Michael Plumadore,39, who bludgeoned 9 yr.old girl to death, Aliahna Maroney-Lemmon before dismembering her is spared death penalty. He has plead GUILTY/Update: 06/18/12: Sentenced to Life w/NO Possibility of Parole!

Systems in place to curb sex offenses
11:52 PM, Dec. 28, 2011
Written by
AMANDA HAMON

The news out of Fort Wayne is nearly unthinkable.

A 9-year-old girl, living in a trailer park teeming with sex offenders, last week wound up dead and dismembered. Aliahna Lemmon allegedly died at the hands of a neighbor and family friend, reportedly not a sex offender himself, but the owner of a lengthy criminal record, including convictions for assault, trespassing and forgery.

The horrific crime brings up a litany of questions about the scenario, which has left 39-year-old suspect Michael Plumadore behind bars without bond pending his trial.

Not the least is this: How could so many registered sex offenders -- 15, or nearly one at every address, according to state records -- end up living in one trailer park? Did that fact mean tragedy there was imminent?

And how can parents protect their children against registered sex offenders in Tippecanoe County?

For that last question, at least, an answer is within reach.

Tippecanoe County law enforcement agencies, as well as the state, offer a bevy of online information about the county's 161 registered sex offenders, including where they live and in what areas they're concentrated.

While there are a few areas in the county that house multiple sex offenders, there aren't any local places where offenders are as concentrated as they are in the Fort Wayne trailer park where Aliahna was killed, Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Detective Jason Morgan said.

In Indiana, sex offenders against children and sexually violent predators are prohibited from living within 1,000 feet of public parks, schools and youth program centers.

Area law enforcement has a system in place in which county officers check in with sex offenders either once per year or once every 90 days, depending on the offenders' classification.

In turn, city police check on offenders living in their jurisdictions once per month.

West Lafayette police Sgt. Cindy Marion, who monitors sex offenders living in the city, has further advice for parents concerned about the issue.

"If you have (a sex offender) living in the area, show children their picture (online) so they know what they look like," she said.

"A lot of times kids don't take things seriously, so parents have to educate them and let them know it's OK to report (suspicious activity)."

The state sex offender registry also allows users to set up alerts that will send a notification when an offender moves into a resident's area, West Lafayette Police Chief Jason Dombkowski said.

Dombkowski encouraged parents to use every tool at their disposal to learn more about offenders living in their area.

"I think you can just make informed decisions on where you choose to live, and where to choose to send your children to school," Dombkowski said. "Information is key, and knowledge is empowering."

Two known registered sex offenders live in West Lafayette, officials said, while about 45 reside in Lafayette.

In Lafayette, there are a few complexes where between five and seven sex offenders live, including two near Schuyler Avenue and a small hotel on U.S. 52 on the city's south side, said Morgan and Lafayette police Detective Sgt. Scott McCoy.

In general, it's easier for offenders to live outside the city limits due to the state's 1,000-foot rule.

In Fort Wayne, self-identified sex offenders living at the trailer park where Aliahna died told reporters Tuesday that state officials showed them maps depicting areas -- the park among them -- where it was legal for them to live.

Court documents have indicated that the girl's mother, Tarah Souders, knew about the area's concentration of sex offenders when she moved her three young girls there to help take care of her ailing father, himself a convicted sex offender who died Dec. 3.

Marion emphasized that the exchange of information between concerned members of the public and law enforcement officials is key to help keeping children safe.

"Education, communication and awareness, I think, are three really important things," she said.

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Murdered Aliahna Lemmon Couldn’t Have Been Saved by Sex Offender Registry

Posted by Jeanne Sager on December 28, 2011 at 1:16 PM

If you've heard about Aliahna Lemmon, the 9-year-old girl tragically murdered late last week by a man who was supposed to be babysitting her while her mom fought the flu, you've probably heard the child was living in a trailer park that was crawling with sex offenders. The question is why. Why have you heard about all those pedophiles?

Is it because they have anything to do with the horrible death of an innocent child? Well, no. Michael Plumadore, the man charged by police for bludgeoning the girl to death, has never been convicted of a sexual crime. And depraved as the crime against Aliahna was, it wasn't sexual in nature. Which leaves only one conclusion.

The news media smelled a way to make an already awful story seem that much more disturbing. Because there's nothing quite like the presence of a sex offender to get people's blood boiling. Heck, who doesn't hear the word "pedophile" and want to go string those creeps up by their toenails?

Sadly, going after the sex offenders wouldn't do any good. Unfortunately, for Aliahna Lemmon, the sex offender registry really couldn't do a thing to help her.

The fact is, Aliahna and her mom, Tarah Souders, had moved into the trailer park to help care for an ailing relative. And it was indeed teeming with creeps: 15 of them in fact, all registered sex offenders. That included James Lemmon, the man who Souders was caring for up until his death in early December from emphysema.

It's creepy and odd, and depressing. Just think: a 9-year-old girl spent her last days on earth in an area where she couldn't just ride her bike like a normal kid. Every day she had to spend on high alert because the safety of her neighborhood had been compromised by deviants. But as Tarah Souders sadly found out way too late, those people weren't he ones she should have been most afraid of. In fact, the guy in her neighborhood who wasn't on the sex offender list actually turned out to be the last person she should have let her little girl with.

And yet, the media's reporting on this case is irresponsible at best. Because while they continue to throw the sex offenders in Aliahna's neighborhood into every story, those of us who keep a watchful eye on the watchlist in our neighborhoods are lulled into a false sense of security. As long as we keep an eye on those creeps, our kids are safe, right?

If Aliahna's tragic death taught us anything, no, not at all. It's the old adage come to life: better the devil you know than the devil you don't. At least we know when a registered sex offender comes to town. It's the sick people who aren't being tracked who we really have to worry about.

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I dont understand how the article by cafemom can say this wasnt a sexual crime - we dont know that yet - we dont know what story this guy will come up with - or even if its believable but I do believe this was a sexual crime.

December 30, 2011

A trusted family friend who confessed to police that he bludgeoned to death a 9-year-old Indiana girl in his care then dismembered her just days before Christmas was formally charged Friday in the killing.

Michael Plumadore, 39, was charged in Fort Wayne with murder, abuse of a corpse and removing a dead body from the scene in the Dec. 22 death of Aliahna Maroney-Lemmon.

Allen County prosecutor's office chief investigator Danielle Edenfield said the charges will be read to Plumadore in jail, where he was being held without bond. An initial court hearing on the formal charges is scheduled for Wednesday.

Edenfield said she couldn't comment on a possible motive before the case went to trial.

Plumadore had been looking after Aliahna and her two younger sisters because their mother was sick. He had looked after Aliahna's dying grandfather and her family had considered him a trusted friend and neighbor.

According to court documents, Plumadore told police he hit the girl repeatedly in the head with a brick on the steps of the trailer where he had lived with her grandfather. He then put the girl's body inside trash bags and stuffed it inside a freezer in the trailer.

Plumadore told authorities that he later used a hack saw to dismember her body.

She was reported missing Dec. 23, and on Saturday, more than 100 emergency workers searched the rundown trailer park in the north of Fort Wayne where Plumadore and Aliahna's family lived.

Police questioned Plumadore several times over the weekend and arrested him on Monday, at which point he told police that he had hidden Aliahna's head, feet and hands at the trailer and discarded her other remains at a nearby business. Police obtained a warrant to search the trailer and found the body parts.

Allen County Coroner E. Jon Brandenberger has said he won't be able to determine the cause of death until further tests are completed, including microscopic findings and toxicology results.

The prosecutor's office said the investigation is continuing.

Plumadore had earlier faced a preliminary charge of murder, and the Allen County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release that the charges filed Friday do not "preclude the filing of additional charges."

The standard prison sentence for a murder conviction in Indiana is 45 years to 65 years. The other charges each carry maximum sentences of three years in prison.

Allen County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Mike McAlexander told The News-Sentinel Friday that his office had not dismissed the possibility of seeking the death penalty against Plumadore.

Plumadore has a criminal record in Florida and North Carolina that includes convictions for trespassing and assault, and an Indiana conviction for forgery.

The Daily Iowegian reported Friday that Plumadore was accused in November 2010 of making inappropriate phone calls and sending text messages to a 13-year-old girl while he was living with that girl's father in Moravia, Iowa.

Court records obtained by the newspaper state that Plumadore was allegedly "stalking her, sending her explicit sexual text messages and photographs."
Plumadore faced a petition for relief of domestic abuse in that alleged case, but an Iowa judge later dismissed the petition because it didn't meet the relationship requirement for a protective order, the Daily Iowegian reported.

The newspaper also reported that while she was living in Iowa with her mother, Aliahna was the victim of a January 2010 sexual assault in which a 19-year-old man fondled her. That man later pleaded guilty to a charge of indecent contact with a child.

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The Daily Iowegian reported Friday that Plumadore was accused in November 2010 of making inappropriate phone calls and sending text messages to a 13-year-old girl while he was living with that girl's father in Moravia, Iowa.

Court records obtained by the newspaper state that Plumadore was allegedly "stalking her, sending her explicit sexual text messages and photographs."
Plumadore faced a petition for relief of domestic abuse in that alleged case, but an Iowa judge later dismissed the petition because it didn't meet the relationship requirement for a protective order, the Daily Iowegian reported.

The newspaper also reported that while she was living in Iowa with her mother, Aliahna was the victim of a January 2010 sexual assault in which a 19-year-old man fondled her. That man later pleaded guilty to a charge of indecent contact with a child.

BBM
WTF?????? Did the "mother" (who has made no comment) KNOW of this degenerate's past????? This makes me want to tear my hair out!!!! No doubt whatsoever he sexually molested her and she had the gumption to fight and most likely told him she was going to tell on him and that is the motive for killing her in a nutshell.

I hope he gets the DP and even that is too good for him!!

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Aliahna Lemmon Benefit Fund

The Aliahna Lemmon Benefit Fund has been set up for the family of murdered 9-year-old girl, Aliahna Lemmon.

Monies donated to the fund will be turned over to the family for expenses and counseling.I am not donating one penny until a statement has been made by the mother! It is HER Fault her daughter is DEAD!

Tragic Ending
The search for the missing Indiana girl ended in tragedy when parts of Aliahna's body were recovered near the family home in Ft. Wayne. According to a probable cause affidavit, the alleged killer disposed some of her dismembered remains in a dumpster and hid the rest, her head, hands and feet, in his freezer. Police say trusted family friend, Michael Plumadore, who has a criminal record in three states, has been charged with her murder after he allegedly confessed to repeatedly striking her in the head with a brick and then later dismembering her body with a hacksaw.

Donations
Those interested can make donations through Salin Bank. Here’s how:
For out of state donations, please send checks to:
Salin Bank
601 E. Dupont Road
Ft. Wayne, IN 46825
*Please make check payable to: Aliahna Lemmon Benefit Fund
For Indiana residents, please go to any Salin Bank and make a deposit to: Aliahna Lemmon Benefit Fund

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Posted by Wrap:

I am not donating one penny until a statement has been made by the mother! It is HER Fault her daughter is DEAD!

Can't say as I blame you.

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Not sure if this is her mother.
Family moves Aliahna's belongings
Updated: Thursday, 29 Dec 2011, 2:52 PM EST
Published : Thursday, 29 Dec 2011, 1:21 PM EST

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) -- The family of a 9-year-old girl who was the victim of a grisly killing near Fort Wayne is moving her belongings out of the trailer where she lived.

Aliahna Lemmon's stepfather, Allen Souders, tells The News-Sentinel ( [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ) that his wife couldn't bear to look at her daughter's possessions after what happened so he was moving them to a storage facility. The stepfather loaded a pickup truck with large cardboard boxes Wednesday.

Authorities say Aliahna was killed by a trusted family friend she was staying with while her mother was sick.

Thirty-nine-year-old Michael Plumadore faces a preliminary charge of murder. He is being held without bond and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

Police say Plumadore admitted to killing Aliahna by bludgeoning her with a brick and dismembering her body.

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Must-SEE!!

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Girl’s mom trusted sex offender

By Tom Lobianco
Associated Press Wednesday December 28, 2011 5:48 AM

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — To assist her dying father, Tarah Souders made a choice: She moved her three young girls to a run-down trailer park in rural Indiana to help take care of him as his lungs rotted from emphysema.

She knew it could be dangerous. The park of about two dozen homes was teeming with convicted sex offenders, with one living at nearly every address. She worried about neighbors with sex-offense records who had been helping her father get by, according to trailer-park residents. And before she arrived, she even asked her father whether her children could be at risk for abuse from two specific men — including a suspect now accused in her daughter’s death.

“He said, ‘No. They will not touch your children. They’re doing everything they’re supposed to do,’ ” said Greg Shumaker, one of 15 convicted sex offenders who live at the park and the other man that Souders had inquired about.

Weeks later, police say, a horrific tragedy unfolded. Her 9-year-old daughter, Aliahna Lemmon, was brutally killed. Police say Michael Plumadore, 39, told investigators that he bludgeoned her to death Thursday with a brick, then dismembered her and hid her head, hands and feet at her grandfather’s trailer before dumping the other remains elsewhere.

Shumaker said Aliahna’s family moved there to help take care of 66-year-old James E. “Shorty” Lemmon, who also was a convicted sex offender. He died on Dec. 3.

Shumaker said he introduced Plumadore to Lemmon shortly after Plumadore moved into the trailer park, and Plumadore moved in with Lemmon a few days later. Shumaker said he knew Lemmon because they were both sex offenders and were in jail together.

Sheriff’s office spokesman Cpl. Jeremy Tinkel confirmed that Lemmon was a sex offender. Indiana Department of Correction records show that he was convicted of child molestation in March 2006.

Shumaker said Plumadore briefly moved away, but returned when Souders asked him to care for her father.

A man who answered the door at Souders’ home yesterday afternoon referred all questions to the Allen County sheriff’s office.

Aliahna and her two younger sisters were staying with Plumadore for about one week because their mother had been sick with the flu.

Shumaker said it wasn’t unusual for Plumadore to watch Souders’ children “because the kids liked him.” Souders and Aliahna were listed among nearly 600 friends on a Facebook page listed under Plumadore’s name.

According to the affidavit, Plumadore told police that after beating Aliahna to death on the front steps of the home in the early morning hours on Thursday, he stuffed her body into trash bags and hid her in the freezer. He said he later cut up her body with a hacksaw and stuffed her remains into freezer bags.

Authorities didn’t say yesterday why Plumadore killed the child. Sheriff

Ken Fries said investigators suspected that Plumadore was involved soon after she was reported missing Friday night because of inconsistencies in his story. He had said the girl vanished while he went to a store that morning.

A judge ordered Plumadore held without bail or bond at an initial hearing yesterday, Tinkel said. He has yet to be formally charged in Aliahna’s death.

A state website shows that 15 registered sex offenders live in the park that numbers about two dozen homes.


I hope all of this is not old news. The mother knew about the sex offenders and was worried about moving her children there, but did so anyways and even left her children with Plumadore that she was first concerned about.

Fort Wayne Slaying Raises Child Care Safety Awareness

Child Advocates Educate Parents Looking For Safe Child Care

POSTED: 4:29 pm EST December 30, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS -- Child advocates said they hope the death of 9-year-old Aliahna Lemmon sends a strong message to parents who let others care for their children.
Lemmon was in the care of her baby sitter, Michael Plumadore, 39, before she was killed and dismembered at a mobile home park in Fort Wayne.

Plumadore was not a sex offender, but had a criminal record for assault, RTV6's Kara Kenney reported.

Advocates with Prevent Child Abuse Indiana said they’re using the Fort Wayne tragedy to educate parents on how to choose a trusted baby sitter.

Sandy Runkle, programs director for Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, said parents often turn to the people they know best to watch their children--namely friends, relatives, and neighbors--which may not always be the best choice, RTV6's Kara Kenney reported.

"Typically when something happens to a child, it is by someone the child knows; it is not a stranger," Runkle said. "In (more than) 90 percent of sexual abuse cases, the children know the perpetrator."

Child advocates advised parents to check baby sitters’ references, criminal background and the sex offender registry before entrusting their child in their care.
"It's like any job interview. You get references, do the research and observe the person. It's kind of like a probation period,” Runkle said.

But Runkle warned that although parents can diminish the risk, it can never be eliminated.

"Nothing is 100 percent foolproof," she said. "There are also parents who abuse their children, so that's not even 100 percent foolproof."

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Aliahna and her two younger sisters were staying with Plumadore for about one week because their mother had been sick with the flu.

Shumaker said it wasn’t unusual for Plumadore to watch Souders’ children “because the kids liked him.” Souders and Aliahna were listed among nearly 600 friends on a Facebook page listed under Plumadore’s name.

BBM
1) BS on the "flu". Who the hell has the flu for a week and allows their 3 daughters to stay with this degenerate? Did she see the kids in that one week period? If she were that ill with the "flu", she should have been hospitalized. I cry an Enormous BS here. What was the "mother" REALLY up to and WHY has she not come forward? And, I want to know where the two daughters were when this took place. Were they also being sexually abused? Were they asleep? Awake? Did they witness the abuse/death/dismemberment? I would think this poor child would have been screaming at the top of her lungs!

2) Who has a FB page at that young age and WHY wasn't this excuse for a mother over-seeing just what her YOUNG daughters were doing on FB??????????

This "mother" IMHO, basically handed her daughters over to a murderer and said, "Do w/them what you will. I will be down for at least a week w/the "flu".

Aliahna Lemmon: Is her suspected killer linked to similar crimes in the U.S.?

Isabelle Zehnder, Missing Persons Examiner
December 30, 2011

FORT WAYNE, Indiana (Isabelle Zehnder reporting) -- Officials are working to determine if a man suspected of killing and dismembering a 9-year-old Indiana girl two days before Christmas could be linked to similar crimes across the country.

Investigators said they're concerned that Michael Plumadore, 39, may have killed before due to the brutality of his crime and his apparent lack of remorse when he described Aliahna Lemmon's slaying to detectives, ABC's RTV6 reports.

Plumadore was allegedly a friend and neighbor of Aliahna's family. He was entrusted to care for her and her two younger sisters, ages 6 and 8, for about a week while their mother, Amber Story, allegedly recovered from the flu. It is uncertain if her illness is why she was seen in a wheelchair this week.

Allen County Sheriff Ken Fries said during a press conference, "He's not from this area. He’s lived in many different states, so our detectives will contact these other agencies. We had the FBI in early, so they can start looking at that also."

Former FBI Profiler Steve McVey said, "I would have a hard time believing that this is the first time that he's done anything like this. The jump from petty crime to butchering homicide, I can't go with this being the first time."

Police say Plumadore admitted he killed Alihana by repeatedly hiting her head with a brick while they stood on his front porch. He said he initially put her body in trash bags that he stored in his freezer. He later took a hacksaw and dismembered her body, placing her remains in individual freezer bags.

He told police most of her remains could be found in a nearby dumpster and that her head, hands, and feet could be found in his freezer.

After his confession, Allen County Sheriff Ken Fries said that Plumadore was the "monster that walked among us."

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I think he Knew his goose was cooked so he confessed. But yea..it makes perfect sense that this was not his first rodeo. He makes me sick!!

Child advocates advised parents to check baby sitters’ references, criminal background and the sex offender registry before entrusting their child in their care.
"It's like any job interview. You get references, do the research and observe the person. It's kind of like a probation period,” Runkle said.

The mother knew he was a sex offender before she moved herself and her children there.

Exactly!!! I want to SEE this mother. I want her to make a statement. I want to know about her other daughters and if they were there that horrible night!

This case is right up there w/our little Zahra!!!! Horrific! And, during Christmas? What the hell was this "mother" thinking? She should have just handed him a note "Molest or kill as you see fit. I know you are a perv w/a record a mile long, but I am sick and will be for at least a week. Here are my 3 daughter's. Merry Christmas."

And to read that they think he has committed this type of murder before. OMG!!!

I just spent time on the Sexual Offenders website and on the one for our county here. There are some not so far away. One is a woman and would be the next road over from me. There are 3 that are not far at all. YIKES! Have to keep an eye out for sure.

I just dont get this family. A man confesses to killing a child and the grandmother doesnt believe it??? The mother knew there were SOs and moved her children there. The POS was in prison with the grandfather who was a SO but the mother leaves her 3 young girls with him anyway. Now there is a chance the SOB is a serial killer. And a week after her death instead of wanting to keep her memory close they pack her stuff up to put it storage???? Whew Hollywood couldnt come up with this. Those 2 girls need to be taken away and a restraining order keping the grandmother from them needs to be put into place. I wonder if the grandmother was having a fling with the guy?

I agree, Slys!!

Yes, Raine..I caught that early on. Unfu**ingbelieavable!!!!

I so agree with you Slys!!!!

By Katrina Helmer
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Kurtis Kennedy sexually abused Aliahna Lemmon in January 2010 in Iowa.

December 31, 2011
Updated Dec 31, 2011 at 12:11 PM EST
CENTERVILLE, Iowa (Indiana's NewsCenter) -- In 2010, Aliahan Lemmon was sexually assaulted in Iowa before moving to Indiana.

Saturday marks one week since the official search for 9-year-old Aliahna Lemmon. Each day since police announced she was murdered, more details float to the surface. Her official cause of death is pending toxicology results from the Allen County Coroners, and officials are also not yet releasing whether she was sexually assaulted.

But today Indiana's NewsCenter learned that Aliahna was sexually abused in the past.

According to the Daily Iowegian, in 2010, a case was filed against Kurtis Allen Kennedy for sexually assaulting Aliahna Lemmon.

Occording to the affidavit, in January 2010, Kennedy admitted to Centerville Police Officer Jeremy Cole and DHS case worker Sarah Bakerduring that he "partially disrob[ed] Aliahna Lemmon, a seven year old child, and plac[ed] his hand on the child’s bare buttock."

The affidavit also states that the victim, Aliahna Lemmon, confirmed Kennedy's admission. At the time of the sexual assault, Aliahna was seven years old and Kennedy was 19 years old.
Later in July, Kennedy was arraigned on a charge of indecent contact with a child, which is an aggravated misdemeanor. In July 2010, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison.

He is currently being held in the IMCC Prison in Oakdale, Iowa. Kennedy is officially registered on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry.

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Wrap, how did you just do that? I posted the same article and it shows up that you did it.

I got confused and posted it on Ayla Reynold's thread. Then, when I discovered that, I came and posted it here. I have no clue WHY your's didn't take.

How weird. I checked the Ayla Reynolds's thread when I saw you had posted this, thinking that I accidently posted to the wrong thread but no. My post completely disappeared! Oh well, as usual I remain

I saw the picture of the mother in the wheelchair they said she couldnt walk due to being emotionally overcome. Regarding the molestation in Iowa do we know any details on that - how that came to be. What was Aliahna doing with that 19 year old - why they were together at all. Was this a case of the mother leaving her child again with someone inappropriate?
How many chances do these parents get until someone takes their children into a safer environment?
Maybe foster care isnt any safer, I dont know anymore.
There are a lot of horrible stories there as well.

Art, I w/search and see if I can get more info. I have a "google alert" for this poor darling.

And, as usual, I agree with you.

She was such a darling, darling little girl. Look at her with that puppy!!!! How could anyone do these despicable acts? She has freckles, just like Zahra!!

Girl's death shows hole in Amber Alert system
10:06 AM, Jan. 1, 2012

By Tom Lobianco, Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (WTW) — Although it may not have saved her life, Aliahna Lemmon's death may have exposed holes in the state's Amber Alert system for tracking kidnapped children.

Craig Gill, founder of the Fort Wayne-based Family Crisis Network, last week pondered the requirements for the state to send out a statewide, kidnapped-child alert in the hours before investigators found Aliahna's remains. A squad of investigators had spent three days searching for Aliahna at that point, but no Amber Alert had been issued.

At that point, Gill said, it seemed like madness that no alert had gone out yet, even as law enforcement and volunteers continued searching the Northway Mobile Home Park.

"The regulation in place for state police should be that any suspected child abduction would warrant an Amber Alert," Gill said. "I don't want it to be seen that I'm bashing the sheriff's department. I think what needs to happen essentially is we need to look at the pros and cons of any kind of reform."

Investigators found Aliahna's remains in a Fort Wayne trailer park and outside a nearby convenience store three days after she was reported missing. Allen County Sheriff's Department is holding her baby-sitter and family friend Michael Plumadore, 39, on murder charges. Police state in court filings that Plumadore admitted to beating Aliahna to death with a brick, freezing her remains and then sawing her body into pieces.

Gill, a former Army Ranger whose group helps law enforcement track missing children, said an Amber Alert clearly would not have changed the circumstances for Aliahna. But he was still surprised when no alert went out after she was first reported missing and the case exposed a gap in state law.

The Indiana State Police make the call whether to issue an Amber Alert based on four factors: 1) the child must be younger than 18, 2) the child must be believed abducted and in danger of harm or death, 3) there must be a good enough description of the child and abductor to believe a broadcast will help and 4) local law enforcement must recommend the alert to state police.

"Clearly on any type of missing child case there's a lot of initial investigation to try to answer the pieces of that puzzle," said Capt. Dave Bursten, Indiana State Police spokesman. "And I'm sure it was done in the case of this little girl and the circumstances of her death and the circumstances of any child being injured or killed, it's never acceptable. I understand people being upset and wanting answers and saying, 'Well, let's change this.' But you've got to look at what that will accomplish."

Cpl. Jeremy Tinkel, Allen County Sheriff's spokesman, said he was unsure if his office forwarded a request to the state police for an alert for Aliahna. Although the process is pretty clear, he said: "We basically report the facts that we have, then they will have to make their determination."

State lawmakers passed the Amber Alert law in 2002. In 2003, Congress approved a federal Amber Alert setting up a coordinating office in the Justice Department but leaving the details to the states.

Since then some state lawmakers have attempted to broaden the scope of the program. In New Jersey, a pair of Republican state lawmakers sought a change to cover parental abductions of children. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez is likewise considering an expansion of her state's law to cover parents who abduct their children.

"You can tighten it up but you would need to do some research before you do," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Bray, R-Martinsville. "It's the boy who cried wolf. You don't want to clog the pipeline with things that are not truly serious. That would defeat the whole purpose right there."

It's been a few years since local law enforcement have talked about changes to the Amber Alert system, said Steve Luce, executive director of the Indiana State Sheriffs Association. The last major change in Indiana added missing elderly residents to the law, with the "Silver Alert" system.

"Sometimes we need to go back and revisit what we are doing," Luce said.

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Aliahna Lemmon Never Had a Chance -- A Short Life of Nothing but Hardship

December 31, 2011 03:30 PM EST

The murder of Aliahna Lemmon has produced tons of information on the lives of this girl, her family members and the man who confessed to taking her life. In fact, with each new detail that trickles into the media headlines, it's become more and more apparent that little Aliahnna never really had a chance at a good, long life. It seems that there are several victims here, and something needs to be done about this entire situation.

Prior to being bludgeoned and dismembered by her trusted babysitter, Mike Plumadore, little Aliahna Lemmon was sexually assaulted in the state of Iowa. In 2010, Kurtis Allen Kennedy was charged with sexually assaulting the little girl, who was then only seven-years old. At 19 years old, Kurtis Allen Kennedy refused to admit to anything other than undressing and touching the outside of the child's buttocks, but who knows what may have truly happened -- as the courts are referring to it as a sexual assault, it could mean anything.

It seems that from a young age, all this child ever knew was the environment of criminals and sex offenders. Her own grandfather was convicted of the deplorable offense of child molestation in 2006. Mike Plumadore had cared for the RSO in his last months of life and took over his trailer home -- which is allegedly where Aliahna's death occurred. What's perplexing is the mother's decision to move her family from Iowa, where her daughter was molested, to Indiana to live right next door to her child molesting father. Tarah Souders either isn't playing with a full deck, or she's purposely shutting out all of the potential abuse that's been around her.

Look, this isn't a very nice thing to say, but given the fact that Tarah Souders' father was a registered sex offender, who molested a very young child, who's to say that was his first offense? Who's to say that this family hasn't been through generations of sexual abuse? Because, obviously, there can't be much sense made of Tarah Souders continually putting her children in the risk of sexual assault and other dangers. Aliahna Lemmon was constantly put in situations where she could be harmed, and now she is dead.

Mike Plumadore isn't a registered sex offender

However, he does have a criminal record and has been accused of sexual crimes in his past. He also appeared to enjoy his time living among RSOs. Even the Federal Bureau of Investigation acknowledges their belief that he may have done this before, making him a potential serial predator. Without his name being on a registry, this can't necessarily be "blamed" on RSOs so-to-speak, but it's obvious that this trailer park inhabited by Plumadore and the family of the slain 9-year-old girl is a cess pool of criminal outcasts.

His trailer was towed last night from the trailer park deemed a "sex offender haven," and now all that remains is the bald spot, the empty void of where a trailer once rested. In a way, the sight is probably a little more disturbing than the trailer itself, as it's certain that the people who see it are still reminded even more that a horribly violent crime occurred right there. Nonetheless, given that most of the people in the park are sex offenders, it probably doesn't bother all of the neighbors that the little girl was murdered.

Aliahna Lemmon deserves justice; Better laws for RSOs is a must!

Aliahna may not have been murdered by a registered sex offender, but she was constantly put in the way of harm by people who were supposed to be caring for her and her sisters. There should in no way be properties in the US deemed "havens" for sex offenders. These people shouldn't have veritable "tribes" throughout the country like this whether it be intentional or otherwise.

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Accused in Aliahna Lemmon Slaying May Have Given Clues Earlier
January 01, 2012 08:20 PM EST

Accused of murdering Aliahna Lemmon, Mike Plumadore, is believed by the FBI to possibly be connected to other similar crimes. It's not a stretch to believe something like this, even though he isn't on any registry. Does one simply go from petty criminal to violent, methodical killer all at once? Although it's not improbable, it doesn't seem likely, and the blank, emotionless way he described his acts to officials only makes the reality of other victims seem more possible.

Peeking back into the hours prior to the discovery of Aliahna Lemmon, it seems almost like there were tell-tale clues of what was to come. Mike Plumadore is a cunning liar and an excellent actor. He appeared to have fooled the local police and the FBI at least twice before his third and final interview. He fooled many people in the media and the public with his seemingly heartfelt accounts during the search for the missing girl. He came across as the doting "Uncle Mike," and showed drawings made by little "Ailey"(his nickname for her).

However, it seems that even then he may have been given clues into what happened the night little Aliahna "disappeared." He said that Aliahna was "having nightmares" throughout that night, and was "begging to go home." He mentioned that it was "2-2:30 in the morning." It's already a known, established fact that little Ailey was murdered long before she was even reported missing. So, could this had been going on around the hours he mentioned?

Aliahna Lemmon was in a real-life nightmare

Mike Plumadore admitted to bludgeoning the girl with a brick and then storing her in his fridge until he could dismember her and bag up her parts. He kept her head, hands and feet in his fridge (for whatever reason), and disposed of the rest. All of this took place before he appeared for media interviews with the little girl's distraught family who believed their precious Aliahna was still missing.

While the girl's severed parts sat in the refrigerator in the home, Mike Plumadore had media reporters inside the small, aging trailer. The mother and other family members of the missing girl were there as well—all of them just a mere couple of a feet from the fridge which held the gruesome remains of this senseless murder. It's absolutely mind-blowing to imagine that while people were out searching for what was believed to be a missing child, she was dead and dismembered and just a few feet from her mourning family and the man who admitted responsibility for the deed.

This shows a sort of cocky, nonchalant personality. It's as if Mike Plumadore had no cares whatsoever. He was so trusted by this family that he had no thoughts that they'd open his refrigerator to discover their murdered, missing child. This man is a sociopath, plain and simple.

Did the Amber Alert system fail in this case?

It most absolutely did not. The Amber Alert system is put in place when a vehicle is involved and it's apparent that the child has been kidnapped and transported in this manner. The Amber Alert was not to be used for this particular case and at any rate, the little girl was never missing. It's much like the Casey Anthony fiasco. Little Caylee Marie Anthony was never missing and neither was Aliahna Lemmon.

This was a horrible incident, a senseless murder.

However, the Amber Alert system wouldn't have been of any use, whatsoever. It wouldn't have prevented anything, nor would it have aided in locating the child. Police and the FBI did an amazing job tracking down what happened here. That's all that should really be said.

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Published: January 1, 2012 3:00 a.m.
Service providers offer care options
Rebecca S. Green | The Journal Gazette

Thirty-nine-year-old Michael L. Plumadore was baby-sitting 9-year-old Aliahna Lemmon and her two sisters because her mother had been sick.

Allen County prosecutors charged Plumadore with murder, abuse of a corpse and moving a body from the scene of a violent or suspicious death. He was arrested Dec. 26, days after Aliahna went missing and scores of investigators scoured a 5-mile radius around a mobile home park off North Clinton Street.

And while police may have identified Plumadore early on as someone who knew much more than he was letting on, Aliahna’s family believed his version of events and suspected the young girl had wandered off from his trailer of her own accord.

SCAN (Stop Child Abuse and Neglect) provides free child care for parents who find themselves in need of emergency help because of a sudden illness or crisis, said Rachel Tobin-Smith, SCAN’s executive director.

SCAN’s program – Daybreak Crisis Homes – uses licensed foster care providers to care for children on a temporary or immediate basis.

And the Early Childhood Alliance always has names of vetted child care providers available to area parents, she said.

Tobin-Smith said she does not blame Aliahna’s mother but said it can be dangerous when a parent is ill and vulnerable.

SCAN is also looking for providers to work in its Daybreak Crisis Homes. Anyone interested must go through extensive police checks and foster-parent training, Tobin-Smith said.

Respite parents are paid, she said, and it is a huge way to help in such situations.

Those interested in helping can call SCAN at 260-421-5000.

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WOW!!! All 50 States Desperately Needs SCAN!!!!

I have never heard of SCAN.

WOW!, The mother might have been arrested. Time will tell if it is true, because it will be in the news.

Glad you posted them.

The hinkymeter.com has a very good history of all the relationships in this case - and also information about Mike Plumadore's invovement via email with a 13 year old girl and also the relationship of the 19 year old
who molested Aliahna in Iowa - these people are all
connected somehow.
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My goodness...this completely reminds me of HaLeigh Cummings case. All the players married and divorced to each other..and still FB friends and God only knows what else. I would bet drugs are behind all of them. Drugs, SO's, hardened criminals..you name it.

She never stood a chance. Her mother looks OLD, worn out, unhealthy. Unreal!

Thank you for the HM article, Art. It's a keeper!

By TOM COYNE 01/ 4/12 10:06 AM ET

Michael Plumadore Pleads Not Guilty In Murder Of Aliahna Lemmon

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- A northern Indiana magistrate entered a not guilty plea Wednesday for a man accused of bludgeoning and dismembering a 9-year-old girl whose sick mother had entrusted her to his care.

Michael Plumadore, 39, was led into the Allen County courtroom in shackles and wearing an orange- and tan- striped jumpsuit and his hair disheveled, for his initial hearing in the Dec. 22 killing of Aliahna Maroney-Lemmon.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Plumadore told police that he repeatedly hit Aliahna in the head with a brick, then chopped up her body with a hack saw, eventually stashing her head, hands and feet in the trailer where he lived and dumping her other remains nearby. He was charged Friday with murder, abuse of a corpse and removing a dead body from the scene.

Allen Superior Court Magistrate Samuel Keirns asked Plumadore whether he understood the charges and proceedings. Plumadore answered each question with "yes sir."

Keirns said he would assign a public defender for Plumadore and scheduled his next court hearing for Jan. 18.

The standard prison sentence for a murder conviction in Indiana is 45 years to 65 years. The other charges each carry maximum sentences of three years in prison.

About 60 people attended the brief hearing in Fort Wayne. Afterward, deputies blocked the sidewalk outside the courthouse as Plumadore was led into a police van to return him to the county jail.

Relatives say they had considered Plumadore a trusted family friend. He had been caring for Aliahna and her 6-year-old sisters because their mother had the flu and Aliahna's stepfather works at night and sleeps during the day.

The girl had been dead for more than 24 hours before she was reported missing two days before Christmas.

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He's Admitted what he did. Then, pleads "Not Guilty"?

Plumadore pleads not guilty
Angela Mapes Turner | The Journal Gazette
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FORT WAYNE – Michael Len Plumadore, formally charged with murder in the death of 9-year-old Aliahna Lemmon, pleaded not guilty at an initial hearing this morning.

Plumadore, in a striped jail jumpsuit, was silent as media shouted questions at him as he left the Allen County Courthouse.

A trial date for Plumadore will be set Jan. 18. Another pretrial hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27.

Plumadore is also charged with abuse of a corpse and moving a body from the scene of a suspicious or violent death.

He was being held without bail. A public defender has been appointed.

No decision has been reached by prosecutors on whether to seek the death penalty in the case, which remains under investigation.

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must see short video at above link.

Local donors help father attend funeral
By Krystal Fowler - Lifestyle editor
Daily Iowegian

CENTERVILLE — A local donation drive to help a man whose daughter was murdered last week has been successful.

Dawayne Maroney, of Centerville, whose daughter, Aliahna Lemmon, was killed in Fort Wayne, Ind. Thursday was seeking financial assistance to be able to travel to her funeral.

Donations were collected to help Maroney, who according to a friend doesn’t have a car or license, travel to Indiana. According to information given to the Daily Iowegian, Maroney arrived in Indiana last evening.

Right now, donations are no longer being accepted by the Daily Iowegian.

According to an AP interview, Maroney said he hadn't been in contact with his daughter or her mother recently, saying he had lost touch because of frequent phone number changes. He said he knows the man accused of killing Aliahna and had no reason not to trust him.

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Yes Wrap, he pleaded not guilty probably on the advise of his lawyers - I dont understand why they just dont plead guilty and let them sentence him - hes not going to get away with it, unless they are going for a psych defense.

Service slated Thursday for Aliahna Lemmon, 9
Dominic Adams | The Journal Gazette
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There will be a memorial service for Aliahna Marie Maroney Lemmon at 7 p.m. Thursday at First Assembly of God, 1400 W. Washington Center Road, with calling one hour before, according to an obituary.

Aliahna, 9, was a third-grader at Holland Elementary in Fort Wayne Community Schools.

She is survived by her father, Dawayne Maroney; mother, Tarah Souders; stepfather, Allen Souders; siblings Briana, Shaleigh, Trinity and Kyle, and grandparents Leanne and David Story.

Arrangements are being handled by D.O. McComb & Sons Pine Valley Park Funeral Home, 1320 E. Dupont Road.

Neighbor Michael L. Plumadore, 39, told police he was baby-sitting Aliahna when he killed her Dec. 22 and then dismembered her, according to court documents.

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