LARVELL SMITH Jr - 5 yo - Cleveland OH

An autopsy is planned Thursday for a five-year-old boy who died Wednesday inside his east side Cleveland home.
The child was inside the house with his 10-year-old sister and
31-year-old Julian Whitaker, who also resided at 18914 Harvard Avenue
with the childrens' mother.
Police say around 8:20 a.m., the girl ran from the house with an apparent knife wound.
She bolted two blocks up the street to Willow Park Nursing Home where her mother works with Whitaker.
Terri Plush, the Administrator at Willow Park, saw the girl rush into
the nursing home. "It was clear the girl was in distress when she
came," said Plush.
Healthcare professionals assisted the child while her mother called 911.
Warrensville Heights police arrived first on the scene, because the home sits right on the border of the two communities.
According to Cleveland Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba, Whitaker exited the
house holding a large knife. Officers ordered him to drop the knife
and when he refused to comply, they fired 11 shots.
A ricocheting bullet struck a car that happened to be passing by the
scene. Broken glass injured a five-year-old girl. She was treated and
released from a local hospital.
Once inside the Harvard Avenue house, police discovered the five-year-boy deceased.
Dep. Chief Tomba says the boy had been stabbed twice in the neck by Whitaker.
Cleveland EMS transported the 10-year-old girl and Whitaker to MetroHealth Medical Center.
The female child was treated and released but Whitaker remained in critical condition as of Wednesday night.
Neighbors told Fox 8 News they were stunned by the tragic chain of
events, and that the family had just recently moved into the home.
"Normal. He'd wave say hello. He was just working on those (porch) steps
the other day and now look, " said neighbor Vanessa Par, choking back
tears while describing Whitaker.
"It's unbelievable...very unbelievable," said neighbor Brian Werner, as he laid a teddy bear near the house.
The staff at Willow Park Nursing Home was also shocked.
"Both very strong professionals, good caregivers, high quality
individuals," said Plush, of both Whitaker and the childrens' mother.
Police will be interviewing the 10-year old girl. Counselors were also on hand at the hospital.
Chief Tomba said, "She was the one in the house and she holds the key to this information."
A standard use of force investigation is also underway for the three
Warrensville Heights police officers who were involved in the shooting.

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-news-cleveland-shooting,0,1548884.story

A Cleveland man has been indicted for the stabbing death of his girlfriend’s son.

Cuyahoga
County Prosecutor Bill Mason announced that 31-year-old Julian Whitaker
is charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping, attempted aggravated
murder, felonious assault, and cruelty to animals. Whitaker faces a
possible death penalty for the aggravated murder a child under 13 years
of age.

Whitaker and his girlfriend, along with her 10-year-old
daughter and 5-year-old son, moved from Warrensville Heights to a house
on Harvard Ave., in Cleveland, in May 2011.
On June 1, 2011,
Whitaker was home with the children at the Harvard Ave. residence while
their mother was at work. Using steak knives from their residence, he
murdered the child and attempted to murder the young girl. Whitaker then
fatally stabbed the dog.

When police arrived Whitaker exited
the house with a knife in hand and charged at an officer, refusing the
officers' commands to drop the knife. He was shot multiple times and
apprehended by officers.

Arraignment has not been scheduled.
Read more: http://www.wtam.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=122520&article=8697774#ixzz1PC9Lb13s

Larvell Smith Jr is the dead boy's name. His injured sister is Deonche Lewis.

Thanks Toes!

Man Charged in Boy's Stabbing Death Released From Hospital

June 16, 2011

CLEVELAND - The suspect who was shot by Cleveland police and charged in the stabbings of two children has been released from the hospital.

A spokesperson from MetroHealth Medical Center confirmed to Fox 8 News that Julian Whitaker, 31, was discharged Thursday after being hospitalized for weeks with gunshot wounds. He is now in the custody of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department.

Whitaker was indicted by a grand jury earlier this month on charges of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder.

Prosecutors say he fatally stabbed his girlfriend's five-year-old son, and injured her 10-year-old daughter while she was at work on June 1. Police say Whitaker also killed the family dog.

The little girl managed to escape from the Harvard Avenue home and run for help at a nearby nursing home where her mother worked.

Police said Whitaker charged officers with a knife when they arrived at
the home, forcing them to fire their weapons multiple times.

Whitaker is scheduled to be arraigned on June 27. He could get the death penalty if convicted.


http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-julian-whitaker-stabbing-suspect-released-metro-txt,0,7718781.story

June 17, 2011 12:45 PM EDT


CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) -


A Cleveland man was in court in connection with the death of his girlfriend's 5-year old son.
Julian Whitaker plead not guilty via video arraignment Friday. The arraignment follows his indictment earlier this week.
He was indicted for the June 1st domestic that left a 5-year-old dead and his sister hospitalized.
Prosecutors say Deonche Lewis, 10, ran to her
mother's job at Willow Park Nursing Home with a slashed throat. She
told her mother, Markish Smith, that a man cut her throat and was
holding her little brother hostage at their Harvard Avenue home.
Workers at the nursing home called 9-1-1 and
flagged down a Warrensville Heights Police cruiser for help.
Warrensville Police responded to the home located at 18914 Harvard
Avenue and called Cleveland Police to the scene.

When officers arrived, Julian Whitaker exited
the home wearing a bloody shirt and waving a knife. Officers requested
that Whitaker drop the knife, but he did not. Officers shot Whitaker
several times, he was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center.

Once inside of the home, officers located the
body of Larvell Smith, 5, and the family dog. Both were deceased. The
boy suffered severe lacerations to the neck.

Deonche Lewis was taken to Metro where she was treated and released for a laceration to her neck.
Whitaker had been dating Smith at the time of the incident.

Whitaker, who is still recovering from gunshot wounds, is confined to a wheelchair.
He is being held without bail and will appear again in court on June 23 for a pre-trial hearing.
Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.