Re: NATALIE ALEXIS (Aged 5 years) & JONATHAN CHASE (Aged 3 years) DEBLASE - Mobile, Alabama (USA)

**Twiglet** Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:18 pm

AL.com

24 August 2011

DeBlase case: Father, stepmother of slain children plead not guilty to capital murder

A couple accused of torturing and poisoning two children to death pleaded not guilty by mental disease in court this afternoon.

A judge ordered that a state forensic psychologist evaluate John DeBlase, the children’s father.

His common-law wife, Heather Leveall-Keaton, has already been evaluated although a report has not yet been completed, court officials said.

DeBlase, 27, and Leavell-Keaton, 22, are charged with capital murder in the deaths of 4-year-old Natalie DeBlase and 3-year-old Chase DeBlase.

Investigators in December found the siblings’ bodies dumped in separate wooded areas in Mississippi and Alabama one month after they were reported missing.

In arraignment hearings Wednesday, DeBlase — who appeared to have dramatically lost weight while in jail — and Leavell-Keaton entered pleas of not guilty or not guilty by reason of mental disease or mental defect.

Both are being held in Mobile County Metro Jail, although they are driven to court separately and kept apart.

Defense attorney Jim Sears said that DeBlase has mental health problems, but he declined to be more specific.

A Mobile County grand jury last week upgraded charges against the father from felony murder to capital murder.

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

**Twiglet** Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:21 pm

WALA-TV FOX10

13 September 2011

Richard DeBlase on Grandparents Bill‎

........ The gruesome details of their short, tortured lives are enough to haunt anyone, especially their grandfather, Richard DeBlase.

"The love that grandparents give these kids can't be matched," said Richard.

Arrest warrants said John DeBlase once allowed Keaton to bind Natalie in a suitcase for about 14 hours. The warrants also say Keaton bound Chase and made him stand in a corner while the couple went to bed.

"It has been very very hard for us. Why... why did this have to happen?" asked Richard.

Richard said he asked repeatedly to see his two grandchildren in the months before they died, but was never allowed to visit. It's why he supports a bill aimed at giving grandparents visitation rights.

"At least we would see them and know what's happened in their lives. Many people have come to us and say, 'I want to see them, be a part of their lives,'" said DeBlase.

Except the lives of the two children were cut short. Police believe Natalie was killed in March of 2010, and Chase was killed in June 2010.

Richard said he partially blames himself for not being there to protect them. He prays others won't suffer the pain he has. He believes legislation is the only option.

"I thought the bill itself was very well drafted and didn't override the rights of the parents. That's why I was surprised to the Supreme Court shot it down," he said.

State Representative Harry Shiver of Bay Minette sponsored the bill.

" House Bill 348 is now the new state law. It has not been tested in an Alabama court. My bill is a product of the Troxall Case of 2002 from the Supreme Court of the United States of America. The Supreme Court of the USA wrote a 75-page brief about Grandparents Rights. I know that over 50 percent of grandparents are raising their grandchildren. When grandparents are raising their grandchildren, they need our laws of the land to reflect this. Thank you for requesting this information. I sure hope that a grandparent somewhere is helped by this bill. This information by your news report should help all grandparents to know that we do have a viable law in the State of Alabama," Shiver said.

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/mobile_county/richard-deblase-talks-to-fox10

**Twiglet** Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:08 am

AL.com

21 September 2011

Woman accused in killings of DeBlase children moving to mental health hospital

A woman accused of abusing and poisoning 2 children in Mobile will be moved to a state mental health facility tomorrow for determination of whether she can stand trial on capital murder charges, according to prosecutors.

Heather Leavell-Keaton, 22, is accused of killing 4-year-old Natalie DeBlase and 3-year-old Chase DeBlase, the children of her common-law husband, who has also been charged with capital murder.

Leavell-Keaton pleaded not guilty or not guilty by reason of mental disease or mental defect.

A state psychologist evaluated Leavell-Keaton to investigate whether she is competent to stand trial and whether she was competent at the time of the alleged slayings.

Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich said that the psychologist could not immediately make a decision, and he recommended further observation.

Leavell-Keaton will be transferred from Mobile County Metro Jail — where she has been held with no bail — to Bryce Hospital, an Alabama Department of Mental Health facility in Tuscaloosa, according to Rich.

The psychologist’s report has been sealed from the public by Mobile County Circuit Judge Rick Stout, court officials said.

Police have said that Leavell-Keaton slowly poisoned the children by pouring antifreeze into their food because she no longer wanted to be responsible for raising them.

She is charged with two counts of capital murder and two counts of aggravated child abuse.

This morning, Leavell-Keaton, who suffers from vision loss, appeared in court for a brief hearing on the status of her case.

In court, defense attorney Richard Horne said that in some criminal cases, defendants receiving treatment at mental health facilities have “stayed there for a significant period of time.”

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

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