBlase, WALA-TV reported. Police wouldn't disclose the site but said it's within 100 miles of the coastal Alabama city.

A police spokesman did not immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press, and it was unclear if the two had attorneys.

DeBlase was arrested Friday in the Florida Panhandle town of Navarre and charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of abuse of a corpse.

"We want to make sure that we find these children and that they're buried properly," Williams said.

The children were last seen in July during an outing in Mobile, but their disappearance wasn't reported until police in Kentucky received a tip recently from a relative of the stepmother's, police said. Mobile police said they began investigating about a week ago.

On Wednesday, police in Louisville, Ky., arrested the children's stepmother, Heather Leavell-Keaton, and charged her with child abuse.

"We have been able to determine that both of them are responsible for the death of these two children," said Mobile police spokesman Christopher Levy.

Police say the charges of abuse of a corpse filed against the father resulted from evidence he buried the bodies without proper respect.

"He's given us an indication of a location where they may be, where he remembers burying the children," Williams said.

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Thank you, Artgal!

I amend my previous comment.

May those sweet babies rest in paradise--and may the "father" and "stepmother" rot in prison after a long life of being reminded how vile & despicable they are.

(MOBILE, Ala.) - Natalie and Jonathan Chase Deblase were last seen in Mobile in July. Court documents reveal their stepmother Heather Leavell-Keaton fears their father killed them.

She is in jail in Kentucky charged with two counts of willful abuse of a child. Police are still looking for the children's father John Deblase. Their biological mother says she does not know what to think.

"I don't want to think my children are dead. I don't even want to contemplate it. I'm just tying to keep hope," Corrine Heathcock said.

Staying hopeful in a seemingly hopeless situation, Heathcock says she is waiting for word on the fate her children.

"The waiting is the killing me. That's the worst part," Heathcock said.

As Heathcock waits, more information about her ex-husband John Deblase is coming out in court documents. Leavell-Keaton, who has an infant child with Deblase, told investigators in Kentucky she feared for her daughter's safety.

She wrote in a statement, "I am afraid that he is going to do something to harm our daughter" because "he may have murdered his children." She went on to write that Deblase found the children unresponsive and he "had to do what he had to do."

"Could I expect John Joseph Deblase of this? No. Do I know he's got a bad temper, yes. I don't want to believe it, not somebody that I trusted with my children," Heathcock said.

Heathcock shared a home video taken of her kids with John and Heather. In it, the kids are waving and smiling.

Dana Mullins says it was taken from a much happier time. She says she witnessed both verbal and physical abuse of the children when Deblase, his children and Leavell-Keaton stayed with her earlier this year.

"She had taken her by the hair of the head and was beating her with a studded belt. She let out a blood curling scream. So I stepped in," Mullins said.

"The police told me they don't think they're going to find the kids alive. If they don't, I want them so I can bury them. So, I don't go through the rest of my life wondering "what if," Heathcock said.

Mobile police say they are investigating the disappearance of the children as a missing persons case and are actively looking for Deblase; they also say he is not a suspect in any crime as of now.

Court documents show Heathcock and Deblase divorced June last year. Heathcock says Deblase had custody and that she has not seen them for more than a year.
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So this woman in the story above saw the stepmother beat a five year old with a studded belt, did she.
Who did she report it to at that time? No one.

What is going on in this crazy world?!? Is it "hunting season" on children? It seems like every day we are hearing another story of children being abused & murdered. STOP THE INSANITY!! Children are given to us as precious gifts from God - for us to love, nurture, and protect. NOT to abuse & murder!!

(CNN) -- Police in Mobile, Alabama, said Sunday they are "actively searching" for the bodies of two young children believed killed by their father and stepmother.

Authorities began investigating a missing persons report on Jonathan DeBlase, 3, and his older sister Natalie, 4, on November 19. However, the children have not been seen since late June, said Officer Christopher Levy, spokesman for Mobile police.

The children's father, John Joseph DeBlase, 27, was arrested Friday. He faces two counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of abuse of a corpse, Mobile police said in a statement. Stepmother Heather Keaton was arrested earlier in Louisville, Kentucky, and faces two counts of willful abuse and neglect of a child, police said.

Keaton went to police in Kentucky and asked for a restraining order against DeBlase. The couple had been living in Louisville, Kentucky, but had apparently separated, Levy said.

According to police documents from Louisville, Keaton told investigators she felt DeBlase "may have murdered his children because he said that they were nonresponsive," CNN affiliate WKRG reported. She said DeBlase had told her "choices were made ... and he had to do what he had to do."

Keaton told police she feared for her own life because of events that took place six months prior in Mobile, Levy said. "When she was explaining why she needed this emergency order of protection from him ... it was told to them (investigators) that the kids were dead and it had occurred in Mobile."

WKRG said Keaton approached authorities November 18. Levy said police were notified and began investigating a day later.

Keaton, identified as Heather Leavell-Keaton by WKRG, was arrested Tuesday night, and police began looking for DeBlase.

On Friday, Mobile police were notified by the Santa Rosa County, Florida, Sheriff's Department that DeBlase had been found, police said. He was returned to Mobile.

"Detectives have determined that both John DeBlase and Heather Keaton are responsible" for the children's deaths, the Mobile police statement said. "Police will continue to search for the children."

Mobile Police Chief Micheal T. Williams told reporters Friday that police believe the children are dead, based on what DeBlase has told them.

"He's given us an indication of a location where they may be, where he remembers burying the children," Williams said. A team of investigators, searchers and cadaver dogs would be looking in the area over the next few days, he said.

Williams would tell reporters only that the location was within 100 miles of Mobile. But the Mobile Press-Register newspaper reported that searchers on Saturday looked for the bodies near Vancleave, Mississippi.

Asked about the corpse-abuse charge, Williams told reporters, "It certainly means that there has to be a dead body, so that body was treated in a manner that wasn't consistent with the way that we normally treat our deceased."

Levy said Sunday the corpse-abuse charge was "going to be more in reference to him taking their bodies and leaving them in the woods."

Jackson County, Mississippi, Sheriff Mike Byrd told the Press-Register on Saturday that the boy's body might have been tossed on the side of a Mississippi road.

"From what we understand, the father was going to bury the child about six months ago. He had a shovel and everything, but the ground was too hard," Byrd told the newspaper. "He's not real sure where. Whether he's telling us the truth or not, we just don't know."

Byrd said Keaton and DeBlase have each accused the other of killing the children. The two agree that at least one child's body is in the Vancleave area, he said, according to the Press-Register.

Attempts by CNN to contact Byrd on Sunday were not immediately successful.

Williams said Friday that DeBlase was being "somewhat cooperative," and police want to gain as much information as they can while his cooperation lasts.

"We are actively searching," Levy said Sunday. Police still aren't sure about the circumstances leading up to the deaths of the children, he said.

Keaton waived extradition in a court hearing Wednesday in Kentucky, WKRG reported. She will be brought to Mobile to face the charges against her.

The children's mother, Corrine Heathcock of Mobile, told WKRG on Thursday that she hadn't seen her children in more than a year. DeBlase took the two children when the couple divorced, she said. "I didn't have a steady place to live. I didn't have a job." She said when she attempted to see the children, DeBlase picked fights with her and stopped answering the phone.

Heathcock pleaded publicly for her ex-husband to come forward as police were searching for him. "Turn yourself in," she said. "Where's my children at? I want them home ... if they're dead, I want to bury them. They deserve that."

Asked how no concerns were raised despite the children not being seen in months, Levy said, "No family members, no friends, no neighbors, none of them reported them missing ... And that's probably one of the most disturbing parts of the whole thing, that we're finding out six months later that they've been gone."

He said several people have come forward in the media and said they believed the children were being abused, but did not notify anyone.

"That's my question for them, is 'Where were you a year ago when they were actually in danger?'" he said.

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Asked how no concerns were raised despite the children not being seen in months, Levy said, "No family members, no friends, no neighbors, none of them reported them missing ... And that's probably one of the most disturbing parts of the whole thing, that we're finding out six months later that they've been gone."

He said several people have come forward in the media and said they believed the children were being abused, but did not notify anyone.

Why are people standing by and letting children be abused and murdered?

Because they are SHEEP thats why and afraid to get involved. Sickening isnt it -they always say it afterwards but when you question them they will say they "werent sure". There are also a lot of false reports made as well. The systems are not in place for immediate action either to get over to a house to check to see whats going on. It all takes too long.

MOBILE, Ala. — Bones found Wednesday in the woods of rural Mississippi are believed to be the remains of a missing 3-year-old Alabama boy whose father told authorities he dumped the child there in March, police said.

The boy's father, John DeBlase, 27, of Mobile, is held on charges of child abuse and corpse abuse. He has been assisting authorities in the search for his son's body.

"Everything we found is absolutely consistent with the information he gave to us on what to look for," Mobile Police Officer Chris Levy said Wednesday.

The bones were found by search crews Wednesday morning in the woods just off Highway 57 north of Vancleave, Miss.

Tests still need to be conducted to confirm the identity, but authorities are convinced the bones are the remains of Chase DeBlase, Levy said.


John DeBlase has also told authorities he dumped the body of his 5-year-old daughter Natalie in the woods north of Mobile in June. Her remains have not been found.

He claims they were killed by their stepmother, Heather Leavell-Keaton. She is jailed in Louisville, Ky. on child abuse charges awaiting return to Mobile. Leavell-Keaton says DeBlase poisoned them.

Heather Leavell-Kenton is currently behind bars in Louisville, Ky., on child abuse charges. Her mother described Leavell-Kenton as a smart and ambitious woman who has been legally blind since birth.
Their families echo each one's allegations. Leavell-Keaton's mother said her daughter had tried before to leave a lying, controlling man, and they suspect he poisoned the children. DeBlase's parents, however, said they believe it was a violent and unpredictable stepmother who manipulated their son into helping cover up slayings she committed.

Still, they're not excusing DeBlase.
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Body of missing 3-year-old Alabama boy found

(CNN) -- The body of a 3-year-old Alabama boy police believe was killed by his father and stepmother was found Wednesday near Vancleave, Mississippi, authorities said.
Jonathan Chase DeBlase had not been seen since March, police in Mobile, Alabama, said on Monday. Investigators believe he was slain around that time. His sister, 4-year-old Natalie, was last seen in June, when authorities believe she also was killed. However, police did not know they were missing until November 19.
The boy's skeletal remains were found about 12 miles north of Vancleave, after the boy's father, John Joseph DeBlase -- who is in police custody in Alabama -- gave authorities information on where the body might be buried, said Jackson County, Mississippi, Sheriff Mike Byrd.
Based on that information, the sheriff's office cordoned off a five-mile stretch along a highway and dispatched eight 10-man teams to locate the remains. The body was found about 10:30 a.m., Byrd said.
"We're very certain" the remains are that of the missing boy, Byrd said. "We're just thankful that we found this little boy. Nothing's left but just the skeletal remains." The medical examiner will remove the remains, he said, and move them to a forensic crime lab where investigators will attempt to determine the cause of death.
The body of Natalie DeBlase has not been found, Byrd said.
Investigators believe that after Jonathan's death, John DeBlase, his wife Heather Keaton and Natalie continued to live in the Peach Place Apartments in Mobile for months, Mobile Police Officer Christopher Levy said Monday. They didn't leave until the summer, after Natalie was last seen in June.
"It's really terrible, as if nobody really cared," Levy said of the time that transpired between the sightings and launch of the search. "That's what we can't seem to understand at this point."
Both DeBlase and Keaton are now in custody, and blaming each other for the siblings' deaths.
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 my will."
According to the domestic violence petition, signed Heather L. Leavell-Keaton, she 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."
Keaton herself was arrested last week, charged with two counts of willful abuse and neglect of a child.
Police hunt for missing Alabama siblings

Three days later, Randall Melville -- who for two days had been hosting DeBlase, his long-time friend -- called Santa Rosa County, Florida, police after hearing news reports about the children's disappearance, according to a report from the county sheriff's department.
When Melville asked DeBlase about it, the children's father yelled, "I didn't do it" and left the home, the report said. Police eventually tracked down DeBlase, who again asserted his innocence before his arrest Friday.
He is charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of abuse of a corpse -- the latter because, Levy said, of his "disposing of the bodies in the woods."
Mobile Police Chief Micheal T. Williams told HLN's Nancy Grace on Monday that the father "gave us an indication" of where the two children may have been buried, leading to searches for their bodies at two locations over the weekend.
"Our hearts are broken, because these two beautiful children are missing and presumed to be dead," Williams said. "We will continue our searches until we locate the bodies and they are properly buried."
Authorities began looking over the weekend in southeastern Mississippi, about an hour's drive from Mobile. Police have also searched for the children's bodies in Citronelle, Alabama, about 30 miles north of Mobile, according to CNN affiliate WKRG.
On Monday, Mobile County District Judge Charles McKnight set bail for DeBlase at $206,000 -- $100,000 each for the child abuse charges and $3,000 apiece for the corpse abuse counts, according to CNN affiliate WALA.
Prosecutors had asked that bail be denied, given the severity of the crime, and contended DeBlase was a flight risk given that he stayed in homeless shelters to avoid being caught.
DeBlase and Keaton had 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.
Levy said the two slain children's biological mother lives in Mobile, but she did not have custody "because, at the time, she didn't have a place to live."

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The little boy was not seen since last MARCH? The Dad and step mom lived in the same place from March thru' June when the little girl was last seen?
What's wrong with people, no one noticed? How can you miss children?
The Grandparents didn't notice?
This step mom only went to the police when SHE was afraid of him and she was worried about her own infant? OMG, she didn't care at all about these two other little precious children before that?
She deserves the same as he deserves if this is true!

The children were so fragile looking - I dont know something has to be done. None of these people ever get involved. No one wants to step up to the plate and make a report. The apathy is appaling.

VANCLEAVE, Miss. — An Alabama man who told authorities that he buried his two young children will be charged with murder now that investigators have found remains believed to be his 3-year-old son, police said Wednesday.

Mobile Police Officer Chris Levy said the discovery of a boy's bones in rural Mississippi gives authorities enough evidence to file two murder charges against John DeBlase. Levy said authorities are convinced the remains found Wednesday morning are those of Chase DeBlase, but they're conducting tests to confirm the identity.
A man has been arrested for plotting to blow up a military recruitment center in the Baltimore area, authorities said Wednesday.
..Levy told The Associated Press that prosecutors gave police approval to prepare the murder charges after the bones were found in woods near Vancleave. DeBlase, 27, is being held on charges of child abuse and corpse abuse, and he has been assisting authorities in the search for the children's bodies. Remains of the 5-year-old girl haven't yet been located.

John DeBlase told investigators he dumped the boy's body in March.

"Everything we found is absolutely consistent with the information he gave to us on what to look for," Levy said.

The father has also told authorities he dumped the body of his daughter Natalie in the woods north of Mobile in June.

Police say the boy was last seen in March and the girl in June, but their disappearances weren't reported until authorities in Kentucky received a tip recently. Mobile police began investigating last month.
.John DeBlase claims the children were killed by their stepmother, Heather Leavell-Keaton. She is jailed in Louisville, Ky. on child abuse charges and awaiting return to Mobile. Leavell-Keaton says DeBlase poisoned them.

Police aren't ready yet to charge Leavell-Keaton with killing either of the children, but Levy has said that both suspects shared responsibility for their deaths.


Louisville Metropolitan Dept. of Corrections / AP
Heather Leavell-Kenton The couple's families echo each one's allegations. Leavell-Keaton's mother said her daughter had tried before to leave a lying, controlling man, and they suspect he poisoned the children. DeBlase's parents, however, said they believe it was a violent and unpredictable stepmother who manipulated their son into helping cover up slayings she committed.

Still, they're not excusing DeBlase.

"I can't believe John is responsible for this, but I know he could have prevented it," Deblase's mother, Dorothy, told The Associated Press before the boy's body was found. "But if Heather told him to go jump off a bridge, he would go jump in a river."

DeBlase was arraigned earlier Wednesday on the lesser charges. A judge set a preliminary hearing for Jan. 4. His court-appointed attorney didn't immediately return a telephone message.

Levy said witnesses told authorities both suspects beat the kids on numerous occasions.

"We have some incidents where people observed them striking the children with objects," Levy said, adding investigators are disturbed no one came forward sooner. "The children had some injuries that warranted medical attention which they never properly received."

DeBlase and Leavell-Keaton had been together since 2008, but they were not legally married. The couple met on the website MySpace while DeBlase and his children were living with his parents and Leavell-Keaton was attending nearby Spring Hill College in Mobile.

Her mother, Helena Keaton, said her daughter was legally blind and dependent on DeBlase because of her limited eyesight.

"She does not know really what happened to the kids. We suspect he poisoned them," Keaton told the AP, adding that her daughter smelled really bad breath on both children.

"They had the same symptoms. They were not eating, they were not drinking. They were beginning to use the bathroom on themselves although they were potty trained," she said. "John would not take those children to get medical care."

In the spring, Keaton said, DeBlase forced Leavell-Keaton to go on a long ride. DeBlase finally stopped and got something out of the vehicle, Keaton said, but Leavell-Keaton — who was pregnant at the time with DeBlase's third child — was unsure what it was.

Keaton described DeBlase as a controlling, "habitual liar."

"She has tried to get away from John before, and he has tracked her down," Keaton said.

The couple moved to Kentucky without the children this summer, and Leavell-Keaton had DeBlase's child in August.

DeBlase's parents gave a very different account in an interview before the bodies were found. They say Leavell-Keaton controlled the relationship, wouldn't allow DeBlase to take his children to church and forced him to move out of their home with the kids.

They told the AP they suspect Leavell-Keaton killed the kids during a fit of rage while DeBlase attended night classes to become a personal trainer, then manipulated him into getting rid of the bodies.

The grandparents last saw the children in February when they tracked down their son and Leavell-Keaton at a trailer park in the rural Alabama town of Citronelle.

Leavell-Keaton's family never met the kids, and DeBlase's parents didn't even know the woman was pregnant.

They say the pain of losing their grandchildren is unbearable. They described Chase as a rambunctious little blonde-haired boy and Natalie as "the princess," with penetrating big blue eyes who loved baking cookies with her grandmother.

"They were our reason for living," Richard DeBlase said, tears running down his cheeks. "We watched them from crawling to walking and I can't tell you how badly it hurts us."
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He poisoned his own children? I cannot believe such a thing but yet I know its true. My god what kind of monster is this?

artgal16 wrote:The children were so fragile looking - I dont know something has to be done. None of these people ever get involved. No one wants to step up to the plate and make a report. The apathy is appaling.

It makes me sick. I cannot imagine NOT getting involved!

Now both sets of grandparents are blaming the others kids? OMG, no wonder the Dad and step Mom are blaming each other! Maybe the apple didn't fall far from the tree in this case. If Step Mom's folks suspected something was going on they too should have called LE! Maybe Dad's parents didn't know if they hadn't seen them since February, IDK....

We all have to get proactive and get involved but I don't know how to educate people more...

If the grandparents dont even get involved than how can we expect strangers to? The step mother is legally blind? They are both responsible and they need to be kept in solitary confinement the rest of their lives.
Death penalty is too good for them.

Natalie & Jonathan DeBlase
(not a very clear picture, but all I could find)

Documents obtained by The Mississippi Press allege that at one point before her death, Natalie was duct-taped, then placed inside a suitcase and let to stay there for a day. (Photo Courtesy Richard DeBlase)
Documents obtained by the Mississippi Press detail horrific abuse allegations against John DeBlase and his second wife, Heather Leavell-Keaton, involving the treatment of DeBlase's 2 children, one of whom was found dead in a plastic bag today.

One Mobile County District Court document, an arrest warrant for John DeBlase, alleges that DeBlase committed an act of cruelty and mistreatment by allowing Leavell-Keaton to duct tape Jonathan Chase DeBlase's hands to the sides of his legs and a broom to his back, then place a sock in his mouth before making the 3-year-old stand in a corner all night as the adults went to bed.

Chase's body -- clothed in just a diaper and left in a black plastic garbage bag -- was discovered this morning in a wooded area north of Vancleave, Mississippi, this morning, authorities have said. Police said they are planning to search a wooded area near Citronelle for the boy's sister, 5-year-old Natalie Alexis DeBlase, although the operation won't begin until later in the week.


Boy's body found, father charged with murder, other developments in case
Authorities first discovered that the siblings were missing in November, although they hadn't been seen in months. Police believe Chase was killed in June, while Natalie died in March -- and their bodies were dumped in different states.

So far, police say, DeBlase and Keaton are accusing each other of killing the children. DeBlase was arrested Dec. 3 on charges of aggravated child abuse and abuse of a corpse. Police said he has admitted to discarding their lifeless bodies.

The documents obtained by the Mississippi Press also state:


•Sometime between March 1, 2010, and Nov. 10, 2010, John DeBlase allowed Leavell-Keaton to duct tape Natalie's hands and feet, place a sock in her mouth, place her inside a black suitcase, then leave the suitcase inside a closet from about 8 in the morning until 10 at night. View document in PDF format


•DeBlase abused Natalie's corpse by, on or about March 4, "treating the corpse in a way that outraged ordinary family sensibilities, to-wit: taking the child's body somewhere in the woods around Citronelle and dumping it there." View document in PDF format


•DeBlase abused Chase's body by "knowingly treating the corpse in a way that outrages ordinary family sensibilities, to-wit: taking the child's body to Jackson County, Mississippi, and dumping it somewhere in the woods." View document in PDF format

The documents appear to indicate that it was the abuse and torture specified that led to Chase and Natalie's death.

View full sizeAn excerpt from a document accusing John DeBlase of allowing his wife to torture his son, Chase, earlier this year.

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I cannot handle this right now. OMG, what they hell is wrong with people? Why do these monsters have children? Take them to the nearest ER or Fire Station. They will be taken care of!!

If I read this right now, after Zahra, Caylee, Sandra Cantu...I will never sleep. Just plain horrific!!!!!!!

I agree, Wrap! How can people treat children in such a cruel way? And then "discarding" them like they are garbage? It is all so sickening!! If I was the judge, I would order the both of them to be duct taped & placed in a suitcase... for a looong time!!

Body of missing Alabama girl believed to be found

Alabama police said Saturday that they believe they found the remains of the second of two siblings who allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of their father and his girlfriend.
Searchers near Citronelle, about 50 miles north of Mobile, found skeletal remains believed to belong to Natalie DeBlase, 4, whose father is accused of killing the girl and her brother Jonathan Chase DeBlase, 3, said Mobile Police Maj. Kara Rose.
Authorities on Wednesday found what they suspect are the brother's remains near Vancleave, Mississippi.
The father gave authorities general information on where the bodies might be found in the past week, Rose said.
The discovery of the remains believed to be Natalie DeBlase's was made in a densely wooded area around 9 a.m. Saturday.
John Joseph DeBlase, 27, is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse -- the latter because, Mobile Police spokesman Christopher Levy said, of his "disposing of the bodies in the woods."
DeBlase's girlfriend, Heather Keaton, was arrested last week, charged with two counts of willful abuse and neglect of a child.
Keaton waived extradition in Louisville, Kentucky, and is expected to arrive in Mobile on Sunday, Rose said.
"If it's appropriate to upgrade charges against Heather Keaton, they will be upgraded," Rose said.
Investigators continue to look at evidence and conduct interviews.
"It's a tough case," Rose said. "It has touched most of us."
The cause of death for both sets of remains has not yet been determined, police said.
Natalie, 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.
Police, who did not know the children were missing until November 19, contend that the elder DeBlase allowed Keaton to abuse the children by restraining them with tape, putting socks in their mouths and confining them.
Police believe both children died in Mobile, Levy said.
DeBlase and Keaton blame each other for the siblings' deaths, authorities said.
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.
According to the domestic violence petition, signed "Heather L. Leavell-Keaton," she 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.
The complaints were related to aggravated abuse allegations against DeBlase that were dropped and are now part of the murder charges.
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.

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"Documents obtained by The Mississippi Press allege that at one point before her death, Natalie was duct-taped, then placed inside a suitcase and let to stay there for a day."
I can't read it either, I could barely get thru' Zahra and was having dreams about that. Both that so called dad and step mom should be tortured slowly and that's not good enough. There's no way I could even be near those people. This is beyond beyond. I don't know what in the hell is going on in this country but it's time to do something about our laws.
Looking at little Natalie's picture above taken just last Christmas is very hard for me to do.

OMG, those poor little darlings. How many more children have to suffer at the hands of their parents or other's that are in their "care"? It's just too much!!!

The attorney for an Alabama man charged with killing his two children says his client plans to plead not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

Twenty-seven-year old John Deblase, was charged with murder after a body discovered in north Jackson County was determined to be that of his son, three-year-old Jonathan Chase Deblase.

Deblase's attorney maintains that his client is innocent, and that his common law wife, Heather Leavell-Keaton, is responsible for the murders. She is being extradited to Mobile from Kentucky where she was arrested last week.

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As police continue to investigate Heather Leavell-Keaton, FOX10 News is taking a closer look into her life, before and after meeting John DeBlase.

District Attorney John Tyson Junior told us Thursday, that Keaton's charges were upgraded to aggravated child abuse and aggravated abuse of a corpse.

Keaton is the step-mother to three-year-old Jonathon Chase and five-year-old Natalie DeBlase.

Police tell FOX10 News Keaton and her common law husband are responsible for the children deaths.

Friday, we spoke with Keaton's roommate at Spring Hill College. She says both Keaton and Deblase were troubled and together they were toxic.

Dayna Shonk lived with Keaton their sophomore year. Not long after they moved in, she says Keaton met John Deblase through a mutual friend. The two began talking over the internet and soon, he was visiting Keaton on campus.

"I never liked John from the beginning. He seemed to be more trouble then her. He was more violent, just signs like that," said Shonk.

Although Shonk wasn't thrilled with her roommates new boyfriend, she says Keaton was in it for the long haul.

"I don't think that he wanted a full long term relationship from this. I know Heather always said she dated to marry, never dating to just date, so I think there was confusion on that too," said Shonk.

What worried her the most was Deblase's children, who were inevitably involved in the couples relationship.

"I would say she's very much a child herself. She doesn't need to be around kids. I think that if she wouldn't get her way that she could be driven maybe to act violently," said Shonk.

According to Shonk, Keaton became very introverted once she met Deblase. She said Keaton rarely talked to her friends about her relationship in detail, but she did make comments.

"She never said she would be out right willing to hurt them. She just said like 'those kids better behave or else.' She would always say something like that," said Shonk.

Shonk said she always knew Keaton was troubled, but did not think it would have gone this far.

"She seemed a bit sadistic so I did worry about that but I guess I just never thought she would get a hold of children," said Shonk.

According to Shonk, Keaton was seeing a counselor , but that stopped when she met John DeBlase.

Police say Keaton is expected to be in Mobile on Sunday. They say she could face new charges when she arrives.

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I'm getting sickening flashbacks to Adam & Elisa! Who knows what those poor kids went through?!?

Heather Leavell-Keaton was to be charged with two counts each of aggravated child abuse and abuse of a corpse, authorities said.

The stepmother was originally charged with two counts of willful abuse and neglect of a child. Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. on Friday said the charges had been upgraded against Leavell-Keaton.

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The woman accused of torturing 5-year-old Natalie and 3-year-old Chase DeBlase was in a Mobile courtroom Tuesday.

This was Heather Keaton's first court appearance in Alabama, since she was extradited back to Mobile over the weekend from Louisville, Kentucky.
She entered the courtroom wearing a brown Metro Jail jumpsuit with the help of a Mobile County Sheriff's Deputy. There is now a question about whether or not Keaton is legally blind.

The judge set Keaton's bond at more than 200-thousand on charges of aggravated child abuse, and abuse of a corpse, " reporter: are these charges going to be upgraded to Murder for Keaton? Prosecutor: Well, that is a question that I cannot answer right now not today. I can tell you the investigation is ongoing and as the investigation progresses we will upgrade charges as the facts dictate," said prosecutor Jo Beth Murphree.

Keaton's common law husband and the children's father, John DeBlase, is still behind bars at Metro Jail charged with 2 counts of murder, and 2 counts of abuse of a corpse for reportedly burying the children's bodies. DeBlase intially blamed the children's deaths on Keaton. DeBlase's court appointed attorney, Jim Sears, says his client maintains his innocence, "it's absolutely horrible, it affects everybody and it affects the defense team as well I want you to understand that, everybody understand that, it's not an easy thing to do, we don't relish the opportunity to do these but he's entitled to a defense and he's entitled to justice," said Sears.

Natalie's body was found Saturday off Beverly Jefferies Highway in Citronelle. Her brother's body was found Wednesday in Vancleave, Mississippi, where DeBlase reportedly told authorities he buried his children. DeBlase also allegedly told authorities he had a shovel and tried to bury Chase's body on Father's Day but the ground was too hard. So he reportedly put Chase's body, wearing only a diaper, in a trash bag and dumped it in the woods.

Both DeBlase and Keaton will be back in court January 4th for a preliminary hearing. Keaton's family has hired a Birmingham attorney for her. He was not in court Tuesday for her bond hearing, but DeBlase's attorney was there and will be in contact with him.

The DeBlase family told News 5 they would not attend Keaton's bond hearing Tuesday.

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BJOR wrote:Natalie's body was found Saturday off Beverly Jefferies Highway in Citronelle. Her brother's body was found Wednesday in Vancleave, Mississippi, where DeBlase reportedly told authorities he buried his children. DeBlase also allegedly told authorities he had a shovel and tried to bury Chase's body on Father's Day but the ground was too hard. So he reportedly put Chase's body, wearing only a diaper, in a trash bag and dumped it in the woods.

Trying to bury his own son (that he murdered) on Father's Day?!?

The woman accused of torturing two young children who were later killed and dumped in rural Mississippi and Alabama was expected to return to Alabama by extradition on Sunday to face charges.

Heather Leavell-Keaton was to return to Mobile a day after search teams uncovered human remains 30 miles away that police believe belong to one of the children.

Search teams found the skeletal remains near a county road in Citronelle, about 30 miles north of Mobile, said Mobile Police Maj. Kara Rose. They had only been searching the site for a half-hour.

Rose said investigators believe the remains belong to Natalie DeBlase, who would have turned 5 in late November. Skeletal remains found Wednesday in the woods of rural Mississippi are believed to belong to her 3-year-old brother, Chase.

John DeBlase, 27, is charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of corpse abuse.

DeBlase's parents have said the last time they saw the children was in February, when they found DeBlase living at a mobile home park in Citronelle with his common-law wife, Leavell-Keaton.

Police have said Leavell-Keaton also is responsible in the killings. She has been charged with child abuse but not murder.

DeBlase's court-appointed attorney, Jim Sears, has said DeBlase maintains that he is innocent and that Leavell-Keaton killed the children. She has blamed DeBlase for the children's 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."

Mobile County Assistant District Attorney Jo Beth Murphree said Friday that authorities would soon upgrade Leavell-Keaton's charges from child abuse to more serious aggravated child abuse counts. Leavell-Keaton also was to be charged with two counts of corpse abuse.

DeBlase had told police he dumped his daughter Natalie in the woods north of Mobile in March. He said he discarded the boy's body, dressed only in a diaper and stuffed into a plastic garbage bag, in Mississippi in June on or around Father's Day. Police say the children were killed separately, then immediately disposed of.

An investigation into their disappearance didn't start until late last month after Leavell-Keaton sought a protective order against DeBlase in Kentucky, Levy said. She said in the Nov. 18 filing that DeBlase may have killed his children, and that she feared for her life because he was abusive. The couple had a child together this summer. That child is in state custody in Kentucky.

"I am afraid that he is going to do something to harm our daughter because of what he has done to the other children," she wrote.

Meanwhile, arrest warrants in the case accuse Leavell-Keaton of abusing the boy and girl.

The documents accuse Leavell-Keaton of binding the girl's hands and feet with duct tape, putting a sock in her mouth and stuffing her in a suitcase in a closet for about 14 hours.

The warrants also accuse Leavell-Keaton of duct-taping the boy's hands to the side of his legs, strapping a broom handle to his back and shoving a sock in his mouth, then forcing him to stand in a corner all night while the adults went to bed.

The documents say the abuse happened sometime after March 1.

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What awful people!! I hope they get sent to jail where the inmates can give them the same treatment they gave their children!

The documents accuse Leavell-Keaton of binding the girl's hands and feet with duct tape, putting a sock in her mouth and stuffing her in a suitcase in a closet for about 14 hours.

Arraignment Friday in Ala children's deaths
Associated Press - January 7, 2011 6:04 AM ET

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A man and his common-law wife are scheduled for arraignment in Alabama on charges related to the deaths of his two young children.

John DeBlase, 27, is charged with murdering 3-year-old Chase and 4-year-old Natalie. Heather Leavell-Keaton, 22, is charged with aggravated child abuse and abuse of a corpse. Arraignment is set for a Mobile courtroom Friday.

Remains of the children were unearthed in wooded areas of south Mississippi and Alabama where DeBlase directed investigators in December.

The investigation began in November after Leavell-Keaton sought a protective order against DeBlase.

DeBlase has accused Leavell-Keaton of killing the children, while she told authorities he killed them. Mobile police have said they share responsibility for the children's deaths.

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In the arraignment hearing held last Friday concerning the murders of 4-year-old Natalie DeBlase and 3-year-old Chase DeBlase, the judge heard the “he said-she said” statement of both of the accused: the children’s sperm-donor, John DeBlase, and their stepmonster, Heather Leavell-Keaton. Both have been charged with the children’s murders, along with charges against Heather Leavell-Keaton of aggravated child abuse and abuse of a corpse.

Heather Leavell-Keaton had sought a protective order against John DeBlase, who had fled to Florida. In seeking this protective order, Heather stated that she believed John and poisoned Natalie and Chase and caused their deaths. Her story was in both cases John DeBlase visited the children in their bedrooms and then the children were dead. She also threw in that she thought he poisoned them because she noticed a toxic smell on their breaths and saw them throwing up black vomit. According to Heather, John poisoned Natalie in March and then Chase in June.

In the he-said side of this, John DeBlase stated that Heather killed both children (with an agreement that Natalie died in March and Chase died in June) by abuse. He stated that Natalie died after Heather bound her arms, legs and mouth with duct tape, stuffed her in a suitcase and shoved the suitcase in a closet for 8 hours. Then Chase died in June after Heather bound him to a broomstick with duct tap, stuffed a sock in his mouth and left him in a corner all night.

I’d just like to point out before going any farther….John DeBlase is one hell of a father, isn’t he?

Anyway, with evidence found at the dump site of Chase’s grave and if the witness statements taken so far in the investigation end up admissible in the trial for these two monsters, and those statements are found to be credible – it appears that Heather Leavell-Keaton AND John DeBlase murdered Natalie and Chase by severe abuse – which included starvation.

Police have now located a half-dozen witnesses to the abuse of Natalie and Chase. None of these people reported the extreme abuse they were witnessing. Several of these witnesses have described “daily abuse” they witnessed the children receiving at the hands of Heather. This abuse included starvation, beatings with a studded belt, burns, bruises and black-eyes, and being called vulgar names – like “Demon spawns from hell”, which one witness stated Heather called them and that she had admitted she “hated” them.

Did John DeBlase not know about this abuse? Well, just in reading the above description of the type of abuse, which included visible burns on their arms, one would think it would be fairly difficult for him to not know. But, it appears not only did he know, he was part of it. One family friend has come forward and told of John and Heather eating Wendy’s hamburgers and giving the two children only lettuce to eat. Another witness stated Heather beat both children one day when they snuck into a chocolate pie because they were hungry.

At the end of the arraignment, in which the judge ordered the case be passed on to the Grand Jury, the judge stated he’d never, in 38 years, heard a case of “such acts”.

Darryl Bender, Heather Leavell-Keaton’s attorney, stated after the arraignment:

It is a very bad case and the facts that we heard today, if they are true, are bad. But that’s sort of the question. Are they true? I think it’s clear to everyone who heard the testimony today who killed those kids. John DeBlase killed those kids.

Well, I’d agree with you, Mr. Bender, but what is clear is that two people killed those kids – two Demon spawns from Hell – one of them is your client.
SOURCE:
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Police have now located a half-dozen witnesses to the abuse of Natalie and Chase. None of these people reported the extreme abuse they were witnessing. Several of these witnesses have described “daily abuse” they witnessed the children receiving at the hands of Heather. This abuse included starvation, beatings with a studded belt, burns, bruises and black-eyes, and being called vulgar names – like “Demon spawns from hell”, which one witness stated Heather called them and that she had admitted she “hated” them.

Did John DeBlase not know about this abuse? Well, just in reading the above description of the type of abuse, which included visible burns on their arms, one would think it would be fairly difficult for him to not know. But, it appears not only did he know, he was part of it. One family friend has come forward and told of John and Heather eating Wendy’s hamburgers and giving the two children only lettuce to eat. Another witness stated Heather beat both children one day when they snuck into a chocolate pie because they were hungry.

At the end of the arraignment, in which the judge ordered the case be passed on to the Grand Jury, the judge stated he’d never, in 38 years, heard a case of “such acts”.

Darryl Bender, Heather Leavell-Keaton’s attorney, stated after the arraignment:

It is a very bad case and the facts that we heard today, if they are true, are bad. But that’s sort of the question. Are they true? I think it’s clear to everyone who heard the testimony today who killed those kids. John DeBlase killed those kids.

Well, I’d agree with you, Mr. Bender, but what is clear is that two people killed those kids – two Demon spawns from Hell – one of them is your client.
SOURCE:
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artgal16

OMG, those poor little children! There needs to be a penalty for people who witness abuse and do not report it to the authorities! We've heard way too much of this happen and even thou' I don't understand how a person can witness abuse like the above and not stop the abuse themselves right then and there AND report it to the authorities, I'll never understand.

I have been sure that the thing that's called a step mother is just as guilty as the sperm donor in this case and may they rot in hell.

RIP dear little children.

Oy. i just tonight read this thread. How horrible. They were so cute and what horrific torture they went through.

I hope that they lock up these two "creatures" (after duct taping them & stuffing socks in their mouths), and let them starve to death!!

This story was horribly upsetting - these people set a new standard for horror and abuse. I cannot understand how such monsters exist. Was something done to them as children? Are they just evil? How do they grow up without love or compassion for others? How do they have no hearts?

Artgal, I wish I had an answer but there is none for me. I can not wrap my head around that these type of people (monsters for sure) exist. I've heard that meth can really cause a person to do really bad things but this? I couldn't even read much of the description up thread of what was done to these babies!

I dont understand why they were allowed BOND this infuriates me - if this was done to adults there would never be a bond.

Court Coverage:

Posted: Feb 15, 2011 5:33 AM
New information came out during testimony in the case of a woman arrested in Louisville following the deaths of two children.

Chase DeBlase, 3, and Natalie Deblase, 4, went missing last November. Their skeletal remains were discovered in Mississippi and Alabama.

During a hearing Monday in Alabama, detectives said their stepmother, Heather Leavell-Keaton, told a fellow inmate she poisoned the children with anti-freeze. Detectives say DeBlase wanted the kids dead because, "It would be better if they had less responsibilities." Investigators say that led Leavell-Keaton to kill the children.

DeBlase and Leavell-Keaton both face murder charges, but the Leavell-Keaton's attorney argues her client isn't capable of the crime because she's functionally blind.

The case have been sent to the grand jury.


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