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Thread: Ariana Jade Romeo (6) Died In Suspicious & Disturbing Circumstances & A Police Investigation Is Underway

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    Ariana Jade Romeo (6) Died In Suspicious & Disturbing Circumstances & A Police Investigation Is Underway

    This is going to be a really, really bad one





    https://www.koat.com/article/body-of...s-say/22705569


    CYFD had received calls concerned for girl's well-being before her death

    Warning: The details in this article are disturbing.

    KOAT Updated: 11:08 AM MDT Aug 16, 2018

    Over the weekend, police found the body of 6-year-old Ariana Jade Romeo. Here's a breakdown of what we know and what questions we're still asking.

    VICTIM:


    Ariana Jade Romeo was 6 years old, set to turn 7 in November. The young girl had just finished kindergarten at Ernest Stapleton Elementary and was set to start first grade this past Monday.

    CAUSE OF DEATH:

    We are still awaiting the results of an autopsy report to learn the official cause of death, but police have ruled her death as a homicide.

    According to a search warrant, the girl was found unresponsive on bloodstained sheets. Investigators said she had damage to her genitals. According to a list of evidence taken from the scene, some of the items found near Ariana's body included a Playboy magazine, two pieces of tissue and a towel with blood on it.

    Rio Rancho Police Captain Ron Vigil said because several pieces of evidence are still being tested, the results of Ariana autopsy could take anywhere between six to eight weeks. However, he added that his department is working with the Office of the Medical Investigators to try to get a preliminary cause of death sooner.

    SUSPECTS:

    At this time, no suspects have been arrested.

    Vigil said detectives have interviewed everyone who was at the home when the girl was killed, but they are waiting until they have enough evidence to make an arrest.

    He added that Ariana's mother has not been ruled out as a suspect.

    CYFD HISTORY:

    On Monday, Secretary of CYFD Monique Jacobsen said the CYFD hadn't had any contact with the little girl and her mom.

    KOAT received a tip from a family friend who had contacted CYFD in early October 2017, when Ariana and her mom were living in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The family friend said he contacted CYFD because he was concerned about the little girl's well-being.

    On Wednesday, KOAT confirmed that the department did receive a call, but it's a call that they consider to be a "screen-out." The department receives thousands of "screen-out" calls, which are processed and assessed by an intake department.

    "Screen-out, we're not saying that the situation is OK, there can still be bad things happening, they can still be criminal, there can still be all sorts of things that need to be investigated, it just doesn't meet our criteria to be investigated for a CYFD investigation," Jacobsen said.

    In order for that call to have been investigated, it needed to meet CYFD criteria, which Jaconsen said it did not.

    "Calls will get 'screen-outs' if it's not at the hands of a parent, guardian or custodian," Jacobsen said. "If there's not information to do an investigation, if it's something that occurred in the past and there's not current allegations of abuse or neglect occurring."

    Jacobsen did not explain why the call did not meet criteria. However, the call was sent over to police to investigate.

    HISTORY OF THE HOME:

    Ariana and her mother had been living at the home for an unknown amount of time. There were other, older children also living at the home, but police did not say how old those children were or how they were related to Ariana.

    Neighbors in the area said "some people" in the home have a history, but not involving Ariana.

    According to a New Mexico state incident report from 2011, Rio Rancho police investigated the criminal sexual penetration of a 5-year-old girl at the same home.



    The girl's father lives outside New Mexico.

    According to Billy Hudson, he raised Jade for four years while dating her mother. He told Action 7 News the three lived as a family in Florida and Alabama, but Hudson took a backseat after Jade's mom began dating someone else.


    https://www.abqjournal.com/1209260/p...as-killed.html

    Lots of trouble reported for years at home where girl was killed
    By Elise Kaplan / Journal Staff Writer
    Published: Wednesday, August 15th, 2018 at 2:52pm



    The home on the 200 block of Moonstone in Rio Rancho where police investigated the homicide of 6-year-old Ariana Romeo. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal)


    When paramedics and officers were called to a brick, one-story house in Rio Rancho last Saturday regarding an unresponsive child, it was hardly their first time at the address.

    Officers quickly determined that 6-year-old Ariana ?Jade? Romeo was dead. Her death is being investigated as a homicide, and no one has been arrested.


    And although police have said the child and her mother, Stephanie Romeo, had not been living at the house very long, the home?s history of troubles is well-documented by the police department.


    Recently released dispatch logs show that, since 2009, officers, firefighters or paramedics have been called 35 times to the home in the 200 block of Moonstone, near N.M. 528 and Northern NE.

    Police officers were called 26 times, the fire department five times and emergency medical services four times. Several different names are referenced over the years but there is little information about their relationships with the homeowners.

    Reasons for the calls vary wildly, ranging from the collection of a found dog to domestic violence to a man who was reportedly coming down from a methamphetamine binge. Two of the calls involved custody disputes.


    A spokesman for the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department said Monday that the agency had not had any prior contact with Stephanie Romeo or Ariana, but the agency walked that back after more investigation Wednesday. Henry Varela now says CYFD has since found an allegation involving the Romeos made in Carlsbad last October. It was screened out and referred to law enforcement because it did not meet the department?s criteria for investigation.

    Per state law, Varela could not give details of that call or say why it was screened out.

    CYFD has investigated one person associated with the home in 2012, but no information about that investigation could be provided.

    A man who lives there currently ? and who court documents say was present when Ariana was found dead ? has owned the house since at least 2009, according to online tax records.


    Ariana ?Jade? Romeo, 6 (Courtesy of Ramona Tanner)

    Saturday morning, officers called to the home for a ?DOA? or dead on arrival, found Ariana in a makeshift bedroom converted from a garage. Officers said the home was in ?total disarray? and Ariana was found on blood-stained sheets and with blood on her body. She wasn?t wearing underwear or pants.

    The Office of the Medical Investigator found the girl had ?damage? to her genitals but has not said how she died.


    Many people were in the home when officers arrived, although a Rio Rancho Police Department spokesman has not said how many were there. Some were children, and the police department is working with CYFD to ensure their safety.

    Capt. Ron Vigil said the case has taken time to develop because investigators have had to conduct multiple interviews, process lots of evidence and wait for an autopsy report to determine how Ariana died and whether any DNA was on her person or drugs were in her system.

    ?I understand the importance to the community to find a quick resolution, but we want to make sure we also come to the correct determination,? Vigil said Wednesday.

    Just two months ago, police were called to the home for a domestic dispute after the caller?s daughter got in a fight with an ex-girlfriend. According to a criminal complaint filed in Rio Rancho Magistrate Court, the former couple started fighting at a local brewery and continued to fight all the way home.

    The ex-girlfriend was charged with aggravated battery on a household member and kidnapping. It is unknown if either party was at the home when Ariana was killed.

    In 2015, police went to the house to pick up a statement from someone who reported being a ?witness to child abuse.? The details of that case were not provided.



    In 2009, police were called to a domestic fight between two sisters-in-law.

    In 2010, two different calls, several months apart, involved a child calling 911, then hanging up.

    The fire department responded to a call in 2010 about an unattended fire pit left to burn all night.

    And in September 2013, someone in the house called to say a man was wandering around their backyard ?speaking in gibberish and refusing to leave.? Later comments on the call say the man was ?going off meth binge.?

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    This is the FB of a longterm friend of the mother. She's also friends with the estranged dad & she's set up a gfm to bring her home to Florida. Apparently the dad was trying to gain custody of her but couldn't find her mother

    The friend was supposed to be flying Jade (she went by her middle name) & her mum out to stay with her "for a fresh start". Seems they were days away from getting out of that house, but it wasn't soon enough.


    Long post from the friend here :

    https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...00004435721444


    Gfm :

    https://www.gofundme.com/bring-ariana-jade-home


    Dad's FB :

    https://m.facebook.com/joseph.romeo....content_filter

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    https://www.koat.com/article/why-hav...ation/22751932


    Why haven't any arrests been made in the Ariana Romeo investigation?

    KOAT Updated: 7:16 PM MDT Aug 16, 2018
    Marissa Armas

    RIO RANCHO, N.M. ?
    It's been almost a week since 6-year-old Ariana Jade Romeo was murdered, and still no arrests have been made.

    The Sandoval County Deputy District Attorney Barbara Romo says no arrests have been made because they learned from the mistakes the Albuquerque Police Department made in the Victoria Martens case.



    "We don't have enough to charge anyone at this point," Romo said.

    According to Romo, there were at least seven or eight people in the home when the little girl was killed, and one of those people was a 16-year-old. Romo said they haven't made any arrests because they don't want to falsely charge the wrong person in this case.

    "Any member of the community would not be happy if we charged the wrong person either," said Romo. "That's part of the process, interviewing everyone, and hopefully we may be able to prove something. Maybe we'll get the results back from the autopsy and lab, there might be some additional evidence."

    Victoria Martens was killed in 2016. Police arrested her mother, Michelle Martens, and her mom's boyfriend, Fabian Gonzalez, almost immediately. Two years later, the Bernalillo District Attorney's office said police got it wrong and said the two weren't actually there when Victoria was killed.

    "They weren't hurt by strangers. It was their parents, mothers, caregivers who left them in situations where they ended up getting hurt, whether it was Victoria Martens or this case," Romo said.

    A spokesperson with the Rio Rancho Police Department said they interviewed all of the people who were in the home when Ariana was killed, and those people were allowed to leave after their interviews.

    Romo said while there is a possibly of the suspect fleeing the area, they're not afraid that that person will leave. She said the person who did this may be confident he or she has their tracks covered and won't get caught.

    "As prosecutors we have a responsibility to not charge prematurely, to protect the rights of the accused, as well as the victims, and again we don?t have enough to positively identify and charge who hurt this little girl," Romo said.

    "They don?t all necessarily flee, especially if they feel like they?ve covered their tracks, they feel like they're safe. Obviously the victim can?t testify against him or her, so I wouldn?t be assuming that they are going to flee, at this point, because they have no reason to believe they are going to be caught."

    This is the thead for the case they referenced in case anyone is unfamiliar with it

    http://mydeathspace.com/vb/showthrea...r-old-daughter

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    Senior Member DiaDeLosMuertos's Avatar
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    OMG how terrible. Poor girl.
    Jenn

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    https://www.koat.com/article/ariana-...ement/22752656


    Slain girl's mother has history with law enforcement, records show


    Romeo has a record in Florida and in New Mexico.


    KOAT Updated: 9:32 AM MDT Aug 17, 2018
    Sasha Lenninger

    RIO RANCHO, N.M. ?

    The mother of a young girl found dead inside a Rio Rancho home has a history with law enforcement.


    From shoplifting to grand theft ? 33-year-old Stephanie Romeo's arrests spread from New Mexico to Florida, according to court documents.

    Most recently, Romeo was arrested in Carlsbad after police said she was caught stealing near $250 worth of toys and toiletries using a self-checkout aisle at a Walmart there.

    At the time of her arrest, she had her two children with her. Romeo told police she was stealing the items so her "kids could have a good Christmas," officials said.

    Her Florida arrests date back to October 2010, when she was booked for forging a document, officials said. She was released the day after that incident, only to be arrested a week later, according to officials.

    This time, Romeo was arrested for burglary, grand theft and using a credit card that was not hers, according to officials.

    Once again, a judge released Romeo the next day, officials said.

    In May 2011, Romeo was arrested again, this time for violating her probation from these 2010 arrests, officials said. A judge ordered her to get help at a behavioral health center.


    Eventually, Romeo made her way to Rio Rancho with her 6-year-old daughter, Ariana Jade.

    This past weekend, Ariana Jade was found dead on bloodstained sheets, according to court documents.

    CYFD had received calls concerned for girl's well-being before her death

    Police have not yet made any arrests in the case, but police have not named her or anyone else as a suspect.



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    https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news...rea/1501917758

    Arrest made in murder of 6-year-old New Mexico girl with ties to Tampa Bay area
    By: WFLA 8 On Your Side Staff
    Posted: Oct 05, 2018 09:20 PM EDT

    Updated: Oct 05, 2018 10:27 PM EDT

    ALBUQERQUE, N.M. (WFLA) - Nearly two months after a 6-year-old girl was found dead in her New Mexico home, police have made an arrest.

    According to KOB, Leland Hurst, 21, has been taken into custody by Rio Rancho police in connection to the death of Ariana Romeo.

    KOB reports Hurst is charged with child abuse resulting in death and aggravated criminal sexual penetration.

    Court documents say 6-year-old Ariana "Jade" Romeo was found on bloody sheets with marijuana and medications near her body.

    The Albuquerque Journal reported that the girl was found on a piece of foam in the garage, with no pants or underwear and that there was ?damage? to the girl?s genitals.

    Ariana's father, Joseph Romeo lives in Wimauma.

    Her remains were brought back to the Tampa Bay area.

    Romeo had been fighting for custody of his young daughter. After learning the unthinkable, that'd she'd been killed, he fought for a proper burial for her.


    https://www.abqjournal.com/1229794/a...ncho-girl.html



    Officers walk Leland Hust from the Rio Rancho Police Station on Friday. He is charged in the killing of 6-year-old Ariana Romeo. (Matthew Reisen/Albuquerque Journal)


    Almost two months after 6-year-old Ariana ?Jade? Romeo was found dead on a makeshift foam mattress, police arrested a young man suspected of raping and killing the little girl in the home where she and her mother were staying in Rio Rancho.


    Leland Hust, 21, was booked into the Sandoval County Detention Center on Friday night. He is charged with child abuse resulting in death and aggravated criminal sexual penetration.

    In a surprising development Friday night, Rio Rancho police said they also arrested the man who owned the house where Ariana was killed.


    Rio Rancho police escort Winston Scates Sr., 63, out of the police station to a waiting patrol car after charging him with criminal sexual contact of a minor stemming from an investigation into the murder of 6-year-old Ariana Romeo. (Matthew Reisen/Albuquerque Journal)

    Winston Scates Sr., 63, is charged with at least one count of criminal sexual contact involving a different minor.

    Rio Rancho Police Chief Stewart Steele said the charges are the result of a ?very thorough investigation.?

    ?The men and women of the Rio Rancho Police Department have worked diligently since Aug. 11 with the goal of justice for Ariana,? he said. ?Our officers and detectives, many of whom have children of their own, have been profoundly impacted by the death of Ariana.?

    The investigation began on Aug. 11, when Rio Rancho officers were called to the 200 block of Moonstone, near N.M. 528 and Northern NE, because Ariana?s mother had found her cold and unresponsive. She was dead, there was ?damage? to her genitals and the home was in ?total disarray,? according to a search warrant affidavit.


    According to a police report, when officers arrived several people were standing outside the house, crying and very emotional. An officer who did a sweep through the house reported that most of the rooms were empty. He found Ariana lying on a foam mattress in the garage, which had been converted into a bedroom. There was a pornographic magazine next to the mattress.

    ?As I was exiting the room a male later identified as Leland Hust came out of a room across from the kitchen,? the officer wrote in the report. ?The room had a black blanket hanging in the doorway. Leland was told to wait outside the residence.?

    After the initial trickle of information, Rio Rancho police did not answer questions about the case except to say that they were still investigating. Search warrants showed detectives were combing through the home for materials related to drug use and child pornography and that many different people, adults and juveniles, had been staying there.

    The New Mexico State Police and the Albuquerque office of the FBI assisted with the investigation.

    Friday night, Capt. Ron Vigil, a spokesman for Rio Rancho police, said it took detectives nearly two months to collect evidence against Hust, including DNA that linked him to Ariana?s death. He would not say whether Hust had confessed to the crime.




    ?DNA is one element of this investigation,? he said, adding that detectives also found evidence against Hust through interviews with people who were at the home when the girl was killed.

    Vigil said that during the investigation detectives discovered that other children may have been sexually assaulted by Scates, the homeowner.


    Ariana Romeo, 6 (Courtesy of Ramona Tanner)

    ?Unfortunately, we?ve identified other juvenile victims,? Vigil said. ?They are separate and distinct investigations. We have looked at not only older cases but new accusations.?

    Vigil would not say how many other potential victims there were or give the ages or genders of those victims or say when or where the abuse occurred.

    ?I would say it?s at least two,? he said. ?This case is still an open investigation. Additional charges are always a possibility.?

    Vigil would not say how Hust was related to Scates, Ariana?s mother, or anyone else at the home. However, according to police records, Hust was reported as a missing juvenile from the home in 2011 and returned there shortly afterward.


    ?We know that a number of individuals reside at that residence,? he said. ?We have taken steps to identify the relationships of those parties. Some may be blood relatives. Others are not.?

    Vigil would not say where Hust and Scates were during the investigation but said they were not arrested at the home on Moonstone. He said there could be more suspects but detectives have arrested only the two men whose involvement they believe they could prove.

    Neither Scates nor Hust has a criminal history in New Mexico, according to online court records.

    But this is not the first time Scates has been accused of sexual contact of a minor. According to a police report filed in 2011, a female relative reported her 4-year-old daughter had said he inappropriately touched her.

    The case was submitted to the 13th Judicial District Attorney?s Office for review, but charges were not filed.

    Friends and relatives say Ariana and her mother, Stephanie, bounced around the southeast before moving across the country to New Mexico over a year ago.


    The two eventually landed in Rio Rancho, where Ariana attended Ernest Stapleton Elementary School. She had just graduated kindergarten.


    A close friend of the family, Angelea Torn, said she was thankful police finally made an arrest.

    ?Sadly, it doesn?t make it feel any better,? she said. ?Justice doesn?t bring her back.?



    Their pix from the Justice For Jade page

    https://m.facebook.com/Justice-For-J...8470488499415/




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