Top Local News Stories for Pine Castle, Florida.

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Deputies: Mom accused of killing son 'hated baby since he was born'

A Polk County woman accused of killing her 1-year-old son has been found at a Central Florida airport, authorities said. Neha Patel, 32, was found Friday afternoon in a parking garage at Tampa International Airport, according to deputies. A charge on Patel's credit card at the airport's economy parking garage led authorities to her just before 1:30 p.m. on Friday. On Thursday, Patel's husband reported that his wife and son were missing. Authorities said she returned home Friday morning with the baby wrapped in a blanket and told her husband that she had killed him. Neha told detectives that when the baby woke up from his nap, she put him in the bathtub, filled it half full of water, and left him in there alone for 10 minutes. When she returned to take him out of the tub, she said he was unconscious. She said she knows CPR, but chose not to do it or to call 911 because she hates her son. She told detectives she then put clothes on the baby and drove to Ocala, and then to Tampa. She told detectives that she knew the baby was dead during this drive because he was “blue” and “cold” according to a release. She told detectives she was going to jump off the roof of the parking garage at the airport but she decided to go back home because there were too many people around. She told her husband she drowned the baby and when her husband began calling relatives she became very angry and left because she didn’t want to go to jail, and that instead she was going to kill herself. She drove back to Tampa International Airport where she was found by authorities. Neha told detectives she has hated her baby since the day he was born, and she blamed him for her “state of mind.” Officials said her husband told them that she suffers from postpartum depression and had left her medication at the house. However, deputies said they have not confirmed that yet and during her interrogation Patel never brought it up. Patel was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail Friday night and will be extradited to Polk County. Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 05:31:27 GMT

Burglars scale beachside balconies

Brevard County Sheriff's deputies said they have distributed more than 300 fliers to residents from Cocoa Beach to Sebastian Inlet after a string of burglaries targeting sliding glass doors. These burglars are brave and apparently in great shape. In Ted Bieniewicz's Indialantic beachside apartment, they even scaled up a wood beam to get onto the balcony. He said the burglars ripped a 14 foot plank from a nearby beach access ramp, then used it to scale up to his sliding glass door. "They put a plank from here down to there, and walked up the plank right up to here," said Bieniewicz as he stood on his balcony that is roughly 10 feet above the ground. "Keep things locked up. Some people go out and they leave the screen [open] and they go downstairs. They think they're safe up here, they're not. Even up above. These guys can climb." Up the beach in Satellite Beach, Bunny Thompson thought living on the second floor made her safe. Not anymore. "I never lock my slider," said Thompson. "But I'm going to start to lock it now." Burglars have hit her condo complex several times and now neighbors are using storm doors to close off their ocean views day and night; opting for safety over beauty. "You just have to take precautions," said Fred Schwecke. "You put pins in your sliders or bars. We close our shutters at night and make sure they're locked all the time." "My fear is to be asleep at night and have somebody in the house," said Debbie Schwecke. "I used to be adamant about not locking the shutters. I lock them every night now." So far, deputies said there have been at least 22 different burglaries and they're all breaking in through the sliding glass doors. It seems, however, that anybody with a sliding glass door can become a victim because deputies said the burglaries are not confined to apartments and condos along the beach. Deputies still need help catching the burglars and are asking people with information to call Crimeline at (800)423-TIPS.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:36:24 GMT

Victim says alleged con woman took $200k, husband made death threats

Bin Lin came to the United States in 1995 in search of a better life. He lost his legal visa status several years ago, after trying to go to Canada. When he met Melissa Domato, he thought she could help him legally regain the proper status in the United States. Lin said he first met Domato in 2009 as Melissa Rosario, a woman who claimed to be an immigration attorney who had ties to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said she promised to help him get a green card and that she could secure legal immigration status for dozens of his friends and family members too. Lin began giving Domato payments ranging from $2,000 up to $15,000 for the work she was supposedly doing. He said he paid her $60,000 of his own money but she took around $200,000 total from he and his family members. He said he handed the payments to Domato's office manager, Sorraya Leon, who would sign off on each receipt. By the spring of 2011, Lin had seen no results and was frustrated. He said he called Domato several times, and went to her then office in Metrowest to try to speak to her. According to Lin, that is when Domato's husband started making threats. "He said I'm gonna come to you. I'm gonna kill you," said the 36-year-old restaurant owner. In May 2011, Domato was extradited to New Jersey on an arrest warrant for theft by deception. She's accused of taking $25,000 from a man to take care of his immigration paperwork. The arrest warrant indicates that according to that victim, Domato did not provide any services. Five Central Florida families, not including Lin's, have spoken to Local 6 regarding Domato's alleged scam. Many of them are British citizens who had legal visa status until they sought out the help of Domato. Natalie Cockerill and her husband, Mark, run a successful real estate business in Orlando and went to Domato to update their visas out of convenience. "We were completely legal we went to a person we believed to be an immigration attorney she had a position of trust," said Cockerill, who paid Domato $6,000 last year. They also said Leon handled the processing of the money and the contracts. Local 6 tried to contact Leon several times for information about Domato's business, but she would not return any phone calls. Local 6's Mike Holfeld tracked down Leon outside a coffee shop in Kissimmee, but she refused to comment about Domato or her affiliation with the business. Lin and the Cockerill's are trying to renew their visas under a victims of crime provision on the immigration law. The Cockerill's said they gave sworn statements to officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement who are reportedly investigating Domato's alleged scam. A spokesperson for ICE could neither confirm nor deny any ongoing investigation. The Florida Bar said they recieved a complaint about Domato identifying herself as an attorney in December. They are currently investigating that complaint. A spokesperson for the bar said depending on the outcome of the investigation there could be both criminal and civil actions taken. The unlicensed practice of law is a third degree felony in Florida. Domato has a court date in Essex County, New Jersey on Feb. 27. The prosecutor's office there is looking into whether or not she violated the conditions of her bond by returning to Florida after her arrest. As a condition of her bond, she was not supposed to leave New Jersey. However, alleged victims in Central Florida cliam they met with her in Orlando in the fall. They said they will issue a new warrant for her arrest if it is determined she violated her bond. Many of Domato's victims said they are now waiting for a law enforcement agency to sign off that they are willing witnesses to this reported crime, so they can get their visa status adjusted. Local 6 will continue to follow this story.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:44:11 GMT

Brevard mom battles partner for custody of their child

Two Brevard County moms are headed for the State Supreme Court in the first custody battle of its kind in Florida. Two women in a relationship for 11 years split up—but they had a child together in 2004 after they had been dating for eight years. They had planned to raise their little girl together, which they used one partner’s egg in the other’s womb. The woman whose DNA was used sued for custody but based on state law, a Brevard County circuit judge found the woman who delivered the child is the birth mom, and therefore, has parental rights, while the biological mother does not. Attorney Robert Segal represents the biological mother, Tina, the woman whose egg was used to conceive the child. "They decided to harvest an egg from my client, have it fertilized in vitro-inplanted into the birth mother, who then gave birth to the child," Segal said. Tina said she was devastated and appealed. "They were very deliberate in bringing this child into the world and she was a very committed parent and she still is, but she is being denied access," Segal said. The Court of Appeals agreed with Tina, saying state law has not kept up with the times. It directed the lower court to work out an agreement, but it also asked the Florida Supreme Court to weigh in on the constitutionality of the law, which could take several more months. "We are asking for time sharing as much time as she can get with this child,” Segal said. Tina said she has kept cards and artwork from her daughter. She said she and her partner tried for years to have the child and when it finally happened it was "a miracle." She said they lived as a family until the women broke up in 2006. Afterward, Segal said they continued to share custody and his client even paid child support. "December 2007 rolled around and birth mom decided she wasn't interest in having my client be a part of the child's life anymore and she disappeared," Segal said. It took several months before the birth mother and child were tracked down in Australia. Local 6 reached out to the other woman's attorney, but they were not available to comment.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:07:52 GMT

Now Hiring?: Funniest "Help Wanted" Signs

Not sure where the employment situation is heading these days, but at least these Help Wanted signs give us a good laugh.

Published: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:45:05 GMT

Orlando-area mug shot hall of shame

UPDATED DAILY: Here's a look at some of the individuals who have been arrested recently in Central Florida.

Published: Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:11:24 GMT

MegaCon kicks off at Orange Convention Center

Thousands of comic book, sci-fi and video game enthusiasts are expected to come to Orange County Convention Center this weekend for MegaCon. The exact number is 45,000, which is up 7 percent from last year, according to MegaCon owner Beth Widera. People were already lined up for tickets Friday. "I've always wanted to go to one of these," said Miguel Mendoza, a first-timer at MegaCon. He said his brother, Juan has been going for years. "It's just home basically," Juan said. "It really is." Convention-goers say MegaCon is as much about the costumes as it is the vendors. People spend thousands of dollars on costumes. Juan said his costume cost around $100 but the costume price can go up to thousands. "I am dressed as the female pyramid from Silent Hill video game," Amanda Baker said. She said she spent months putting together her costume with foam board, glue and spray paint. Vendors are setting up booths inside to sell comics, T-shirts and sculptures. Widera says the convention is getting more and more popular. "This is a weekend they can put on a costume and be whoever they want to be," Widera said. "You get to be something that you always worshiped." This year, Joseph Morgan from the Vampire Diaries will be at the convention, along with Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies. The convention also features speed dating.

Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:19:20 GMT

Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne kicks off Speedweek

2011 Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne kicked off the stock car portion of Daytona Speedweeks on Friday by hitting the beach to drive a little piece of Daytona's famous beach course. "This is pretty incredible here, probably one of the coolest things I've got to do," Bayne, 20, said. "This is where it all started, ya know, NASCAR wouldn't be a sport and Daytona wouldn't have a track without being on the beaches." The hard-packed surface of Daytona Beach hosted races for more than 50 years, ending when the Speedway was built in 1959. Bayne became the youngest Daytona 500 winner and said ever since, he's been on an incredible ride. "I wish they'd put together an old school race for us on the beach, but I'll be OK if that will never happen, I'm soaking in this today as much as I can," Bayne said. The Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 for future racing stars starts Saturday, followed by the Budweiser Shootout. On Sunday, the Daytona 500 qualifier is the main event. It all leads up to the Daytona 500 at the Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 26.

Published: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 01:16:46 GMT

Casey Anthony's secret address may be released on a subpoena

Attorneys for Zenaida Gonzalez, the woman suing Casey Anthony for defamation, filed a motion asking for Anthony's secret home address for a trial witness subpoena. Gonzalez is suing Anthony, 25, for defamation, claiming her life was ruined after Anthony linked her to Caylee Anthony's disappearance in 2008. Attorney Matt Morgan said they are also offering Anthony's lawyers the option to agree to accept a trial witness subpoena on her behalf. The Orlando Sentinel reports a hearing on Gonzalez's motion for her address is set for March 23. Gonzalez's attorneys said Thursday in a meeting called by Judge Lisa Munyon they didn't want to jeopardize Anthony's security by including her address on a subpoena. But unless Anthony's attorneys agree to accept it on her behalf, they said they will need to serve her with it at her secret home. Since Anthony is not required to attend civil trial, Gonzalez's team wants to subpoena her to be there and take the stand. Munyon set a tentative trial period date of April 9 for the civil lawsuit.

Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:29:47 GMT

Musicians who rocked the charts after death

Whitney Houston's hit songs and albums topped several sales charts in the days following her death on February 11. See what other artists' music shot to the top of the charts after their untimely death.

Published: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:00:51 GMT

Unforgettable celebrity funerals

As Whitney Houston's family prepares to lay her to rest, take a look back at some of the most memorable celebrity funerals.

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:16:02 GMT

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