White Supremacist Stands Trial For Murdering Biracial Child

[ccharles000]

WILKES-BARRE — The swastika tattooed to Alan Leitzel Jr.’s chest remained hidden Tuesday, beneath the gray jacket and white button-down shirt he wore during the second day of his “degree of guilt” trial for the killing of his girlfriend’s biracial son.

Leitzel boasted about the tattoo as two state police officers drove him to a preliminary hearing last April in Hazle Township, four months after the boy, 3-month-old Xavier Simmons, died from blunt force trauma to the head, state police Corporal Corey Wetzel said.

Leitzel told Wetzel he had the swastika — a symbol of hate propagated by Nazis and white supremacists — branded to his body while incarcerated at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, using a sharpened staple as a needle and hair-care products heated to produce a dark dye.

Earlier in the ride, Leitzel noticed a black motorist driving near the intersection of Wilkes-Barre Boulevard and Coal Street, Wetzel said. He scowled at the driver, cursed and invoked a historically pejorative term for blacks.

http://www.standardspeaker.com/articles/2009/05/06/news/hz_standspeak.20090506.a.pg8.hz06_cvleitzel_s1.2501831_loc.txt

[angstlessk]

1. he must be one MUTHER FUCKING TOUGH MUTHER..to murder a 3 month old baby

shit..look out fellow prisoners...he is gonna change your diapers!!...PIG!

[uppityperson]

5. thank you. dark humor can help

[Deja Q]

2. Despicable.

Murder is murder, but especially seeking out people for certain qualifiers... far sicker.

[Dark]

3. If he's found guilty, I hope he gets life in prison.

Convicts don't take well to child killers...

[salguine]

20. I hope he gets put in the same cell block with the most brothers in it. I hate bigots.

[TK421]

4. disgusting....what a badass, doing that to a three-month old

[Echo In Light]

6. I'm sure he'll learn plenty re both "bad," and "ass" where he's going

[TK421]

21. He'll probably need the spurs and ten-gallon hat to go with the walk n/t

[nomorenomore08]

7. Sociopath. There's really no other word for this fuck.

:grr:

[Dervill Crow]

8. He gives sociopaths a bad name. nt

[azurnoir]

9. I must ask WTF was the mother of a bi-racial child

doing with a white supremacist? A mother has a responsibility to her kids and this was beyond the pale, way beyond.
I say this as the mother of 3 bi-racial children, and no this does not mean White guys not allowed but someone with a swastika tattoo? Come on someone should be taking a look at her too.

[nomorenomore08]

11. Stupidity? Desperation? Cognitive dissonance?

All of the above, even? :shrug:

[ccharles000]

13. I agree

[Dogtown]

16. Tattoo after the crime, Azunoir.

The procedure described is how they do tattoos in prison. Tats are against the rule in prison, ostensibly to prevent HIV due to shared needles, but actually to minimize symbols of gang affiliation.

I suspect this pilgrim is trying to hook up with a white supremacist gang to gain their protection in the joint. Contrary to the post upstream, the Nation et al will protect almost anyone who initiates, despite their crime. Molestation might break a deal, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Racial ties and racial violence are rampant in prisons, and it's almost imperative to join some group for protection. Independents are victimized by everyone.

He sounds like an opportunistic coward.

[azurnoir]

19. The tat was just the most obvious thing

however there are other "signs" if you will of attitude and to be honest perhaps I am or was just really "dog" about what men I allowed to be around my children, also when I found myself single I was in my early 30's so I was also older than this women most likely is however and none the less a racist of any kind is out of the question, this may be surprise but I was married to Black man for 16 years(not the surprise) but my current and for the last 15 years partner is white. we have one child a son, he played a large role in raising my daughters and considerds them his also, but in the begining I did put him though questioning and observation about race and if I were to find myself single again would do the same it works the same all around

[TWiley]

10. More on the asshole here:

WILKES-BARRE — Alan Leitzel Jr. exposed his disdain for 3-month-old Xavier Simmons early in their relationship, referring to the boy, who is half-black, in racially derogatory terms, prosecutors said.

“This isn’t my kid,” Leitzel would tell the boy’s mother, girlfriend Tiffany Simmons. “Get this baby out of the house.”

“He didn’t want this child around,” Deputy District Attorney David Pedri told a Luzerne County judge on Monday.

Leitzel, 26, of West Hazleton, admitted to killing Xavier, hours after the boy succumbed in January 2008 to the jarring effects of blunt force trauma. Leitzel affirmed that admission last Thursday as he pleaded guilty to an open count of homicide, but has denied any premeditation or intent to end the boy’s life.

Judge David W. Lupas will decide, after a degree of guilt trial that began Monday, whether Leitzel intended to murder Xavier, or if the boy’s death was the result of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter. Leitzel could face a mandatory life sentence if convicted of first-degree murder.

Leitzel’s attorney, public defender Jonathan Blum, said Leitzel’s psychiatric disorders led to the “impulse control” and “anger issues” that “played into the child’s death.”

According to prosecutors, Leitzel became enraged as Simmons continued to slumber while Xavier fussed in his bassinet.

Leitzel cursed at Simmons, 26, of Hazleton, and forcefully lifted Xavier from the bassinet, banging the child’s head against a plastic shield, prosecutors said. In the process, Leitzel grabbed Xavier under the arms, providing no support for the boy’s head and neck, prosecutors said.

Leitzel shook Xavier several times and slammed his head against a nearby wall or stereo speaker, prosecutors said. The impact caused the boy to fall silent and limp, prosecutors said.

“This is not just frustration, this is not a momentary shake,” Pedri said. “This is a strike of the baby’s head off of something.”

Blum, advocating for a third-degree murder or manslaughter conviction, called it a “classic case of shaken baby syndrome.”

Dr. Mark Trachtman, a pediatric ophthalmologist who examined Xavier at Lehigh Valley Hospital, said the boy suffered from “the worst case” of retina hemorrhaging he had ever observed.

“It is clearly indicative of a non-accelerated trauma,” Trachtman said.

Two other medical experts — Dr. Kerrie Pinkney, a pediatric emergency physician at Lehigh Valley Hospital, and Dr. Samuel Lamb, the forensic pathologist who performed an autopsy on Xavier Simmons — are expected to testify when the trial resumes today at 10 a.m.

Amy Vendura, who has five children with Leitzel’s brother, Josiah Heller, said Leitzel protested whenever Simmons visited with Xavier.

“Alan asked her to take the baby home or to find a baby sitter when she came over,” Vendura said. “But she brought the baby anyway.”

Vendura said she never heard Leitzel yell at her children, his ex-girlfriend’s four children, or his own 5-year-old daughter. She said she never saw Leitzel shake or strike them either.

Leitzel’s friend, Richard Saieva, said Leitzel argued with Simmons “about him watching Xavier” about a month before the boy’s death.

“He didn’t think it was fair for him to watch someone else’s baby when it’s not his,” Saieva said.

story link: http://www.citizensvoice.com/articles/2009/05/05/news/wb_voice.20090505.t.pg2.cv05cdleitzel_s1.2498366_top4.txt

[TWiley]

12. Here is a picture of the stupid fuck ... He must be 6'4" and 280 lbs

story here: http://pahomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=25195



This guy is huge. He must be at least 6'4" tall and weigh 280 lbs. Unfortunately, this asshole will be a hero-child killer in prison when he joins other racists there.

[BreweryYardRat]

14. Ugh.

Does Pennsylvania have the death penalty? If so, this... filth ought to get it.

[Stellabella]

15. Too bad that homemade tattoo didn't give him serious health complications.

Like death.

[ccharles000]

17. yup

[MrCoffee]

18. Rest in peace, Xavier

Poor child.

[firedupdem]

22. What a fucking tough guy...piece of shit! I hope he gets taken

care of where he's going. Rest in peace little Xavier. :cry: