JUSTIN BLOXOM - 12 yo (2010) - Stonewall/DeSoto Parish LA

DeSoto Parish LA ---- Investigators from DeSoto Parish
have detained 34-year-old Brian Douglas Horn, a registered sex offender
for questioning in the death of a 12-year-old Stonewall, LA boy.


Investigators say Justin M. Bloxom was last seen at a home on Douglas
Lane in Stonewall, Louisiana.
Police say that Horn, a taxi driver who worked out of Bossier City, allegedly murdered the youth.
Horn is currently being detained at the DeSoto Parish Substation in Stonewall.


Efforts to track Horn down led to Action Taxi on Barksdale Boulevard
in Bossier City, where employees were told by police to be on the
lookout for him and to call immediately if he showed up, which he did a
short time later.
However Horn didn't stay long, leaving his taxi behind. It's the one
authorities believe was seen near where the little boy's body was found.
Authorities say there looking for evidence linking Horn to the
child's disappearance & death, but not saying anymore than that.
Horn's boss said he worked for Action Taxi for just 10 days. He said Horn kept
to himself and didn't make friends. Horn's boss knew he was a
registered sex offender, but felt he couldn't discriminate against him
when it came to giving him job.
Authorities say Horn was properly registered as a sex offender in
DeSoto Parish.

Horn was a registered sex offender because when he was 19 he was making out with a 13 yr. old girl that he helped to sneak out of her house. That is a big leap for me-molesting and killing a 12 yr. old boy.

DESOTO PARISH, LA (KSLA) – Authorities believe the sex offender who killed a 12-year-old DeSoto Parish boy posed as a girl over the internet to get to him.
DeSoto Parish Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle said early indications point to 34-year-old Brian Horn, who was registered as a sex offender in the parish, had numerous computer and cell phone communications with the victim, 12-year-old Justin Bloxom. Those communications show Horn pretended to be a young girl. Arbuckle said Horn, posing as the girl, told Bloxom the two should meet, and that the girl would send a taxi cab to pick Bloxom up.
Arbuckle said it was not known how long Horn and Bloxom had been communicating.
The sheriff said Horn, who is at the moment facing a charge of 2nd degree murder, is not cooperating with authorities, although Horn's family is working with investigators.
As the investigation continues, Arbuckle said charges against Horn could be upgraded.
Investigators have requested search warrants for Horn's and Bloxom's phone records and computer information to look for more clues in the case.
Arbuckle also thanked all the numerous law agencies who helped first in the search for Bloxom after he was reported missing, then with the criminal case after his body was found.
Arbuckle also confirmed an earlier report that Bloxom died from asphyxiation. Arbuckle also said it did not appear that Bloxom was sexually assaulted.
http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=12240867

A 34-year-old Keachi man lured a 12-year-old Stonewall boy away from a friend’s home early Tuesday morning by posing as a young girl through text messages, DeSoto sheriff’s authorities said today.
The “girl” made arrangements for a taxi to pick up Justin M. Bloxom shortly after 3 a.m. to complete their rendezvous.

Bloxom met the Action Taxi cab, driven by Brian Douglas Horn, and in less than two hours was dead, authorities said.
One text message sent from the "girl" said: "I'll send a taxi to pick you up", DeSoto Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle said at a news conference.

The naive little boy took the bait, Arbuckle said.
"We believe Justin was lured to the cab that was being operated by Brian Horn under false pretenses," Arbuckle said.

Justin "thought he was going to meet a young female, when it fact it was Brian Horn posing as a young female," Arbuckle said.

Horn, was a taxi driver in Shreveport-Bossier City and was in his taxi that night, Arbuckle said.
Messages detailing the plans and meeting were traced Wednesday through phone records, giving DeSoto investigators the information they needed to shore up their case against Horn, of Keachi.
“We're looking at a connection to a social network site,” Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle said.
Investigators are still not sure how long Horn had been communicating with Bloxom. That's part of the investigation that will be ongoing. However, authorities were told Tuesday Bloxom was last seen around 3 a.m. at a friend's house texting on his cell phone and those texts go "until the time of death," the sheriff said.
Horn is in the DeSoto Detention Center charged with second-degree murder in Bloxom’s death. A preliminary autopsy confirmed Bloxom died of asphyxiation. Investigators say he was strangled.
Evidence also shows that Bloxom did struggle with Horn.
Bloxom’s body was found Tuesday in a wooded area off of U.S. Highway 171 just south of the Stonewall corporate limits.
Horn was identified as a suspect after witnesses placed his green Action Taxi in the neighborhood where Bloxom was visiting with friends and later parked on the highway shoulder.
Evidence gathered in the grassy area along the highway also link Horn to the crime, Arbuckle said. Keys to Horn's taxi cab and a cell phone charger were located Wednesday.
Muddy boots were seized Tuesday from Horns' brother's pickup. The boots match boot prints leading to where Bloxom's body was found, Arbuckle said.
Horn had his first appearance today before a judge via video conference. Bond was denied, and a hearing is set for 1 p.m. April 14. The DeSoto Indigent Defender Board was appointed to represent Horn.
A candlelight service is set for 8 p.m. today in the Stonewall Park, where a memorial to Bloxom starting taking shape Wednesday. Signs, flowers and other momentos are being left along the fence - with the blessing of town officials - to remember Bloxom.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday for Bloxom at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Shreveport. Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Centuries Memorial Funeral Home.
http://www.examiner.com/x-32274-Shreveport-Headlines-Examiner~y2010m4d1-Taxi-driver-lured-12yearold-Justin-Bloxum-to-his-death-posing-as-a-girl

And yet again, the punishment will not fit the crime.
When are the courts going to wisen up? These people either need to be jailed for life or, put to death. They cannot be rehabbed.
RIP Justin.

I wonder if Horns stint in jail didn't contribute to what he did here. I hope nobody is upset with me voicing my opinion, but I think perhaps the sex offenders register and some of the punishments when teenagers are involved are a bit harsh - sometimes. Some 13 year old girls are very mature and some 19 year old boys very immature. It didn't sound as though his first crime was rape in the actual, not legal sense. Pardon me if I'm wrong. I'm only trying to hypothesize. At 19 Horn was jailed for 3 years for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. This seems a bit harsh to me. He was no doubt a nice looking young man and I wonder what he went through in jail. I'm not trying to think of excuses, I'm trying to think how he came to do what he did and take this lovely young boys life like that and if anything can be learned from it.

MANSFIELD – A Keachi man accused in the March 30 death of a 12-year-old Stonewall boy has pleaded not guilty.Brian
Douglas Horn’s plea, entered by his attorney, came shortly after a
DeSoto grand jury indicted him for first-degree murder in Justin M.
Bloxom’s death. Horn remains in the DeSoto Detention Center without
bond.Horn’s appearance in a DeSoto courtroom was the
first of what will be many over the course of the case. District
Attorney Richard Johnson plans to seek the death penalty.
Horn was
arrested within hours of the discovery of Bloxom’s body in a shallow
pool of water hidden behind a fence row in a wooded area along side of
U.S. Highway 171 south of Stonewall. Authorities say
Horn posed as a young girl via cell phone text messages to set up a
meeting between the two. In the alleged ruse, the “girl” told Bloxom a
taxi would pick him up. Bloxom, who was staying
overnight with friends during their spring break holiday, was last seen
by his friends sitting on a couch texting around 3 a.m. Later in the
morning when he could not be found, a search by family and friends got
under way. Sightings of a green Action Taxi in the
neighborhood early that morning was paired with information from a
DeSoto sheriff’s deputy who stopped to check on a cab and its driver
parked on the shoulder of Highway 171 around 6:30 a.m. The driver,
identified by the deputy as Horn, said he had lost his keys. The
driver’s license check indicated Horn was a registered sex offender.DeSoto
sheriff’s narcotics agents, who were assisting in the missing person
search, used the taxi’s last known location as a starting point and
found Bloxom’s body around 2 p.m. Horn was initially
charged with second-degree murder. Johnson pursued the upgraded charge
because of the allegation of kidnapping involved in the crime.
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20100412/NEWS01/100412014/Indictment-returned-in-Justin-Bloxom-homicide-case

Life sentence added as penalty in Justin Bloxom bill
8:13 AM, Jun. 3, 2010


BATON ROUGE - A twice-convicted sex offender whose victims are younger than 18 will be sentenced to life in prison under an enhanced penalty added Tuesday to the state's sex offender law.

The amendment was made to Senate Bill 780, also referred to as the Justin Bloxom bill, on the Senate floor before the final unanimous vote. The bill, introduced by Sen. Sherri Cheek and Rep. Richard Burford and co-authored by numerous other legislators, is pending discussion next week before the House of Representatives' Criminal Justice Committee.

"This makes it much stronger, frankly," Cheek said of the life sentence provision. "It's clearly saying you have a pedophile on your hands."

If the bill makes it into law it would be affect those arrested after Aug. 15.

With its approval of the bill, the Senate also signed off on the employment restrictions that were previously added. It will prohibit registered sex offenders from driving taxi cabs, limousines and buses. It also would make service-type jobs, where entry would be required into homes, and the operation of carnival or amusement rides, off-limits to these sex offenders.

The bill is named in memory of Justin Bloxom, the 12-year-old Stonewall child who was killed March 30. Brian Douglas Horn, 34, of Keachi, a registered sex offender with two prior convictions involving sexual activity with juveniles, is charged with first-degree murder in Bloxom's death. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20100603/NEWS01/100603005/Life+sentence+added+as+penalty+in+Justin+Bloxom+bill

Justin M. Bloxom Act clears La. House

By Vickie Welborn
Gannett Louisiana
June 18, 2010

BATON ROUGE - The Justin M. Bloxom Act received unanimous approval of the House of Representatives late Thursday.

The tougher sexual offender law is headed back to the Senate, where it will need concurrence before it goes to the governor's desk for his signature.

Named for 12-year-old homicide victim Justin Bloxom, of Stonewall, the bill restricts employment of convicted sex offenders and adds a life sentence for a twice-convicted sex offender whose victims are under age 18.

"Today, the state of Louisiana took a very strong step toward protecting our children and grandchildren. I feel better knowing that our children will be protected more than in the past. Yet, I am still emotional that we have lost Justin and other children who may still be with us if this would have been in place," state Rep. Richard Burford, R-Stonewall, said Thursday. Burford co-authored the bill with state Sen. Sherri Cheek, R-Shreveport.

Bloxom was killed March 30. Brian Douglas Horn, 34, of Keachi, a registered sex offender with two prior convictions involving sexual activity with juveniles, is charged with first-degree murder in Bloxom's death. Horn is accused of using his taxi cab job in his plan to pick up Bloxom from a friend's house.

If it clears the last hurdle, the law will prohibit registered sex offenders from driving taxi cabs, limousines and buses. It also would make service-type jobs, where entry would be required into homes, and the operation of carnival or amusement rides off-limits.

http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20100618/NEWS01/100618006/-1/rss

http://www.realitychatter.com/t2215p20-justin-bloxom-found-deceased-3-30-10

DeSoto murder trial set July 18; jury selection in Lincoln

FEBRUARY 9, 2011
MANSFIELD – The trial of a convicted sex offender accused in last year’s death of a 12-year-old Stonewall boy is set for July 18, with the jury to be selected the 3rd Judicial District of Lincoln and Union parishes, a DeSoto district judge ruled today.

Judge Robert Burgess made the decision in response to a motion filed last month by attorneys representing Brian D. Horn who sought a change of venue for the capital murder trial because of extensive local publicity about the March 30 death of Justin M. Bloxom. The DeSoto district attorney’s office did not object to the request.

Court officials in Ruston and in the 4th Judicial District in Monroe were willing to accommodate the jury selection process. Once seated, the jurors will be transferred to DeSoto Parish for the actual trial, which is expected to last several weeks.

The state is seeking the death penalty for Horn if convicted. The 35-year-old Keachi man is accused of posing as a young girl via text messages to Bloxom to lure him away from a friend’s house. Bloxom’s body was found in a wooded area in Stonewall several hours after he was reported missing. He died of asphyxiation.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20110209/NEWS01/110209023/DeSoto-murder-trial-set-July-18-jury-selection-in-Lincoln

http://off2dr.com/smf/index.php?topic=11373.0

Brian Horn's summer trial a no-go


Jun. 14, 2011
MANSFIELD – The tentative summer trial date for the Keachi man accused in the death of a 12-year-old Stonewall boy won’t happen after all because of unresolved pretrial motions.

District Judge Robert Burgess said Monday in a letter to the DeSoto Parish district attorney’s office and defense attorneys the pending motions are “crucial” and “this case is not in a posture for trial at this time.”

He made the decision after conferring with the chief judge of the 3rd Judicial District in Lincoln Parish. Jury selection for Brian Horn’s capital murder case was to begin there Aug. 1. Once seated, the jury would have been transported to Mansfield for the trial.

Court officials faced a deadline of Wednesday to make a firm decision in order for jury summons to be timely mailed. Instead, Burgess has set an Aug. 1 hearing date for the pending motions. No new trial date has been discussed.

Horn, 35, a twice-convicted sex offender, is charged with first-degree murder in the March 30, 2010 death of Justin M. Bloxom, a North DeSoto Middle School student. Horn faces the death penalty if convicted.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20110614/NEWS01/110614017/Brian-Horn-s-summer-trial-no-go

Judge denies Brian Horn's motions to suppress

11:40 PM, Aug. 6, 2011

MANSFIELD — Homicide suspect Brian Horn's attempt to suppress statements made to DeSoto Parish sheriff's investigators during two interviews along with evidence seized from his home were unsuccessful.

District Judge Robert Burgess denied Horn's motions, saying in both instances the state met its burden in proving Horn's comments were voluntary and a subsequent search of his home was permissible.

Horn, charged with first-degree murder in the March 30, 2010, death of Justin Bloxom, 12, of Stonewall, gave limited statements to DeSoto Parish sheriff's investigators after his arrest that day; however, his attorneys still wanted them thrown out.

Horn's only acknowledgment was to admit being a taxi driver who ran out of gas, walked to Kickapoo to retrieve gas, then walk back. He also denied having a boy in his taxi and being near the crime scene. But Horn said if he was in the area, then he took a wrong turn.

The statements are not a confession. Still, prosecutors maintain the admission shows Horn's involvement. Horn suggested the comments were made under duress.

Burgess rejected the claim, noting Horn was read his Miranda rights on multiple occasions and voluntarily participated in the brief interviews, which were stopped once he asked for an attorney.

The evidence, Burgess said, shows no "degree of malevolence or manipulation on behalf of the officers."

He cited similar findings in refuting Horn's contention that clothing and a computer taken from his home were done so during an illegal search.

Horn's wife, Amanda Horn, testified she gave permission for the search after Horn was detained for questioning in Bloxom's death.

While she admitted she was unaware she had a right to refuse the search, "she expressed no misgivings or reservations that the search was conducted," Burgess said in his ruling determining "free and voluntary" consent was given.

No date has been set for Horn's trial. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20110807/NEWS03/108070340/Judge-denies-Brian-Horn-s-motions-suppress